"Pant... Pant..."
Veiled by a burning vapor, Aric breathed heavily like a parched hound, his arms hanging limp and swaying loosely on either side.
Not only that, they felt numb, filling him with a sense of dread and he dared not to lower his gaze to investigate.
The fissures beneath his feet robbed him of his balance as he wobbled forward, the cloud mixture of steam and dust making it difficult for him to see what was around him.
"I have to get out of here..."
Although a part of him reassured that he had come out triumphant, Aric was not naïve enough to think that someone like him could defeat the great serpent.
And so he continued wobbling forward, stumbling on the uneven earth as he did so.
Soon, he walked out of the cloud, where the air was somewhat clear, and the light from the Mana crystals shone through.
[!!]
Despite his best attempts not to gaze upon his injuries, the newfound visibility made it impossible for him not to do so.
Strands of his skin were hanging loosely from his arms which were soaked in blood, chunks of his flesh having been completely blown off by his own strength.
He felt like vomiting as his eyes lingered on his exposed fat and tissue, the visible femur bone that stuck out grotesquely from his left arm filling with him horror.
The once pale complexion of his arms was now a mixture of drying blood and burnt char.
But even then, his right hand grotesquely held on to the hilt of his blade, as though the two had fused together.
Step... Step...
... He dragged himself forward, having only one goal in mind: Escaping the fowler's snare.
Unfortunately...
"HIISSSSSSSS!!!! "
[!!]
The Basilisk jolted from the ground and hissed loudly, its scream scattering the remnants of Aric's steam and the simmering dust.
"Damnit!"
[Couldn't it have stayed down until the moment I escaped?!]
Aric clenched his jaw, his eardrums bursting from the sheer frequency of the Basilisk's hiss, and he couldn't raise his hands to cover his ears either so he could only bear through it.
Thud...
"Argh!!"
He collapsed to one knee, a trickle of blood flowing from each ear, and a loud ringing sound echoed within said ears long after the Basilisk had ceased its shrieking.
"Hiss... What are you? How do you possess such strength without Mana?"
The great serpent inquired, its head wobbling back as it was still stunned by the blow, its movements resembling those of a cobra dancing to the tune of a snake charmer.
But its words fell on literal deaf ears.
It became puzzled as it stared at the Human below it, who was glaring back at it with his eyes ablaze with determination and a strong will to survive.
"I wonder, Hiss... If my offspring were to feed on you, would they be strengthened or would you poison them?"
The great serpent pondered out loud, it was, by nature, a very curious beast.
"What a dilemma..."
Said the Basilisk, stealing glances at its nest.
The great serpent belonged to a species which had a belief that the first thing their offspring devour would determine their future strength.
So why then, would such a creature want to feed its young a being that lacked Mana?
The answer was simple: curiosity.
The Basilisk couldn't help but wonder how their offspring would turn out.
Would they be extremely weakened from eating him?
Would they inherit his Mana deficiency?
Or most fascinating of all, would they obtain immense strength from devouring such an anomaly?
The great serpent was willing to gamble its offspring's fate to find an answer to that burning question.
"Hiss..."
[My poison clearly can't keep him at bay long enough until the egg hatches, so what then?]
[I have no other means to restrict him...]
[Should I contact the ruler of the southern west and request her strings?]
The Basilisk pondered, the fin-like flaps on each side of its head extending as it did so.
"No...Hiss... Then she would know that I have laid an egg, that would be quite troublesome."
The great serpent muttered to itself.
"What the heck? Pant... Wheeze."
[!!]
Aric rose to his wobbling feet, shocking the Basilisk, evident in its widening maw and quivering flaps.
"You're the one that laid that egg? I thought you were a male!"
Aric spoke in a loud voice, but this wasn't on purpose, it was because his hearing hadn't fully recovered yet, but it was also laced in a mocking undertone.
"Hisss!! How dare a feeble existence like you try to put labels on me?!"
The great serpent took great offense and coiled its neck to attack.
"Hiss..."
"I should have torn your limbs to begin with, I'll make sure you don't go anywhere this time!"
Declared the great serpent.
Fwosh!!
It feigned a frontal attack and instead flung its tail low, aiming to sweep Aric's legs.
But...
Fwip!
Aric leaped high into the air using his impressive leg strength, his mind frantically racing.
[I can't fight with my arms like this!]
[Maybe I shoul —]
[!!]
Before gravity could claim him, Aric noticed something atop the Basilisk's skull, a thing so minute that no one else but him would have noticed, due to his immense desperation.
What he saw was one of the Basilisk's scales, one bent out of shape and seemed fragile unlike the others.
It was on the exact same spot he had earlier struck with all his might, creating chink in the serpent's nigh impregnable armor.
"Heh!!"
He grinned, and prepared to —
Thwack!
"Gargh!!"
The Basilisk's tail rammed into his suspended body, sending him crashing into the ground in a loud splat.
This was a consequence of his lack of battle experience, he was far too focused on his next attack and forgot to anticipate the enemy.
A foolish mistake which he silently vowed to never commit as his blood pooled the crater of his frame's making.
"Hiss... How durable, he still lives?"
The great serpent simply couldn't understand Aric's body no matter how many times it attempted to.
[I can't breathe... My lungs must've exploded.]
[I can't move... I feel like my bones have been ground to dust.]
His thoughts slowly faded as he drowned in his own blood, his face completely embedded into the ground.
[At least I... Didn't go out without a fight.]
He mused, his consciousness slipping through his fingers, but even so, he felt peaceful.
He began to consider that maybe death wasn't such a bad thing after all.
One can't suffer when they don't exist.
But...
Ba — Dump!
As though his body had a mind of its own, his heart began pumping blood, despite the intense hemorrhaging.
Ba — Dump!
[This feels... Familiar...]
His fleeting thoughts rested on the visage of his father.
[That's right... You're the reason my life has been so horrible until now.]
Ba — Dump!
Ba — Dump!
His body began burning hot, to such an extent that the pool of blood began bubbling with an intense heat.
"Hiss... What now?"
The great serpent wondered, its curiosity developing a great hunger.
[What is this feeling?]
[... I'm dying and yet...]
[I feel so alive!!]
Ba — Dump!!
As though under the control of an inexperienced puppeteer, Aric's body rose mechanically from the boiling pool of blood like marionette, a wide, nigh maniacal grin spread out across his face.
"Hahaha!!!!!"
He tilted his head and laughed out loud, the blood soaking his entire frame sizzling against the increasing temperature of his body.
PFWOH!!
His body released a vapor of steam once again, but one of a much greater intensity than before.
"Hisss..."
The Basilisk watched the entire scene unfold despite its senses screaming at it to attack or flee, but there was nothing more important than its curiosity at that moment.
"HAHAHAHA!!!!"
The stream grew in intensity and even reaching the ceiling of the cave, spreading across its surface.
"I can feel it!!! It's coming! It's coming!!!"
Aric roared like a lunatic, the intense ecstacy he felt was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
And...
CRAAAAAAAACKLE!!!!!
The once colorless steam ignited into a vibrant plasma substance that burned like an infernal, Aric cackling at its center.
[Is that really...]
The curios serpent tilted its head.
"... Mana?"
It wondered, its emerald scales reflecting the bright citrus energy crackling violently before it.
This was because np matter the species — The universal color of Mana was azure blue.