Time seemed to slow as its black-furred body hurtled toward him, claws scraping against broken stone, red eyes gleaming with bloodlust. Shin’s heart seized in terror. His body screamed at him to move, but his broken leg burned with white-hot agony.
Instinct roared louder than pain.He threw himself sideways, half-falling, half-rolling across the moss-slick floor. The wolf’s jaws snapped shut where his head had been an instant before, fangs clashing together with a crack like breaking bone. A gust of its rank breath washed over him, reeking of blood and rotting flesh. His stomach twisted with nausea as he coughed from the stench.
A strangled cry tore from Shin’s throat as he scrambled upright, leaning heavily on his rusted sword. The blade shook in his trembling grip, its chipped edge catching the dim red glow of the glyphs dancing along the ruined walls. Cold sweat trickled down his temple, stinging his eyes with salt. The wolf2 / 10turned, snarling. Black saliva dripped from its fangs, hissing as it struck moss and stone, leaving dark burn marks in its wake.His stomach cramped painfully as he shifted his weight. It had been… how long since he last ate? The memories blurred together – bakery shifts, school lunch, ramen shop leftovers… then nothing but mud, blood, and bile.He swallowed, feeling his throat burn with dryness. Even his spit felt thick and heavy. The taste of old blood coated his tongue. Hunger gnawed at his gut like a parasite, twisting with nausea from exhaustion.
I… I need water… food… anything… but… not now… not when…I can’t… fight this… I can’t even stand properly…!
The wolf lunged again, faster this time. Shin raised his sword; teeth gritted in desperation. The blade clashed against the creature’s snout, scraping across its coarse fur and leaving a shallow gash along its cheek. The wolf howled in fury, recoiling with blood dripping onto the moss below. Its growl vibrated through the stone floor into Shin’s knees, rattling his bones with primal terror.They froze, staring at each other. Shin’s arms trembled violently. The wolf’s eyes burned brighter with rage. Its ears pinned back against its skull as it lowered into a stalking crouch, tail lashing in anticipation.3 / 10
It charged.
Before he could react, its massive paw slammed into his chest, sending him crashing backwards into a broken pillar. Pain exploded across his ribs as the impact knocked the breath from his lungs. The sword clattered from his grip, skidding across the stone floor. Dull cracks echoed inside his skull as his head smacked against cold stone.Shin gasped, coughing blood onto his chin. The wolf loomed over him, its hot breath reeking of rotting meat and poison. Its fangs dripped black venom that sizzled against the stone. One claw pressed into his chest, pinning him down. The weight crushed him, forcing the air from his lungs. His vision flickered black at the edges.
No… no… not like this…!
The wolf lunged for his throat. Shin twisted desperately, feeling its teeth rake across his shoulder instead, tearing fabric and skin. Hot blood streamed down his arm. Pain seared through him, nearly making him black out. The smell of his own blood mixed with wolf’s poison, forming a metallic, burning stench that clogged his nose.His eyes darted to the sword lying just out of reach.Move… Move…!4 / 10
He kicked upward with his good leg, slamming his knee into the wolf’s stomach. The beast recoiled slightly, snarling in fury. In that fleeting instant, he rolled sideways, grabbing the sword hilt and swinging it wildly.The blade scraped across the creature’s jaw, cutting deep into its cheek and exposing bone. Black blood sprayed across his face, burning like acid wherever it touched. The wolf howled, shaking its massive head violently. The vibrations rumbled through the cavern, shaking moss from the ceiling to drift down like rotting snow.
Shin stumbled back, using the sword to prop himself upright. His breaths came in ragged gasps. Blood dripped from his chin onto his chest, mixing with sweat and dirt. His vision blurred with pain and exhaustion.The wolf lowered its head, muscles coiling, eyes locked onto his.
It’s… learning how I move…None of his late-night study sessions, anatomy diagrams, or clinical case reviews taught him how to survive being eaten alive. He’d memorised cranial nerves and cardiac pathways, not how to wield a sword against monsters twice his size.
What… what good is all that knowledge now…?5 / 10
A flicker of hopelessness pulsed in his chest. His grip tightened on the sword, knuckles white.Suddenly, the glyphs along the walls pulsed brighter, casting deep crimson shadows across the chamber. For a fleeting instant, everything seemed to… slow.He felt it again – that chilling cold spreading through his chest, mingling with his searing pain. Shadows pulsed at the edge of his sight. Somewhere deep withing the black void of his soul, he flet it – a flicker of… amusement.
> “Pathetic.”
The whisper was neither male nor female, neither loud nor soft. It was simply there, echoing inside his skull with ancient indifference. He saw himself – a fleeting vision of black claws, obsidian armour, eyes burning with crimson light. The image, vanished instantly, leaving only the pounding of his heart and the snarling beast before him.
The wolf lunged. Shin screamed.With the last of his strength, he stepped forward instead of back, thrusting the sword upward with all his weight behind it. The blade punched through the underside of the wolf’s jaw, piercing up into its brain with a wet, crunching snap.6 / 10
The creature’s eyes bulged. Blood, thick and black, gushed from its jaws, splattering onto Shin’sface and chest. Its massive body spasmed violently, claws raking across his shoulders before its weight collapsed on top of him. Its growl died into a rattling whimper as the heat left its body.For a moment, everything was silent except for Shin’s ragged, gasping breaths. The wolf’s blood burned where it touched his skin, each droplet stinging like acid. He could taste its metallic tang mixed with bile rising in his throat.
Then the creature began to dissolve.
Black mist rose from its corpse, swirling into the air like smoke. The weight lifted off him as its body crumbled into nothingness, leaving only the rusted sword clutched in his shaking hands.He lay there, staring up at the cracked ceiling far above. His chest heaved with shallow, painful breaths. Tears mingled with blood on his cheeks.I… killed it… I killed it… I… I don’t want to kill…
His entire body trembled violently. The sword slipped from his numb fingers, clattering onto stone beside him. He rolled onto his side and vomited, bile and blood mixing with moss and dirt.7 / 10He lay there, retching until nothing was left in his stomach. Cold sweat drenched his skin. His vision flickered, darkness creeping at the edges.He forced himself upright, swaying unsteadily. The glyph-lit chamber blurred before his eyes. Where the wolf had fallen, only a small black fragment remained – a shard of crystal, faintly glowing with crimson light.
Shin staggered toward it, collapsing to his knees as pain lanced up his broken leg. He reached out, fingers brushing its smooth, cold surface. The crystal pulsed faintly, sending a brief warmth into his palm.What… is this…?
He closed his fingers around it, slipping it into his pocket. Slowly, he raised his eyes to the far end of the chamber.There, partially hidden behind fallen rubble, stood a stone pedestal. Faint glyphs flickered along its surface. Gripping his sword like a crutch, Shin limped toward it. Each step sent fiery pain shooting through his bones, but he forced himself to move.
He reached the pedestal and brushed moss away from its cracked surface. Strange pictographs lined the stone tablet embedded into its top – swirling lines that formed words he could almost read.8 / 10His head felt light as he leaned over the stone tablet. Black dots floated at the edges of his vision. His chest ached with each ragged breath, but worse was the hollow heaviness in his stomach – an emptiness that seemed to echo louder than the ruins around him.
> “Essence Awakening… Core Blessing… Forbidden Abyss…”Another line, chipped but decipherable, read:> “Only through loss does power awaken. Beyond darkness lies deeper darkness.”A tremor ran through him. The glyphs seemed to pulse brighter for an instant, casting crimson light across his pale face.
Suddenly, a chill swept over him.He spun around, heart seizing in his chest. In the far shadows of the chamber stood a figure – tall, cloaked, its face hidden beneath a dark hood. Pale lips curved into a faint, knowing smile as moonlight flickered through the collapsed ceiling, illuminating their silhouette.
For a heartbeat, their eyes glowed faint violet beneath the hood.9 / 10Shin’s breath caught in his throat. He blinked – and the figure was gone. Only drifting shadows remained, swirling in the glyph-lit gloom.
He clutched his chest, feeling his heart hammering wildly.Someone’s… watching me… who was that…? A faint echo lingered in his mind, cold and amused. > “That… felt good, didn’t it?”Shin shivered violently, shaking his head as rage flickered deep within his chest, mingling with terror and exhaustion.
No… I refuse… I’m not… like that…He lowered his gaze to the glowing glyphs beneath his feet. The mossy scent of decay filled his lungs as he drew a trembling breath.
If this world wants me dead… then I’ll survive just to spite it.
He raised his head, eyes dark with exhausted determination. Gripping his sword, he turned away from the pedestal and limped deeper into the ruin’s shadows.
Far above, unseen among moonlit branches, a silent figure watched him go. The crow on her shoulder cawed softly, its crimson eyes glimmering in the darkness.10 / 10
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