A bug creature walked through the cavern, its hairy legs touching the broken cocoon. What caused Flynn's fear wasn't just the size, comparable to the giant skeleton spider, but also the bug's appearance. It resembled a black beetle, with wings that were transparent and lined with veins, like an insect. However, the multiple eyes on its wings, each moving in sync with its legs, were far from insect-like.
"Definitely, there shouldn't be eyes in front of its head," Flynn whispered.
Instantly, the creature turned toward him, and Flynn's heart skipped a beat as he swiftly retreated to his usual hiding spot, behind the cocoon.
"Sh*t! Did it see me?" Flynn again whispered.
He cautiously waited a few seconds before slowly raising his head over the cocoon, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. "Must have—"
His thought was interrupted as the Ghost Eyes ability kicked in, detecting a trail of purple energy.
His head shakily turned towards the direction of the energy, and his heart sank. The bug stood right behind him, its elongated head now with sporting eyes matching that of a snail's, different from its previous appearance.
Flynn felt his life slipping away.
The creature crept forward, seemingly unaware that Flynn had spotted it, whose heart forgot its purpose, frozen in terror.
The problem now was that he couldn't run. His legs ached terribly from the acid burn, and the cramped space made stumbling into a cocoon—and becoming the creature's easy prey—a constant threat.
To escape, Flynn decided to move cautiously away from the creature, avoiding its gaze.
He took a step back; the creature advanced. Another step... Another... The creature closed in, its legs raised, positioned to snatch him.
"Damn this!"
Flynn instantly clenched his fist and struck the creature's head, targeting the spot between its eyes.
'Crack!'
His fingers bones shattered from the impact, which had sent shockwaves through the cavern. Yet, the creature remained unscathed, leaving Flynn to endure excruciating pain.
"Ouch—" His cry was cut short as the creature screeched and kicked him, sending him flying into a cocoon. The cocoon's elasticity bounced him back onto the ground.
"Ouch!" This time, Flynn's completed pain-filled exclamation echoed through the cavern.
As he struggled to stand, the creature lunged at him, and all thanks to the Ghost Eyes ability detecting the energy signal, he swiftly rolled away, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow by mere inches.
Flynn scrambled to his feet and now, the pain mattered less, as he sprinted in the opposite direction. But his escape was short-lived, when his foot suddenly caught on the ground. He lost balance and fell.
Terrified, his eyes darted downwards to see his leg entangled in the same white silk threads from the cocoon.
"Now, immobilization?" he yelled, quickly pulling his foot free. Again, he narrowly avoided the bug-creature's rushing attack, its hairy legs barely missing his back.
"I hate spiders!" Flynn shouted, leaping over the endless cocoons ahead. "...And I hate bugs!"
Finally reaching a safe distance, he turned around, eyes scanning the cavern, ready for the next attack, as the bug-creature again disappeared.
That's when he spotted a purple energy signature.
His head raised and gaze snapped upwards to locate the source.
The bug creature stared back at him, standing amidst its cocoons.
In an instant, it landed on Flynn, but his swift reflexes allowed him to dodge the deadly blow.
Flynn sprinted towards and behind a nearby cocoon, exploiting the bug's relatively slower speed. Unlike the spider creature, this bug was a bit slower, but it's wings remained still, likely preserving its unique multi-eyed vision, or maybe not.
Nevertheless, Flynn hid behind the cocoon, his heart racing from the relentless chase. "I can't outrun it, and brute strength won't destroy it," he thought, eyeing his bruised fingers.
"I need to find another way to kill this creature before it kills me."
Flynn thought intensely, "The Ghost Eyes ability lets me see the unseen, and thanks to the energy signature I would have been long dead. There must be something I can use to defeat this creature.... There has to be."
Just then, the monotone voice interrupted his thoughts.
[GHOST EYES ABILITY - 20 minutes remaining.]
Flynn suppressed the urge to yell, fearing the creature's attention. Instead, he whispered urgently, "You stupid Ring! Host survival critical, need help."
[RING HUNGER - 95%.]
Flynn's frustration grew, but he kept quiet as the creature approached his hiding spot.
He took a deep breath and thought, "This ring only cares about itself. It doesn't understand when I need help. A useless Ring, just a voice in my head, no clarity on what's next... Is there even a way to see what's going on? I can't keep relying on voices alone... If only there was an 'Ability Display'..."
As he spoke the words, a faint crimson glow emanated from the ring. A translucent, red-tinted screen materialized before him, pulsing with lines that synced with his heartbeat.
[ABILITY USAGE DISPLAY]
[GHOST EYES (UNLOCKED) - 20 minutes remaining.
[USABLE ABILITIES:
- Dark Shield (UNLOCK/CLOSE)10MINS
- Empowered Ghost Strike (UNLOCK/CLOSE)3mins.
[BEWARE THE DARK ENERGY: CURSE - 20%]
Flynn stared at the screen in awe, speechless for minutes. He remained expressionless, before taking a deep breath, relaxing for a moment. Nothing felt real again, not now.. not ever.
Then, after minutes passed of constant staring, he stretched his finger towards the screen, but instead of clicking on the displayed sector, it passed through effortlessly.
"...So, if this isn't just a messaging system... then it's what—"
The monotone voice interrupted his thoughts:
[FEED ME! RING HUNGER - 96%!!!]
[SATISFACTION REQUIREMENT - Absorb 1 Soul Shard]
[HOST BLOOD SUSTAINABLE - (17 liters) 45 minutes!!!]
Flynn's jaw dropped. "Forty-five minutes? 17liters, No!... Wait, is my blood up to 17liters—"
His gaze snapped towards the incoming purple energy, as he suddenly jumped away from that spot, with The bug creature suddenly tearing through the cocoon as it emerged, drawn by Flynn's voice, ready to attack.
The creature let out a long loud screech with the flapping of the wings, echoing alongside.
It was ready to fight if need be and kill Flynn as food, who on the other hand, wasn't ready to die.
Hw turned to the translucent screen. "Since I didn't get a Ding! But a voice in my head, and a strange floating screen, let me to test these abilities.
""GHOST STRIKE! UNLOCK'."