6 Energy, Can You Eat It?

I stood paralyzed from the pressure of the bloodthirsty aura as numerous barbed lianas invaded the underground chamber from the hole in the ceiling.

Spreading in every direction, they slowly crept along the walls as if in search of something.

When one of the lianas was about to reach a gap in the wall with a stupefied rat inside, the place was abruptly plunged into darkness with the descend of an oversized flower bud.

The bloodthirsty aura intensified as the mutant plant awkwardly squeezed into the opening on the ceiling, completely blocking the only source of light with its huge frame.

For a few seconds, nothing really happened and the only sound in the chamber was the unhurried slithering of the encroaching lianas.

When suddenly, after an anguished squeal, the darkness parted with the appearance of dim red light behind me.

I tried turning around but found that I was still immobilized by the intangible pressure.

Soon, another painful scream followed and this time I had front-row seats to observe a liana tangle up one of the rats.

The cursed vine wriggled up the pinned critter's body, effortlessly sinking its barbs into diamond-hard skin to suck out the life of the living creature.

At a visible rate, the rat withered into a drained husk as the liana gained a red glow that spread along its length, all the way to the flower bud on the ceiling.

The chamber lit up in bloody red glow as similar scenes played out and more lianas found their victims, draining them to provide nourishment for the main body.

For a while, I enjoyed the pest's plight with almost childlike glee until I remembered that I wasn't much better off and the lianas would soon spread to my location.

I tried moving in a bid to escape this predicament but the pressure was ever-present and I couldn't even twitch a finger.

Just what is wrong with this fucking island!? This place is too damn dangerous for the honest and innocent little me!

I wanted to scream for help, to admit that the sick bastard was right and I'm ready to return back to the safety of our cavern complex but I couldn't even open my mouth.

At this point, the flower bud was fully tinged in the red glow. The lianas become more active and seemingly empowered by all the lives they took they rapidly slithering along the walls in search of more prey.

Suddenly, the bud's surface started twisting and squirming until it released a pulse of blinding red energy.

The surrounding walls shook precariously, the pressure keeping me in place intensified as the bud uncovered, blossoming into a horrifying carnivorous flower.

The lianas parted from the walls, now wildly swinging around the place. Using their barbs, they hooked up the unmoving rats and brought them to a circular chainsaw like mouth in the middle of the red flower.

The plant's appetite appeared to be insatiable and the lianas were now swaying dangerously close to my still form.

I needed to move but my body wouldn't listen.

My muscles painfully tensed up and veins stuck out as I tried to push my body to the limit but the pressure was irresistible.

A stray liana swung by right next to my shoulder.

Move! I need to move!

The flower's murderous aura amplified as it consumed more rats, increasing the burden of pressure on me.

No!

I don't want to die!

The bleeding on my right shoulder intensified as I pushed my body further.

Fucking move!

Another liana swept past me, hooking up one of the dead rats from the floor.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Move!

My knees buckled as the pressure grew strong enough to cause actual physical pain.

Fuck this weak body! Fuck this insane island!

I am not dying here!

Move! Move! MOVE!!

With the mounting physical and mental pressure, something inside of me finally snapped and like a broken dam, strange energy started to escape my body.

It was white, almost transparent, looking feeble in comparison to the wild crimson aura of the carnivorous flower but it was gushing out with remarkable intensity, enough to push back the thinly spread aura of the flower.

With the external pressure gone, I could finally move my body. Just in time to duck under a liana hurtling straight at my face.

The flooding energy gave me an almost intoxicating sense of power. Unbridled strength coursed through my muscles and my body felt light as a feather as I dodged around with impossible speed, twisting in unbelievable angles to avoid the encroaching lianas.

Unfortunately, it also seemed to draw in the flower's attention as more and more lianas concentrated around me.

Soon enough, I felt exhaustion settling in. The aura initially provided me with an incredible boost but now it was sapping me dry. At some point, my already weary body simply gave out and I powerlessly flopped down.

The energy continued to pour out of me as I feebly laid on the ground, watching the lianas creep up on me from all directions.

Though this time, I wasn't afraid as I felt a familiar presence at the edge of my senses.

"You win, " I said weakly.

No sooner had the words left my mouth than the carnivorous flower exploded into fleshy bits and pieces and Magog landed beside me.

Through the lens of my escaping energy, the red silhouette around his body was no longer vague. I could vividly see a burning skeletal four-armed gorilla enveloped around his frame and follow his every movement.

"So how did you like it outside?" he asked mockingly.

"Screw you!" I spat out. "How could you leave alone in that crater?!"

"You're still quite lively, " he laughed. "Now I wonder, how long can you keep that up with all this life force leaking out."

He was right. I could barely stay conscious as the leaking energy drained me by the second.

"How can I stop it?" I asked, deciding to play along.

"Now you're asking the right questions, " he said. "First, you need to concentrate."

I did. Concentrating on a single point, I pushed away the pain, stray thoughts and emptied out my mind. It was a simple trick I picked up to cope with his usual hellish training.

"Now imagine the jungles outside."

I followed his instructions and found myself in a world of green.

"You know that you're not alone there, " he said. "Behind the trees, around every corner, there is always a dangerous beast prowling in search of prey."

I saw it. A shapeless white silhouette jumping in and out of existence, climbing trees, hiding behind some hedges, always trying to escape my vision.

"You're not the prey here, Aalam, " he said in a hypnotizing voice.

He was right. I was the beast lurking in search of prey. Unseen in the cover of the surrounding greenery, I snuck up to the playful white silhouette.

"Now subdue it!"

I pounced on the silhouette but my hands simply slipped through it's intangible form.

"This is your world, " he said. "Nothing can escape you here."

I concentrated and before the shapeless silhouette could turn to escape, I grabbed onto it's ethereal body.

It tried to struggle, warping it's shape to slip through my fingers but the effort was futile as I mentally forced it into a form of a white mote.

"Good, now bring your trophy home, " he said. "To the place you consider safest in your mind."

The world around me changed and surprisingly, I was now standing in a cavern room. The place of my incineration in the body of a newborn.

"You're safe here and you feel in control here." he said

It's true. This cave was the only thing that I could consider as my own personal space in this new life and with a monster like Magog stand guard behind the door, no filthy beast would dare come to invade my home.

"Now eat the creature, Aalam, " he said

I absorbed the white mote into my mouth.

"Assimilate it, let it become a part of you, make it's strength your own."

I did, digesting the creature into white energy that flowed through my veins and covered my body as if a second skin.

"Good, now wake up."

I opened my eyes to find myself back in the underground chamber, surrounded by dead rats and bloody bits and pieces of the exploded flower.

The flood of energy gushing out of me finally subsided and instead formed a halo around my body.

Unfortunately, keeping it in that state required conscious effort and my condition was far from ideal to maintain this level of concentration.

I was dead tired and slowly bleeding out. The halo around me started bending and contorting as I was about dangerously close to blacking out.

"Looks like you had enough fun for today, " Magog said, gently placing a palm on my forehead.

I could feel him form a barrier around my body that easily surpassed my escaping energy and with that, I peacefully slipped into unconsciousness.