As the World Change

Chapter 6 - Shadow Confrontation

Trigger Warning: This chapter may be disturbing to some readers due to its depiction of violence and blood.

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Shadow Confrontation

Suddenly he felt the flow of time and finally felt himself stepped through the veil, the cool water faded from his skin, replaced by the dry, stony earth beneath his feet. But before he could even take in his surroundings, something heavy and painful slammed into his side, sending him sprawling to the ground. The force knocked the air from his lungs, and everything around him blurred as he tumbled, his mind going blank from the sudden impact. He didn't have time to even wonder if what had happened was real.

Darkness swallowed him for a moment. Pain throbbed in his body, but he barely registered it as his consciousness slipped away. The basilisk had been waiting, searching for him, and its attack had come swiftly—too swiftly for him to react. Its tail had struck him like a whip, the sheer force enough to shatter bones, but in that brief moment before he fully passed out, something strange occurred.

Unbeknownst to Keyos, his innate power had activated the moment he crossed through the veil. Shadowstep, the ability that resonated with his survival instincts, had triggered. The air around him shimmered briefly, and his presence seemed to vanish, blending with the shadows and the dark corners of the terrain. To the basilisk, it was as if Keyos had never been there.

The creature hissed in frustration, its massive head swiveling side to side as it scanned the area. Its tail lashed again, striking at the ground in a wide arc, but there was no sign of its prey. It had been searching for him, drawn by the faint disturbances he had made in the cave. But now, with Keyos cloaked in shadow, the basilisk could only sense the faintest flickers of movement—a ghost of the boy it had nearly crushed moments before.

Keyos lay there, hidden from the beast, unconscious but protected by the very power he had yet to understand. The basilisk prowled the area, its glowing eyes scanning the rocks and shadows, but it could find nothing. After a while, it slithered away into the darkness, leaving Keyos in the silence of his own unintentional concealment.

The fight hadn’t started yet, but death had already been too close.

 

Keyos groaned, consciousness slowly returning as a sharp, throbbing pain surged through his body. His limbs felt stiff, and as he shifted slightly, a new wave of agony shot through him. His side, where the blow had landed, pulsed with an unbearable ache. But this wasn’t just the pain of injury—his bones were moving, grinding against each other as they realigned, slowly knitting themselves back into place.

He clenched his teeth, his breath ragged, each inhale punctuated by the piercing pain of his fractures healing. It felt as if someone were driving spikes into his ribs, twisting them with every second that passed. The sensation was worse than the initial impact, a slow, torturous mending that left him gasping for air.

The shadows around him flickered. His body, still shrouded by the effects of Shadowstep, quivered with each breath, his presence barely detectable to the outside world. But his muffled groans did not go unnoticed.

A low hiss echoed through the cavern.

Keyos froze. His heart, which had been hammering from the pain, now thundered with fear. The basilisk—it had heard him.

The sound of its scales scraping against the rocky ground sent chills down his spine. He didn’t dare move. His body was still mending, the pain still too much to bear, but he knew the basilisk was closing in fast. He could feel its presence drawing nearer, its gaze sweeping the area in search of him.

He couldn’t run, not like this. His body was still too weak. The fracture that had only just healed left him barely able to stand, let alone face the beast again. But if he stayed here, hidden, it was only a matter of time before the basilisk found him.

Keyos’s breath quickened. He had to move. He had to do something—anything—before the creature realized he was still alive.

As if fate itself conspired against him, the basilisk launched another attack, its massive tail whipping through the air with deadly speed. Keyos barely had time to register the movement before the strike came, passing dangerously close to where he lay. The sheer force of the impact rattled the ground beneath him, and although Shadowstep kept him hidden from the beast’s sight, the blow was too close.

The shockwave sent him tumbling across the rocky terrain, his body skidding painfully along the rough ground. His limbs flailed helplessly as he rolled, every bruise and fracture screaming in protest. The momentum carried him further away, out of the shadowstep that had concealed him.

And just like that, Shadowstep deactivated.

Keyos felt the shift immediately. The shroud of protection, the veil that had kept him hidden from the basilisk’s senses, vanished. His chest rose and fell with labored breaths, his heart pounding as he realized he was now fully exposed.

The basilisk hissed, its head snapping in his direction. The time for hiding had run out.

 

His body froze, and a wave of fear gripped his chest. He had heard of creatures like this in old tales, but seeing it in person was terrifying. The basilisk’s body was massive, its scales glinting in the low light like dark armor, each breath it took causing its chest to heave with dangerous power. Its eyes, glowing with an eerie, reptilian focus, locked onto Keyos.

For a moment, he couldn't move. His heart raced, and his mind screamed for him to run, but his feet refused to obey. He had no weapon, no experience. He wasn’t even sure how he had survived this long. I can’t do this, he thought, his throat dry. I’m not ready...  He felt a familiar fear creeping in, a fear that went beyond the immediate threat of death.  He was afraid he wouldn't get to see the other side of the world, the side where people laughed and loved and lived without the constant struggle for survival.  He was afraid he wouldn't get to experience the happiness he had only dreamt of.  He was afraid he wouldn't get to see another day.

But then, a flicker of defiance ignited within him.  He had survived so much, endured so much.  He had pushed through the pain, the hunger, the loneliness.  He had fought for every breath, every moment.  And he wouldn't give up now.  He wouldn't let fear win.

"Tomorrow might be a better day," he whispered, the words a mantra that had kept him going for so long.  He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and felt the familiar surge of determination.  He wouldn't let fear control him.  He wouldn't let the basilisk win.  He would fight.

Before he could even complete the thought, the basilisk lunged. Its massive tail whipped across the ground, fast as lightning. Keyos barely managed to throw himself to the side, the ground shaking as the tail slammed into the spot where he had stood a heartbeat ago. The force sent him sprawling, his shoulder scraping against the rocky surface.

Get up! his mind screamed. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and before he realized it, he was scrambling to his feet. His heart pounded in his chest, deafening in his ears. He could feel the fear gnawing at him, but something else stirred beneath it—a deep, instinctual need to survive. He wasn’t going to die here.

He had to fight.

He had to survive.

He had to see another day.

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🎶: I deeply appreciate writers who diligently revisit their work to correct any errors. I find it challenging to do so myself. 😭 —Mari√

🎶: Because I keep revising the chapters, I can't reread them anymore. 🤣