The sound of many Anzus letting out their cry resounded throughout the edge of the tribe as Mikhail woke up. The light of dawn was shining through the tent's ceiling as he opened his eyes groggily.
An awful pain was radiating outwards from his Cerebral Core, surging through every fibre of his being as he pried himself off his sleeping mat. But the torture would grow worse, as he needed to continue onwards and slowly crawl over to the chest sitting near his two pots of water.
Once he did so, he cursed his past self for not leaving the chest open.
"God damn it… Why the hell didn't I leave this open yesterday!"
He angrily fiddled with the lock, his fingers twitching involuntarily from the pain and making the process that much more frustrating. And after like five minutes, his frustration boiled over into genuine anger as he released an angry grunt and punched the wooden contraption.
CRACK!
Splinters were sent flying everywhere as the wooden contraption was busted open, and Mikhail quickly pried the chest open while sucking in air through his grit teeth, his body covered in sweat.
With the chest now open, albeit broken, Mikhail quickly dug past his clothes and four leather pouches to fish out the fancy pill box that Grand Elder Maya had given him two weeks prior.
His pain was reaching its peak, and Mikhail was beginning to wretch as he opened the box.
He quickly grabbed a random matte black sphere — one that was the size of a grape — and then chucked it into his mouth.
He grimaced as he failed to swallow some of the vomit threatening to erupt from his stomach, tasting its acrid flavor on his tongue.
Yet he simply swallowed it back down, using it to help him take that obnoxiously large pill in one uncomfortable go.
The pill radiated an intense chill as it went down his esophagus, and it quickly dissolved in his stomach. He could feel the intense chill spread throughout his body from there, until it reached his brain in a matter of seconds.
Once it reached his brain, the intense chill seemed to be pulled towards his mind, until the sensation disappeared, and the pain along with it. A sigh of relief involuntarily left his mouth, but the feeling of relief did not accompany it.
He quickly turned his attention onto himself, waving his hand in front of his nose as the stench of his intense sweat reached his nostrils.
He frowned lightly before getting off the ground, and then went to wash up.
His mind was free of thoughts as he went through this familiar routine, washing himself before getting dressed.
Today, he decided on wearing a red shirt and tasseled orange pants. And of course, his leather caligae. All from the orcs.
He had the capabilities to acquire new clothes, but he didn't really see the point. These clothes worked just fine, and they had some sentimental value to them…
Running his hand through his hair to get it out of his face, he turned his attention to the empty crate serving as his table. On top of it was the basket Spencer had given him, and in it were some more fruits he had gotten after trading a few of his Spinosaur scales.
He reached into the basket and then pulled out a smooth, round fruit. After all, he was feeling especially hungry after the ordeal he had just endured.
Mikhail crunched through the hard shell of that spiky-looking fruit, its sweet and sour nectar hitting his tongue. The somewhat thick shell had a sort of dry taste that he didn't really enjoy, but it all came together rather nicely since there wasn't an after-taste.
After eating the fruit, he opened the water meant for cleaning and grabbed the wooden ladle sitting on top of the other jar with his clean hand.
And as he washed his hands, he thought of what to do next.
'The Grand Elder said to come back once I've got a handle on Manakel… I think I'm more than ready now. Only question is whether or not she's awake right now…'
An image of the old woman effortlessly pushing open one of those humungous doors flashed across his mind.
'Who am I kidding? Does that monster even need to sleep?'
After putting the ladle back where it belonged, he left the tent.
He looked to the left, north, and saw the ever present tower in the distance.
He had seen it on the way here, and he could see it now too. He could see how it pierced through the clouds and kept going ever higher.
He had asked about it once or twice, and that's when he got more information on the days of destruction. The Tower, as they called it, was a sanctuary of some sort that resided at the center of the world.
He scoffed at that thought as he began walking to one of the tribe's alleyways.
Did these people not know that planets were round? Planets didn't have a center on their surface! How ridiculous…
The Anzu walking around the perimeter of the area saw Mikhail and began cawing in his direction, annoyed by the appearance of a human out there earlier than usual. The caw had been a warning from one of the Anzus to the other Anzus.
Mikhail chuckled as he watched them leave the area, before entering the tribe.
Mikhail's young visage was an odd sight at that time of day, though none of the young adults seemed to mind his presence, greeting him as he casually passed them on his way to the Grand Elder's abode.
Everyone had by now gotten used to his presence, though Mikhail still had the occasional run-in with superstitious zealots. He found those incidents mildly amusing, and sometimes even played into their wild fantasies to get them to fuck off.
He shook his head with a bit of a smirk, but before his journey south along the North Path could continue, a feminine voice called out to him in a sultry tone, saying "Hey there, cutie." His attention snapped over, and what he saw made him raise an eyebrow.
In the shadow of the alleyway, a young adult with wide hips and big tits smiled seductively. She was wearing extremely revealing clothing…