“Have a nice little snack, then off to sleep? Really?” I asked the beast as the thing began to curl up unto itself.

Quite a ways beneath me, situated in-between two grassy hills, was the current bane of my existence.

The Rift was near enough that its glow, alongside the bright moonlight, gave me enough light as to make out the creature. Even with the creature’s scales that were a deep green. The thick grass which covered most of the surrounding hills made it blend almost perfectly into the dark… Almost. It was scary how something so big could seemingly so easily camouflage itself, even in these hills without many trees.

No… what was truly terrifying was that even with it being so massive in size was that it was still a deadly hunter.

If one didn’t believe how dangerous this creature could be based off its size alone, or how well it could vanish into the common scenery of the world… one only needed to look around.

Scattered all along the surrounding hills were bones sticking out of the ground. They, like the one I was currently sitting upon, were far larger than any person… and seemingly all from caravan bears.

Most that were visible in the darkness were the large spinal vertebras found in-between the shoulder blades of the bears. Although many other bones were all around, this vertebra was large enough and pointy enough on its sides that it didn’t get weathered down from the world and animals. At least, not very quickly.

What was odd, however, was not the out of place bone graveyard… but the creature which had obviously created it. Where had it come from? I had just a few years ago traversed through this valley of rolling hills… and nothing of the sort had been here.

A good gust of wind caused the hills to look like an ocean as the grass moved in unison with it. My eye’s didn’t wander, even though the grass and hills were beautiful, as I watched the beast slowly twist its large and long body into a pile onto itself.

The wind calmed a little as it whispered through the grass, yet I still heard the sound of the creature’s scales scrape against each other as it continued coiling up around itself. Like a snake, the very long and limbless body of the beast wrapped itself into a small circular pile.

Its snake-like method of sleeping was what made it blend into the grassy hill so well. The grass was just tall enough, and thick enough, to make one’s eyes play tricks. If you didn’t know where to look, or didn’t focus, you’d glance right over it without noticing.

Which wasn’t a good thing, since it didn’t just sleep like a snake. It struck out and ate you just as fast as one, too.

Yet for as much of a snake as it seemed, I couldn’t dub it one. The thing had a very sharp and very jagged beak for a mouth. And it had been large enough, and able to open wide enough, to swallow the caravan bear whole. If not for the bird styled beak and large round head, it would have just been a snake… or at least, a very big one.

The beast had ultimately disregarded me as it ate my caravan bear whole, like an ocean bird would a fish. At the time I had been rather annoyed, but at the same time amazed. Such creatures like this existed in the Rift, not outside it. And although occasionally things ventured out of the Rift… or were brought out by others, a creature like this…

To actually meet a creature this massive, and deadly, without any presence of the Rift within it…

It was a unique meeting, to say the least. Moments like these were rare enough to never happen again.

A cloud passed overhead, at just the right angle to block the glow from the Rift. A deeper shadow passed over the sleeping creature which caused it to fade and seemingly blend into the darkness. A mere moment later, a faint glow appeared from within the bundle of coiled and wrapped pile of scales.

“What a pity,” I said, and somewhat meant it.

I could accept it being my fault for bringing a caravan bear into the territory of a creature that seemed to solely subsist on them. I could even accept the loss of my pack animal, since the creature didn’t even try to eat me. I didn’t even have a bruise from the encounter. I had been far enough away from the bear at the moment of the attack, to have only been hit by the dirt and grass thrown up from the violent movements of the encounter.

It hadn’t truly endangered my life, nor harmed me in any way. In fact it seemed content to leave me be after it had its fill.

Growing up in the Rift taught one to respect such creatures. When something wasn’t out to eat you, it was best to not give it a reason to.

Yet… It had not just been the caravan bear that it had swallowed.

I’d have to praise Momma of the Lake’s men once I met them again. Their methods of attaching the stone to the bear had withstood even the violent thrashing as the bear had tried to fight off the great predator.

They’d not comprehend as to why such a feat was worth praise… since after all, most humans never saw a caravan bear fight for its life. There were so few things in the Lands of Man capable of threatening them, and they were far too valuable to kill. Even during wars.

So they’d not realize how fiercely they fought. Nor how effortlessly this beaked—serpent had swallowed it without issue.

Nonetheless, the appreciation for such an odd detail was not worth spending time on.

Another dense cloud passed by overhead.

The section of the creature’s body that was glowing became a little more prominent. It was an odd sight, since the glow was coming from within the creature. Even from this distance, I could see the thin strands of magic flowing alongside its body… as if it had glowing hair.

Judging from where the large beak was poking out of the pile, and how it had bundled up, the glow seemed to be coming from a little before the middle of its body. It had eaten the bear and the rock only an hour ago, which made me wonder if it naturally digested quickly… or…

Tapping the thick bone I sat on, I wondered if the stone would be expunged from the creature before it died from it. It had swallowed the bear whole, yet the bones of such creatures were all around here… which meant the creature wasn’t magical in nature at all.

Not a creature of magic, so it would digest its meals just like every other creature that existed. If it spat the bones back out, there was no way it’d be able to absorb the stone.

Of course, even if it had been able to digest the bones… being a creature unaffected by the Rift made it impossible, still.

The stone wouldn’t digest. It was magic. There was nothing to digest. Magic wasn’t like anything else in that sense. Even a stone could degrade over time, but a magical one wouldn’t. The only way a magical stone shrunk, was when the magic within it was forcefully removed from it.

A Rift creature eating it would have made me panic. Such a creature would have long since absorbed such a stone in its entirety.

But this beast? It was flesh and bone. Normal, if something its size could be considered such a thing.

It being free of any kind of magic was the very reason it had succeeded in eating the bear in the first place. I had not been able to sense it.

The creature would have great success in the Rift, since I knew the vast majority of creatures would have the same problem I had with it. It’d be able to hunt without worry, almost, simply because it had no magic itself.

Yet at the same time, its lack of magic was why it was now going to suffer.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Swallowing a condensed stone of magic was only going to make it sick. If it was lucky, that’s all it would do.

“What will it do to you, I wonder?” I asked the creature.

A part of me wondered if the creature wasn’t curling up to sleep, but instead was doing it because of pain. Maybe its insides were being burnt or poisoned? But it wasn’t thrashing, nor…

The shadows passed as the wind finally blew the clouds away, and as if burned by the sudden brightness the creature’s head shot upward.

Holding still, I watched the great head rise higher into the sky, its large beak quickly opening and closing in succession as it looked around.

I’d think it had finally noticed me, if not for it having ignored me this entire time. The wind’s been blowing every which way, so I knew it had long smelled me. But the thing hadn’t cared about me… not even when I followed it closely.

A tiny high pitched whine joined the sound of the grass swaying in the wind. The sound was loud enough and unique enough to be both clearly from the creature… and clearly from pain.

“I see,” I said as the beast further untangled itself. It rose a little higher off the ground, as to look around… as if it thought it could find what was hurting it.

Being up on the larger hill behind it, I wasn’t too worried over its sudden actions. We were far enough away from one another, even if it focused on me I’d have time to run. Or at least prepare.

Another squeal of pain came from the creature. This one much higher in pitch. Real pain.

While screaming, it waved its head in the air violently. With a sharp screech it then slammed the rear end of its body against the ground. The thump that followed made it clear how heavy the creature was. How’d such a thing move so quickly? Without magic it should be…

The beast released another screech. Its large beak opened wide, pointing out to the sky above it. The way it screamed out in pain made it seem rather… un-animalistic. Humans and powers screamed like that. From emotion. Not animals. Not beasts.

Such a scream, heard from a distance, would terrify travelers. It’d make them run. Hide. It brought forth a fight or flight instinct, somehow. Yet here now, even though hearing it up close and personal, I felt nothing but pity for the creature. Empathy… For a beast that would devour people without a second thought. Caravan Bears were found in the wild, but not here so close to the Rift. Each and every bone around me wasn’t just a pack mule, but most likely a creature which had been transporting a team of merchants… entire families of them.

Even if it had focused entirely on the Caravan Bears, it would have inevitably eaten those who guided them… or rode them. Let alone killed those which attacked it, to defend their livelihoods. Humans were notorious for fighting to the last man, even over coin.

Half of their army, during our invasion of their lands, was hired by such coins. They fought just as fiercely as their brothers fighting for honor or revenge.

For each dead bear bone, there were a dozen human’s bones buried beneath them.

For a long while, I watched as the beast thrashed about. Sometimes it wiggled and slithered back and forth, other times it tried to curl up or rub the ground. It was very clear the thing was in immense pain, yet couldn’t actually sense the danger or find the reason.

I couldn’t tell where the stone was, since no more clouds had come to pass. The world was just bright enough to block out the few magic’s glowing tendrils that could peek out from its large body. But I quickly found the spot being favored by the beast. The way all parts of its body thrashed and slammed the ground, except that one section in the middle. And not because of how the beast moved, either.

The wind died down as time passed. One hour. Then another. The glow from the Rift shifted colors a little, making the grassy hills begin to look a little gray in color.

At the third hour, right when the moon reach the center of the sky, the beast finally quieted down.

Its long slender body was all over the place, ranging from one end of the opposing hill to almost the other. With its head on the ground, slowly rubbing its beak into the grassy earth, its tail at the other end laid still.

“A slow painful death,” I said, and hoped it was indeed a death. Although the thing had not a speck of the Rift within it, I knew that could change at any moment.

After all, it had swallowed a giant piece of the Rift. Sometimes the Rift changed things. Made the normal… not. Although nearly impossible, I had seen similar things happen.

With such a thought, I stood. I took a deep breath and tried to formulate the plan I had been brewing since it had swallowed my task. I was going to have to remove the rock from the creature, that was clear… but did I cut it free? Slice it piece by piece until I was able to get to the stone? Burn it free? Fire would melt and turn the creature to ash, but the rock would be fine.

Which was the safest and fastest method?

Before I could drop down to the ground, the beast jerked upward to its full height. I steadied myself as I watched its eyes. The four large balls glistened in the darkness, and for the briefest moment it looked as if they were staring at me. Then it turned inward on itself, and without any hesitation stabbed down with its great beak.

A spurt of blood, not only visible in the night but clearly audible, erupted from where it had stabbed itself.

Astounded, I watched as it yanked its beak from its own body. Without a cry, it pecked itself again. This time, when it wrenched its beak free, a chunk of meat joined the blood spray.

“It realized,” I said as the beast continued to jab away at its own body. The sprays of blood drenched the hillside next to it, giving the area around it a wet gleam as the Rift’s colors reflected off its blood.

Would it be able to get the stone out? It very well could, thanks to the size and sharpness of its beak.

To think it’d do my work for me.

A huge chunk went flying nearby, and landed with a wet sound. Even from the distance I could tell that the chunk it had just flung had been larger than me.

For a good while, not even the wind could hide the sounds of the creature digging into itself. Scales tore, flesh ripped. Some parts it pulled off even snapped free as it tugged the chunks away.

The beast let loose a strangled hiss sound. One that told me it was using the last bit of its strength. The final fight, for a creature who had just moments ago been settling down for a night’s rest.

Its thrashes slowed, as did the sprays of blood. Even when it plunged its beak deep into its body, and poked around with great force, nothing sprayed out. Where before was a fountain, was now a seeping wound.

Before long, the self gouging slowed. No longer did it take chunks, or dig deep… instead it seemed to poke and prod more than not.

I still couldn’t see any of the glowing, but the entire area was covered in thick blood. Some of the chunks scattered around the creature were big enough to be the stone itself, as well. Maybe it was, but it was just covered in gunk so I couldn’t tell.

A few moments after one last loud hiss, the creature finally returned to lying on the ground. Its great beak still had pieces of its own flesh all over it.

Carefully falling off the bone, I landed on the thick grass below. I took a moment to appreciate the softness of the thick blades of grass before descending the hill.

The great creature no longer moved. No breaths, not even a tremble. It may not be dead, but it sure did look it.

Approaching slowly, I made sure to study each chunk of flesh I passed. Especially the ones that were around the stone in size.

None seemed to be glowing, nor did I feel as if I was walking through cobwebs. So I kept onward, towards the beast.

I approached the beast’s head first, since it was closest. It had laid its head on its side, and the large beak was open and angled oddly. It didn’t look comfortable at all.

Once close enough, the grass became wet enough for my footsteps to become audible. Yet still, the creature didn’t stir.

Drawing closer, the ground became even more soaked. Grass that should have reached my knees instead had been flattened thanks to the creature’s floundering earlier. Packed tightly enough to be walked upon, yet with each step taken my boots got even more blood-soaked.

Rounding the large beak, I noticed the way its flesh and scales dangled from it. Patches of scales wider and longer than me hung from bloody clumps.

Stepping over a large piece of gunk, I finally was able to look the beast in the eyes. Or at least, the eye nearest me.

“Not what you’d hoped for your last meal was it?” I asked the eyeball.

The large iris was as tall as I, but half the width. It was amusing to see my outline in its reflection, and even more interesting to see it trying to glare at me.

It could still see, even after all that. What a beast. It made me wonder if it descended from a Rift Creature. Maybe it was only a generation or two apart from one.

There were no more hisses, not even the faintest whisper. The thing wasn’t even breathing, its suffering was ending. Any moment now would be its last.

With a glance I found the spot along its body. Not too far away, was a mess. One that I was going to have to make even worse. A few of the cobwebs were visible, barely.

Thanks to all the blood, and the reflecting lights from the Rift, I could see most of the carnage the creature had inflicted upon itself.

Massive chunks were missing, and in-between the great sections of missing flesh were gashes and gouges all over its body. Several were deep enough I could have fit into them, with room to spare.

To have lived not only through the pain of ingesting a rock of pure magic… but to endure such wounds inflicted by its own self…

“Least you won’t have to live through this too,” I mused as I drew my sharpest blade and went to cut the stone free.

Hopefully I’d be done before the sun rose.