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I stood, circling the corpse with the dim moss ball in hand, its greenish glow casting eerie shadows along the cave walls. The monster’s frame leaned more toward humanoid, with broad shoulders and a muscled build, though its proportions were far from human.

Judging by the structure of its limbs, especially the joints and muscles, this thing was clearly bipedal. It probably moved with a hunched posture, balancing its weight between those ridiculously long arms and its short, bulky legs.

I couldn’t help but chuckle under my breath.

"Never skipped leg day, huh?" I muttered, the dark humor easing the tension in my chest for just a second.

I noticed the legs were disproportionately shorter compared to its oversized torso. The bulk of its mass seemed to rest in its upper body, likely built for raw strength rather than speed.

Its movements must’ve been slow and deliberate, heavy steps crushing the ground beneath it. The more I looked, the more I realized how deceptively strong this creature had to be.

With a sigh, I clambered on top of the beast’s chest, putting my full weight onto it. I half-expected the ribcage to creak or shift under the pressure, but it didn’t budge. Its skeletal structure was clearly reinforced, maybe with something stronger than just bone. I tapped my knuckles against its chest; the sound was solid, like hitting thick wood or stone.

"This thing's built like a damn fortress," I mused.

Shaking my head, I took one of the bone blades and plunged it into the sternum, cutting a long, jagged line straight down to its belly. The blade slid through the leathery hide with a sickening ease. As soon as the incision was complete, a wave of putrid stench hit me like a wall.

"Ugh, hell," I grimaced, pulling my tattered shirt up over my nose in a weak attempt to block out the foul odor. It barely helped.

I tore the cut wider, using the bone blade to slice through the tough skin and muscle, widening the cavity as much as I could. The smell of rotting flesh, blood, and bile mixed together, filling the air with a nauseating thickness. Forcing myself to push through, I leaned in, holding the moss ball close to inspect the inside.

The rib cage was massive, larger than a human’s by far, and it curved sharply at unnatural angles. Each rib was thick and reinforced the chest cavity. No wonder it was so damn sturdy.

I could see where the heart should’ve been, nestled deep between layers of muscle. It was positioned lower in the chest, closer to the diaphragm, and far more protected than a human’s heart.

It wasn’t a traditional heart either; instead, it was more reptilian in design - an elongated organ, almost like two hearts fused together. The muscle tissue around it was dense, probably pumping blood through this massive thing’s body with immense force, another clear indication of mutation in this monster, hope it's just this fucker.

"This thing's a tank," I thought, grimacing again as I tried to get a better look at its insides. The lungs were massive too, filling up most of the chest cavity, with darkened, leathery tissue that suggested the creature was built for endurance, for long hunts.

Stretching my neck and shoulders, I cracked my stiff joints, forcing myself to focus.

The stink still clung to the air, thick and suffocating. I leaned back, wiping the sweat from my forehead, my mind racing with the possibilities. Studying this thing wasn’t just a morbid curiosity, it was survival. I needed to understand what I was up against and worst of all is the next part I need to check what this ugly fuck eats.

“Not gonna be fun”

I muttered under my breath, my voice muffled beneath the shirt I had stretched over my nose again. The nauseating stench still hung thick in the air, threatening to choke me with every breath.

With a resigned sigh, I leaned back into the opening of the monster’s chest, hunting for the stomach. My hands moved carefully, avoiding the jagged bone edges and slimy organs, tracing my fingers along the interior until I found it. The stomach was a bloated, disgusting sack, heavy with half-digested contents.

Before I went any further, I paused, straightening up. I needed both hands for this, and I wasn’t about to ruin what little protection I had left.

With a grunt, I tugged off the outer shirt I’d been wearing. It was already in tatters, soaked through with blood and grime, barely more than rags at this point. Carefully, I tore it into strips, wrapping them around my wrists and hands like makeshift bandages. It wouldn’t do much, but at least it gave me a thin barrier between the creature’s filth and my skin.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself, then plunged my hands back into the cavity, gripping the swollen stomach. It was about the size of my head, slimy and bloated. With a quick, decisive slice from the bone blade, I cut it free, pulling the grotesque organ out of the body with a wet, squelching sound.

Ughh…Disgusting.

Setting it down carefully on the cave floor, I grabbed the bone blade again and, with one fluid motion, sliced the stomach open. A vile, putrid odor immediately hit me, worse than anything I’d smelled before. Even with the rag over my face, I gagged, my stomach threatening to turn.

The contents of the stomach spilled out in a half-digested mess. Chunks of flesh, bones, and indistinguishable remains oozed from the opening, mixing with the dark, acrid fluid inside. I squatted down, my moss ball casting a faint greenish light over the heap of gore, trying to make sense of what this thing had been eating.

Fish bones, for sure, several long, needle-like spines poked through the mess, along with bits of scales and fins.

"At least I might have something to eat... all I need is confirmation of a water source."

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But there was something else. Something that made my blood run cold.

Among the mess of flesh and bones, an eyeball rolled out, perfectly intact. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at it. It was too large to be from any ordinary prey, its surface covered in a thin layer of mucus. But it wasn’t the size that unsettled me, it was the shape.

A slit pupil. The same shape as the monster's own.

I after some hesitation picked it up, holding it closer to the moss ball to get a better look. The eyeball was too familiar. The same reptilian iris, the same dull, sickly yellow. This thing, this monster was eating its own kind.

"Cannibalism... they eat their own”

“Fuck!... Probably those that can't fend for themselves. And worst of all, there are more of these ugly bastards. I'll have to prepare before facing any."

My stomach churned as the realization set in. This wasn’t just some mindless predator hunting for food. It was feeding on its own species. The half-digested eyeball confirmed it.

I set the eye aside, trying to ignore the bile rising in my throat, and continued examining the other remains. The more I looked, the clearer it became, there was nothing else in here. No signs of other animals, no plants, or anything resembling typical prey. Just remnants of fish and pieces of what could only be other creatures like itself.

I wiped my hands on the remains of my shirt, trying to shake off the lingering disgust. The idea of a species that fed on its own, devouring their own kind, unsettled me more than I wanted to admit. What kind of environment or world would drive a creature to do that?

My mind raced with questions, but I pushed them aside for now. Now all that remains is to butcher the corpse for anything that may be useful to me.

I sighed, surveying the heap of flesh and bone before me. Kicking the monster I thought it is better to be prepared than be a corpse.

I forced myself to step closer, circling the corpse slowly with the dim green light from the moss ball casting eerie shadows across its form.

First things first: the meat.

I eyed the flesh, mottled and discolored with what looked like rot creeping along its torso and limbs. The smell of decay was overwhelming, thick, and almost tangible. The idea of eating it was quickly dismissed.

“Yeah, no way I’m risking that,”

I was almost amused at the thought of trying to cook this revolting creature. “Good to know there might be fish somewhere around here, though.”

The remnants of fish in its stomach were a small, hopeful sign. Maybe this cave system had some kind of water source. I made a mental note to search for it later. Water and fish.

I continued inspecting the creature. Its skin, while burned and rotted in several places, still had patches of tough, leathery hide. Running my fingers over one of the unburned parts, I knocked it with my knuckles again, like I had before. The skin was hard, like natural armor, but there were some sections that seemed intact enough to harvest.

“Leather…” I muttered, considering my options. “Could definitely get some from the chest, back, arms, and legs. It won’t be full-size pieces, but enough for smaller things. Grips, bandages, maybe a patch job for whatever clothes I can find.”

I pulled out the bone blade I had harvested earlier, testing its edge again by lightly running it over my palm as sharp as ever. This would be my tool. I pressed the blade against one of the less decayed sections of the creature’s chest, and with a few firm slices, managed to cut away several strips of the leathery hide.

The pieces were irregular, but they'd serve a purpose. I worked steadily, moving to the arms and legs, harvesting whatever I could. The skin was thick, but beneath that, the flesh was softer, and I grimaced as each slice of the blade sent small waves of that rancid stench into the air.

Once I had enough, I set the strips aside and turned my attention to the creature’s limbs, specifically its claws. At first glance, I’d assumed they were just oversized, jagged nails, but now that I was looking closer, I realized they were more like bones extending out of the fingers – long, sharp, and deadly. They varied in size, but even the smaller ones were pretty sharp.

“These things aren’t made for fine work with their hands,” I thought. “More like weapons than tools.”

The claws could prove useful. The larger ones could easily be fashioned into knives, and the smaller ones into needles, awls, or even throwing weapons. Kunai, perhaps. I chuckled softly at the thought.

"I'll take them all," I decided.

I began methodically cutting each claw from the creature’s bony fingers, laying them aside one by one. Some of them broke off easily, but others required a bit more effort to dislodge. I kept going, working through the tedium with the determination of someone who knew that every second mattered. The bigger claws, I decided, would make good knives once I had the means to sharpen them, and the smaller ones well, I’d figure that out later.

When the last of the claws had been harvested, I stood up, stretching my aching back. The process had taken longer than I expected, but it was worth it. I now had a small arsenal of potential tools and weapons at my disposal, and I hadn’t even gotten to the bones yet.

I surveyed the creature’s limbs, my eyes lingering on the thick femur and humerus bones. They were large, hollow in some places, and surprisingly sturdy. With a little work, they could serve as simple containers, or even as supports for other makeshift tools.

“Hollow bones… should be good for holding things. Maybe even storing water if I seal them right.”

My mind was already working through the logistics as I set to work extracting the bones. The femur came free with a series of gruesome cracks as I cut through the tendons and muscle. I pulled it out and hefted it in my hands. It was light but strong. After repeating the process with the humerus, I laid the bones beside the rest of my harvested materials, already considering how to put them to use.

The next thought was less pleasant but necessary. I grimaced at the idea of grinding the bones down for powder, but I knew it was an option. Bone powder could be useful for a number of things: calcium supplements, fire starters, eand ven as a rudimentary abrasive if I needed to sharpen something.

“Fire,” I muttered, rubbing my chin. “I could definitely use some bone powder for that.”

As for the bone marrow itself, I wasn’t going to risk it. There was no telling what kind of mutations or toxins this monster might carry. But fat, fat could be useful for starting fires, and it might be safe enough if I was careful. I knelt down beside the corpse again, beginning the slow, methodical process of extracting whatever I could.

I worked in silence, occasionally glancing at the mess around me. The blood and organs were of no use to me, and I had no desire to test their properties. The less I dealt with the creature’s insides, the better. Still, as disgusting as the process was, I’m learning something important, something vital about these monsters.

Finally, when I was done, I stood up and surveyed the pile of harvested materials. Leather, claws, bones, and a few other bits and pieces that might prove useful down the line. It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d had before.

“This’ll do,” I said softly, my voice the only sound in the cavernous space. I felt a strange sense of satisfaction, despite the grotesque nature of the task I’d just completed. It was as though every step I took, every part I harvested, brought me a little closer to surviving. A little closer to answers.

I took a deep breath, the foul air burning my lungs, and let it out slowly. My mind wandered to my family—Mom, Aunt Nora, Ari. I would find them. I would get stronger. But right now I need to set inventory right and make the blades usable in a fight.

The better prepared I am, the faster I will be able to get out and reach back to my family.

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