Extra Borne: Transmigrated Into A System Apocalypse Soulsborne Novel-Chapter 49 - 47: Monitoring

Huff… huff…

Each breath burned my throat as I opened my eyes to the suffocating weight of the world above me. The dark, ashen-gray sky loomed ominously, painted with jagged streaks of red, white, and yellow lightning. Each bolt shattered the silence with a deafening boom, sending vibrations through the muddy ground I lay on. The rain continued its relentless assault, fat droplets merging with the blood-tinged mud beneath me, creating a grotesque slurry that clung to my battered body.

My head throbbed as if a hammer were pounding against my skull, the sound of my own heartbeat reverberating like a war drum. My vision was unnaturally sharp, every detail rendered with unnerving clarity. I could see the patterns of each raindrop breaking the surface of the puddles around me. Insects scuttled through the muck, their minuscule movements registering as if they were crawling under my skin.

Is this what it means to when evolving?

The thought cut through my haze like a knife. This heightened awareness... this unnatural ability to detect even the faintest tremor or shift in the air... it felt… alien. Like the Roamer.

My heart twisted at the realization. Was this just the beginning? Would I become more like them with every evolution? A part of me recoiled at the thought, but another part... the one that had survived so far, whispered of the power waiting to be unlocked.

What else will I gain if I devour more Roamers larvae worm?

The question gnawed at me, but I forced it aside. Survival first, ambition later.

The Roamer’s corpse was gone, dissolved into nothingness as all their creatures did. Only the faintest trace of its acidic ichor remained, mingling with the rain-soaked mud. I staggered to my feet, my body trembling with exhaustion. Every step felt like wading through a sea of broken glass.

I needed shelter.

Ahead, the abandoned village loomed like a ghost of forgotten times. Most of the houses had collapsed into themselves, the remnants of their wooden walls and thatched roofs reduced to soggy ruins. One structure caught my eye... a partially collapsed underground cottage, its entrance barely visible beneath a tangle of overgrown weeds and broken planks.

It would have to do.

Dragging myself inside, I took in the sight. The cottage was cramped and suffocating, its walls slick with moisture. Splinters jutted out from broken beams, and the air was thick with the stench of decay. But it was shelter.

I found a corner where the walls hadn’t completely given way and sank down, my back pressing against the damp wood. My muscles screamed in protest, but I ignored them.

I didn’t close my eyes.

I couldn’t.

There was a strange unease coursing through me, like an itch I couldn’t reach. My mind felt too awake, too alert, as if some part of my evolution wouldn’t allow me to rest.

Is this a flaw? Or something else?

I shook the thought away. It didn’t matter now. What mattered was keeping myself alive.

I reached out with my newfound senses, letting the world around me bleed into my awareness. The rain’s rhythmic drumming against the wooden beams above me felt like a heartbeat, steady and unrelenting. The distant crackle of lightning painted the air with flashes of chaotic light, each one revealing the intricate patterns of water streaking down the walls.

Beyond the cottage, I could hear the world breathing. The burrowing of earthworms through the mud. The scuttle of insects weaving through the debris. The faint rustle of something larger in the distance, its movements too hesitant to be a predator.

I felt everything.

The sensation was overwhelming, a flood of stimuli that threatened to drown me. But I clung to it, letting it anchor me to reality.

This is going to be a long night, I thought, the words echoing in the cavern of my mind.

I didn’t move. I didn’t dare. I simply sat there, my body battered and broken, listening to the storm rage outside and the world creep around me.

And for the first time in a long while, I wondered if surviving was enough.

****

Morning arrived.. or what passed for morning in this cursed place. The sky remained ashen gray, its oppressive weight lessened only slightly by the dimming of the storm. The rain persisted, each drop heavy and muddied, cascading like a torrent of grief upon the ruined landscape. The light was faint, muted, but it was enough to pierce the gloom and reveal the grotesque world below.

From my perch on a distant hill, I observed them.

The Roamers.

Their void-like forms absorbed what little light dared to reach them, rendering their bodies a silhouette of living nothingness. Only the pale blue glow of their eyes offered contrast, their ghostly illumination cutting through the rain-soaked air.

They moved in a pack.... five in total, led by an Alpha whose towering presence made the others seem insignificant. Its body bore the marks of countless battles, a tapestry of scars etched into its flesh. Its tail, a writhing, venomous appendage, lashed at the ground with restrained aggression.

I crouched low, watching their every move. Hours passed as I observed them, the ache in my legs a distant hum compared to the sharp focus of my mind. They were not mindless beasts; that much was clear. There was purpose in their movements, a chilling intelligence that made my skin crawl.

They hunted together, their behavior unnervingly coordinated. Lone Roamers were rare, but when they appeared, they were lethal. Packs, however, operated with an efficiency that bordered on military intelligence. Each member knew its place, its role. They communicated without sound, their instincts speaking louder than words ever could.

Then came another pack.

I stiffened slightly as six more Roamers emerged from the east, their approach marked by the faint tremor of the ground beneath me. This pack was larger, its Alpha more imposing than the first. Its eyes glowed with an intensity that threatened to pierce even my distant hiding spot.

The two packs converged in the valley below, the west pack halting their movements as the east pack advanced. Their void forms seemed to ripple as if testing each other’s resolve.

The tension was palpable, suffocating.

The west Alpha stepped forward, its glowing eyes narrowing in challenge. Its scarred body told stories of survival, of victories earned through blood and ferocity. The east Alpha answered with a guttural growl, its tail snapping against the ground like a whip.

They circled each other beneath the chaotic sky, the multicolored lightning casting grotesque shadows that danced across their forms. The lesser Roamers mirrored their leaders, their movements synchronized as if bound by an unseen force.

Then, without warning, the stillness shattered.

The east Alpha lunged.

Its speed was terrifying, a blur of motion that left no room for hesitation. Its tail lashed out with venomous strike, aiming for the west Alpha’s core. But the scarred leader twisted, evading the strike with a speed that defied its massive frame. Its own tail retaliated, striking the east Alpha’s flank with a sickening crack that echoed through the valley.

Chaos erupted.

The packs collided in a frenzy of teeth and tails, their movements a blur of dark energy and violence. Two Roamers from the east darted toward the west’s flank, their glowing eyes locked onto their prey. A smaller west Roamer intercepted them, its claws raking against void-tainted flesh.

A screech tore through the air as one of the east Roamers twisted mid-air, its fangs sinking into its opponent’s neck. Dark blue acidic ichor sprayed across the muddy ground, hissing as it melted into the soil. The wounded Roamer crumpled, its core pulsating weakly as its attacker tore into its stomach.

And then I saw it.

The larvae.

A glistening, black larvae worm spilled forth, writhing in the rain-soaked mud. The victorious Roamer devoured it without hesitation, its body trembling as faint flashes of dark energy coursed through it. The transformation was immediate... its form grew more defined, its movements sharper.

They devour larvaes too.

The thought chilled me, but I pushed it aside. My focus remained on the Alphas.

Their duel was a thing of terrible beauty. The east Alpha attacked with relentless ferocity, its tail and claws moving in a deadly rhythm. The west Alpha met each strike with calculated speed, its scarred body moving as if it had fought this battle a thousand times before.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

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The dark energy within them clashed, an invisible force that rippled through the air like a silent scream. It was a battle of wills as much as strength, a test of who could endure the pull of nothingness longer.

The east Alpha feinted, its movements deceptively fluid. With a burst of energy, it slammed into the west Alpha, the impact reverberating through the valley. The scarred leader staggered, ichor dripping from its maw, but it retaliated with a violent tail swipe.

The strike connected.

The east Alpha screeched, its body convulsing as dark energy erupted from its core. The sound was deafening, a primal cry that sent shivers down my spine.

And then the battlefield fell silent once more, save for the relentless rain and the distant rumble of thunder.

I remained still, my breath caught in my throat. The scene before me was both horrifying and mesmerizing... a glimpse into the savage world I had been thrust into.

I couldn’t look away.