Beep!
[18:59:59]
The notification sound and the timer on his forearm pulled Talon out of his daydream.
Anyone passing by would've mistaken him for a wild savage.
He was using the front bone plate of the Cero as a shield, and its small horn as a short dagger. His pants were soaked in blood, and insects were having a feast with what he couldn't carry from the Cero's body.
In the past few hours, Talon had been struggling to make fire. As a trained soldier, he knew several techniques, but technology had clearly made things too easy for the new generation.
Chemical fire kits, flint strikers, even gas lighters most of the time.
Here, on the jungle of a deserted island. He was on his own.
The smell of roasting meat reached his nose, and of course Talon knew that would attract other Beasts.
"If there's a baby Cero..." Talon took a big bite of the animal's tough meat. It was far from tasty, but the satisfaction of eating that little creature was the best seasoning.
Beep!
"Fuck, is this bracelet ever gonna shut the hell up???" With a glare of irritation, he raised his forearm and checked the notification.
[Saturation: 0 → 5%]
A wave of energy was being released from his abdomen, but his back burned at the exact same time.
"What the fuck is this? This sick game wants me to hunt these creatures and raise the %?" His trained mind began to reason quickly, and the dream he had on the burning ship with that creature came back to him.
A shiver ran down his spine and fear gripped his body.
"Alright... If this is the twisted game that orb and that tentacled monster want... Then I'll give them the fucking best game of their lives!"
Not long after, Talon sprinted into the forest. Heavy footsteps echoed through the area. Between leaves and vines, a glowing blue eye scanned the environment and quickly spotted the fallen tree.
ROOOOOHHUUUU
A roar shook the entire island, and even from hundreds of meters away, Talon could see birds flying from the trees and felt the ground tremble.
"By the edge of my mother's damn skirt... If that creature sees me with her cub's Crest. I won't last another hour, let alone eighteen more in this place!" Talon bolted as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
It didn't take long before thirst cracked his lips. Drinking the baby Cero's blood was too dangerous, and unlike in movies, that kind of thing often carried powerful diseases and bacteria.
"Huh?" Talon felt the ground vanish under his feet... It didn't take long for him to be thrown several meters down.
"What the hell was that?" He cursed loudly, getting up and realizing where he was.
"A hole? Why would there be a..." His green eyes widened in comprehension and horror when he realized he was inside a footprint.
That's when Talon truly realized the danger he was in. A creature of this size must weigh dozens of tons, and not even a thousand Cerato horns could kill it.
Rooooohhuuuu
Another furious roar sent dozens of birds fleeing their nests, and unfortunately, Talon didn't have wings to follow them.
He quickly jumped out of the crater-print and ran. The sound of heavy steps and tremors grew louder by the minute.
If it weren't for his well-toned body and the thousands of hours of forced swimming by the navy, he would've already been turned into meat paste.
Boom!
Claaaaack!
Two trees fell right behind Talon, and branches snapped everywhere.
"I need to find a way out, this creature can't kill me. Not now... Not before I wrap my hands around that damn Captain's throat!" The desire for revenge and deep hatred for his betrayer burned in his soul, fueling him with determination.
But the giant palm, covered in armored hide, that had just knocked down two tree trunks in front of him, was quick to chill his vengeance with pure terror.
With only one direction left to run, Talon dove into the bushes and leaves to his left, just in time to feel his feet leave the ground again.
"WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF ISLAND IS THIS???"
Blum!
The wind slashed his face until he hit the surface, followed by a sensation he knew all too well. The refreshing pull and pressure of water.
Talon had fallen into some kind of lake, or gods know what. But definitely, down here, he wouldn't be caught by the enraged Mama Cero.
A few minutes of silence in the murky, familiar waters brought Talon's mind back into focus.
He'd served in the navy since he was eighteen, and had already turned twenty-five. Long seven years of training had made him one of the top divers in his unit, which is what got him accepted aboard Captain Calista Merrow's ship.
His job was one of the most dangerous and best paid in the navy. He had to dive and retrieve old submerged warheads that were never detonated during the second world war.
No need to say, nearly all his classmates died in operations, and the government covered everything up.
Staying still in silence, holding his breath, was nothing to Talon. Soon he saw, in the murky water, a single horn that made a giant's spear look like a toothpick.
Several minutes passed with what Talon believed to be only Mama Cero's horn casting a shadow over the lake he was hiding in.
Talon's lungs burned as he neared the limit of his breath. Finally, the Cero retreated back into the cursed forest, and he could return to the surface and breathe.
"Son of a bitch, I think I just broke my record for time underwater! That thing was beyond enormous. How can something so huge even exist? Or better, how does it have enough food?"
Between strokes and deep breaths, Talon started to recover his strength..
But didn't notice one thing.
Right beneath him, a faint shadow began to take shape, and yellow vertical eyes stared at him.
Hungry.