"No… No… No, no, no!"
Eli's voice cracked as panic tore through him. His hands clawed desperately at the slick flesh around him, searching for something—anything—to hold on to inside the serpent's mouth.
Every breath burned. Every movement made the slimy walls close tighter.
He pulled at his leg, trying to wrench it free from the serpent's tongue, but the more he struggled, the tighter it coiled around him.
The pressure was suffocating, cold and wet against his skin.
"Am I actually—am I actually going to get fucking eaten?" he whispered, half-sobbing, half-laughing through the rising terror. His voice trembled, eyes stinging as tears blurred his vision. "I don't… I can't…"
His chest felt like it was collapsing, his lungs screaming for air. For a moment, the dungeon, the mission, the system—all of it—vanished from his thoughts. There was only fear.
After all the close calls, after all the near-deaths… this time felt real.
This time, he knew he might actually die.
