Crawl

It all happened so fast

warren was disoriented, dizzy. Pain shot through every nerve. His limbs didn't respond. His body didn't feel like his own.

But somehow—he moved. Maybe out of fear. Maybe desperation.He began to crawl.

He couldn't feel his legs. His fingers scraped against jagged rock as he pulled himself forward, dragging his broken frame inch by inch across the forest floor.

His vision blurred. Red spots. Static. Echoes of ringing in his ears.He wasn't sure where he was going.Anywhere was better than staying still.

Behind him, the wolf stirred.

Warren risked a glance back.

The beast was sprawled across the dirt. Struggling. Its massive chest heaved, labored.Apparently even monsters could get tired. It twitched, trying to rise, dragging that mangled hindleg behind it like a dead branch.

It was a race.

Warren had no weapons. No strength. No miracle plan.

But he crawled anyway.

The ground beneath him changed.

The scattered stones gave way to cold, sharp rock. A slope. Angled. Flat. Smooth in a strange, unnatural way. He was in the cave. He hadn't even realized it.

No matter how long it took the wolf to regain its bearings once it walked over to him that would be it. Warren had no way of defending himself or escaping his efforts to extend his life were in vain and he knew it. despite that he continued to crawl.

the entrance to the cave was large so large in fact the wolf could enter it without issue but despite this fact it never once entered while warren watched it even the floor of the cave was somewhat dry alluding to the fact the blood covered beast had never entered this cave even before warren stumble across the macabre scene that could be found outside of it.

The wolf was close again.

He could hear its breathing now. Low. Shaky. Uneven. But getting closer.

He didn't want to turn around.

He was terrified.

But he turned anyway.

he thought 'If I'm going to die here , let me at least look into the eyes of the thing that kills me. That's more dignity than most outskirts rats get.'

despite all his struggle he was still going to die all humans were born knowing that they would eventually die it didn't matter what rank you were how smart you were or how good of a person you were. the one thing all humans were equal in was death. It didn't matter if warren had gotten a job in the outskirts or if he died to a beast in a different world. no matter what he did he was still going to die at least this way he got to choose. at least his death would be quick unlike the soulless workers back in the districts and the outskirts. 

As he turned to face the beast it was even closer than he had thought it was just a few inches from where he lay 

Its body towered over him like a monument. Eyes black, irises red, locked directly onto his.

He could hear its heartbeat.

Fast.

Erratic.

The rest of the world disappeared.

Warren didn't think about Lena. Or his childhood. Or the system. Or what could've been. No regrets entered his mind in his last few moments. No last words. Just silence.

He waited for the end.

But the end didn't come.

The wolf didn't strike. Didn't move. Didn't blink. It just watched him.

He waited

And waited

But the killing blow never came instead the wolf continued to look at him fixated he couldn't be sure but it was almost like the beast was upset about something. Its face remined him of a kid whos parents told them they couldn't have a toy. 

A irrational thought entered his mind. Does this thing look at me like some kind of toy or maybe just food. He became enraged 'Its not good enough you nearly killed me you have the gull to sulk like some child because i didn't keel over and die'

In that moment Warren could have swore the beast began to look at him with some pity which only made Warrens anger grow even more intense.

"Well go on then Kill me" His mouth was full of blood and every word made his chest burn but he was far to angry to pay it any mind

The beast continued to look at warren its gaze cutting through him like a knife.

Despite the look the beast remained still unwilling or unable to fulfill Warrens request.

He didn't understand why. And he didn't care. Turning his back to the beast he continued to drag his body deeper into the cave, way from the light, away from the beast.

His hands shook. His bones screamed. His heart pounded inside his mostly broken rib cage. His chest throbbed with every heartbeat. But he kept going.

Until—

His hand brushed against something.

A strange surface.

Stone? Not like the walls of the cave. This was smooth, cold—carved.

The moment his fingers touched it, a cooling sensation spread through his palm.

The pain dulled.

Not gone. But numbed. Manageable.

Warren pressed his weight against the object, using it to drag himself upright. His head spun. His knees nearly buckled.

Blood dripped down his arm and splashed onto the stone.

And then—

A voice.

Sweet. Warm. Unmistakable.

It didn't speak aloud. It didn't have to. It was like a thought someone else had placed inside his mind. The same voice that welcomed him to this world.

It rang in his mind a welcome pleasantry compared to the insatiable ringing that had taken residence in his head some time after he was slammed into the rocks outside the cave.

[Will of Envy obtained.]

The stone pulsed under his hand. A new warmth surged into his chest, like coals lit under his skin. His vision sharpened. His lungs filled. He stood straighter.

He didn't know what was happening. Didn't know what he had touched. Didn't know why the wolf hadn't killed him.

But for the first time in a long, long time, Warren didn't feel powerless.