3 Eggbound

Jacksyn's eyes shot open, his head pounding with the fierce thrumming of his own pulse. He wasn't sure where he was, but he certainly remembered the last thing that happened to him.

'That limp dicked little bastard; when Jasyn and I get our hands on him...'

His thoughts raged for a moment, but his peculiar situation brought his vicious fantasies to a grinding halt. His vision was blurry, and his body seemed to be suspended in some sort of thick, viscous liquid. His hands were floating in front of him, small and covered in..

'Wait...'

His head turned slowly as he tried to spin himself. He found it difficult, but not impossible, and, after a moment, realized that he was certainly *inside* of something small. He could make out vague, distant shadows beyond the barrier of whatever he was in. His hands passed in front of his gaze once more, and this time he took them in properly.

Pale, small, and wreathed in a line of deep, black scales. He certainly didn't have scales when he died, a fact that lent itself to a number of uncomfortable and concerning possibilities.

'Wait, scales... and a small, enclosed space that's filled with a liquid that suspends the creature inside. Am... am I in a fucking EGG?'

The thought quickly changed the way Jacksyn thought of his situation. Visions of being kidnapped at the edge of death and used in some sick experiments by government agencies or mad scientists vanished from his mind, replaced with an odd thought.

'If this is an egg, then I haven't even been *born* yet. But why am I in an egg? Humans are viviparous, not oviparous, and, well... they also don't have scales.'

He felt a strange, nagging sensation in his chest, but ignored as he brought his hands up to his face, searching for something.

'Only a limited number of creatures are born from eggs. If I've got scales, I'm probably not a bird, or an amphibian, and definitely not a fucking platypus. Which leaves me with reptiles, and if I'm a reptile, I should have an - aha.'

His hand bumped a small, sharp protrusion beneath his top lip. An egg tooth, if his guess was correct. The find verified a number of things for him, but left him with far more questions than answers.

'I've got human, or, I guess, humanoid arms and feet. Why do I have an egg tooth, and, more importantly, why the hell am I in an egg!? Don't try and fucking tell me I've been isekai'd, or some bullshit like that! I'm Canadian, this sort of shit doesn't happen to us.'

The nagging sensation in his chest grew worse, and the figures outside the lining of his egg grew closer. It took just a second before Jacksyn realized why he felt so strange, aside from the obvious reasons.

'Reptiles can drown in their eggs... I must be running out of air!'

He could feel his heart rate quicken, the severity of his situation kicking his adrenaline into overdrive. He struggled slightly in the goop surrounding him, but managed to press his face against the thin, membranous shell of his egg, pressing his lips against it to ensure that the small egg tooth was able to slice through.

It only dawned on him after he felt the thin membrane split, but his hands had a pretty nasty set of claws on the end. Surely they'd have worked just as well, maybe even better, in this situation? Regardless of that thought, the egg had opened, and his head slipped through the thin split he had made.

The feeling of fresh, clean air filled his lungs as he sucked in deep, slow breaths. The blessed feeling of relief washed over him, his heartbeat slowing as the panic in his body began to fade.

"What in the fuck is going on here!?" He shouted, his voice softer and weaker than he remembered.

His head shot up, gazing around him. He had thought he could see movement outside of the egg, and now he knew why.

His egg had been placed in the center of a small, wooden arena, about 4 feet deep. 4 other eggs had been put alongside his own, and their occupants had also just freed themselves from their confinement.

They were unlike him, covered in pale red scales, with almost entirely lizard-like features. They stared at him with yellow, slit-pupiled eyes, taking in the differences themselves.

Just as Jacksyn was coming to terms with what was happening in front of him, a sharp, metallic voice rang in his head, making him wince with pain.

[Danger detected! Activating Function - Tutorial]

The grating voice was replaced with a cool, feminine one.

[Congratulations, User, on your official birth into this world.]

[As a member of the Savage Salamander race, you're expected to fight for dominance amongst your broodkin. Only the winner of this bout will be allowed to live among the others of the tribe. Those who are defeated will be sold as slaves to those of other races. Evaluating your combat readiness and potential.]

Jacksyn could feel a huge headache coming on. This was just too much information all at once. Where was he? What the hell is a Savage Salamander? And did she say... slaves?

[Ding! Evaluation complete, your current combat capacity has been rated at '38/100'. Your capacity is slightly lower than that of the others of your brood. Recommendation! User should acquire a Skill to overcome the differences in talent.]

"Oh yeah? And how in the name of whatever shithole ball of fucking rock we're on am I supposed to do that? I don't suppose they'll stop beating my ass into a pulp for a few years to let me learn a fucking 'Skill'?"

[Checking User's availability for current combat skills.]

Jacksyn groaned, the 4 of his "broodmates" seemed to have figured out what exactly was going on. They looked between each other, then back at him. With a nod, they began to move toward him, evidently agreeing to get rid of whichever one seemed weakest before finishing amongst themselves.

His eyes began to shoot around his surroundings. Would it be best to try and run? Obviously that voice in his head wasn't going to be any help...

He froze.

Originally, when he had taken a cursory glance at what was around them, he had believed them to be in a small pit, surrounded entirely by massive, wooden stakes. It was only now that he realized that what was really surrounding them was a ring of big, huge, massive, enormous, scaly motherfuckers. Their black scales seemed to almost absorb sunlight, and they stood stock still. If it weren't for the cold, murderous glint in their eyes, he might have believed them to be statues, or carvings.

But, judging by how they were staring down at him with looks of disdain, they were very much alive. As he turned his head, he caught a look of something slightly out of place. A small girl, almost human, aside from her purple skin and the strange, fin-like protrusions on either side of her head. She seemed to be gazing down at him in particular, and, unlike the big lizards, her bright orange eyes looked full of hope.

He turned back to the four that were still slowly approaching him. They seemed almost apprehensive, like he might explode and begin attacking at any point. A laughable thought, especially given that his one desire right now was to be literally anywhere but here.

[Ding! The System has determined that you qualify to learn 0 Skills based upon your current capabilities.]

"Oh you useless fucking piece of shit! Why even bother telling-"

[However, the User does qualify to learn the Skill that belongs to its Twin Soul.]

"Twin soul? Wouldn't that be... Jasyn?"

Jacksyn's thoughts were racing. In his mind only one it could possibly be was Jasyn. But what did that mean? Was he here, too? Where was he? Was he alright? Did he already have a Skill despite having only just arrived? Or had he been here much longer and Jacksyn gotten here later?

The voice broke his train of thought one last time, with a message that filled him with dread.

[Activating User subconscious, please allow the dream like state to whisk you away!]

"Fuck off!"

Everything vanished.