Sprinting down the path, he followed into the cave and soon felt the floor beneath his feet tremble violently and debris went flying past him. He ran faster and faster, completely forgetting that he had been starved as adrenaline flooded his veins. After a while, he saw the light of the passageway shine through the entrance at the end of the path, and he ran even faster until he ran through it and into the hallway. With as much force as he could muster, he slammed the door behind him and wasted no time pushing forward, but as he suspected, that was never going to be enough to stop such an abomination. As with a thunderous crash, it shattered the door and the wall around it to emerged into the passageway with a deafening shriek that rang in his ears.
Mathew continued down the paths at full speed, but glanced back, his breath caught in his throat as the beast swivelled its large head and locked him in its predatory sights. The sheer size of it compared to the creature he had seen only hours earlier was overwhelming, making that one look like nothing but a gecko. As it continued its pursuit, its body moved through the passage, scraping against the walls, the floor, and the roof. Mathew ran, and ran, and ran. Turning sharply around corners, ducking below the beast's countless lunges and only barely avoiding the jaws of death multiple times, but for some reason, it all felt pointless. The beast was relentless in its pursuit, and bit by bit, his pace slowed.
No matter how far he thought to push his body, he could not ignore the fact that he was exhausted.
"I can't keep this up much longer!"
A fresh wave of panic surged through him as he turned yet another corner. He could now practically feel the heat of the creature's breath on his back. The narrow confines of the corridor pressed against the beast. It was a harsh reminder of just how little space separated predator from prey. Mathew knew that had the path not been so narrow, the beast would have already claimed him as its prey, crushing and mincing his corpse between its teeth. The mere thought of ending up as a pile of ground meat sent a shiver down his spine and spurred him on.
Suddenly, as if frozen by a spell. the beast's charge slowed.
Hoping that some sort of miracle had occurred, he glanced back only to see its body coiled and tensed, muscles rippling like a thunderstorm under its scaly hide. He spun back, continued to flee, and gasped in horror at the sight. In a burst of power, its massive form lunged forward with its maw gaping wide. Its dagger-like teeth approached at nearly mock speed. Where there was less than a second to think of a plan, time almost came to a crawl for Mathew as his mind raced, but no matter how much time he had, there was nothing he could think to do.
He was paralyzed, and his mind couldn't process anything at all.
Mathew felt the impending doom steadily approaching and was only moments away from death when, as if possessed, his instincts kicked in. In the corner of his eye, he realized that he was standing at a crossroads, so, kicking against the ground, he pushed himself out of the beast's path and into an adjacent path. The reptilian monstrosity followed his movement, but couldn't adjust its body in time, and paid the price. Crashing into the wall and sending a wave of shock traveling through its body. Its teeth pierced the thick cobblestone bricks and the solid stone below like butter. Now sitting on the ground and struggling to catch his breath, Mathew's eyes were wide as he stared in dismay.
'That was close!'
Mathew soon steadied himself, taking a moment of rest bite to collect his thoughts. He was more than just lucky to avoid that, as on closer inspection, he saw that its teeth were lodged deep into the cobblestone floor, and a spiderweb of cracks formed around it from the points of impact. A shiver ran across his skin as he realized that if he had taken action only a fraction of a second later, his body would have been right at the center of that destruction and rendered nothing but a lump of flesh and bone ready to be devoured.
The beast struggled, furiously trying to pull its teeth from the stone. It heaved as it let out a series of guttural growls. The sound resonated with the rumble caused by its movements, accompanied by the scraping of stone against bone. With every violent tug, the cobblestone creaked and cracked. Breaking further under the strain of its movements. Mathew watched and breathed a sigh of relief as the beast's frustration mounted. He pulled himself to his feet and dusted his body, then sent a hateful glare to the beast.
"Serves you right, bastard!"
While he was relieved to survive the beast's attempt at life, he had to move. And fast. He turned back and sauntered away. Unfortunately for him, the makeshift shackles wouldn't be enough to keep the monstrosity trapped for long. Not lasting more than a few seconds, it wrenched itself free and let out a menacing roar.
His eyes locked with the beasts. He had nowhere to run. The monstrosity inched closer and closer. Radiating a primal desire. He was right in the beast's range, so any movement, even the slightest twitch, would be met with a swipe of its clawed arms. He knew he couldn't just stand there motionless, but he didn't have anywhere else to run or any tricks up his sleeve.
A cruel realization clicked in his mind, and as it did, a chill ran down his spine. It was fear. But not just that, accompanying the fear was sheer stubbornness, a burning will to live. He found himself in a desperate situation, but his burning will to leave was as strong as it had ever been. A thought crossed Mathew's mind as he stared at the scaled beast. Could he maybe use the same trick he used against the scavenger earlier? No. At the time, various things coincidentally fell into place to allow that stunt. Hidden beneath the smooth and level cobblestone floor where he stood was a deep chasm, which was the result of relentless weathering that had eroded the rocks below.
By sheer luck or maybe even fate, he stood at the one spot where the collapsing floor spared him the fatal plunge. Sadly, those same variables couldn't fall perfectly in place for a second time. Not with the day he was having.
Mathew stood there, dumbfounded by the situation and wondering,
'What the hell can I do in this impossible situation?'
He was yet to awaken as a Herald and receive a combat-oriented trait, so fighting the scaled monstrosity was out of the question. Even if he wanted to attempt such a daring and suicidal thing, his body was too exhausted. His mind was running on all cylinders, though, but no matter the scenario he cooked up, they all ended in his death. Gruesomely at that. He balled his fists and gritted his teeth, just about ready to give in and charge at the beast with his fists as his only weapon. Dying while taking action was far better than dying while cowering like a wounded dog after all. But it seemed like fate had yet to abandon him. Suddenly, he felt a pulling sensation draw his attention. Following the pull, he looked to his side at the wall.
'Am I just going crazy now?'
It was a possibility. He was staring at a wall as his last hope for survival. But no matter how crazy it seemed, right now, he knew instinctively that what he felt was quite real. Whatever it was that drew him to that wall at that moment, whether it be fate or some all-powerful entity, did not bother him in the slightest.
If it meant he lived, he would jump into a pit of flames.
He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and said in his most defiant tone.
"Well, it's now or never!"
Without the slightest hint of hesitation, he put forth all his remaining energy and barrelled to his left. The scaled Voidapawn's snarls echoed as it reached for him. The tips of its claws were only inches away. Then at the last second, he pivoted sharply, putting all his weight from one foot to the other and sliding under its claws. The beast paused and drew its arm back, aiming to slam him into the wall, but it was too late. He ran right through the wall and vanished.