Tali slapped the head aside on reflex, there was enough mass and force behind the attack to send her stumbling back though.

“Tali!” Reema yelled. She pulled at the air, her form becoming solid as she braced herself against the ground.

Thousands of threads sprung from the shadows to wrap up the thrashing creature.

Twisting and turning the creature tied itself into knots as it fought against captivity. All the while an angry hissing filled the air.

“Hold it!” Sanik called out, his sword at the ready.

Tali moved back, her eyes locked on the creature. It was a snake. A very large snake. Perhaps three times her height. A diamond-shaped head with a short snout twisted around, snapping at the threads. Fangs like daggers flashed in the darkness and its pale yellow eyes were slits of fury.

“I can’t hold it!” Reema gasped, her hands trembling.

Sanik ran forward, his form a blur. Using the threads as a platform he jumped between them. It was an incredible feat of dexterity as he moved in time with the snake's wild motions. As he jumped to another thread the snake jerked its head back, pulling the string out from under Sanik’s feet. Grabbing ahold of it with one hand, Sanik used his momentum to swing himself forward. His rapier flashed out, the tip aimed at the serpent's eye.

Faster than Sanik thought possible the snake moved out of the way. The blade missed its eye by an inch. Then it lashed out.

Once more Reema saved them. Threads wrapped around the creature's snout, snapping its mouth closed. Instead of being bitten in half, Sanik was hit by the blunt nose and sent flying back. He hit the floor hard and rolled back to his feet before stumbling to the side with a grimace on his face.

Reema breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at the snake. She used [Identify] as the rest of the threads fell off it.

[Mutated Rhodan Viper - lvl 198]

—---

Edan was about to move to the next pillar when he heard something that made him freeze.

“Tali!” he heard his mother call.

For a wild second Edan thought he was going crazy. His longing to be with his family had finally driven him mad.

“Hold it!” Edan heard his father yell.

Then Edan was running. Not towards the stairs, but towards the voices. He didn’t think. His body just acted on instinct.

—--------

The Viper was covered in a patchwork of dark grey scales and red oozing flesh. It looked like bits of scale had been torn free leaving the skin infected and inflamed. The snake coiled around itself, its head arching over its body. The great jaws unhinged and its teeth slid out as it hissed. Saliva dripped from its chin and landed on the floor with a wet splash.

It smelt rotten and something moved in the saliva that had landed on the floor. Pale, fat, worms.

“What the fuck is that!” Sanik gasped, still holding his chest as he looked on with disgust.

“I do not know,” Tali admitted, “perhaps it came from one of the eggs?”

“Or the eggs were its breakfast.” Sanik tried standing up straight. The pain was fading. “I’m ready when you are. Babe, you got us?”

“We need to end this quickly,” Reema said, her voice tight with worry. “Edan is waiting.”

Tali held up her hands, a smile crossing her face as the familiar feeling of warmth spread through her. Her blood ignited within her, calling her to action. Begging for release.

With a roar she charged forward, her footsteps cracking the stone floor as she forced herself into a sprint. Two steps and she was before the snake. She crouched. The snake’s head snapped forward, its mouth open wide. Tali pushed up with so much force she rocketed through the air. Torquing at the waist she threw an uppercut that snapped the snake's mouth closed and forced its head back.

A thread of darkness wrapped around Tali’s waist and pulled her out of the air as the serpent tail sailed passed.

Sanik vanished and appeared next to its scaled body. The snake’s head came around, one eye locked on him. Sanik vanished again. He appeared standing on its body. The snake thrashed to throw him off and he vanished again. This time, he appeared in the air above its head and fell, his blade leading the way.

Stolen story; please report.

The viper slipped out of the way, avoiding the sword. It used its head like a bludgeon and slammed Sanik away. He spun in the air. A net of darkness formed before he could hit the ground, catching him.

Tali grabbed the snake's tail, her fingers digging through scale and flesh. Putrid blood poured out around her grip and she felt things wringle around her fingers. Ignoring it, Tali planted her feet and heaved.

The snake's aggressive hisses turned into surprise as it felt itself being pulled backward. It turned but threads of darkness fell over its eyes blinding it. Furious, the viper snapped at its tail.

Tali shifted her weight and used her opponent's own flesh as a shield. Fangs as long as her forearms sank into rotten flesh and the snake twisted wildly in pain throwing Tali off.

Rolling across the ground Tali whooped with joy. Bouncing back to her feet she charged back in. Jumping into the air she slammed back down on the center of the snake's body. It snapped at her and she punched its mouth in retaliation. Teeth tore the flesh along her arm but she sent one of its fangs flying off into the darkness.

Reema pulled Tali back before the snake could get another bite at her.

“I’m reaching my limit,” Reema warned. She was heaving for breath and sweat dripped from her chin. Her curly brown hair was damp with perspiration.

“And I can’t do enough damage,” Sanik growled, holding up his fencing sword for emphasis.

“This one is mine,” Tali laughed, the heat within her roaring to new heights. The markings along her neck twisted higher until they covered her chin and cheeks in dark designs. “Find my Bwaka.”

Not waiting to see if they listened Tali jumped back into the fray. She raised a hand, now covered in markings that had crept down the sleeve of her robe, and punched the snake's tail into the ground. She broke through scale and flesh, sinking her arm up to the wrist. The snake bit at her and she slapped its head down, bouncing it off the hard floor. The tail she had previously pinned whipped out and slammed into her ribs. She grabbed it, sliding back under the force.

Picking her up with it, the snake smashed her against a pillar. Stone cracked and the pillar broke. Tali laughed as dust covered her. The snake slammed her into the ground next and it cracked. Tali tried to get her feet under her but like a whip, the viper snapped its tail and sent her skidding along the floor.

A pillar helped slow her down. Using it as a springboard, Tali launched herself forward. The snake slithered forward to meet her, its mouth open wide. Somehow it had grown its fang back and both dripped with black venom.

Jumping into the air Tali aimed to slam its head down but the snake was quicker. It batted her into the air. With a thump Tali impacted the ceiling, cratering it, before falling back down amongst a cloud of dust and chipped stone.

She didn’t reach the ground. The snake twisted, its tail whistling through the air, and slammed into her. Like a ball hit by a bat, Tali went flying through the air. She hit one pillar, chipping it as she bounced off. Landing face down she shoved herself back to her feet.

The snake struck. Tali stepped to the side, its fangs passing close enough to touch. So she did. Tali grabbed a fang, the tooth slick with saliva. Jerking violently she tore it from the snake's jaw in a shower of blood, rotting flesh, and wriggling worms.

Using the fang as a dagger she drove it into the viper's neck. She punched the end of it, driving it deeper, even as the snake recoiled.

Tali followed it.

When she couldn’t reach its face, she pounded its body. Each of her blows breaking scales and tearing flesh. Whenever the snake would try to bite her she would try to pierce its eyes and get a hold of its head. If it hurt her she just laughed and hurt it worse.

The fang fell from its neck as the wound healed. A new fang grew from its jaw. Scales regrew and flesh knitted back together.

Tali just laughed. The fire within her had turned to a bonfire, her blood burning through her veins. Her markings covered every inch of her skin like dark armor, protecting her from damage even as it contained the heat within.

She missed a step in her wild dance. The jaws of the viper slipped beneath her punch. Its fangs closed around her waist, the tip breaking through her markings and pumping poison into her bloodstream.

Tali laughed as she felt the poison start to take effect.

[Genesis]

Time froze. Then resumed.

The snake found itself back where it had first struck at Tali, next to the equipment. The wounds on its body began to heal slowly.

Tali stood before the snake, in the exact same position she had been in previously. She looked fine. In fact, she looked exactly how she had when the snake had first struck at her.

“Let’s start the story again,” Tali said, the markings moving with increased speed up her throat until the dark swirls covered her cheeks and nose. They spread like ink around her eyes as she started laughing.

—-----------

It sounded like the whole damn dungeon was caving in to Edan. Above it all he could hear creepy laughter. Edan imagined came from whatever monster was doing all the damage. Fear for his parents kept him moving forward though.

They had come for him!

Whipping a manly tear from his eye Edan almost tripped and cursed his increased stats. Birthing his system had increased his stats by a lot! And he was still getting used to it. At any other time, he would have been thrilled, but all he wanted at the moment were his parents.

And then there they were, running out of the gloom. Sweaty, dirty, beaten up, exhausted, and so so very beautiful.

Edan opened his mouth to yell their names but all that came out was a croak, his eyes stung with unshed tears. Sanik vanished from beside Reema. He appeared next to Edan and slammed into him like a runaway bull, lifting his son off his feet. Edan returned the embrace as he buried his face in his father's chest.

Edan felt something tight wrap around them both and jerk them back. Reema pulled them both to her like fish on a line. As one, the two men shifted, making space, and she fit into place. Her arms went around them both as tears streaked down her cheeks.

The family huddled together in the dark. Behind them, the sounds of tearing flesh and breaking stone could be heart. Maniacal laughter echoed through the room. But the family remained unbothered.

They were together again.

Finally.