"Very well."
The sound that ca from the dragon snake’s hiss reverberated as a voice in Laz’s ear. But he had already made his resolve to remain still, acting unconscious.
Like every other intelligent predator, which loses interest in sothing that doesn’t pose a threat or respond to challenges, the creature moved in circles around Laz, sniffing with curiosity.
It had heard sounds co directly from the being resting on its tail, or was it just an object?
In Laz’s thoughts, he imagined the dragon snake totally moving away from where it had coiled its tail. His purpose of remaining still, trying to play dead or dumb, is to shoo the creature away. But, it seems it won’t be a possibility.
Then, he rembered, the particles he had scrubbed earlier when his hands t the scales of the creature. He was going to rub the remains in his palms, on his face, and brush so of them against his cloak. Since the dragon snake was sniffing, if it discerned a scent similar to its own, it wouldn’t think of him as prey but a kin.
Nice idea.
But he shouldn’t move now that the creature was still in front. He waited patiently for it to make its rotation around him, and secretly moved his hands, rubbing them on his face, and carefully brushing them against his cloak to avoid fabric shuffles.
Once he had done this, the creature sniffed more of him, and as soon as it discerned the scent of a brethren, it quickly pulled away. But this movent caused Laz.
In its rapid pull, it had released its coiled tail and poked the sinuous neck in front of Laz once again. But the pull now left Laz nowhere to rest his head, and he hit the bare floor, finally making a thud sound.
’God should be good,’ he prayed silently, and let out a painful groan.
ARGHHH.
Since he now slled like a kin to the dragon snake, it was not going to launch any attack on him now... or so he thought. Based on his analogy, it should see him as a kindred soul crawling through survival. If he acted like he was cursed or vulnerable, it could an he is forsaken, too.
Is the dragon snake really forsaken?
Since they possess a different level of intelligence, won’t it detect that he has a fra not even similar to any of its brethren?
Why in the hellish fuck will this kind of doubt tinge into his mind at this crucial mont? He was almost there, on the verge of becoming friends with this massive creature towering above him.
His doubtful thinking surely had a shift in his actions, blaring pretense before the eyes of the dragon snake.
Now, Laz remained frozen. His eyes locked with the dragon snake’s glowing gaze.
The creature bared its fangs with an unnerving patience, as if it already knew Laz was going to do sothing foolish.
And he did.
Laz lunged sideways, rolling off the remaining part of the creature’s massive coils and sprang to his feet with a grunt. The adrenaline with which he used to act now kicked in with such force that his fear gave way to instinct.
RUN!
And so, he began to run.
His bare legs slapped against the cold, smooth stone as he darted into the surrounding darkness further, only illuminated by the dim rays coming from behind. He didn’t know where he was running to, nor did he care.
There was one thing he cared about — not ever turning back, even with his eyes. And there was one thing that mattered — ESCAPE.
Behind him, he could hear the heavy, slithering motion of the beast as it stirred fully for the first ti in what might have been a very long ti.
Then—
ROOOAARRRRRRR!
A thunderous roar shook the very air in the surroundings, and against his initial resolve, Laz threw a glance backward.
Damn.
The dragon snake was now slithering after him with terrifying speed, with its wing flaring slightly, and its eyes blazing like twin orbs of starlight.
"NOPE!" Laz gasped, pushing harder, his legs kicking against each other as he tried to maintain a steady stance.
But just when he thought he was about to be swallowed whole—
THRUMMMM!
A pulse of energy blasted out the mont he crossed an invisible threshold. The sound was like the ring of a thousand bells, crushed to vibrate in compression into one mont. A blue glow flashed behind him, sending a visible wave of resistance towards the pursuing creature.
’What?’
Laz staggered to a stop, panting with his heart hamring against his ribs. Slowly, he turned to find that the glow had been the result of the dragon snake slamming into the invisible wall.
He rolled his eyes at himself and thought. ’Did I just cross a barrier?’
Captured by the snarl of frustration and confusion that now sounded faint to his ears, he raised his eyes to et the creature’s body, recoiled, gazing at him with narrowed eyes — but no longer in fury.
Sothing else had replaced it.
Plea. Pity. The creature’s sight was now a pathetic one.
The dragon-snake tilted its head slightly. Then its voice ca, in a similar sound as before. For a reason Laz didn’t know, he could hear this sound in translation to words.
"You crossed the Seal."
Laz blinked. "What? There was a seal?"
The creature relaxed its long neck on the coiled body and continued. "I was caged by this seal for centuries now, alone. And the power of this seal was never made to allow any being to cross through."
Laz took a step backward, still eyeing the shimring wall. "And you expected to just trust you? Just a mont ago, you had the killing intent to eat ."
The dragon snake moved its neck forward, as if it was going to pass through the seal, causing Laz to make more steps backward, but it stopped its movent.
"I never intended to kill you. But hunger twists the mind. Lying here for more than a hundred years, and feeding on only the brews that gushed forth from my body, and sotis, crunches from my scales, is boring enough. I thought I had finally found a different al."
Laz crossed his arms, relaxed now that he had certified the creature couldn’t cross the barrier. "So what now?"
"I am sorry."
Those three words hit a chord in Laz’s heart. He lowered his head a bit and raised it again.
"I am guiding a gate, which, what lies beyond, is yet known to . But, I can let you explore if you wish."
"Not enough to sweet-talk ," Laz shrugged, but now that it was ntioned, a gate, his curiosity sparked. Was it the gate to ho? Or gate to a red zone?
The creature’s head lowered. Its voice softened.
"Not sweet talk. I’m just asking that you bargain with . Help escape this prison, and I will open the gate for you. What lies beyond is yours to explore if you wish."
"Still not enough," Laz squinted.
"Or maybe, I can show you the path ho."
"The path ho?" Laz asked suspiciously.
Reviews
All reviews (0)