Axel took a deep breath, bracing to stand and explore when his stomach growled in defiance.
Right, I haven't eaten anything for a while, it was hard to think of food when everything was trying to kill you after all.
He rubbed his abdomen, wincing as his ribs protested, and eyed his backpack with something close to religious hope.
He dragged it closer, flipping through every pocket like a desperate archaeologist searching for ancient treasure.
When he was done, he laid everything out neatly before him like evidence of a crime.
A clean shirt.
A blue hoodie and a pair of jeans — women's, unfortunately.
Half a bottle of disinfectant.
Cotton wool.
Bandages.
A bent tablet.
A broken laptop.
A lighter.
And for food…
A packet of biscuits reduced to dust.
A squashed burger that somehow still looked edible.
And ten chocolate bars.
He stared at the haul, unimpressed. "Not exactly the feast of kings," he muttered. "But fine, we make do." He had little choice after all.
He tore open a chocolate bar and chewed slowly. The sweetness hit him hard after everything he'd been through — almost dizzying. "Man, if I survive this, I'm buying stock in chocolate," he said under his breath.
I have to manage this at least till I find a source of food or a way to escape this place, though I am not too hopeful about that.
His eyes drifted to the empty water bottle beside him. "And water," he sighed. "Can't forget that fun little necessity."
After eating another bar Axel successfully stood up, not after cursing and gritting his teeth of course.
Let's see what's in there, he looked towards the darkness, he wasn't expecting much considering the snake was living in there.
But just to be safe and avoid surprises, he unsheathed the Gishiki and carefully walked into the darkness, deeper into the cave.
The cave narrowed into a winding passage, straight for a while before curving left.
Axel hugged the wall, his bare feet whispering over the cold stone. The air was thick and damp, his breaths echoing faintly.
By his rough count, the snake must've been massive, at least ten meters long for its tail to have reached outside. "Great," he whispered, "but I was smarter in the end." He smirked.
He froze as a faint blue glow spilled into the tunnel ahead. Carefully, he pressed his back to the wall and edged closer, his fingers tightening on the hilt.
At the corner, he stopped. "Okay… let's not die stupidly."
He looked at the Gishiki's glinting blade, the silver surface, you know what else has a silver surface, a mirror of course, he smirked.
It should work, he brought it close to his face. His reflection stared back — pale, blood-streaked, eyes sunken, hair a dark, messy bird's nest.
"You look great," he muttered dryly. "Like a corpse that forgot to stay down."
But that confirms it, holding out the katana in a way that it could reflect whatever was hiding behind the corner, the light from the chamber flickered across the steel, showing the cave's end.
Embedded crystals glowed from the walls, bathing everything in an ethereal blue. At the side, a small pond shimmered with the same luminescent hue.
No movement. No lurking creatures. Just silence.
But just to be sure, he looked closer, specifically at the walls, trying to discern if anything was hiding there.
"Looks clear…" he whispered, tilting the blade downward— until he noticed something smooth and black on the ground.
He frowned, "I was wrong," He whispered, "but what's that?"
He tilted the katana to get a better view, eyes squinting.
The creature was black and big, he reckoned its height would reach up to his waist, it was round, no oval, and smooth, almost like…, his eyes narrowed, "an egg." He mumbled.
But I can't be certain, Axel looked carefully, but it was indeed looking more like an egg with each examination, picking up a small rock, he flung it around the corner, and held his breath, waiting for a reaction.
The stone clattered against the rocks, the sound echoing, but there was nothing, no reaction from the creature.
Axel breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the cave, still wary as he carefully approached the egg, but fortunately there was no need for that.
It was indeed a normal egg, no it was abnormal, considering a normal egg wouldn't be as big as his entire torso and it sure as hell wouldn't be black.
And pristine white, he thought as he saw another smaller egg at the side, obstructed from his view by the black one.
And suddenly, everything clicked.
The snake. Its frenzy. Why it lunged at the dragon. Why it pulled him out of the cave.
It wasn't protecting itself or being petty. It was protecting these.
Unfortunately, Axel smiled, his smile reaching up to his ears, an evil maniacal smile, "Well… sorry, Miss Snake. But thanks for dinner."
His stomach growled on cue.
He chuckled darkly. "See? Even the universe agrees."
Still, doubt crept in. What if it's poisonous?
He shrugged. "It's that or starving to death. Besides, meat's meat, right?"
There's no way a living organism's flesh can be outright poisonous, at least not meat, not that I know of, at most they might have poison glands or external poisons but not poisonous flesh, that'll just harm them, he nodded conclusively.
He touched the egg — warmth pulsed through the shell, faint and steady. The heat seeped through the bandage into his palm.
And this is an egg I'm talking about, there's no way it would have developed to that stage, even for abnormal creatures and environment, he concluded.
Axel took a deep breath, a smile forming on his lips, "I have secured a resting place and food, that ensures my survival for quite a bit, now I need to find water," he muttered.
The glow of the pool caught his eye at that moment, tempting, but maybe a last resort, he looked away.
He exhaled, shaking his head. "For now. Luck's finally on my side. Which probably means it's about to stab me in the back, I've watched enough anime to know."
Still smiling, he turned to leave, to retrieve his bag pack.
As he retraced his steps, he catalogued his blessings like a soldier counting ammo. "Food, shelter, maybe a temporary peace treaty with fate. Next step: water. And maybe a plan. I just need to stay alive long enough to figure out how this hellhole works, and possibly a way to escape."
He paused. "Also, maybe learn if dragons take naps. Preferably long ones. It's not possible that everything else just hides in caves forever, like cowards, right?"
By the time he neared the cave's entrance, his humor had steadied his nerves. The thought of resting — of simply not dying for a few hours — almost felt luxurious.
"For now, this cave's mine," he said, a faint grin forming. "Let's keep it that way."
After all there is no saying what monstrosity would crawl in, I need defenses or something, and there is that, a smile appeared on his lips.
Axel's hand reached out to his chest, holding up the thread of continuity, he smiled, my trump card, "let's see what you can do."
But as he rounded the last corner, his steps faltered.
The cave's entrance was no longer open rock. It was covered — thick layers of leaves, broad and waxy, woven tightly together. They glowed faintly under the outside light, strange colors shifting across their surface.
"I'm sure that wasn't there before," Axel whispered.
The faint rustle of the foliage answered him.
He tightened his grip on the Gishiki. "And here I was just starting to feel lucky again…"