When he opened his sapphire eyes, he was glad to see all his limbs still attached to his body. He kneaded his shoulders, his legs and arms, his butt...
Phew! All is good to go. No monster showed up in the cave... I wonder why? Though the smell didn't get any better.
The boy rose to his frail legs. They were slender and smooth, like a girl's. He wondered once again whether he was truly a boy, but the morning wood between his thighs knocked some clarity into his head. After taking a piss by the rocks and cave-walls, his boner finally settled down. He did think of touching himself, of stroking his little cock up and down and kept going until he relieved himself and reached climax... But he was in an unknown body, in an unknown cave, an unknown forest brimmed with monsters... A moment of diversion in frenziness could be lethal, and he was just brought back to life.
Two choices were laid in his mind; follow the light and get out of the cave and explore whatever world was outside, or, follow the darkness and the trail of blood and corpses leading deeper into the hollow and perhaps find something that could answer some of his questions.
It wasn't by fortuity that he woke up in a magic circle drawn in blood and thirteen corpses at his side. A blood sacrifice, he wondered at first. Somebody must have conjured a demon... a devil... But to what end? I need to find out.
His legs were shaking at this point. Yet, he'd made his mind. He would savvy the truth behind what had transpired here. One step at a time he plunged into the sea of darkness as his eyes saw as the day outside. He'd passed the corpses, kept going on...
When he'd walked for almost two hours, with his legs that ached and his back that prickled his bones, he saw a faint light, then it became bolder, broader, clawing at the night... He trudged, panting with every step and he saw it... The heart of the cave.
Its walls and ceiling were covered in luminescent artic, cerulean and sky blue crystals and quartz. In the middle was a lake of the clearest water he'd ever seen. Its water mirrored the ceiling and the crystals and quartz, a display of the stars cavorting in the abode. He went on and tasted the water, having in mind that his newly obtained body was somewhat invulnerable to poison.
"BY ALL THE GODS!" he exclaimed. "It tastes like milk. That's impossible. Computer scan the water."
It did as he commanded.
"Analysis of the water completed. The water contains more minerals and elements than the outside rivers and lakes. A type that can only be found in this cave due to the amenartz found here. These crystals can be used as material for swords and spears and shields. It is ten times stronger than metals extracted from the earth. It has another element that makes it edible for those who could chomp through the material and has stomach acids a thousand times more powerful than humans'."
"Could I eat those Crystals?" he skimmed a hand over a cluster of quartz. They were smooth, cold and beautiful. It was as if hundreds of stars were trapped inside a single one of them. "Are my fangs strong enough to tear through them? Will my stomach be able to assimilate the minerals?"
"If Unique Ability Devourer is set in motion, everything can be consumed. Devourer allows you to store materials in a pocket dimension, break it down, analyse it and replicate it perfectly."
That was breaking news to him. He'd come to know that he possessed a pocket dimension in his belly. Does it mean I can eat anything I want and not get fat at all? He thought. If only I had this ability back at home... He sank to his knees and cried.
"There are only monsters and raw flesh here..." he allowed a few drops of tears to roll down his bubbly cheeks. "What am I supposed to do with my endless pit of a stomach if the food sucks!?"
Let's calm down, he took a deep breath and got back up. First thing first, I'm curious about this super mineral stronger than earthly metals. It must be imbued with magic, I can sense it.
"Activate Devourer"
His fangs grew and they sank into the crystal and then he reduced it to shred and consumed the damned thing. It had no funny taste and had no sweet milky taste either. He was a little dissatisfied and disappointed. Might be because the element in the crystal must form a chemical bond with the hydrogen bond.
"...Mineral Amenartz acquired... Breaking down the material... Amenartz can now be replicated... Ability Devourer has evolved... Devourer can now be used with all body parts... Those parts include right hand, left hand, right leg, left leg, right arm, left---"
"Okay, I got the idea," he stopped his little voice in his head.
He looked around. There weren't any bats or lizards on the ceiling or walls. And the cave was strangely calm and quiet... A little too quiet to his taste. But the corpses on the way here reminded him to up his guard, to stay vigilant for any possible danger.
For some reason, the memories of his past flooded his mind. He recalled a summer evening at the end of July. He'd just finish his shift at the hospital and stepped into the street to cross the road. A few flashes later, a stirring steel hit him by the side and dragged him for half a minute.
The driver must have been drunk, he caught himself thinking at death's doors. Crimson blood had never bothered him, but the blood that puddled up was his, the patient was him. He could hear people screaming and fading into a single muffle whisper, then only cold...
"Movement detected! Ten meters... Six meters... Three meters..."
A whisper of cold kiss it was, a pivotal meeting with Death itself in the most beautiful of places. His breath on his neck made him shiver.
"You finally woke up..." He whispered in his ear.
The silver-haired showed no hint of fret, though he was terrified. He slowly turned towards the voice that whispered in his ear. "I...don't understand..."
The young man was hovering about him, his hair of the darkest night ever known to mankind, his eyes as red as blood. "What don't you understand? How you came back alive?"
He had a heavenly beauty with a pinch of wilderness in his eyes. "Let me show you," he observed the mole under his lip.
In a heartbeat, his lips were locked with the black-haired man. A flash of remembrance passed between them. It was the memory of the other.
He saw himself in the hub of the magical circle of blood, an old man was covered in wounds and blood. He wasn't sure if the blood was his or the people he'd sacrifice to summon a demon.
The old man asked for the boy to return alive, as compensation the demon could eat the souls of the twelve people here plus his if he wanted to.
That was when their lips parted and the remembrance came to an end.
"I ate the souls and when I came to fulfil my part of the bargain, your soul had already settled into your body. By then I just had to revive the dead cells in your brain and body and circulate your blood flow. Even after that, it took you two days to wake up and walk."
The boy died, he concluded, and I jumped into an empty host. Moreover, the old man who tried to save this person might have been his guard. His armour was no joke, and he was still alive after those battle wounds... Who the hell is this child? What have I gotten myself into? If I knew I would have to deal with all this drama, I would have preferred to stay dead and rested... My Holy Mother of God! Please have mercy on this innocent child...
He was so focused on his misery that the notion of having a demon in front of him went through the window. "Are you praying or what? Can't you see an immortal being is in front of you? Aren't you a little scared? And I forgot to check, are you a boy or a girl? You have an interesting face."
A hand fondled his little worn. That brought him to reality in a snap. A stirring hand smacked the demon across the face. He'd let his instinct dictate his actions and now he was done for. Surely slapping a demon would mean imminent death... And that aura that was crushing his effortlessly...
The demon began to laugh hysterically.
"You aren't as fragile as you appear," he grabbed his face, squishing his cheeks red. "Now, now," his eyes had suddenly become cold, devoid of the warmth he saw before, "give me that alloyed blood of yours and severe that circle that's bounding me to this cave."
He didn't even notice that they had come back where it all started. The stench of corruption filled his nostrils, the dark blood soiled his bare feet... The magical circle of crimson fluid light up in a threatening blinding light. The demon scowled. "Damn binding magic," he pulled the white-haired boy closer and made him watch.
"That old man tricked me," he laughed. "He bound me to this cave with this magical circle... And your blood is the key to my freedom. You must be asking why I haven't taken your blood when you laid on your back here. There are two reasons: first, you were inside the circle and I can't get in or darg you out with magic. Second, all your cells in your blood were dead and I had to wait for them to regenerate. A pain in the ass if you ask me. I honoured my part of the bargain and I was double-crossed."
He laughed.
That answers my questions, the boy thought to himself. I guess the abilities I acquired will be a pick against a sword. This demon is far too powerful to mess with. I should do as he says if I want to stay alive. Who knows, maybe he'll leave me my life if I give him my blood...
"...Um..." He looked up, raised his inner eyebrows and gave the demon a 'puppy eyes' look. "I will give you my blood... So please let me go... You're hurting me..."
The demon smirked a willy one and relinquished his prey.
The boy kneaded his wrists and arms. Thank all the gods this face is beautiful, otherwise, this demon wouldn't have fallen for it. If it were my original old man face... I daresay I would be six foot underground by now and my blood would be soaking through the walls, ceiling and ground of this cursed cave. Oh, how I miss the comfort of the modern world. I miss my bed, my home, my wife and daughter.
After, the truth came to his knowledge. His wife had been cheating on him with his ex-best friend and she was with child. And his daughter supported the mother, poaching her even to engage in numerous adulteries. He sighed of relief for a brief moment. At least now I won't suffer, I'm somebody else in this world. I'm somebody else.
A razor-sharp fingernail slit open his wrist and his vital liquid poured out onto the magic circle. Smoke rose and the light died out, to naught.
The black-haired took a deep breath, air filling his lungs and blew a tornado of dark grey mist from his mouth. An invisible barrier shattered into a million shards, giving him way to his long-awaited freedom. He strolled out as if he owned the world, but before he left, he gave the boy some words.
"The world of Croeazia is based on names. My name is Noir. What's yours?"
"Arthur... Arthur of Aragon," he told him.
"Good luck to you, Arthur of Aragon. You'll need it." The demon gave him a sad glance before disappearing in thin air.
Suddenly his body felt lighter. His muscles were more relaxed. He trudged towards the opening of the hollow and got out of that cave.
That demon... He recalled. Noir? The world based on names? Where in the seven hells did I end up in? If monsters are as powerful as he is... Then I'm done for! I need to get stronger, I need to be stronger.
"I WILL BEAT THIS WORLD!"
That day he fought against an Aceros whose shell was one of the strongest material in this world. He used his recently acquired 'web' to immobilise it and used 'poison', and reduced the reptile to a pile of bones, then used his unique ability 'devourer' to gain the so-called armour the beast had on its back.
He shot down a Hawgle from the sky with his water manipulation. The bird's wings were four meters wide altogether and its flesh tasted like chicken in his mouth. Before he cooked the bird, Arthur ate a piece of raw material and updated his 'mimic' list.
Deeper into the forest, Arthur found himself face to face against a giant boar. The creature had a dirty, almost black fur and fangs that rose to his head like towers of yellow trees. It charged as soon as he caught glimpse of him, the only problem for the beast was that Arthur was now far quicker and agile than yesterday. Each day was a hassle, a test for him, and in two days, he grew so much.
Arthur dodged, used his web to trapped him in a cocoon and drowned the boar inside.
When all movement stopped, he knew it was time to undo the cocoon of white threads. The boar was dead, water came flowing out of his mouth and nose... and a yellowish liquid from behind. It had pissed itself before giving out...
Arthur chuckled, but what could he do with the dead boar now? His stomach was full from the bird he ate prior. The night was almost here, and he had no place to spend the night. The cave was far away to the east, and he wouldn't like another encounter like the devil before. The boar was too big to boot. He could have seven to ten days of three meals if he were to feed on its flesh.
A branch snapped under the step of something, or someone. Arthur used the vapour in the atmosphere and turned it into water orbs, hovering all about him. He made eight in all, as a start. If the enemy proved strong, then... I could grow a pair of hawgle wings and fly away, he consolated himself.
Around twelve tall, scrawny and brown-ish figures came forth from the shadows. Their leader spoke first after scanning the boar with his eyes.
Arthur used his Unique Ability, Communication to translate and reply.
"Oh Great One," the leader said. "Have a little pity on the starving weakling that we are. Please give us this boar to feed our people."
They were all bones, only little flesh under their skin. Their fangs came from the lower jaw and rose to the level of their small nose. They had hair, on the head, on their body, some even in their ears.
The leader suffered from starvation the most, probably because he offered his share of food to his people... He went to his knees first, dropping his spear. The others followed.
Well, it's not like I will eat this boar. Sharing is caring, wasn't it?
"You can have the boar. Don't kneel, I'm a nobody. I'm no king, no savior. You can have the boar. Feed your people." His orbs of water collapsed on the ground, there was no danger. These beings had suffered enough. They were skins and bones, skin rags barely covering their private parts. If Arthur didn't know better, he could have sworn that he went back to when men had just begun walking.
The Unique Ability 'Communication' melted with Arthur's tongue and vocal cords. He spoke it to excellence as if he'd spoken it since birth.
"Please let us show you our gratitude. The sun is 'bout to set. And the forest is a dangerous place in the dark. Big monsters came out and feast on the weak. Let us give you our thanks for your generosity. Even if you're this strong, if a pack of amaroks were to circle you... "
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