Chapter One Hundred and Fifty - 150The Larval Ravager teeth were many. Row after row of overlapping fangs twisted and clenched, some missing him by mere inches.
Others did not.
Armored Skin is level 49!
His arms and shoulders bore the worst of it, though the wounds started clotting almost immediately as the monster essence he held inside of him diminished rapidly. Minutes ago, he would have been confused perhaps terrified by that detail. Now it was nothing more than a fact, one that meant he might succeed.
Short, tight bursts of Reign of Vellus sent him careening through the Ravager's throat. It spared him more injuries, at least until he cleared the last row of teeth. Then he met the pulsating esophagus of the beast, the wet, purple-red organ lined with massive thorns that rattled with its panicked breaths.
The Larval Ravager screamed, and the thorns shook like a million maracas. Though he'd surprised the monster by his move, it wasn't taking it lying down. Half-summoned, his latest burst of kinetic force died on his fingertips, blown out like a match in a windstorm. A terrible buzzing crawled across his skin as Felix fell, ricocheting freely off the thorn-lined esophagus, a sound that pushed into his head like a drill. But all it found inside was the same inchoate noise, roared out from within his very Spirit.
Its (Her!) voice was a balm on Felix's senses, a music that somehow drowned out the deafening bellow of the Ravager. Felix heard the call in Her tone, the passion. Memories. Of all the beasts he'd fought, those few touched by Her song had formed a core of power. Solid and hidden, he somehow knew these cores fueled the abilities and transformation of Her progeny. Her children. This one was a fake, a pretender to the throne that She would not tolerate.
He knew what to do.
Blue lightning slashed to the rear, propelling Felix into the slick surface of the Ravager's innards. Talons of ebon night tore away at it, slipping at first, before catching and tearing. Ripping. Viscous, dark fluids poured out of the hole, and Felix couldn't help but laugh. He opened his mouth wide, teeth flashing in the after shocks of his lightning, and he let the tumult cover him. Power, swirling clouds of essence formed within him, drawn from the beast's flesh. It gave him strength, more than enough to keep moving.
What Dwells Beneath is level 21!
Bloodline Progression is 63%
The flesh around him quivered and shook, but it could not dislodge him. What it could do, however, was heal rapidly. The fissures he created sealed quickly behind him, new fat and muscle reforming as the Ravager bellowed and sucked at the ambient Mana. Like a weevil in a wall, he burrowed deeper, fleeing the closing flesh while seeking the one thing his Mind, Spirit, and Body all screamed for: sustenance.
What Dwells Beneath is level 22!
Bloodline Progression is 64%
A heat stopped him. Not anything from among the Larval Ravager's organs, but from within. His chest. A...calling?
STOP!
He couldn't stop. That wasn't possible. He was so hungry.
REMEMBER!
The memory of feathers and fur stirred in him, of a beak that nipped his fingers. It had been hungry too. Growing. He--
A pain clutched at his chest, and Felix curled up within the Ravager. Unnamed fluids pooled around him, drenching him, soaking his clothes. The pain was a hard, sharp stone jammed into his heart. No, five stones, gripping his chest as if to strangle. As if to rip something out.
The calling stopped, dimmed too dark, and so too did the pain. Neither faded, not completely. But it was enough for him to unclench his limbs and keep moving. Forward. Toward the core.
The Ravager's flesh was tough, resistant to all but the preternatural edge of his talons and teeth, so the going was slow. He moved like an eel, a snake, sliding his body along the path he forced open with the burning Strength in his arms and legs. His skin had become dark once more, rough like stone or bark, not quite scaled but a far cry from smooth. Spurs of bone jutted along his forearms and legs, sharp nubs that aided him in his crawling advance even as they tore apart his jacket and trousers. Had his boots not given him incredible traction in the slimy confines, he would have kicked them free. His feet felt cramped, talons pressed tight against the enchanted material.
He felt like a new being. Strong and tireless, even when the Ravager attempted to bear down and kill him. Creatures came for him, mostly small and formed of chitinous knots of appendages surmounted by leech-like mouths. The moment he attained greater space, an abscess within the Ravager, these things came for him.
Parasites, She whispered in disdain. They are nothing.
And She was right.
The parasites fell before his claws, their strange bodies broken with a single strike. He ate one of them to sate his Hunger, but the taste was foul. Whatever they were, they tasted of refuse and waste. He ate two more just to be sure. More came, relentless, endless, but he plowed through them, digging deeper.
Notifications flared and passed as he moved and fought, simple things that the growing storm within him fueled. Felix tore stubborn pieces of fat and muscle from his path, often eating it with a squirming relish, pushing himself ever forward.
Blind Fighting is level 25!
Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Blind Fighting!
You Gain:
+5 DEX
+10 PER
Unarmed Mastery is level 33!
Unfettered Volition is level 22!
What Dwells Beneath is level 23!
Bloodline Progression is 65%
Meaningless words. All that mattered to him was moving, pushing, eating. And the core. Soft, whispered words floated through his Mind, just as his Hunger pulsed within his Spirit. The Body followed, urged by the cravings that could not be denied.
The screeching split his concentration as he entered another abscess, it's tone loud enough to distract. The parasite he fought, far larger than those previous, took the opportunity to slash open his chest. Felix flinched from the attack, hissing. A sense of desperation and fear inundated him, tumultuous emotions that muddled his mind.
STOP!
Enough! Felix snarled in his mind, ducking away from the parasites that tried to flank him. Multitudinous limbs flashed with sharp claws, their many eyes glowing in the fetid dark. Their bodies were knots of bone and gristle, large as they were, like skeletons made to an insane man's vision. But the creature in his mind could not be stopped. The wet world around him faded as light bloomed, and suddenly Felix was outside, looking through someone else's eyes.
He stood amidst the horde, now surging toward him and two others. Two women, different in many obvious ways but similar in conviction. Each held their weapons at the ready, their bodies low and grounded, ready for the fight. His not-eyes flicked between the oncoming monsters and the women, while surges of wild emotion flared in his chest.
Remember, Felix!
Etheric Concordance is level 33!
Etheric Concordance is level 34!
Tightness enveloped his heart, his connection. That tunnel of light flickered out once again, strangled by Her dark hand. Soft assurances snaked through his ears, redirecting the snap-back of foreign rage and dismay. Turned outward, toward the parasites that still accosted him.
Pain bloomed from his chest and hip, and Felix discovered more jagged wounds where his toughened flesh did not quite reach. Roaring in pain, he barreled forward, pushing off a slick protuberance and launching himself, talons first at a parasite. The creature flailed defensively, scoring strikes against Felix's shoulders and arms, but their claws scraped harmlessly off. A flurry of wild swings eventually caught them, tearing off one of their many limbs and dumping their foul ichor into the cavity. Felix landed at the far end, injured but healing.
Several mouths screeched at him from across the abscess while the meaty walls pulsed like a heart. Corrupted Mana surged through the area, lighting everything with a bloody stain, and Felix turned just in time to see the parasites leap for him. They hit him like a speeding truck, driving him through the slick walls and into a cascade of violet ichor. They gripped him with bony appendages, lashing with wild abandon at his head and neck. Felix lifted his shoulders, protecting his neck from immediate harm, but the parasites were relentless.
Reign of Vellus!
A surge of lightning blasted the parasites from atop him, sending them flying much farther than Felix had anticipated. He rolled to his feet, surprised to find himself in a larger area, somewhere deep in the recesses of the Larval Ravager. Visible bones lined the walls, as if he'd entered some sort of rib cage....except it was only the size of a high school auditorium at best. Far too small to serve as a true rib cage to the beast.
A wet shuffling caught his ear and through the swirling Mana, Felix could see the parasites gathering. There were far more than two. They drifted in from around the chamber, nightmarish skeleton monsters with too many eyes and too many limbs, skittering across the 'walls.' A web of thick tendons sat in the center of the abscess, an organic pillar that stretched from the floor to the ceiling and which glowed with an irratic light. A dissonant hum filled the air, slithering through the space in a way that Felix found familiar.