The abrupt emergence of the three creatures created a frantic scurrying, among both the large and smaller shadow-forms that had been pressing towards Janus.
The two long-snouted newcomers moved with blurring speed, setting immediately upon the shadow creatures with a vengeance. Their mouths opened expansively, lined on the top and bottom with enormous, serrated teeth.
Jaws snapping, they set about consuming the smaller shadow creatures, able to take in an entire entity with only one bite.
Likewise, the monstrous, feline entity assaulted the shadow creatures. It brought its broad paws to bear as it raked shadow creatures down from the air, and then engulfed them in its gaping maw.
The shadow creatures made no sound, though their distress was obvious as they tried to evade the attackers in sheer futility.
The three creatures were not confined to the ground. They were able to soar into the air in incredible leaps, always landing lightly once they had dispatched their quarry. Though some of the shadow creatures tried to drift up and away, their efforts were in vain, as they could not escape the reach of their three supernatural assailants.
The three ethereal attackers moved with tremendous speed and aggression as they levied their lethal assault. Janus watched the destruction of the shadow creatures with stunned amazement.
In just moments, only the four larger shadow-beings remained. No longer driving the smaller creatures towards Janus, they now seemed to be gripped with fear themselves, flitting about the trees in apparent confusion and disarray.
Able to concentrate entirely upon them, the three four-legged attackers wasted no time in turning their offensive upon the larger entities. The large shadows were maimed and devoured one by one, until nothing of the shadowy, menacing host was left.
Janus watched in awe as the feline-like entity swiped its claws and batted down the last two large shadow creatures in one leap, before consuming each one in turn within its fearsome jaws.
When the creatures had finished, they each turned towards Janus, regarding him intently through their blazing, white eyes.
Strangely, instead of being afraid of the formidable beasts, Janus had a strong sensation resonating all throughout him that there was nothing to fear from the ethereal trio. A calm peace settled over him, as his thoughts became steadily clearer.
If anything, he felt a compelling urge to move towards the creatures, as if by drawing closer to them he would acquire even stronger protection. He also got the distinct impression that the creatures were excited by his presence before them. Though they were not entities of flesh and blood, their forms had much more stability than that of the shadow creatures. He could see without a doubt that the two elongated, canine-like creatures were wagging their tails vigorously.
The feline creature then started to pad slowly towards Janus, moving with fluid ease. He then became aware that he had regained full control of his body once again, feeling his inner authority pass through every extremity of his limbs.
An affectionate warmth flowed abundantly over him within the next few moments, swelling towards a euphoria as the feline drew closer to him. His eyes narrowed, trying to pierce the strange mystery of the creatures that had rescued him.
The canines’ tails were still wagging, and he heard purr-like rumblings emitting from the feline that was now just a couple of feet away. The feline stepped in to brush against his side, far too tall to brush against his leg. As it did so, and as his ears heard the echoes of the first jubilant barks coming from the other two creatures, they suddenly vanished from sight.
Janus turned his quickly head from left to right, but he was completely alone. There were no shadow creatures, or sign of the rescuing entities.
Before he could even begin to make any sense of it, a voice abruptly came through the air to him. “Walk straight ahead, around the great tree that is before you.”
The voice seemed to come from right next to him, but as Janus turned around in a complete circle, he saw no sign of the speaker.
“Who are you?” Janus called out to the unseen entity.
“More than a friend,” the reply came gently, again sounding as if the speaker were standing right at Janus’ side. “Now trust me, and walk forward around that tree.”
Something inside of Janus had come to understand by then that this all was truly just a dream, and that he had not undergone another experience like the mist. Still fully lucid, he decided to see what might happen if he cooperated with the voice.
He took a slow step forward, and then another.
“It may only take you a week at this pace to reach the tree,” the voice came again, resonating with a sparkle of amusement.
“Hey, I’m cooperating,” Janus retorted curtly, though he did pick up his stride.
He walked towards the great tree that the voice had indicated, and wended his way around the trunk to the right. Janus blinked his eyes then, as he found himself within a totally new environment. He was now looking upon a cave set into a hillside, under a velvety night sky adorned with diamond-bright stars.
A few banks of low clouds were scudding over the terrain, though they blocked little of the sparkling firmament.
Beyond the cave was a hilly, undulating land. In the distance he could see the numerous forms of what he believed to be flocks of sheep moving on some of the slopes. Outlines of what looked to be a few people were at the summits of a couple of the hills, leaning on staves as they looked out over the grazing flocks.
Some tiny, gleaming, reddish lights that undoubtedly came from fires marked the presence of a small village situated just beyond the hills with the flocks. It was too far for Janus to make out any details, other than the existence of many low structures clustered together.
A human cry, unmistakably that of a woman, came to him from the depths of the cave. His attention was immediately riveted upon the dark entrance from whence the sound had emerged.
“Go, and witness,” the strange voice instructed him, almost causing Janus to jump in its firm suddenness.
Recovering quickly enough, Janus heeded the words of the unseen speaker. He approached the entrance of the cave and entered it.
A low fire was blazing deeper within the cave, sheltered from the winds outside and the light rain that had just begun to fall. The pattering of the first raindrops faded as Janus walked a few steps further. Shadows flickered along the jagged sides of the cave, and in the midst of thick piles of straw were two human figures.
A woman was lying on her back, knees bent and legs spread far apart, while a man knelt down before her. The man was many years older than the woman, with a thick beard and locks of dark, wavy hair. The woman was young and beautiful, though her brow was beaded in sweat and furrowed in the grips of her considerable strain.
The couple took no notice of Janus as he cautiously took a few more steps into the cave. He then halted and stood stark still, realizing what was occurring before his eyes. The woman was giving birth, right on the verge of bringing a new life into the world.
Just as Janus became curious as to the identity of the couple, he was drawn to the shadows in the area to the left of the woman.
His heart skipped a beat, as he saw something there darker than any blackness or shadow. A great Presence lurked there, though Janus could see no discernable figure within the deep pool of impenetrable shadows.
Janus could feel the sheer intensity pouring forth from that blackness, as it silently observed the woman, the man, and the impending birth. Janus sensed that the Presence absolutely loathed the woman. The Presence was like some enormous serpent, coiled and waiting, whose gaping maw was awaiting the birth to devour both mother and child.
Though the Presence was unmistakably baleful and raging, with a malefic radiance beyond anything that Janus had ever felt before in his life, Janus had no fears for the people in the cave. He knew that the Presence was not there in any kind of manifestation whereby It could do any immediate harm to the woman, the man, or to the newborn.