I briefly scampered up the walls and dug my claws into the base of a large stalactite protruding from the roof of the cave.

Letting myself hang, my weight dragged me down, allowing my claws to dig deeper into the stone.

I frowned slightly at seeing how far down my weight had dragged me.

I'm not that fat, am I?

I rolled my shoulders once more to appear natural to my very real and very invisible observers, but the faint glint of exasperation on my thinly scaled cheeks betrayed my embarrassment.

Well, whatever, I have a good idea of how much strength to use now. The rock here is quite soft.

Dragging myself up, I spun around my wrist and now gripped the coarse surface with all fours. The mist was somewhat thinner here, and so I narrowed my eyes with confidence and launched myself forward.

I knew the key here was maintaining my momentum, so I glided at an angle across the many protrusions. I could hear the many scattered stones colliding in the air and blanketing the surface below.

A few begrudging grunts could be heard in response, but nothing more.

I continued darting through the canopy of stones, refining my motions all the while.

This was quite satisfying; I'm barely even digging my feet in anymore.

For a brief moment, my rapidly shifting eyes stilled and caught sight of a screen soon left behind.

[Ambidextrous Manuvering lvl1 --> lvl2]

Well, that was fast.

Hm? What's that?

Instinctively, I dove forward with my remaining momentum and grasped hold of the brightly saturated stone that pointed deep into the mist below. A screeching sound could be heard as I spun around the stone and halted my speed.

This is definitely the center; it's completely opaque. In fact, the colour is so similar, I'm not sure I could even see the system windows in here.

Growing bored of the almost hypnotic monochromatic blur around me, I turned my face inward and was surprised to see deep grooves carved into the surface of the stone.

I had almost missed it as the skin of the stone had been infected with some cutaneous moss-like growth. It could be completely intentional or irrelevant, but it ruined the beautifully crafted symbology beneath.

It was too geometric and overtly designed to not be intentional.

I found myself scratching away at the greenery, but I quickly gave up once I became aware of it.

I'm here to take what I can, any way.

This is survival of the fittest.

Regardless, I still attempted to embed into my mind the few recurrent symbols I could make out.

Carefully, I climbed my way down, wary of the ever-growing sensory deprivation the mist instilled.

I felt the tip of my nose grace a beautifully clear, placid body of water. I blinked at the ripple that irritated its surface, but I was more focused on what was my actual reflection this time.

Stolen story; please report.

My amber-gold eyes seemingly shone with an ambient luminosity that resembled the strange system egg that birthed me. The water was so vibrant that it became apparent that my scales were not black but an exceptionally dark blue.

Damn, I'm quite a cute monstrous little imp huh.

The surface I climbed down actually delved deep into the liquid, and I could see it continue all the way through. I could only tell it wasn't a reflection because there were no claw marks marring its pristine surface.

I felt a little embarrassed at the damage and looked away.

There was a small overhang just beneath the surface protruding from this, I guess, pillar, which I could neatly sit on.

I hesitated for a brief moment before running my claws calmly through the water, and I couldn't help but let out a relaxed breath at the apparent safety.

Surprisingly, when I looked at them again, they had taken on a bright sheen of white.

It had perfectly cleaned them.

As I slowly dipped myself in, there was no sound and no acidic sensation as the water perfectly melted all of the impurities that had accumulated on me. I slid in and sat up straight. It was somehow like being caressed by moonlight—touched but unaffected by its serendipity.

I could see how the water held no tension and calmly ran through my scales, leaving me completely dry above the surface.

Wow.

I can't say if this is an intentional effect. It feels like the liquid returns to its optimal, maybe original, state as perfectly as possible, but it can't interfere with life...

It and this mist must be parts of the same whole. I can be certain of that at least.

Okay, so I have to get on with this; it should be the fastest method of awakening this soul-type thing.

Closing my eyes, I opened my mind and my soul to the world.

I let the floating waves encompass me. I was not defensive, nor was I kind. From what I knew now and what I felt before, I was certain that the key lay in drifting between obsession and patience—or something to that effect.

So for now, I think finding the balance where I am untraceable and unnoticed by the magic here, like another stone on the wall, will give me a good starting point, and hopefully I can limit the stabbing pain somewhat... otherwise, I'll be here for days.

I have to be just another untraceable figure within the mirage, unseen by the beasts bound by the domain's laws and unseen even by the laws here themselves.

Now that all sounds ludicrous, but something tells me I'm on the right track.

I'm not too sure if my intuition is even correct, but my actions so far have felt natural to me, like I was beckoned into these thoughts.

It was the delicate laminar flow of the air against my scales, the weak touch of this voiceless pond, and the loss of all senses in between that guided me into a thoughtless sense of self.

I allowed the slightest killing intent to run through my mind, and I felt a seering heat rush through my body. It was like I had forgotten emotion; the slightest perturbation ran wildly through me, throwing a vast turbulence through my thoughts.

But... I can do this.

I let out a breath.

I could feel the mist disperse and rein in a second later, and I continued these motions again and again. Like rowing a small boat against the vast current of a river, there was a calm control to be found in traversing the turbulence.

In and out.

Faster and shorter.

I could hear it now—the vibrating emerald field surrounding me. It was like before, but easily a hundredfold more dense.

A sudden jab of pain coursed through my body.

This is it, the sharp tendrils of energy.

Each one was like a jab of pressure against brittle glass; a fracturing pain would spread from each strike.

Dammit. This isn't going to work so easily. I need to come up with something better.

Think.

Think.

I opened my eyes and looked up for a moment.

Ah! That's it. Just like with the roof... It's not just about the intent, but how I direct it.

A glancing blow will always be less severe than a direct one.

My arm is my weapon.

I acutely directed my intent into my arm.

It was electric. The fog picked up pace around me. It twisted and whirled faster and faster as I repeated the motions in my mind, and I watched as tendrils of any kind broke free and fell through the whirlpool of intent, towards the eye of the storm.

I could feel them dig through my scales and out again. These glancing blows would repeat several times for each, and I even watched as some combined and dug in together.

Faster.

It was a raging torrent surrounding me, but the energy would duck in to strike and slyly retreat, like an animal now wary of its prey.

But it can be faster.

Then I felt nothing.

An event horizon of intent now barred me from the energy. I watched as it melted into the boundary and vanished from sight, pulled into a hidden world.

[Awakening Complete]

Heh. Inner-world then, I guess.