The first thing that entered was the sound.
A scream, no, a shriek, so raw and piercing it cut through the stone like a jagged blade. It came from just beyond the cave entrance, but its force hit the walls like thunder, sending cracks dancing along the surface. Pebbles rained from the ceiling as if the very rock trembled at her fury.
Then came the shape.
She slithered into view slowly at first, one massive wing-like limb unfolding as she hunched her way into the cramped space. The entrance, narrow for a human, gaped open for her with unnatural ease, as though the cave itself bent backward in fear.
The mother was here.
And she was horrifying.
Her skin, like the one before, was stretched thin and leathery over thick muscle and strange, jointed bones. It gleamed wetly in the dimness, a pale grey that shimmered almost silver where the faint light hit it. Veins pulsed visibly beneath the surface, spiderwebbing along her limbs and across her chest. Her face was angular and sharp, mouth yawning open in a vertical split that revealed rows of short, needle-like teeth. The glowing blue of her eyes cut through the shadows like beacons.
She looked like the vengeance of the world made flesh.
Subject 24238 staggered back, every nerve screaming at him to flee, to vanish, to somehow become a stone himself. But there was nowhere to run. Behind him was the baby, still wailing with blissful ignorance. In front of him was death.
His eyes darted around the cave. There had to be something, anything, he could use. A rock, a stick, a bone. Even a weapon half as useless as the femur would do. But the cave was barren. The floor was rough stone and dust. Nothing helpful. Nothing sharp.
He backed up until his heel struck something, hard, small.
A stone.
He looked down.
And then he saw more of them, scattered like loose crumbs across the ground. It wasn't a weapon, not really. But it was all he had.
With trembling fingers, he grabbed a handful, small stones, barely larger than his palm, and flung one at the monster.
It struck her shoulder and bounced off without even leaving a mark.
No reaction.
So he threw another.
This time it struck her snout.
She paused.
Then slowly, very slowly, her head turned toward him. Her lipless mouth stretched open, and her breath, hot and thick with the scent of blood and rot, rolled over him.
He hurled another stone.
It was an act of desperation, not bravery.
And that was the final insult.
She shrieked.
The sound was deafening, a wall of noise that hit him like a hammer and drove him back a step. Her wings snapped wide, brushing the ceiling of the cave and sending down a hail of dust and debris.
Then she charged.
There was no time to think. No time to move. She was already upon him.
He twisted, trying to dodge but her arm swept across his body like a tree trunk in a storm.
He didn't even see the claws until he felt them. Five massive talons dragged across his chest, ripping through fabric and flesh like paper. Hot blood sprayed the cave floor, and he went flying backward, slamming into the rocky wall with a sickening crunch.
The pain came slow.
Like his brain couldn't process it all at once. It started as a burn, then became a tear, then became everything.
His breathing was ragged. Wet. Something inside him gurgled when he tried to inhale. His hands went to his chest, and they came away slick and red.
He slumped against the wall.
Everything was quiet now. Even the baby had gone silent.
So this was it.
After all that running, after all the crawling and bleeding and hiding, he was going to die here. Not even a full hour after waking. Not even long enough to learn what this world was.
He sighed.
It wasn't a dramatic sigh. It wasn't loud or angry. Just soft. A sound of acceptance. His eyelids drooped, heavy with pain and something thicker, something final.
And then the darkness came.
It wasn't peaceful.
It was cold, and it crept into him like water seeping through cracks.
His thoughts slowed. His fingers stopped twitching.
Maybe this is better, he thought vaguely. Maybe it's over.
He let the blackness take him
And then,
He jerked upright.
His lungs filled with air like someone had poured water into an empty jar. His chest still ached, but it wasn't torn. His skin was whole. There was no blood on his hands. He was… fine.
He blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the world.
The cave was still there. Dim. Dusty. The baby monster, gone. So was the mother.
And then,
A sound.
Not a scream. Not a roar.
A voice.
Soft. Silken. Sweet.
Like a lullaby whispered through a cracked window.
It sang through the air, curling around him like mist.
|| Welcome to the Abyss System ||
The words echoed, not just in the cave, but inside him. As if spoken into the marrow of his bones. They vibrated through his skull, warm and strange.
His eyes widened.
"What…?" he croaked.
But there was no reply.
Only that soft, sing-song tone, repeating once more, just for him.
|| Welcome to the Abyss System ||