《Again and again [stub]》


 1: Bloody nightmare

    In the darkness, a small spiderlike creature falls down from the only source of light, high in the ceiling. It makes a muffled cry of pain upon hitting the ground, before falling silent again. It stays on its back, its many limbs sticking out, and two burning green eyes looking at the light.


    "Failed again, I see..." A barely audible voice comes from somewhere in the darkness.


    To the side, two small red dots look at the tiny creature. When there comes no reply, a soft sigh follows.


    "Anton, you need to stop trying. Have you still not realized the futility of it?" The red dots come closer, and another spidery creature, identical to the first, stops next to the other.


    "You will fail and fail and fail until you are burned up. And if we are all unlucky, something will follow you down here and eradicate us."


    The creature called Anton struggles to get upright before gazing at the other.


    "Victor, shut up. You come here every time to tell me I should stop. Have I ever listened to you?" Anton looked at the other''s red eyes, before turning away and stalking off into the darkness.


    The other one, Victor, follows him. "Aaahhh, young one, don''t you realize? I do this because I care. You remind me off myself when..."


    "I was young, and I just want to spare you the mistakes I made." Anton completed the sentence in a practiced manner. "Yes, I know! But I will die before I stop trying. I will not end up, fading away into oblivion here, with people I don''t know, in a body that is not my own!"


    The two spiders squeeze down some stone tubes and arrived inside something reminiscent of an ant nest. Most of the things living in it were now calling it the hive, named by one of the first humans to have found it.


    The hive was currently crawling with hundreds of spiderlike things. When Anton and Victor entered, they were ignored by the others. Arrival and departure happened all the time in the hive, and nobody really cared what others did.


    "Let''s see if your home is still unoccupied," Victor said, crawling next to Anton.


    Anton said nothing. He was preoccupied with his most recent failure. Although the other inhabitants of the hive thought he was crazy, and some said he never got further than the first cave, today had been his best attempt yet. Although he couldn''t be too sure, he thought he had actually seen the exit of the third cave before they got him. If he could enter that, he would have come further than any other spawn.


    The two crawled for a while, deeper into the hive until they reached a small cavern, lined with holes. In front of many holes were rocks or dirt, blocking them from view, indicating they were inhabited by someone else. Only a small amount of holes were left open, and they headed towards one of those. It was almost at the top of the cavern, and they had to climb straight up the wall to get there. Not that it mattered, Anton thought. They could have crawled on the ceiling and still be fine. Looking up, he saw a few spiders doing just that.


    Arriving at a hole, Victor walked to a blocked cave next to it and started pushing against the rock in front of it.


    "You kept them away from it again, didn''t you?" Anton called after Victor.


    The spiderling stopped pushing and turned around. "Yes. And I will do it again and again until you realize the futility of your goal."


    Anton wished he could shake his head because he would have loved to do that right now. Instead, he waved with a few of his limbs before entering the cave. It was almost empty, only having some glowing green fungus on the back of it and a rock next to the opening. He looked at it the rock for a moment, hesitating, before remembering how hard life here was and how much effort Victor must have shown to keep this cave unoccupied. He tried sighing, but the hissing sound he produced still unnerved him even after all these years. Annoyed, he blocked the entrance with the rock and went to lie down under the glowing fungus.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Now came the part he hated most, sleep. It was the only thing they could really do down here, besides talking and walking around, and most reveled in it. Not Anton, he hated it. Dreaming about what had been, about earth and friends. Nightmares about black things from space first thought to be alien spaceships, that ended up being demon-like monsters straight from hell. Closing his eyes, he began his ritual, cursing at his old neighbor, big ass Bill, who had pushed him out of the way to enter the escape ship right before the doors closed, leaving him stranded, together with millions of other unfortunate souls. After Bill came cursing at the governments, who had kept the incoming monsters a secret until the last minute, preventing anyone from creating their own escape routes. Then he cursed some more for the hell of it, and to distract himself. When sleep finally came, so did the nightmares.


    Anton dreamt of the first hours after the demons had arrived, just after he had failed to board the last getaway ship.


    He found himself standing next to his father''s house, looking at the medieval-looking ship speed up towards the stars. It was early morning, and the sun wasn''t up yet. His head in his neck, he heard his father murmur. "How can things like that fly? I see no jets or propellers.."


    Trying to ignore them, he heard his father''s new girlfriend reply. "It''s magic, didn''t you hear? They say magic is coming back, and everyone evil is running from it. It''s a good thing we didn''t board that ship!"


    "No, it''s not you stupid skank!" Antol yelled, losing his temper.


    He saw his father cringe, the spineless coward. How he had ever gotten a young girl to stay with him was a miracle to Anton, and he wished he could have gone with his mother. But she had told him he was too young to do missionary work in third world countries.


    "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your mother now, and you will treat me with respect!" His father''s girlfriend screamed at him, stamping on the ground, her cute face warped by the anger.


    Looking straight at her, he raised his middle finger and walked away. He couldn''t stay here. He wasn''t going to let his potentially last minutes alive be stained by these two. Behind him, he heard his father try and reason with the harlot. Explaining how hard his son had it, failing university, and now with his mother so far away. Anton began running, and somewhere the part of him that knew it was a dream began shuddering. It would come soon now.


    He had rushed to Bemed his best and only friend''s house. The only guy he knew who had as much shitty luck as him. He was living with two other friends, having left his home as soon as he turned eighteen. All three had come from broken and dysfunctional households as they called it, and between them, they barely managed to fork over the rent every month.


    Arriving in front of the broken down apartment building, Anton rang the bell. He got no response, so he tried again, but still nothing. Knowing they might not hear it if they were gaming, he rang the doorbell of their neighbor. The old man never looked to see who was there, always opening the door, probably hoping his estranged daughter would show up. Rushing through the now unlocked door, passed the non-functional elevator, Anton ran up the stairs towards the third floor. From outside, he heard a loud explosion followed by a vibration that almost knocked him back down. Scared and angered, he kept going.


    When he reached Bemed''s apartment, he knocked on the faded white door. He heard nothing, so he tried again. After hammering on the door for what felt like forever, he heard a creepy, ice-cold voice from inside.


    "Who''s therreeee?"


    Anton felt his hairs stand, and the color drained from his face. He backed away from the door. The fact it was a dream was slowly fading from his mind when he heard a slow, shuffling, and rattling noise move towards the door. Before he could turn the to run, the door opened a bit, and a black clawed hand gripped the side. Not wasting any more time, he turned and ran for the stairs. Before dashing into the stair house, he quickly looked behind him, but there was nothing, and the door was open. Facing the stair, he slammed into a hard, cold surface, bouncing back into the hallway. In front of him was a black monster. It looked like the cross between a man and a spider with four arms and four legs. Its face looked more like a praying mantis. One of its hands was holding a ripped off arm, red blood slowly dripping on the floor.


    "What areee youuu?" The thing hissed before it pounced onto Anton, who screamed once before losing consciousness.


    Inside the cave, Anton''s spider form jerked before jumping up and hanging upside down on the ceiling.


    "Damnit, of all the dreams, it had to be that one. Why couldn''t it have been the one with Sintia and me behind the gym building?" Anton dropped down and tried his best to sit. But it was too hard without having an ass to sit on, and he gave up pretending.


    Instead, he tried focussing on his last failure, and how he could get past the hunter insects. Today was the first time he had managed to outrun them. His new shape, similar to a wolf with six legs, had proven useful. But the lack of arms had meant he could only bite them. He knew that with only two legs, he wouldn''t outrun them, but no hands didn''t work either. In the end, he had been unable to face the wall-crawler and been devoured. His core energy hurled back into the depths if the lower regions.


    But today would be different he promised, as he moved towards the rock blocking his cave.

 2: Worms are good for you

    Climbing along the now-familiar tunnels, a gloomy red light up ahead showed he was almost at the first level. This time he was going to make it! Or die trying, again.


    The tunnel became smaller at the end until he had to squeeze through his round body, making a popping sound as he exited the cave systems. Looking around the rocky area, he saw that nothing moved, as he had expected. The exit he used, the one he always used was far from the roaming monsters. High above, the bloodred veins pulsated in the ceiling of the cavern, causing everything to be bathed in a reddish hue.


    Rushing along, Anton headed towards his favorite hunting grounds. It wasn''t that far as he had crossed most of the distance underground. Although he had no exact idea of time, he guessed it was around ten minutes when he reached a wide-open area, only dotted by a few rocks. Hiding, he waited, keeping his eyes on the area. Within moments a slithering creature came into view, leaving behind a foul-smelling trail of mucus.


    These were Anton''s secret weapons. As far as he knew nobody had found them yet, most people only knew about the small imps that were abundant everywhere. It was probably because they only seemed to roam the flat areas, and most people were to chicken shit to go there. A screech sounded from above, and looking up, he saw one of the flying demons, all four claws at the ready, dive towards the worm.


    Anton tssked, and watched as the bird snatched his desired prey, flying off with it. Bloody birds. It took longer for another worm to appear, but this time there wasn''t any bird. Anton waited for the right opportunity, and as soon as the thing slithered closer, he jumped forward, skittering on all limbs. The thing noticed him coming and tried to back away, but it was far to slow. Jumping on its slimy body, Anton wasted no time and pierced the eyes with his foremost limbs. The worm trembled, white goo oozing from the destroyed eyeballs. A surge of energy caused Anton to let out a content sigh. Then, long over the disgust, he had felt the first time, he began gorging himself. His small fangs made short work of the tender, gooey meat.


    "Hmmm yummy." He growled, ignoring the fact that he did that every time.


    As soon as he felt a burning sensation, he jumped off the unmoving worm and rushed back towards the relative safety of the rocky area. Hiding below an overhang, he waited as he felt the familiar pangs and pains of his body morphing. Looking at the chitin like front leg, he saw it become thicker and fleshy. It didn''t take that long until the sensation stopped, and stood up, taller this time, flexing his muscles. Although he had no way of looking at himself, from what he could see of his limbs, he expected he had turned from a small black spider into a large, thick spider with a meaty exterior similar to the worm he had eaten.


    So far, for step one, now for the next step. Rushing along the terrain, he kept an eye out for any birds. His new shape had only one disadvantage. He was much more visible against the dark grey rocks. But he knew where to go, and without any trouble, he reached his next target. It was a small village made from piled up stone and leathery hides, building against a cliff wall. Around the buildings, scrawny imps walked around.


    Although they looked weak as hell, Anton knew underestimating them was why most folks never got passed this part. The fact they went at it with their base spider form didn''t help either. Heading to the edge of the village, under cover of the rocks, he began climbing up the wall. It was a bit more complicated than in his regular shape, but the benefit would show itself soon. Moving across the back most building, he climbed on its roof and went to the edge.


    Below, he saw the small imps rush around. He had sat here one time to try and discover what the hell it was they were doing, but eventually, he had to determine they just ran around fighting each other, and respawning back in their little houses. Waiting for one of the imps go get close, he raised a front limb, and a thin thread emerged from the tip. With a practiced effort, he turned it into a lasso that he lowered onto the ground behind the imp. When it reached whatever it was it was moving to, it turned around again like a machine, and stepped into the waiting loop on the ground.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Anton began pulling back the thread, causing it to snag the imp that started to flail around before falling. Ignoring the resistance, Anton pulled the imp up towards the roof. As soon as it got there, it tried to crawl up, but Anton was prepared and tossed a larger loop around the torso of the monster. Pulling it tight, he pinned its arms before commencing to wrap the entire thing into a spider web.


    As soon as the struggling thing was made inert, Anton sat down next to it. Now came the part he really disliked, but he needed to do it, or he wouldn''t make it passed the second level guards. Resolutely he grabbed one of his back legs and began twisting it. The pain was horrendous, but it was faster than any other way he had found. A few twists and the leg snapped off, causing white goo to spurt out. Not waiting, Anton grabbed one his prays legs and, using his mandibles, bit it off. The first few times, he had done it the other way around, but he had found that the shorter the imps leg was away from a body, the better it performed.


    Trying to ignore the pain, he pressed the torn-off leg against the open wound on his abdomen. Almost right away, he felt the pain lessen, and the thick white goo began covering the wound. Holding it down for a moment longer, he let go and tried wiggling the new, out of place limb. It moved without any problem.


    "Look ma, new shoes," he snorted before ripping off the other hind leg and replacing it with one from his prey. Done with it, he headed back to the edge and waited for the second donor.


    When he left the roof, climbing along the wall was really impractical because his four hind legs wouldn''t stick at all. Then again, this time, he had four spider legs left, making it a lot easier than when he had two the previous time. Dropping the last bit, he landed on the legs and began running away from the village. He could stay and feed on a few imps for increased strength, but he knew it would make little difference unless he stayed for weeks. He had all he needed to pass the first floor guards now. Besides, the second floor held far more juicy pray.


    The cavern he was in now, although seeming endless, wasn''t all that big. It was just that he was so small it seemed that way. Rushing towards one of the sides, it took him another hour to reach his last destination. It was a square hole, leading to a slope that he could follow all the way up to the next level. As far as he knew, only ten percent of everyone he knew that had tried in the beginning had gotten passed it.


    "I''m back, you ugly dogs." He growled as he examined the hairless two-headed canine''s that roamed around the entrance. A burst of movement from the corner of his eye surprised him, and looking that way, he saw three black spiderlings rush towards the entrance.


    "Well, well, who are you fools?" He whispered, curious. He hadn''t seen others attempt this gate for a while now. Perhaps new people had been put down here? Not that it mattered, going up like that was suicide, even if you managed to get passed the dogs, which you wouldn''t.


    Then again, perhaps he could use this to make his day a little easier. Getting ready, he waited for the dogs to notice the incoming spiderlings. As soon as they did, and began rushing forward, he sprinted towards the entrance. Moving like a horse, keeping his front limbs forward for balance, he picked up speed quickly. All of the ten or so dogs had left the gate wide opening, idiots, and when they saw him rush towards it, it was too late. A few turned around, barking and growling like mad as they tried to block his way, while the rest tore into the spiderlings ripping limbs off and generally massacring them.


    "Thanks for the opening suckers!" Anton yelled as he rushed through the portal, noticing the pattern of symbols again on the sides. They glowed when he crossed some invisible barrier, and he knew he could take it easy now. The dogs were incapable of entering.


    Turning around to look at the spiderlings, he saw one managed to get closer than he had thought possible, two hounds hot on its heels.


    "Please wait. Help me!" A feminine voice called out as the spiderling saw him standing in the entrance.


    Snorting, he wished he had a head to shake. Crazy broad, even if it was possible, which it wasn''t, why would he do that? Ignoring her calls, he looked as the dogs caught up and dove on top of her. Then he turned towards the light at the end of the tunnel.


    Time for the harder part.

 3: Mushroom madness

    The exit to the second floor loomed in front, but Anton did not attempt to rush out yet. First, he needed to make sure nothing was waiting outside to jump him. As he scanned the edges of the mushroom forest that spread all across this level, he tried to find any smidgen of movement. He knew there had to be something lurking about. The question was just where was it. He needed to run the other way, or he would rush into an ambush. This was one of the spots he still got caught sometimes, even after all the thousands of times he had been here.


    Most of the time, it wasn''t even his fault, but multiple things where there, waiting for him, making it impossible to get through.


    As he patiently waited, he saw a small movement below one of the smaller mushrooms. Looking closer, he saw two eyes, staring unblinkingly at the entrance. There the first one was! From what he could tell, it was one of the bipedal snake demons. No problem there, he was much faster. After at least one more hour, he decided he was lucky this time. But to be safe, he rushed out of the entrance taking the least likely route. As he did, he was glad of it, because as soon as he exited the tunnel, he heard a loud hissing sound from behind him.


    "Didn''t expect that, did you? Fools." He snorted as he rushed almost straight at the mushroom he had seen the first movement. From below it, a bulky shape moved, and then a snake crawled out, walking on two legs with a large gaping map filled with horrific teeth. Ambling forward in an ungraceful gate, it attempted to block his path.


    "Pff, far to slow." He laughed, rushing passed it with meters to spare, and disappearing into the forest. Behind him, he heard a short howl of anger, followed by the sounds of fighting. Those two should be attempting to eat each other now.


    Keeping his attention focused on his surroundings, he rushed towards one of his safe spots. Although safe wasn''t precisely the right word, nor where they truly his. All around, the mushrooms, small and large, were creating a dense odor, that he really, really hated. But it had its uses. When he sniffed a sweet, vomity smell, he turned and headed towards it. Following his nose, he found a low, wide mushroom, green and yellow, that seemed to be rotting. He knew most creatures stayed far away from it, and with good reason. But this was where the second benefit of the bloody worm came into play.


    Moving next to the shroom, Anton felt an uncomfortable sensation from his skin that increased the closer he got. Almost beneath it, his skin began smoking. The stink was acidic, keeping all things on this level away. But his skin only smoked, and although it hurt like a sonofabitch, it didn''t do anything else to him. Crawling the last part, he moved along a winding path, almost like a seashell, arriving in the middle of the mushroom. There was nothing there, except for the heart of the fungus, which was a pulsating white stem as tall as the small room was.


    Lying down, ignoring the smoke, Anton put his front legs against the white stem. Hugging it, he felt the heartbeat grow faster. Taking a deep breath of the stinky gas, he began clenching his legs together as hard as he could. Almost immediately, the heartbeat became erratic, and drips of fluid began falling from the ceiling. Every time one fell on him, Anton sucked in air, trying to resist screaming. Luckily he had two sets of limbs this time, and it took only a few minutes before the heartbeat began to slow, cracks appearing on the surface. As soon as it stopped beating, an enormous influx of energy coursed through Anton, and he moaned in pleasure. He could almost see the energy, like a mist, surround him.


    "Aaahhh bless you, you stupid worm." He sighed, feeling himself grow more powerful. He knew that this one mushroom had made him more powerful than one month of killing anything on the first floor could have. And it had been so easy, just some pain, which he had grown accustomed too. Crawling out was always a pain, he thought, as he pushed his larger bulk through the shrinking mushroom.


    Outside, the acidic cloud was dissipating rapidly, and he knew it was time to leave. Running faster than before, he headed in a random direction. He knew, running anywhere on this floor was always better than standing around with your dick in your hand. A short pang made him sad as he realized, not for the first time, that he had nothing left between his legs.


    --


    Almost a day later, he was lying in the largest of the acidic mushrooms he could find, and the only one that he was still able to fit inside. As the rush of energy stagnated, he looked at the green ceiling. Drops of acid hardly hurt him now, and he rose one of his front legs to admire the muscles on them. The pasty white flesh bothered him tho, like that of a corpse, pulled from the river. One more level would solve that problem, but the idea of entering the third floor, again, caused him to sigh. He had stopped counting after a thousand attempts, but he knew that had only been the first few years worth of attempts.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Remembering how close he got last time made him feel better, and he was about to crawl out when he heard a soft hissing come from outside. Shit, he had stayed too long! The acid cloud must have dispersed, and someone was coming to check why. Raising himself back on his feet, he tried to hear where the thing was. He knew it must be one of the snake people. Those were always out hunting around the edges of the forest.


    A soft knock against the side of the mushroom, far to close to him for comfort, made shuffle back involuntarily. As soon as he did, he cursed and stopped moving, but it was too late. A heavy thud came from the same spot, together with loud, angry hissing. Feeling his heartrate rise, Anton knew he was in serious trouble. He might be able to outrun these dumb snakes, but in a straight-up fight, they were far too strong. Cracks appeared on the decaying wall of the mushroom, and his breathing became labored. If that thing thought he would take it lying down, it was wrong.


    "Bring it on, you son of a bitch!" He growled, waiting for the wall to collapse. He didn''t have to wait long, the cracks became longer, and then a part began bulging inward, parts falling out. Razor-sharp, glistening teeth were the first thing he saw. It was a damn snake alright, trying to shove its entire head inside. Backing up as far as he could, which wasn''t far at all, Anton held his breath and got ready.


    The wall caved in completely, and the snake demon fell forward, landing with the edge of his head on the ground. Anton rushed forward, leaping on top of the shape, aiming for its eyes. With surgical precision, he speared the yellow, heavily lidded orbs causing the snake to hiss and slam its head from left to right to try and dislodge Anton. Holding on tight, he was just about to let go when the snake managed to get a foothold somewhere and get his entire upper body back out, dragging Anton along with him.


    "Shiiiiit," Anton hollered as he attempted to let go. But his handless front limbs were stuck inside the snake''s skull, and he was pulled out into the open.


    Rising to his full height, three times that of Anton, the snake banged its head against the side of the mushroom. Feeling a massive blow against his back, Anton heard cracking sounds and knew one of his limbs must have snapped. Cursing, he finally managed to get his last leg out and tried to wiggle free. The snake had him pinned against the wall, trying to angle its head to take a bite. Anton felt his body slip, and a wet sensation came from one of his stolen limbs.


    "Noooo..."


    A snap followed a horrible tearing sound, and then Anton felt pain. Immediately he was dragged up in the air from his limb, dangling from the mouth of the snake creature that began chewing on his foot. In between the bursts of pain, Anton knew he had no other choice, and he began turning himself in circles. Three full circles later, his leg popped off, causing white goo to spurt onto the snake''s face while he dropped to the ground on the three remaining legs.


    Turning around, Anton hobbled away, hoping to flee his assailant. Within moments he heard the snake Snake hiss and bang into something. Wait, the thing was blind! Turning around, he saw how the snake moved its head from left to right, sniffing and hissing. Its forked tongue darted in the air and eventually found some trace of Anton. He rushed forward, but couldn''t see one of the mushrooms and slammed right into it. A soft crack came, and it staggered back, shaking its head.


    "Owww now, I''ve got you shit face." Laughing through the pain, Anton moved behind a large mushroom.


    "Yo, over here! Come get some spider legs, nom nom!" Yelling to the snake caused it to hiss and rush his way. As expected, it slammed full force into the mushroom. This time it didn''t stagger back, but slumped to its knees, hissing softly. Grinning, Anton circled the stupid thing and made sure to give it more time to gather speed. From a bit further off, he began calling again.


    Getting back to its feet, the snake wobbled twice before opening its mouth and rushing towards the sound. He had a lot more distance to gain speed, and this time, when it hit the mushroom, Anton heard the satisfying crack he had been hoping for. The snake bounced back from the tree, hit the ground, and didn''t move. Waiting a bit to make sure it wasn''t acting, no matter how unlikely, Anton then sneaked closer. Carefully stretching out a front limb, he prodded the black leathery skin.


    He got no reaction, but he felt some energy flit into him from the point of the limb.


    "Hah! Who would have known!" Jumping forward, Anton sat down on the snake''s chest, feeling an immense amount of energy rush into him. It had to be the same as two or three of those large acidic mushrooms, he thought happily. Then he eyed the heavily muscled legs of the snake.


    "How about you lend me those, as you don''t need them anymore!" He smirked, opening his mandibles wide.

 4: A leg up

    "DAMNIT!"


    Sitting on the ground, Anton grimaced as he looked at the large legs. He had no idea how hard it would be to move on two again. Perhaps he lacked the proper balance or practice, but he could barely stand on them. His two pasty white limbs kept dangling to the side, to short to walk on four, but heavy enough to keep him off balance.


    "Fine, FINE!" He growled, knowing he needed to get far from his current location because more snakes would arrive soon. Taking one of his white legs between his two front paws, he began twisting it around, trying to ignore the pain.


    Eventually, he tore both white legs off, and looked at them, feeling a bit sad. Without them, he would be much slower, at least until he got two more snake legs. Getting back up, he waved around with his front limbs, that were way out of proportions, but managed to keep his balance. Taking a careful step forward, then another, he noticed that it became easier.


    "Baby''s first bloody steps. Now to figure out how to grab two more of these beauties." He patted one of his new legs, dark grey now, and gently licked the teeth on his mandibles. Consuming part of the snake had given him a forked tongue and a row of small razor-sharp teeth.


    Moving through the forest cost him far more time than the previous few times, but he found that he didn''t come across any snakes. The single time he thought he heard one move his way, he could have sworn he heard a hiss before it began moving away in another direction. Did they think he was one of them?


    It took him a few days to get used to running with the legs, but in the end, he found that he could run much faster on them than the previous owner. Not having to howl the top-heavy torso and head along, the legs performed admirably.


    Running through the forest, he spotted his next quarry lying together in a small pack under a dark blue mushroom with a large triangular cap. About the size of a spiderling, they resembled blood red, shaven cats with three tails. They had a long snout crossed with lines that they could open vertically and horizontally, creating some horrible flower trap. Combined with multiple rows of teeth, like sharks, he knew if they sank their teeth in him, he wouldn''t be running away.


    Moving back a bit, he found two mushrooms sticking close together and began making a web between them. It glistened red in the light. Turning back towards the pack, he looked at them. It was their legs that had gotten him through most of the third level alive. Even if he liked the power of the snake legs, he wasn''t sure if they would be good enough.


    "Over here!" he yelled, getting ready to run. As soon as they saw him, the four demon cats sprinted his way, moving like a blur. He was glad he knew how fast they were; the first time they had gotten him unaware. Rushing towards his web, he circled it and looked through. Not a second too soon. The four cats burst into the small clearing, racing towards him. Ahh, if only he had a mouth to smile with now, he thought.


    Those stupid felines couldn''t see his web. He had found that little nugget out by luck, and had used it every time since.


    Oblivious, the four cats ran headlong into the webbing, getting stuck and entangled within seconds. The more they struggled, the stronger they were bound. Ah, those worms were good for everything! Without them, his web could barely hold his own weight, but after consuming their essence, it was strong enough to keep these infernal cats at bay.


    Waiting until they could barely move, Anton stepped forward. Now to see how useful these new legs where! Raising one foot, he did his best to keep his balance before ramming it down onto one of the cats. He aimed at the head but missed, hitting the neck instead. A sound like dry wood followed, and the cat''s mouth opened in four parts, revealing a green tongue. It didn''t move anymore, green blood dribble from its ears.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Feeling content, Anton had a fleeting image of his stepmom stuck in the web, getting crushed. Snorting, he kicked the other three monsters until they stopped moving and sat down, looking at his feet. He liked them, these new, sturdy legs. The cat legs would make him super fast, especially if he took six, but he still wouldn''t be able to fight the third-floor guardian. Damnit, if only he could combine them! Blinking his red beady eyes, he wondered if he couldn''t. Looking at one of the corpses, he bent forward and bit off one of the front legs. Chewing them was simple with teeth, he thought absentmindedly. A small surge of warmth sped through his body as he swallowed more and more of the leg, bone, and all. Ripping off another one, he continued eating until he felt his entire body burn up, signaling a change.


    Dropping the last piece of limb, he felt how parts of his body began reforming and reshaping, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Quickly the sensation decreased, and he looked at his legs. Again he wished for a mouth so he could grin, but no matter. The sight of the dark red legs, long and muscular, was rewarding enough. Getting up, he instinctively swung with his four front limbs seeing they had turned red as well. Not as blood-red as the cats were, but darker, like old blood. Absently he noticed that the web seemed higher than before than he turned and ran forward, disappearing in a thick part of the mushroom forest.


    --


    Sitting on top of a bumpy yellow mushroom, one of the tallest points around, Anton looked at the cavern wall. He was done hunting in this forest of stink, and it was time to head to the third level.


    "You just keep getting uglier..." He mumbled, looking at the massive thing blocking the entrance. A cross between a willow-tree and a mushroom, it had multiple mouths all over its stem. The barbed branches pulled in anything that came to close. Taking a peek around, Anton didn''t expect anybody to show up again, like on the first floor, but you couldn''t be too careful. Finding nothing, he clambered down from the mushroom, cursing as his four short limbs needed to carry the weight of his legs. He would need to switch them for something better soon, no matter how useful sticking to any surface was.


    On the ground, he took a last, careful look around before walking up to the guardian. As soon as he stepped out of the forest of mushrooms, onto the rocky soil leading up to it, a few branches began moving his way. A single, long path of hardened earth led to the stem in a straight line.


    "Hey there, Bob, I am back! Ready to have some fun!" Without waiting for a reply, he began running, staying on the hardened path. Multiple branches surged forward, but he just kept running, taking a very deliberate path. This was one of the places he was stuck longest, while in the end, it wasn''t even that hard. Hard came one cavern higher. One of the branches came, almost hitting him, but stopped short mere inches from him as if incapable of crossing the hardened sand. The same happened from the other side, practically like they were saluting him as he hurried along. So simple, just run straight at the stem, the stupid branches get confused and stop. Move one step to the left and right, and they drag you to your doom.


    It wasn''t that easy, of course, it had taken him ages to find out that only by moving straight all the way, they wouldn''t touch him, and even then, it was so easy to make one wrong move and get caught. It must have to take him hundreds of times to make that path. But it did make things bloody convenient.


    Almost at the stem, he got ready for the only annoying part. This part always annoyed him, but then again, he didn''t need his front limbs where he was going. Slamming into the wall, he rammed one of his limbs into a mouth. With a snap, it closed, and he felt pain surge through him. Ignore it, keep going! Sliding along the stem, he came up to another mouth, and he put another of his front limbs in it.


    "Needs to be a better way..." He breathed out as he moved along the stem, almost reach the back of it, and with it the exit to the next level.


    But before he could jump in, he lost one more limb to a hungry opening. It was the only way to keep the branches away. They had to get the signal the main thing was eating. He recalled how he had done it previously with only two disposable legs and shuddered. Watching the mushroom, bussy chewing, he waved with his last, lonely, limb.


    "See you next time, Bob. Or perhaps not!" he snorted and walked off into the cavern system.

 5: Insect sushi

    Looking into the darkness of the third level, only a thick green carpet of softly glowing moss, giving any light to the surroundings, Anton felt goosebumps. Here he was again, but for the first time in ages, he had another shape. Meaning there was a chance, small as it was that he could get passed the bloody insects. Breathing in and out a few times, he began limbering up his legs, completely useless, really, but he was scared.


    "Ok, enough procrastination. It''s time to do this!"


    Taking a last look around, he rushed into the darkness, heading straight for a dim carpet of light. As soon as he moved through the pitch dark, chittering and clicking came from everywhere. Ignoring it, he sprinted forward, feeling small things crunch under his feet before leaping onto the glowing moss.


    Sitting up, he drew his feet in, making sure every part of him was inside the dim light sphere. Just out of view of the light he saw small things move around, chittering as they did. Breathing out, he tried calming his heart while feeling along the bottom of his feet with his last remaining front limb. No wounds, so far so good. He had expected the thicker, snakeskin, would protect him, and it seemed he was right.


    Gingerly he began walking along the soft, bouncy ground, making sure not trip and fall off. In front of him, he could vaguely make out what seemed like roads in the darkness, dimly glowing.


    Halfe a day later, he was sitting on the end of the luminous area, looking out towards what looked like a giant ant hive filled with neon lights. Barely discernable dots moved around everywhere, disappearing into the darkness or appearing from it to enter the city.


    "Last stop, insect metropolis, everyone with a deathwish can get off here," Anton muttered as he looked at the place he had died at more times than he wanted to recall. Eaten, dismembered, drowned in his own fluids, and still, he came back to try and get through.


    "I must be completely crazy by now..." he sighed. Then he pinpointed one of the lower hives, noticing the round opening. "Here, we go!" He uttered at the same time leaping into the darkness and sprinting forward. He felt small things crack and burst under his feet, making it difficult to keep his footing. A little bite came from his calf, and he shuddered, another came from his ankle, and he felt a burning sensation slowly spread.


    "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." He kept cursing the entire run, at one point almost falling when his left leg became numb. But he made it, and as he rushed into the light circle cast by the hive, he felt the small things drop from his legs and skitter back into the darkness.


    Taking a deep breath, he looked around at the giant, tank-like insects that were moving along, ignoring him completely. Twice as high as he was, they resembled black beetles with a thick black carapace on their back. Although they looked dangerous, they acted only as workers for the hive. Not that he could fight one, either way, their carapace was almost impenetrable, and if he attacked one, the soldiers would come. Moving into the hive, he padded one of the beetles.


    "Good seeing you again, let''s hope we get along better this time!" The beetle just ambled on, and he looked around. The entire hive had a single long opening in the middle, giving a free look to the top, while slopes wound around the walls, with many little entrances leading to other, smaller rooms. Some of those were either filled with larva or food, and Anton now had to find them.


    Sitting inside the chamber, both the walls and ceilings glowing with a bright yellow light, Anton looked at the larva lying around. They couldn''t move yet and were fed by a smaller version of the workers. He had been waiting for the workers to leave because that meant they wouldn''t come back anytime soon, and he would have his hands free to do as he wanted.


    "Hands..." He sighed, looking at his last front limb.


    Stepping in front of one of the larva, around the size of a spiderling, he examined the ugly little thing. Similar to a caterpillar, it was curved in on itself, small chitin plates growing on its back. Pushing his front limb against the underside of what seemed to be its upside, he began tickling it. Shuddering, it straightened, showing its vulnerable belly and mouth, that opened in anticipation of food. Anton put his foot just above the mouth and pushed, causing the thing to struggle violently before bursting open, fluids dripping from his leg.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Energy trickled into his foot, but he didn''t pay it any attention. It was so little, barely enough if he had been just a spiderling, and not for what he had come. Kneeling, he buried his face inside the soft tissue, gnawing at it until he reached the meaty part. Then he started eating, trying to ignore how disgusted he was by the whole process. When he finished, he felt the front of his head, small and connected to his round body without any neck burn and reshape. Moving towards the next larva, he repeated the process a few more times until he felt his head loosen from his main body. Turning it left, and right he reveled in the ability to look around with moving his entire body.


    "Much better, almost makes you feel human again..." he whispered the last part, before shaking his spider head. More to be done! He turned to the other larva, and across the span of an hour, he ate them all. When he finished, he knew his body had changed significantly, more so than on all previous occasions. Although still only with one limb, it was now longer and thicker, with small chitting plates covering it. His legs had turned an even darker shade of red, almost brow now, and rudimentary plates were growing on them. He moved his torso left and right, independent from his waist and head, and felt the shield covering his back.


    "Time for the desert," he said, his voice still as human as ever, and he sneaked out of the room, leaving behind a bleeding mess of chitting, meat, and puss.


    He ran along the ramp, passing a few entrances that held nothing interesting. When he heard some soft howling noises coming from one, he stopped and peeked inside.


    "The hell..." Surprised, he stepped inside, looking at the pit in the middle of the room. Inside he saw many different kinds of dead animals, many of which were ripped into small pieces. Sitting on top was a demonic-looking lizard, something he had never seen on the third floor. Inspecting it, he wondered where it came from, but decided it didn''t matter. It could only mean bad news. Backing up, he almost made it out when the lizard looked up.


    "Now, what are you?" A human voice came from the lizard, scaring the shit out of Anton. He hated coming across intelligent monsters. He never found out where they came from, but they always tried killing him.


    "Nobody important, enjoy your meal!" Anton grunted, turning around and hightailing it out of there. He heard some shouting coming from behind, but he wasn''t planning on sticking around to find out what the other wanted. Either that was a human turned monster hanging around here, which meant no good, or it was a native monster, which was even worse.


    He ran along the slope, heading back down. It was time to go to the main hive and find what he needed there. This one was way too crowded.


    Getting inside the large hive was only a little bit more complicated than the smaller one. At the entrance, there were two guardians with the lower body of a spider, and a demon body ontop. From a distance, the top half looked somewhat human, but it was far from it. Their bodies were covered in slick, black chitin, and they had claws instead of hands. Their faces had facetted spider eyes and a spider maw instead of a mouth.


    Feeling giddy, Anton threw a stone next to the entrance. In a rush, the two spider things moved towards it, leaving the doorway wide open. Anton quickly dashed inside, wondering why anybody would put such stupid guards at an entrance. Inside it was identical to the smaller nest, and he ignored the black beetles walking around as he dashed passed them towards the rightmost ramp. Slowing down to a walk, he kept an eye out for any soldiers while walking towards one of the small side entrances. Looking inside, he saw it was empty.


    "Damnit, they changed the locations." Grumbling, he checked the next few entrances and only found what he was looking for halfway up the ramp. Moving inside the dim-lit room, he regarded the small piles of flesh and meat lying around, most with bones in them. Poking through it, he quickly found what he was looking for, arms. Most were old, and he kept looking until he found some that seemed fresh. They didn''t have hands, but claws and he knew they had been part of the soldiers. These insects threw nothing away. Picking one up, he riped the end a bit and opened up the wound where one of his limbs had been.


    "How about you give me a hand!" Laughing, he put the arm on the open wound. Right away, he felt the wound heat up, and soon after the sensation of a new limb. Feeling the many small cuts and wounds on the arm, he sighed. Wouldnt it be wonderful to get a fresh one? Oh well. Continuing, he quickly attached the remaining three, before casting a lingering eye on his last original limb. No use for that now, and he began twisting it off, using the much stronger new arms. The claws made short work of the spider leg, and he looked at it for a moment before tossing it with the trash. Putting the last arm on it, he straightened up, stretching and flexing all four.


    "So, now that we are all armed and ready, let''s get outa this dump." He snorted, before heading towards his last destination on this floor.

 6: Hideous truth

    Making himself as small as possible, Anton hid behind in the entrance of a side hall. He was inspecting a long corridor at the back of the hive, counting in his head. All of a sudden, a warrior ant walked out into the open, looked around the corridor exit before heading back in.


    "Damnit, they are faster than last time. Five seconds to get to the intersection..." Anton mumbled. He waited for another two seconds before sneaking to the corridor and looking inside. The warrior''s back was blocking the entire hallway, and he rushed inside the softly glowing tunnel. He tried to keep quiet and made it to a small hole in the side of the wall. He could barely squeeze himself inside but managed. He really should make it larger, but it would mean the warriors would be alerted, and the entire attempt would be for nothing. Feeling his heart rate spike, he waited. As soon as he heard the warrior ant come back, he held his breath.


    As the footsteps got closer, he heard the heavy, difficult breathing of the insect, and he tried to sit perfectly still. Any sound, any movement, and the insect would find him and eat him alive. He suppressed a shudder as he recalled one time that had happened, and it was not something he wanted to live through again. But he had done this before, and like the last few times, he managed to be quiet enough. The soldier ant moved passed him, and as soon as he was a bit further along, Anton squeezed back out, before noiselessly running to the other entrance.


    Looking outside, he took a quick look to see nothing would jump him before inspecting the maze. He was standing halfway up a wall, and below him was the only way towards the third level exit. Counting the crossings, he saw nothing had changed this time, so he should be okay with what he remembered. Taking a left, he ran along the steep slope down, keeping an eye out for any movement below. Reaching the bottom without a hitch, he looked at the many different roads leading into the maze. All of them had warriors patrolling them he knew, and they all led to the creepy throne room.


    Picking the rightmost entrance, he snuck up and looked inside. It was empty.


    "Fuck, this is going to be my lucky day, isn''t it..." He whispered, the corners of his mandibles twitching as he attempted to smirk. Moving inside the tunnel, he kept a slow and steady pace, stopping every few steps to see if he could hear anything.


    Every few meters, the halls would branch out, and he followed the path he remembered. Halfway through, he stopped and hid in a dead-end corridor.


    "Something is wrong; something is bloody wrong. Why are there no soldiers anywhere? He cursed some more as he tried to come up with a logical reason. But there was none, so he decided to continue, as careful as possible.


    Sneaking through the maze, he didn''t come across a single soldier, and he was getting spooked. At the last corridor, leading towards the large open room lined with soldiers and some hideous chair in the middle, he stopped. He heard some chittering from inside, but nothing he didn''t expect. Taking a deep, shaky breathy, he slowly snuck inside the opening, taking a look inside.


    He froze and almost turned around to run, but managed to keep still. The soldiers were there, but that wasn''t what got his first attention. Limbs, gore, and blood lay around the room, dead and dying soldier ants everywhere. Some of the worker ants were already busy dismembering them and hauling them away while two even lines of soldiers stood at the sides of the room looking at the happenings.


    Taking a quick count of the soldiers still alive, Anton felt elated. Less than half remained alive! And most importantly, the one that was usually blocking the entrance wasn''t there! That meant he had a better chance now than ever. Taking note of the workers, he waited until they were blocking the sides a bit, and rushed inside the room. No time like the present, he thought, grinning.


    Sprinting full speed across the floor, he made sure not to step in any puddles of gare, lest he slip and fall. Dodging the beetles that still ignored him, he heard screeching, and the warriors at the sides moved.


    "Not fast enough, buddies!" Feeling his prize within reach, he whisked passed the last beetle, around the throne, and towards the final stretch. He heard the warriors behind him, coming closer. But they wouldn''t make it, he rushed into the tunnel and saw the final hundred meters in front of him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "~ Aren''t you just the speedy one ~."


    Anton almost tripped when he heard the honey-sweet, high pitched voice. At the same time, a large portion of the top of the tunnel moved and began lowering. As he looked on, shocked, he saw a tall woman of astonishing beauty block his way, a large billowing black cloak on her back. Slowing down, he felt his heart skip a beat.


    "~ Thought you could slip passed my guards, after your friend? ~" The women''s voice.


    Anton stopped, just out of her reach, marveling at her perfect, jet black face and luminous red eyes.


    "What? Friend?" He said, swallowing.


    A red glow rushed from the Demoness her eyes, enveloping him, while her mouth curved down in a look of scorn. It quickly changed into a look of astonishment, and she raised her hand.


    "~ Stop. Leave him to me and go back to your posts. ~"


    Anton heard the feet behind him slow down and stopped so close he could feel the heat of the foul breath on his skin. Something scratched along the carapace covering his back, like nails across a school board. After a moment of suspense, he heard the guards walk back until it was just him and the Demoness.


    "~ So, you don''t know about the other one. A nasty piece of work that one, using one of my beloved children to draw my attention and stealing from my horde. ~" The woman''s face twisted into a horrid grimace of rage for a moment before switching back so fast it almost seemed a dream.


    "~But I digress, you are the resilient one. I recognize you now! Almost a thousand attempts, and still you come back, giving me entertainment. Although I can''t let you pass without a real ordeal, I think you deserve a reward. ~ Licking her lips, a husky look came to her face as she moved closer, bowing toward him.


    Anton wanted to back up a bit, but he couldn''t move, petrified by the gorgeous red eyes staring straight into his. Swallowing, he tried to speak but couldn''t.


    "~ Let us make a deal, yes? You can have a small reward or a large reward. If you take the small reward, I will give it to you and kill you swiftly. ~" A look of sadness crossed her face as she shook her head, causing her black hair to swirl around her sharp face.


    "~ But if you take the large reward, you will have to entertain me at your best ability. But I promise you. It will be worth it. ~" The Demoness laughed in a dusky voice, desire on her face.


    "Large..." Anton whispered, scared to the bone, and feeling like puking. But he needed to get out of here. And if he had to do everything again, he wanted something out of it.


    The Demoness laughed, showing her sharp teeth for the first time.


    "~ Good, good. Aren''t you, the brave little bug! Now let us playyyyy ~"


    Before Anton could react, she pounced forward, knocking him over and dragging him along by his ankle. He felt the world turn upside down as she dragged him along the wall up through the ceiling that he now saw had holes in it. As he saw the darkness up ahead, he knew he had made a horrid mistake.


    --


    Flagging consciousness, pain everywhere, and weightlessness that was abnormal. Anton slowly opened his eyes, looking at the floor beneath him, covered in bloody pieces of meat. His meat. To the side, a soft crunching and swallowing sound was followed by a gentle sigh.


    "~ Ahhh, so delicious. You survived till the end, little one, and now you get your reward. ~" She followed it with a horrid laugh.


    Feeling his lifeblood flow freely, Anton had no energy to reply. He had long since figured out he should have taken option one. All the pain over the last years could not stand up against what he had just been through, he knew.


    "~ Awwww, is my brave little ant tired? It is fine. ~" The Demoness licked her lips clean of blood and puss before moving towards Anton, smiling at him.


    "~ You have done well coming this far, but to do so, you took this horrid shape! And she pointed at Anton and the parts of him covering the floor.


    "~Look, ~" She raised her hand, and a figure of light and clouds grew on her palm, held in front of Anton.


    It was a horrid monster, with long, overly muscled black legs and white uneven chitting growths. A black shell covered most of the torso that seemed meant for a beetle. To its sides were four lizard arms, crooked and uneven. The head was even worse. A spider''s face mixed with a serpent head, two red eyes above an open maw with a red tongue visible to all.


    "~ Do you see what you became to get this far? Ahhh, and here is the secret. From the fourth floor onward, you reach another point! And from that moment onwards, you cannot change yourself anymore, not like now. You can change small parts, color, size, and material but not the rest. Imagine if you had to look like this forever! The only way would be to regress alllll the way back to your initial shape. And start over! ~ The beautiful face warped in one of insanity as she laughed.


    Anton let his head drop, looking at the ground. He felt darkness creep around the corners of his vision, and he felt a hand raise his head.


    "~Bye bye little one. Do come back to entertain me! ~"


    The Demoness tenderly wrapped her hands around Anton''s head and snapped his neck, and there was nothing.