I groaned and sat up, my eyes looking around me at the dark expanse once more. I could feel the dark sand shifting below me, and thankfully, my body was entirely intact like before. I had worried that the ridiculous damage that the einha had done to me might transfer as well, but I guess I couldn’t be too surprised that it hadn’t. It was an odd island to appear on, but I guess this was it huh? I might as well get acquainted with it.

  I sighed and let my toes sift through the sand as I thumped back down again. Well, I guess that had gone about as well as I could hope for. Damn, I was already dead, huh? I groaned and slapped my forehead. And on my second day free from that jailcell too! I eyed the empty expanse and shrugged. Well, I guess I wouldn’t see Verdant and Grim everytime I ended up here, but I had hoped to see at least Grim. I sighed and glared at the shifting darkness. This whole place was just so bland, what was I even supposed to do in the meantime?

  I sighed and picked up some sand and considered it. I guess I should enjoy this brief respite while I can. After all, when I revived it was going to be unbelievably painful. I didn’t really want to have to begin relying on this method to kill anything stronger and bigger than me… but I doubted there was going to be any other way to kill the einha as I was now. It just… was gonna be such a pain in the ass. Even if it worked like with the Dire Bear.

  I sighed and let the sand trickle through my fingers, enjoying the sound of it smacking into the ground. After a moment, I shook my head and rolled over onto my stomach and kicked my legs into the sand. Oh what a ridiculous experience this was. Was this really all I could do while I was stuck here?

  I guess I should at least attempt to plan out my next steps… The stomach acid of that dire bear had really burned, hadn’t it? Although, my healing had helped me forge through it so that I could cut my way out eventually, it had really only been my newfound resistance that had allowed me to live. But this creature? That acid that had been drooling from it… I had seen that same acid eating through the forest floor, and I had no doubts in my mind that its stomach was going to be full of more of the same. Would my regeneration be able to keep up? Could my acid resistance even do anything against it? Fuck, what would I do if it couldn’t? Just lay here in the sand till it shat me out? Who knows how many times I’d die before I carved my way out again? Before it finally keeled over?

  I groaned and smacked my face with both hands. Ah… well, no reason to worry too much about it I guess… This was the only way, right? Haha…

  I held up my hands and clenched them until I could feel my joints begin to hurt. You know… I wonder… I ground my teeth together and squeezed tighter, biting my lip as I felt my muscles shake. I clenched until my claws began to dig into my hands, and I narrowed my eyes expectantly, waiting. Then I felt it, and my claws dug into my hands, and I felt… wet? But… nothing dripped out of my hands… And when I opened them, they were the same as before, no blood, no wounds. I bit down harder on my lip, and felt my sharp teeth slash and pierce straight through. Still, even though I didn’t taste anything, my mouth felt wet.

  I could feel my Unending Vitality instantly begin to fix the gashes, but still I frowned and shook my head. How the fuck does that make any sense? I could hurt myself here, but there was no blood? I guess I was technically dead, but still.

  I eyed the darkness once more and sighed. How long was this gonna take anyways? I flung some sand into the darkness, half because I was bored, and half because I was curious what it was going to do. I watched with amusement as right as it impacted the darkness, it rumbled. I pursed my lips and turned and looked around. I could feel it… something had just changed.

  The air thrummed, and the darkness shook, much like it had when it had last taken me. This time though, after it shook, it churned and swirled, tendrils appearing and lashing out at the surrounding sand and darkening it even more. It seemed almost conscious, and as the swirling void shook and shivered, I couldn’t help but feel excited.

  I laughed and stood up, cracking my neck, “Oh it’s about damn time! I was wondering how long I would be stuck here, having to just kick sand and be bored out of my mind… well, I guess it’s about time for me to go huh?”

  I eyed the sand where I had been sitting and hummed to myself. Maybe next time I could make a sand castle or something? Wouldn’t that be cute? I laughed and winked at the darkness. Well, I might as well head on now, there was all the joys of melting alive to look forward to, right?

  I whistled and walked forward, stepping forward until I was at the edge of the island and standing in front of the lashing and churning void. Suddenly it lashed out and wrapped around me, yanking me into itself until all that I could see was black. My senses went dead, and I floated there in the darkness, wondering if I had died again.

  The darkness covered everything, and even with my eyes closed, I could still see it. It was immaterial, but somehow I could feel it, hear it, and even smell it, for it was everywhere. It was everything. And then… it wasn’t. Suddenly there was no more darkness. No more sight. Just nothing. It was… pure. Peaceful even. Until it wasn’t.

  I awoke to screaming, agonizing pain that pulsed and stabbed into everything it could with a vengeance. It filled my entire existence, and was all consuming in its intense desire to fulfill everything I was. I forgot where I was, where I had been, and what I wanted to do. There was nothing but this. Nothing left anymore, except pain. Pain was my everything, but… a small part of me that was hidden in a corner of my mind screamed out. In order for the pain to be my everything, that means there has to be something beneath it. Something else that wasn’t pain.

  A part of me realized that whatever that something was, it had to be important. Important not just because it wasn’t this intense, allconsuming, but important because it could save me from the pain. Important because that something was me. Important because it meant that I was alive. That I was still fighting. That something was me, and if it was me, then that must mean that I must exist.

  My eyes opened as my memories suddenly came crashing back like a tidal wave. That’s right… I had just been consumed by that void hadn’t I? Which meant that I had been revived! That I had been brought back to life! Which meant that I… which meant that I was back where I had been before. It meant that I was in the belly of that beast once more, and my plan was in full swing now. A plan that required me to finally do something!

  I roared, screaming as the acid poured down my throat, attacking and destroying everything it came into contact with. It hurt, but still writhed and struck out around me, cursing over and over. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! I had known this was going to hurt, but honestly fuck me! I hadn’t expected it to be this bad! Already, I could feel my fully healed body screaming as it tried its best to stay that way, my Unending Vitality working overtime to repair my sizzling skin. My acid resistance was doing as much as it could to save me, but against this pool of death it couldn’t even offer much.

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  I extended my claws and lashed out around me, scratching and tearing at anything and everything I could. My old bones which were already rapidly dissolving, old rusted weapons, and then finally, the stomach lining of the einha. I bared my teeth and latched on, dragging myself closer until I was within range. I bit down, reaching into the roiling void in the corner of my mind and forcing my bite skill and claw skills to both activate at the same time. The void resisted and fought back, but as I continued to demand that it listen, the void grudgingly acquiesced, and I felt the familiar sensation of power surging through my jaw and limbs. With a roar, I lashed out, pushing the skills to their respective limits, and then beyond as I tore into the stomach lining.

  I could feel the einha roar in pain, and with a sudden rush it began flopping back and forth, sending my body tumbling around as my world went sideways, upside down, and backwards. It was incredibly disorienting, but as soon as I got close to the stomach lining again, I activated bite and latched on as hard as I could with my teeth. The acid continued to burn away at my skin and flesh, but I fought through the ridiculous sea of pain and clawed wildly at the lining, activating claw over and over as I tried to shuck away the thick layer of mucus and protective membrane.

  I wasn’t sure if it was because the einha had a strong acid drool, or if it was just a stronger beast, but I could tell that the lining was much thicker, and even denser than its outer carapace had been, which honestly didn’t even make sense to me. Still that didn’t stop me, and I growled in amusement as I realized that I had dealt some real damage to the lining.

  I viciously renewed my assault, agony filling my vision as my skin sizzled and hissed, slowly dissolving as the pool of acid swirled around me. I could feel the regeneration slowing down, focusing more so on keeping my muscles and vital organs intact as all of my attention that had been going towards keeping me alive, was instead diverted towards my arms and claws and my jaw.

  I roared and attacked in a frenzy, slashing, hacking, and tearing as my entire body hissed and was knocked around. My eyes had been squeezed shut, but as my skin dissolved away it exposed them to the roiling acid. Pain lanced through my entire being, forcing me to bite down even harder as my body shook. White hot agony twisted and burned through me, and as I groaned, I felt the acid corrode away at my skin even more, my body spasmed as I screamed out in pain.

  I drifted backwards from the wall, convulsing as I felt my eyelids sear away, the acid hungrily consuming my eyes. Screams racked my body as I felt my eyes leak out of my skull and mesh with their surroundings, but as I lashed out with my claws, the pain and agony twisted and changed until red hot rage consumed me. Anger poured through me, drowning out the pain as I lashed out with my claws and teeth. My attacks lost whatever flow there had been, and I stopped thinking about anything else as I lashed out like a wild beast. All I knew was all consuming red roiling rage, and I lashed out at the only thing within range. I slammed my body forward, and lashed out indiscriminately in every direction, feeling my claws break and tear, my skin melt away and heal back, only to melt away once more. The beast roared in protest at the attack, but that only pissed me off more and my mind went numb under the roar of rage.

  New Skill learned!

  Berserker’s Rage (Rare)

  A skill that places one into a state of mindless violence and anger,

  All offensive stats are doubled, but in return all defensive stats are halved

  A part of me noticed that the darkness inside me pulsed, but the all consuming roar didn’t care. All it cared for was the end of this fuck and its master. The darkness swirled around curiously, but approved and willingly offered up the strength to me, which I grasped and tore from it greedily. I demanded that the skill rend and tear, and it happily replied, singing through my entire being and empowering me.

  I laughed in the sea of dissolving pain and attacked even more viciously than before, ignoring everything else as the Berserker’s Rage filled my entire being. As the roar and the rage sang in harmony within me, I carved away the last of the stomach lining and dug my claws into the stomach itself finally, finding surprising resistance. A resistance that infuriated me, and I tore into the flesh even more viciously, my Unending Vitality ignoring the rest of my body, as it focused only on what was essential to keep me fighting.

  The beast screamed and shook itself so hard that I felt my weakened and half dissolved spine twist and snap, cutting off all feeling from my chest down. It was honestly a good thing losing feeling down there, since my lower body wasn’t offering up anything to damage this damned thing. Everything that didn’t go into pure damage was just useless! The death of this beast was all that mattered! Even if it killed me!

  I roared and struck out again, borrowing deeper and deeper, until, finally, the edge of my claw caught something. A feral grin covered my decaying face and I laughed as all the sizzling acid and mucus gave way to a river of blood that flowed into the new opening, the surge ripping open the stomach more and more as it poured in. I rolled and tumbled out into the rest of the einha’s insides, feeling the organs and ruptured blood vessels explode around me as the sizzling stomach acid viciously ate and corroded everything it came into contact with.

  The einha’s roars shifted and changed into something else, pain entering its screams for the first time. My Berserker’s Rage hadn’t ended though, and as I swished around in a quickly dissolving einha, I kept on lashing out and attacking anything and everything around me, until suddenly, I wasn’t inside the einha anymore.

  My body rolled along the ground until it slammed into a tree and came to a stop, unable to even move without my legs. The roaring rage suddenly vanished like a burst bubble, and my thoughts and mindset came rushing back as well, along with a sea of roaring pain that drowned out everything as well as I blacked out, my body and mind too horrified by the damage that had occurred.

  I sighed as I awoke on the sand island again, the grains roughly pushing against my skin. That had thoroughly sucked… but to have gained a new skill? Berserker’s Rage, huh… A double in all my offensive stats and skills would be unbelievably helpful, but to lose my mind in the process? Ugh…

  I sighed and leapt up onto my feet, stretching out as I took in the island once more. It was the same as last time, grooves from where I had dug into it and all. Though… I felt like the void had changed in its swirls and chaos, and was now almost happily crashing and swaying as it spun around.

  I considered walking up to the void and sticking my hand in, but the void within my mind viciously spun, angrily telling me no way. I took a step forward anyway, but it angrily stabbed out, giving me an intense headache that was so bad I was forced to my knees. I groaned and held my head, blinking away the tears of pain as I glared at the void. I guess… maybe I wouldn't do that. Seemed like a bad idea.

  The darkness swirled inside me and huffed, almost as if in agreement, before slinking away back into its corner and curling up like before.

  I shakingly considered it for a moment, but sighed and leaned back into the sand instead, blankly staring up into the swirling void above me. I had been sent back to the land of the living the first time by Grim and Verdant and the void had taken me earlier, but I was curious if that was how it always was going to be. After all, the darkness within me hadn't reacted so viciously the last time I had considered walking up to the void.

  Maybe it had something to do with how damaged I had been before I died? Which would make sense considering how I was mostly fine before, and actively being healed by Sprig… that damned backstabber! Though… were they really the ones who decided to stab me in the back? They hadn't all seemed so ready to stab me in the back before… Hell, Darnell hadn't even seemed that bad!

  I groaned and smacked my head, suddenly remembering that crazed look in his eyes back at the dungeon entrance. I had just brushed it off as him messing around, but maybe he hadn’t been… and if what the archer said was true, he must have gotten a pretty good bribe. One that was even better than the bounty on the archer's head… but to just stab me in the back and leave me to die!?

  Rage burbled up inside me and with a roar I slammed my fist into te sand, “You fucking filthy hornswagglers! Argh! I’m going to kill the lot of you as soon as I finally get out of this fucking place!”

  I screamed and slammed my fists into the sand again, wincing at the feel of the grains grinding into my skin. It hurt, oh fuck it hurt, but it was also somehow rather calming. Itching some corner of my brain as I watched the ground crunch beneath my fist, imaging it to be each of the Richter’s faces. Angrily I slammed my fist in again, and again, and again and again until my skin split and Unending Vitality was forced to step in, frantically working on healing the damage.

  I acknowledged the healing sensation, but only because it allowed me to throw out my fists and slam the sand even more. Anger burbled within me, flowing out with each punch as my heart raced and my breathing came harder. I lost track of time as I mindlessly slammed my fists into the sand, until I remembered with a start that I could use my skills here!

  I laughed and reached into the coiled void, activating blow and slamming my fist into the sand with a boom, my arm shaking from the impact. I laughed and cracked my neck, refocusing on the sad and lashing out with blow as often as I could, meshing it with my normal attacks and once I couldn’t anymore, I returned to my one minded barrage.

  I was so focused that I didn’t even notice the churning void suddenly shiver. I didn’t notice the tendrils that reached out once more, darkening the nearby sand as they searched for me. I didn’t notice them reaching farther and farther in until they wrapped around my leg tentatively. I only noticed them when they suddenly swelled in size and enveloped me in a cocoon, yanking me off my feet and flinging me into the swirling void, my scream vanishing along with me.