His breath was ragged as he straightened. His claws tighten into fists. The pain slowly faded away, returning his clarity. Slowly returning to normal state.
Predation. The name alone felt cool to him.
"Explain it." He asked.
[Predation: it is an advanced hunting trait. Allows the host to sense the presence of nearby prey through environmental vibrations, heat signatures, and biological frequencies. Enhances reflexive responses and attack precision.]
He flexed his fingers, feeling the slight change in his perception. It was true. He could feel them now. The creatures lurking in the dark weren't just shadows or sounds anymore.
He could sense the faint heat of their bodies, and as they moved beyond him with hesitation of something beyond his sight.
They are watching him. Waiting for a vulnerable moment to strike at him. But they weren't the predators anymore with this new ability he will be.
A slow smile curled at the edges of his lips. He slowly took a step forward. His movements were silent and effortless. The creatures didn't react. To them, he suddenly lost all his presence.
The vibrations of his steps were dampened. Masked it with the surrounding sound. It was as if the abyss itself helping him by obscuring his presence from his prey.
The realization sent a pulse of excitement through him. This was not a mere enchantment. It was evolution. The Maw Crawlers weren't the only ones who could evolve in the abyss. He can also adapt and evolve. And now, it's time to test it.
He looked towards the darkness ahead, where a cluster of unseen creatures lurked just beyond the faint glow of the cavern fungi.
Their forms were indistinct, but he could feel them. The slow rise and fall of their breath. The faint heat from their body. They also felt something Was looking at them.
They stared at him, ready to attack. So he was. He moved forward at a speed faster than before. He moved along the shadows of the cavern wall.
The first Maw crawler barely had time to react before his claws sank into its skull, the impact shattered the bones in a single, brutal strike. It died before it could make a sound.
The second Maw crawler jumped at him from the side. He didn't even turn his head. His hands reacted instinctively. He twisted, his claws slicing through the air in a seamless arc, catching the creature mid-motion and splitting it into three parts sparing all dark blood on him.
The third Maw crawler seeing this tried to flee. But he didn't let it go. He ran towards it, catching it by the throat before he could go to a small hole to hide.
The creature thrashed, its limbs flailing, but his grip was unyielding. He could feel its heartbeat- rapid, panicking.
The predation wasn't just about letting him sense his prey, it was also able to understand it.
The maw crawler was trembling intensely. A sense of satisfaction came to him from deep within him. After a few seconds, the maw crawler stilled instantly, and its movements froze. As if it has recognized the shift in the hierarchy between them.
He tightened his grip. The creature's body again trembled, screaming at it saying it had submitted itself to him. And then…it stopped resisting.
His eyes narrowed. It was afraid. Not just of him. But what he had become. A predictor. The abyss wasn't just shaping him. It is changing him into something great and terrifying.
He released the maw crawler, and it collapsed to the ground, its limbs folding beneath it in a gesture that almost looked like submission. Its body trembling, but it didn't move or flee.
It recognized him as its master, and he walked past it. But it didn't dare to move without any order. He looked at the deeper layers. A small smile at the corner of his mouth. Thinking about what other creatures he will find.
The darkness was shifting. He could feel it. It wasn't just the absence of light. It was a loving, breathing presence, lurking just beyond the edges of his perception.
It was slithering through the tunnels coiling around him like an unseen predator. Its faint sound can be heard. And it leaves a trail of smoke as it leaves.
"Deeper….deeper…."
He slowed his breathing. And moved steadily. Everything had gone silent he could hear his heartbeat. The voice of the Abyss had gone silent for some time. As if something in the cavern had distributed even its cold, mechanical presence.
If not, it would have said something about the presence beyond his perception.
He continued forward, trying to minimize his movement sound as low as possible.
His claws lightly dragged against the jagged walls. The rough texture scraped against his fingertips, grounding him in the moments, reminding him that he was real..that this place, no matter how unnatural, was real.
And yet, the further he walked, the more distorted everything became. The walls pulsed. Unknown shadows swaying without a source. The air became thick, clinging to his skin like a second layer of flesh.
Something was watching him. No..many things were watching him.
He could feel their presence, hiding within the cavern walls, pressing against the veil of his awareness.
They are not like the lesser creatures he met. These were different. Completely different. And it seems they can also sense him.
A sharp hiss echoed from the depths of the tunnel. He stopped, his claws tensing, and he concentrated on the tunnel to get a maximum view. A sudden flicker of movement..just to merge into the darkness.
Then another.
And another.
He started to hear Whispers inside his head. Threading between the rational and the unnatural.
"You don't belong here."
"A thief."
"A pretender."
This voice wasn't from the abyss. It was something else entirely. It sounded old.
He got into a fighting position, his instincts sharpening as his body prepared for a confrontation. But there was nothing to strike.
No form to tear apart. Just the sound of it and a heavy, suffocating pressure from unseen eyes.
"Show yourself." His voice was low, rough. Trying to look though.