Devil's Chosen

The Fall

My breathing quickened as I ran through the cave, jumping over and avoiding the new holes that appeared in front of me. Behind me, I heard hundreds of tiny legs clattering against the floor. I looked back and saw at least a few dozen of the creatures chasing after me. The sound they created made me want to vomit; it sounded like a whirlpool of flesh and bones crashing into one another.

I sped up as I heard the new holes start to make noises as well, tiny sharp talons clawing at each of their entrances. Sweat poured down my face with each step that I took. My white hair was dangling in front of me, covering my eyes. My breath hitched with my movement, slowing my pace.

The rough jagged rocks dug into my heels while I pushed hard off the ground, propelling myself forward. I watched as a new hole appeared in front of me, and as it did, I pushed hard and exploded upwards. As I leaped over the hole, in the milliseconds I hovered over it, I saw a pair of sharp talons reaching towards me.

Without a moment's notice, I twisted my body out of the way as two talons flew out of the hole, piercing the air where I had just been. Although I had avoided the talons, the dodge had caused me to lose balance. While being midair, I looked down at the ground as I felt my body begin to tilt. Pulling my hands forward, I landed face-first, rolling over myself on the floor.

Looking back, the monsters were almost upon me, and now, with my delay, the holes that surrounded me started to sprout the horrid creatures. Screeches came from all directions, making my body tense. To my sides, monsters had appeared, now staring at me with their melted faces.

The first creature charged at me, revealing its dark fangs. I braced myself and dodged out of the way, causing the beast to slam its head into the wall. As it did, the next beast dove at me, but just as it did, I kicked it straight in the underbelly, causing it to roar and get sent flying. Climbing to my feet, I began to take off in the opposite direction from the wall monsters.

As I ran, a hole rumbled in front of me, and to my horror, I watched as a new monster emerged from it. I thought of slowing, but the sound of nearing death dispelled that idea. I dashed towards the creature, surprising the feisty beast for a moment. In the next second, I ran straight through the creature before it could react. The pure blunt force of me ramming the monster caused it to tumble back and fall back into its own hole.

While I ran past, a loud screech of anger echoed from the hole, before eventually disappearing into the darkness.

I dashed forward, dodging holes and talons alike. I was running out of energy, and my body was struggling to keep up with the strain. I could feel my muscles vibrate and convulse from overexertion. My mind raced, trying to figure out a way to survive.

I knew I couldn't run forever, that eventually my body would fail me. I tried to think of ways to escape, but I was in a cave that seemed never to end. I did not want it to end here, but from the looks of things, this might be it...

No, I won't stop, I will escape!

Through the cramps, I dashed forward, looking for anywhere to go. Tears welled at the corners of my eyes, but I held them in. With every step, a shock bolted up my leg, and with each shock, despair started to creep into my soul.

I ran through the cave, hoping for anything that could save me. After around a hundred meters, the cave seemed to get smaller, and after another eighty, it got even smaller...

The cave was shrinking, and it was shrinking fast! After another minute of running, the cave was just large enough to fit another person and me, and a minute after that, only my petite body was able to run through the cave.

I watched as the roof shrank as well, descending to be just around a meter higher than me. As the cave tightened, my breathing seemed to shorten as less oxygen reached my lungs. Looking back, I watched in horror as, from head to toe, the cave had been completely covered in those monsters. Some clung to the walls, some to the roof, but the majority just piled over each other on the floor, making it seem like the cave itself was closing in on me.

Eventually, the cave narrowed to the point where I had to shimmy to move, slowing my speed rapidly. The sound of liquid flesh echoed loudly in the tight space, and once the space had grown almost too tight, I felt a piercing pain in my lower leg. Looking down, I saw my calf dripping blood, as it had been run through by one of the creature's talons.

My acidic blood allowed me to pull away, tearing the talon from the leg completely, but the damage had already been done; the hoard had reached me.

I looked up in horror as the wave of monsters collapsed down upon me. I felt multiple of my ribs snap, along with both my legs. I screamed out in pain as dozens of talons pierced me. Blood rushed out of my mouth at an alarming rate, spilling onto one of the creatures on top of me. The monster squirmed as it began to melt, only to be replaced by another.

My body was getting riddled with stab marks, and the creatures started to bite into me one after another. I felt them try to inject their acid, but to no avail; it did not affect me due to One With Acid lvl 1.

When the creatures realized the acid was useless, they switched to relentlessly stabbing me with their talons. I choked on my blood as they relentlessly dug into me. As they stabbed, the talons melted, but once they did, they would just be replaced by new ones. The dozens of flowing creatures worked in unison, stabbing into me.

I started to suffocate under the weight of the beasts. My mouth dried up, and my tears started to dry up, leaving streaks of salt on my cheeks. As my eyes started to blur, my neck lost strength, causing my head to hit the ground. I lay there, each breath coming slower than the last.

Blood seeped from the multiple holes left in me, and even as each hole healed, two more would appear in its place. I could feel heat building in my skull as the weight pushed me into the ground.

I coughed again, spewing more blood out. My head rested against the ground, my eyes starting to droop. My ears were now ringing, drowning out the sound of mixing flesh and bone. Beneath me, the cold, hard ground cracked beneath the weight. Acid mixed into the ground destroys everything in its way.

I could barely hear myself think anymore, and the only thing I could feel was the vibrations and pain caused by the monsters. It felt like the whole cave was shaking, that the whole world was shaking. Below, the vibrations rumbled in a chaotic melody, having no rhythm to their fury. But beneath those vibrations, there was something else.

There was a beat, a perfect rhythmic beat... A beat that I had heard so many times before.

"Badump"

My heart paused. And my eyes flashed open. The pain that had been wearing me down vanished instantly—being replaced by something else. Something that made my blood rush, that made my mind set ablaze, that made me believe. It was hope...

I raised my hands, pushing them through the mass of flesh. While they raised, I felt along the wall, looking for something. After a few seconds of searching, I had found it. On both sides, I stuck my hands into small crevices that the acid and steel had created. I dug deep into the rock, using my bloody fingers to create perfect rock holds.

I clenched my body, through blood and pain, waiting for the next beat.

"Badump... Badump"

After those, I willed my broken legs to raise themselves to meet my chest. And with them there, I held my head low.

"Badump... Badump... Badump"

As the drums' pace quickened, I closed my eyes.

And with one final beat, the world came crashing down.

"Badump"

The cave began to shake; it quaked with a power I had never experienced before. The monsters trembled as the cave rocked, shrieks of terror emanating from every one of them. I held onto the sides as hard as I could, feeling the bruises start to form as the hard rock ruined my fingers.

As the shaking worsened, the monsters tried to plant themselves in the walls to keep steady, but in the small space and with many of them missing a few talons, only a few succeeded. The rest of the beast began to get flung around the cave, bashing into anything that crossed their path.

I watched as monsters turned to mush as they impacted, spewing acid in all directions. Some survived, only to then be thrown up again by the caves' movements. I bounced up and down, but with my hands locked in place and my weight being focused on the center, I was not tossed as badly as the creatures were.

I watched as a decently sized creature flew towards me, slamming hard into my chest, leaving me gasping for air. The monster landed in my lap, and in desperation, it stabbed its talons into me, hoping to use my body as a stabilizer.

I screamed in pain as it did, but fortunately, the pain did not last long, as my acidic blood turned the creature's talons to nothing, sending the monster splattering into the nearest wall during the next shake.

The number of the beast had been cut in half, with many more dying as well. As for me, I felt my hands slipping, but as I saw all the monsters cowering in fear, I decided that with my weight, this would be the only time to distance myself.

With a tug, my hands popped free, allowing them to fall onto my lap. My fingers were purple and dripped blood, but after a few moments, Demonic Regeneration lvl 4 kicked in, giving back the beautiful tone they once had. I watched as my legs snapped back into place, causing me to flinch instinctively.

With another shake, I was launched into the air, hitting the roof and tumbling back down. Blood dripped from where I had been struck, but I focused on moving forward. I kept my head low to avoid falling rocks and crawled on all fours to help fight the earthquake. I had to squeeze through the cave as the walls got even smaller. As I did this, the monsters roared in anger, but none dared unattach themselves from the cave walls.

With another beat, I faired better, bracing myself between the walls, only to be lifted slightly. After I had recovered, I crawled some more, hoping to make it to the end of this damn cave.

To my dismay, as I reached out, my hand did not feel air, but instead hard rock. I brought my head up to see a giant pure bedrock wall. My heart sank at the sight of it; my eyes darted around, searching for a new path, but I found none. It truly was a dead end...

I felt my blood boil, and rage take hold of my mind. I screamed as I realized that I was doomed. My knuckles bled and snapped as I punched the wall, leaving tiny fist imprints in the solid rock. I could feel the shaking begin to settle down, and the sounds of the monsters roared behind me as they started to move once again.

I tried my best...

Laughing and crying, I sat myself up against the wall, looking into the darkness while awaiting the horde's arrival. My will to fight was shattered; there was only one of me, and dozens of them.

I'm so stupid, so stupid! Punching my half-healed legs, I wanted to make myself hurt.

I was never going to accomplish anything. What was I thinking?

My siblings truly deserved better...

I saw a talon appear in the darkness, and with it, my eyes closed shut.

I spoke for the first time since I entered these caves. My beautiful voice radiated through the cave.

"Please let me rest."

The roar of the monsters echoed as they approached me. I felt the first creature approach me, as hot breath landed on my face. The smell was rancid, making me want to gag, but I was just too tired.

I listened to the monster, the time between each breath. The monster gargled, then ground its fangs together.

I felt more monsters approaching, piling up on one another, all of them trying to get a good look at me. Finally, as I felt myself drift into rest, a sound echoed through the cave. Not the beat of the drum, not the monsters, not me. The sound of cracking...

Suddenly, a loud boom exploded in the cave, and I became weightless.

I jolted my eyes open, looking all around me. I saw that the cave floor had broken apart. Beneath me was nothing but a black void. I screamed as gravity took hold and I descended into the abyss, accompanied by the monsters whose screams overlapped with my terror.