The First Forge
1272 Words
Some people call it luck. I call it the price of breathing for one more second.
Lincoln scrambled backward, his boots sliding on the slick, stone floor. The Shadow Scavenger, pinned beneath the massive slab of rock, was thrashing in its death throes. Its limbs scraped against the cavern wall with a sound that set Lincoln teeth on edge.
"Lincoln, get back!" Santiago shouted, his voice cracking. He was huddled near the base of the wall, clutching his side.
"I am okay," Lincoln panted, his chest heaving. "I am okay."
"You are covered in blood," Santiago said, pointing a shaking finger at Lincoln chest. "Is that yours?"
"It is mine, it is the beast, it is all of it," Lincoln said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. He looked down at the creature. It was still twitching, its dark, obsidian-like eyes slowly losing their luster.
Suddenly, a series of sharp, mechanical chimes rang out in Lincoln head. A blue, translucent screen flickered into existence right before his eyes.
System Update: Target terminated. Experience gained.
"What is that?" Santiago gasped, staring at the empty air where Lincoln was looking. "Lincoln, what are you seeing?"
"I see... everything," Lincoln whispered, his heart hammering. He looked at the System screen. A new prompt was scrolling down the side.
Object Identification: Shadow Scavenger Claw. Rarity: Common.
"Santiago, look," Lincoln said, reaching out to touch the claw of the dead beast. "It is not just dead meat. It is a material."
"A material for what?" Santiago asked, his voice full of doubt. "For dinner? We need to move, Lincoln. That thing had friends."
"No, for this," Lincoln said, his fingers brushing against the interface. A new menu option flashed in front of him.
"What is that?" Santiago asked, leaning forward, his eyes wide. "That image, that sequence of letters. It looks like... a ghost in the machine."
"It is a guide," Lincoln said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "It is showing me how to put things together. Look at this."
He held up the jagged, energy-infused rock he had used earlier. He placed it next to the creature's claw.
"You are going to try to make something?" Santiago asked, his tone skeptical. "With nothing but a rock and a dead monster limb?"
"I have to," Lincoln said, his focus narrowing. "We are defenseless, Santiago. Look at me. If I don't build something, we are just waiting to be eaten."
"You do not know how to forge," Santiago argued, shaking his head. "Your mother was the Forge Master, not you."
"She is not here," Lincoln said, his voice hard. "And I am not dying in the dark."
He reached out and grabbed the claw. He felt a sharp prick as the edge cut his palm. He did not flinch. He let his blood drip onto the rock and the claw.
System Prompt: Material Fusion Initialized.
"Lincoln, stop," Santiago cried. "You are bleeding!"
"It is worth it," Lincoln gritted out, his teeth clenched in pain. "It needs a catalyst. It needs me."
The air around his hands began to shimmer, the blue light of the System interface growing brighter, swallowing the dim, claustrophobic darkness of the mine. The rock and the claw started to hum, a low, vibrating sound that seemed to resonate in Lincoln bones.
"What is happening?" Santiago yelled, shielding his eyes from the glare. "It looks like the stone is melting!"
"It is being reshaped," Lincoln said, his breath hitching as he watched the materials fuse. "It is not melting. It is being forged."
The blue light pulsed, once, twice, and then snapped shut.
In Lincoln hand, the rock and the claw were gone. In their place was a dagger. It was rough, uneven, and wicked, with a blade that shimmered with a faint, dark violet energy.
System Notification: First Craft Unlocked. Title Acquired: Novice Forger.
Lincoln held the weapon up, his hand steadying as he felt the power radiating from the hilt. It felt like an extension of his own arm.
"It is beautiful," Santiago whispered, his fear momentarily forgotten.
"It is a start," Lincoln said, testing the weight. He slashed the air, the blade whistling with a sharp, lethal sound. "It is a Lesser Shadow Dagger. It can cut through things that would break ordinary steel."
"And you made it," Santiago said, looking at him with a mix of awe and terror. "You really made it."
"I am just getting started," Lincoln said, a dark, dangerous smile playing on his lips. "I can sense the energy in this place, Santiago. It is everywhere. It is in the walls, it is in the monsters, it is in the very air."
"That is what worries me," Santiago said, his voice trembling. "If there is energy, there are things that want it. Things that are much, much bigger than that scavenger."
"Let them come," Lincoln said, his grip on the dagger tightening.
"Lincoln, you are talking like a madman," Santiago pleaded. "We need to find a way out, not fight a war in the dark."
"The way out is through," Lincoln said, his eyes scanning the cavern floor. "If I can craft weapons, I can carve my own path. I can make our own light."
"And if you are wrong?" Santiago asked.
"Then I die trying," Lincoln said, his voice devoid of hesitation.
"You sound so cold," Santiago whispered. "Where did the boy I knew go?"
"The boy you knew died when they threw him down that hole," Lincoln said, his voice flat. "This man is just trying to survive."
Suddenly, a low, rhythmic thrumming sound began to vibrate through the stone floor. It was deep, guttural, and getting louder by the second.
"Do you hear that?" Santiago asked, his voice barely audible.
"I hear it," Lincoln said, his eyes snapping to the cavern floor beneath them.
"It sounds like... heavy breathing," Santiago said, his skin turning pale. "Like something huge."
Lincoln looked down. The ground beneath them was littered with strange, translucent spheres, each one the size of a human head. They were pulsating with a faint, rhythmic heartbeat.
"Eggs," Lincoln whispered, his blood running cold. "These are nests."
"Oh god," Santiago choked out. "That was not a scout. That was the protector."
The floor vibrated again, harder this time. Dust fell from the ceiling in thick sheets, coating them in gray ash.
"We need to move," Lincoln said, his voice urgent. "Now!"
"Where?" Santiago asked, his eyes darting frantically around the chamber. "There is no exit!"
"There has to be," Lincoln said, scanning the walls, his System interface glowing red.
"The vibration," Santiago said, clutching his chest. "It is getting closer!"
Lincoln turned, his dagger held out in front of him. In the far corner of the chamber, the shadows seemed to detach themselves from the rock, swirling into a massive, towering shape that blocked the only path forward.
"It is not coming from the walls," Lincoln whispered, his eyes wide. "It is coming from the dark."
The shape reared up, revealing two glowing, hateful eyes that burned with the heat of a furnace. It was a Shadow Scavenger, but it was massive, easily ten times the size of the one Lincoln had just killed. It let out a shriek that felt like it was tearing the mine apart.
"That is the mother," Santiago sobbed. "Lincoln, we are already dead."
Lincoln looked at the eggs at his feet, then back at the colossal monster towering over them. He gripped his dagger, his knuckles white.
"Not today," Lincoln said, his voice a low growl. "Not in this life."
The mother beast lunged.
- Writer
