Eggs and babies

As Kaden descended deeper into the tunnel, the oppressive heat grew worse. The stagnant air clung to his skin, thick with the scent of decay and something else—something sickly-sweet and foul, like rotting meat mixed with the stench of disease.

The tunnel walls pulsed with clusters of slick, membranous sacs—brood pods. Inside them, he could see movement—writhing, shifting figures pressing against their organic cages, their tiny, undeveloped claws scraping against the translucent flesh. Eggs.

Hundreds of them. It was not natural for a rat to give birth like this but hello, welcome to the new world.

Kaden exhaled, already feeling the pressure closing in. He had to be fast. If he delayed even a moment, the entire chamber would hatch, and then he wouldn't just be fighting the Broodmother—he'd be fighting a tidal wave of newborn horrors.

The chamber opened before him, and there she was.

The Broodmother Beta.

She hung from the ceiling like a grotesque, pulsating tumor, her bloated, fleshy body suspended by thick, web-like tendrils anchored to the walls. Her swollen, sagging abdomen rippled as she birthed more of her spawn, each glob of filth-slicked flesh plopping into the festering pools beneath her.

Her head, a twisted fusion of rat and nightmare, twitched as she sensed him. Multiple red eyes blinked in unison, locking onto him with a hungry, terrible awareness. Her maw unhinged, revealing jagged, venom-dripping fangs.

She screeched. The chamber trembled.

The brood pods began to quiver. The eggs were hatching. Dozens of tiny, skeletal ratlings spilled forth, their malformed bodies twitching and gnashing their half-formed teeth.

Kaden didn't hesitate. He moved. His Thorn Whip lashed out, slashing through a cluster of newborns, their feeble bodies bursting apart before they could fully emerge. But more came—hundreds more, spilling from the walls, from the ceiling, from the putrid waters.

And above it all, the Broodmother Beta shrieked and started scampering towards him at top speed, shit still dropping out of her as she moved.

Kaden's expression didn't waver, but internally, he cursed. That was disgusting.

The Broodmother moved faster than something that bloated had any right to move—scuttling across the ceiling with unnatural agility, her grotesque bulk shifting like a sack of flesh barely held together. Her engorged abdomen swung violently as she leaped from her perch, her clawed limbs extending unnaturally long as she lunged for him.

Kaden dodged.

He pivoted sharply, his body twisting mid-air as he narrowly avoided the monster's bulk crashing down where he had just stood. The impact shook the entire chamber. Stone cracked, and a wave of filth surged outward, splattering the already vile environment with fresh disease.

Squelch. Kaden landed with perfect balance—then launched forward before she could recover. Sanguine Roots! Thorn Whip!

Roots surged up from the festering ground—twisting, coiling like serpents, their thorned tendrils snaking toward the Broodmother's bloated limbs.

At the same time, his Thorn Whip lashed outward, its barbed length slicing through the air in a wicked arc—striking the Broodmother's side with a brutal crack. The impact sent a spray of putrid, black ichor splattering against the cavern walls.

The monster shrieked, a piercing, mind-rattling sound.

The horde responded.

From every corner of the chamber, hundreds of her broodlings exploded forth, their skeletal bodies writhing, their malformed jaws gnashing.

Kaden moved. He spun, dodging a lunging ratling, his thorn whip cleaved through an entire cluster of newborns before they could reach him. The sharp, wet sound of bodies splitting filled the air. Their tiny forms twitched once, then lay still.

But more kept coming. They poured from the walls, from the festering pools, from the torn-open brood sacs. A never-ending wave.

Kaden's gaze flicked toward the Broodmother—she was healing.

The Sanguine Roots were draining her, but her unnatural regeneration was kicking in, grotesque, sinewy tendrils stitching her torn flesh back together.

Kaden clicked his tongue. Not fast enough. He needed to break her completely before the horde overwhelmed him. He dashed forward, his body weaving through the writhing mass of newborn horrors. 

His fists struck like hammers, each impact sending ratlings splattering against the stone. His boots crushed skulls as he tore through the filth, moving straight for the Broodmother. She saw him coming. Her massive, clawed limb lashed out—a grotesque, bloated strike meant to crush him.

Kaden didn't dodge. Instead, he met the attack head-on. His fist collided with her claw in mid-air.

CRACK.

A shockwave erupted from the impact. Her entire limb shattered. The Broodmother screeched, reeling backward as her mangled limb dangled uselessly, thick venom spilling from the wound.

Kaden didn't stop. His Thorn Whip coiled around her other remaining limb—yanking her forward just as he twisted, planting his feet, and swung. A full-force punch. Straight into her bloated, sagging abdomen.

The impact was devastating. Her entire stomach imploded, a sickening burst of black ichor, torn flesh, and half-formed broodlings spilling onto the chamber floor.

The Broodmother convulsed, her body shuddering violently, her unnatural form finally failing her. Kaden stepped back, breathing evenly. She twitched. Once. Then collapsed. The chamber went silent.

[Ding! You have killed the Broodmother Beta]