The ground trembled with deep vibrations sending shivers down Charlie's spine, the power behind the calamitous movements of the creature could move even mountains of stone. The monster was getting closer by the second, turning the vibrations to a world-shaking rumble, and was only moments away from resurfacing.
Charlie had gotten as close to the wall of the canyon as possible, even resorting to climbing one of the lower ledges to get away from the shaky ground. It was no less dangerous though, as even the mere vibrations of this monsters approach brought boulders and debris from the cliff-like ledges tumbling down onto Charlie. The loose pebbles fell like rain, showering both Charlie and the floor in a hail of rock.
There wasn't a lot of time to think of a plan, and even less time to lament his rotten luck, but Charlie still managed to curse the world deep in his heart.
Why did the world try so hard to kill him? Was he not allowed to simply live? To exist?
Well fuck the world, then. Charlie will continue to survive anything that was thrown at him, he will continue to live and exist of his own free will, and nothing or no one could stop him.
Fuck, the world - I will survive, and I will have my revenge.
As Charlie cursed the world and turned his thoughts towards venomous vengeance, the titanic monster breached the stone surface with the grace of an explosion.
Rock spat out from every angle, before immediately turning to dangerous hail. The impenetrable stone turned to loose sand under the monsters vicious might and mystic magic - the world trembled and bowed to its master.
Even without actively focusing on sensing Mana, Charlie could feel it's tingling touch. The raw power that emanated from the monstrous creature was unreal, thick and heavy beyond reason. It was like the world itself had turned sentient, utilising the ambient Mana like it was it's own. What Magic could it usher into the world? What destruction could it wreak unto the land if it were to use its nigh-infinite Mana? Charlie could only shudder at the thought.
The hail of stone landed on the floor with hundreds of thunderous booms, drowning out all other sound and melding into one another - it was impossible to discern when one sound began and another ended.
The creatures titanic body erupted from somewhere deep underground, when dozens of sand-like tentacles split off from its body and shot off in search of the bloodied creature. Though to Charlie's surprise, the faceless creature was more blind than initially thought.
The tentacles shot out towards anything that made noise, and in the shower of stone, they were striking with supreme speed and frequency. It reminded Charlie of the Stone Flower, the creature that was blind and relied solely on its enchanting power to find prey. Yet, this creature seemed to possess some sort of unnatural sense at least, as it was able to track Charlie's bloody trail from somewhere deep underground. It's extraordinary sense was powerful, but there still remained a chance, though, for it to be truly blind and incapable of discerning shapes.
Charlie didn't allow himself to grow too hopeful, the creature could still find him even if he remained perfectly still. His blood still lined the cliff-like walls and eventually the creature would find him no matter where he went. Even if by some miracle Charlie evaded the creatures senses, it could simply tear the whole canyon apart and bury Charlie without ever having a moment to complain.
Though, there was still a chance that his stupid plan would work. It was beyond simple, really. The creature tracked him by following some marker in Charlie's blood, and no matter where Charlie went, the creature would follow until he was gobbled up or crushed into a fine serpent paste.
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What if the monster was fed something else, something that wasn't Charlie, but was covered in his blood?
There was a chance that it would work, but the blood leaking out of his body was still an issue. Yet, that was the simplest ordeal to deal with, if not a touch humiliating.
The monstrous manifestation of earth and Magic was becoming agitated, and unleashed its unholy scream unto the world. Charlie was too close to the source, and the volume was too much for any mortal being. It knocked into his mind with a terrible power and Charlie momentarily lost consciousness, but was quickly brought back by the debilitating pain shooting through his ears and neck.
His ear drums were ruptured - and the world had turned completely silent.
The silence was not what scared Charlie, but the fact that if his ears were ruptured, they would bleed. Yet after a few tense moments, there was no sign of the crimson water. Charlie felt relieved but quickly stamped it out and returned his attention back to the rampaging monster.
It was like watching a force of nature wreak havoc and usher destruction unto the world - yet strangely beautiful in the breadth of devastation it could cause. Stone rippled like water, trees were ripped out of the ground and thrown into the air like twigs taken by a gentle wind. It was strange to watch the world crumble around him, it felt like everything was happening in slow motion and he was frozen in time.
At the heart of all of this destruction, the sandstorm raged with a rabid, and uncontrollable, fury. The cliff walls still held, if just barely - thankfully the brunt of the rage was directed away from Charlie. If even one sandy tentacle shot off at Charlie, the cliff would certainly crumble.
It was time.
Charlie's underbelly had healed enough, or maybe it was simply too caked with sand, but the blood had long dried. It didn't matter how dry it was, as when Charlie shoved his tail into his mouth, it still tasted as vile as before. Using the withered and bony tail, Charlie forced himself to gag and throw up the stone creature that still lay in his stomach.
Charlie would lose his meal, but it might allow him to live long enough to find something lighter and more palatable.
His hope was that the somewhat digested corpse, covered in Charlie's blood, would fool the creature into thinking it had found Charlie - giving him enough time to escape upwards and onto the top of the cliff without the overbearing weight to slow him down.
It was stupid, and probably had too many holes to count, but Charlie didn't have any experience in dealing with the very forces of nature that was trying to end him.
The rocky creature still held its shape as it was ejected from Charlie's stomach, bile and all, clacking against the stone as it made it's way down the steep walls.
A sandy tentacle shot out from the monsters torso at blinding speed, snatching up the corpse into the main body. The rock-like creature simply evaporated the moment it touched the shifting sand. Suddenly, like a scene out of a wonderful dream, the creature stopped it's brutal rampage - it's hundreds of sandy appendages stilled mid-air, and it's whole body froze in place.
Hope blossomed into a beautiful flower inside of Charlie, and for a split second he believed that his plan had worked. No matter how low the odds were, Charlie had succeeded!
Suddenly the monstrous creature of sand and Magic shot out of the underground tunnel, exposing it's truly titanic body. Charlie had thought that it was already beyond large, but now he was reminded of how foolish it was to assume anything when Magic was involved.
A truly mind-bending amount of Magically sentient earth shot out of the underground tunnel, and formed into a twelve legged beast. It's lower body looked like the spindly-legged creature that assassinated his serpent brother back in the forest, but incomparably more terrifying and unnerving. The upper body broke down, reformed and molded into some sort of strange shape, faintly resembling the top of a tank - but instead of a single cannon placed atop it's thick body, there looked to be five, almost sentient-like, vicious claws attached to a torrent of bubbling and shifting sand.
By the time Charlie had recovered from his dazed stupor, the monstrous beast had climbed out of the canyon, and tore into the distant forest.
Charlie had forgotten that he had held his breath, and like a new born babe, took a greedy first breath. It was sharp and a little bit painful, but it sobered Charlie up.
His dreams of grandeur were squashed, for how could he compare to a creature built like a sentient mountain. Even if he were to reach the level of Magic that the humans used, he doubted that it would even scratch that titan.
At least for now, it seemed he would live another day - surviving by the skin of his fangs.