“Some theorize the dungeons may be the dead bodies of ancient gods, who now serve their eternal punishment as a breeding ground for monsters and other dark creatures, a torture worse than death. Although there is little proof for the theory, it’s widely believed by many evangelicals, and even the Holy Magistrate preaches it as truth.” - Origins of the Dungeons, Drully Molkson

  Having gotten some rest, Ezekiel was feeling much better now. It had been, according to the system, 5 days since he had started his penance. Twice now, he had taken the life of another creature, and now he felt the need to feed again. He knew well that this was not going to end any time soon, after all, it was merely a natural fact of life that someone like him had to eat. However, Ezekiel was very reluctant to continue his hunt, as his way of consuming his victims was… less than ideal. It was strange, slurping up dead carcasses through his tail, like he was drinking something from a straw. It made sense, in a way, as he had no mouth to feed with, and hell, he didn’t even know if he had a proper stomach. What he did know, however, was that he was hungry. Ezekiel was a small creature, his main body (the eye) likely being no larger than a basketball. This meant that, for the past 3 or so days, he had not eaten a single thing, but he knew this would not last forever. His hunger gained in strength as his body weakened, gnawing away at his self. There was only one thought in Ezekiel's mind: He must eat.

  Quickly, Ezekiel flapped his wings to escape the small crevice he had been calling home this short period, and soared into the open cavern. As usual, it was a loud and chaotic place on the ground, various screeches, screams, and howls could be heard, even all the way up in the relative safety of the sky that Ezekiel inhabited. Of course, Ezekiel knew the sky wasn’t entirely safe. That bird-like creature that attacked him a few days ago was certainly still a threat, even with Ezekiel’s slightly improved skills.

  Ezekiel slowly descended, scanning the area for any enemies to defeat. He had already killed a rat and a centipede, perhaps he could aim even higher this time? He thought about it, but shook the thought away. After all, he had already taken quite the beating from the centipede, if he were to try and fight anything stronger, his death was all but confirmed. He continued to fly for a bit, pondering his situation. He’d realized, whether it was bodily factors or mental repression, that he’d become much more logically thinking in these past few days. It was as if some form of intense clarity was blessed on to him. It was a little scary, being able to handle such intense situations so easily, but it helped him stay alive, so he had no room to complain.

  After a bit of flying, Ezekiel finally found his prey: Another centipede. This one, slightly larger than the last, had a similar wine colored chitin to the first centipede that Ezekiel had fought. Of course, Ezekiel was better prepared this time: he knew what the creature was weak against, and how to defeat it with his very limited skillset. He felt confident that he could take care of the centipede, even if it was a little larger than the last. If he wanted to defeat it, he’d have to crush it’s head. Ezekiel swooped down, ready to attack the centipede’s eyes, however, the centipede had seen him coming, and threw up it’s back end in retaliation, hitting Ezekiel out of the air and bouncing onto the ground!

  Covered in dirt and some slight scratches, Ezekiel quickly recovered from the attack, getting airborne once again. He hovered in front of the centipede, as the two monsters stared at each other with a fiery intensity. Before the centipede could react, Ezekiel sped through the air in order to get the attack through its ocular organs, deftly sliding his tail straight at the centipede’s eyeball, piercing it! The centipede screeched in pain, and began to wildly thrash around! It hit Ezekiel once again, and sent him flying into the wall! A terrible sense of deja vu washed over Ezekiel as he was spiked into the cavern wall, a small crater left as his cradle. He felt his wings becoming damaged, the frail bones starting to crack, and knew that the fight couldn’t be allowed to last much longer than it already had. Lucky for Ezekiel, the centipede was already blinded, now all he had to do was to take off its head.

  As quietly as possible, Ezekiel slowly rose from the crater, his shattered wings pounding with each movement. He had to put all of his power into this one attack! Wrapping his dexterous devil tail around the head of the centipede, Ezekiel squeezed with all the power that he could. Slowly, the carapace of the centipede could be heard cracking! Shards of its hard skin splintered off, and with all the force Ezekiel could muster, the carapace shattered, allowing for Ezekiel to easily go through the meat and bone of the centipede and cut its head right off! A loud crack echoed through the cavern as the creature’s head was lopped off, but it was quickly drowned out by the sounds of the many other duels to the death occurring. Though the cacophony of sounds was deafening, all that Ezekiel could hear was his victory.

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  Ezekiel lay on the ground for a moment, taking a (metaphorical) breath after a hard fought battle. Now it was time for the most… interesting part of Ezekiel’s meal. As much as he hated this, Ezekiel had slowly grown to ignore the rather disgusting act of eating by absorbing nutrients from your tail, though he still didn’t dare look while he ate. He slowly scooted up to the centipede’s carcass, and jabbed his tail into its meaty inner flesh. Slowly, nutrients were pumped from its body into Ezekiel’s, filling up his “stomach”. Although watching it was vile enough, the sounds that were made during this process could be described as nothing less than torturous. Strange squelching and sucking sounds faintly came from the tip of his tail, and it grossed him out almost as much as the act itself. However, once it was finally over, Ezekiel got a notification:

      [SYSTEM]

  [Lower Cavern Centipede] Has been slain.

  [Evolution Progress: MAX%] {• • • • • • • • • •}

  [Tail Whip] {Rank D} -> {Rank C}

   [Night Vision] {Rank E} -> {Rank D}

    [EYE] CAN NOW EVOLVE!

  WOULD YOU LIKE TO EVOLVE?

    [YES] [NO]

  Ezekiel stared at the screen for a moment. He knew this would happen eventually, so he was prepared for it, though a little nervous. What would it feel like, how would it affect him? Thousands of different questions rushed through his mind, yet he knew what he had to do.

  He focused on the [YES] Button, and selected as such.

      …And then it all faded to black.

  [EYE] IS EVOLVING:

    PLEASE SELECT YOUR EVOLUTION

      EYE IMP [EYE DEMON]

    Oculus Daemonium - An evolved form of the Eye Bat, it grows to have a pair of legs and small arm like appendages, and sharp claws on each of its limbs.

      SUPERIOR EYE BAT [EYE DEMON]

    Oculus Vespertilio Supra - Superior Eye Bats are larger, more fearsome versions of their predecessors. What especially sets them apart from their counterparts is their ability to use basic dark magic by channeling it through their wings.

  Ezekiel looked at his two options. While the prospect of having magic was extremely tempting to him, he felt as though he’d get more mileage out of having actual limbs, instead of just trying to flap his wings around 24/7. It was tiring getting dirt in his eyes all the time, too. After some consideration, he chose to evolve into an Eye Imp.

  Evolution is painful. Ezekiel felt himself grow larger, his few muscles growing and contorting, new limbs sprouting out of him magicall, forming from nubs to appendages to full arms and legs. It was agonizing, as if every bone in his body was breaking and reforming. After what felt like an eternity, Ezekiel opened his eye. Once again, he was in a familiar, slimy sack. With his new appendages, he burst open from the sac, covered in mucus. He was where he had chosen to evolve, right next to the rotting carcass. Ezekiel walked around for a moment, getting used to having legs again, and looked around. It seemed not much had changed since he went to evolve, thankfully, but he couldn’t help but feel as though there was still danger lurking around…

  Deciding to not take the risk, Ezekiel took flight, going back to his home base.