The Tajin village was destroyed effortlessly by monstrosities. All those who were and weren't capable of combat in the village were one-sidedly mauled to oblivion. Azure blue flames were engulfing a good quarter of the village, and the rest was filled with rubble and remains or was blown out of existence entirely.
And in the midst of sound-breaking roars and cries of agony, a 16-year-old boy with a fresh, deep cut in the middle of his face, around the middle of his nose. A river load of blood was dripping down like a waterfall in slow motion. Yet his injury wasn't much of a concern to him. He had dark black hair and, in contrast, shiny amber eyes that could rival the glow of the stars.
Pumped with an avalanche of adrenaline and a surge of heartbeats that could keep a heart monitor on the edge of its seat, Luther was sprinting at a frightening pace for the average boy his age, especially with no speed-related Amerestar abilities. He was already putting a long distance between him and his hometown village, heading away to the other directional exit of the Sambara Plains in an attempt to get away from the abominations chasing his way in an unorthodox formation.
Soon after, a majestic but yet deadly purple beam, around 12 times the size of Luther, spat out from one of the ghastly creature's mouths. Every tree in the beam's path was evaporated like meteors in the night sky.
Luther instinctively hopped off to his right side, just barely dodging the eviscerating beam. The force alone still pushed him back as he hopped. Stumbling his landing as he rolled over, he quickly dragged himself back up.
That was close. A second later and I don't think I would still be alive. he thought to himself
He was then showered by smaller but still deadly flashy blasts of all colours, like a fragmented rainbow crashing down like rain droplets replaced with torpedoes.
There's more?
To think this is only a small portion compared to the ones still at the village.
Contrary to the output, the accuracy of those attacks had much to be improved on. Though they still significantly damaged the surroundings, rocks from who knows where were crashing down like Jenga puzzles, tree structures were colliding with each other like dominos, and bits of magical fire were spread throughout the forest, creating difficulty for Luther to travel across the terrain and affecting his balance throughout the run.
As his head turned back to his front, Luther then met another part of the pack, which consisted of what appeared to be four huge crimson red-skinned Jagged-tooth Onis with a brightened, glowing extra layer above the shoulders, back, and posterior side of the arms. They had eight gleaming red eyes with an anatomy which looked like a mix of a dog hound and a gorilla; their limbs were connected through an empty space with a bright red glowing sphere intersected in the middle. Luther didn't have much time to observe any longer as he was jumped from his surroundings at almost every angle.
Not good-
The Oni swung their kinetically charged fists with a great amount of telegraph but also a great amount of strength. Luther spun as he dodged back and to the right, in which the other red Oni pounced on him with a swift kick which sent him flying like fireworks.
The kick sent him into critical condition; his brain was rapidly bouncing in every direction as if his head had bouncy trampolines on each side, therefore blurring his vision for about four seconds.
Shit!
He landed near an edge of a cliff which crumbled due to a flurry of long-range, air-cutting slashes from what appeared to be some weaker mantis-like monsters nearby, causing him to fall.
Give me a break!
Not long after, he caught his left hand on a pile of rocks at the side of the very cliff, gripping on tightly. Desperately clinging onto his life, his stamina was draining and was approaching its limit. However, he had just recovered a bit of his magical essence.
Luther activated his armeristar; his right hand was covered in sparks of shadow black and a mystical shade of orange intertwining together like a bunch of knots. The circulation of energy then channelled into the rest of his body but specifically concentrated on his legs, and he utilised the alternative energy source to explode back up. He soared through the skies, zooming past the creatures after him.
Yet again, he had a horrible landing; his mouth ended up tasting the grime of dirt, which quickly refreshed his consciousness. His luck wasn't so great, as Luther stood up, he noticed his surroundings; most directions were blocked by huge amounts of rubble and waste from the earlier collision.
If I climb over there it would be too time-consuming, and I had to spend my precious hallow essence to get over that near-death situation.
The stomping and creaks of the entities were growing loud and fiercer; they could effortlessly barge their way in, fly over, or even phase through, depending on the creature.
There was also another open path, a suspicious cave with the entrance covered with a hint of mist and dust, preventing any insight at what the cave has to offer.
I was hoping not to go this way. Chances are this cave has monstrosities and dead ends, especially if it's in this location. The Sambara Plains is no joke. Shit, I got no choice.
The marching abominations pressured Luther into the cave; he attempted to run but could only move at a moderate pace. His leg muscles were completely fatigued and strained, coupled with a burning sensation. His sweat and blood were excreting like melted ice cream in the blazing hot sun, leaving a trail on the thirsty, dry rock floor; his breath was as deep as the ocean waters and his ears rang like the screaming of mandrakes being ripped out of the ground.
I can't hide with all this blood. I'm pretty much cornered; those vile beings could get here any minute now.
He was moving downhill by about 35 degrees until his legs gave out and he ended up sliding down instead. Eventually, the hill got steeper; Luther was now sliding at a rapid pace comparable to his running speed.
Bang!
Behind Luther, a giant worm-like parasitic creature popped up from one of the walls. Its body seemed to have a wax-coloured, gooey plasma coating; it had a large mouth at the front layered on top of another mouth for about four times; it was genuinely a disgusting sight to behold. It was strongly attracted to Luther's scent.
What kind of freakshow is this?!! Can I get a small break for once???!!!
BAM!
As the ugly parasite was hopping around, actively trying to land on Luther, Luther kept steering himself, dodging both the boulders that came rolling down due to the parasite's intervention and the slimy parasite itself, which dug and swam into the ground and jumped back up.
Woah!
Screech!
The parasite's ugly screech felt like hornets stinging straight into the eardrums.
Ahhh! It not only looks ugly but sounds ugly t-
Wabam!
As Luther was getting knocked around by the rocks and the worm, he began to approach multiple pathways; they were equally divided into three separate areas which all diverted to a completely different direction. A small strategy appeared in his mind.
He charged a small amount of essence into the less fatigued muscles in his right leg and slowly steered himself to the right; meanwhile, the worm was also preparing to intercept. At the last moment, he suddenly swerved to the left; the worm, which had already flung itself to the right, was utterly deceived and left 'screechless'.
Luther then smirked to himself.
Sent that stupid mutt back where he belongs.
Now my only concern is reaching the end of the slide, which I could only hope isn't a dead end or a lair to some monster den.
After about 15 minutes of sliding, Luther began to grow anxious. He did at least slightly recover his stamina and hallow essence.
Until the slide suddenly curved upwards. The momentum launched him out, and he yet again... fell horribly. His back crushed into some white, gloopy, viscous liquid and some fragments of a delicate material.
The sticky substance kept him attached to the ground, but Luther resisted and eventually got up.
He observed his surroundings, which were surprisingly lit up.
"..."
There was a swarm of human-sized, violet, spider-shaped creatures with blood-red eyes, standing either on the grounds, walls, or roofs. They had six multi-jointed limbs at the front and another four, except they were longer and stemmed from the centre of its body, that were spread out equally in each direction.
What he landed on was the unhatched offspring. The realisation sent Luther a wave of frustration and anger; the creatures were all hissing, implying their mutual feelings. Luther clenched his teeth and made a run for it; he was yet again outmatched.
The violet spiders started spewing durable webs everywhere and were swinging around carelessly.
I need to find a way out and quick. There is just so many of them; if they were in the single digits, just maybe I could have survived. But the Sambara plains isn't so merciful. Too bad this is my fate.
Before he knew it, the spiders came and surrounded him in a full-circle. Luther—granted no other choice—had then raised his fists. He was preparing himself for a battle he couldn't win.
This is what it comes to.
Luther has a few abilities, unlike a good portion of individuals who aren't capable of properly using them at all. However, he isn't proficient compared to most people who do possess a strong affinity for their abilities. Regardless, Luther's current abilities weren't really suited for combat purposes; it was sub-optimal at best.
I will slaughter as many of these insects simply for the sake of it, so I can die knowing I did what I could in life, so I can die knowing I faced my threats without the hindrance of fear. Though I want much more in life, this is the most I could do.
Luther felt an odd sense of pride and fulfilment infiltrate his heart.
He was aware of the spiders' abilities to entangle him with webs; he charged in, hoping they would show restraint when it comes to the lives of their fellow kin.
He activated the remaining essence from his core and jumped, and threw a ground-slam punch which almost killed one of the spiders and damaged a few others in its radius.
Multiple others slashed with their razor-sharp limbs. It only grazed Luther as he stepped back, though a sudden wave of weakness took over Luther's body. He was most likely poisoned, but still he persevered and threw a back elbow at one behind him.
He was than being showered with attacks but relentlessly threw kicks, punches, and elbows; he then dropped to the floor and performed a spinning back kick, simultaneously wiping away another two and dodging an attack.
As he was about to throw a left hand, his arm was wrapped around in the shackles of a web. Luther spent almost all of his remaining essence and started swinging the web with the spider attached at the end around in a hammer-throw style, executing an efficient wide area of effect attack, blowing away any spiders in his path.
After the web was getting weaker, he directed the web upwards and slammed it back down, destroying a chunk of the floor and a good number of spiders. The spiders lost balance and formation but quickly recovered. Luther took this chance to make a breakthrough and scrape a way out from this hopeless situation.
I had a good run, but my time is over. I can't fight anymore. My arms sting like hell; the rest of my body is in a state of torture from the slashes. I'm tired; I'm sick of this chase; I had more than enough of this accursed place and that village. I'm fed up with being thrown by my environment so easily. To think this is really it; I don't want to cling onto a delusion,
but maybe,
if I could survive,
if only I could,
I would explore outside of these plains and adventure all that the world has to offer.
Witness the dragons, journey through valleys, build a beautiful settlement, find a legendary treasure, have my name be known from the deepest depths of hell to the highest chambers of heaven,
and most of all...
live a more meaningful life.
Luther attempted to create distance, though his limbs were gruesomely torn open and folded the wrong way; his legs would just malfunction here and there and wouldn't exert any force to balance him.
His fair white skin was siphoned out and was now as pale as a sheet of ivory paper. To simply say he was bleeding to death was an understatement; his torso had fresh scars like the black stripes on a tiger's skin.
If by chance his injuries couldn't shut him down, then the spiders definitely would. Web slings latched onto Luther's leg and butchered his balance; he was slowly dragged back to his enemies, leaving a path of nasty blood behind.
His hope was now a fleeting, weak fire that is bound to be withered away.
And as more silky webs wrapped around Luther's entire body, he was on the verge of losing his mobility completely.
"I- got to d-do something."
As he got closer to death, he also got closer to insanity and started speaking out loud. He was starting to regain breath from the lack of movement.
"Damn you, spider scum! I refuse to let it end this way! You know, I really thought... that if I persist with my efforts, there would be light at the end of this tunnel."
"Now I'm venting my struggles to a pile of ravenous spiders.
"Curse you! Curse all of you! Curse this cave! Curse this forest! Curse the red oni! Curse whoever launched that purple beam!
"Oh, and I almost forgot, curse that stupid, bouncing, slimy, damn wo-,"
BOOM!
The very parasitic worm crashed forward and horizontally, mindlessly driven by the mass of blood, and as a result, the entire cave structure collapsed, including the floor. Everything, even the worm itself, wasn't in control of its own movements.
Most of the webs attached to Luther instantly snapped apart, with a few more clinging onto Luther's leg before they eventually gave out.
"Ahhh!"
He tumbled down gradually and then fell. The result of the fall caused internal organs to rupture, and his body as a whole was in a state beyond repair. Cornered by the way of life.
A few violet spiders that survived the crash and ended up landing near Luther began to initiate his execution once again. Though they, too, were too injured to function properly.
Luther's consciousness barely held on; he was crawling away with his left arm and right leg. He eventually leaned on a small piece of rubble he found on the way.
The deep insides of the cave's structure continued to break down and crumble apart.
"Although I'd rather not die, it's time I accept my fate. If I die now, so be it; at least I die with no fear left in my bloodless heart."
"So what if I experience a painful death?"
"It could never be more painful than a life filled with regrets."
"Though instead of dying alone, why not take some of these rabid shits with me?"
Luther began breaking down his body and soul, converting it to hallow essence; he coughed up the last bits of blood he had left before it reached the threshold of death.
In the middle of the process, hiding behind the "walls", were enchanting streaks of mystical light; a heavenly presence emerged. It was ever so bright; Luther had to squint his eyes to the maximum his orbicularis oculi muscles could allow.
A system notification popped up.
["You have discovered the Trial of Corruption."]
Luther was astounded to see such a spectacular sight; he had a quick change of plans. He cancelled the self-destruction process, rotated to the direction of the light, and drained every last drop of his essence to perform the leap of faith.
"Here goes nothing."
["You have entered the Trial of Corruption."]