"Let's see, which one do I choose ?"
He stood at the edge of the ledge, staring at the two dark tunnels below. Each one disappeared into the unknown.
A smirk tugged at his lips as an old rhyme surfaced in his mind.
"Akad bakad bambe bol,
Assi nabbe pure sau…"
His finger landed on the left path.
A long pause.
Then, he turned to the right.
"Right it is."
Because trusting his luck? That was suicide.
He had learned long ago that if fate pointed one way, the other was the only real choice.
Decision made, he turned his gaze downward—toward the pit.
They writhed over one another, massive coils shifting in slow, lazy movements, their gleaming Nethrite-crusted backs blending into the cavern walls. The King of the Abyss lay at the center of it all, unmoving, its titanic body wrapped protectively around an egg the size of a boulder.
It hadn't moved once since he'd woken up in this place. But it was alive.
And even now, as still as it was, it ruled the cave.
No one, not even the other serpents, dared to disturb it.
If he made a single mistake, he would never leave this pit alive.
He had to move.
He bent his knees, tensed his muscles. Every step would decide whether he lived or died.
"1…2…3… [Dash!]
The moment his feet left the ground, the air rushed past his ears, the world a blur of stone and shadow.
His body tilted forward, but before gravity could claim him, he activated [Air Kick]!
A sudden, explosive force propelled him upward, shifting his trajectory mid-air. His boots connected sharply with the cave wall, sending cracks splintering across the surface.
Before the sound could alert the serpents below, he activated [Stealth], his presence vanishing into the darkness.
He exhaled slowly, pressing his back against the uneven rock.
Now came the real battle.
The Death Crawl was beginning!
The wall was hell.
Up close, the Nethrite deposits jutted out like razor-sharp fangs, their jagged edges gleaming cruelly in the faint glow of the cave. The rock was uneven, loose in places, forcing him to test every foothold before shifting his weight.
One wrong move, and he'd fall straight into the serpent-infested abyss below.
His palm bled within minutes. Scaling the wall with just one arm was very difficult already, the wounded palm had become the cherry on top.
Cherry on the cake of his death.
The edges of the Nethrite cut deep, slicing through his already damaged skin. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to ignore the burning pain and keep moving.
The serpent pit stretched below him, an endless sea of shifting bodies. They moved lazily, completely unaware of his presence. The soft scraping of their scales against stone sent a shiver down his spine.
He had to keep going.
Inch by inch. Step by step.
His boots scraped against the stone, sending tiny flakes of rock crumbling downward. He froze, barely breathing as a few pebbles plummeted into the abyss.
They landed soundlessly between the coils of the lesser serpents.
His heart hammered against his ribs. Too close.
He wiped his bloodied palm against his tattered clothes and forced himself forward.
The pain was unbearable. His right hand, the only one he had, throbbed with every movement, raw and torn. His fingers ached from gripping onto the rough rock, muscles straining under the weight of his body.
His arms trembled, his legs burned.
He couldn't afford to stop.
One mistake. One misstep.
And he would die.
After what felt like an eternity, he reached a larger foothold—a slight outcrop in the rock.
Breathing heavily, he allowed himself a moment to rest, his chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.
He dared to glance down.
The King of the Abyss was still there, coiled tightly around the egg, its enormous body lying deathly still.
It had not moved once.
And yet, its mere presence dominated the cavern.
Even in its slumber, it ruled.
Even in its stillness, it terrified.
He had to keep moving.
He adjusted his grip and pushed forward—
Crack.
A small piece of Nethrite broke off beneath his foot.
A fragment no bigger than a coin.
It tumbled down, bouncing against the jagged rock before disappearing into the pit below.
Silence.
His lungs seized.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A vibration.
Not in the air.
In the bones of the cave itself.
The stone trembled beneath his fingers, a deep, primordial hum reverberating through the walls.
And then—
A sound.
A deep, slow, exhale.
Not heard.
Felt.
A shudder ran through the nest. The smaller serpents froze, their bodies pressing deeper into the stone, as if instinctively bowing to something greater.
Then—
The King of the Abyss opened its eyes.
Two titanic, molten orbs of gold burned in the darkness.
Focused.
Unmoving.
Locked onto him.
The world stopped.
His heartbeat. His breath. His thoughts.
The cavern was no longer just a prison.
It was a graveyard.
And the King had seen him.