The elevator started moving downward since the button Dig pressed was on a lower floor, but after a while, the lights flickered, and it suddenly sped up as though it had slipped out of the elevator shaft.
He was on his way to the Underbelly. This time around, Dig was prepared for it, so he managed to keep his composure a little better when he felt his stomach rise to his throat. He floated up off the floor and hovered in the middle of the elevator with his arms out in a vain attempt to steady himself until the elevator slowed down.
The pressure made his legs bend and forced him to put his hands on his knees, but he refused to end up in as disgraceful a state as last time.
Finally, the Shuttle hit the ground with a thud, and the doors dinged open to reveal the golden wheat field of the Underbelly.
The lump in his stomach was still there, and he didn't step out immediately. He wondered if the Shuttle would take him back to the surface if he stayed in it. Maybe then, he wouldn't have to die again, whether it be on the surface or in the Underbelly.
Although he still didn't want to accept it, there wasn't much doubt left that was what was happening to him.
He wasn't getting vivid, anxiety-induced prophetic dreams or seeing the future. He was dying and going back in time somehow.
It was not a nice feeling to die. Last time, he hadn't felt it, but it was still uncomfortable to wake up back in time. But the other times had been strictly painful even before he died.
More importantly, though, was the fact that he didn't know how it worked.
What if he only had three tries? If he died this time, it might be his last.
On the flip side, what if he had too many tries to count? What if he could die as many time as he wanted?
Dig shivered at the thought as a chill ran down his spine.
Dying three times was enough. He had to make this one count and make it more than a day, at least. The only way he wanted to die was of old age. Anything else could fuck off.
With a sigh, he stepped out of the Shuttle. As though it had been tired of waiting for him, the doors slammed shut, and it zipped back up in the air as soon as Dig was out.
"Rude."
"I guess if that's all you have to say, you aren't the type to be bothered by kidnappings and strange, secondary locations?" A bearded man popped up from the wheat field and asked while looking over Dig with a curious gaze.
"Ah, no, I'm not a fan of kidnappings at all, actually. It's just…The past few days have been…" Dig trailed off, not sure what to say.
The bearded man nodded in understanding.
"Gotya. The Shuttle is just one of several bothersome things."
"Exactly."
"Well, let's get you settled in first, then, and we can deal with the rest later. Down here in the Underbelly, there shouldn't be much to disturb your young mind." The bearded, oddly broad-shouldered for how skinny he was, man started walking toward the Village in the distance.
As they walked in silence, Dig kept scanning the field around them, tendrils of grey mist circling around his fingers, ready to shoot out at a moment's notice. He was waiting for the Snake from last time, but maybe because they weren't talking, it didn't seem to have shown up.
Dig hesitated.
He didn't want to die. He had died the last time he encountered the Snake. He should be satisfied with not encountering it again.
But at the same time, he had two things he wanted, regarding the Snake. Naturally, he wanted revenge.
Dig rubbed the side of his chest, where he had been hit the other time.
Secondly, he wanted to fight and test the limits of his stony haze. He had heard and read multiple times that most people reached the Naming stage by doing things like that. Or rather, fighting, in general, was the best way to progress through the stages, at least for combat-oriented Boons.
So, Dig did something a little foolish.
"I'm Dig. What's your name?" He didn't want to keep thinking of the bearded man as the bearded man or Beardie, after all.
The bearded man looked back at Dig for a couple of seconds before answering.
"Beardie. Well, it's not my name, but it's what I'm called here."
"Huh?" Dig's head bobbed in confusion.
"It's tradition. We don't use names down here. Just nicknames. That's why I am trying to forget your name and come up with a fitting nickname for you."
"Why is—"
Beardie held up a finger to his mouth to silence Dig. Dig was ready for it and instantly went quiet.
He looked and listened for the Snake. For a few seconds after Beardie shushed him, he heard a rustling among the reeds. Then, silence.
Beardie gestured for Dig to follow him without making noise and turned back toward the Village again. They managed seven steps before the field split open, and the four-legged, two-armed Snake lunged.
Last time, it had lunged at Beardie. This time, however, it lunged at Dig. There was no howl before the attack, and it wasn't the same target. Two things diverged from the past Dig used as a guidebook, but that didn't mean he was caught by the ambush.
He threw himself to the side, narrowly dodging the gnarled claws of the Snake's wide swipe. The Snake landed with a twist, and its back half slid on the ground as it turned around in one swift movement.
It let out a sharp howl like a siren as it opened its maw wide, revealing several rows of jagged teeth, big and small.
'That works.'
Dig had already shot his stony mist at the Snake, hoping to, at the very least, take its eyes, if not its entire head, with the Boon that liked grinding things to dust. But the Snake opened its mouth as wide as it could, laying bare a path to its soft insides.
Dig and his Boon did not mind it one bit, and the stony mist snuck into the Snake like a ghost, tearing apart its mouth, tongue, throat, chest, and stomach from within.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as fast as Dig would have liked, and the Snake, blood dripping from its mouth like saliva, leaped at Dig again.
Dig, still on his ass, had two options. Try to roll out of reach of the beast's claws and arms. Or he could kick it in the face.
The arms were powerful and spinning like windmills. Getting hit once was enough. Dig wasn't taking that risk again, and, considering how long Beardie's arm had held up last time, the Snake's bite wasn't too scary.
Dig quickly decided it was doable.
When the Snake came flying with claws and teeth, Dig raised a leg and kicked it in the jaw with a neat flick of his lower leg. It wasn't a powerful kick by any means, far from enough to knock it out.
But it shut the Snake's mouth and tilted its head upward, forcing it to look at the barren sky instead of the ground.
On instinct, it spread its legs to stabilize itself. That ended up making it land around Dig instead of on top of him.
Dig froze for a second, his heart pounding like the hooves of a racehorse. Then, he saw the mottled chest of the beast right in front of him.
He acted without thinking.
He put his hand on the Snake's partially furry body and pulled his Boon right out. The mist forced its way out like a cloud of metal dust. At first, droplets of blood followed it out, splashing on Dig's lap like gentle rain.
Then, the chunks of the mist started hitting the beast's ribcage. Larger portions of the mist forced their way out, tearing away tufts of skin and fur. Then, the first chunk of stone broke through, shattering the ribcage.
The Snake howled as best it could in pain with a torn throat. Bloody mucus spilled out of its throat with the gurgling cry. It stumbled, quickly losing strength.
With a final tug, Dig pulled the rest of his Boon out of the beast, opening the Snake's chest like a stubborn door. It finally burst in a spray of blood, bone, and organs, showering Dig in the unholy mess.
Dig felt a chunk of something fly into his open mouth. Before he could spit it out, the beast collapsed on top of him.
'Ah, shit.'