"This is it for you, brother."

"You're worthless, Nash."

"There is no place for you."

As the cacophony of voices whisk past my ear, I look over my shoulder to reassure myself.

Just behind me were two ghastly beasts, rousing reptilian-like limbs as they chased me down in what was seemingly an endless pit of darkness that never gave way for walls, ceilings, or anything that told me I was in a confined space. The beasts were large in stature, perhaps twenty feet long. Their claws had such depth that I wouldn't have been surprised if they could fit an entire animal head on them. With gnarly teeth that could barely stay confined in their otherwise relatively small mouth, saliva was drooling down in such a manner that it made me wonder when they last consumed food of any sort. Furthermore, they had lengthy snouts that extended from their eyes all the way to the most distal portions of their front limbs, followed by streaks of pink that stood out against their dark, green skin. From a distance, one may have been able to misidentify it as a simple alligator, but these creatures were far more... feral.

While doing my best to run, blotches of red soon made their way from my left shoulder, down to the lower proximity of my forearm, all the way into a running fountain of blood that left a clear trail of my movements on the ground. This is what, assumedly, the monsters had been using to stay in pursuit, never letting go no matter how many sharp turns I made, or roundabout pathways I took. As I ran for what felt like eternity, I couldn't help but begin to wheeze in pain, my breath growing more ragged as my stomach churned, legs crying out as my body pleaded for me to stop.

I began to tear up, just barely contemplating leaving myself to the rapid consumption of the beasts. But I knew that stopping would only lead to a pitiful end, and this isn't where I can afford to die. Not after what my brother did!

As images of my past life play back in my head, I begin to wonder if this was the phenomena referred to as 'your life flashing before you.' As soon as that thought made its way to my conscious, the beasts suddenly began to slow, their trek turning from an impossibly fast sprint to a mind-bogglingly slow strut. It was with this slowing down of time that I came to the realization that I wasn't moving very fast either, my sprint even slower than theirs.

Does this mean I'm mere seconds away from death?

Skrrtt!

Making a sharp turn back, I turn towards the sprinting beasts in what very well may be the first and last decision I ever make for myself in this life. Reasoning that if I don't act now, I will never take the proper charge in determining my own fate, I take one last final stand. Sequentially, time went back to normal as the fear began to creep up through my spine into my chest. As soon as normalcy returned, so too did my senses, and I could feel the shifting of my hairs as my terror was evoked to the maximum capacity. A cold shiver ran across my body as I envisioned the many different gruesome ways in which I could meet my end; whether it be the picking apart of my digits one by one, then my eyes, then my skin... or perhaps they may start with an entire arm or leg first, considering how feral their teeth were. Such painfully scary ideas brought enough panic to make me doubt my decision to face them head on, but after seeing my brother, his laughter, his spiteful language, and the cold grimace I'd withstood as he forever disowned me to this fate, I steeled my resolve just as much as I'd lost it. If this was where I die, then my entire life would be meaningless. But that's only 'if'!

Vrrt!

As a bright luminosity extended from the coldly detached remainders of what had been my two hands, I struggled to clutch them as the light settled down, revealing two spottily conjured daggers that just barely formed a sharp enough edge to do damage. Although my arms have been damaged severely, I felt enough strength to raise them up towards my chest. As soon as I was done readying myself, I felt a surge of weakness rise over me as my strength dipped below my already low levels. 

[Warning: Mana Levels Depleted Below 10%, Entering Conservation Mode]

Hearing the system message, I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, a smile creeping its way on to my face.

"Through thick and thin, you've been the only one to stick with me."

As the first creature on my left finally caught up, it raised its claw with a swift ferocity and immediately crashed it down.

Thud!

Feeling the weight of my parry, the creature reels back, leaving its chest open in a staggered position as it had to stand on its back two limbs to attack me. Following this opportunity, I spin around and raise my blade in anticipation for a swing until I hear the struts of the second creature, charging towards me head on.

Using this as an opportunity, I opt for finishing my strike and swipe away at the still-staggered creature that first attacked me.

"Damn, too shallow."

At the same instant I finished my attack, I buckle my feet in preparation for the upcoming charge from the second creature. Seeing it approach within six feet of me, I finally release the force built up from my tensed leg muscles as I perform a forward somersault over the creature and lower both of my blades enough to inflict two cuts along its back, drawing blood and forcing it to retreat a little bit.

Spinning around to fix myself facing back towards them, I land softly on my feet in ready position. However, instead, as the two creatures found me to be of a much more viable threat than initially anticipated, they regrouped, opting for a two-on-one instead of their previous single-minded pursuit that only left them hurt.

This, of course, makes things a hell of a lot harder for me.

Now they both charged at me at the same time, opting for their teeth instead of their claws. And of course, to make matters worse, they stood up on their two back limbs, leaving no space to evade. With only a single second window to work with, I repositioned my daggers so that their blades each extended laterally from my torso, adopting a pose that allowed me to defend and strike from all angles. 

Clink!

As my daggers made contact with both creatures, I felt a blistering pain as my skin began to bubble, eroding away until all that was left were exposed muscles that also soon began to degrade.

"GRAHHHHH!"

As if lava were being poured down my forearm, I immediately let go of my daggers and watched as they dissipated into the air, turning back into mana that floated off into God-knows-where.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Jumping back, I try to laugh off the pain as I look on the ground towards where half of my arm had gone. Observing the ground bubbling, leaving holes that continued to extend downward into the earth, the real culprit made itself visible to me. The saliva from these creatures is acidic, so much so that cobblestone couldn't withstand it. And I'd just been hit with it. 

Looking back down at my arms, I see the muscle continue to erode away before after not long, my bone too begins to bubble away as the pain in no way tried to keep itself discreet from me. 

Seeing my weakness, the creatures rallied themselves, charging towards me again with their mouths hanging wide open.

"So this is the end, huh?"