[CRITICAL INJURY DETECTED. INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS]
[STRENGTH ENHANCEMENT: UPGRADING FROM 0.5 TO 30.0]
[REGENERATION ABILITY: UPGRADING FROM 0.5 TO 30.0]
[AGILITY ENHANCEMENT: UPGRADING FROM 0.5 TO 30.5]
[VISUAL ACUITY: UPGRADING FROM 0.5 TO 30.9]
[ENERGY RESERVES: UPGRADING FROM 20 GRAMS TO 40 GRAMS]
Skylark's announcements barely registered. Delvin was too busy trying not to die, throwing himself sideways as the scorpion's tail struck again, rolling as the lizard's jaws snapped shut where his leg had been. His body moved on autopilot, survival instinct overriding conscious thought.
But something was changing. The hole in his chest was closing, flesh knitting together with impossible speed. The pain receded from unbearable to merely excruciating. His muscles felt different—stronger, more responsive.
The winged serpent dove from above, its body coiling as it prepared another blast of blue fire. Its jaws opened wide, light gathering in its throat.
The flames erupted in a concentrated stream.
But this time, when the fire hit Delvin's shield, it didn't stick. It bounced back, redirected by the blue energy surrounding him.
The serpent shrieked as its own flames engulfed it. The creature thrashed in the air, wings beating frantically, but the fire consumed it with terrifying speed. Within seconds, it was nothing but ash raining down on the battlefield.
One down. Five to go.
A gorilla he hadn't seen transform rushed at him—this one had eight arms, each wielding a gleaming sword formed from its own hardened bone. Eight blades came at him simultaneously, aimed at his neck, his belly, his chest, his legs. A killing strike from every angle.
Delvin's enhanced vision tracked each blade. His upgraded agility kicked in. He leaped backward twenty yards in a single bound, his legs propelling him with strength that shocked him. The swords sliced through empty air.
The huge gorilla raised its arm again, the organic rifle charging with blue energy.
The beam lanced out.
Delvin was already moving, leaping into the air, twisting his body mid-flight. The razor beam passed beneath him, so close he felt its heat. While still airborne, he lashed out with his fist, putting all his new strength behind the blow.
His knuckles connected with the gorilla's skull with a sound like a gunshot. The creature's head snapped back. It stumbled, then fell, dark green blood oozing from the corner of its mouth and from its nostrils. Its eyes rolled back.
Two down.
But Delvin's body was screaming at him. His muscles burned with lactic acid. His lungs felt like they were full of broken glass. The regeneration had saved his life, but it had cost him.
He could feel his energy reserves draining with every enhanced movement.
He needed space. Needed time to think.
Delvin turned and ran toward the mountain on the left side of the valley.
His legs pumped with superhuman speed, eating up the distance. The remaining gorillas roared behind him, their fury shaking the air.
He hit the slope and kept climbing, his fingers finding purchase on rocks that should have been too small to grip. Higher and higher, until he reached a cliff edge that jutted out over a hundred-foot drop.
Delvin didn't hesitate. He jumped.
The wind screamed past his ears as he fell. The ground rushed up to meet him with terrifying speed.
"Wings out!" he shouted desperately.
[ACTIVATING WING APPARATUS]
He felt them deploy from his back—mechanical wings that Skylark had installed during his transformation. But they didn't catch the air. He was falling too fast, tumbling, unable to control his descent.
"Skylark, help!" Panic clawed at his throat. "I'm going to hit!"
[RELAX, DELVIN. FEEL THE WIND. FEEL IT'S ENERGY. LET IT GUIDE YOU]
"I don't have time to feel anything!" The ground was seconds away. "Please!"
He slammed into the earth with a sound like thunder. The impact drove a crater into the ground. Dust exploded outward in a massive cloud, obscuring everything. Pain shot through every bone in his body.
For a moment, Delvin just lay there, staring up at the stars through the settling dust. His chest rose and fell rapidly. He tasted blood and dirt.
'Am I dead?'
[YOU ARE QUITE ALIVE, DELVIN]
Skylark's tone carried something that might have been amusement.
[AND RATHER SILLY, I MIGHT ADD. YOU ARE A NEW SPECIES, THE FIRST OF YOUR KIND. THAT FALL CANNOT KILL YOU, NOR BREAK ANY BONES IN YOUR BODY. HOWEVER, IT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY DRAINED YOUR ENERGY RESERVES. YOU NEED SUSTENANCE]
"You could have told me that before—" Delvin started.
[LOOK OUT!]
Three gorillas burst through the dust cloud, having climbed down after him. Each one wielded long white bones sharpened to points—spears made from the remains of previous victims. Their faces were twisted with rage.
They thrust their weapons forward in unison, aiming to skewer him where he lay.
Delvin rolled. Once, twice, three times, four, five. The bone spears stabbed into the ground where he'd been, again and again. The gorillas pursued him relentlessly, jabbing and thrusting, trying to pin him down.
He scrambled to his feet, his body protesting every movement. His energy reserves were dangerously low. He could feel it—the heaviness in his limbs, the way his enhanced abilities were starting to flicker.
"Come on!" Delvin shouted at them, backing away. "You merciless creatures want to make my life more difficult? Fine!"
He turned and sprinted toward the mountain peak, his legs pumping despite their exhaustion. Behind him, the three gorillas roared and gave chase, their heavy footfalls shaking the ground.
"You will not survive forever!" one of them bellowed, its voice echoing off the rocks. "You will tire! You will fall! And we will feast on your bones!"
They pursued him with the voracious intensity of starving predators, like mad, hungry lions that had finally cornered their prey. Their breathing was hot on his heels. Their shadows stretched long in the moonlight, reaching for him.
Delvin's lungs burned. His legs felt like lead. But he kept running, climbing higher into the mountains, the gorillas right behind him, their bone spears gleaming in the darkness.
The hunt was far from over.
'Remember to feel the wind. It's one of the great energies of life the universe offers. Go with the flow and don't fight it. Cast away your fears, only then will you fly.'
Skylark's voice echoed in Delvin's mind, soft yet insistent, knowing what he was about to do.
Delvin's legs pumped harder, faster. His lungs burned. The earth blurred beneath his feet. The cliff's edge rushed toward him—that razor line between solid ground and empty air. His heart slammed against his ribs like a caged animal as he launched himself into the void for the second time.
'Please work this time.'
The prayer tore through his mind as gravity claimed him.