He died, crushed between the wall and the serpent's head. He definitely died… yet he opened his eye again, terrified. He was alive.
Sweat ran down his forehead, whipped by the wind generated by the Aberration's violent movements as it slammed him against the walls again and again.
He clung to the sword's hilt with all his strength to avoid falling. Even he knew he wouldn't survive the drop—his body understood that instinctively and forced itself to endure.
'Damn it! What the hell is happening to me?!'
The premonitory visions kept coming without restraint. Each one brought more pain to his only functioning eye, which wept blood with every new vision that surfaced.
'No! Shit!'
He opened his eye wide in desperation. The moment he noticed the Aberration was about to drag the side of its head along the wall, he saw his previous death layered over reality itself.
His most primal instinct kicked in, driven by what he had already seen. The muscles in his right arm tensed. His eye locked onto the ground, and just before colliding with the wall, he swung to the side and mounted the serpent, climbing over its jaw.
A second later, the Aberration scraped the edge of its head against the stone, shattering it and staining it black.
'That was close…'
His face came dangerously close to the rock, but he avoided being crushed. The beast shook its head violently, trying to throw the human off—but Nova clung to it like a damn tick.
After a few seconds, he felt his body beginning to give in under the beast's movements. Staying alive this long was already an achievement, but pushing past that limit had become impossible. The human body wasn't a machine—it wore down with constant use and needed rest to recover.
"How long are you gonna keep this up, bastard?!"
The fight had barely begun.
Realizing this was getting him nowhere, he had no choice but to think logically.
'Damn it! I need to use the seeds!'
If there was anything left to do, it was to use his last weapon. Six seeds for one giant bastard—far larger than the Sand Octopuses. Of course, he wasn't sure it would work, but he had to try.
His grip on the sword was already loosening—soon, he would fall into the abyss.
At the same time, the serpent resisted, continuing to thrash and drag itself through the area. Its hisses and tearing roars scraped against the walls. The gas expelled from its scales spread through the air like a deadly cloud. The scent of coal intensified, as did the overwhelming emotions flooding Nova's mind. Every sudden stop caused by the Aberration slamming into the walls weakened his grip even further.
Without overthinking it, Nova grabbed his boot with his free hand and pulled it off, letting it fall into the pit below. He removed the sock—containing the seeds—and focused on getting it into the serpent's mouth.
Lying across the jaw for better leverage, he waved his hand in front of the monster's mouth, searching for an opening. The serpent, however, refused to yield. Its eye bled uncontrollably, the sword buried deep inside.
Stone was painted with golden fluid splashing from the Aberration's wound, its groans of pain growing steadily louder.
Above all of that, the portal flickered and whispered. Waiting in silence—watching the battle despite being neither alive nor conscious.
Through the pain, Nova screamed. Blood streamed down his face, and at last, he found his opening. But just as he tried to throw the sock into the serpent's mouth, another vision struck his eye.
His orange aura enveloped him. His glowing eye—matching the color of the aura—watched.
When he threw the seeds into the Aberration's mouth, they sprouted and exploded. A life-giving tree formed, just like with the other monsters—but in the process, Nova was impaled by one of its branches.
The vision ended when blood splashed across his eye, wrapping his being in a premature death.
That snapped him back to reality. He couldn't be sure whether the serpent died in that future, but he knew one thing: what he was about to do would kill him. If that was the case, he had to act differently. And finally, he understood what was happening.
'This… I've seen this before. It's the same thing that happened to Miyu back in elementary school!'
[Future Vision: The ability to glimpse a moment of a possible near future. Excessive use causes fatigue and ocular pain.]
However, the consequences for Nova were far worse than what Miyu experienced when using her Spectrum, which meant it wasn't the same ability.
His eye bled relentlessly, bringing excruciating pain. His vision was far too blurred to see clearly, and the confusion caused by the beast's gas only made things worse.
Or rather—the gas helped too much.
Because now, with Serenity no longer shielding him from his other unknown emotions, Nova awakened a new Spectrum. The emotion that had dominated his heart these past few days was:
[Anticipation—A Spectrum whose abilities lie in prediction, future visions, and heightened senses.]
An emotion he had never felt before. In fact, throughout his entire life, the only thing he had ever known was the lonely, mysterious Serenity. It had distanced him from everyone around him, leaving him feeling incomplete.
Now, trapped in a labyrinth of poison-stained tunnels, walking alone through darkness and silence while a monster constantly hunted him, the only thing his mind and heart could do was try to foresee what was coming next. That single, overwhelming emotion awakened the Spectrum of Anticipation within Nova.
'I have a new Spectrum!'
There was no time to celebrate. He clicked his tongue in irritation, thinking quickly before the serpent slammed into the wall again. When it stopped, he nearly lost the sword—but clung to it with his fingertips.
'Ahhhh! It's now or never!'
With a swift motion, he hurled the sock into the confused Aberration. A second later, he pushed off the wall with his feet.
In the next instant, falling toward the rocky surface, Nova aimed his hands at the Aberration's mouth. He formed a square with his fingers and, with a weak, broken voice, shouted:
"Go to hell, worm! Rasténiye!"
The seeds inside the sock fell into the beast's maw and absorbed the moisture within the Aberration like a sponge. An instant later, they exploded into branches and leaves.
The serpent wailed in agony. Its jaw opened grotesquely, stretching like rubber. Its single fang fought desperately against the branches—but in the end, the plant overcame the beast.