Over half a day of walking later he gave up on the Fireball idea for now. The most he could do was to keep up the sparks for probably a minute, he tested it on himself and it did fry the flesh on his thigh pretty badly but nothing much beside that. The most damage it did was to his psyche as the smell made him even more hungry.
He did manage to create a beam of light from his finger, it did resemble a certain alien that liked to bike around but it mattered little to Luke, as long as he didn’t trip over cracked stones so often. It also helped him to focus on something other than the agony and weakness seeping from every pore in his body.
For the next few hours he started cycling his Energy through his body, trying to optimize how it revitalized him. He discovered how the energy seeped into his muscles, bones, filled them, making them stronger. It was now possible to strengthen the whole body equally or portion the energy into different limbs. No more than 2 though, the Focus required was too overwhelming and it ended in a backlash, his heart lost its rhythm, his blood vessels in his nose burst creating a cascade of blood. The migraine was so bad he would rather wear sandpaper underwear than to try it again.
That exercise helped to contain the Void outbreak in his body too. After some trial and error both powers entered a stalemate, and became trapped in an equilibrium of sorts. They resonated while consuming each other. Void consuming the Primordial, Primordial being renewed and revitalized with every consumption, allowing it for more growth.
That’s good and all if the battlefield wasn’t his internals and his mind. The two clashing forces ripped and clawed at his sanity, one twisting and shredding it into Nothing, other filling it to the brim with excess of life experiences: Anger, love, hate, the basic concepts of the world surrounding him like the essences of stone, water of filth around him. All that bombarded his drug addled mind like it was a French trench during a World War. Not something worth recommending.
Talking with the thing on his shoulder offered some respite in his struggles. Snarky as it may be, it was something, plus he started to like the thing. It didn’t hurt him, and was curious enough to ask questions that let him be distracted from how deep in shit he was. Metaphorically and literally.
Entering another tunnel he heard a growl like screech. His body reacting before his mind could catch up he dodged to the side, almost slipping on moss. Something passed him, something big, at least German Sheppard big. He got into a low wrestling stance. Focusing on the thing in front of him he quickly understood what he was seeing.
All color drained from his face, eyes wide in surprise.
It was a rat, a huge ass one at that.
Without a moment notice it jumped at him, its glistening gray brown fur blending with the floor. He responded with a short hook from his right hand, hitting it in the side of the body before the gaping teeth could clamp around his flesh.
The feeling was comparable to a double handed hammer hitting a tire during a CrossFit workout. The force carried by his fist was surprising even to Luke, with speed more then twice as fast as his best punches before and force easily magnitudes higher. And it was only a short sloppy hook!
The creature, sadly, was also aptly comparable to the truck tires used in training. Massive, tough, and it’s skin rebounding the hit easily. The fur was spiky enough to leave scratches on his skin. The teeth must be even worse, better to avoid them.
The Sewer Rat easily restarted it’s attack, trying to close the distance. Aiming for the torso or the legs. Luckily, the path they were on was few meters wide, must be one of the Main Arteries of the Canals.
Enough room to wiggle and dance.
After few exchanges it was obvious to Luke that things weren’t in his favor. The creature didn’t react to injuries, and while it’s straight forward lunges were easy to dodge, he could feel his Energy and stamina draining quickly.
The only attacks leaving visible effects were by his left hand, the knuckles left deep furrows, after two of such punches he changed from using a fist to a clawed hand. Damned be his fingers If he will die saving them from being broken. Surprisingly they held strong, leaving deep gashes in the skin and making the creature mad.
In one of the exchanges it managed to hold on to his hand, biting deep into it, thrashing around madly tearing flesh into stripes, scratching his legs and stomach with its claws, trying to topple him.
A thumb to the eye barely worked, didn’t manage to blind it completely but hurt it enough to let go.
Hissing and wobbling the animal created distance, giving both a second of rest.
Quick decisions had to be made, his left arm was bleeding badly and was numb. Almost useless.
He allowed the void to flow into his other hand, his eye yet again slashed his brain, the reality wobbled, stretching and constricting as his reservoir of Void expanded. Black furrows spread from his heart into his neck and other arm. Shuddering from the oily cold seeping into his mind he clenched his right fist.
The creature felt something change, with a desperate lunge it bolted into him. They both hit the ground and tussled. Luke tried to use his left arm to wrap around the thrashing animal, while focusing on flooding his right fist with Void Taint, slamming it mercilessly on the skull of the creature, like a blacksmith honing a blade he got rid of excess material.
An eyeball popped, the skin and fur died, shredded to pieces and detached with every slam of his knuckles. He could feel the skull cracking, breaking.
He lost his grip, the monster finally flipped from it back to its feet, pressing him into the ground. They wrestled desperately, one flooded with determination to live, other with animalistic rage and intent to kill.
Whatever was left of his shirt was a long memory by now, bare chest was cut up by the Rat, like a cat raking its claws across his chest, it became covered with deep furrows filling with blood.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
In a fit of desperation he grabbed it’s head, trying not to let it bite his face off. Struggling, he know he has no more time left, he is doomed. He didn’t want to survive, he just wanted to kill it.
“DIE! DIE! DIE! DISRUPT! SHATTER!” Something within heard his call, the Void rumbled withing him, heeding his commands. His hands wrapped around the head and the neck of the creature burst with and hollow pop sound, the space in between them became shattered. Reality disrupted for less than a second but it was enough. When the world settled back in the brain matter exploded, ripping the cut up skull from inside like a frag grenade, piercing a part of the bone into Luke’s cheek. Shadowy particles rolled of his hands when he pushed the corpse off himself. It’s leaking blood mixing with his own, seeping from his chest.
Barely breathing he just lay there, he could see the little fella. It was jumping all over his face, screaming something to him. He was so distanced from the reality of his body he couldn’t understand a word. Trapped in his own mind he felt drowned in the coldness of the void flooding his inner self. The only thing keeping him self aware and not drifting off into nothingness was his heart, thumping madly, almost a scalding source of fire amongst the ice cold waters.
He knew he still could go on, he really didn’t want to, but to die knowing you could have done more is just as bad as not living your life as you wish.
“No regrets, nor in life, nor in death.”
Slowly, his body returned to him, flooding him with pain. Pain was good, pain means you are alive. He closed the tap. Limiting the spread of corruption within his flesh. He then focused on his heart, trying to push it into overdrive, letting the energy flood him, push the Void back into the black traces.
It took some minutes before he could even say a word, the little fella visibly distraught.
“LUKE! LUKE! Say something! Are you still there! Come on you brute!”
“cough, cough…oooh…you do care.” He tried to smile through the pain giving his answer. The look on his face resembled more an infant in the middle of feeling his diaper but it did it got the message through. He was alive.
It took over 3 hours to get him back on his feet, the shadowy sprite even helped him to snort a bit more. Of course, criticizing him for it but oh well, nothing comes for free.
Not sparing even a look at the carcass he wandered off further into the tunnels. The wounds on him already scabbing and scarring. The blood loss, the exhaustion and all of the other things were weighing on him like a mountain of madness.
*Just a bit more, come on.*
They spent a whole day wandering downstream. Only one more interruption met them, some small bat like creature with four ears sharing the role of wings flew down from the ceiling and tried to pierce him with a long rat like tail, with a barbed tip at the end.
He swayed sideways and pierced through it easily with a haymaker. It immediately flopped lifelessly with his hand going through it.
He shook his hand, the bat sliding off it, landing besides his feet. Looking at it he noticed the creature had big hairy buttocks under the tail.
Trying to change his train of thought he looked at his hand, now covered in black traces, insides, much, pieces of bone…
“I really need a shower.”
“You really do.”
They trailed off, going from light globe to light globe, entering bigger and bigger tunnels, hours passed, the fever became too much to handle. Finally, no more steam was left in the engine, he slowed so much every step took tens of seconds. Heaving with exhaustion and supporting him-self on the wall, he reached a crossroad where 3 huge tunnels met and leveled, creating one rushing river, tens of meters wide leading just around the corner. Just as he had enough, he looked where it led.
He was at a loss of words. He could see in the distance, tens of meters in front of him a huge opening, filled with blinding light. He couldn’t believe it. Honestly, he really thought he was already dead, but that thought was now so constant in his head it became a main point of most of his ideas.
He dropped down, knowing he is so close to possible exit he knew he needed to rest, gather some energy. Damned be any mutants roaming this place, he was so exhausted sitting or standing wouldn’t make a difference. At most for the creature eating him, a culinary preference.
“Buddy, I need to rest. Can you go and check out what’s out there? I really can’t go on now. Let me sleep, if anything closes in try to wake me up, if I don’t-run. Leave me be.”
“…sure, I’ll go.”
The thing turned to wisps of darkness, disappearing in a blink of an eye.
*Huh, so that’s where he went during that Rat tussle.”
After some minutes went by it reappeared in front of him. It didn’t look that happy.
“So?”
“Good news or bad news?”
“Good and good news?”
“Sorry…”
“Fuuuck…good news first then.”
“There is a huge staircase leading upwards, and the light does seem to come from the sky, it’s too far for me to fly. Over 80 meters I think. But it seems it’s a possible exit.”
“That’s great! Jesus, finally, I would snort some more in happiness but I rather rest for now.”
“Snort a line, maybe even ten, you are going to needed, they might be your last.”
“Ahhh…the bad news, what’s up.”
“There is a huge, stitched monster standing guard in front of the metal doors leading to the stairs. It seems to be dead, some sort of Franken Chimera Golem, seeping through the sewage and looking for any artifacts or magical Knick knacks that get cough on a grate before the waterfall takes them.”
“I will now pretend I didn’t hear that and sleep for a bit, Future Me is going to take care of it. At least there is a way to leave this place.”
“Sleep and rest, I’ll keep watch. Gather your strength, that thing is fucking huge, you are going to need it.”
“Night Night, little buddy.”
“Night Night, Luke…”
He dozed off withing seconds, the tension leaving his body, leaving him defenseless and watched over by a fist sized amalgamation of black. Worriedly watching over him and into the light.