Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Means Of Survival

The wind blew in mud puddles in the middle of mountainous walls, and the grasses at the mud pond's edge swayed in the gentle breeze of the wind. There were no trees in sight; all that could be seen were piles of spiky white rocks sticking out of the ground and a plethora of puddles left by the recent torrential rain.

A silhouette from above descended, its skin reflecting the slowly descending sun from the horizon. A panicked growl was heard before a splash of mud exploded and rained down. There was no witness to what happened, so no one could react. The entire area became silent after the loud landing, and the muddy water from the puddle showed no signs of life as the mud scattered throughout the corner of the pond crawled back and flattened the muddy water.

It started with a single motion, then the muddy water shook again, and again, and again. The muddy water jiggled as the entity inside struggled to break free from the sticky mud that had trapped it, fighting for its very life.

The movement ceased.

As a pair of eyes emerged from the mud, a brief sticky sound echoed. The gooey eyes were contracting and expanding.

Eon's gooey eyes wandered, using his eyes to see and smell for any potential danger nearby, and when he confirmed that there was none, he arose from the mud and crawled to the pond's edge, crawling until he reached solid ground.

He made it, but only by a hair's breadth. Even a minor error in the landing could result in his untimely death.

His mud-covered body began to move as he attempted to flee, his gooey eyes wandering as he searched for and sniffed the Peasants pursuing him. They were no longer nearby; his eyes had tracked them down from the cliff from which he had jumped, as if they were watching him as he fled. Despite their distance, the silhouettes of their antennae could be seen moving uncontrollably.

Eon growled and forced his heavy body to move once more, channeling his last strength to drive him back home, where he was safe as the sun set.

For the time being, he had escaped the grasping mandibles of death.

***

The five Peasants who had nearly caught their prey kept looking around, their dot-like black eyes wandering as their heads moved, their antennae searching for the Slug's heat signal but finding nothing.

They had already lost Eon the moment he jumped off the cliff. They had impressive hunting abilities thanks to their racial exclusive skill, Sensory Antennae, and were extremely difficult to escape if their eyes were already on their target, but the range of the skill was solely dependent on the user's sight range, which in Peasants' case could no longer reach what was beneath the cliff.

All they could do was look around, but they kept coming up empty-handed. The five Peasants closed and opened their mandibles while waving their heads at each other, blaming each other with a language that only they understood, their body language.

The Peasants eventually walked away from the cliff's edge and marched back to their group, carrying nothing in their mandibles.

This raid, however, was not considered a failure because they already had five Slugs to take home.

***

Eon found his own trail and returned to the path toward his home thanks to his Slug form's natural ability to smell from afar using his gooey eyes. However, it was not an easy task; danger lurked around every corner, and one unintentional encounter meant death, especially in his situation. He was moving much slower due to his injuries, and the forest he was in was vast; it took him some time, long enough that it was already dark when he found the river he was always following.

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As the black sky above brewed another raging storm, a thunderous roar echoed throughout. The trees were being swayed by the raging wind.

The wind pushed Eon out into the river as he slowly bridged the river, but he gripped his hold on the log and continued while his eyes extended forward. The mud on his body was drying, making it more difficult to move, but not enough to completely stop him.

Eon slid down the river's stone bridges, already halfway through, and as he did, the water began to push him, outbalancing him and almost pushing him away from the stones. His body fell into the water as the rain began to fall and the darkness began to dominate the sky, darkening the already bleak atmosphere and tempting him to finally let go.

Eon growled and drew his body up, fighting the raging water that was pushing him out. As he fought, the mud that was adding to the weight he was carrying began to wash away, providing relief as he crawled his way back up. He reached the top of the stone and bridged to the next, and the next, and the next, even though the raging water of the river kept pushing him away, he kept moving forward, and before he knew it... He was already on the other side of the river.

After a few minutes of crawling through the familiar tall grasses and spiky stones, his eyes caught sight of a familiar chamber hidden beneath a tree. A place he thought was the safest in the forest, where he could be safe from the dwellers of the sky, land, and night.

The storm became more hostile, raining massive amounts of fast-moving water from the sky, but Eon ignored it and crawled all the way inside his safe haven. He crept through the narrow path of spiky stones and tree roots that surrounded the area. As he neared the end, he was greeted by the same room he had left behind that morning. It was empty, humid, and dark... but safe.

His tired body fell to the ground the moment his head stepped inside. His eyes immediately closed, putting him to sleep. His body finally gave out after the fatal battle and the long journey back home. He allowed himself to succumb to the comfort of his safe haven.

***

A storm raged once more through Kegali's forest, raising rivers and shaking the massive trees that covered the entire area. The forest was resonating with the repeated roar of thunder. The dim light from the hidden moon would occasionally light up the dark forest, but not enough to change the mood of the gloomy forest.

The constant barrage of thunderstrikes outside his home caused Eon's eyes to open, and as he did, he felt a small river of water flowing through his small chamber. It was nothing to be concerned about; in fact, it was a blessing in this case.

Eon lowered his head and reached for the small river flowing through, drinking the water. His eyes were hidden inside his head, he still needed to rest, but he eventually recovered to a degree.

As a thunderclap struck a nearby tree, briefly lighting up the area, Eon's eyes rose, but he remained motionless while staring outside. Despite his inability to speak, he had a thought... The voice he had heard earlier was the one who had saved his life, which he was about to give up.

He had already given up hope, but the unfamiliar voice gave him a reason to fight again.

But all he could do was wonder because he couldn't remember anything. All of those memories had been erased, leaving only hints of them, and no matter how hard he thought, he could come to no conclusions.

He finally experienced a true first storm since his arrival in this world, a storm so devastating that it nearly ended his second life. More would follow, and they would be even more lethal than the previous ones.

Eon's only options were to flee whenever they came for him or to be tough enough to withstand them until the dawn of calmness arrived.

Or... To strive to be the storm itself.

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