Blood Claws [2]

Zayn stood his ground, blood dripping from his numerous wounds, yet his grip on the skeletal arms remained firm. The jagged claws jutted between his fingers like deadly extensions of his own hands. He adjusted his hold, finding the awkward weight of the bones difficult to manage but workable.

Across from him, the larger monkey snarled, swaying slightly as it clutched at the scorched sockets where its eyes once burned. Red flames danced all over its body, obscuring what Zayn expected to be a similar body to the smaller one.

The creature wasn't that much shorter than him, but its long limbs and deadly claws made up for the height difference. Zayn knew brute strength wouldn't win him this fight, it's not like he had the advantage on that. His body ached, and his vision swam from blood loss, but the monkey's total blindness was his one edge. He needed to press it.

The thought of running flickered in his mind, but he crushed it with a scoff. There was nowhere to go, and even if there was, fleeing wouldn't complete this twisted Story. Whatever it was that he had to do here, this fight felt like it was necessary.

Grinding his teeth, Zayn stepped forward.

A sharp whistle tore through the air. His eyes caught up just in time to see the limp, armless body of the smaller monkey hurtling toward him. Zayn barely had time to dive aside, rolling across the dirt as the corpse smashed into the ground, splintering the earth where he had stood.

He cursed under his breath. Even blind, the damn thing had ridiculous awareness.

He watched the larger monkey tilt its head, listening for him. Zayn could hear the steady crackle and small cries it made. Silence wouldn't save him now. Caution was pointless.

Snarling, Zayn pushed off the ground and charged, adrenaline fueling his every step.

The monkey roared in response, lashing out blindly. Zayn ducked beneath its swipe and retaliated, slashing across its midsection with one of the skeletal claws. The sharpened bone tore through the crimson flame and landed on an unprotected part of its flesh, leaving behind deep gouges that bled dark, viscous liquid. The creature shrieked, stumbling back.

Zayn pressed forward into its flames, jabbing one claw upward, aiming for its throat. The monkey twisted at the last second, causing his attack to slice into its armored shoulder instead. He yanked the claw free from it, blood spraying across his face.

Breathing hard, he circled to its side, slashing at its ribs. The monkey lashed out with its arm, narrowly missing Zayn's head.

"You're getting predictable," he muttered.

His confidence grew with each strike. Even though he was one good hit away from ending his short journey, he still attacked with as much ferocity as he could muster.

If he was going to kill this thing and live, he had to put his back into it.

He aimed carefully, keeping his steps light. The monkey's flailing became slower, more erratic. Each cut weakened it further.

But then, the monkey adapted.

The next swipe came without hesitation, bypassing Zayn's feint entirely. Claws raked across his side, shredding through fabric and skin. Zayn staggered and stumbled, gasping in pain. Before he could recover, the creature lashed out again, catching his arm and throwing him to the ground. His back slammed into the dirt with bone-rattling force.

Groaning, Zayn rolled to his knees just as the monkey pounced, claws diving for his head. Zayn barely brought up the skeletal arms in time, blocking the attack. The impact sent shockwaves through his body as he felt his forearms fracture. His grip nearly faltered as the monkey pressed down, trying to crush him beneath its weight.

Gritting his teeth, Zayn shoved back, sliding the monkey off to the side. He lunged forward, slashing as hard as his arms could endure, driving the claws into the creature's legs. It stumbled, letting out a guttural snarl, but it did not fall.

The fight turned brutal.

Zayn's strikes became desperate, his movements slower as blood poured from his wounds and his fractured bones rattled from his movement. The monkey, relentless despite its blindness, hammered him with devastating blows. Each clash sent him reeling, but Zayn endured, fueled by sheer spite.

It wasn't until the monkey's many lunges forward, jaws snapping blindly, that Zayn saw his chance.

He fell backward, the large monkey falling towards him. Raising his two impromptu weapons, he drove both skeletal arms into the monkey's exposed neck, piercing deep into the gaps in the bone armor. The claws sunk in effortlessly, embedding into the creature's throat and through its spine.

The monkey howled, flames erupting violently around its body. But before Zayn could pull away, the creature's arms snapped around him in a crushing bear hug.

The air was ripped from his lungs as the monkey squeezed. Zayn felt his ribs groan and creak under the pressure. Blood bubbled at the corners of his mouth. He tried to pull free, but the monkey's grip only tightened, trapping him against its burning chest.

Zayn's vision darkened at the edges. But through the haze of pain, he twisted the skeletal claws still lodged in the monkey's throat. He drove them deeper, grinding them through bone and flesh.

The monkey's grip faltered for a split second. Zayn seized the moment.

Roaring, he twisted with all his strength, tearing the claws sideways through the monkey's neck. The exoskeleton cracked apart, and with a final thrust, Zayn severed the creature's head completely.

And at that moment once again he heard a slight voice.

You have toppled another obstacle.

The monkey collapsed, dragging Zayn to the ground with it. Gasping, he could not even find the strength to shove the corpse aside, thus he remained in place. Hugged by the corpse of the creature he just killed with his back to the ground.

His chest heaved as he stared at the sky, the red glow of the flames around him flickering and fading.

Victory tasted like blood and ash. It didn't taste sweet, but he could live with that.

Zayn felt bile rise in his throat as he could no longer hold, blood and what he believed to be his inner flesh gushed out of his mouth and onto his body. Staining both him and the carcass on top of him.

"Fuck, this is absolutely disgusting." His breaths were shallow and ragged, every inhale accompanied by a sharp, searing pain. For a moment, the world spun, and he thought he might pass out, but the intensity of his injuries kept him cruelly conscious.

His body was a battlefield of agony. Deep gashes crisscrossed his chest, some so wide he could feel the chill of the air against raw muscle. His two arms hung limply so fractured and damaged that he even wondered how the hell he had even fought. The numerous cuts on his legs had left them trembling and weak, while the large puncture wounds in his abdomen oozed blood at an alarming rate. His vision blurred from blood loss, but he forced himself to focus, to assess his broken form.

Every little movement sent fresh waves of pain crashing over him. His ribs felt cracked, maybe even shattered, and his back was a raw, throbbing mess from being repeatedly slammed into hard surfaces. His hands, which had gripped the skeletal arms so tightly, were torn and bloody, his fingers trembling from overexertion. Even the adrenaline that had kept him fighting seemed to have abandoned him now, leaving only the sheer, unrelenting agony.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips, low and hoarse. He couldn't help but find the absurdity in it all.

"This... This would be one hell of a way to go," he muttered, his voice barely audible over his labored breaths.

"Bleeding out on dirty ground, in some emperor-forsaken island, in some random ass Story all with this heavy and ugly ass primate on top of me and covered in my own puke."

He shook his head, wincing as the motion sent sharp spikes of pain through his neck. Despite the damage, he was still alive. That fact alone was a miracle, though he grimaced at how precarious his survival felt. His laughter grew louder, a desperate sound born of pain and disbelief.

"After fighting the worst fight in my entire life, I'm just going to bleed out her and die. And to become a Character, which I ain't even really sure is possible." he mocked himself.

What if this was it? What if this brutal encounter was the climactic moment he was meant to face, and now his story was at its end? The thought was almost laughable—a whole grand introduction from that Librarian dude to a mediocre Story brought to a close by two flaming monkeys.

It was pitiful.

He lay still for a few moments, letting his thoughts fade into the silence. Nothing remarkable happened. The world remained quiet save for his ragged breathing. It wasn't over, not yet. Whatever this was, it wasn't the conclusion he'd been waiting for.

As his mind settled, his thoughts drifted back to the strange, whispering voice he'd heard when he killed the larger monkey. The words echoed faintly in his mind: You have toppled another obstacle. The memory brought with it the same unease and curiosity he'd felt earlier when the smaller monkey's arms had been torn free. He hadn't paid much attention then, but now since he had nowhere to go he couldn't ignore it. What did it mean?

A familiar sensation crept into his head—a rush of energy followed by a sharp, pulsing headache. It was far less intense than the pain from his injuries, but it was enough to draw his attention. He blinked in surprise as his Outline appeared before him, the small notebook floating just above his face. The pages flipped open on their own, settling on a blank one.

"Ah, this thing. I completely forgot about this."

Zayn's attention was then brought to the monkey's corpse on top of him. The large creature's body began to glow, a shimmering rainbow light emanating from its still form. The light separated and condensed, floating in the air before sinking into the open page of his Outline. He turned his head slightly and saw the same phenomenon happening with the smaller monkey's remains. The lights merged into the book, and words began to appear on the previously blank page.

[Mundane Obstacle, Bloody Claw, has been toppled]

[Mundane Obstacle, Bloody Claw, has been toppled]

Zayn couldn't suppress a dry chuckle as he read the text. "Blood Claw? That's what they were called?" he muttered. The name had nothing to do with the fire that had cloaked their forms. It felt almost underwhelming, considering the ordeal he'd just endured.

More text materialized beneath the first line

[Character has not been realized]

[Liberation has not occurred]

[Lore has been stored and not absorbed]

He frowned. Lore? What did that mean? He had no time to dwell on it as another glow drew his attention. From the smaller monkey's body, a rune-like symbol, also glowing in rainbow hues, floated upward and entered the Outline. As it settled on the page, new words appeared:

[Your first Will has been obtained.]

Zayn's eyes narrowed. A Will? He had no idea what that was, but the seemed rather familiar. He would need to figure it out later. Right now, his body screamed for attention, every nerve alight with pain.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zayn spotted movement. The tall, sickly man who had started all of this stood nearby, watching him with an inscrutable expression. Zayn's lips curled into a weak snarl. The urge to march over and punch the man in his gaunt face was strong, though he doubted he had the strength to move, let alone throw a punch. Still, a part of him blamed the man for this chaos, even if another part of him hesitated to lay the full responsibility at his feet.

For now, Zayn could only stay where he was, sprawled on the ground, his bloodied body crushed under the weight. He could only watch as the man slowly approached.