Everything was dark, obscured and resembled what you'd see when you look into a starless night sky.
Black.
Black was the only color he saw. When Aelon attempted at opening his eyes, he realized it was for naught.
They were already open.
Sensations registered— sensations that were vile, disgusting and most of all painful. It was as if somebody were attempting a DDOS attack on his nervous system.
He felt a gaping hole in his side. Because the adrenaline subsided, every single bit of pain he experienced was actively being registered by his mind.
When Aelon tried touching it, he noticed that his arms were incapable of movement. His legs, head, or anything else was locked up in the same state. The only thing that moved was his mouth.
Panic stirred.
He could barely move his jaw, but his tongue was free at the very least. A steady supply of oxygen stirred in his surroundings, giving him the ability to breathe.
The oxygen didn't come from the air. The gills of his suit were what saved him.
He was under water.
Under water, locked up in some encasement. A fleshy encasement.
'That's why I haven't bled out. It had insulated and put pressure on my wound.'
He felt the augmentation of a Nightmare Creature right around him. Or more accurately said, his encasement was the Nightmare Creature.
'I'm... in a Nightmare Creature.'
Possibilities flashed through his mind like a myriad of silver splinters reflecting light in water. What could it be? It's presence was that of something stronger than anything he had faced before.
Even stronger than Master Jet.
'It can't be?'
Jet was a Master, meaning the Nightmare Creature equivalent of her was a Fallen abomination. This was stronger than her by realms.
After thinking hardly, Aelon noticed he only felt one soul core in the creature.
That meant it couldn't have been a Fallen one, as a fallen beast would most definitely never feel this strong.
Only one option was left.
'It's... It's... oh fuck me...'
If Aelon were breathing his breath would hitch, and he'd hyperventilate, going into a full blown panic attack.
But it was useless, even if he tried.
This environment didn't give him that luxury. Tears were simply flowing, mixing with the water of his surroundings. Not even letting his body cope with a panic attack, Aelon was now faced with the full reality of what was occurring.
He was in a corrupted beast. It had probably smelt the blood coming from his wound and devoured him whole.
Aelon resisted the urge to scream.
Since the Nightmare Creatures of this region of the Dream Realm all seemed to resemble some kind of animal, or creature that existed in the waking world, Aelon's mind raced for equivalences.
Three options eventually developed in his mind.
First, it was a snake. A sea-snake or something similar, as they are very well known for eating their prey whole.
Second, it was a whale. They too swallowed things whole, as they were large enough to simply open their mouths and swallow anything that came in their way.
Third, it was some other Nightmare Creature that was just was large enough to eat him whole.
Aelon grasped a few things that were assured from his current state.
He would most likely slowly die- being digested. The liquid around him didn't seem very acidic, nor anything resembling digestive fluids. It was simply water.
The digestion would most probably commence after he had already died of hunger or thirst.
Speaking of that; Aelon opened his mouth, and let water pour in.
'It's not salty. I can drink this.'
It wasn't salty, neither did it taste like good water. It had a kind of revolting savor to it, of which Aelon wasn't sure he would get used to. But humans adapted to anything right?
And lastly, he couldn't shorten the process by ending himself. Scrap that idea, he could. Just let the armor disperse, and he'd suffocate.
Or bite off his tongue.
'I wonder how long can I endure until I actually, or rather finally do it?'
It was a dark thought.
To be frank, the black haired boy's mental state was absolute garbage. His [Soft Carapace, Strong Flesh] weakened it, and he felt absolutely helpless, which only amounted more strain on it.
'I don't want to die just yet. There must... there must be a path!'
The heavens never denied a path, there was always a way to get what you wanted. The only problem were people despairing, or simply not being able to find and comprehend that path.
There was a way, he frankly just had to find it.
Aelon had to think enough. Think through his options and make sure that every single one was exhausted.
Time passed.
For minutes, hours, days, or weeks he remained still, doing nothing but thinking. Just like on the Soul Tree he had lost the concept of time in here.
Time was like the wind on a stormy night, flowing continuously, yet chaotically and unpredictably.
It could be that ten minutes had passed, but this felt like at least hours of work. Aelon didn't know.
Maybe time passed faster, and he enclosed in here for days.
'Lock in! Come on think Aelon think!'
And so he thought. For a very long time, or maybe a very short time. He didn't know.
'I have water that is maybe drinkable. I'll take that risk. I won't be dying of thirst.'
Water issue was solved. Now food.
'I can't move. I can't even move my head upwards in the case that more food like me enters this digestive track.'
Okay, he could drink from the spot he was in. What other things were supplied by a creatures innards?
'Flesh.'
This was his way out.
He had grasped it, he had grasped the path that the heavens spared him in sake of staying alive. He comprehended and found it.
'If I just... eat my way out of here, maybe I'll be able to get out.'
Once he had digested enough flesh, he most probably also would be able to move, and cut his way to the creature's soul cores.
If he destroyed the soul cores, it would inevitably die. Neither would the beast be able to attack him while he was doing it, because he was quite literally inside of it.
'Time to get a taste I guess.'
Opening his mouth, Aelon used the little space he gained from the movement to press his face against the walls of it's digestive track. Digging his teeth into the flesh of the transcendent monster, he tried his best to bite it off.
'Why the fuck is this so chewy!'
Aelon couldn't bite it off.
'Okay small steps.'
Biting off a small chunk, Aelon managed to get it in his mouth, and rip it off the wall.
'Success!'
It tasted like iron, and something fishy. If he had ever eaten raw chicken he'd imagine it would taste like this.
Reluctantly he chewed, and swallowed, resisting the urge to gag.
'Okay. Come on. Only the gods know how much left to eat.'