“Even in the darkest of days, there is light that still shines upon us. Look forward, for there is always a path to follow.” - Truths of Life, Erroneous Weaver

Ezekiel had spent the last few hours resting in his home. Evolving was unsurprisingly, very exhausting. Even after getting all the slime off him, he still felt dirty and unclean. It was nice to have limbs back, yet they still felt so unnatural. His body was still alien, and it would be something he would have to get used to over the course of the coming months. However, his inability to cope with his new form was the least of his worries. Once again, the curse of hunger had struck him, he knew it was time to feed.

Ezekiel had started to come into a bit of a routine: Eat, Sleep, Fight, Repeat. It was a cycle he was not fond of, but one he had to participate in; to survive. It was a tiresome cycle, one that very much reminded him of his old life, only now he was the hunter and others were the prey. But even still, there were those much stronger than him, creatures that could eviscerate him in mere seconds. It was a terrifying thought. He could hear the cawing of large birds in the distance, a quick sign that he should evacuate the skies and take to the ground. It was easier walking, now that he had feet and had no need to roll around like a little ball. It felt good having legs again, it was almost like he was human.

Unfortunately, Ezekiel was still a weird little imp. Finding a place to hide from the predatorial birds, Ezekiel picked at some small bugs he found lying around the ground.

[SYSTEM]

[Evolution Progress: 5%] {• ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ }

Well, at least he was getting something out of being this pathetic. After a while, Ezekiel could hear the birds flying away, and he was able to get back out onto the hunt. He flapped his wings, almost excitedly, as he flew off into the cavernous skies, searching for prey. It was a strange, and almost harrowing feeling, being excited to hunt. Ezekiel felt as though he was perhaps no more monstrous than when he was still human. Even so, Ezekiel was doing this out of necessity and survival, and nothing more.

As Ezekiel flew through the damp, dark caverns, he noticed another lone centipede, skittering its way around the caverns, searching for its own food to feed itself. Ezekiel found it kind of ironic, like he was a part of one big chain, a bigger creature being eaten by an even bigger creature, and so on. Ezekiel swooped down towards the Centipede, ready to strike, when all of a sudden--!

BOOM

A Giant crab-like monster slammed through one of the cavern walls, snatched up the centipede, and immediately ripped its head off! Stunned, Ezekiel quickly flew upwards, trying to get as far away from that thing as possible. Had Ezekiel been any closer, or even fighting the Centipede, he would have been a goner. Despite thinking he had been cautious, Ezekiel was clearly not as clever as he thought he had been. He had been thinking far too “in the box”, if he wanted to survive, he’d have to be more than just lucky- he’d have to be smart. Perhaps it was time to become a little more crafty with his new appendages.

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Flying down to a different area, one that was slightly more wooded, Ezekiel decided to get a bit more huntsman-y with his tactics. He wasn’t a hunter in his previously, nor had he ever been hunting, but he had seen on TV and social media certain animal traps. Perhaps he could use them to catch himself some prey, or at least trip them up? Carefully, Ezekiel clawed out a small pit, and hurriedly covered it with sticks and leaves. It was an exhausting process, especially for someone so small. Luckily, monsters had very high constitution in comparison to the average human, and he was able to make it in just one day. After finishing up the trap, Ezekiel watched idly from a crevice, waiting for his prey to drop into the hole.

Ezekiel waited… and waited… and waited… and after several hours and a growling tail`

THUMP

With a startled jump up, Ezekiel was awoken by a loud noise… it must be his trap! Waddling over to the trap, a large woodland creature was lying down, breathing heavily. It had thick, mangy fur, with a dark green coloration, as if meant to blend into the forest. Its fangs looked sharp, but in such a state, it seemed almost hopeless. Ezekiel began to feel a sinking feeling in his stomach- one of deep regret, but it was far too late for this creature. Ultimately, Ezekiel needed to eat, and it was only the natural way of things.

Gliding down towards the injured animal, he released his sharpened claws and began to sink them down into the creature’s thick flesh. It let out a large, agonizing screech. Ezekiel bent his knees down as the scream echoed through the large caverns. Ezekiel would have to act quickly if he wanted to live, that noise would certainly attract a lot of predators. Shredding the animal, Ezekiel eventually caused the creature to bleed out and die, however, time was running short. Sticking his tail into the creature, Ezekiel slowly began sucking the nutrients out of it’s body. Finally, after several minutes, he had absorbed the entire thing, it was time to go.

As he flew away, a stampede of different monsters rushed over to the hole in order to check out the commotion. Ezekiel, far above the ground, flew away knowing he was safe… for now.

[SYSTEM]

[Fauna Tiger has been killed!]

[Evolution Progress: 25%] {• • • • ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ }

[Sharp Claws] {Rank F -> Rank E}

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

Sitting down to rest once again, Ezekiel let out a long sigh. Although he was progressing and getting stronger, Ezekiel felt like nothing had changed since he had gotten to this world. Constantly running, killing to survive, never a home waiting for him. It was miserable. Perhaps, just maybe, if he evolved more, he could be strong enough to hold down a fort… but with the kind of monsters lurking deeper in the caverns, he found that doubtful.

Laying down, Ezekiel took one last look at his stat sheet- a reminder of his progress so far.

[System]

[Penance]

Time Left: 9,999 Years, 354 Days, 17 Hours, 12 Minutes, 45 seconds left

[Status]

Name: Eye

Race: Eye Imp (EYE DEMON)

Age: 10 Days

Skills: Tail Whip [Rank C], Night Vision [Rank C], Sharp Claws [Rank E]

Current Objective: Survive.

It wasn’t much, but when he compared it to where he was when he started this journey, it was quite an improvement. If he had a mouth, he would smile. With enough work, maybe Ezekiel could make it back to a human form and thrive instead of surviving by a thread. With those hopeful thoughts in mind, Ezekiel drifted off to sleep, coddled by the shear rock of the crack in the wall he nested in.