《Serpentine》


 The Hellish Hollow

    Secluded in the depths of an ominously putrid marsh was an old and withered willow tree that was evidently wracked with sickness. It gave off a wilted appearance as it rotted from the inside, with ominous mushrooms sprouting here and there, accompanied by small, dark violet flowers that gave a sickly-sweet stench, both of which could be easily recognised as poisonous if anything were to wander by.


    At the base of this deathly tree was a small hole, only a couple centimetres in width, this hole lead deep into the tree''s roots, leading to a small hollow that contained an indescribable, damp chill. The hollow was directly beneath the rotting core of the tree and was no larger that a human chest cavity, it¡¯s walls consisting of aputrid looking mud that held a foul stench and rotting roots. The periphery was sprouting white mushrooms that were covered in a glossy sheen, some of which seemed to leach into the small puddle of tainted liquids and filth that covered the floor of the hollow except for a bit of ground in the center that rose slightly above the water line.


    Upon this boggy rise was a concave dip in which rested a clutch of a dozen knuckle sized eggs, these eggs were a soft white, seeming as delicate as a rose petal. Some of the eggs were grey and inert, marking those who never had a chance, others showed cracks and bulges marking those that whom were unable to escape theirironic prisons.


    Almost half of the eggs lay broken, the withered corpses of their occupants scattered across the raised ground, some hanging limply from their shells, others were scattered in the mud, wasting their last moments to find food that was never there, the strongest of the batch made it to the moat surrounding the raise ground, only to be paralysed by the tainted waters, eventually succumbing to thirst, starvation, or poison.


    Within the hollow a small cracking sound could be heard, in the middle of the devastated clutch, a lone egg that bore a dull grey pallor was quivering ever so slightly. Time passed slowly as cracks appeared across the eggs surface, bulges formed as something tried to escape its prison. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a baby Softscale snake half emerged from it¡¯s shell. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The snake was emaciated, looking much like the corpses of its siblings, its scale, which were meant to be a lustrous black, were instead a dull brownish black, much like the walls of the hollow, were encompassing a small and withered body. The little wretch had been cursed blind, bearing two lifeless white orbs, which should have been black and beady. All it could do was hear an oppressive silence, feel a damp chill that reached from the ground and air into the depths of it marrow, and taste the choking stench of death that strived to drown the baby snake.It weakly lifted its head, flicking a small grey tongue in the cloying air, following the instinct to find food it slowly slithered from its shell, trying to differentiate anything from the heavy smell of death that may hint at food.


    Seeming on deaths door the baby snake slithered forward, then suddenly stopped, it began moving again, veering to the side with as much energy as it could muster, finally stopping before an egg. The egg¡¯s occupant had only managed to break from its prison before the last of its life was snuffed out, its head dangling from the cracked shell. The baby snake, new nothing, it only drew closer to a spot were the smell of death seemed to intensify, inching forward, its tongue flicked again, only to brush the scales of the corpse,snappingback at the new sensation. Instinct drove the ignorant little creature to reach out, missing a few times before firmly grasping its siblings head in its mouth, then it began to swallow.


    A bizarre sight ensued, as the little snake smoothly slithered into the shell, a corpse thatappearedlittle different from it smoothly moved down its throat, nearly doubling the size of the little reptile. Both bones and shell creaked and cracked as they accommodated the enlarged baby snake curling inside, settling to digest the macabremeal, the only of its siblings to achieve such a feat. Closing its eye, the little snake began to rest, almost spending the last of its energy to swallow the pittance of a meal, shivering as it faced the pervasive, inexplicable chill of the hellish hallow.

 Comatose

    The little snake survived its rest, and slithered out of the broken shell, leaving the excrement of its meal behind. The scene then repeated itself as the baby Softscale wandered through the clutch of eggs, following the scents of corpses to more of it¡¯s siblings which never made it beyond their prisons.


    When they were gone the hatchling eventually slithered beyond the dip and onto the rise where if found the rest of it¡¯s siblings decomposing in the mud. The little hatchling eventually got better at distinguishing the smells of death, and one by one its siblings would be gulped down as they were found, the baby expanding to twice its size, and nestling down to digest.


    Once all the weakest were gone the hatchling wandered the muddy rise, catching the corpse scent once more, it followed it to the bodies of its strongest siblings. As it drew closer the air grew moister, sparking a thirst that eating corpses had been unable to keep at bay. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    After getting a mouth full of mud, the baby snake corrected itself and swallowed one of the corpses in its way and drew closer to the tainted moat. Driven by instinct, it dropped the lower part of its head into the gruesome waters, the foul waters gathered in it jaw before being forced into the snake¡¯s gut.


    The waters contained a soul piercing chill that nearly killed the hatchling then and there. After one sip the baby quickly backed away from the waters as an opposing instinct filled the little creature¡¯s mind with a sense of danger. It only managed to get its head over ground when it fell limp.


    The chill from the air and ground that it always curled up to defend against was now invading its body from the inside as the water washed through its innards, leaching the life from it.


    The hatchling could not move, for the toxins within the waters attacked along with the chill, paralyzing the poor creature and forcing it to lose consciousness. The Softscale''s breathing and heart beat slowed to a near stop, long minuets separating each one as it entered a comatose state.

 An Idea?

    A great deal of time passed before the little snake awoke again, accompanied by a ravenous hunger and maddening thirst. With a weak flick of its tongue the Softscale could sense that the familiar stench of death filling the hollow had intensified, the dampness had grown more oppressive and the water level had risen ever so slightly, even the inexplicable chill seemed to have grow more vicious.


    The little snake was in quite the wretched state, seeming closer to deaths door than it had ever been since its birth. It slithered pitifully toward one of the last two remaining corpses, using the last of its strength to fill its withered stomach with a corpse. It even gulped down the putrid marsh mud, having digested its last meal long ego despite its comatose condition.


    After eating it lost consciousness again, then awoke and swallowed the last of its siblings, not daring to touch the water despite its burning thirst and passed out once more. When it awoke again if felt weaker than it did before, its thirst was largely to blame, however even digesting its food was spending more energy than was recovered. The hollows pervasive chill seemed to have invaded its entire body, entering its muscles, marrow and even its mind, weakening it even further.


    The hollow could be considered quite small and was no larger than a human chest cavity, however to the baby Softscale which had been small and weak to begin with and had not grown in all this time, it was large enough. It traveled back and forth, losing consciousness at times, awakening weaker than before, yet it could not find any food. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    When it once again entered the dip containing the clutch of eggs, instinct led it to an inert grey egg, it then fallowed its instincts and began its attempts to swallow it. The bones in its body creaked and cracked as it attempted to accommodate the eggs extreme proportions, seemingly about to burst.


    When the egg shell finally broke down in the snake¡¯s stomach only a wisp of life was left in the hatchling that had miraculously survived till now. With the loss of the shell, the unspeakably nauseating sludge inside filled the little creatures stomach, managing to curb both its hunger and thirst, adding a second wind to its nearly extinguished life.


    One by one the eggs were devoured, even the broken shells, until all that was left was the little snake in the middle of the dip with its unsatisfied hunger. The hollow was empty, the only food, which was poisonous, and the exit were both on the other side of the moat. Even if the little snake had the eyes to see them and knew that one of the deathly smells in the air was poisonous mushrooms that it would eat anyway, it would dare not cross those waters.


    As thirst and hunger grew, the little snake became weaker and weaker, coiling in upon itself to preserve as much energy as possible. When its state returned when it had awoken after eating its last kinsman something odd occurred, something suspiciously close to an idea, that went beyond instinct, vaguely formed in the little snake¡¯s mind.


    It slithered weakly to the moat, ingested enough mud to nearly double in size, then drank from the moat, drinking deeper and longer than last time, ignoring the sense of danger that burned in the back of its mind. It retracted its head and tried to slither away, only to fall limp as it entered a state uncomfortably close to death.

 Gloriously Warm

    In a marsh without name that covered a hundred kilometers, life flourished. The land was wild, full of plants and creatures, both big and small, normal and demonic. This large marsh was ruled by three opposing demonic beasts, the land, above and below, was ruled by the Cormic Rat. Vermin that spawned in great numbers and wielded exceptional speed, Cormic Rats attacked in fast and ferocious vermin tides, capable of uprooting forests and splitting the earth. The inhabitants of the air all gave way to the Verro and its progeny whom ruled the skies with overbearing strength and speed, able to fly faster than any bird and shatter rock with beak and talons. The rulers of the waters were the mysterious Zin Frogs, who wielded neither immense strength nor tidal number, but the most horrid of all weapons, poison.


    In the depths of the great marsh was a horrifyingly putrid bog that stretched for kilometers. Secluded in the depths of the ominous bog was an old and withered tree that was evidently wracked with sickness. It was one of the largest trees in the marsh, almost thrity meters in diameter and with roots stretching to the edges of the putrid area. The tree gave off a wilted appearance as it rotted from the inside, leaking a chilling viscous liquid from its cracked skin, with ominous mushrooms sprouting here and there, accompanied by small, dark violet flowers that gave a sickly-sweet stench, both of which could be easily recognised as poisonous if anything were to wander by.


    On a horribly thunderous day, when the winds were howling, and the rains were lashing, a foot-long rat rushed through the putrid bog. The rat had fur that bore a mostly light brown colour with dark brown roots that contained a metallic sheen. The rat¡¯s beady eyes glowed red in the pitched storm, its long white whiskers shed thick droplets of water and its centimeter-long claws dug into the water lodged mud, propelling it into a blur on its mad dash.This lone creature was in fact a Cormic Rat, with a physical strength and defence that were by no means outstanding among the demonic beasts of the marsh.


    This rat was in a poor state, it had deep gashes along its back and flanks leaking blood, it was even missing a good third of its tail. This Cormic Rat was in such a state because it was an outcast, a lower member of the vermin tides that had broken a taboo. With the loss of the greatest strength of its species it now used its second greatest strength, speed, to race the harbinger of its destruction. A piercing cry tore through the ferocious pounding of the storm, competing to be heard with the deafening thunder. The hairs on the Cormic Rat¡¯s back stood up as the wretch was engulfed in a killing intent that held an unbridled hate, emitting from an ominous figure that raged in the roiling storm clouds above.


    Battling the howling winds above, a solitary Verro raged as it tried to catch the little vermin in the storm. The Verro was a domineering avian that boasted a wingspan of two meters, as well as long sharp talons and a menacing hooked beak. The Verro¡¯s dominating nature was paired by a majestic aura given off by its lovely baby blue plumage, complimented with bright crimson primary and tail feathers, the colour also scattered across its head. The fleeing Cormic Rat had been part of a colony, that, during a time of hunger, had raided the nests of some Verros for their eggs.


    The Verro¡¯s wrath was swift and brutal, the colony was attacked by a flock of Verros, thirsting for blood they tore open the ground and a bloody slaughter ensued. Because they had provoked the Verros they were neither aided nor sheltered by the neighboring colonies, leaving this last wretch surviving on only its dwindling luck. With the Verros vastly superior speed constrained by the storm the little Cormic had a fair lead, however as exhaustion began to take its toll it arrived before a large ominous silhouette in the depths of the putrid bog.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    As the Cormic drew closer the silhouette became a huge wilted tree, ignoring all sense of danger the rat sprang among the roots searching. Under mounting pressure from the nearing Verro the Cormic found what it had on some level been hoping to find. In the roots and mud surrounding the base of the tree was a small hole, only a couple centimetres in width, this hole lead deep into the tree¡¯s roots. With terror flooding its mind the Cormic abandoned all caution and began widening the hole, with strength beyond any normal creature of its size it quickly dug out a tunnel as it dove into the earth.


    In a hollow deep within the ground a rumbling sound began to shake the walls and form ripples on the stagnant surface of a small moat. In the hollow, which was no bigger than a human chest cavity was the body of an infant snake, half of which was submerged in the unspeakably grotesque liquids that formed the moat. Its scales were dull and almost gray, with a body withered to almost half the size it should be,jowever, unbeknownst to all, a spark of life remained within the body of what was a Softscale Snake. With the rumbling of the hollow, a mysterious force that could only be described as a chill began moving within the baby¡¯s body, stirring the last breath of life left within.


    As the rumbling reached a crescendo, a rodent head came through the wall of the exit, its glowing red eyes quickly scanned the hollow only to land upon the corpse of an infant Softscale snake.Sensing an aura of danger that no Softscale had ever had before the Cormic rushed over to destroy the thing. Easily grasping the small body within its grasp, the Cormic squeezed, evoking disturbing popping sounds from the body as bones where shattered, however, just as the Cormic relaxed to asses its surroundings a chilling pain bloomed in the paw holding the baby snake.


    The snake had only stirred internally, when it sensed a presence moving toward it, without sight or much strength the poor creature was helpless as it was grasped by an unknown thing. After being picked up a dull throbbing spread through its body, accompanied by an audible cracking and popping. The Softscale Snake was generally, a pathetically weak creature, it was a normal beast that was not particularly fast and did not have the size nor the strength to constrict, it did not wield venom either. It could only eat insects, sometimes dirt or vegetation and the rare creature even weaker than itself, with a meal provided by luck every now and again. With such weak heritage, the only instinct in the little creature¡¯s mind while being crushed was to stick down its head and bite. Surprisingly, the underdeveloped fangs of the baby managed to indent the skin and prick into the skins upper layer. What would have shocked any being capable of basic thought was that the chill filling the babies body reacted. Sensing the reaction within its body, something suspiciously close to an idea, vaguely formed in the little snake¡¯s mind once more, and the chill, directed by a simple, infantile will, poured into the aggressor.


    The Cormic Rat could no longer feel its paw and shrieked in terror as an insidious chill spread up its limb, a scant energy in its body rose to fight the chill but was quickly crushed as it spread to repulse the chill emanating from the ground, air and the bite. The little snake was dropped as the Cormic began losing muscle control which soon fell to the ground shivering and thrashing. The little snake, despite its efforts truly was near death and manipulating the chilling energy had worn its mind, the only thing keeping it conscious was the chill in its body and an intoxicating aroma that filled the air.


    The aroma was emanating from the gashes along the Cormic¡¯s body that slowly oozed blood, its attention caught, the little snake neared the rat, its body now twitching as it was ravaged by the tyrannical chill. The baby neared the gash on the Cormic¡¯s back and placed its head into it, opening its mouth only to have it filled with a wonderfully warm and tasty liquid. The little snake drank more and more blood, its size growing with it as well as the dull pain from its shattered bones, however, the little snake disregarded it all, moving further and further into the gash, opening it more and more in its quest for the wonderful liquid. In a short time, the tail end of a pump yet withered infant snake disappeared into the body of the Cormic Rat, and for the first time in its life it was gloriously warm.

 Circulation

    With glowing silver eyes that could pierce through the storm the Verro saw a large silhouette that soon turned into a wilted tree. Shocked, the Verro¡¯s mind cleared, it swiftly scanned its surroundings as a mounting sense of danger filled its mind. In a fraction of a moment the Verro realized where it was and executed an almost physically impossible turn and sped off, trying to escape before the cover of the storm dissipated.


    The chill seeped into the body of the Cormic and as the rat drew closer and closer to death the chill seamed to propagate. It became denser and more ominous, only to enter the little snake, washing through its skin and muscles, joints and bones, even its merrow and mind were touched by the chill as the snake gorged itself on the blood and gore of the Cormic¡¯s innards. The Little snake soon stuffed itself and, for the first time, settled down to sleep undisturbed by the chill and with a contently full stomach, completely comfortable.When the little snake awoke again it was alive and full of energy, and though the rat had become a cold corpse the little serpent continued to stuff itself then sleep, repeating the simple activity again and again. During this short time the little snake unconsciously absorbed great amounts of the inexplicable chill that continued to gather in the rodent¡¯s corpse.


    The Softscale snake was not a species that had the strength nor the teeth to tear its food so in a short amount of time all that could be eaten from the inside was consumed and the baby emerged. What emerged from the remains of the Cormisc body was, however, not a withered and dull, corpselike infant snake, but instead, a young, adolescent snake, about half the size of the rat itself. The little snake was not actually that young, it only remained in such a state because of the lack of food and its constant accompaniment of death. Now it was no longer withered and is scales had grown darker, however they were still dull, and the snake was still weak and blind.


    When the adolescent snake emerged from the Cormic¡¯s body it was hungry, so it could only follow instinct and it try to swallow the rat. The scene seemed impossible, however, the little snake grew to an unimaginable proportion, its bones creaking and some even breaking as they used all of their strength to crush the much large rat into the snake''s stomach. After much time and effort, the little snake, with the aid of its demonic physique, accomplished its goal, only leaking a little blood internally. To digest the meal the little creature worked its way into the moat, of which it now occupied a great portion of and soon settled down, only its head and disproportioned body peaking above the waterline as it dozed off. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    While the little snake slept, mysterious changes occurred inside of its body. The toxins and chill that filled the tainted waters of the moat seeped into the little snake¡¯s body. The chill and toxins did no viciously attack the little snake as they did before, however, when interacting with the tissues and bones of the little creature, the tissues and bones began to atrophy, and the little creature slowly began to die.


    As the huge body of the rat was ever so slowly digested, the chill within it flowed, propagating, becoming denser, then, began flowing out into the little snake¡¯s body. The chill emanating from the consumed corpse flowed into the deepest parts of the snake, where it met the toxins and chill invading its body and the chill already present within. Where they met an inexplicable scene occurred, the chills and toxins mixed and flowed, beginning to circulate, this caused another wave front of chill to spread back out through the little snake¡¯s body and pass over the parts of the little snake that were slowly dying from the invading chill and toxins.


    The atrophying body was slowly revitalized, and the little snake was saved from death, left only physically weakened by the experience. The wave front of chill exited through the snake¡¯s skin, entering the surroundings once more, causing a small current to form in the stagnant waters for the first time. Changes were wrought in the little snake¡¯s body as it became the center of a strange and subtle cycle, chill and toxins flowing in, curculating and out flowing again. The most notable change occurred in the little snake¡¯s skin as a steady current of chill and toxins permeated it.

 Emergence

    The delicate current focused around the little snake began to slow, coming to a stop as the little creature stirred, causing the surface of the moat to ripple as it slowly slithered from the putrid waters. The body emerging from the toxic waters was starkly different than the body that went in, its stunted growth having surged with the intake of so mush precious food, many times did it shed, the shed skin then quickly dissolving in the toxic moat. The body was that of an older youth, stretching just a little less than a foot long, taking up much more of the small hollow''s space.


    Instead of dull dark grey scales, those that emerged from the moat were lustrously pitch black, seemingly small and soft like bubbles, offering little in the way of protection, just like those of a young and healthy Softscale Snake.Unlike the scales of a normal Softscale, the scales of the little snake were covered in an oily sheen as something ominous permeated the little creature¡¯s skin. The little snake¡¯s eyes, under the transparent scales, seemed to momentarily glow with a pallid grey light before returning to blind white orbs. A forked, crimson tongue flicked out of the little snake¡¯s mouth, bring a myriad of scents to the little creature¡¯s senses.


    As per usual, the miasma of death was oppressively thick upon the air, becoming even stronger as the little snake slept. Fascinatingly, the little snake could distinguish a great deal from the horrid miasma, giving it a vague sense of its surroundings. Both the walls and the moat had a variety of smells emanating from them, however these smells mixed in a way as to create a distinct contrast, creating two scents very familiar to the little snake. The roots and mushrooms at the edges of the hollow were also clearly distinguished, particularly the mushroom''s, which scent was among the many emanating faintly from the moat. A new smell which the little snake had never experienced before seeped into the hollow, with the disturbance of the turbid air by the Cormic¡¯s invasion, many new scents leaked from the tunnel, catching the little creature¡¯s attention.


    Attracted by the new scents and no longer fearful of the moat, the little snake began slithering toward the enlarged tunnel and entered the moat once more. It quickly slithered through the putrid waters, only slowing as it neared the tunnels entrance. Beside the entrance grew one of the lustrous white mushrooms that were scattered along the edges of the hollow, its scent piquing the little snakes hunger. Despite the sense of danger emanating from the little mushroom, which was obviously poisonous, the little snake gave no heed, having never skipping out upon a meal, no matter what it was. The feeling of dying from hunger left a far greater impression than poison ever had, so without hesitation the little snake felt out the location of the little mushroom and grabbed the succulent morsel in its mouth. Unable to pull the mushroom from the ground, the little snake broke the cap from the stalk and swallowed it.


    As the mushroom entered the little snake¡¯s body, a three-pronged attack of toxins, chill and spores began within the little snake. If the little snake was normal, it would have instantly died, as would have the Cormic and the Verro, even a Zin Frog would not dare ingest such a thing. With the body under attack the chill within the little snake activated, easily supressing and absorbing the pitiful amount contained in the mushroom. The effect of the poison was also mitigated thanks to the changes in the little snake¡¯s body, and the damage was restored as the chill swept through the body in the toxins wake.


    The spores were the most insidious of all, and had the little snake been weaker, it would have died and become the perfect incubation ground for these violent little spores. in the end, they were also suppressed by the chill within the little snake and were soon broken down to be digested. With the danger supressed the mushroom cap began to slowly be digested, and the little snake seemed to merrily continue on it¡¯s way toward the tunnel.


    The tunnel entrance was a partial pile of rubble, do to the sudden and destructive arrival of the Cormic Rat, and beyond was a steeply inclined tunnel to the surface. Without the ability to see little snake had to fumble around the awkward terrain, only able to use smell and touch, before it started its long trek upward. The time it took for the little rat to tunnel down to the hollow was around half a minuet, however it had relatively extraordinary strength and speed and was going downwards. The poor little snake was physically, very weak, even by the low standards of its species and had never had to move very far before, turning the half minuet journey down into a two hour-long journey to get up.


    The little creature discovered many new things on the way up, as the little snake moved up the earth changed, turning from a hard to grip, sloppy mud, into a more firmly packed dirt which increased its travel time. The smell of the earth changed, no longer emanating an overwhelming chill or stench of death and decay, and the air became clearer, the oppressive miasma and chill weakening as the little snake traveled higher, relieving a physical pressure it had never noticed before.


    On a dark, overcast day, at the base of a huge withered tree, sheltered in a tangle of roots both large and small was a rodent tunnel. It bore deep into the earth, creeping into the tangle of roots beneath the tree and become pitch black, seeming to suck in any light that dare intrude and a chilling aura. From this hole, a very faint slithering sound could be heard, becoming faster and more intense as it as it neared the surface, seemingly filled with anticipation. Like a demon emerging from a pit to hell, a small lustrously black snake with an oily sheen slithered from the hole, its white orb like eyes faintly glowing with a pallid grey light, and a crimson tongue greedily tasted the new world around it.


    The little snake emerged into a world that was completely overwhelming, it was much warmed than the hollow and many of the scents from the hollow below where present here, though they were much weaker, some had even changed slightly, and they were now mixed with many new scents. The little snake¡¯s head was humming with sound, in the hollow the only sounds where made by itself, in this place that now had light, yet it lacked the eyes to see, a myriad of inexplicable noises came from all around it. The little snake began to wander, investigating the scents, sounds, and sensations around it. It never strayed to far from the hole as it felt totally exposed, and eternally mystified by the strange sensation that would irregularly caress its skin, which happened to be small gusts of wind. It traveled back and forth, centimeter by centimeter, scenting, rubbing, listening, and eating almost everything, familiarizing itself with everything it could in any way it could. The area of its investigation soon expanded as it slithered over roots, mud, dirt, grass, bushes and the detritus on the ground. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Discovering the trunk of the tree, it slowly slithered around it, feeling the aura exuding from the hole, the little snake kept track of it while investigating everything around it. After circling it, the little snake tried to climb it, fumbling before successfully gripping with is belly scales and begun concertinaing up the trunk of the tree. During its climb it discovered mushrooms and flowers poking from the trunk, eating them when it could to fill its stomach, the poisons contained within were resisted by the little snake¡¯s body and any damage restored when the chill in its body swept through afterward.


    Surprisingly there were small traces of chill within the flowers and mushrooms, though not nearly as concentrated as in the mushrooms of the hollow, the little snake began hunting them, finding the small bit of chill to be quit satisfying. It started taking bites out of the tree when it reached the canopy above and found parts that were quite rotten and leaking pungent liquids, discovering again, minute traces of chill. The little snake began a feeding frenzy as if ate out many greatly rotting parts of the tree, even taking pieces of the roots if they were rotten enough. As the little snake climbed up and down the tree it discovered that the air became cooler and the sensation caressing its skin grew ever so slightly stronger as it went higher, it even carried scents with it.


    When the little snake reached the bottom of the tree, it followed some newly discovered scents and started slithering toward the hole, circling it, feeling the aura it gave off, as it became more comforting the longer the little creature stayed outside. The little snake slithered away from the hole and the withered tree, the terrain shortly began to decline, and the air grew cooler and damper. As the little snake advanced different sounds came to the fore, a constant soft sound that was only faint background noise before became much more pronounced, there were also strange sharp sounds that came from all around and low sounds that came from in front. These noises were the swaying of the marsh grass in the breeze, the chirping of birds and insects around the marsh and the jumping of fish in the waters beyond the grass. When the little snake heard the chirping of the insects and the birds, it felt hunger and danger both, for though it did not know what made them, the delicious taste of the rat faintly played along its palate.


    The ground soon became softer and sparser, just small stalks of grass sticking up from the mud, before suddenly turning into a dense wall of marsh grass. The little snake analyzed the wall of grass, before tentatively entering, becoming surrounded by the soft swooshing of the grass in the breeze, oddly enough the little snake seemed quite pleased as it slithered through the sea of grass. At the edge of the sea of grass, where it meets the open waters of the marsh small, low sounds could be heard as tadpoles surfaced and dived, some had even began growing feel and climbed on to the shore of loosely packed mud and marsh grass roots.


    As the little creatures played the little snake stuck its head out of the wall of grass not far away, sensing the activity, it shifted its head and flicked its tongue, scenting the tadpoles, slowly it retracted its head and moved through the grass, only to reappear among the group of tadpoles. The smaller tadpoles that had yet to grow any form of feet scattered, however, the larger ones paid the snake no mind, not as it drew closer, not as it flicked its tongue. The little creatures only reacted when the largest tadpole, about the size of the snake¡¯s head that was mostly purple with blue rings filled with green found itself in the little snake¡¯s mouth and swallowed.


    It had to be known that, except for some small differences, the little snake looked exactly like a Softscale Snake, which was below even these tadpoles on the food chain. One touch from these tadpoles would be toxic enough to kill a dozen Softscale Snakes, meaning that even if one fell into the little snake¡¯s mouth, the little snake should be dead before if could swallow it. Most creatures, even stronger demon beast, instinctively avoid the little tadpoles, one can forget about the weak Softscale Snakes, even though the little tadpoles sensed the poison it on the little snake, it could not hurt them, so they ignored it. The vicious little snake felt the instinct to avoid the little creatures, however, paradoxically, the little snake had grown up learning to ignore most of its instincts in favor of hunger. Feeling hungry now, the little snake swallowed down the little tadpole, having killed it with the chill as soon as it grabbed the tadpole.


    When the little snake made its move, the rest of the tadpoles finally felt a sense of danger, and swiftly disappeared into the waters of the marsh before the little snake could react. The little snake was about to move on when it suddenly stopped, where once the marsh was full of sounds now only the waving of the grass could be heard, as if the marsh was holding its breath, pitying the stupid little snake. From the eerie silence a lonely croaking began to sound in the distance in front of the little snake. Feeling danger the little snake swiftly turned around and retreated as fast as its weak body would allow.


    As the little snake retreated the croaking closed in behind it, soon followed by a splashing sound as something moved up behind it, filling the little snakes mind with terror. In its crazed escape to the hole, it managed to exit the grass sea and reach solid ground, however, before it could move any farther a thump sounded in front of it, followed by an ominous croak and a noxious scent. Before the little snake sat one of the infamous Zin Frogs, this one had sickly yellow eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light and had a green body with blue rings filled with purple dotted across it. The little snake felt terribly exposed and threatened, unable to move under the killing intent of the Zin Frog.

 Life and Death Struggle

    The little snake only heard a hacking sound and instinctively flinched, only the feel a terrible burning spread along its body as it received the Zin Frog¡¯s attack. What hit the little snake was the Zin Frog''s spit, containing extremely strong toxins and a burning acid. The spit splashed along it¡¯s back and right side, the little snake would have received it straight in the face if it had not flinched back in that moment. The little snake had made little noise during it''s life, now, the little snake let loose something chillingly close to a shriek. The little snake did not know how to react, the enemy was evidently a distance away, yet it could still harm the little snake.


    Instinct suppressed the confusion in the little snake''s mind, directing the little snake to begin closing in on the Zin Frog, which was no more than a meter away. The sight, if viewed from afar, was quite pitiful, the little snake, with its weak physique, couldn¡¯t match the Zin Frog as it easily moved around the ground, striking the little snake with it¡¯s toxic, acid spit. Every time the Zin Frog spat, a hacking sound could be heard, giving the little snake a split moment to try to avoid the noxious projectiles. Every time the little snake tried to dodge the projectiles it would only partially succeed, protecting its head while taking the projectiles with parts of its body.


    The little snake squirmed on the ground as a variety of toxins surged through its body, the damage being only marginally mitigated by the chill circulating within the little snake''s body. The rampaging toxins on the inside were joined by the acids eating away at the little snake¡¯s scales, causing it to screech as its skin bubbled, scabbed and burst. The acid leached down into the tissues beneath the skin, the power within battling the chill that had risen up to suppress it. The toxins of the frog were different from any the little snake had encountered before, being particularly vicious and seemingly driven by an abnormal power that worked against the suppression of the chill. The confusion in the little snake¡¯s mind intensified as it could not find out how it was being attacked, mobilizing the chill within it¡¯s body to protect itself.


    As the situation grew increasingly dire, the little snake attempted to release the chill from it¡¯s body to try countering the incoming attacks. The intent that filled the little snake¡¯s mind affected the chill within it¡¯s body, causing it to roil and churn violently as it circulated within the little snake, soon becoming surging waves that helped suppress the acid and toxins ravaging it¡¯s body. The little snake opened it¡¯s mouth as, from deep within it¡¯s body, a wave of chill passed up it''s throat, and spilled from the gaping mouth.


    This entire process happened almost instantly from the Zin Frog¡¯s prospective. The frog could only see the dull white eyes of the little snake, which had been writhing in pain, suddenly come to life with an ethereal grey light as it opened it¡¯s mouth. From the little snake¡¯s mouth and nose poured a fine, pale blue mist that seemed to devour all warmth from the surroundings. The mist began pooling around the little snake as it was spewed, quickly rising to obscure it¡¯s battered body, and creating a small, billowing cloud that enshrouded an area three times the little snake¡¯s length. The pale blue cloud rested only a meter from the Zin Frog, causing it to sense danger for the first time, in response it could only begin spewing more and more projectiles into the mist. The spit that entered the mist was suppressed by the chill that pervaded it, becoming weaker and slower, as if the mist was denser than it had any right to be, causing the projectiles to miss the little snake enshrouded within.


    The most bizarre sensation filled the little snake¡¯s mind, within the confines of the cloud, it could vaguely sense the area around it. There were no defined details, only the sense of the detritus ridden solid ground stretching out around it, and open space above. What caught the little snake¡¯s attention were the projectiles entering it¡¯s field of perception, appearing as flying points of brighness as the power within conflicted with the chill of the mist. The little snake¡¯s rage took over as it perceived the direction the spit came from, its will propelling the mist in the direction of the Zin Frog.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    The mist seemed to suddenly lunge toward the Zin Frog, revealing the little snake and quickly traversing the one meter distance and catching it by surprise, though startled, with it¡¯s quick reflexes, the frog escaped the enveloping mist while counter attacking with a spit projectile. The Zin Frog did not escape unscathed, a small gust of the pale blue mist attacked the rear leg of the frog, easily seeping through the porous skin. The chill that seeped into the Zin Frog began to attack viciously, it did little actual damage as a power suffused into the frog¡¯s body rose to combat it. The pain of the chill was enough to make the frog miss it''s landing, causing it to stumble. The little snake could sense the small amount of chill battling within the frog, with this strange sense it mobilized the rest of the cloud that had missed to attack again.


    The frog was only momentarily stunned, but it was far to late to dodge, and it could only use its life saving move, regurgitating the contents of it¡¯s stomach, that appeared as a black bile filled with grisly toxins and vicious acids, into the pale blue mist that had almost devoured it. When the two forces met, they seemed to both mix and repel as they fell to the ground in a hissing, bubbling grey goop. The goop quickly evaporated, leaving a patched of dead grey ground, emanating a toxic haze, however, the end result of the exchange just barely favoured the little snake. When the mist and bile had clashed, a great majority of the mist imploded on th point of contact to kill the momentum of the noxious projectile, however, because of the mists physical nature, tendrils of fine, pale blue mist wound around the frog¡¯s body and entered it. The two creatures faced off as their bodies were ravaged by their opponents¡¯ vicious attacks.


    The pressure on the frog increased as more chill wormed its way into it¡¯s body, causing the battle within to grow in ferocity. The Zin Frog was paralyzed from the pain, it¡¯s once vibrant colours had become dull, obscured by patches of grey here and there. The chill had wormed into the frog¡¯s muscles, where an opposing force kept it at bay, stopping it from invading the blood and circulating through it¡¯s vulnerable innards. The little snake was in a similar situation, is body horribly scarred by the acids in the frog¡¯s saliva, the chill within it¡¯s body was also battling the toxins seeping into the muscle layers.


    Unlike the frog, the little snake was not paralyzed, and despite the pain two coherent impulses vied within it. The instinct to flee from such a confrontation urged the little snake to escape while it could, the impulse resisting it was the indescribable urge to kill the thing that had driven the little snake to this point. The impulses lasted for no longer than a breath¡¯s time before they were overwhelmed by an all to familiar instinct, the little snake had driven itself to it¡¯s limit, expending great amounts of energy, now, it was hungry.


    The little snake ignored the damage to it¡¯s body and slithered toward the struggling frog, though it would eat it, the little snake dared not attempt to eat the frog while it still lived, for it wold be unimaginably vulnerable, and even extensive movements on the part of the frog could damage the physically weak snake. When the little snake sensed the frog directly in front of it, it reached out and bit into the frog, however, like with the rat, it could only break a small layer of skin, it¡¯s small and underdeveloped fangs only barely gaining purchase. The little snake mobilised it¡¯s will and the toxins and chill within it¡¯s body wormed its way into the fist sized Zin Frog, just as the toxins coating the fog¡¯s skin began seeping into the little less than a foot-long snake, beginning their last life and death struggle.


    The struggle lasted for long moments only ending when the Zin Frog¡¯s defences fell to the ever-encroaching chill. By the time it won, the little snake was already half dead, it was covered in burn scar tissue and it¡¯s scales had turned purple from the poison, damaged to the point that they ripped, oozing green tinged blood from only rubbing against the ground. The little snake felt an alternating hot and cold burning sensation spreading through it¡¯s body and had already lost all sensation in it¡¯s tail, mouth and throat unable to taste anything.


    The little snake¡¯s mind was drowned in an exhausted, pain induced haze, it¡¯s breaths coming in haggard and strained. The little snake nearly choking itself to swallow the unsatisfying meal, by the time the frog died it had already turned cold and it did not become any better as the snake paused to recover. The little snake painted a wretched sight as it¡¯s battered body slithered toward the hole in an absent-minded haze, completely unaware of the ominous silence that suffused the putrid marsh.

 The Zin Frog

    The little snake reacted to the familiar presence of the hole, dragging its battered body in and beginning the long journey down to the hollow. In it¡¯s weakened state, the little snake felt comforted by oppressive miasma and chill that grew stronger as it quickly rolled and stumbled its way deeper into the ground, oblivious to the searing pain wracking it''s body. Entering the hollow and hanging on to its last spark of consciousness, the little snake did everything it could to alleviated it¡¯s hunger, circling the perimeter of the hollow, it ate all the mushroom caps, ingested a sizable portion of muddy dirt from the central ground and washed it down the moat''s putrid liquid.


    Sated, the little snake could no longer hold on, only managing to slip into the moat before finally losing consciousness as it''s body sunk beneath the surface, just it''s muzzle breaching the water line allowing the little creature to breath. The little snake''s battered and scared body lay suspended in the stagnant liquid, stretching down into the depths below. The breathing of the little snake softened and it''s pulse slowed, seeming to cease for minuets at a time as it once more entered a comatose state, in moments changes began in the little hallow.


    Within the little snake¡¯s stomach, the body of the frog was brimming with chill after the two''s last life and death struggle. The chill within it flowed deep within into the body where it¡¯s own power once flowed, propagating and becoming denser as the body turned to gruel to be slowly digested. The white mushrooms within the little snake¡¯s stomach released minute sparks of chill that mixed with the chill beginning to radiate from within the frog¡¯s corpse. The toxins from both the frog and the mushrooms seeped into the noxious liquid the little snake had drank, where they began worming into the little snakes already battered body, damaging internal tissues.


    At the same time, the chill from the frog, mushrooms, putrid liquid, the ground, and other things it ate while on the surface mixed and condensed, flowing into the deepest parts of the snake. In the depths of the little snake¡¯s body a seen very similar to when it devoured the Cormic Rat occurred, from the stagnant liquid of the moat, the miasma in the air, and dead ground, toxins and chill seeped in to the little snake¡¯s body.


    Both the chill and toxins moving inward and outward met the chill and toxins already naturally present in the little snake''s body, where they met the chills and toxins mixed and flowed, turning the steady circulation within the little snake into a roaring tide. A wave of chill and toxins surged through the little snake¡¯s body, touching upon the little creature¡¯s merrow and innards, a small trace even entered the small and delicate brain. As the surging wave passed through the little snake¡¯s body it began suffusing into the bones, joints, muscles, blood and skin in greater and greater amounts from one to the other, tearing, burning, and dissolving the body, especially where there were injuries.


    With pain that assaulted the little creature''s unconscious mind, the wave front of chill exited through the snake¡¯s skin, entering the surroundings and causing a small current to form in the stagnant waters once more. Changes were wrought in the little snake¡¯s body as it became the center of a strange and subtle cycle, chill and toxins flowing in, circulating and flowing out again, however, something new happened this time.


    Though unconscious, fear tormented the little creatures dormant mind, causing a change in the currents pervading the little snake''s body. Within the raging waves of circulating toxins and chill, a small wave front of pure chill rose from deep within the violent current. With no life or death threat this small wave front circulated relatively slowly, building up momentum overtime so as to not place unneeded strain on an already heavily damaged body. The wave front slowly increased in both size and strength, eventually surging up the little snake¡¯s throat, and with a shallow breath the chil came pouring from the nose as a fine, pale blue mist.


    The mist slowly spread, shrouding the moat and enveloping the central ground in a thin haze of pale blue mist. The haze did not just hang there, as the temperature in the hollow plummeted, the mist suspended just above the surface of the moat condensed imperceivably, forming little droplets of chill that floated down and touched the moats liquid surface. The little droplets of chill rolled upon the moat''s liquid surface, drawing in and exuding chill, condensing and dispersing to join the miniature clouds above, even seeming to defy all logic and flipping from the surface to just beneath, only to continue rolling around.


    The cloud of chill seemed to slip into the walls of the hollow, worming into the dying roots of the great tree above and the broken mushroom stalks, down into the hyphae below. The haze began circulating, drawing toward the little snake as it breathed in, drawn from the ground, the moat, the roots and the mushroom stalks, only spreading out again as the little snake breathed out. With each cycle the pale blue mist grew denser and denser, evolving from a thin haze into a dense shroud. The morbidly beautiful display of twin currents in the moat and air though complex, took only moments to from, however, it only lasted for mere moments before it was suddenly and brutally disrupted.


    Out side the hollow a short time after the little snake¡¯s disappearance into it¡¯s hole, the sky seemed to grow minutely darker and the silence became overwhelming and oppressing, only to be shattered by an enraged croaking. The lone croak was joined by others, none of them quite as impactful as the first, yet the enraged din was enough to send a shiver down the spine of every living thing in the putrid marsh. A light thumping was soon audible in the distance, closing in from the same direction as the Zin Frog now being slowly digested by the little snake.


    The thump continued, only to be followed by a sudden splash sounding out over the turbid waters surrounding the isle of land the tree sprang from. Ripples spread along the water as a dark shape quickly swam through it, closing in on the shores of the isle. From the murky waters two yellow eyes appeared, flashing as they glared into the small sea of tall marsh grass where the little snake caught the tadpole. The eyes swiftly disappeared back into the depths, only for a dark mass to come flying from the water, and crossing the marsh grass in two hops, before coming to solid ground where it become still again.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Sitting among the detritus was a Zin Frog, unlike the little frog currently being digested in the little snake¡¯s stomach, the Zin Frog sitting here was a true example of its species, capable of striking fear into creatures even stronger than it. The size of the Zin Frog was many times larger than it¡¯s deceased kin, reaching roughly the size of a human head, it''s body was mostly light blue dotted with vibrant violet rings filled in with a murky green, glistening all over with an ominous sheen. The Zin Frog¡¯s eyes glowed a sickly yellow as it scanned the area, with it¡¯s senses the frog easily made out where the live and death struggle of the two smaller creatures occurred, with a small leap the large frog landed in the area of the battle.


    Three places stood out, one was peppered in little craters and troughs, indication where the little snake attempted to avoid the little frog¡¯s spit projectiles. The second area of interest was a trail of corroded ground leading to a patch of grey, where the ground itself seemed to have been poisoned, and though the toxic haze was no longer there, the air around it was still quite foul. The place that stood out the most was where the frog and snake entered their final entanglement, the place filled with the signs of a struggle and reeking of death.


    The sent of death and foulness usually pervaded the air of the putrid marsh, and the light breeze had slightly dissipated the scent, however, to the unimaginably enhanced senses of a demon beast like the adult Zin Frog, the scent from the little snake was easy to detect. The scent of death was so clear the Zin Frog could even detect the small trace that left the area, overlapping with a disturbance in the ground that looked similar to a small wave pattern. The Zin Frog¡¯s eyes narrowed, the sickly yellow glow growing in intensity as it followed the wave pattern with it¡¯s eyes in the direction of a great and decrepit tree.


    With a single hop the Zing Frog landed only feet away from the beginning of the tree¡¯s tangle of roots, immediately sensing a stronger scent of death upon the air and locating a hole in the ground that exuded an ominous aura. The faint trail of death scent from the scene of the battle disappeared into the hole, leading to the conclusion of the Zin Frog¡¯s search. The Zin Frog paused, seeming to think over some things before slowly opening its mouth, the mouth opened to a preposterous degree before stopping, the eyes disappearing as the frog seemed to open nearly in half. From the Zin Frog¡¯s open mouth, a thin dark green smoke began to pour, slowly pooling around it, growing thicker and darker with every passing moment. With a slight exertion of the Zin Frog¡¯s will a mysterious power within caused the dark green cloud began to move, flowing along the ground as more smoke poured out of the frog¡¯s gaping mouth, creating a moving stream of smoke that extended toward the hole in the ground.


    When the dark green smoke reached the hole in the ground the smoke seemed to part around it, only leaving a thin haze, as it it dared not get to close, however, with a grumble of irritation the Zin Frog, mobilised the smoke. The stream of smoke seemed to condense slightly before it enveloped the hole, causing a seen that would turn stomachs with dread as the slowly swirling smoke poured down the hole like a slow moving liquid.


    As long minutes passed the smoke continued to pour from the frog¡¯s mouth without ending, weakening or pausing, causing a small whirlpool to form over the hole. Within the hole the smoke fell slowly, as it fell the miasma of death grew more oppressive, becoming an almost physical force as the smoke seemed to slow down even more when the oppressive traces of chill began appearing in the tunnel. On the surface the Zin Frog¡¯s closed eyes flashed and the green smoke pouring from is mouth became thicker and the speed of the stream and whirlpool grew quicker, causing the smoke below the surface to fall faster as it pushed against chill that began appearing like a haze as it pervaded the air and walls of the tunnel.


    As time passed the Zin Frog lost all patience, with a withering flash of sickly light the dark green smoke pouring from its mouth began to contain traces of blue gas that contained even greater power, the flow began to speed up yet again. Deep within the tunnel the cascading smoke began to hold traces of blue gas and began plowing through the thickening chill and miasma of death, slowly whirling as it imitated the flow of the whirlpool above.


    In the hollow the shroud of chill grew thicker with each passing moment as the twin currents grew stronger, however, the peaceful moments were shattered as a tyrannical, dark green smoke, containing wisps of blue gas ploughed into the hollow. The rolling wave front of smoke and the power within clashed with the shroud of chill, causing an impact that shook the hollow, shaking dirt from the ceiling and wall to fall into the moat bellow. The clash soon became vicious as chill poured from the walls of the hollow in a dense, pale blue mist, clashing with the invading smoke and the power within, causing the walls the tremble again.


    The smoke overpowered the chill no matter how it viciously it defended against it, soon the hollow was filled with the noxious smoke, leaving only a miniscule space between it and the surface of the moat. The tenuous balance lasted for a mere moment before all the chill in the hollowed flowed into the body of the little snake that hung suspended in the putrid liquid of the moat. With subtle yet overwhelming force the smoke came in contact with the surface of the moat causing a violent reaction, the moat began to spit and boil as the vicious acid, noxious toxins and mysterious force within the smoke clashed, mixed and melded with the mass of putrid liquid in the moat. The violent reaction reached deep into the moat, enveloping the battered body of the little snake as the smoke assaulted it''s exposed snout.


    In a comatose state there was very little the snake could do, the overflowing chill contained within it''s body ferociously clashed with the forces of the moat and the smoke, flash incinerating it''s scales and damaging all the tissues below. The protective scale over the little snake''s eyes disappeared and the white orbs underneath dissolved, inflicting enough pain to awaken the little creature before it lost consciousness once more. In it''s moment of awareness, fear and pain shattered the little creature''s mind, letting lose a shrill, blood chilling screech beneath the boiling waters, as chill tore through it''s body.


    Above the ground, the flow of gas ceased at last and the Zin Frog closed its mouth, as the last of the smoke disappeared into the ground the frog''s eye opened with a flash, overflowing with killing intent and pride from crushing a creature much weaker than itself. with a final croak of triumph, the Zin Frog turned around and jumped into the waters of the marsh with two grand leaps, disappearing into the murk of the putrid marsh.