Break

[Devour] ripped Charlie out of his dreamless sleep and brought searing pain along with its hunger. Charlie coughed and gasped, momentarily overwhelmed by the severity of the pain, taking in deep gulps of air to calm himself.

I'm still alive... I'm... still alive.

Charlie couldn't help but scan his broken body in disbelief. There were shallow cuts all over his scales from when he collided with the sharp gravel, but the worst of it was his bloodied stump that had been shoved into the crimson sand below. It was hard to tell if it was doing okay, or if he was moments away from dying, but right now waking up was a miracle.

Charlie wanted to explore the damage done to his body further but found himself unable to focus on anything but the simmering power of [Devour] bubbling in his stomach. It demanded attention and Charlie was not going to ignore the one hope he still had in saving himself.

Focusing on [Devour], Charlie could feel its burning desire to be unleashed and satisfy its hunger unbound. The flames of desire licked at Charlies mind never burning him, they felt warm and welcoming instead. He knew it was manipulation, but it didn't matter.

Charlie wanted to study this feeling for a bit longer, to really understand where this power and hunger come from, but there was no time. Charlies strength had been nearly entirely exhausted and he was running on nothing but fumes. Charlie needed the nourishing power that [Devour] promised if he wanted to make it through the day.

[Devour] was unchained, its hungry power washed over the translucent gems and suffused them with its destruction unabated, tearing deep into crystalline fabric and stealing the mysterious power held within.

The gems erupted into two great nexuses of power and flooded Charlies system, rushing through the flesh, tendons, bone and blood, healing everything on its path. It settled in his mind and chased away the shadows dimming his thoughts, like the first light of the morning sun after a stormy night.

A sudden wave of understanding and knowledge had been whispered into his mind by the System, pieces of puzzles seemed to unlock right before his very eyes as a small part of the underlying nature of the world was revealed. The answers that dawned on Charlie would have to wait though, for the bloodied stump needed immediate attention.

Charlie pulled himself up and carefully removed his tail from the rocky sand, exposing a still raw stump. There were sharp stones still embedded into the red flesh, but at least the bleeding had stopped. Regardless of whether or not removing the stones was the right choice, Charlie still dislodged them with his mouth, unwilling to put up with their incessant pain.

A trickle of blood seeped out from the new wounds, but they too, stopped quickly. What happened to Charlie after consuming the gems likely pushed the rocks further out as it repaired his body. The System had whispered more of its mystic secrets into Charlies mind, which gave him just enough to piece some of the puzzles together. It was obvious now, Charlie had Leveled up and was once again saved by the System.

The secrets the System had whispered into Charlies mind were deeper and worth an incredible amount of time mulling over, but right now, time was not something Charlie had the luxury of. It almost felt like he was back at the start of this whole thing, back in that forest, desperately trying to survive the wound and the following infection that spread through his body.

Charlie would have all the time in the world to analyse and recount what had transpired, but that was only if he could make it back to the mushroom cove.

Charlie carefully peeked his head just over the lip of the rocky crevice, and in seeing no immediate threat, slithered his body over the edge and out onto the flat rock. It was easier said than done, the bloody and raw stump proved to be an incredible disability. In Charlies current state, he had no way of escaping any other encounter, the loss of his tail was proving to be an almost fatal mistake.

Charlie slowly made his way over to the river and approached the riverbed with some caution. Charlie was weak and helpless to anything that lurked below, without his tail he lacked the tools to bait any sneaky creature out into the open.

There was nothing he could do about it though, tail or no tail, he'd still have to cross the river. If there was something that lurked below, he'd die, if the current pulled him too far away, he would die. The only option left was to tread the shallow water and simply not die. Charlie could only leave his life in the hands of sheer hope, as nothing ever went right anymore.

With great care, Charlie slowly lowered his bloodied lower half into the water and allowed its currents to wash away some of the caked on liquids. It was hard to tell what was his blood and what was the mud that still clung to his scale that drifted off into the distance.

The vile slime that remained since his last dip into the river sloughed off his body in great quantities and washed over the still raw stump, a mind numbing pain, like a burn searing and sizzling over a blazing flame, shot through Charlie. The magnitude of the pain involuntarily forced Charlies body to spasm and splash the water in all directions.

The water currents and Charlies wild movements got the last of the slime off of him, allowing Charlie to settle into a more stable and comfortable pain.

Traversing the river proved a nearly insurmountable task, having plunged into the shallow water and being dragged away a considerable distance before Charlie reached the other side. Thankfully he could still see where he needed to go, but the difficulty kept rising against all wishes.

It was beyond exhausting to fight the water without a tail, and ever more so since Charlie had just survived another impossible encounter. It was pulling on his nerves and Charlie just hoped he could last long enough to reach the mushroom cove before his waning reserves were bled dry.

Charlie had exited the riverbed a worrying distance away from where he intended to land, but there was little choice in what he could do. He still needed to return home and the distance was just one of the easier challenges he'd have to face. There were still plenty of creatures Charlie needed to evade, and even fewer he had any confidence in actually successfully fleeing from.

In his pitiful state, Charlie was easy pickings for any lucky creature in the vast bounds of the cave, he was half dead and posed even less of a threat than a single Sklite. Well, Charlie would still prove to be a deadly threat, whether or not the creatures knew of this. His venom would make sure their encounter would end in both of their demise.

Slowly, moving slower than ever before, Charlie crept through the shadows and cloaked himself in their reassurance. His mind was laser focused on the sole goal of getting back to the cove, every sense aimed at completing this singular task.

The creatures were restless, their movements were too erratic and posed an incredible barrier to Charlie safely returning. He had to waste countless minutes in wait as they passed, only to be followed by something else close behind. They had been spooked, even Charlie could tell that the knife-clawed predator was on the prowl.

It didn't matter in the end of course, Charlie refused to allow anything to distract him right now. What did it matter to Charlie if it appeared right now, any one of these creatures could kill him with just a passing glance let alone the apex predator. He couldn't allow himself to stall here, there was too much at stake.

He pressed forward, cautiously and carefully. Every corner was checked, every shadow was searched and every creature was kept track of. The world had a noticeable change to it, almost easier to follow and understand. The toll the meticulous checks took on Charlie felt incomparable to before, like he had been doing this his whole life and was as natural as breathing.

No matter how many corpses Charlie passed, he didn't stop. No matter how many fights or how much slaughter Charlie saw, he didn't stop nor did he care. He slithered through the corpses of fallen creatures and recently emptied coves, when finally there in the distance, Charlie saw it.

He could almost feel the stink wafting over from here, the putrid yet comforting embrace that promised safety and shelter. Charlie could feel the desperation fuel his approach and anxiety quickly ramped up filling his very bones. The closer Charlie got to the mushroom cove, the more he was convinced something would go wrong, the more he knew something would go wrong; it always went wrong.

Fear burned through his mind like a raging fire in a field of kindling and Charlies heart beat like primal drums in his ears. The world collapsed in on itself right before Charlies very eyes, spreading suffocating pressure at the edges of his vision. His lungs struggled to fight against the weight of the world and suck in any air, drowning again.

The echoes of nearby creatures pounded at his mind, all blending together and turning into the nightmarish roar of the knife-clawed predator. The sharp blade of death was upon him and as it was just about to reach Charlie...

He had made it.

The putrid scent of the mushroom felt pleasant and welcoming, the sounds of the world outside quickly drowned out by the tightly squished vegetation and thick musk that lingered in the air. Charlie turned to face the opening, but found nothing outside.

There was no creature lurking just outside the confines, no predator calling for his death and certainly no grim reaper to satisfy the request.

It was all in my head.

The realisation struck Charlie like a brick to the back of his head. His body slumped to the floor and he wailed out, in both anger and sadness, a guttural hiss. Unable to express himself, Charlie lashed out in any way that he could. His body violently thrashed at everything within reach, smashing his head into the floor to try and numb the fear, the pain and sadness that racked his broken mind.

Unable to cry and unable to break the world in anger, unable to enact his justice of all those that caused him pain, Charlie chose to hurt himself. Charlie desperately smashed his head into the floor, hoping for escape, hoping for a break from the pain inside.

Charlies face, hurt. His body, hurt. His heart and mind, hurt. Yet Charlie could not cry, his pathetic body unable to shed even a single tear, unable to smash the world to bits and release him from this anger.

Fuck being present. He was here already, he was present and what good did it do him? He was in pain, his body was close to death and he couldn't fucking do anything about it. Fuck this place, fuck the present and fuck these creatures.

Charlies all encompassing and deep pain turned to fuel for the rage in his soul, turned to the ink that stained his being with the promise of revenge. The promise of breaking the world that dared to break him.

The serpent within stirred.

Its alien anger snaked its way into Charlies mind and stoked the furious fire in Charlies heart. It added whispers of cruelty, of the perils of Charlies second life, the voice whispered conniving truths and filled his mind with foreign, but enticing, thoughts. The Serpent sunk its fangs into Charlies mind and spread its corrupting venom as deep as it would go, reaching for the very seams of his being.

A sharp pain from the side of his head knocked Charlie out of his consuming fury, quickly followed by a dizzying ringing sound. The anger-dyed world faded to nothing as Charlie lost consciousness.

Charlie lay on the gravel floor, barely clinging on to life, a small cut just above his right eye bled lightly. The unbound rage and fury had almost fully taken over, but Charlies wild thrashing was the only thing that kept him alive.

He laid there for a long time, the exhaustion from the days prior had set deeply into his body and drained every ounce of strength from his muscles. The mental strain Charlie had gone through, just barely clinging on to life day in and day out, had proved to be even greater than the damage done to his body. As even though his body had recovered, he still lay there, motionless.

It was hard to tell just how much time had passed in the blissful nothingness of sleep, but it was never going to be enough. Charlies body and mind still required time, to heal and recover from the trauma completely. Yet his stomach would wait for nothing and no one, it was the only thing powerful enough to pull him out of that blissful rest.

His body felt weak. Better than before, true, but there was a deep set exhaustion that sleep had yet to rid of. Charlies mind was still cloudy, but there was a sense of... catharsis. Like someone had removed a cloth from his vision and was finally graced with understanding of the new world.

Charlie took a few moments to re-orient himself before nonchalantly approaching the exit. He checked the corners and headed out into the world. It was odd. Charlie found it so simple to leave, there were no stray thoughts floating about, worrying about what could or couldn't happen.

The shadows welcomed Charlie into their embrace and he could feel their pleasant touch. They felt closer now, like they were melding with him and becoming an extension of himself. This too, felt strange, but the change in perspective was a welcome one.

There was a tantilising scent in the air and the moment Charlie sensed it, everything softened, almost melting away before its call. Charlies empty mind easily succumbed to the alluring scent as his body begged to follow. It was strangely peaceful, the scent had overpowered everything else but Charlie still subconsciously kept track of every danger as if it were nothing but an afterthought.

It grew stronger and stronger until there was nothing else but the scent, the sweet aroma had stuck to everything nearby. The journey here was quick for a serpent with no tail, the pressure he placed on it barely registered and Charlie quickly found himself ignoring it altogether.

Charlie scanned his surroundings with a vacant gaze, suppressing any hint of emotion in his expression and finally laid eyes on the source of the alluring scent.

Black, grey and sharp. The rock that jutted out from the walls of a cove looked just like the rest, almost perfectly and expertly blended into the environment.

Almost.

It had a tiny injury on one of its legs, its power of camouflage didn't seem to extend to its blood as it was almost like a beacon to its exact location. The iron scent that sweetly wafted over the air was its one undoing. Charlie could almost taste him from this distance, and he found himself starving.

Charlie had never stopped moving, never betraying the facade of an ignorant serpent. The Lizards would never move, even if there was something approaching. A simple minded creature like the Lizard was given the luxury of being stupid, it's camouflage granting them near perfect stealth.

As he suspected, the creature was definitely aware, but had no intention to move. That was perfect, for Charlie couldn't ask for better prey that was too stupid to notice its own impending death. Charlie had come close to the Lizard and as he was just about to pass, [Hollow Fang] sang when Charlie rocketed his head at the Lizards concealed body.

A high-pitched shriek turned into a hiss as the Lizard felt its body struck by two powerful needles. Cold venom radiated outwards in all directions, sapping the warmth from all it touched. The Lizard barely had a chance to retaliate before the venom reached its heart, its icy grasp stilled the desperate beats.

Charlie spat the Lizards corpse onto the ground and stared at it with a vacant expression for a long moment. The delicious smell radiating off of the corpse wafted through Charlies tongue to his mind, and unable to stop himself from salivating, Charlie swallowed the corpse whole. His mind was vacant of all other thought as he immersed himself in the pleasure of consuming the body of a fallen creature. The way it slid down, the way it made him feel full and the undeniable satisfaction of being more powerful than his prey.

It was fleeting though. The sensation faded away with the scent of the Lizard and Charlie was once again left with nothing to occupy his thoughts but the emptiness in his chest. Even though Charlie felt so much clarity, it also felt impossible to think. Not that he particularly wanted to think right now, it felt nice for it to be quiet for once, to not have to battle himself and the world around him.

With an empty mind and a full stomach, Charlie made his way back safely to the mushroom cove. Much like his thoughts, the nearby coves were vacant of their inhabitants. Charlie didn't come across a single creature on his way back, allowing for a swift, if not an easy, return.

Slithering in was simple, the soft vegetation parted with just a light nudge even with Charlies engorged stomach. Charlie made way through the winding paths of the mushroom stems until he found himself nestled between two soft bulbs, and promptly fell asleep.

It was all just so, so tiring.