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I lowered myself slowly to a crouch, reaching out with one hand to feel the tacky blood with my fingertips. Cold. Fresh enough to say it hadn’t been gone long.
"But this cave was empty when I checked it... wasn't it?" I whispered to myself, a knot forming in my gut.
The quiet pressed in, the only sound a faint, echoing drip somewhere off in the distance. Was something else down here this whole time? My stomach tightened, but I forced myself to stay still, breathing in slowly. A few deep breaths steadied me as I glanced over the dark stains again.
The trails leading into one of the passages, were dark and eerily quiet.
For some reason as I looked towards the passage Exira, starting surging tingling like it's letting me know something.
“Damn it…” I muttered, standing back up slowly. I felt my pulse quicken, and every instinct told me to start backing up.
"Fuck."
Fortune favors the bold huh Lexi, Let’s go this card is tugging in that same direction have to go anyways.
With a torch and sword in my hands, I followed the blood trail a few feet deeper into the cave. Focusing on every detail as I moved deeper into the cave.
"Fuuu..." I exhaled, trying to steady my nerves.
Taking a breath as Exira flowed at a steady level, below Level 1, let’s call this Level 0 yea that's it.
It was light enough to keep active indefinitely, and I can raise the level to 1 pretty damn fast this way.
Only a minute had passed when the air shifted, thickening with a sickening smell that twisted my gut.
ugh
The stench of decay hit me like a wall, and I instinctively covered my mouth, grimacing as my stomach turned.
Seems like I’m close to some shithole of a dining area for these ugly mf monsters.
Yeah that reminds me.
Stopping to gather myself, I pulled out my mask and strapped it on. Immediately, the air changed. It was crisp, clean, almost like standing on a mountain cliff, where each breath came cool and sharp. I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, letting the fresh air chase away the lingering rot.
"Ahh, that's better," I sighed. "Man, I'm taking a nice long vacation after I get out of this shit-stained cave."
But then a sound drifted down the passage–soft, faint crunches, the wet rip of flesh and bone, undercut by snarls that echoed along the stone. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I stilled, gripping the torch tight for a moment.
"Sounds like a goddamn feast going on," I muttered. "Of course, this damn card has to point me through this mess."
I bit back a curse, willing myself to stay calm as I ramped Exira up to Level 1. The flow surged, steady and quiet as a shadow around me, sharpening my awareness to every creak and drip in the cave. Moving quickly, I flicked the torch off. Darkness swallowed everything, leaving only the faint hum of Exira as my guide, as I tucked it back in securely.
There is a high chance of undergoing a fight, haaa better stretch and warm up my body. Now that I remember I think I pulled my muscles and had severe cramps… it’s all thanks to the adrenaline rush and Aunt Nora Artifact that I can still fight.
I stopped in my tracks. My body felt tight and stiff, not from the tension of the moment, but from the weariness that crept in after hours and possibly days being in this cave. If a fight was coming–and I knew it was–my body needed to be ready.
No matter how strong Exira was, I couldn’t afford a sluggish move. I needed to loosen up. I bounced on the spot for a moment, just light on my feet, testing the rhythm of my own breath. It was shaky.
Too tense.
I started with some light punches. Nothing serious, just slow jabs into the empty air, focusing on form and getting the blood moving again. Each swing felt a little more controlled, the air hissing with each punch.
Come on, Alexis. Focus.
Torso rotations came next, rolling my shoulders, feeling the subtle strain as the muscles stretched. I turned slowly, one way, then the other. It wasn't much, but my heart was already thudding harder in my chest.
Even this is taking more out of me than it should. A quiet frustration settled in. I need to push through this.
I kicked out my legs, low front kicks that felt more like they were waking up my body than serving any combat purpose. It was functional though. My breath was already heavier, each exhale a reminder that even a simple warm-up wasn’t to be underestimated. It hit harder than I wanted to admit.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
My body wasn’t in top shape–not after everything–but I couldn’t afford to dwell on it now.
My legs turned with the motion as I added some turning kicks, loosening up my joints, focusing on the fluidity. My breathing was ragged by now, but it wasn’t the kind of exhaustion that would break me. It was a reminder, though, of how much strain my body had been through. I gritted my teeth, pushing through.
I could feel the weight of Exira, like it was simmering beneath my skin, waiting for my command. But I held back. This was just the warm-up. Nothing more.
Taking a deep breath as I took a few sips of water to stay hydratedI pulled my swords free from their makeshift sheathe, feeling the familiar weight settle in each hand. My heart pounded, sending that familiar rush of adrenaline through my veins as I tightened the straps on my bag
“Let’s see what I’m dealing with…and if possible just sneak through” I murmured, shifting my grip, mentally going over everything I might need.
Every part of me focused inwards, centering on the pulse of Exira flowing just beneath my skin. In the stillness, I sank deeper into the Exira, letting it expand just enough to reach around me, a quiet awareness that tickled at the edges of my senses.
The crunching sounds grew louder with each step, that horrible tearing noise mixing with the low snarls and heavy, wet chewing. I clenched my jaw, swallowing back the urge to gag as the memories of me getting eaten flashed.
Focus, Lexi. Forget the smell, the sounds. Just… tune in.
Slowly, I let Exira reach further, feeling for any shift or tremor, any signal in the air. It was faint, but there – several presences, just out of sight, their energy like weak sparks against the darkness. Not particularly strong, but alive and moving, huddled around something. More of those things? Or something worse?
Keep it quiet. Keep it controlled.
I stayed crouched, every muscle in my body tense as I edged forward. The passage opened up into a cavern, and as my gaze adjusted, my stomach clenched at what I saw.
Four of those smaller, lizard-like monsters were dragging mutilated bodies, tossing them onto a grotesque heap of their own dead kin. Piled one over another, the bodies formed a sickening mass, blood and gore dripping from the heap and pooling into a dark, viscous puddle beneath it. The stink was overpowering, worse than anything I’d faced yet in this cave—a rotting, metallic stench that turned my stomach.
The four creatures finished their task and then moved to the edge of the cavern, standing eerily still with their heads lowered. No snarls or shrieks, not even the raspy breathing I’d come to associate with these things.
Just... silence, as though they’d been switched off.
I fought the urge to gag, focusing on keeping my breath steady. Focus. I willed my Exira up to Level 1, fully engaging the power as I shut down the instinct to recoil. A cold surge from my earring swept through me, leaving my mind in perfect, emotionless clarity. No room for revulsion, no room for fear. Just observation.
Scanning the scene with Exira pulsing steadily, I picked up something else, something heavy and monstrous, pulsing with a presence that felt like a heartbeat in the air. I zeroed in on the source, and my instincts flared as I caught sight of it—towering above the pile of corpses was a hulking mass, a monster that made the others look like bugs by comparison. My blood ran cold as I took in its bloated, grotesque form. It was… enormous. Covered in a glistening dark green skin stretched taut over rolls of fat and twisted muscles, the creature loomed like some perverse idol in the center of this ghastly chamber.
What the hell…
Its massive hand pressed down on a fresh corpse, and with a sickening crack, the chest shattered like brittle wood. The thing leaned down, its wide, hideous maw snapping open to reveal row after row of jagged, yellowed teeth. It chomped into the corpse, sending splatters of some strange, glowing green liquid across the stone floor. The liquid sizzled upon contact, releasing a thin, hissing mist as it melted into the rock.
Acid. My skin crawled at the sight, a primal alarm sounding in my head as I watched. I stayed as still as stone, Exira wrapped tightly within, containing even the smallest movements. One wrong step, one sound, and I’d end up just like that corpse—chomped and melted.
Just then, a stray splash of the acid caught one of the smaller monsters. The liquid touched its leathery skin, and within seconds, the flesh bubbled and dissolved, peeling away in wet, gooey strips. The creature let out a high-pitched scream, twisting and writhing, but the others stayed motionless, as if locked in place. No attempts to flee, no reaction at all—just trembling with their faces pressed into the ground, like some twisted form of worship.
What are you?
The acid-spewing monster’s presence filled the cave, a pulsing wave of raw, oppressive hunger. There was no intelligence there, no spark of cunning or malice, just pure, unthinking appetite, radiating like an aura around it. The lesser monsters shook harder, pressing their heads to the floor as the behemoth’s massive hand swung out, faster than I’d have thought possible. In one fluid movement, it caught the wounded creature in its grip and brought it to its slavering maw.
No… The word resounded in my mind, almost on instinct, as I watched.
The massive monster’s hand curled around its smaller kin, and with brutal efficiency, it folded the creature in half, snapping its spine with a sickening crunch. Then, with a gruesome wet sound, it shoved the twisted form into its mouth, crunching down, bone and flesh alike turning to pulp in its jaws. The crunching reverberated through the cavern, filling the air like the sound of boulders grinding together, and each bite only increased the green acid dripping from its maw.
Watching the brutal, horrifying display, a bead of sweat trickled down my temple. The raw, guttural violence of it made something cold settle in the pit of my stomach. I’d faced monsters before, but this… this was different. This creature didn’t just kill; it obliterated, savored, took pleasure in the utter destruction it was inflicting.
Chills—that’s what this was.
That sharp, skin-crawling dread as every nerve in my body screamed to turn, to retreat, to get as far from this monstrosity as possible. My pulse quickened, and I made my mind to backtrack, just as quietly as I’d come.
Then… silence.
Breaking out of my thoughts, I focused back on the cave and felt my stomach drop. The creature’s face was twisted in an unspeakable grin, its eyes locked directly onto mine. Gore, blood, and acid still dripped from its mouth, trailing down its bloated jaw, as its dark eyes bore into me, empty but alive with a chilling malice.
I stayed frozen, my heart hammering as our gazes held, and in that instant, every dark instinct screamed the same thing
Fuck
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