Reincarnated in a Wyrmhole

Chapter 2: I'm a Newt, in a Cave?

"I'm a newt?" Technically, you are not a newt. You are a Lesser Scaled Reptilac. But, for purposes of your convenience, yes, you are a newt. 'Okay brainiac! Sheesh... this might get annoying. Anyway, what do I do now?' I recommend following all the of the other Lesser Scaled Reptilacs. They seem to be heading towards the mouth of the cave. Looking up from the puddle, I could see that quite a few of the other newts heading towards the larger cave and the orange glow. Primal instincts, I suppose. I suppose I don't have those because I have Gail and I was reincarnated, it seems. 

Following the crowd to the exit from the smaller cave, I came to the edge of the cliff, which led to a huge cavern, and most noticeably, rocks jutting up from a pool of lava on the ground. Curled around the biggest of these rocks was what appeared to be a giant snake, about 30 meters long, and 2 in diameter. It had black scales and as it opened it's jaws to bite down on a strange purple frog-like creature that was trapped under one of it's coils, it revealed a set of bone-white fangs. 'That wouldn't happen to be one of my relatives, would it?' I asked Gail. That is a Lesser Fire Wyrm. Estimated age 30. Also, your mother.

'Ah.' I said, watch the gruesome sight of the last of the poor frog slide down the worm's throat. I am, it seems, in a Wyrmhole, newly hatched along with my other siblings. Suddenly, a newt dived off headfirst into the pool of lava, shortly followed by a few others. "What are they doing? Won't they be incinerated?" As Lesser Scaled Reptilacs, you can be born of an Earth, Fire or Wind Wyrms. Since Wind Wyrms only nest in mountains, you are not one of them. So if you were either Earth or Fire then considering our surroundings, you are most likely fire, meaning you are born impervious to fire. That's a coincidence. On earth, when I was dying, I wished fire and heat couldn't hurt me. And now that I think about it, I also wished to be smaller, which happened as well. I wonder if there's a deity somewhere looking out for me! Or that's what an optimist would say. It's probably just dumb luck. 

Soon, I was one of the last left. 'So, why are we meant to jump?' I asked. I believe that your kin's goal is to get to the other side of the cavern, where they will be able to get to the other caves. 'Oh. Well, here goes nothing.' And I flung myself off the cliff. I clenched my eyes tight and braced for impact.

I plunged into the lava, and surprisingly, it just felt like a warm bath. I opened my eyes, I could see everything crystal clear through it. This is amazing! I streamlined my body and then kicked out with my legs. I corkscrewed through the liquid, adrenalin rushing through my veins. Suddenly a pang came from my lungs, and I remembered I had to breath, and quickly tried to kick to the surface.  I'm not going to make it. 

However, as my mouth opened to let in the lava that would drown me, it was pushed out, and the feeling of respiration flooded through my body. Even though I was still under the lava. Confused, I started feeling around my neck, and found slits in my skin, gently moving up and down. Gills. You have discovered two of the hidden abilities of your kind; Lava swimming and Gills. The downside of these abilities is that if you come into contact with water your skin will burn as though it was lava in your old life. Because of this there is no point in using Gills underwater in your current state, even though you could respire. 

Well, that's nice to know. Gail could have told me beforehand, but at least I know it now. I looked around and saw my siblings heading towards the same place, a small hole in the wall just above lava level, that presumably led to the other caves. As I was just about to go towards it, the fire wyrm lent it's neck down, and gulped up about 10 of them in a single bite. What?! isn't she our mother? 'I thought that in the wild the parents reproduce to pass on their jeans?' That is correct, but they only want the strongest to be their candidates for passing on the gene, so therefore all of the others are useless and nothing more than food. What happened to motherly love? I decided to give the main path a wide berth and instead go around the outskirts of the cavern, where I was safely out of reach of the wyrm's fangs and claws.

 I was half the way there when suddenly my stomach gave a loud grumble, which was impressive for something no bigger than a tennis ball. I guess I'm hungry. Warning: approximately 6 minutes until you're too slow to escape the Lesser Fire Wyrm, and about 15 until you'll be too exhausted to move. Seriously, what junk was I being fed inside that shell? Aren't newborns meant to be able to survive without food for a few days? Maybe this world is different. I then thought about that, and realised the absurdity of it. Of course it's different! I got reincarnated as a fire-proof newt, one of the babies of a wyrm living in it's fire-ish hell pit! Of course this world is different!   

'What is there that I can eat that is nearby?' Unless you wish to eat lava or rocks, there are no edible things in the vicinity other than the Lesser Fire Wyrm, and your fellow Lesser Scaled Reptilacs. 'So you're saying that...' Yes. Unless you can either get to the exit in time, or slay the Lesser Fire Wyrm, you will be forced to eat your kin. The thought obviously repulsed me, but seemed to be that I might not have a choice. The exit looked to be a good way away, and that's not going into the path of mother dearest. 'How long would it take me to get there the safe way?' I asked. About 7 to 8 minutes. 'And the short way?' 3 to 4. Assuming you aren't eaten first. Shoot. Looks like there's only one way out of here, and it's through the path of the Wyrm!

After that coming to the realisation of the inevitable, I decided to scout out the area and find the best route, taking into account both speed and safety. Although I didn't have much time, it would be worth an extra 10 seconds to make up for not being scarfed down by the Wyrm that was still curled up around the rocky spire, casually picking her children out of the fiery sea and eating them like finger food. 'Okay, you can see what I see, right? Then if you see the path that I'm looking at, then am I right in saying that it's my best bet?' You are. "Then here goes nothing!" And for the second time since I was born a few minutes ago, I threw myself into the jaws of death.