[A/N: Don't eat or drink during this chapter. You have been warned.]
Standing grimly a distance from the "large" egg, Atlas's jaw set, and his mind raced with thoughts. He'd never killed before, and never really wanted to. But this situation was uniquely displeasing, even among other possible events that may force his hand. He had no fantastic thoughts that he'd be able to escape blood on his hands in a world where gods tangibly existed, magic infused into life, and monsters of all kinds roamed freely.
He didn't know if the System was developed in a way that directly supported racial competition and warfare, leveling up through the death of others, but he felt like it was likely if the world was so big. If that was the case, it was even less likely he'd walk through this life untainted by blood.
On top of the naturally aversive notion of killing something just as possibly innocent of any danger to his life as it was possible otherwise, Atlas found it extremely difficult to convince himself of the need to execute something before it even had a chance to form thought.
"Sigh..." he sighed, his shoulders relaxing as a self deprecating half smile broke across is face, "Am I actually considering my first fight in my new life one with an unhatched egg? True hero material, seriously. This is a new low, Atlas." he said.
Ignoring the moral or immoral issue of the situation, he felt like he was just strung up too tightly, he now had a much greater opinion of the importance of life, or maybe he was just that scared of losing it again. When he finally thought past this, the oddity of the situation finally shone through, this egg, for all he knew, had an equally high chance of being one of the siblings his [Void Corruption] had wronged, as it did to be a predator.
Thinking this far, it was pretty obvious, what he had to do.
"System. Be useful for once in your existence, please. Is there any way you can tell me what this is? What species does this egg belong to?" Atlas asked, tapping the head of the little thinking Cortana, snapping her out her focus.
[Host. It is an Astera Spiris, it is one of your kin,] she said, immediately falling back into a more vacant expression, once again seemingly contacting someone.
"... That was oddly straightforward, I feel like she somehow just cursed me without me knowing," Atlas said with suspicion. He didn't doubt the System was able to tell the race of the egg, but completely doubted it'd tell him without so much as a word of insult.
'Well, if it's actually one of my kin, that's good to hear, but how do I know when it'll hatch? Is there a way to speed it up? I don't really feel like playing mother hen right now, and there might be others around.' he thought in silence.
Should he stay and wait, or leave and return?
"I could stay here and babysit an egg... or I could leave and come back to find a tiny Spiris monster chewing on my leg. Tough call." He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the surrounding area. "Also, if something tries to eat me while I'm playing protective older sibling, that's gonna be a real fun memory for the afterlife."
Just as Atlas continued his self-directed mid-life crisis, his Spiris senses flared, picking up two signals. Two very, very different signals.
"Great.." he mutters, his eyes once again somber. As if to spit on his indecision, the egg had started to quiver in intermittent jolts, as if something inside it was weakly punching at the prison containing it. This, though, was not what concerned him.
Actually, Atlas needed them to pop out of this baby-monster-balloon as fast as possible. But the other signal? It made his skin crawl, his eyes tremble, and his hair stand on end.
That second signal—it wasn't just a flicker in the distance. It was sharp, like a blade drawn across the back of his neck, a chill that refused to leave. Whatever it was, it was coming fast. "Please tell me that's just my imagination."
It was so hair raising, even with him having no sense of what it was, that he was sure this feeling was what protagonists called, "Either danger sense, or... killing intent, shit. Just what I needed. I find something good, and then fate says 'what if?'"
His mind raced, rapidly turning his choices over to consider all sides. 'Stay and protect the egg, or bolt and hope this thing hatches in time...' The distant signal wasn't giving him much of a choice. In fact, he was just trying to convince himself of a good enough reason to run, but
"Of course, I get to play midwife and bodyguard at the same time," he groaned.
Moving briskly to the egg's side, noticing it seemed he was either on a countdown to a cruel trick of fate, or approaching predators, Atlas wanted to see if he could help this new sibling of his break out of their shell. Of course, as he suddenly moved, he made sure to smack the mini projection of the System with his hand to wake her from whatever she was doing.
Reaching the smooth milky-white shell patterned in intricate white flowing energy waves, Atlas crouched down, exhaling next to the trembling egg. "Alright, little guy—or girl—I guess I'm in this with you now." He glanced around again, scanning in the direction he felt this hair-raising danger from, it was like staring a beast in the eyes with nothing between them. His body tingled in forced preparation he couldn't even control, "Just hatch already, before something decides we're a snack. Do it fast, and maybe I'll teach you a super secret forbidden move."
Whispering Atlas's version of a pre-battle speech, hyping the little sibling into obliterating its shell, Atlas felt his stomach tighten as his mind raced through the possibilities. Could it be a predator? Something worse? The nagging dread gnawed at the back of his mind. He hated not knowing, hated the way it made his skin crawl, and hated the feeling that it was approaching, and fast.
"It's powerful, unlockable, and makes the Gods clench their cheeks. It horrifies demons, and makes the undead look meek. The only existences it can't be used against, are family. An odd restriction, I know. But trust me, you don't want to make that mistake. You'll regret it when they give it back to you. If that isn't enough, just know something of supreme importance," Atlas paused, his rambling nonsense beginning to make even the author question his intelligence, "...It was used by a normal teacher to destroy the strongest existence of another world—one single move," Atlas finished, dead serious. He paused, his own words sinking in. "I sound like a complete idiot," he muttered, before shaking his head and refocusing on the danger.
Atlas's words poured out in a stream of nonsense, but he wasn't sure if he was trying to hype the egg up or calm himself down. Probably both. His mind kept racing back to the predator, lurking just out of sight. He really needed the kid to hatch now.
For a moment, as if listening intently to his story, the eggs trembling stopped, the deathly pressure of whatever approached grew, and the System stayed silent. It was as if this little sibling was listening, eyes glistening with stars and fantasy, excited to learn the forbidden move known only, as "a thousand years of death."
The soft skimming of a beast's sneaking steps pressing lightly on stone reached his ears. The vibrations blared loudly in his mind, and he couldn't ignore it anymore. His stomach twisted in knots. Whatever was out there, it wasn't hiding anymore. Atlas's fingers twitched as he glanced back toward the the source—just in time to catch a shadowy haze burst towards him without pause.
"Shit!" Atlas yelled, his hexlimbs instantly bending and shooting his body far to the side. He reacted just in time, thankfully, and luckily evaded a claw the size of his torso tearing through the air where he previously stood.
As he caught his breath in the distance, repositioned and rebalanced himself, Atlas finally laid eyes on the lithe, muscular form of the walking "nope."
Packed head to talon with striating muscles, claws glistening like the darkest obsidian, and its gaze that of a hungering beast, the feline predator before Atlas just waited, as if amused by the antics of its food. Unable to tell its color in the darkness of the cave, he just focused on it's peach-fuzz like hair, ridiculous musculature, two headed neck, and sharp whip-like tail that hung behind it. This thing was everything wrong with any cat person in existence, and what every cat wished it could be. It had lethality in spades and probably dwarfed his dexterity too, one of the greatest attributes of his race.
To put it bluntly, it was likely this creature would be enjoying an omelet soon, regardless of Atlas impending battle. But that didn't change his decision. Aside from the boiling feelings of fear and dread, there was more. There was Anger.
Anger the source of which Atlas really couldn't place, the type of rage that blotted ones sight and controlled their minds, leaving nothing unscathed. It was getting overwhelming, and he still couldn't understand where the hell it came from, why he was so mad, and how to get rid of this feeling. Before long, even as he backed away from the tauntingly sitting beast, he was actually looking forward to the fight, hoping to see it in pain, however he could cause it, and somehow rid himself of these odd feelings.
All he knew, was that he was mad as soon as the creature got close to the egg, and as it appeared in his sight, he wanted to see it bleed.
"Hoh.." Atlas breathed, steadying his breath, he'd never fought in this body before, but he felt like his hexlimbs wouldn't be his greatest concern, it was his complete lack of battle sense. He'd never even brawled in school before, and now he was having a life-and-death battle with a two headed, overgrown rat-cat on steroids with a whip fetish?
[Host. The System has calculated the host's odds of survival to be an impressive 13%. This is truly impressive for beings of your unique situation. The System advises you not die as that would definitely not be beneficial to your goal defeating a brick in a battle of wits. The System cheers you on with all of it's heart!] the System said, ruining whatever moxxy Atlas had gathered.
"You know.. sometimes I wonder whether you're a Tsundere in disguise. It's alright System, I'm not planning to die, I need to see you reprogrammed into a Roomba before I can do that again," he said, his heart lurching at the probability of success.
He didn't doubt the veracity of that claim, he knew the System couldn't lie about something like this, if it could, that'd be an entirely different and far bigger problem. Right now though, he had no choice, the tension was growing, his body covered in goosebumps and his heart pumping at the rate of a teen having his first drink. Everything screamed at him to run, and yet somehow, he was excited.
As Atlas finally regathered his courage, a smile dawning upon his face, the beast finally grew bored, a purring-growl escaping its heads.
*Fwoosh*
Instantly, it was gone, flashing towards Atlas with its maws agape, it's claws stretched, and it's tail snapping back.
"Oof," grunting from the exertion of a full twist in his body, flipping towards the side as quick as he could, Atlas hexlimbs flung him at his fastest speeds. Somehow, as long as he was using them, he seemed barely fast enough to avoid the monster-cats dizzying charge. Thinking this, Atlas decided to test the only method of distant attack that might do anything.
As he ran in circles around the area of the egg, his Hexlimbs flashed as fast as they could. Two of them pointed toward the chasing beast, throbbing momentarily before ejecting a tiny, almost spherical, glob of something. It flew through the damp musty air of the cave like an arrow from its bow, silent, and straight.
Splashing to the ground behind the beast, it completely missed, it'd dodged right at the last second, somehow. Seeing the absurd acidity of the bubbling toxins that splashed on the ground, Atlas momentarily blanked, "God I'm fucking glad I didn't test that on my hand... Holy shit, how the hell is that considered a neurotoxin?! How do you attack nerves that don't even exist anymore?" Atlas muttered in disbelief.
Those tiny globs of toxin were his [Hatchling Neurotoxin (Corrupted)] and seemed much stronger than he first thought, but it didn't matter for now, he barely had much and his body was screaming in exertion. Atlas was approaching the up-hill part of this game of cat-and-mouse.
Just as his brain started turning in hopes of a plan, his eyes glazing as he considered his webs, his species' horns, or whether his legs could withstand some blows, he heard the faint *click* of a cracking egg, his heart lurching to his throat in realization.
"Now? Really? You choose to hatch NOW?!" he roared in disbelief.
He couldn't believe the absurdity, this little sibling of his was pounding at their little shell like an ape after food, it didn't seem to process the threat of the situation, and Atlas really wondered if this was just an example of stupidity or overwhelming familial concern.
"Chill! Wait, you stupid thing, there's an abomination of pet-evolution out here!" he said, hopping away from the crackling snap of the two-headed cat's whip-like tail, a sharp bone tip slamming into the stone like a hammer into clay.
Before he could even process what happened next, his entire body lurched to a stop, his momentum slamming him into the slap of the creatures oncoming claw. He shot back towards the egg, skipping like a stone on a lake, his hexlimbs trailing behind him like the streak of a comet. The hit was so hard he couldn't even feel the pain yet, couldn't even breathe, or comprehend the oncoming rush behind him.
Just as he slammed into the ground once more, looking like a kite wrecked by storm, something shook his thoughts into movement. It could have been instinct, fear, or even will, it could have been anything, but whatever it was, it got him to focus.
Righting himself on the ground, jumping to the side, and rolling away, Atlas ran again, praying for some grand plan to turn the tides as his thoughts came to depressing conclusions, he was either going to die again, another most inglorious death, or he would watch his sibling die first, and then join them.
This wasn't something he could accept, who could? But he didn't have any solutions, until a final idea popped into his head.
"That... probably won't work, but--" he muttered, flashing in the opposite direction he'd just been running. He might as well try, the alternative was worse.
"Let's see just how great these threads are," he thought, his mind a mess with grim defiance. He didn't want to die, he really really didn't want to die, yet he was still here, still fighting, and couldn't say why.
This was what bothered him more than his seeming death, he felt unlike himself. He felt out of control, he felt weird. As he reapproached the lithe body of the charging feline, his six hexlimbs flashing in sprint, his expression hardened further.
As if in acceptance of it's foods oncoming delivery, that double-headed cat opened it's maw wide in it's charge, its eyes mocking, and it's purr like nails on a chalkboard.
As the distance shortened from meters to inches, Atlas felt time slow, or so he thought. Everything moved so clearly in his vision, so slowly that he could swear he he saw every detail. He didn't stop, meeting the charge of the beast head on. The six metallic Spiris legs on his back flipped over to an almost unnatural degree, opening like a flower in full bloom, and spread around the face and open maw of the charging cat, lines of thread strung between them in a tight pattern.
"Eat shit," he said, joy dancing in his eyes, his arm stretching out in his sped-up perception. The tips of his fingers instantly sprayed the last of his toxins down the throat of the now bound mouths of this thing. A spit-colored glob of overly acidic neurotoxin debuted in the body of an overgrown, hairless mistake for the first time, and Atlas instantly backed off as the feline screeched, hissing.
*KHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII KHIIII*
With the grating sound of a hissing cough, it's desperate attempt to eject what it swallowed, the feline rolled, squirming in extreme pain as the toxins destroyed it's throat. Atlas didn't stay close, praying to all that was not this worlds System that this thing would just fall over and die. He was exhausted, and running on empty, his toxins were spent and his web needed time, not much, but enough that he'd find it hard to play chase again.
"C'mon.." he muttered, his focus trained on the slowing of this creatures violent reaction, the pain that he'd hoped would last longer.
Alas, fate isn't smiling on Atlas today. With a murderous gaze that could freeze the soul, the two-headed creature slowly rose from the floor, its eyes devoid of any taunting anymore. Wrath. That was all Atlas saw in those eyes that begged death.
Jumping back once again, cursing the heavens that he'd die of exhaustion, babysitting an egg on his first day as a bollywood-spiderman knock off, Atlas pushed his body to the absolute limit. His [Mana Core] pulsed with reckless abandon, burning even the fabric of his own musculature in order to provide enough energy for him to escape.
Dashing from side to side, intending to run back to the cave's entrance, or at least try with the egg in hand. Atlas bolted towards it to pick it up, he didn't know if this would work, but it was his last hope, and he didn't have much of that even still.
Just as his silhouette approached the shivering prison of his little sibling, a long, thick, bony tail with a spear like tip slammed into his chest with its side, sending him flying back once again like a broken kite.
Slamming into the hard stone, his head pounding, concussed repeatedly, Atlas almost blacked out, but he held on as if in defiance.
The cave grew somber, the air held back, and time seemed to slow. He could barely see, his left eye was forced shut, and his ears were ringing. The vibrations he sensed were like bombs on his body, his mind a lonely ship that sailed a storm, 'it's hopeless... huh?' he thought, a trembling in his lip. He was covered in drying blue blood, bruises and gravel, yet still hadn't given up, but now, he could barely move.
Just as the creature approached, slow and steady, prepared for any last ditch foolishness from the food that had hurt it, the faintly crisp echo of a shattering shell sung through the breeze.
Atlas eyes darted to the side, panic surging in his chest. 'Oh, come on! Now? Really?!'
The egg wobbled violently, cracks splintering across its surface. Atlas felt his blood run cold as the creature lunged again, this time with claws extended. There was no more room for dodging, he had to defend it head on, if his body could even stand it.
Atlas's muscles tensed as he raised his arms, ready for the impact, when—THUD.
The egg burst open with a sharp crack, and something, no, someone—face-planted straight into the dirt with a loud splat. A small, humanoid figure lay there, limbs spread like a squid on shrooms, face buried deep in the ground. Atlas blinked, frozen mid-preparation for the attack. Even the beast stopped, staring, dumbfounded by the small figure that had suddenly appeared.
Atlas opened his mouth to say something—anything—but words failed him.
The tiny creature stirred. Slowly, shakily, she rose to her feet—no, her Hexlimbs—lifting herself to stand tall. Her face, though dirt-covered and smeared, was eerily solemn, like an ancient entity surveying the battlefield. Her six spider-like legs moved with the grace of someone far beyond their years. It was baffling, confusing, even to the predator nearby.
She turned, and her eyes, glowing faintly, locked onto Atlas.
There was a long, heavy pause. The kind of pause that feels like it can slice through tension you never even felt, the kind that made time hold its breath.
A voice rang out—not spoken, but resonating through Atlas's mind, full of gravitas, the kind of voice you'd expect from someone whose mere existence could alter the fabric of reality itself. That, or the kind that thought they could.
[Fear not, weak mortal,] her voice declared grandiosely, [for before you stands salvation.]
Atlas blinked, feeling the words fill his brain, waiting for the inevitable title of some ancient deity or supreme being to roll off her metaphorical tongue.
[I… am Shinevelarion Magnifis Vel'Thraxor the Third, Destroyer of Egg Shells, Conqueror of the Infinite Stars, Crowned Empress of the Ethereal Web, Mistress of All That Crawls and Flies, and..,] she paused for dramatic effect, her Hexlimbs twitching slightly, [Bearer of the Most Immaculate Face in All Creation.]
Atlas stared.
The beast paused, as if even it had just been mentally slapped in the face with a title so ridiculous it forgot it was hungry.
This little sister—or Lady Sparkle-Sparklebottom—raised her hexlimbs and struck a dramatic pose, still covered in dirt and eggshell fragments, her serious expression somehow never wavering. The sheer weight of the absurdity nearly crushed Atlas's brain.
He blinked, his mouth hanging open as this Spiris, now fully convinced of her own grandeur, continued.
[I have emerged from my divine slumber to honor your pitiful existence with my presence. And, as foretold in the sacred prophecy of my hatching, I am here to learn... the super secret forbidden move you promised.]
Atlas blinked, utterly speechless. The beast stared. Even the wind seemed to stop, waiting for the universe to recover from it's seizure.