Chapter 7
“GHAHHHHH!” Frank screamed wildly.
At the sound of his voice, the giant moving snake tilted its open maw back slightly, as if it was able to more accurately predict the landing path that Frank would take.
To his shock, the snake appeared to do just that, as he could see a giant glowing vortex suddenly open. Black energy and green glowed in abundance around him. Or around where he would eventually land. Anywhere that Frank looked was covered by an ever-widening sea of glowing energy. Energy that was clearly part of the giant serpent’s body.
Realizing this was it, the moment of his death, he decided to make sure the snake paid dearly for this last attack. The snake clearly saw Frank as nothing more than a cheap snack, one that would be swallowed and eaten in one gulp, then forgotten. Nothing more than a tiny mouse that was about to be swallowed up by an enormous snake.
Resolute in the fact that he at least wanted to kill his killer, or make it so his killer would ultimately regret the day it crossed his path, Frank reacted.
Down below he could see glowing patterns of energy, but there was one dense pattern of overlapping energies to Frank’s left.
He didn’t know why, he was drawn to that particular location. Maybe it was the way the dark black motes of corrupting energy were directly over the dense green energy that Frank’s body desperately craved.
In his mind, he remembered the melting flesh he saw of the serpent. The way even a bite from its own mouth caused black wounds and flesh to melt away almost instantly. In his mind he sort of knew that this section was death. That if he was to strike there, then he would likely die quickly, or at least quicker than he expected.
Right now, he was going at terminal velocity, while Frank didn’t understand the concept of terminal velocity, he did understand that falling from that height and landing at this speed was the equivalent of a death sentence.
In his mind, he remembered how a few kids who thought themselves to be burglars fell from two fourth story windows and were completely smooshed into the pavement below them.
His mind called him to pull back, to sink into himself, to try to brace for impact, that if he tried hard enough, he would survive.
Frank heard those instincts and dismissed them immediately. At this moment, only anger and adrenaline poured through his body. That was why, rather than closing in on himself, keeping his arms and legs tight to his torso, Frank spread out. With the giant metal pole in his hands, he spread out, pointing the metal rod in the inevitable direction that he wished to go.
Instinctively his legs kicked out, or perhaps were left behind as he tried to cause his body to drift ever so slightly to the left. He wanted to glide closer to the exact center of energy that glowed before his eyes. He wanted to point his staff right at the sweet spot, at the exact point that was free and clear of the black corrosive energy and towards the glowing green energy that no doubt filled the beast with life.
Unfortunately, falling at such a speed was tough. The further away from straight down that Frank moved the metal rod, the more the end began to wobble and twist in the air.
Still the overall area that he was aiming for was large.
Squish!
Frank landed, the end of his pole missing just down and to the right of the optimal spot. The impact and weight of his falling hit with such force that the rod landed, felt resistance for a split second, before easily tearing its way through.
Frank fell with the metal rod, down until his body was cushioned by a giant black sac. A black sac that burst upon impact, spraying corrosive venom particles out and around.
Sizzle.
While Frank had missed the largest burst of venom spraying from the ruptured venom sac, he was subjected to splash damage. As the venom bounced around the mouth of the beast, instantly caused minor irritation bubbles where it landed inside the beast’s mouth, then what was left washed over onto Frank’s skin doing much the same if not more.
Burning.
Frank’s skin was on fire. He could see the corrosive black energy of the venom burning away at his skin. There was a slight difference between the reaction from the snake’s mouth that now held Frank, and his own skin.
While the venom was at most a mild irritant to the serpent, causing blisters to form and expand. To Frank, what he felt were intense bursts of magma erupting on his skin, corroding the skin away and then burning away his blood, until finally green particles of energy that Frank had spent most of the day cultivating came in contact with the black motes of venom energy.
At that, Frank realized why the serpent was so green to his senses, as it was the way his mind interpreted resistance, or maybe health? Regardless, Frank saw a flood of green energy pouring in from the one hole he had created.
If he stuck his hand towards the hole, he could feel a deep connection to the glowing green energy. He felt the corrosive venom first burn his hand down to the bone. Then he felt the instant cooling effect of green energy being drawn in directly to his exposed hand.
Panting.
Frank desperately clung to not just the remaining haft of the metal pole, but also at the opening that offered a partial release to the corrosive pain he had been feeling.
Frank was so lost in the pain of having his own skin get burnt away, that he failed to notice the way the serpent that had been rising up to snap him out of the air, began falling almost immediately after his impact with the giant serpent. He didn’t even realize the way the softer muscles of the snake’s mouth impacted his body, and prevented the worst damages to come from his landing.
He only noticed a slight splash of black and green motes of energy as the snake collapsed to the ground. What happened next was what Frank would eventually call the worst time of his life.
Frank clung desperately to the edge of life and death.
Black venom juices sprayed, pooled, or dripped onto Frank’s body. Each droplet was enough to fully corrode his skin, burn away the nerve endings, and leave him in a state of near paralysis that had him wishing for death.
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It could have been easy, at this moment, all Frank had to do was to stop. To remove his hand, to give up, to let the pain and paralysis take him and it would be over.
No one would know he died, more than likely no one would care.
He had a brother, but the brother had his own chance of escaping the slums.
Yet, Frank’s body wouldn’t let him quit. As his body would always be there, puling in just enough green energy from the slain monster to heal his wounds long enough for him to take one long pain filled breath.
His ribs were broken, though if that was from the snake’s tail whip as it fell to the ground, or from his near belly flop onto the snake’s venom glands, or a combination of both, Frank didn’t know. All that Frank new at this moment was that pain was his only constant.
Sizzle.
Frank had so much venom fall onto his hair and head that he knew for a fact he was bald, with only a few strands of hair remaining at odd intervals.
His clothes were mostly melted, with only a few strips that had somehow avoided the worst of the splashes and drops. This meant that Frank, if he in fact survived this somehow, would have to climb his way out of the abandoned subterranean levels naked. Or maybe if he was lucky, he could create some clothing from monsters that he would eventually be able to slay.
Wriggle, wriggle.
Frank felt the serpent’s massive body flopping and flailing about. Somehow he knew that the end of the metal rod that he was holding onto had somehow embedded itself into the ground. With this, the serpent’s body began twisting and turning in erratic patterns trying to apparently wiggle its way free of the stone.
The entire time, Frank was in this state of near death, two things happened. The first was that Frank never gave up his death grip on the metal pole that had been his lifeline all this time. Not that his grip on the rod did anything, other than make it so Frank avoided sliding deeper down into the gullet of the snake. The second thing that happened was that Frank’s body never stopped cycling in the cooling green energy into his body.
Honestly, Frank didn’t know where the green energy came from, and at this point he really didn’t care. All he knew was that if his body stopped cycling in green energy that he would die, and by now he was too far along to be granted the quick death that had been offered earlier. He knew that if he stopped now, it would be a long slow and painful process that made it so he would eventually die of either exposure before the wounds he suffered consumed him.
Frank felt his consciousness fading, as his body began moving and cultivating on its own. After a point the pain eventually gave way to numbness, and then he felt nothing.
His body no longer hurt, the venom he was exposed to no longer burned or blistered his skin upon contact. Frank even felt the stream of green energy filling his body filling up his core and cycling around.
The sensations finally got to the point where Frank could cultivate to the next level. Of course, this meant that he had to find a quiet and secluded place that wouldn’t move on him.
To his surprise, the place he now found himself in was just such a place. For the serpent that he was in was still. In fact, it was only after a few seconds of observation that Frank realized that the green energy of the serpent had changed in coloring. It was still a vibrant shade of green, but no longer as green as it had shown when he first saw it.
Did the snake fall asleep? Frank asked himself as he decided to take advantage of the moment he had. In his mind, he found the perfect layout of his body, and then began cycling the green energy through his body in the one perfect path.
As the energy moved through his meridians, Frank felt a strange cooling sensation grip him, as he felt the energy enter into not just his body, but also his mind. This time, it felt as if the energy could also help cleanse his thoughts, helping him to think faster and comprehend things just that much better.
This time as always, he focused on increasing the size of his core, but there was almost something more to it, as this time he had done everything correctly. He wasn’t quite certain how he had done everything correctly, but this was the case, as he felt truly alive.
As he opened his eyes, he felt that there was still a bit more energy left from the giant beast. There wasn’t enough for him to fully condense another layer, but there was enough energy for him to once again improve his eyes, his body’s ability to heal, and his body’s ability to resist toxins.
Once he was done absorbing all of the green energy, his eyes still saw the glowing and dwindling motes of black energy. For a long moment Frank thought about absorbing the black energy. In his mind, he knew it was an extra added effect that had been given to the serpent, or maybe the serpent had been able to cultivate the venom over years into the potent blend it now had.
Frank thought about it, but then ultimately decided against it, realizing that the green energy he had been using to heal his body was gone. This meant that if he somehow messed up while using the black energy, he would once again suffer from the internal burning that he felt not too long ago.
Pausing, Frank wondered exactly how long ago it had been since he passed out from his exertion at avoiding Luther and his devastating voice attacks.
Then another thought hit him of whether anyone knew he was missing? Or worse, if they knew where he was now? Was there any way out of here?
So many questions filled his mind that all he could do was take a deep breath in and try to calm himself.
Unfortunately, this time when he took a deep breath, his lungs were able to differentiate the smells around him. He smelled the scent of corroded blood, venom, and stagnant air that had somehow snuck its way in.
Looking around, Frank saw the snake’s mouth open wide up ahead. Looking around, he found that the reason why the snake’s mouth was now opened wide was due to it being unable to close due to the metal rod that stuck from the floor, all the way up and acted as a makeshift tent pole for the serpent’s mouth.
Standing up, Frank found that he could only rise up, if he was crouched over. As he moved, his bare feet seemed to slip and slide along the rubbery remains of the snake’s mouth.
Splash.
His feet stepped in pools of blood and corrosive venom. To his surprise, all he felt was a slight tingling sensation, as his body seemed to resist the pull of the corrosive blood.
With a quick tug, he tried to pull the metal rod free, but found that it was wedged deeply, bot below and above. Even if he wanted to, he was not strong enough to bend or even break the metal rod. Realizing that he would be defenseless wherever he was, Frank paused and then slowly gathered himself as he made his way forward.
Trembling.
Frank made his way forward, his muscles and body seeming to resist his thoughts for a moment, then he gradually felt his body begin to follow his instructions.
He got to the opening of the snake, and pausing, not wanting to be chomped in half waited.
Nothing.
He paused, wondering if the snake was asleep, or dead? If it was dead, then how? He felt that the fall and the metal rod might both have combined to kill the snake, but he wasn’t quite certain how exactly it could have happened.
Punch.
Frank reached up, and punched the upper set of teeth. Well the set of teeth that were above his head. As he looked, a confused expression filled his face, as he realized that the longer teeth were on the bottom, while the smaller set of teeth were on the top.
This confused Frank for a moment, as he remembered that Snakes had their longer piercing fangs on the top of their mouth, while that did not seem to be the case with this serpent.
Still the entire thing had been confusing for Frank, and he still felt tired, sore, and disoriented from everything that happened.
Shakily he half stumbled, half crawled his way out and through the sharp rows of teeth that threatened to rip his skin from his exposed flesh if he so much as breathed wrong.
Getting out from the massive jaws of the creature, Frank felt his body inadvertently take in deep cleansing breaths. Each breath he took felt amazing, as he didn’t even realize just how many toxins his lungs were being forced to filter out from the stagnant air in the serpent’s mouth, until now.
With each breath, he felt the slow trembling of his body give away to more stability and strength.
Then after a moment or two, the strength and trembling that had been alleviated by finally being able to breathe properly was slowly exchanged for shivering due to a sudden onset of cold, as various fluids that covered his body were suddenly exposed to the cold and the elements, causing the heat of his body to be sucked out and pulled into the fluids.
Shiver.
Regardless of the cold that he now felt all over, Frank paused to turn back and see the state of the giant serpent. A serpent that he had thought to be impossible to defeat moments ago.
Turning around, Frank saw the beast, a large dim green eye staring out into space, its head and brain pierced by a giant metal rod that had pierced into the ground.
Looking at what happened, Frank took a moment to try to reconstruct what he was now seeing to what he remembered happening.
As far as he could tell, the beast fell, taking damage on the rocks. Then apparently raised up, once it heard Frank crying out in exhilaration. At which point Frank somehow managed to strike the beast through its skull using the full force of his falling momentum to help pierce the beast’s skull. Then gravity did the rest.
There was of course the one concern Frank now had, something that caused him to be suddenly afraid of how vulnerable the slums were to attacks from monster. Namely, looking at the beast, and after feeling its abundance of energy, it was clear that this creature had the scourge in its body. Such a monster, if it had somehow managed to follow Frank’s trail through the old ventilation systems to the slums would have been able to wreak havoc on everyone living in the slums.
With that revelation, Frank wondered how this creature got so low below the surface of the Earth, as the scourge should not be able to survive down here. At least, that is what the textbooks told him. But if that was the case, then how could anyone explain this creature? Or better still, where exactly was he now?
Looking around, Frank was thankful that his newly enhanced vision talent allowed him to see clearly in the underground tunnels. That or nearly clearly, as there were still a few dark shadows further away, but for the most part everything had a dark purple hue of twilight to it, making shapes and contours of the lands easy to spot and identify.
Frank looked around to see that off in the distance were many walls that were covered in different motes of energy. Looking up, all he saw was a deep darkness of empty space overhead, with only a few speckles of energy that showed the lining of walls.
Breathing out, Frank realized that he was well and truly stuck. He could try to climb his way out, but without proper equipment and strength, such a feat would likely lead to his death.
For the moment, Frank was alone in a vast open cavern that sat deep below the surface of the Earth.
At first, he was okay with this, as he had food in that he was fairly certain he could eat the snake. His most recent adaptations made it so he was fairly certain he could survive even if eating the snake.
“At least it can’t get much worse,” Frank thought to himself. Only to have his thoughts disrupted by the sudden arrival of more guests.
Squeak, squeak.
Not one, but multiple creatures could be heard descending from the caverns, their tiny footsteps somehow echoing in the vast open space of the tunnel Frank found himself in.
With that, Frank saw first one small green blob appear far off in the distance, followed closely by more.
Suddenly Frank chastised himself for thinking things were done, and that fate was through ruining his life.