The days that followed weren't a life, but rather, duration management.
Train. Calories in. Calories out. Sleep. Repeat.
Until I found myself standing before the mouth of the cave.
A dark fissure at the base of a limestone cliff. A draft blew from within, carrying the thick stench of ammonia and an ancient dampness. It wasn't a tourist attraction. This was either a massive drainage pipe or... a nest.
I lit a makeshift torch—a pine branch wrapped in sap. The flame flared up, struggling against the thin oxygen. I stepped inside.
The firelight danced wildly, casting long, shifting shadows against the rock walls. Stalactites hung sharply from the ceiling, like thousands of hypodermic needles waiting for gravity to do its work.
Structural Analysis: Sedimentary rock. Brittle. Humidity 90%.
The texture of the cave floor changed.
Crack.
I looked down. It wasn't gravel.
Bone.
Thousands of bones piled ankle-deep. Deer skulls, wild boar femurs, and... something that closely resembled a human ribcage.
Schk... schk... schk...
The sound echoed from the depths. Not footsteps. Friction. Hard scales grinding against limestone.
I extinguished the torch. Total darkness instantly swallowed the space. In a confined, unfamiliar space, sight was a liability. I shifted my reliance to my hearing.
The scraping drew closer. Heavy. Long. An object moving with massive bulk, dragging its body across the floor.
I held my breath. Slowed my heart rate as much as physically possible. Manual bradycardia. If this was a cave snake, odds were its eyes were blind or useless. It would 'see' through heat and vibration.
Two yellow dots flared in the dark.
I was wrong. It could see. Or it was bioluminescence.
A serpent.
Its diameter was the size of an oil drum. Its length stretched into the unseen shadows. Pitch-black scales absorbed whatever little ambient light existed. It stopped. A forked tongue flicked out, tasting the particulates in the air.
It smelled me. The scent of an alien creature brimming with the bear's crystal energy.
I couldn't run. The exit was too far.
I couldn't fight. Its hide was as thick as a dump truck tire. My bone spear would just shatter.
Rapid calculation.
Option A: Direct assault. Fatality probability: 99%.
Option B: Concealment. Detection probability: 100%.
Option C: Environmental manipulation.
My eyes darted upward. A massive stalactite hung directly above the serpent's head. It dangled precariously, connected by a thin neck of rock.
I reached into my pocket. The bear's crystal. The object was still hot, unstable. Ever since I ripped it from its host, perhaps due to the impact, its energy had been leaking, seeking an outlet. Like a swollen lithium battery.
If I threw it at the snake, its scales would deflect it.
But if I threw it at the ceiling...
The serpent hissed. It coiled its massive body, a spring ready to snap.