[Proofread by MarkThePotato]

Reading Music recommended by @MindTwiser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoM6PHE2z9I

Gwen was the first one to notice something was wrong. She flashed over to Jonah's side, scanned him with several skills, and checked for internal injury, poisons, and curses, but found nothing wrong after the first pass. Then she noticed that several skills were pinging back as oxygen deprivation.

In fact, after checking, Jonah didn't seem to have any oxygen at all in his bloodstream. Instead, she watched as energy, mana, heat, light, even the kinetic energy formed from his panicked gasping, were all sucked into the strange tiny crystals growing from his lungs. From there, it was transformed into an utterly indiscernible form and carried through his body by his red blood cells, as they passed through the crystals.

The problem was there wasn't nearly enough. The air had already started to drop several degrees while frost formed on Jonah's brows as he desperately sucked the heat energy out of the air. As she watched, the mana was being wrung out of him like a wet cloth, and even the light of the day seemed to dim and dull as she drew closer.

Gwen had seen mutation skills before, she even had a few herself. But she'd yet to see one so... changing. She assumed this was how the otherwise normal-seeming man had survived so long in the Titan's body. Even she could only do so by relying on a multitude of different skills. And Reggy's high-level cultivation supported him.

Gwen spoke up as she finished, kneeling down and easing Jonah to the ground.

[Gwen]: "REGGY!"

Reggy turned around, taking his eyes going wide as he swung his head away from the portal

[Reggy]: "What the... what happened?!"

[Gwen]: "Its a mutation, is all I can say. There's not enough energy in the air. He's showing the same symptoms as oxygen deprivation."

Reggy scrunched his brow and asked in confusion

[Reggy]: "Wait, if his mutation doesn't let him breathe out here, why did he leave? Would he really rather die than stay in there?"

Gwen shook her head and said

[Gwen]: "No, I don't think he knew it would be this bad. Remember, he's been in the Titan from the start. He doesn't realize just how high the mana levels are compared to out here. Even if he guessed Níðhöggr was higher than most, it's still like someone going from sea level to the top of Everest in a split second. His body simply can't adjust fast enough."

At that moment, Jonah's hand lashed out, locking onto Gwen's wrist like a vice. She winced at how cold the man had become so quickly and gasped when she felt her mana quickly being drained from her. Being near level 27 after their fight, Gwen's mana pool wasn't small in the slightest, but even she panicked slightly as the rate it was drained.

Though dazed and slightly delirious, Jonah's breathing visibly eased.

Reggy frowned and looked down at Jonah, the gears in his head turning before he erupted in a flash of burning light. The temperature rocketed upward, and soon, the mild autumn day became sweltering. Jonah's breathing eased another degree as he released Gwen, and he fell to the ground, panting.

Jonah rolled on to his back and groaned. His chest felt like it was on fire, and it still felt like it was slightly hard to breathe, like he was on a small mountain. When he'd recovered enough to sit up, Reggy, still glowing like a mini sun, spoke up in a stern voice.

[Reggy]: "I can't maintain this for long, Jonah. It looks like you have a choice to make..."

He looked towards the portal and could see it visibly flickering. It wouldn't last very much longer.

[Reggy]: "Choice one; You can come with us. We can try to hunt monsters on the way for you to siphon, but I can't promise it will be enough. Nor can we guarantee anywhere in the world is high enough level to support you yet. We don't even know how long that could take. Maybe tomorrow something happens, and you'll be totally fine. But its more likely you'll have to wait years, feeding off others just to survive. I'll admit, it’s a total crapshoot. 

Choice two; You go back into the Titan. You've survived this long, and you can do it again. It's likely the only place that can support you right now. It won't be like before, though, we know where you are. Help IS coming, Jonah. You just need to hold out as long as you can.

Choice three; You do neither of these. You give up and die here. The coward’s way out, sure, but I won't judge you for your circumstances. The Lord knows greater men have fallen under lesser pressure."

With those words, Reggy flicked his wrist, and a small light blade materialized in his hand.

[Reggy]: "I can do it myself if you don't have the nerve. Clean and quick."

[Gwen]: "REGGY!"

Gwen roared in protest that he would even suggest something like that.

Reggy just gave a shrug and said in a serious voice;

[Reggy]: "A lot better than suffocating. Anyway, better chose quickly. The portal won't last much longer."

For his part, Jonah struggled to his feet, still greedily sucking in the light, heat, and mana that Reggy emitted. His face wilted as the realization of his situation hit him. His eyes flicked back and forth between the dimming portal and the open field behind him.

Why him? Why always him? Did he kick baby Jesus in a past life or something?! He knew life wasn't fair, but why did it seem that every time things started to turn around, the Universe flipped the table and piled more dirt into his well?

For a moment, he contemplated just laying down and let Reggy end it. If the Universe really wanted him dead that badly, then why fight it? But then, what had he been fighting for this whole time? Was his struggle just pointless? Had those first few months of agony and torture only been for the amusement of some sick bastards looking in?

As the sneering face of the Gamemaster popped into his mind, Jonah's knuckles turned white, and blood slowly dripped from between his closed fingers. His body shaking like a leaf, Jonah slowly approached the portal. He turned around, taking one last look at the open field, a deep sadness carved on his face, before turning back to stare into his prison.

Without turning around, not wanting the others to see his tears, Jonah spoke out in a trembling voice.

[Jonah]: "I... Tell my uncle... I'm sorry I couldn't come home."

There was a moment of silence before Gwen spoke softly.

[Gwen]: "... ya. We'll tell him..."

Reggy spoke as well, his voice steady and calm.

[Reggy]: "We're coming back, Jonah. We're not going to leave you in there. I swear. Stay strong."

Jonah was silent, then gave a small laugh, before stepping through the portal, and back into the Titan's stomach.

The portal flicked for a moment more, before vanishing from sight.

Reggy and Gwen stood in silence for a moment more, staring at the space the portal had been, before turning around.

They were back, and they had a job to do.

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

As the portal closed behind him, Jonah took a deep breath, and energy flooded him once more. The mana pool that had steadily been draining outside had finally begun ticking the other way. Jonah turned around in time to see the Portal ribbon tremble and snap, falling to the fleshly floor.

He stood there in silence for a moment, placing his still trembling and bloody hand on the wall. He took a deep breath, then roared, pulling back his fist and slamming it into the wall in front of him.

Again and again, he reared back, slamming his fists into the hard red walls, till his fingers cracked and bled, roaring the entire time. After a few moments, he had to stop to catch his breath, but his body still shook as the tears flowed uninhibited.

It was then that a voice sounded through his mind. One he would never be able to forget.

"ᘺᕼąᖶ... ᕼąᐺᘿ... ᖻOᑘ... ᗪOᑎE... ᕼᑘᘻąᘉ..?

Jonah froze, his eyes wide. The Titan had spoken to him. It knew he was here. Strangely, Jonah soon found all of the anger and frustration build up in his heart change into something else. As he leaned forward, both broken hands on the wall, his clenched jaw loosened and turned up into a smile. Then his body began to shake.

What started as a light chuckle, soon turned into roaring laughter that filled the silent chamber.

"ᗯᕼY... ᗪO YOᑌ... ᗰᗩKE... TᕼᗩT... SOᑌᑎᗪ, ᗷOY..? ᑫᑌIᑕKᒪY.., ᗩᑎSᗯEᖇ... ᗰE... ᗯᕼEᖇE IS... TᕼE... SᕼIᑎIᑎG OᑎE...? ᕼE... ᗰᑌST ᑎOT... ᗷE... ᗩᒪᒪOᗯEᗪ... TO GᖇOᗯ."

Jonah simply kept laughing, until his hands healed and his side hurt. He wiped away his tears and spoke into the open air, a sneer in his voice and on his face,

[Jonah]: "You're too late. They've already escaped. They're out of your reach."

"I... ᗩᗰ ᗪEᗩTᕼ. ᗰY ᖇEᗩᑕᕼ... IS IᑎᖴIᑎITE."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

[Jonah]: "Well, you're tough out of luck. They're gone, and you're stuck with me."

"YOᑌ? YOᑌ ᗩᖇE... ᑎOTᕼIᑎG ᗰOᖇE... Tᕼᗩᑎ... ᗩ ᗯOᖇᗰ.

ᗩᑎ IᑎSEᑕT...

ᗩ...ᑭᗩᖇᗩSITE..."

Jonah's voice becomes flat as he dropped the smile and spoke up once more, his fully healed hands clenching tight.

[Jonah]: "Maybe. But I think it's about time that you went back to sleep."

"I... ᗯIᒪᒪ ᗪO ᑎO Sᑌᑕᕼ... TᕼIᑎG...

ᗪIE."

[Jonah]: "I wasn't asking..."

With those words, Jonah began breathing in vast amounts of mana, faster than he was ever able to before. With a smirk, he glanced at his updated status screen out of the corner of his eye.

Name: Jonah Hilannd

Race: Human

Contestant ID: Sol-3-00000000001

Class: Symbiote

Level: 6 -> 19

Titles: 1 -> 2

Viewership Rank: #54,376

Health:

1,503/1,565.5

Mana:

10,323/9,874

Acquired Title

'Parasite' [Rare-Unique]

"You are one who feeds on the life of another. As your enemies grow weaker, you grow stronger."

Increase the effect of your own Debuffs by 3% for each debuff applied to the target.

Increase the effect of your own Mental attacks by 5% for each debuff applied to the target

Decrease the effect of Debuff effects on yourself by 30%

Decrease the effect of Mental attacks on yourself by 20%.

The fight to escape had given him 13 levels, more than twice what the Leviathan Worm alone had. He didn't know if it was because he played a much more active role this time, or if it was the sheer number of the things they'd killed.

But what he DID know was that he wasn't the almost defenseless man he had been just this morning. If 600 mana could put the Snake out for a few months, what could 15,000 do?

He was about to see.

Seeming to sense the Danger, the Mana whirlpools from before were kicked into overdrive, competing Jonah for every mote of Mana in the area. The Mana began circulating through the air, flowing back and forth like the waves of the ocean. Until the movement formed its own swirling vortex of Mana, with Jonah on one side and the spawn points on the others, tugging back and forth in their desperate tug of war.

Jonah kept his eyes on his Mana, watching it tick up at speeds that amazed him.

10,323... 11,434... 13,200... 14,353

Soon his Mana reached over 15,500, well above his usual 50% Overmana limit, but he still felt like he could go more.

16,900... 17,677... 18,232...

Ok, NOW he was starting to feel it... The higher he went, the slower he was able to pull in more Mana, and the tighter his chest was beginning to feel. By the time he hit 120% Overmana at 21,722, Jonah felt something crack, and a sharp pain shot through his head.

The momentary lapse in focus, caused him to lose control of his pull on the Mana. Like a tsunami, the swirling Mana flowed towards the spawn points. They soaked it up like a dry sponge and burst with light. Instantly, more creatures began to pour from the mana vortexes and charged towards Jonah.

Heh, he guessed it was now or never.

With a roar, Jonah let loose everything he'd been holding back.

He filled it with is pain, his hatred, his anger, and frustration. But he also filled it with his desire for freedom, the joy in knowing that someone knew he was here, his desperate struggle for strength and change.

But most of all, he filled it with hope. Hope that he would survive. That he would get out of here, even if it took years. Hope that he could buy the people who needed it, just one more day to prepare.

The wall of 'something' that erupted from Jonah carried with it a physical force. Though it appeared like a billowing fog of icy blue, when it slammed into the approaching army of Titanspawn, the creatures were thrown back. Their flesh and bones burned, rotting into dry grey paste wherever the mists touched.

Still, Jonah continued to roar, pushing more and more of the mist out. The fog billowed towards the spawn points, mixing with the swirling vortexes and the Icy blue and blinding light battled with each other.

ᗯᕼᗩT ᗩᖇE... YOᑌ ᗪOIᑎG...?!

But Jonah ignored the words echoing in his head. As the mist and Mana struggled, Jonah could feel the cracks in whatever had snapped before, start to shift, and a blue screen popped up.

WARNING!

Skill [Breathless] Integrity compromised.

Further action will have unknown consequences.

Scanning System for Solution.

Please Stand By....

As the system worked, Jonah's eyes went wide as another box popped up, overlaying the first.

He might have mistaken it for another system prompt if it wasn't for the jagged, flickering edges of the box and the eerie, all to familiar glitchy red text.

̶̦̩͈̝͚̣̟͔͆͑⸮̷̰͇͖͇̀̾̌̃̚ɿ̵̬̬̅̃͝͝ɘ̷̬̙͈͋̍̑̄̂̇̕͘͜w̸͙̪͐̔̆ǫ̸̟͇̺̿Գ̵̧͖̣̭̮̫̣̔̑͛͑͐͐͋͝ ̵̪͎̟̮̀̐̌̈́̽̋,̶̢̡̪̺͔̦̳̿̀̾̀̔͂̓ɘ̷̢̡̖̰͍̘̲͓͑́̀͆υ Do you want power? ̷͓͉̇͋ɿ̶̨̩͍̍͗̉́́́͝Ṫ̷̢̢̛̰̳͓̲̯͔́͆̎̾̾͑͘͜͜ ̸͍̦̜̭̹̹͕̘̉̕,̵̨̧̞̬̺̞̃̎͌̒l̴̡̬̞̠͊̐̃͐̽̾̎͑̑ͅɒ̶̣̱̻̣̾ɘ̸̰͔͛̍̀̎͊͛̐Я

Yes No

.... Oh, Hell No.

'Last time he listened to you, I got stuck in a giant snake!'

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

With a mental command, Jonah hit "No" without hesitation. Much to his surprise, the box obliged and vanished.

The distraction is gone, Jonah turned his focus back to the "fight."

Frustratingly enough, it seemed the mist wasn't quite enough to overpower the spawn points. Their inner light was growing steadily, as they pushed back the fog. The Titanspawns as well seemed to be growing more resistant as each new "generation" was born. But he wasn't panicking yet. Jonah started to search around the area, planning his next move.

At that moment, more pinpoints of mana began gathering outside the boundaries of the mist, and quickly formed into new vortexes.

Ok, NOW he could panic.

As his heart started beating faster, a familiar window popped up.

̴̧̠̬͈͚̖̪̠̿͜ͅ⸮̶̻̥̣̺͕̀̈̉̋́̌̀̃̂͐ɘ̴̡̠̔̑ɔ̴̩͉͇͔̤͔̪͕̥̦̌̅̇̀̓͠i̵̬̲͋͒̌o̴̧̩̫͎̖͔̻͖͔̾̋̚ʜ̸̡̲̫͎̞̑͒ɔ̶̢͈̫̙̣̺̿́͌͑̊́ ̷̘̻͚̫͈̳̟̺͊̋͂̿ɒ̸̙̼̄̉̊̓̈́͊͘ ̶̫͓̺̈́̽͑͐̕͘͝͝ʇ̵̧̏͛̍̎̂̇͂́o̶̧̖̰̽̉̀̋͂̓̎̓͠͝ ̷̳̪̜̻̞̽̒͛̏ʜ̷͈̌̚ɔ̴̤̟̳̃́ὐ̷̢͔̹̠͍̠̯̮̳̎̌̊́̋̂̽͜ Do you want power?m̶̥̹̫͉͖̠̥͇͉̅͆ ̵̰̺̒͝͠ɘ̷̢̨̗̦̬̮̰̥̲́̄͛v̸̬̥̞͕͖̜̭̪̀̆͂͝ɒ̶̢͚̲̞̼̮̘̂̂͌̎̎͘ͅʜ̴̡̝̬̲̥̟͙̯̙̈̏ ̸̡̼͓͖̰͖͎̠̱̿͛υ̶̮̙̤͓̮̼̖̱̾͌̃͌̎̂̄̕͝o̸̗̠̰͉̪̍̽͐̀̆́γ̴̢͙̪̼͈͍͖̞̎̿̀̀̋̊͑͝ ̸̲̟̬̩̤͂Ⴇ

-> [Yes] <-

NO

...

Jonah glared at the screen in front of him, but this time didn't hit no.

He hesitated, eyes shifting between the box and the vortexes. It was true that [Breathless] was the only reason he was alive right now. But it was also true that it was the reason he was stuck here. He didn't know what whoever was behind these messages wanted from him, or what they were planning, but his gut said it wasn't anything good.

But did he have any other choice?

̴̨̩̮̬̳̲̽͊͜Ɉ̴̡̬̘̱̠̟̺̈́̾͗̕͝υ̷̳̤̎ö̵͍͔̱̮͈̪͙̙̻ ̵̧̝͚͍͎̱̬̭̠͂͒̈́̀̇ͅϱ̷̡̖̹̈́̆ṋ̵̡̧͈͔̞͙̣̿̌̊̒̾̚ī̸̢̝̮̖̌̆́͋̽͘͝͝ṇ̴͈͇̱̟͓͆̅͌̑n̵̛̮͗̐͌̏̀̓͗͊̚ ̶̲͓̞̫̚ Tick Tock υ̸̧͍̲͋̾̿͝͝ɿ̶̢̜͇̗͕̘̱̯̩̓̉̄̃̕͝͝ ̷̨͕͉̲͕̄̓̄̍͗̍̀̇̔̄ƨ̶̪̇i̶͖͔̗̻̣̝̱͌̀̈́̔ ̷̡͕̈́͌ɘ̸̡̨̳̖̩̟̦̤̼͂̽̎͜m̷͇̅́͛į̷̭̯̝̪̞̪͙̙̎̑̂͜T

'ARHHHUG!'

With a groan of frustration, Jonah slammed his fist into the "Yes" button.

And then everything Vanished.

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

The man sat at his desk, tapping on the high tech tablet in front of him. Dozens of holographic screens floated around him, showing various scenes of different people. Some were in combat, others crafting, some sleeping. In particular, one display took up a significant amount of space. It showed two people, a male, and female, walking through a heavily wooded area.

A knock sounded from the door, and the man sighed before waving the screens away.

[???]: "Come In!"

The door opened, and a tall man in a slim black suit walked through. The suit bowed, before handing the man behind the desk a thin brown folder.

"Mr. Chairman! 'Breath' has chosen its Host. Here's the report."

[Chairman]: "Really? So soon? It's only been 6 months since the start. What about the other Seeds?"

"Root and Tear have someone in their sight, but nothing has been finalized. Sinew and Thread haven't stirred yet. As for Echos.... We don't know. That one's always been... elusive."

The 'Chairman' raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, surprise evident in his voice.

[Chairman]: "Really? 3 of 6? What the hell is up with this baby planet?"

The man in the suit simply shrugged.

The Chairman looked at the file in front of him, going over the information in detail. After a moment, he leaned forward, put his head in his hands, and then asked in a low voice.

[Chairman]: "How many people know about this so far?"

"I..I don't know sir. The Vice-President sent me here right away. I don't know if anyone else on the board has been informed yet."

The Chairman nodded in silence and stood, moving around to the front of the desk.

[Chairman]: "Good, Good."

"S.. sir?"

The Chairman ignored the Aid and stood in front of the nearby bookcase and looked at a picture of an old friend.

In some unknown corner of the Universe, an unwashed hairy man sat in a cramped, dark apartment, surrounded by trash. In front of him, a laptop stood open, its screen projecting the scene playing out in a particular office. The shaggy-haired man was silent for a moment, before speaking into his microphone.

[???]: "Do it."

Back in the office, the Chairman's face became stern. He gave a short nod.

Without turning around, the Chairman withdrew a small metal rod from his pocket. He quickly flicked his wrist, and a sucking noise sounded from behind him.

When he turned around, the Aid had vanished, leaving only a few drops of blood on the ground to tell he was ever there.

With another flick of his wrist, the file on his desk burst into flames and quickly turned to ash. The ash then blew away, not leaving a speck.

He then walked over to his desk and pushed the intercom button.

[Chairman]: "Caroline, would you be a dear and tell the Vice-President that I'd like to speak with him in my office? Thank you kindly, dear."

Sitting back in his plush chair, the Chairmen leaned back and sighed, dragging his hands down his tired face. He spoke into the open air, not really addressing anyone in particular.

[Chairman]: "The First Link has been broken so soon. What are we going to do? We need more time..."