He was barely hanging on.

His small, fragile body was trembling, each movement slower than the last. The once-fluid motions of his Instinctive Dodge had become jerky, uncoordinated, as the sharp pain of his torn backside throbbed with every breath. Blood seeped from the wound, leaving dark trails on the nest floor as he stumbled through the maze of twigs and leaves, trying to escape the relentless baby birds.

Their chirping grew louder, more urgent. The scent of his injury seemed to drive them into a frenzy, their beaks snapping viciously at the air around him, each strike growing closer and closer.

He felt the shadow of one of the birds loom over him, and with a sharp jerk, he rolled out of the way just as its beak stabbed into the ground where he had been moments earlier. His mind was spinning, the pain almost unbearable, but he had no choice but to keep moving.

I can’t keep this up...

The world felt hazy, each step sending fresh waves of agony through his torn body. He could barely focus, his vision blurring, but his instincts—raw and primal—were still screaming at him to survive.

Just keep moving. Don’t stop.

But even as he told himself this, he knew he was running out of time. His body was failing, and the baby birds were relentless. They moved faster now, more coordinated in their attacks. One lunged from the right, its beak scraping the edge of his body, while the other two circled around, blocking his escape routes.

He could feel their hot breath on him, their movements more determined, more focused. They were playing a game of cat and mouse, and he was the mouse. But this wasn’t a game. He was on the edge of survival, one more mistake, one wrong move, and he’d be their meal.

There has to be a way out... He thought desperately. But no matter where he looked, the walls of the nest loomed too high, the floor too unstable. He was trapped.

Suddenly, a new surge of energy pulsed through him, not from his body but from his mind. The Apex of Knowledge stirred faintly, giving him a glimpse—a small window of opportunity.

He could see it.

There—right there, an opening. It was tiny, a narrow gap in the chaotic nest structure, where one bird was momentarily distracted by the other. His chance. If he could get through, he’d be free.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

It’s a huge risk...

But what choice did he have? If he stayed, he would die here, ripped apart by the baby birds. His survival instincts kicked in, and he pushed the pain away, focusing everything on this one final move.

He darted toward the gap, his small, battered form sliding through the nest’s tangled structure. But just as he reached the edge, the largest bird lunged.

The beak hit him like a hammer.

Pain exploded through his body, the force of the blow sending him spiraling backward. He crashed into the nest floor, his vision blurring as the world tilted around him. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t respond. The pain was overwhelming, searing through his limbs as if his very skin were on fire.

The bird loomed over him, its beak descending with deadly precision.

This is it.

In a last-ditch effort, he activated Bite. His mandibles, sharp and instinctive, shot out, sinking into the soft, vulnerable flesh of the baby bird’s neck.

The baby bird screeched in pain, its body convulsing as it jerked back, flapping its tiny, underdeveloped wings in panic. He held on with all the strength he had left, his mandibles digging deeper, tearing through the bird’s tender skin.

The bird thrashed, its movements growing more erratic. In its panic, it slammed into one of the other birds, knocking it off balance. Its screeching intensified as blood spurted from the wound, and before the bird could retaliate, he twisted his body and bit down harder, tearing through a vital artery.

I... I did it...

The baby bird collapsed, its body twitching one last time before it lay still. His mandibles released their grip, and he stumbled back, panting heavily. The taste of blood filled his senses, but he didn’t care. He had won. He had killed one of the baby birds.

But victory came at a price.

In the chaos of the struggle, the other baby bird had lunged at him from behind, its beak slicing clean through the lower half of his body.

Everything... hurts...

He barely registered the pain as his body began to give out. His vision swam, his mind fuzzy with exhaustion and shock. He could feel the last of his strength draining away as his lower half was severed, leaving him helpless.

And then, he fell.

His body tumbled out of the nest, spinning through the air as the world blurred into a swirl of colors and noise. He couldn’t even process what was happening anymore. His mind was shutting down, the pain too much to bear.

He was falling, and he wasn’t going to stop.

As his broken form plunged through the branches, he was unaware of the soft chime in his mind.

----------------------------------------

Sage Larva Level increased from 1 to 2

Sage Larva Level increased from 2 to 3

----------------------------------------

But he was too far gone to notice. His body hit the ground with a dull thud, and darkness swallowed him whole.