Volume 1: Rebirth Arc
Chapter 15: The First Blood
The Voidling let out a low, vibrating hiss that resonated deep within their chests.
The beast’s blind head tilted, its fleshy membranes expanding and contracting as it tasted the rich, warm scent of human blood leaking from Shu’s scrapes and bruises.
There was no room for hesitation.
No system menus to grant miraculous powers, no divine intervention.
Just raw, brutal physics and the unyielding instinct to stay alive.
“Run,” Shu whispered sharply to Kai’Sa, shoving her backward toward a narrow cleft in the damp rock wall.
“I’m not leaving you!” she cried back, her voice cracking with terror.
“Run or we both die!” Shu barked, his tone carrying a command so absolute it shocked her into motion.
As Kai’Sa scrambled backward into the shadows of the crevice, the Void-spawned predator lunged.
It didn’t bound forward like a natural beast; its multi-jointed limbs compressed like steel springs, launching its armored body across the rocky cavern floor with terrifying velocity.
Shu didn’t try to dodge backward—the uneven terrain would have tripped him instantly.
Instead, using every ounce of momentum and the hypoxic conditioning he had drilled into his body for months, he dropped low, sliding sideways across the gritty stone floor.
Screeech!
The creature’s razor-sharp forelimbs sheared through the air inches above his head, scraping against the stone wall with a shower of fiery sparks.
Shu came up on one knee, his breath burning in his throat.
His small, trembling hand gripped the jagged granite shard with all its might.
As the beast pivoted with unnatural agility to correct its trajectory, exposing the soft, pulsating membrane beneath its armored neck, Shu struck.
He didn’t swing like a child throwing a punch; he drove the stone forward with the full rotation of his hips and shoulders, putting every fiber of his limited physical strength behind the point.
CRUNCH.
The jagged granite bit deep into the creature’s vulnerable flesh, tearing through the thin membrane and sinking straight into its throat.
A thick geyser of dark, boiling purple fluid sprayed outward, hot enough to hiss as it splattered against the cold stone floor.
The Voidling shrieked—a high-pitched, metallic noise that pierced their eardrums—and flailed wildly, its armored tail sweeping across the floor and catching Shu squarely in the ribs.
The impact sent Shu flying backward, crashing hard against the cavern wall.
He gasped, the wind knocked completely out of his lungs, a sharp agony flaring in his chest as his cracked rib took the brunt of the blow.
The beast thrashed violently for a few more seconds, black ichor pooling around its lifeless limbs, before its body finally went rigid and collapsed into a motionless heap of smoking black carapace.
Silence rushed back into the cavern, heavier and more oppressive than before.
Shu slumped against the damp stone, clutching his aching side, coughing as the metallic reek of Void-blood filled his nostrils.
He stared at his trembling, blood-stained hands.
He had survived the first encounter, but deep down in the dark tunnels, that creature was nothing more than a stray ant.
And they were standing right in the middle of a massive, waking anthill.