Chapter 2: The Cavern

The darkness clung to Meiying like a second layer of skin, a veil that refused to lift. She could hear her own breath, quick and shallow. 

Meiying had crept away from Lihua's body. The crabs that nibbled on Lihua's legs never focused on Meiying, as if they were entranced by the nutritious body that they were devouring. 

Now afar, she stood still. Her mind was a whirlwind of fear and confusion. Lihua... the thought of her friend, now lost in such a terrifying manner, began to overwhelm her more. However, she wasn't sure what did that to Meiying. She couldn't just succumb to grief—not yet at least. Survival was her only imperative in the circumstance.

A sudden, chilling shriek pierced the quiet. A sound that was so alien and terrifying that it paralyzed Meiying rang through the cave. Then instinct took over. She ran. The cave floor was uneven and treacherous, littered with sharp stones and sudden dips. However, Meiying moved with a desperation that outpaced caution.

The shriek came from above, perhaps the creature that dealt with Lihua. She thought before, that if she had blinked sooner, that might've been her as well.

The shriek then came again, closer this time, followed by the beating of leathery wings against the heavy air. Meiying didn't dare look back, imagining a creature wrought from nightmares stretching its claws out at her.

She stumbled into a wider segment of the cave. The walls were dotted with luminescent fungi that cast a pallid glow. She was then able to see it—a monster, as if born from the cave's malevolence. A bat-like creature with eyes that glimmered hungrily in the dim light. Its body covered in slick, mottled fur, and teeth like needles gleaming as they snapped at the air.

It launched itself at Meiying. Swooping down with its horrifyingly wide wingspan, Meiying ducked—she felt the rush of air pass her. She scrambled away, heart pounding and slipping behind a large stalagmite. The cold stone was her only defense.

She could hear the bat creature's echolocation bouncing off the cavern walls. Meiying covered her ears, trying to focus on a way out. 

Her eyes scanned the cavern desperately until they caught a faint glimmer. Amidst the stone and shadow, something was different—a single thread, no thicker than a piece of silk, stretched from floor to ceiling. It shimmered a deep sapphire, stark against the dullness of the cave.

A compulsion took over Meiying as she ran to this thread. She had no idea about the thread, but she felt that it could provide her safety and that the cold stone would soon fail her.

As she approached the thread, the bat-creature had also discovered Meiying. It hovered over to Meiying, ready to take upon its second meal as if thinking Meiying was surrendering herself by running into the open.

Meiying felt the lethal time crunch. She flicked her hand to the thread and tugged with her entire body. As she did, the material reality around her seemed to quiver, like the surface of a disturbed pond. The thread began to solidify, its color intensifying, and in her hand, it transformed, taking the shape of a weapon.

It was a staff, long and slender, with a metallic frame black as the abyss around her and intricate bronze filigree. The entirety of the staff seemed to fit together like a puzzle. Gears interlocked with rods and pistons, and the top affixed with a gear-shaped head that held a small, glowing ember.

With trembling fingers, Meiying held the staff. And as if responding to her fears, the staff came to life. The embers brightened and the gears began to whirl softly. The segments extended, clicking into place with satisfying precision. The staff's design was exquisite, a marvel of engineering that felt oddly familiar in her grip as if it was made for her hands.

"Unraveled Item Thread: [Cogstaff of Vapors] (Fine Thread)" A voice whispered into Meiying's ears again.

Meiying did not know weapons, having never needed to, but the staff felt right in her gasp. It was like an extension of her will. And although she didn't know how she had summoned it, it gave her a sliver of hope that she might survive this hell.

With the staff in hand, she turned to find the bat creature creeping up to her almost with a sneer. It was taller like an adult male, reaching around eight feet of solid terror.

The bat creature then hesitated. It seemed to sense the change in her, a danger that accompanied the metal staff that she held.

Meiying's instincts screamed at her to flee, but the staff in her hand grounded her to the spot. It hummed with a strange energy and vibration that coursed through her and steeled her resolve. As the bat finally began to bore down on her, she swung back with the staff, the motion precise but not entirely fluid.

The bat, agile in the air, veered to the side. Its claws scraped across the metal of the staff, sending sparks flying. It circled back for another assault, but Meiying was ready. She held the staff before her, and as the bat rushed her, she twisted it in a deliberate motion.

The gears at the top of the staff responded and began to spin rapidly. And then with a click, the embers burst in a jet of steam. The bat, caught off-guard, screeched as the steams enveloped it, scalding its fleshing and deteriorated its wings.

Meiying was pushed back by the heavy jet of hot steam vapor, feeling the staff betray her as she was also enveloped by some residual heat. Although it was nowhere near the scorching vapors directed toward the bat, it was considerable to her tiny frame.

The bat flapped erratically, trying to escape the cloud assault. Meiying saw this as an opportunity—she rallied from the knockback and swung the staff with all the might that her tiny body could gather. The staff, with steam that had been targeting the bat prior, began to blow backward. The pistons shot out a pressurized stream that assisted in the force of Meiying's blow.

The bat, fur heavy with the moisture of the vapors, struggled to avoid the attack. The dramatic arc that the staff took struck the bat's shoulder, and it tore through its flesh. The cracking of its bones was audible, just as its last cry was too.

The strike traveled, and the bat fell with it. The strength of the staff crushed the bat and hit the floor too: shards of broken stone scattered like a grenade in all directions. The bat's body wasn't enough to soften the blow of the staff, and Meiying was also struck by the shards—although none fatal as she escaped with scratches and light indentations.

Meiying stood over the fallen bat, her chest heaving. The staff in her hand hissed quietly as it cooled down. She had won, and against all odds, with a weapon that she had never seen before.

She had so many questions—about the staff, where she was, the monsters, her unexplained sudden strength—but they would have to wait. For now, she clutched the staff close, its remaining warmth shielding her from the chill of the cave.

Meiying had been in caves before with smaller bats that posed no threats to non-cultivators. They always rested in large groups—she wasn't ready to face another one of those big monstrosities.

As she took her first steps away from the scene of battle, the voice once again whispered,

"Infinity Error: Delayed Transport"

"Infinity Error: Troubleshooting"

"Rebooting"

"First kill detected: [Gloomwing Screecher] (Wraith)"

"Weaver Detected: [Meiying] (Neophyte)"

"Initiating Embroidery tutorial: Would the Weaver like to begin?"

Meiying stood still with a blank expression as her head was filled with all this new information. Then, she began once more to walk away, in her tattered green dress and bloody appearance. 

She still can't believe the changes that had happened in just the past half-hour. Her beautiful landscape was now disorder, and she was in the center of it. She loved the uniqueness of nature, but now she was beginning to doubt her love.

"Begin."