Looking up to the ceiling from my position lying on my back, I’m greeted by solid rock with no distinguishable features. Pushing myself up, I’m hit with a blinding headache that seems to eb and flow in pulses.
Clutching the side of my head, I wait for the pain to subside. Several minutes pass as I wait for it to die down, only for my impatience to force me up. Over the time I had sat down and the pain had somewhat subsided, I had scanned my surroundings for anything notable.
Not entirely sure if it was for worse or better, I find myself in some sort of basic cave-like area with two paths stemming off from one side of the indent that I was in.
It almost looked like the kind of little room that would branch off of an ants nests tunnel. Getting up to my feet, a small worry in the back of my head asking if there were some sort of ants the size of a human makes itself known. Not entirely knowing what to do, I check myself for any injuries before intending to explore the tunnels.
Looking down at my hands, I do a double take as a hint of existential dread starts to creep around in my mind that replaces my headache as I’m greeted by an inhuman body. Seemingly covered in grey silvery-white coloured scales like an iguana’s.
My fingers tapering off into bone claw-like tips, my legs oriented like the hinds of a deer and with clawed feet. I remember hearing somewhere that creatures with this kind of leg were called digitigrade.
The dread I was feeling was momentarily overthrown by a sense of curiosity and wonder. Sadly, it was short lived. With the initial wonder wearing off, I’m left with confusion and scepticism. ‘I don’t have the body of a human, but I still am one. Right? What if I’m not? What do I do then?’
Before I could spiral into my all to familiar corner of fear, I get a firm hold of my mind and focus on the prominent ‘where the fuck am I?’ situation. As well as the possibility of not finding any food in a cave and what to do if that was the case.
Stepping out of the crevice I woke up in, I’m given the option of left or right. Looking at the floor of the two tunnels, I notice that the right one had a slight incline, hopefully meaning that it would end closer to the surface.
With no reason not to go right, I start to follow the uneven but weirdly consistent tunnel. Awkwardly walking for a while given my new body, I realise almost as if a switch was flipped in my brain that I could see perfectly fine in the dark.
Thrown off guard by the revelation, I trip over a particularly random dent in the ground. Instinctively moving my prominent right leg forward, I stumble over my clawed feet and hit the ground in front of me with the grace of a wet rag.
Slightly catching my fall with my arms so I didn’t go teeth first into the floor, I rip the palm of my hand on the jagged rock. Sitting on the ground for a moment to catch my breath and to also see if my new body had somehow injured itself past the cut on my hand, I check said cut to see how severe it was.
Looking at it, I add two things to the list of figuring myself out. One that I didn’t really feel any pain, and the other that I either had a very small amount of or no blood. While I didn’t feel any pain, I did feel something almost like a phantom itch. It didn’t ‘itch’ in the conventional sense, but I was aware of the missing scales and felt slightly empty in that area.
Starting to grow even more curious and annoyed that I couldn’t satisfy that curiosity, I force myself up to my feet and continue on while occasionally and quietly mumbling to myself.
After a while of walking and clambering over ledges from time to time that I should have been keeping track of, I came to another split in the path that I could fit through. One side going downwards in a high but narrow split in the wall, and the other jetting off and abruptly up.
Still following the thought of trying to find the surface, I start to climb the path that moved up. Yet just as I do, I catch the sound of something from the other path that seemed almost like the crash of rock on rock.
Stopping a moment to see if I could hear anything else, I wait a rough thirty seconds before a vibration followed by another crash that shook loose stone from the roof seemingly comes from the left path.
Now having to weigh whether going down to see what the noise was while ignoring the fact that if there were vibrations and crashes coming from a cave that it probably wasn’t a good idea to follow them to sate my curiosity, or going up and hopefully coming closer to the surface.
Against my better judgement but yet again with nothing to lose, I start to slowly descend down the crack in the wall. As I was heading down, there were a few more crashes and vibrations that occasionally forced me to wait for a moment but ultimately didn’t stop me, as well as two concerning noises that I could have sworn were roars.
Somewhere around the halfway mark of me slowly walking and climbing down, all noises stopped, leaving me in silence and once again completely alone with my thoughts. ‘I wonder why I'm underground. If my guess about being always reincarnated into the body of someone, or something in this case, then I can assume that whatever I am is a cave dweller. Meaning that it might not even be a good idea to go to the surface.
For all I know, this could be the last time I’m brought back to life. I doubt it though, it would be too random to not be brought back this time and not before.’
To my luck, I saw that the near vertical path I was following tapered out into a bigger area not far below me. Approaching the end of the tunnel, I freeze in my tracks as a scent of blood drifts past my nose.
I’d spent too long at sea gutting fish to not be able to smell blood, double so now as I seemingly had heightened senses that included smell. Straining my ears to try and pick up any sounds at all that could clue me in to why I smelt blood, I wait several seconds before tentatively making my way down the rest of the slope.
Coming to the opening into the bigger area, I pause again to look around the space before completely entering it while also letting my muscles rest a moment after the descent that had lasted ages I just finished.
Looking into the space I find what was causing the smell, as well as the sounds. Initially I had the thought that it could have just been iron that I had smelt, but now I was sure that it was, in fac,t not iron.
Before me in the cave was a sight to behold that I doubt I wouldn’t be surprised by even while under the influence of the gods in Reldrav. In all its gore and glory were two behemoths that did not belong so deep underground, let alone underground at all.
A massive round serpent like worm with a pointed head was lying belly up on the ground and missing a significant chunk of its head, while another massive weird wolf weasel combo gouged out handfuls of blood and organs from the snake's midriff.
Crouching at the entrance to the cave in shock, I simply stared at the scene unfolding in front of me. I wasn’t really one to be grossed out or sickened by entrails and blood, and I wasn’t now, but something about the whole scenario kept my eyes glued to the two creatures, unable to avert my gaze.
The only reason I didn’t continue to stare at the weasel wolf thing shovelling the guts of the snake down its throat without hesitation was because my eyes started to show truth halfway through the show. I honestly need to think of another thing to call the action of my eyes doing their weird reality breaking.
Snapping me out of my trance as I see my surroundings swim and the body of the creature shift into a weird wispy form, I quickly glance around to try and figure out what I should do, Turning my eyes ‘off’ as I do so.
Yet as I do, the fleeting wisps of the creature reminds me of something. Quickly looking back to it, I watch its smokey grey from for a moment before shifting myself to get a better look. And that's when I notice, the form of the weasel looked the same as my hand whenever I died or looked at myself while seeing truth.
The weird thing was that the corpse of the snake didn’t change. It had a few small thin smoky wisps that dissipated from time to time, but aside from that, it was unchanged. Putting together what I had seen before, I start to build a profile of what it was that my eyes actually did.
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While I was brainstorming and trying to compare myself to the weasel and the corpse to check for similarities, the weasel finished its meal and grabbed the tail of the snake with its mouth before scurrying out of the room.
No longer left with my test subjects, I feel slightly disappointed. Not wanting to run into the creature and test my broken immortality, I wait a few minutes before leaving my hiding spot and walking to the centre of the area where the weasel and snake just were.
Hoping a few times to stretch my legs after crouching for so long, I stop before the spot where the two creatures were and only a pool of blood was left. Looking at the murky blood, my curiosity gets the better of me and I bend down to it.
Touching the blood for god knows why, I realise a few interesting things. The first being that the blood was drying abnormally quickly, meaning that if the need be, it could be used as a decent ink substitute.
The second thing was that the rip on my pal was already almost healed. I didn’t feel hungry yet even though I healed so quickly, making me think that my body didn’t have a particularly fast or needy metabolism, which I could guarantee would be a blessing.
And the third and probably most disturbing thing, was that the blood felt like it was trying to speak.
Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall blood being able to speak let alone being sentient. Rapidly pulling my hand out of the pool and backing up a few steps, I stare at the pool with horror and even more curiosity.
I remember that in Reldrav there was such a thing as blood magic and that I was proficient with it. As well as in my last life, there were books about rituals and shamanism. I don’t believe in anything in a religious sense, so I didn’t really think it was some sort of summoning or sacrilegious thing, but it was undeniable that I felt something with the blood.
Looking to my hand that I had touched the blood with, I see that the tips of my fingers that had touched the blood had said blood dripping down them and towards my palm. And I don’t mean gravity had moved the blood down towards my hand, I mean that it was slowly moving up my hand and to my palm of its own accord.
Watching it move towards my palm, I follow its trajectory and see that I was aiming for my injury. Curiose, I watch it for a moment longer before wondering if I had some connection to it or if I could control it.
Not knowing what to do, I try using the knowledge I gained in Reldrav to move the blood. To my surprise and joy, I felt a response, identical to what I felt when the blood tried to speak. Yet aside from that connection, nothing happened.
Not really surprised given the fact I was in a completely different place so of course its laws wouldn’t apply, I tried a different approach by clearing my mind and pulling that connection back to my attention.
Again, getting a response, I try to command the blood to move to the centre of my hand faster. To my excitement, the blood speeds up slightly but still seems like it was held back, almost as if it was water trying to break through a wall. It could do it, but the wall doesn’t want it to.
Curious if that was the literal case, I instead of trying to command it first, try to give it permission to move and to accept it. It takes a moment for me to ‘tell’ the blood that it was allowed to move, but as soon as I grab hold of it and get my thoughts across, it immediately shoots to my palm where my skin was ripped.
Not knowing what it would do, I watch it clump up over the wound and swirl around for a moment. After a moment of it seemingly probing my palm and feeling around it, it speaks up and asks me to allow it to do something.
Still slightly feeling that initial sense of nervousness and also curious as to how much I could interact with it, I try to ‘ask it’ what it was trying to do. After a moment of struggling back and forth with the blood, it tells me that it was trying to heal me.
Somewhat confused as to how I was wordlessly communicating with literal blood via feelings and emotions, I let it mess around with my wound and supposedly heal it. Wondering how and why it was going to do so, a sudden sharp pain pricks my palm for a brief moment as the amount of blood on my hand decreases.
As the pain subsides, I feel the blood try to tell me that it was sorry and that it felt bad for hurting me. Once again confused and slightly concerned as to how I was communicating with blood and that it was able to recognize my pain, I try to calm it down, almost in the same way that you would calm down a dog who just had a nightmare or was scared of a storm.
Ignoring the fact I just related a blob of blood to a pet, and a dog at that, I feel the blood perk up and that it was reassured that it hadn’t hurt me too much. Not realising that I was looking at it with a light smile, I break from my hypothesising as I notice the blood seem to call to something that wasn’t me.
Trying to follow where or what it was calling out to, a brief moment of stupidity hits me as I see the rest of the blood on the ground stir and start crawling towards me. Not sure what it was doing, I stood still and tried to ask the blood what it was doing.
Getting the equivalent of a cheerful and poorly hidden excitement like someone who was about to give someone else a gift as my only response, I raise a non-existent eyebrow in curiosity and anticipation. Seemingly feeling my interest and the call of the blood on my hand, the rest of the blood that had started to pool at my feet by this point bubbled for a moment before shooting upwards off the ground and hovering around me.
No longer able to hold back my surprise and wonder, I stare wide-eyed at the small streams and blobs of blood that had gathered around me while floating in mid air. As I do so, I reach my hand out to poke one of the little orbs in front of me.
As I do so it shimmers and ripples from the point I touched it, before reforming and calming down as I pull my finger away. Now curious as to how much I could talk to and command, I close my eyes and concentrate.
Starting by pulling the feeling of the first bit of blood to attention, I then steadily pull more of the blood around me to the forefront before tentatively trying to tell it to gather into a ball in my palm with the rest of the blood.
As I do so, I feel the air around me almost bend for a split second as if under pressure from some unseen force. Waiting a moment to see if my command worked, I open my eyes to see all of the blood frozen in place and unmoving.
Worried I did something wrong, I begin to concentrate again to try a different approach just as the blood starts to wobble and shake before all of it began to swarm to my hand as if pulled in by an intense centre of gravity. Some of them orbiting around me a few times before settling in my palm as a smooth orb.
I feel some sort of hair on the back of my head and lower neck rush around in the updraft caused by the movement as they all settle down. After a few seconds, all of the blood conforms into a smooth sphere about the size of an apple that bent and rippled from time to time.
Staring at the orb for a moment, I feel it sit there on stand by, waiting for me to tell it to do something else. Not really knowing what to do with it while also not wanting to just throw it back to the floor as if it was a piece of trash, I push my conscience to it and try asking it what it wanted.
I watch the sphere bubble and pop as if someone had set it to boil while receiving feelings of happiness and gratitude. Looking at it with a growing intrigue, I wait to feel what it was that it wanted.
To my relief, I didn’t have to wait long as it asked to become something. Curious as to what it wanted to become, I start to think of something I could try moulding it into before being cut off by it as it asks to become a part of me.
Now concerned but mildly curious what it would do, I try to ask it what exactly it meant. To my dismay, I don’t get an answer.
‘You know what? Fuck it, let’s see what it’ll do. I’ve already died three times, what's a fourth time if this goes wrong.’
Letting it do as it wants, I watch it break apart into a blob before spreading itself over my arm that was holding it. Seemingly just laying itself over my arm with no real shape or purpose, after a moment it starts to form itself into shapes that almost looked like tattoos with no particular inspiration.
Watching them organise themselves, I start to recognize the shapes as being some sort of letters that I didn’t recognise. A few moments pass before they settle down, seemingly content with where they were.
Curious if they were just going to hover over my arm, I get a very nice not at all painful reality check as they all unanimously pierce my skin, as if they were trying to integrate themselves into my very flesh. The pain of the situation beats me down to a knee, my vision sways for a moment as I feel like my arm was plunged into a pot of hot coals and needles.
Moments pass as the pain pulses throughout my body, and just as they seemed to be settling down I get assaulted by memories that I had never seen before of the blood seemingly while it was still part of the snake from earlier.
I had no way to describe what it was I saw, the experience was as surreal as when I had first opened my eyes and was stabbed by that broken mirror. The numbness of having my mind invaded lasted barely a few seconds, and yet it felt like several days had passed in that short time. Making me wonder if those days I had felt was the time of that snake's lifespan.
And if it was, how vicious were these caves for the snake to be that big yet so young. As the memories and pain subside completely, I slowly pushed myself up to my feet again and felt like I had become lighter and more clear headed. Similar to when I had levelled up in, you guessed it, Reldrav.
Pressing my eyes closed for a moment to compose myself, I open them again with a sense of satisfaction. Looking down to my arm, I see my fingertips to just past my elbow covered with intricate inscriptions running along it.
Just as I was admiring the unknown words, I heard a rock tumble somewhere behind me. Now Knowing how much more vigilant I needed to be, while also still having trauma of being jumped from behind, I whip around and glare at the spot where the sound had come from.
What greets my eyes is a small tunnel that I had missed off to the side of where I had descended, and in that little tunnel were four small lizard-like creatures standing on their hind legs and holding crude weapons.