Nothing in the Abyss ever truly died the first time.
I should have known that by now.
I woke to the sensation of cold stone against my cheek and a ringing emptiness inside my skull. My limbs felt like lead, my breath shallow. As if sleep—if it could be called that—had pulled me down into something deeper than exhaustion, drowning me in darkness where time had no meaning.
My fingers twitched around Amujamu's grip. Even unconscious, I hadn't loosened it. Maybe because if I did, something would tear me apart before I opened my eyes again.
A faint drip echoed.
Drip.
Drip.
Each sound was like a nail tapping inside my skull.
Slowly, painfully, awareness crept back.
And with it—movement.
A presence. Behind me.
Too quiet. Too cold. Too familiar.
My spine tensed; muscles cracked under strain. And then—
A shadow loomed overhead.
Not imagined. Not memory.
Silent Creeper Alpha.
Still alive.
Its body was grotesque now—half-burned, half-regenerated. The left side still melted from the blow I dealt earlier, tendrils of black muscle hanging like wet ropes. But the right side… whole, armor-like carapace gleaming with unholy sheen. Bone spikes sharpened even thinner than before, like its near-death only honed it.
Those hollow star-like eyes stared at me again.
Predatory. Patient.
Waiting.
I felt its killing intent before it moved—sharp as a blade to my throat. Instinct screamed, not thought. I had no thought left. My body moved before my mind caught up.
CRACK!
I twisted sideways—barely—just as a spear-like limb crashed into the stone where my head had been. Rock exploded in shards. Dust filled my mouth, iron taste of blood mixing with grit.
Breath tore through my lungs; heart hammered.
It should be dead. I killed it.
But nothing here obeyed rules. Death was not a certainty—it was a negotiation.
And I had almost signed my life away.
I forced my body upright, shaky, broken. My vision swam—edges blurred like underwater ink swirling. My head felt split open, and behind that wound sat a darker ache:
Blood Evolution.
Rapid. Violent. Eating at me.
My bones felt too tight for my skin. My thoughts jittered—snapping, scattering. Rage pulsed, hunger gnawed, instinct hissed. Clarity came in painful shards, stabbing through the haze.
The Alpha lunged again, impossibly fast for its size—joints cracking, limbs slicing air like guillotines. I raised Amujamu—
CLANG!
Sparks erupted. The force sent me skidding backward, heels carving grooves in the stone. My arms shook violently, numbness spreading upward. My grip almost slipped.
Almost.
But instinct dug claws into my nerves; desperation anchored me.
I couldn't lose this blade.
I couldn't lose anything.
Not when death tasted so close I could smell it.
My breath came ragged. My heartbeat felt wrong—too loud, too heavy, like another heart beat inside me. My vision flickered dark, then white, then blood-red edges.
The Alpha struck again, relentless.
Left swipe—block.
Spike thrust—dodge.
Tail crack—roll.
Every movement cost me pieces of sanity. My muscles responded late, clumsy. I wasn't fast enough. Not sharp enough. Not whole enough.
My head throbbed as whispers crawled beneath my skull:
Give in. Tear it apart. Feast. Become more.
"Shut up…" I hissed through gritted teeth.
My voice sounded unlike mine—hoarse, raw, layered with something deeper.
I forced myself to breathe. Focus. Anchor.
Orba's voice echoed in memory:
"Instinct sharpens a blade. Emotion breaks it."
But what was left in me wasn't emotion—it was rot disguised as strength, evolution smeared with madness.
The Alpha charged, maw unhinging, revealing rows of needle bones. A limb darted toward my chest. I barely pivoted—my ribs grazed; skin ripped.
Pain flared bright, then curdled into something darker—pleasure mixed with fury. My jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
A shiver hit my spine.
My wing burst out again—only one, black and twitching, mist dripping like venom. It dragged my body sideways mid-movement, helping me evade another killing strike.
But it cost me control.
My balance wavered. I spun too far, vision blurring. The Alpha seized its chance—
WHAM!
A limb slammed into my ribs like a hammer. Bone cracked. Air left my lungs in a silent scream. I flew backwards, body smashing against jagged stone. Pain exploded like fireworks through my nerves.
I slid down, limbs limp. Everything hurt.
The monster stalked closer, studying me—not rushing. Patient. Cruel. As if it enjoyed watching prey struggle before the end.
My fingers twitched on Amujamu.
Grip slipping.
Strength leaking.
No. Not here. Not now.
I forced breath into collapsing lungs. My head throbbed, vision trembling, sweat mixing with blood. My mouth tasted metal. The wing on my back convulsed like a living parasite.
I lowered my gaze, teeth grit until gums bled.
Stand. Move. Kill.
But my legs refused. My arms shook. My heart hammered too fast, then too slow.
Blood Evolution was ripping through me, devouring me even as it strengthened me. My humanity felt like frayed rope.
The Alpha raised a limb to impale me.
Time slowed.
Thought fragmented.
This is how I die.
Yet in that crack between moments… instinct screamed again. Louder than fear. Louder than whispers.
My arm shot up—
CLANG!
Blade met limb.
And held.
Barely.
Stone shattered beneath my feet as I braced. My arm trembled violently. Shoulder nearly dislocated. Pain burned my spine.
But I didn't let go.
The Alpha shrieked voicelessly—shock rippling through it. I snarled—a sound that barely resembled speech.
"You… first."
I shoved. Pain tore. The blade scraped through bone and sinew. Black ichor sprayed. The Alpha recoiled—limbs spasming. I lunged forward, lacking precision but overflowing with desperation.
Slash. Tear. Thrust. Rip.
My movements were ugly—sloppy, erratic. Nothing like the sharpened fluidity Orba drilled into me. I moved like a wounded beast, not a swordsman.
But it worked because I refused to fall.
The Alpha snapped jaws at my throat. I jammed a knee under its jaw, slammed Amujamu downward—blade slicing into its core, runes flaring black.
The creature convulsed violently—limbs thrashing. Black fire erupted from within its chest.
I kept pushing even when muscles tore.
Even when blood dripped from my nose.
Even when vision dimmed, turning the world into a blur of red and shadow.
I didn't stop.
Couldn't stop.
Not until the monster finally collapsed, body caving inward like meat melting under invisible hands. It burned soundlessly. A final twitch. Then nothing.
Silence again.
Abyssal silence.
I stood there, swaying. Blood soaked my clothes—my blood, its blood, something else's blood. I couldn't tell anymore. My hands shook uncontrollably. My wing spasmed, then receded with a tearing rip.
My knees buckled.
I crashed onto the stone.
My arms refused to lift. My vision dimmed, then blackened edges crept inward. Every breath felt like swallowing knives. My bones burned. My heart stuttered.
I tried to speak. Maybe to laugh. Maybe to curse. No sound came.
Then darkness swallowed me.
The last thought before I fell unconscious—
Not triumph. Not fear. Just a dull, hollow certainty.
If I keep surviving like this… I won't remain myself much longer.
Then everything faded.