The wind rushed past Charlie as he tore through the forests underbrush, searching diligently for creatures either high above or hidden away in the shadows. The longer he spent on his search, the worse his stomach felt. It was a familiar feeling, starvation, having felt it many times growing up as a human, but it felt out of place. Right now he felt like he hadn't eaten in days, and on the verge of death. Charlie wasn't certain whether he actually would, or if it was his stomach simply throwing a tantrum - still, Charlie was unwilling to take his chances.
The thick foliage that reigned supreme over the forests floor was like a double edged sword. It both provided shelter from the elements, and obscured the vision of predators. Right now, he was the predator and it was proving to be a hindrance. Thankfully, Charlie was better equipped, and didn't have to rely solely on sight - his enhanced sense of smell proved invaluable in this environment.
It took Charlie a bit to get re-acquainted with the overwhelming barrage of varying scents. The scents muddied one another and formed into almost indistinguishable combinations - but with perseverance, Charlie succeeded in eventually sorting through each new scent. The ordeal almost made him wish for the near-sterile environment in the den of worms. At least down there Charlie only had to ever think about a couple of scents, and not the hundreds that made up the forest.
Charlie, fueled solely by hunger, cleared a large distance since his arrival in the forests floor and eventually picked up the hints of another living being.
Charlie's stomach growled in anticipation, and as if almost enchanted by the scent, Charlie rushed towards the source of the tantalising musky scent. The thick leaves and flexible branches thwacked off of his face, but Charlie paid no heed to the minor discomfort and zeroed-in on his target.
A long, furry little creature scurried on the moonlit forest floor, perusing through the fallen leaves and collecting the nuts it found, stuffing its face where it held them in its puffed out cheeks. It had a bushy tail and a stripe going down the middle of its back, with small claw-like extremities on its paws. Though it was still bright with the moon out, there wasn't enough light to gauge it's colours.
It was a strange little creature, one that Charlie had never come across, and a little small for a full meal, but it would have to do.
Charlie made sure to get a bit closer before slowing down, slithering towards the unaware creature in utter silence. Stalking prey had become like second nature for Charlie, rarely having to put in conscious effort to remain silent and highly aware of his environment. Yet now, after everything he had went through in the den of worms, Charlie had reached a new level.
It was like he was suddenly completely aware of his surroundings, and his body moved on its own effortlessly. There was an almost imperceptible connection between Charlie and the environment. When it dawned on him - it felt just like the connection with the unnatural shadows in the cave!
Pushing the curious connection to the back of his mind, vowing to come back to the discovery later, Charlie inched closer towards his prey.
Once within Charlie's striking range, [Hollow Fang] sang out with terrible speed, reaching, and ending, it's target before it had a moment to react. The venom didn't even have a chance to work it's way through the system, Charlie's fangs pierced the little creatures heart and ended it one swift strike.
Unable to hold back any longer, Charlie used his fang-like teeth to quickly shove the body into his throat, and swallowed - attempting to satiate the monstrous appetite of his stomach.
The feeling of having something in his stomach eased a lot of the built up pain, but it was not nearly enough to appease the unreasonable stomachs demands. Charlie wished, above all else, that his stomach would take his situation into consideration, and not impede his efforts at self preservation.
Unsatisfied, Charlie continued his hunt for suitable prey for another hour in an attempt to fill himself a bit more, but was not completely successful. He did find another two furry, tree-dwellings creatures, much like the initial nut-lover he had come across. Small as they were, with a few of them in his void-like stomach, Charlie still was able to stave the majority of his hunger away.
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Thick clouds slowly rolled their way across the sky, blotting out the moonlight and plunged the forest into utter darkness. Charlie felt that was his signal to also call it a night - exhaustion had accumulated to his very core, and all he could think about was finding a place to sleep.
In thinking about sleep, Charlie couldn't help a tinge of excitement spring up. He couldn't help but imagine the strange realm in his soul, and what impossibilities he would be witnessing tonight.
Now that Charlie was back on the soft ground of the surface, he had to spend a bit more effort in continuously keeping a part of his mind processing the myriad of scents. The creatures up here were far weaker than those of the cave, but he wouldn't have survived this long if he underestimated his opponents. Even up here, there was enough danger that a simple mistake would cost him everything he had worked for up until now.
Scouring the pitch black forest floor, Charlie had found a tree with low branches - it almost felt nostalgic to once again climb up a tree and hide within it's thick foliage. It reminded him of the perilous journey he underwent to uncover the source of the mysterious pull.
It was always there, tugging away at his being, but after leaving the cave, it felt almost nonexistent in comparison.
With thoughts of nostalgia, Charlie spent some time idly going over everything he had overcome to arrive to this spot before falling asleep.
Surviving his first night, figuring out how his body worked, learning about [Hollow Fang], the System and it's many mysteries still rattled around his head. The cave, the human warriors and even his encounters with the Razor claws - he had survived it all.
The den of worms, that, was both his simplest victory, yet one of the most perilous journeys he had undertaken so far. One wrong move would have killed him in ways that he was too ignorant to understand.
But, now, Charlie had gained something. Something important, something that would help him understand. Nirina told him so, and he knew it to be true. The chaos that ensued after her death, after [Devour] was unleashed, was unlike anything he had experienced before and his survival was still a complete mystery to Charlie.
It was time to delve back into that strange realm between dreams and his soul. It was time to see what wonders the System would show him.
Under the cover of thick leaves and the gentle sway of the windswept branches, Charlie found it easy to drift off into the lulling embrace of sleep - the stresses of the last few days melted away into the cool breeze of the night.
Holding on to his mind, as he drifted off to sleep, remained an ever-present challenge. Charlie hopes that, at this point, he would have gotten the hang of it, but it was clear that he was not at that stage yet.
Even still, Charlie found himself in the space between the realm of dreams and his soul through sheer will. Without wasting time, and calling upon the infinitely small sliver of darkness, Charlie summoned the Lightless Door. He hesitated before stepping through its devouring blackness, pausing for only a brief moment.
It reminded him too much of the utter darkness he had just escaped, the way even the cover of night seemed bright in its presence, how light itself could not escape it's grasp.
Swallowing his thoughts, Charlie crossed the boundary that separated world of limbo and his soul.
A world of infinite storm and ash stretched in all directions, marred by the radiance of his soul - calming even the turbulent skies under it's aura.
In the boiling sky, Charlie locked eyes with the shadowy serpent for a moment, before bringing his gaze to the mystical text.
The whispers of the System felt like a sensual touch, the prickly feeling of excitement and allure built up with every morsel of understand that made it's way into his mind.
Charlie couldn't help but smile.
Level: 4 / 67.5%
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 4
Vitality: 5
Eso: 4
{Evolution}
[A limitless journey awaits, but you are naked and bare, still seeking purpose.]
{The Challenge}
[Cursed and blessed at the same time, your journey is one of Hunger. Your power is to Devour that which is precious, steal the sacred and become more than your Creator.]
{Powers}
[Devour:
Level: 1 / 97%
A wretched power, manifested from bottomless hunger.]
[Worm of Envy:
Level: 0 / 0%
Curiosity, wonder, desire, Envy.]
{Epitaphs}
[No Strings On Me]
[Hollow Fang:
Level: 2 / 2%
The venomous bite of this Serpent is deadlier than it looks.]
[Desecrated Thief]
[An Unknown power manifested in secrecy, hidden away from the eyes of envy and jealousy.]
[The Sklite were the first to know of such a loss, forever marking the Thief as their mortal enemy.]
[Nirina, The Worm of Envy, birthed of an unholy union between Sorcery and the Arcane, suffered at the hands of her creators for millennia. In the depths of True Darkness, the Thief ended her torment.]