Abel plummeted through the endless abyss.
His strength, like that of a spent ant, offered no resistance to the relentless pull of gravity.
His heart, once filled with defiance, now flickered like a dying flame, threatened to be extinguished by the chilling air.
His body, a single leaf surrendering to the autumn wind, spiraled down with a horrifying grace, utterly powerless to change its inevitable fate.
The ground rushed towards Abel, an unforgiving expanse that stretched as far as his blurring vision could see.
He was a shooting star, ablaze with a fading brilliance, hurtling towards a catastrophic collision.
His thoughts were a jumbled mess, his breaths shallow and ragged.. A flicker of awareness pierced through the haze of pain and despair.
He couldn't die.
Not here.
Not like this.
But...
what could he do?
Panic gnawed at the edges of his consciousness.
His once potent cultivator's abilities were a shattered memory, his dantian – the core of his power – irreparably broken.
"What… what should I do?" he rasped, a desperate plea barely audible above the roaring wind.
"How can I survive this?"
The weight of his mortality pressed down on him, a suffocating realization.
He was no longer the cultivator he once was, just a man hurtling towards oblivion
He was a lamb facing the slaughter
"WEAK!"
The word echoed within him, a predatory snarl tearing through the chaos in his mind.
Yet, this time, it didn't consume him. Instead, it sparked a reaction, a flicker of defiance that grew with each passing moment.
His muddled thoughts sharpened, the desolate emotions morphing into a tide of surging anger.
"I AM NOT!"
he roared, the primal scream a defiant echo against the howling wind.
It didn't matter that his dantian was shattered, his cultivation potential lost. In that moment, he wasn't a helpless mortal, a broken cultivator.
He was Abel, and he refused to be defined by his limitations.
His body, battered and bruised, was all he had left.
But within that frail vessel, a new fire ignited
"I will survive!"
Abel roared, the defiance echoing in the abyss.
With every ounce of his remaining strength, with the desperate will to live clawing at him, his heart pounded a frantic rhythm
A surge of heat, both exhilarating and excruciating, ripped through his body.
"Ackk!"
The pain was searing, like his very soul was being seared by the fires of the netherworld.
But amidst the agony, a transformation unfolded.
Like a tide unleashed, the heat flooded his system, his golden eyes glowing an eerie white.
An inferno raged within his very being, threatening to consume him.
Yet, he held on, a primal instinct for survival overriding the searing pain.
The world became a kaleidoscope of swirling codes – luminous code-like worms dancing before his vision.
The burning in his eyes intensified, pushing him towards the brink of unconsciousness. But through the haze, a single thought flickered:
survive.
"Wind… wind!"
he rasped, a desperate plea escaping his parched lips.
He wasted no time. As the white light intensified, he focused on the swirling green strands, exerting his will with a fierce command.
The codes, once untethered, began to coalesce, drawn to him like moths to a flame.
"Release!" The word erupted from him, a guttural roar of defiance.
The green energy, now a unified mass, surged forward, forming a crude yet resilient cushion around him.
It was a desperate gamble, a last-ditch effort against the unforgiving ground that rushed towards him.
The wind, a relentless force, howled around him. The ground rushed closer, an unforgiving expanse waiting to claim him.
With a sickening thud, he slammed into the earth, the compressed air sending him flying meters across the ground.
"I survived...!"
A choked cry escaped his lips as his body, battered and broken, finally came to a rest.
Despite his ragged breaths and the threatening fog in his head, Abel clung to consciousness
"Let me sleep..." the plea escaped his lips, a whisper lost on the wind.
Heaven it wasn't. The colossal trees cast long, menacing shadows, and the coarse grass scratched mercilessly against his skin.
Yet, to him, this harsh reality was a haven – the most luxurious bed he could have ever imagined.
Just as Abel surrendered to the pull of sleep, a rustle in the undergrowth shattered the fragile peace. A pair of glowing eyes, predatory and cold, pierced the darkness
A searing pain erupted from Abel's legs, a white-hot agony that ripped him from the precipice of sleep.
"Agghhh!"
he roared, the scream raw and primal. It was too sudden, too excruciating to process. A sickening sound of flesh tearing confirmed his worst fear.
He snapped his eyes open, a surge of adrenaline surging through his battered body.
Gone was the weary traveler seeking solace. In his place, a raging giant fueled by a primal fury.
His gaze fell upon the horror before him – a creature with matted fur and eyes that burned with a bloodthirsty hunger.
It was feasting on his leg, tearing into his flesh like a ravenous beast.
Disgust curdled into rage as Abel witnessed the creature's delight. "Get off!" he roared, a primal command that echoed through the undergrowth.
He flung his body around, a desperate attempt to dislodge the beast.
The creature, startled by Abel's sudden burst of energy, let out a disgruntled growl. Its gaze, filled with a predatory gleam, locked onto his eyes. A guttural growl rumbled in its throat.
"You dare treat my body like a snack?" Abel spat, his voice laced with a venom that surprised even him.
The creautre bared its sharp teeth, ragged and dripping with Abel's blood, and let out a ferocious growl
The creature, its eyes gleaming with predatory hunger, lowered its head, inching closer to Abel's exposed neck.
A surge of primal terror shot through him.
"What are you trying to do?"
he rasped, his voice a desperate plea. His body, wracked with pain and exhaustion, refused to obey his frantic commands.
He watched, horrified, as the creature's gaze fixated on his neck, a predator recognizing its kill point.
A horrifying realization dawned on Abel – this creature wasn't interested in a mere meal; it was aiming for a swift, merciless kill!
"Don't you fucking dare!" he roared, defiance flaring in his weakened voice.
But the creature ignored him, a blur of fangs and fur lunging towards his exposed throat.
Time seemed to slow down. Abel, fueled by a surge of adrenaline that ignored his physical limitations, threw his arms up in a desperate attempt to shield himself.
His hands grasped the creature's head, a futile effort against its savage strength.
A guttural growl erupted from the beast, its fetid breath and saliva assaulting Abel's face. Its razor-sharp teeth gnashed inches from his neck, the stench of imminent death thick in the air.
"Fuck off!!"
Abel's roar was a primal defiance, a challenge in the face of his imminent demise.
He strained with every ounce of remaining strength, his hands acting as the last, fragile barrier between him and the beast's gnashing jaws.
The creature, frustrated by the unexpected resistance, pushed forward with renewed savagery.
Abel felt the bones in his arms creak under the pressure, the hold weakening with each passing moment.
Finally, with a sickening crack, his desperate defense crumbled.
A horrifying grin stretched across the creature's face, a predator savoring its imminent victory
It lowered its head slowly, the stench of its fetid breath a prelude to the inevitable.
Abel, utterly paralyzed, could only watch as his life narrowed down to the sharp glint of approaching fangs.
"No!"
he roared, the word a desperate plea echoing in the emptiness.
He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing all his remaining will on the dormant power within him.
He called upon the surge of white light, the defiance that had ignited before.
He pushed himself to his very limits, adrenaline coursing through his veins, his spirit ablaze with a burning desire to survive.
But his efforts were in vain.
Silence hung heavy in the air
broken only by the rasp of the creature's breath.
His mind, a battlefield of churning emotions, refused to yield the power he craved. Defeat settled in his gut, a cold, heavy weight.
And then he saw...