L2L - Death Code

The ground shifted, a nauseating ripple that sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn't earth beneath him. It wasn't stone.

It was moving.

A writhing ocean of flesh stretched into the abyss, scales glinting like shards of shattered glass under the cavern's eerie glow. Serpents. Hundreds—thousands—a churning tide of coiled bodies, sliding over one another, suffocating the land beneath them.

Some were armored in jagged ore, their mineral-plated backs reflecting light like molten rivers. Others were shadows with fangs, their sleek, scale-less forms drinking in the darkness, slipping through the chaos like whispers of death.

And at the heart of this nightmare—

A god of monsters.

A single, titanic serpent lay coiled around a towering slab of rock, its presence swallowing the very air in the cavern. Its body was a fortress of ore and scale, each movement sending tremors through the ground. Its breath alone could have been the wind before a storm—slow, steady, waiting.

Atop the throne of stone within its embrace, a massive egg rested, untouched.

A nest.

His stomach twisted. His breath hitched.

He was inside a nest.

A terrible, paralyzing cold sank into his bones.

And then—he saw it.

A smaller serpent, black as night, slithered over the mass of its kin. Its tongue flicked. Its gaze locked onto another nearby.

And then—it struck.

Fangs sank deep into the unsuspecting creature's side, coiling around it in a suffocating grip. A violent struggle ensued, the victim writhing, its tail lashing in desperate protest. But it was over in seconds. A sickening crunch echoed as bones shattered beneath the pressure.

And then—it swallowed.

Bit by bit, the wriggling body disappeared, the victorious snake's throat bulging grotesquely as it devoured its own kin.

It wasn't alone.

All around him, they were eating each other.

Some ripped into already lifeless bodies, tearing away strips of flesh. Others struck live prey, their siblings, their own blood—cannibalizing them without hesitation. A few were mid-consumption, only half of their victim swallowed, yet they slithered forward unfazed, dragging twitching tails in their wake.

The sight sent bile rising in his throat.

His stomach churned. His chest tightened.

He stumbled back—a gagging sound escaping before he could stop it.

And then—silence.

Dozens of slitted eyes turned.

Tongues flicked.

The feasting stopped.

And in the suffocating quiet, something snapped.

They lunged.

A scream clawed at his throat, but there was no time to release it.

He turned and ran.

The cavern twisted ahead of him, shadows leaping as he bolted into the unknown. Behind him, the sound of pursuing death grew louder—scales scraping against stone, bodies undulating with terrifying speed.

The hunt was about to begin.

A sharp, primal instinct took over—run.

He spun on his heels and bolted without a second thought. His body acted on pure survival, moving faster than his brain could process. The cave blurred around him as he sprinted into the twisting darkness.

Behind him, the wet, sickening sound of slithering bodies filled the air. A swarm of them. Some scaled the cave walls, their gleaming bodies coiling and twisting like a nightmare brought to life. Others surged forward, razor-like tongues flicking through the air, tasting his scent.

His foot snagged on a jagged rock. He stumbled, nearly crashing face-first, but adrenaline forced him upright. His lungs burned, his muscles screamed—but he couldn't stop.

Stopping meant death.

A sudden impact shook the ground behind him.

He risked a glance over his shoulder—and his stomach twisted in horror.

One of the larger snakes had slammed its tail down, pulverizing the rock he had stepped on just a second ago. If he had been even a moment slower…

"Shit—shit—shit!"

He pushed harder, tearing through the uneven cave floor. The path twisted, forcing him to duck under jagged formations and veer around sharp turns. The bigger snakes couldn't keep up, their massive bodies struggling in the tight spaces.

But the smaller ones?

They were gaining.

Their bodies slithered through cracks, scaled walls, and launched themselves forward with unnatural speed. Their glowing eyes locked onto him like a pack of starving wolves.

And then—he saw it.

A narrow opening in the rock.

He lunged, throwing himself inside. His shoulders scraped against the jagged walls, pain flaring as he forced his body through. He landed hard on the other side, rolling into a cramped passage barely wide enough for him to stand.

The slithering noise behind him halted.

The entrance was too narrow for the larger snakes to squeeze through.

He pressed himself against the rough stone, his chest heaving, ears straining. The cave was deathly silent.

Did he lose them?

His heart pounded in his skull. The acrid stench of the cave filled his nostrils—damp, stale, metallic. He forced his breathing to slow.

Inhale.

Exhale.

And then—something shifted in his mind.

It wasn't a sound. It wasn't a voice.

It was information.

A random, intrusive piece of knowledge that wasn't his suddenly existed in his brain. Like a file being downloaded directly into his thoughts.

[Entity Type: Lesser Ore Serpent]

His brow furrowed. What?

But before he could even process it—

Hissssssss.

A shiver crawled down his spine.

The sound came from right behind him.

His body locked up. He turned his head, ever so slowly—

Glowing yellow eyes.

A smaller snake had squeezed through the cracks. Its long, shimmering body coiled tightly, its tongue flicking in and out as it tasted the air.

It had found him.

His breath hitched.

The snake's muscles tensed.

It was going to lunge.

He got up and dashed in the opposite direction avoiding the snakes attack by a millimetre. He was on the run again, the race of his life. The snake followed without any delay, after it's prey.

And then—

A blazing red window flashed before his eyes.

[Deploy - Stealth?]