Woken up with irrational pain, Hadrian's eyes shot open.
His eyes went to his torso, where the beak of a massive sea bird pierced his gut.
Shadows moved over him, and he realized other such birds were circling above them.
Channeling essence, his right hand rose, intending to manifest earth to trap the bird, instead, it got rubbed out of existence.
Hadrian's brow furrowed for a moment, then looking at his hand and seeing the metal box, he understood what had happened.
Channeling essence once more, the bird reappeared and he trapped it in the earth, converting it into his vessel.
It was a regular creature.
Next, he substituted rodent Hadrian to heal his mutilated gut, and let go of the rodent's remains.
Looking around, it seemed to be noon.
I must have slept through the night.
Hadrian thought.
Luckily, only these birds had gotten to him.
The other circling seabirds descended but were met with the same fate, being converted into Hadrian's vessels.
