Lex woke up in the dark, his body sluggish from sleep.
He exhaled through his mask and didn't move for a few seconds. The space around him felt oddly tight. His back rested against a smooth, membranous surface, and every slight movement made something faintly squelch beneath him.
With a firm movement, he pressed a hand against the surface above him. It was slick and rubbery, resisting at first before giving way with a wet rip. A thick strand of something clung to his arm as he pulled himself free, stretching like coagulated fluid before finally snapping.
As he emerged, a faint green glow cast jagged shadows around him, revealing the shriveled husk he had been sleeping in—a corpse of a red cell.
He was back inside the stomach of the titan.
Sleeping inside a corpse wasn't ideal, but at least it would protect him a bit against the poison in the rift. Even with his new clothes, Lex tried to avoid the poison as much as possible.
He flexed his fingers. Still stiff but functional. He then rolled his shoulders, ignoring the faint sting of dried blood cracking along his back before looking around.
There were corpses around him. Most of them were either shredded or half-dissolved and were scattered across the stomach's floor.
Speaking of stomach, his grumbled.
"Right. It has been a while since my last meal," he thought. "Good timing, I guess."
Lex stood up, his body aching, and slowly took out the three pouches he had gathered from the parasites yesterday. They were the reason why he was here and the reason why he had risked his life.
"It should be enough to start the quest," he said dismissively as he looked at the pouches.
Lex used his knife and opened one of the pouches. Before the yellow liquid could spill, he removed his mask and held the pouch upside down and started to drink.
The taste was awful. It was a mix of rotten eggs and old milk, and the texture was even worse. It was thick and slimy, sticking to the roof of his mouth and clinging to his tongue.
However, Lex didn't stop. He kept drinking, forcing the disgusting liquid down his throat. Once he finished the first pouch, he tossed it aside and reached for the next. This continued for a while until he finished the last one.
After he was done, he took a moment to catch his breath. His stomach felt heavy and bloated, and his throat was sore, but he was satisfied.
As Lex wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, a slow, uncomfortable heat spread through his stomach. It wasn't the usual nausea from eating something disgusting—it was deeper, heavier. Almost alive.
However, he simply ignored it and instead focused on the new notification that popped up.
[You have received a new QUEST!]
Lex immediately opened the quest window.
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[Quest: Titan's Inheritor]
[Description]: You have consumed the remains of a forgotten ruler. Long ago, Titans ruled as the ultimate species, their bodies forming the foundation of entire worlds.
But their legacy has faded, their power has been lost to time, and their species is on the brink of extinction.
To reclaim their inheritance, you must devour what remains of their existence, piecing together the body of a Titan. Only then can their dominion rise again through you.
[Objective] :
- Consume Titan fragments to restore their legacy.
[Progress] :
-Titan's Digestive Core (43% Complete)
-Unknown
-Unknown
-Unknown
...
[Reward] :
- Evolution from "Human" to "Titan"
[Notes]: Eating the flesh of a titan is irreversible. You must now continue eating or face the consequences.
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Lex stared at the system message. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"I almost forgot… They do have a strange way of reproducing," he said as he put back his mask.
Unlike most living beings, Titans did not lay eggs or possess reproductive organs. That aspect of their biology had long since been abandoned.
Even before their assimilation into the Game, Titans were renowned for their extreme adaptability. However, this ability reached its true potential only upon their assimilation into the Game and becoming players.
They evolved so rapidly that they discarded traditional reproduction entirely, instead adapting to the Game's mechanics to ensure their continued existence.
When a Titan neared the end of its life, it would seek a place of stillness—somewhere undisturbed, where its body could remain intact.
Upon death, its flesh would not decay. Instead, the body would continue functioning autonomously for decades, even centuries, as its organs reshaped into vast, self-sustaining ecosystems, like where Lex currently stood.
Over time, it would transform into a fortress of flesh and a living dungeon—a perfect place for a rift because of their natural semi-autonomous defense mechanisms, like white cells or hollow parasites.
The Game recognized this and, ever opportunistic, would turn these remains into proving grounds for newly assimilated worlds, like the newly assimilated floor 0, Earth.
But this was what the Titans wanted.
Unaware of what they had stumbled into, fresh players would soon find themselves within the Titan's body and would ultimately run out of food before being able to gather enough coins to escape the rift.
Most new players would not know this, but merchants can't enter rifts, meaning titans' meat would soon be the only food source.
Hunger would drive them to consume it. And the moment Titan flesh passed their lips, the process would begin.
A quest called "Titan Inheritor" would be assigned, and the eater's body would slowly begin to transform, with their cells being rewritten to become more like the titan's.
It was some kind of parasitic way to reproduce.
In addition, only the strongest would prove worthy of evolution, as the quest required the player to travel through the entire body.
In a way, their corpses would become wombs for their children to grow in, while the titan's natural defense would be used to weed out the weak.
This quest would be a win-win for the game, as it would create a free space for a rift, benefit the titan that can reproduce, and benefit the player, as being a titan has a lot of advantages.
This was the nature of the Titan's inheritance. The true nature of this rift.
However, Lex was not a newborn player. He knew exactly what this quest was and what it meant to become a Titan.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the slow spread of heat in his stomach. It wasn't just warmth but rather some sort of movement, something shifting inside him, creeping into his limbs, testing the shape of his body as if trying to mold him into something else.
Lex exhaled, rolling his shoulders as the ache intensified. His voice came out quiet, almost amused.
"A shame, really..." his expression hidden behind his mask.
His gaze lingered on the quest window, taking in every word but his eyes focused more on the word "Irreversible." The Game liked to pretend things were set in stone, but Lex had learned long ago—there was no such thing.
Then, without warning or hesitation, he drove his knife straight into his throat.
The blade sank deep, severing flesh and muscle, and blood surged out in thick waves. Lex barely reacted, standing still as crimson spilled down his chest. He was waiting.
The system responded instantly.
[Blessing 'Better Yesterday' has been activated! Rewinding time to: 21 minutes ago.]
The moment the notification appeared, the blood stopped mid-air, then, unnaturally, began flowing back. The gash in his throat sealed itself, muscle knitting back together as if the wound had never happened.
But more importantly—The heat was gone. The slow, crawling shift beneath his skin had vanished, leaving nothing but a dull emptiness, as if he had just woken up from a long sleep.
Then, another chime.
[You have accomplished a rare feat! You fulfilled all conditions for the hidden Easter Egg: 'Rejection of the Colossus.']
[Secret Condition: Resist a Titan's Evolution while being in the tutorial.]
[Reward Unlocked: New Blessing Acquired – Titan Nemesis.]
[Quest: "Titan inheritor" has been nullified!]
Lex stared at the notification for a long moment before letting out a quiet sigh. His body had rewinded to the moment he had just woken up.
"...Great. Now I'm hungry again," he said as his stomach growled again.