Salvos (A Monster Evolution)

Chapter 1 - Rocks

1. Rocks

A sea of infinite void engulfed me; I found myself wriggling, struggling to break free of the eternal darkness. I pushed myself forward, closer and closer to the edge of the dome that encapsulated my very world.

I had thought it would be hard to break. I had expected it to be a hardened shell, tempered by the eternity of its existence. I never hoped to escape from the boundless abyss— drowning in the ocean of nothingness, forever trapped to unbirth.

And yet, I broke through the surface so easily, I didn't even realize I was finally free. Only the words that filled my head made me realize I was finally alive.

Salvos

Species: [Infant Demon]

Subspecies: [Demon Larva] - Lvl. 1

General Skills:

[Identification] - Lvl. 1

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] - Lvl. 1

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 5

[Strength]: 5

[Endurance]: 5

[Wisdom]: 5

[Agility]: 5

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 0]

[Unused Skill Slot] x5

These words resounded not as a voice, but as a breadth of information that I intuitively knew: I did not have to be told that my name was Salvos— I was simply Salvos.

I lay there for what felt like an immortal moment, choosing not to move, choosing to revel in my existence. Finally, I opened my eyes, taking in the world around me.

Up above, darkling clouds blotched out the crimson sky. The red glow of the heavens itself came down mostly unimpeded; only a piece of it was covered by the eddying overcast that seemed to grow fainter through the passage of time.

I was floating atop an inky, black liquid; what I had thought to be a vast ocean proved now to be nothing more than a mere pool— a puddle that I couldn't even sink myself into.

I flopped my way out of the sable water, hoping it wouldn't open up and swallow by being back into nonexistence. My body finally reached the pure, white surface of solid ground, the black liquid dripping off my body almost too easily, returning to whence it came.

The mass of land was far more expansive than the tiny pool of my birth; I looked curiously at the world around me, seeing distant sinuous crests and jutting peaks that piqued my interest. What is that?

I had an inkling of an idea of what they could be: I could comprehend the rough concepts of these shapes, but their true nature evaded me. I was captivated by it. I was drawn towards this strange, new world I had found myself in.

I glanced one last time back at the void I had been borne from, and saw nothing staring back at me. I no longer belonged to that world. Somehow, someway, I had squirmed my way out of it. And I would never go back.

—--

I dragged myself through the barren landscape, stopping every so often to investigate anything that I took a fascination to. The black clouds overhead were now nothing more than a speck in the distance, but strangely enough, the place of my birth had receded and vanished altogether.