The first sensation was pain. Not the sharp, urgent pain of fresh wounds, but a dull, persistent ache that had settled into every fiber of my muscles, The second sensation was something infinitely more irritating a high-pitched voice cutting through the fog of my semi-consciousness.
"Rudra! RUDRA! Are you seriously going to lie there and get eaten?"
I cracked open one eye. Jaipa, my spiritual companion, floting inches from my face, looking equal parts concerned and exasperated. Its glowing form flickered like a candle in a draft, casting tiny blue-white shadows across my bloodied chest
"Getting eaten," I mumbled, "would require something actually wanting to eat me."
The mir stone I'd extracted from the shadowmancer still felt strangely warm against my skin. The cavern around me remained silent i hoped there won't be an immediate threats or no lurking predators. Just the aftermath of my near death experience and Jaipa's melodramatic concern
"You've been unconscious for two full hours" Jaipa said, his voice a mixture of relief and reproach "Do you have any idea how boring it is to watch someone bleed out and not even have the decency to die quickly?"
I managed a weak grunt
My healing ability had done its minimal work. The most critical wounds had closed, leaving behind angry, raised scars that looked like poorly drawn map lines across my skin, I was alive, which, I supposed, was the baseline achievement in this, godforsaken world.
"Uh... where did you have been until now?" I asked him , my voice was flat, lacking even a trace of pain or panic , Jaipa's face twisted slightly before he answered.
"I was trapped inside your inner self" greeting his teeth
I gave him a look, intending to move on, but Jaipa's sharp voice cut through my thoughts.
"What happened to you? Why are you in this state? And most importantly, why the hell was that black fog all over your inner self?"
I tried to avoid the question, but Jaipa's unyielding stare made it clear he wouldn't let it go. For the sake of my own peace of mind, I relented and explained everything that had happened. It was exhausting having to recount it all especially to Jaipa of all beings but I did it nonetheless.
"So, in simple words, you acquired a healing ability, a blade half made of your horn, and an earring..." Jaipa scoffed. "Ha... stupid brat."
He fell silent, I frowned and asked, "What?"
Jaipa sighed heavily before saying, "The mir stone you consumed it was an ability type, right?"
I nodded
His response was immediate. "You do realize that humans can only consume three mir ability stones in their entire life unless they extract them themselves, right?"
I nodded again
"Most people never manage to extract even one mir stone in their lifetime. They rely on mir stones extracted by others to gain strength. But if you extract one yourself, you can consume more than three. Still, ability mir stones aren't common, Trying to find one is like searching for water in a desert"
Jaipa shook his head. "Most humans don't even possess five abilities from mir stones in their lifetime. And you a worthless brat wasted one of your precious slots on a support ability? You already had a support ability, and now you've acquired another one? That was a stupid choice." He glanced at my body, then sighed. "But... I suppose it was a useful one"
A long Silence stretched between us. Eventually, I broke it with my usual flat tone.
"Where are we?" I asked, forcing myself into a sitting position. The movement sent fresh waves of pain rippling through my muscles
Jaipa did a midair somersault his version of a shrug "I don't know "But there are plenty of things here that would love to make a meal out of you."
I looked down at the mir stone, its soft luminescence casting gentle glow "And this?"
Jaipa's tone changed to something between curiosity and barely contained excitement. "A shadowmancer's mir stone
Definitely a useful one"
I exhaled, then muttered, "I'm hungry."
"Of course you are." Jaipa rolled his eyes. "Always with the mundane needs We're in potentially the most mystically charged moment of our journey, and you want food."
I ignored the commentary and began assessing my surroundings. The place where I had passed out was stained with dried blood mine and the shadowmancer's creating weird patterns on the rocky floor. The creature's corpse had already begun disintegrating, its form slowly turning to a fine, ash-like substance.
"Any suggestions on this ?" I asked Jaipa, referring to potential food sources
He spun in the air. "Well, there are the standard survival options. Moss. Potentially poisonous fungi. Maybe that skeleton in the corner that looks suspiciously like it might have some dried meat still clinging to it."
I raised an eyebrow. "Appetizing."
"Hey, in a world without humans, you take what nutrition you can get," Jaipa retorted. "Besides, I don't actually eat. I just get to watch you struggle with biological imperatives."
As if on cue, my stomach growled a sound that seemed to ring dramatically in the cavern, shattering any lingering tension.
Jaipa burst into high-pitched laughter. "Magnificent. The great survivor, brought low by hunger."
I stood, i wanted to know about my muscles condition , Pain shot through me, but it was manageable. The mir stone remained clutched in my hand
"We move now " I said. "And we need to find something to eat "
"Brilliant plan," Jaipa said, his sarcasm thick enough to cut. "Because wandering aimlessly in a world full of creatures that want to kill you has worked so wonderfully so far."
I ignored him and began walking one careful step at a time , Ahead of me stretched nothing but endless trees and tall grass. This unknown forest, known as the 'Forest of Absolute,' swallowed me whole in its vastness.
" I was a lone wanderer , a long walker "
Just another day in a world that want me dead Survival was, after all, the only true meaning
And maybe, if I was lucky, I'd find a place to sleep in this massive forest.