The world is dark and blurry; my head is filled with a dense fog, and I can hardly think. More than any of that, it hurts to breathe—my skin burns, and my insides burn as well. The meat of my chest and stomach feel molten, and the bones in that region hold the hate of the sun. If I could move, I'd curl up, and if I could scream, all creation would hear my cry. This awful state lasted for so very long, and I was in and out of consciousness throughout the ordeal. Every once in a while, a bright purple blur would pass me, and my pain would intensify. Then, after a while, darkness enveloped me completely.

I awoke in a cold sweat on the frigid ground. The pain from earlier has dulled massively. My eyes opened to see the decently well-lit ceiling of the cave; it was adorned with crystal stalactites glowing a diffused blue, illuminating a new chamber of the cave. I roll over and see a grove of giant purple glowing mushrooms surrounding me. A throb of pain in my lower torso drew a hiss from my mouth and pulled my eyes to my gut, where I should have been bisected by the jaws of a monster, is a healed, but reddish discolored body. I weakly reach my hand down to my stomach and gingerly poke and prod it; it hurts but I am alive! I lie here on the ground and wait, too unwell to do anything else, thinking thousands of thoughts yet none of them mean a thing.

The amount of time I spent laying there is unknown; however, my laying and waiting was interrupted by a large roar that sent me to my feet. Standing that quickly was a mistake, as soon as I was vertical, I began to vomit. It was not pretty.

While I was preoccupied, a large purple glow shone from behind me, and I froze in fear. A warm breath bathed my back in a mist, and a soft pant graced my ears. The monster behind me was large; I can tell from its presence alone that it was larger than the red beast from earlier. It was also quiet—if not for its roar, I would have never known it was coming. Death is behind me.

I regain control of my body long enough to spin myself around and fall on my ass; I can see the beast now. It's a large panther-like creature, the size of a greyhound bus. It was all black except for purple glowing markings akin to tattoos, and its very large yellow eyes. Its ears would be large on an elephant. It was squinting at me.

"So, eh, you're not going to eat me, are you?" It was a stupid quip, but I wanted to get some type of last words out as I prepared myself to die. I wasn't expecting any response, so I was fairly surprised when it blinked and rumbled with a laugh, more so at what it did next.

"No, no, I don't think so," it chuckled in a mothering tone? Never mind the tone it spoke! My eyes widen, and I just stare at it. A speaking animal isn't outside the expected lunacy of the real world, even less so for this, this facsimile of reality that I'm in. "Don't act so shocked. Why would I have gone through the trouble of saving you from the sutu of the Usumgala if I were to eat you?"

No, it didn't speak. The words coming from the feline aren't reverberating or echoing, unlike its breaths, chortles, purrs, or roars. Unlike the sound of the cave breeze or the sounds of water drops, or even the faint sounds that emanate from far-off caverns. The words are not in the world.

"So, eh. Why'd you save me?" I squeaked out as I looked into the absurdly large eyes of the giant cat.

"I'm fond of the children of Adapa. You call him Adam, yes?" It cocked its head to the side, blinking an expression in mime of a grin. "What brings you, child of Adapa, to these deep places? Your kind haven't ventured here for much time."

"I don't know how I got here. I was trying to look for an exit before that monster attacked me and..." I looked down and squeezed my hand into a tight fist, remembering what should have been my death.

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"Truly, child? You've gone so far when so weak and unprepared?" The monster sat back in surprise, contemplating my words until realization appeared in its eyes, which were like twin solar eclipses. "Ah! The other children of Adapa must have drawn the attention of the Usumgala with their loud noises. You were fortunate for their foolishness, child."

I've grown a little tired of being referred to as a child, so taking this slight pause, "My name's Jaune!" I bleated out.

The behemoth before me stared at me, blinked, and began to rumble and grin (I hope grinning) at my diminutive form. The fungus and crystals around us shook with the noise.

"Very well, Jaune of Ki, as you've told me your name, I'll tell you mine. I am Sura, daughter of Suranum," the beast smiled, its teeth a wall of swords. "Now you must rest more, and I'll get you sustenance. Before you rest, however, it would be best if you flee from your sick; the scent of it will attract the Eh-uh, filth eaters once I'm gone." With that, Sura stood and trotted away, her paws creating ripples in the stone that slowly died down... This place makes no sense.

I lay on my back for a few minutes, not feeling well enough to move despite Sura's warning. After a while, the cave began to smell like a mix of sickly sweet and rotting flesh; the putrid smell made me feel ill again, so I continued laying. Until the large thumping and chittering sound started.

Too unwell to run, walk, or even hobble, I rolled over onto my belly and started crawling away. I crawled more than I have ever crawled since I was one.

Eventually, I crawled into a little (thankfully empty) cavity surrounded by various tall mushrooms ranging from four feet in height to sevenish feet tall fungi. The area is bathed in a soothing turquoise, and the danger posed by these 'filth eaters' is gone. The adrenaline lowered, and I began to fall asleep.

I woke up when the ground shook, and the ceiling quaked; my eyes saw even the fungus shake with fear. A purple light enveloped my sight, and I heard a great thud next to me. Once my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, I saw Sura sitting proudly before a silhouette of a heap on the floor.

"Good, good. You fled the filth eaters with nary a scratch. I've brought you flesh; eat it and survive." The voice too soft for a monster spoke as I rolled over and sat up. I stuck my hand in a liquid leaking from the heap in front of me. I can't tell what color it is; its smell is permeating the air, it is blood. I gagged as I wiped it off onto the ground.

"Thank you for saving me and all, but... I'd prefer to go home and eat. So could you tell me how to get back to the surface?" I say hoping not to offend the giant death creature. Sura didn't take offense, but she looked confused as she stared at me.

"You can't return to your world, child Jaune. You are far too weak; if not for providence, you would have died long ago in the darkness of the caves," The cat-like creature explained, her head descending towards me, staring straight into my eyes. "Now eat, get stronger! Become like the child of Adapa that the great Suranum talked of." With that, she darted her head back to give me room to eat the... cadaver. I blanched at the thought of eating a raw corpse.

"Could we at least cook it?" I pleaded as I stared at the pungent and fresh flesh. Sura scoffed.

"I don't even know what 'cook' is. Now eat!" With that, I found my face being forced into the pile, covering my front with gore. The paw of the giant monster on my back gave me no chance of escaping aside from eating. It's a miracle I didn't choke or suffocate in the mountain of flesh, but I gagged and wretched. I've never been a fan of uncooked or even undercooked meat, but here I am, face stuffed into well over a hundred pounds of meat, being waterboarded with blood. After a while of nonstop eating, the pressure on my back vanished, and I pushed myself out of the squishy meat and saw Sura standing over me grinning.

"Good. Now, eat this!" She rolled a glowing violet ball out from behind the cadaver; it was the size of a softball. I picked it up and noticed it's very squishy.

"What is it?" I ask inquisitively, looking and poking at it.

"Strength, now eat!"

"I'm actually really fu-" Sura cut me off with a growl.

"Eat it!" She said very firmly. I, with haste, bit down on it like an apple and discovered the inside was liquid. It was acidic, spicy, and tasted not a small amount like my previous meal, but I drank the glowing innards hoping not to upset the massive murder monster In front of me anymore. As I finished the drink(?), great pain overcame my stomach, throat, and mouth. Radiating outwards across my body and throughout my veins. Once again, I pass out in pain.