Something was there.
It moved.
I didn't see it clearly.
Only the shift.
The change in the darkness.
My body froze.
Not by choice.
Every instinct screamed at me— Don't move.
The sound came again.
Wet.
Slow.
Breathing.
Too close.
My throat tightened.
The air felt thick.
Dry.
I swallowed— It didn't help.
My tongue felt heavy.
My body felt worse.
Weak.
Too weak.
My legs trembled just from standing.
My stomach twisted painfully.
Empty.
It felt like I hadn't eaten in days.
Maybe I hadn't.
I took a step back.
Slow.
Careful.
My foot dragged slightly— The ground crunched.
Too loud.
The sound spread through the cave.
The breathing— Stopped.
My heart slammed against my chest.
Once.
Twice.
Too fast.
Silence returned.
But it wasn't empty.
It was waiting.
Watching.
Then— it moved.
Fast.
Something rushed out of the darkness.
I didn't react.
I couldn't.
My body lagged behind my mind.
I tried to step back— My knee gave out.
I fell.
Hard.
Pain shot through my side.
Something passed just above me.
Close.
Too close.
A smell followed.
It hit me instantly.
Rot.
Thick.
Heavy.
It filled my lungs before I could stop it.
I choked.
My chest tightened violently.
I tried to breathe.
Each breath made it worse.
Like I was swallowing decay.
I rolled instinctively.
My arms trembled as I pushed myself up.
Too weak.
I forced my head up.
And I saw it.
My mind rejected it immediately.
No.
That wasn't— its body looked unstable.
Like it couldn't decide what it was.
The surface of it shifted slowly.
Uneven.
Something dripped from it.
Dark.
Thick.
It hit the ground with a soft sound.
Then— Something else slid off.
A small piece.
My stomach twisted violently.
I turned my head slightly— But I couldn't look away.
The smell was everywhere now.
Clinging to the air.
To me.
To my throat.
I couldn't escape it.
The thing moved again.
Its limbs dragged across the ground.
Wrong.
Like they weren't made for movement.
And where its face should be.
There was nothing.
Just stretched skin.
And in the center— An opening.
Expanding.
Contracting.
Breathing.
Looking.
At me.
My heart pounded harder.
Run.
The thought came too late.
I tried to stand.
My legs failed again.
I collapsed.
No—
No, no.
It was already on me.
That thing—
That opening— Right in front of my face.
The smell was unbearable.
My vision blurred.
I couldn't think.
My hands moved on their own.
Searching.
Desperate.
My fingers closed around something sharp.
Stone.
Broken.
My grip trembled.
It almost slipped.
The thing leaned closer— I could feel its breath.
Cold.
Wrong.
My arm moved.
Slow.
Unsteady.
I stabbed.
The stone barely went in.
The thing jerked.
A sound came out of it.
Wet.
Tearing.
Its limb slammed into my side.
A sharp crack.
Pain exploded through my ribs.
Air left my lungs.
I couldn't breathe.
I tried— Nothing came.
Darkness crept into my vision.
This was it.
I was going to die.
Here.
Like this.
Weak.
Useless.
My fingers loosened.
The stone slipped— No.
Something inside me refused.
Not strength.
Not courage.
Just— Refusal.
My grip tightened.
My arm moved again.
Messy.
Desperate.
I stabbed.
Again.
Again.
And again— I didn't stop.
Even when my arms shook.
Even when my vision blurred.
Even when I couldn't feel my fingers anymore.
I kept going.
Until— It stopped moving.
Silence.
Heavy.
The smell remained.
Unavoidable.
I collapsed beside it.
My chest heaved violently.
Every breath burned.
My throat felt raw.
My body felt like it was breaking apart.
I couldn't move.
I didn't want to move.
Then— Pain.
Sharp.
Sudden.
Inside my head.
I gasped.
Something was wrong.
No—
Something was happening.
Heat spread through my body.
Not warmth.
Burning.
My muscles tightened.
My vision warped.
The cave twisted.
Or maybe I did.
Images flashed— Endless sand.
Hunger.
Violence.
A need.
Deep.
Primal.
Kill.
Consume.
Survive.
"No…"
My voice barely existed.
My fingers dug into the ground.
My body trembled uncontrollably.
Something inside me— Changed.
I felt it.
Not outside.
Inside.
Deeper.
Like something had settled into place.
Or replaced something that used to be there.
Then— It stopped.
Just like that.
Silence.
I lay there.
Breathing.
Barely.
My body felt lighter.
But wrong.
Different.
I slowly lifted my hand.
It was still shaking.
But not from weakness alone.
Something else was there now.
Something I couldn't see— But I could feel.
A presence.
Cold.
Watching.
Waiting.
I turned my head— Toward the body.
And for a moment.
I swore— It was still looking at me.
A voice echoed in my mind.
Cold.
Clear.
Not mine.
[Fragment Acquired]
[Unknown Trait Assimilated]
[Stability: Critical]
My breath caught.
Critical…?
My body trembled again.
Not from exhaustion.
From something deeper.
Something waiting.
Something growing.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I didn't understand anything.
Not this place.
Not that thing.
Not what just happened to me.
But one thing was clear.
If I stayed weak— I would die.
And next time— There wouldn't be a second chance.