I lunged—not at the rat, but at Seraka.
My fangs snapped at his flank. He jerked back, narrowly avoiding my bite. His tail whipped around, slamming into my side, knocking me across the stone.
Pain flared. But instinct, honed by another lifetime, forced me back on my coils, ready again.
We circled.
Hatchlings whispered. Some cheered. A few even struck at each other in excitement, forming their own little duels in the shadows.
Seraka struck first. His body surged forward, aiming to coil around me. I darted low, slipping beneath him, lashing out with my tail to slam his belly. He grunted but caught me, wrapping a loop of muscle around my midsection.
The pressure built instantly—suffocating, crushing.
My vision blurred. My bones creaked.
But I remembered. Humans fought dirty.
I bit—not at his scales, but at the soft flesh beneath his jaw. Venom—weak though it was—pumped into his wound. He hissed in shock, loosening just enough.
I slipped free, barely. My body burned with pain, but I was alive.
The rat's corpse still lay between us, the smell of blood thick in the air.
InterventionBefore either of us could strike again, a massive shadow fell over us.
Mother.
Her enormous head lowered, eyes glowing like molten gold.
"Enough."
The cavern silenced. Even Seraka froze.
Her tongue flicked, tasting the blood in the air. She rumbled low in her throat, a sound that shook my bones.
"You fight… good. Both of you," she hissed softly. "But remember this. The forest beyond does not forgive. If you waste your strength on each other now, you will not live to see the trees."
Her gaze lingered on me. Then shifted to Seraka.
She swallowed the rat whole herself. A cruel reminder of who the true lord of this nest was.
And with a single sweep of her massive tail, she sent us scattering to the corners of the cavern.
ReflectionI coiled tightly, trembling—not from fear, but from the hunger still gnawing inside me. I had risked everything just to strike back at Seraka, and still, I had nothing to eat.
Yet, in the whispers of my siblings, I heard something new.
"Did you see? He bit Seraka."
"Almost got free…"
"He's not weak after all."
For the first time, their eyes didn't look through me. They looked at me.
Maybe I wasn't the leader. Not yet.
But I was no longer invisible.
And that… was enough for now.
The cavern was restless that night.
Dozens of my siblings shifted and slithered, hissing in low tones. Some fought, some whispered. The air buzzed with tension.
And for the first time, eyes lingered on me.
Not as prey. Not as nothing.
I had struck Seraka. Even if I hadn't won, even if Mother had ended the fight before it could finish, it was enough to mark me.
But hunger still gnawed at my belly. My scales ached from Seraka's crushing grip. And worst of all—my pride still burned.
A Whisper in the Dark"Psst. You."
I turned, tongue flicking. Two hatchlings crept close—slimmer than me, smaller, but their eyes sharp with hunger and calculation.
One was pale, scales almost white with faint green stripes. The other had mottled brown patterns that let him vanish against the stone.
"We saw what you did," the pale one hissed. "You want prey, yes?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Of course."
"Then work with us," the mottled one said. "Seraka takes the biggest kills. The strongest always eat first. But we can hunt together. Three coils are stronger than one."
My human instincts stirred. Teamwork. A simple idea—but one that most of my siblings, driven by instinct alone, never considered.
"What are your names?" I asked.
The pale one flicked her tongue. "Sythis."
The brown one lowered his head. "Marrow."
"And you?"
I hesitated, then hissed my chosen name: "Kael."
The HuntThe next feeding came at dawn. Mother dragged in a wild boar—small by this world's standards, but still the size of a horse compared to us hatchlings. Its tusks were sharp, its body thick with muscle.
Chaos erupted as soon as she dropped it. Seraka lunged first, of course, slamming into the boar's flank, but the beast gored him back with a swipe of its tusk. Hatchlings swarmed, biting, clawing, tangling in each other more than in the prey.
"Now," Sythis hissed.
The three of us darted around the edge of the mob. The boar lashed out, crushing two siblings beneath its hooves, but in its frenzy, it turned its back to us.
We struck together.
My coils wrapped its hind leg, Sythis went for the other, and Marrow sank his fangs into its throat. The beast bucked, squealing, dragging me across the stone, but I held tight. My muscles screamed. Its strength was overwhelming.
"Hold!" Sythis hissed, straining.
Marrow's bite tore deeper. Blood poured across the cavern floor. The boar staggered, kicked, nearly flung us loose—but its strength was waning.
It crashed down at last, legs folding. Its squeals went thin, then silent.
And it was still.
The Taste of VictoryI stared at the corpse. My tongue flicked, tasting blood thick in the air. Around us, siblings still fought over scraps. Seraka limped, bloodied from his tusk wound, snapping at anyone who came near him.
But this kill—this kill—was ours.
Sythis hissed with pride, Marrow still clung to the throat. And me…
I sank my fangs into the warm flesh, swallowing the first true meal I had earned myself.
It burned in my veins like fire. My body pulsed with energy, muscles tightening, senses sharpening. Not a full evolution, not yet—but a step forward.
[ System Notice: Progress +12%. ]
Just a whisper in my mind. A reminder that every struggle, every kill, meant growth.
Seraka's GazeWhen I looked up, Seraka was watching. His golden eyes burned, not with rage this time, but with something colder.
Recognition.
A rival had been born.
He didn't strike—not now, not when Mother still loomed in the shadows—but the promise was there. Next time, he wouldn't just wound me.
He'd kill me.
And for the first time, I felt something besides hunger or fear.
Excitement.