Zed felt a throbbing pain in his head, a reminder of the ferocity of the recent battle. His crimson robe was torn and tattered, merely a shadow of its former glory. The evidence of his struggle was etched onto his pale face, caked with dried blood. He didn't dare to move, his body screaming at him to stay still.
'Is this...the Hive?' he pondered, an undercurrent of dread filling him.
The world seemed to spin around him. He felt an unpleasant burning sensation on his back, as if he was being dragged over a terrain strewn with jagged stones and potholes.
Thud!
Another rough collision sent Zed's head slamming against the ground, the impact jolting him back to full consciousness. He opened his eyes, his vision focusing on a grotesque insect-like creature that was dragging him along by one of his ankles. He was surrounded by darkness, the atmosphere suffused with an off-putting, viscous mucus, reminiscent of the inside of a cavernous burrow.
