Bloodline Awakening (19)

The meager light enveloped me from all sides, my consciousness had atrophied, and I could barely discern the position of the black dots, which had hardly changed. Was it a touch of death?

Suddenly, a pea-sized hole appeared above my head and my lungs filled with air, causing my body to strain. It felt as if I was using this organ for the first time. The blood ran in a circle, causing every vein to swell, while my dried muscles filled with strength and my skin crackled, revealing new, smooth, and elastic skin. With a wave of my hand, cracks appeared and the light became brighter, breaking through the double-layered eyelids, causing my pupils to narrow into a vertical strip. I broke free from the cocoon and was finally freed from the remnants of the vegetative state.

"Participant 137 has woken up," echoed a mechanical voice in the same cave I remembered. A hundred eggs were missing and there were fewer threads by a dozen. It smelled rotten and my sharp nose detected strangers approaching at high speed from 78 degrees. I didn't remember anything except the recent battle, but my instincts screamed at me to kill. Crunching my bones, I emerged from the beige cocoon, landing on black threads.

The last phrase sounded: "The second battle has begun." At that same moment, the wall of the cave, from where I was expecting uninvited guests, exploded.

More than 20 creatures crawled out of the newly formed hole, one after the other. They were lizard-like creatures with elongated skulls and movable tails, with blue lightning freely developing at the ends. They sniffed the air and stared at my location with their pale blue muzzles. One of them waved its tail and sent blue lightning with intertwining purple arcs into the air, illuminating the entire cave.

In response, I sent needles from the tips of my dark green needle-covered skin. The needles started at ten but rapidly increased to a hundred, reflecting the lightning and causing an air explosion. The cave rumbled, and the lizards with dark green spots began to climb the walls, digging their claws and pushing off with their feet.

The farthest lizard opened its mouth and collected exactly the same lightning, with a smooth rounded surface and arcs that playfully reflected the frequent flashes.

Surrounded by these creatures, I released my claws and approached the nearest enemy. From a strong blow, his neck cracked, and his head fell to the ground with a dull sound, turning into porridge. I sensed danger behind me and barely dodged the sharp fangs, then kicked the attacker with a U-turn.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my own tail. Drawing a full circle, he plunged like a knife into the neck of the enemy.

Purple blood gushed from the open wound, and the creature, wheezing, fell into the silent earth.

Swinging my tail behind my back, I grinned, licked my claws and ran to the other one. He was stronger, hitting me against the wall, continued to beat me with his claws until I was inside the rocky rock.

Despite my bone armor cracking, I managed to grab his hands and with a sharp movement broke them to a protruding grayish appendage. The monster howled, and I kicked it out of the pit, destroying the edges. By this time, the creatures had completely surrounded me.

With a sharp kick of my foot, I was about to be in another part of the cave when I saw a continuous stream of multicolored rays.

Feeling the smell of burning, I crawled back and began to hit the rock, turning left.

Sharp claws were clearing the way. It was as if there was soft butter in front of me.

Suddenly, a blast wave threw me forward, and I smashed the rest of the way with my own torso. Spitting out pieces of earth, I noticed how the environment vibrated.

Raising my arms at shoulder level, I turned to the surface and began to climb out of the flimsy barrier. A few moments later, my hand was outside and, enlarging the opening, I got out, flapping my wings.

I was thrown into a completely different place.

Inside the smaller cave there was a huge tree that looked like cherry blossoms, the air was cleaner, and even a clear river flowed.

- Participant 137, you will be teleported back to your zone, wait for the signal.

Ignoring the rest of the words, I approached the trembling branches that beckoned me with their green stems and soft petals the color of the lips of beauties. I was almost there when the water jerked, exposing sharp arrows that flew at me. Breaking such a weak attack with my tail, I looked at the bark and noticed an ugly face.

- Participant 137, you will be teleported in 3, 2, 1.

He was frozen in a soundless scream, looking at me with whitish pupils, and the green stems, penetrating into the bottomless mouth, pulled out the purest drops of dew, splashing on the pink petals of fragrant flowers.

For a moment, my eyes lost focus and I was greeted by the howling of a dozen lizards, their sharp claws scraping against the rocky ground as they rushed towards me.

Without hesitation, I launched myself into battle, my muscles tense and ready for the fight.

Dodging their attacks, I struck blindly, trusting my instincts to guide me through the battle.

Our movements were like a dance of death, each their step countered perfectly by my own. It was a battle of genetic superiority, and I felt like I was in complete control. Their sharp claws and teeth were no match for my quick reflexes and powerful blows. I dodged their attacks with ease, striking back with deadly precision. The sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing filled the air as I fought on, determined to emerge victorious.

One of the creatures grazed my side with its sharp claws, the pain shooting through my ribs and almost touching my internal organs. I winced in pain, but quickly regained my concentration by plunging my hand into the enemy's stomach and saw my claws appear on the other side as the creature doubled over, wheezing.

Another lizard rushed at me from behind, forcing me to use its comrade as a shield. The lizard stopped for a moment, looking down at its paws, which had landed on the skull of another lizard, and fell inside with a sickening crunch.

Throwing away the useless shield, I kicked the wavering enemy in the chest, feeling the life drain out of it with a wet slurp.

One of the lizards grabbed me by the tail, almost clinging to the sharp needles with its skin, its face contorted in pain and despair.

Catching the lizard's muzzle, which took advantage of the moment to aim at my neck, I squeezed my hand with force, turning its head into a mess of bones and pink brains.

The lizard clinging to my tail raised its head and howled like a dying wolf, and it seemed to affect the other creatures. They increased in size, their eyes turned red, and their mouths opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. One of them almost managed to sink its teeth into me.

Thinking quickly, I used my flexible tail to send the grasping lizard straight into the throat of a fellow lizard. With a sickening crunch of bones, only small purple streams remained from the lizard, which fell to the ground from the blue lips of the monster.

One lizard still managed to send me flying, its powerful blow breaking my ribs and crushing my internal organs. I spat out a warm liquid, feeling my consciousness begin to fade.

Countless symbols were reflected in my head, which I had never seen before, but so clear that it seemed as if I had been reading in this language since birth. My mind was filled with knowledge about something important and necessary, but I couldn't quite grasp it.

Trusting my intuition, I tried to repeat the symbols on my own, hoping to understand their meaning and unlock the secrets they held.

Rising to my feet, I met the approaching creatures with a steely resolve. I clapped my hands together.

Suddenly, the cave was illuminated with a brilliant golden light, emanating from the circle of incomprehensible symbols that appeared in front of me. The symbols seemed to pulse and writhe, as if alive with some unknown power.

When the creatures approached and came into contact with the circle, they were instantly destroyed, turning into black dust.

Breathless and exhilarated, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Than I heard a voice echo through the cave.

"Participant 137, your bloodline of the humanoid race has awakened. You have been awarded the rank of 3 and are officially authorized to enter zone 60."