Too much time. I had spent far too much time in this room. My sense of time at this point is so warped and distorted it might as well not even be there. I can’t tell the difference between hours, days, weeks, and months anymore they all seem the same now. All I know is that it has been a while since I set that cultist on fire. Probably a long while.

Worse than that though was my increasingly degrading sanity. It was…starting to slip. I had barely been able to hold on thanks to my intense deep-seated hate for these cultists, my own discoveries involving mana, and a few other side projects. They just gave me something to do, something to distract from the reality that I was confined to a tiny room with nothing to offer except torture and rotting wooden planks for walls.

But it wasn’t working anymore. I couldn’t keep developing magical abilities while I was trapped in here because it’s gotten too fucking risky to keep practicing mana skills and because it had become too difficult. The risk lies in the fact that all of the fucking skills I had learned were visible to the cultist despite their lack of mana perception. After several analyses, I had discovered that once mana is condensed enough it becomes very much visible to the human eye without any need for mana perception. The problem with this was that all the fucking mana skills I had learned and probably every fucking mana skill were just heavily condensed mana shapes with a twist on them! My own mana bolt skill for example was perfectly visible and I can’t use them if I don’t want to be caught. The difficulty lies in the fact that I can’t actually progress my skills under these circumstances. Even mana manipulation, which I should theoretically be able to level up indefinitely, progress has halted all but to a stop. It seems after a while the only way to level shit up is through killing other shit. Makes sense a place like this would encourage almost mindless violence. Not that I have any real problem with it, at least not anymore.

If all goes well, I should be getting a nice big batch of levels. I had more or less formulated a plan on how to get out of here a while ago but only recently did I really decide on it. My decision was helped by my ever-increasing understanding of the language the cultists were speaking in. I certainly wouldn’t call myself fluent or anything but I had progressed far more since I had first started. I had learned more than a few things, most of it worthless to me, but easily the most important piece of knowledge I had managed to get ahold of was essentially the how and when the ritual would take place. My body had been progressing nicely so far according to the cultist and pretty soon I would be ready to host whatever the hell god it was they worshipped. It was strange, whenever they tried to say the name it was like something cut the sound off from my ears. Just silence even though lips were moving. Nothing to really worry about though I guess. I did know the name they were actually saying from that description, Eluparity, it was just weird.

According to what I’ve been hearing from these sadistic fucks basically, the ritual involved surrounding me with a bunch of those green crystals, saying some stupid ritual bullshit, and then stabbing me to death with a special knife or something. Then their god moves into my body and takes it for their own. It was probably more complicated than that but not like it matters. Either way, it was absolutely unacceptable. No way in hell after literal years of torture am I going to be sacrificed and used by some stupid fucking cult full of dipshits. No way in hell am I going to die after being ripped from my normal peaceful life by some all-powerful creature who decided he was bored and needed some entertainment. No no no NO NO NO!

I’m going to free myself from these chains that have been holding me down for god knows how long and then I’m going to wipe this cult off the fucking face of this planet. And I’m going to enjoy it, thoroughly. Once I’ve done that once I can walk free, I’ll kill that thing that sent me here. I don’t care how long it takes and I don’t care what it takes. It doesn’t matter how much life needs to be snuffed out, how many atrocities need to be committed, what kind of creature I have to become, none of it matters. Nothing. Nothing except killing that thing.

All I could do for now however was wait and try to keep my mind from slipping off the edge. Although it might be a bit too late for the former. I was fairly certain that I was seeing things. Like how these walls kept getting closer and closer. I know it shouldn’t be possible I recognize that but I feel like I’m slowly but surely being crammed into a box. I can’t sleep properly anymore either. A constant chain of nightmares has followed me for what feels like months. On top of all this, I don’t even see the living creatures properly anymore. Predator’s sight. Its ability allows me to essentially see the vital spots on a creature's body. When I first gained the perk it was almost unnoticeable, a meer glimmer where vitals were, but now it seems to have permanently warped my perception of reality. I don’t know if it's a combination of my deteriorating sanity but every time I see anything alive now it's a walking corpse. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just the cultist that I viewed like this. All I did was think of ways to kill them. But it was always their vitals or weak points now. Eyes, genitals, major organs, throat. Always places like those punctured or slit and it wouldn’t go away. At first, I thought it was just the cultist but it wasn’t. I saw a bug the other day, it was moving on my slab. The thing was smashed and split open. I didn’t even realize what it was at first. I thought it was just a dead bug but the thing was moving…broken twisted limbs carrying a body that simply shouldn’t be able to carry itself any farther. It was just a distraction right now but if this persisted it could cause problems in the future. Well, not like I can do anything about it right now, the only real thing I can do is get out of this cave. Maybe then it would get better…eventually.

I was just going to have to wait until they prepared for the ritual. After that, I would smash as many crystals as I could and hope I didn’t die from the shockwaves and then the flames. A gamble sure, but it's my only real option. Burn this place to the ground and hope I don't go along with it. Until then I’ll just have to stick to my usual hobbies. Staring at walls.

<>

The cultist stared at the small yellow orb in the other man’s hand making a disapproving face, although you could never see it because of the hood he was wearing.

“Why would we give that to the eyulf right now?” The hooded man asked his fellow cultist tilting his head to get a different angle of the orb he was holding.

“Because it’s almost ready for the ritual, we can’t implant the orb into the goddess _________ it wouldn’t be just, making her feel pain,” He said back reverence seeping from his voice.

“She is an all-powerful being beyond our very comprehension, more ancient than any of us could ever even begin to fathom, I’m sure someone like that could handle the process of gaining Zenith’s Menu. Plus the eyulf itself has been put through literal years of torture to strengthen and toughen its body. Although we don’t have the ability to see the full extent of its process we know for a fact it has some sort of advanced healing skill. Although our goddess will lose almost everything in the transfer to the eyulf’s body she will inherit those skills. The implanting process would barely hurt and her eye would be back to normal in a few days even if we didn’t just heal her right away.” Said the cultist in an argument against the use of the orb.

“It’s not a matter of whether she could handle the process or not. Of course, she could handle the process! She is the almighty, all-knowing, and Unconquerable _________! A SUPERIOR BEING! I have no doubt she could handle the implanting!” The other cultist replied lifting his hands in the air dramatically, loose robe sleeves hanging from his arms. “It is a matter of proper servitude. How could we call ourselves loyal worshipers of our goddess if we allow even the most minuscule amount of unnecessary pain to be inflicted upon her! It would be unbecoming to do that to her, no matter how vulnerable she may be in any state. What harm is there in simply implanting it into the eyluf. Our goddess would gain the perk without all the unpleasant pain. What could the eyulf do with it? It may be smarter than your average beast, capable of teamwork and such, but it is still far too stupid to ever use the perk.” Continued the other cultist.

“I guess your right…I don’t know, I just feel hesitant for some reason.” He replied. “But you are correct it would be an outrageous act, to do the implanting after the ritual, we will just do it now.

“Good. I’m glad you came to your senses. Let’s get on with it then.” The other cultist said stepping away from the wooden table he and his fellow cultist had been conversing at.

They walked out of the dining room, and past several paintings of their revered goddess all of them hand-made by the cult because of the lack of their existence in the rest of the world. They continued deeper into the cave lair before reaching the room where the eyulf was kept. All they would need was one of the higher quality needles and a tool to keep the eyulf’s eye open, none of the usual torture instruments were required for their current task. They entered the room, the eyulf’s eyes shooting open like they always did when anyone entered. It had been slightly unnerving at first but now they were more than used to it being cooped up with the thing for years. Looking at it they were glad the process to prepare its body for the ritual had taken so long.

The eyulf had grown far larger most likely naturally evolving into the greater version of its species than the lesser. Of course, since it happened through the simple passage of time no benefits from the system were rewarded most likely. While this drawback seemed harsh at first it was overshadowed by the advantage this could give a creature over others. It could essentially skip an evolution and gain the merits of a body that was usually only obtained at a much higher level. A good example of this was goblins. A goblin could if given a few years, actually naturally turn into a hobgoblin without leveling up at all. Then they could then evolve again 25 levels early than they usually did and reap the benefits. Of course, with goblins, it was a bit iffy since they didn’t really have a set path of evolution. They could turn into goblin chieftains, healers, priests, and all sorts of things before they ever became hobgoblin. They were kind of in the middle of being a monster and a human, so they could really go either way. Enough about goblins though the point was that these same opportunities could be provided for their beloved goddess using the eyulf’s body.

The cultist halted the thought process as he took out the needle his associate fitting the muzzle on the eyulf. This could be a semi-dangerous task as the thing had managed to bite them a few times before causing nasty poisoned wounds but they had become better accustomed to it over the years. With the muzzle on and the thing restrained, the other cultist used the small curved hooks to force the thing's eye open by hooking its eyelids. A tear came out of the eyulf’s eyes as it struggled against this notion. It would receive no sympathy. The cultist took the needle and used it to cut out a small circle where the pupil was on the eyulf’s eye. He then took out the yellow orb and slid it into the makeshift hole. Blood flowed from its eye as the other cultist took out the hooks. The thing immediately snapped its eye shut but with the muzzle still on and tied to the poll it was unable to move its head. So it just sat there twitching. The cultist left the muzzle on instead of taking it off before they left. They didn’t want the eyulf finding a way to get the orb out of its eye before it naturally disappeared and the wound closed. They would check back in a few hours.

<>

*Twitch*.........*Twitch*.........*Twitch*.........*Twitch*.........*Twitch*.........*Twitch*

Can’t move at all…fuuuuuccck. Why the hell did they have to leave this damned muzzle on. Worse they never came back to take it off, it's been at least an hour. Stranger, that was certainly…new. They had never targeted my eyes before. I’m not really a fan. Here I had thought pain had all but left me. Clearly, that was not the case if the searing throb in my eye had anything to say. But seriously, what the fuck. They put something in my eye, I can feel it. And why it is so fucking uncomfortable! Gah, it's s-squirming. It has to get out, it has to right fucking now. This stupid fucking muzzle refuses to give. Why is it getting warmer? Stop! STOP STOP STOP! It’s…it’s growing. I should of analyzed the damn thing god damn it. How long will this intolerable feeling last, fuck!

[Assimilation Complete- Perk: Zenith’s Menu gained]

The feeling of the orb in my eye vanished as if had never been there. I was struck a little surprised and after a moment or two realized that my eye had become fully functional again. I had been completely blind in that eye only moments ago but not I could see with it just fine. Huh.

For a minute I thought it wouldn’t end. Zenith’s menu…the cultist obviously gave me the orb on purpose so I would acquire that perk. Why? Is it related to the ritual? Analyze.

Analyze Results:[Zenith’s Menu(Perk): A menu designed by the god Zenith before he ascended into godhood. The menu’s main function and purpose are to organize everything about a lifeform into a sheet of statistics. Age, species, sub-species, gender, name, skills, perks, mutations, and more are all listed in the menu. The perk also has a secondary function of adding a list of attributes. The attributes are not the physical and mental capabilities turned into numbers but rather all numbers that start at zero. The user can add a unit of 1 or more to any attribute they chose. How many attribute points the user has is based on their level, gaining 2 per level up. Doing so will strengthen that trait. For example, adding an attribute point to endurance will increase the user’s capacity to take damage. The menu also has the third and final function of defining all the ways to spend skill points and acting as the median to spend said skill points through defined ways.]

That…is really useful. Why would the cultist give me that? If I understand it right I can further increase my body’s endurance so is that the reason, to just toughen me up more? Well, the process was extremely painful so perhaps the orb wasn’t meant for me, but rather the god they intend to inhabit my body. If that's the case maybe they wanted to give it to me so their goddess wouldn’t have to go through the process. And from what I’ve heard by all their little conversations while they mangle me the cultists don’t think much of my intelligence. Although only by offhand comments every once in a while. If I had to guess they probably just think of me as a dumb beast.

Ah. So they figure I’m too stupid to use the menu so what is the harm in giving it to me. That's probably why I got away with blowing up that crystal, they literally don’t think I’m smart enough to harm them like that. Bunch of fucking pricks. Well whatever, it's a good thing they do. If they don’t think I’m a threat then they won’t be prepared for when I very much become a real one.

Anyway, I have to use this menu thing carefully. I can’t put any of it into endurance or anything like that because they’ll realize that I know how to use the menu. If that happens I’m fucked. The loose leash on me will become a very tight one and I’ll probably be rendered completely immobile. If they can fix wounds like severed limbs then they’ll probably just cut all of mine off. Once the ritual is over they could just heal the wound, so it wouldn’t be an issue.

Well, before I do anything I need to open this menu.

How…do I do that.

Focusing isn’t working. Maybe I’m focusing on the wrong thing. Open. Open menu. Open Zenith’s Menu. Zenith’s Menu open.

This is bullshit. What do I have to say it? I can’t fucking say it, all that will come out is squeaky howling. Maybe it's the intent behind the attempt. As long as I mean what I’m trying to say it still counts. Well, hopefully, it does because if it doesn’t I’m shit out of luck.

I growled. As expected all that came out was in no way intelligible and rather a rough howl that seemed to jump up and down pitch. But I really was trying to say menu. And I guess the system recognized that because a blue screen appeared out of thin air.

[Zenith’s Menu(Tier 1/3): ]

GENERAL INFORMATION

ATTRIBUTES

SYSTEM BOONS

SKILL POINTS

So it's condensed, that's good it would be annoying if every time I used it a million screens popped up in front of me. General information, that's probably where the name, age, and all of that stuff is. Actually, age would tell me how old I am. Or how long I’ve been here. I was only out of this cave for around a week if I’m remembering correctly. It's really gotten a bit fuzzy. Anyway do I have to say it again or can I just focus…

[General Information: ]

-Name: N/A

-Level: 5

-Species: Eyulf

-Specific: Greater Eyulf

-Age: 2.8 Years

-Gender: Male

Focus it is. I would have been more pleased by that little revelation but the number in front of me all but snuffed out any positive feelings I had. Almost three years had passed. It wasn’t really staggering I guess. It had honestly felt longer. A lot longer. But still, it was three years too many. It had been too long since I had seen the sky. Too fucking long. My mind drifted back to reality as I looked over the screen again. Moping wasn’t going to do anything.

Greater Eyulf? I thought I was a lesser one. No, I was sure I was a lesser one. I don’t believe I just made that fact up in captivity. Well, it has been almost three years maybe you just age into it. I hadn’t really noticed but I had probably grown. Not like I had been keeping track of how big I was the whole time.

Not much other than that. Like it said I guess pretty general information. System boons is probably a list of all my skills, perks, mutations, and whatever the hells else I had. I focused and the general information screen turned back into the menu screen. I tried focusing on system boons like I had on general information and…nothing. Ok, maybe I’m doing it wrong, again.

[System Boons Screen Requires Zenith’s Menu(Tier 2/3)]

Well isn’t that wonderful. And how pray tell does one acquire Zenith’s Menu(Tier 2/3). Oh wow! Would you look at that! NOTHING! Stupid fucking system. Whatever I’ll try attributes. Probably shouldn’t have jumped ahead.

[Attributes: ]

Available AP: 10

-Vitality: (+0)

-Endurance: (+0)

-Strength: (+0)

-Agility: (+0)

-Perception: (+0)

-Intelligence: (+0)

-Willpower: (+0)

It worked with a thought another screen replacing the one I had been looking at almost instantaneously. I knew from common sense “AP” most likely stood for attribute points. The terms themselves however were a bit more complicated. While their effects might seem obvious at first if I one thought about it who knew what the system-defined it as. I might think agility involves speed but it could be a value for flexibility. With perception, intelligence, and willpower this was even more true because those could all reasonably mean several different things. If I had to guess it might be a combination of several different factors, not just one thing increasing when you used a point. This could all be answered pretty easily though with analyze I figured. I decided I would just use the skill on strength first. Analyze.

[Unable to Analyze]

You have got to be fucking kidding me. Again. This was the second time I had been denied something in the span of a few minutes. It complicated things quite a bit. I would have to guess what each attribute entrailed and trust my guess enough to apply appoints to anything. I ruled out vitality and endurance right off the bat. I’m guessing vitality increases the rate at which one recovers and if that is the case the cultists could notice I was healing faster than usual. Endurance I had ruled off the second I read the description so there was nothing to think about there. I mulled the rest of the terms over and only ruled out willpower cause I had no clue what the hell it did. The rest seemed fine to me. It wasn’t like I could make use of them while strained down so the cultist shouldn’t have any clue.

Using that logic I should probably just put them all into strength or save them until I’m about to escape and use them all at once on predetermined choices. Considering I would have to survive that crystal blast several times over, and then fight off any cultists trying to prevent me from leaving on my way out of the cave I should probably just go with the latter. Wait until the last moment, use the points, maybe a half and half of endurance and strength, and hope to god I make it out of this cave.

While the plan wasn’t really all that impressive it was better than nothing. Either I burn them all to death and make it out or I burn them all to death along with myself. Seemed like the only real two outcomes of this. Although most likely many of them will make their way out of the cave and if I get out I’ll either have to fight them or escape them. No matter what happened I wasn’t going to get possessed by some higher being that was for sure.

Finished thinking about things I closed the menu in front of me and tried to fall asleep but it was practically damn impossible thanks to the muzzle I still had on. Without any way to take it off, I resided in just waiting as I did with about everything these days. All I knew is that it wasn’t long until the ritual.