Gasp Gasp

Alonn was panting for air, his lungs were burning and his legs were numb. He fell on the ground and started to finally feel the deep pain in his back.

While gritting his teeth, Alonn punched the floor.

He was a thread away from death, the side of the cave he was in didn't have sunlight moss.

When he first arrived here, he maped all the way until the lava chamber and he didn't see a single sunlight moss

"Damn... it" Alonn was almost crying, now he could only do one thing, jump over the collapsed bridge and take his ass to the other side of the lava chamber.

However... he didn't have much strenght right now, he was exhausted.

'I need to survive!! I can't die yet!' Alonn thought with bloodshot eyes, he wasn't just afraid but also furious.

His fury was in constant fight with his fear, just like the poisons and the pearls.

His eyes suddenly got brighter and he smirked. He learned a thing or two during all this time.

It would be dangerous, he knew it... But a dying man has no right over the way he dies.

Alonn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He's going to have only one chance, he needs to focus as much as possible.

Like a drop of water falling into still water... Alonn's mind was filled with waves of anxiety.

'Now...' Alonn used the little True Qi that he recovered to ignite the poisons.

AAARGGGHHHHH

Alonn screamed in pain.

He learned it some time ago, but trying to expel the mosses poisons with True Qi is the same as throwing fuel into the fire. The poisons reacted violently and caused a chain reaction, all his True Qi was devoured along a lot of his own vitality. At the same time, new True Qi and vitality originated.

The two poisons burned quickly and in an instant they both almost disappeared from his body.

This was now a race against time, the new vitality and True Qi exceeded the pearl's absorption rate and guaranteed energy to the elf... but it wouldn't last forever.

Crack

Alonn's foot kicked the ground and he ran towards the lava chamber.

Each step made cracks appear on the floor, Alonn was using everything he had.

His whole body was aching, he was almost falling on his knees...

But his mind was incredibly calm, he was just like still water. The pain, fear and fury couldn't affect him right now.

He focused on each step he took, on each breath, on the amount of time remaining. Whenever he realized that there was not enough time he accelerated a bit beyond his limits with the risk of losing his balance...

Right now he wasn't Alonn, he was just a dying runner.

Without realizing it, Alonn reached a speed higher than that of the white horned tiger when it was at it's peak condition.

However, his body was almost breaking apart...

When Alonm saw the collapsed bridge, he even forgot about the dangers lurking bellow.

He suddenly remembered the small stream he jumped over, that felling...

He didn't even care about the distance between both sides and jumped.

BANG

The place where Alonn just was collapsed and fell towards the lava.

As the rock fell, Alonn flew.

This time the air wasn't fresh, it was hot and suffocating. Still, the felling was strangely the same. He could even hear the sound of the lava flow.

For a moment, Alonn closed his eyes.

This was it, the moment that would decide his life and death.

Alonn came to realize, why bother to be in fear, in despair? Death was just a thread away from him, why should he live his last moments in despair? Everyone dies one day, but not all of them live in fear, and the reason is simple.

Life is about living the moment, the gift, the present if you wish.

Honestly, the timing was horrible for the poor elf. He was in so much pain that it was a miracle that he was conscious, and his breathing was almost killing him before anything else.

But in this short moment, he remembered many things. His family and even his new acquaintances... His life was very good, this was what he felt.

Suddenly, Alonn felt his feet landing and he smiled.

However, when he opened his eyes all he could see was a red thing that looks like a uvula that he has in his throat.

He looked back and saw white shining torns rising from the ground and the ceiling.

'Oh... They are teeth' Alonnt thought listlessly.

BANG

Suddenly, the giant mouth closed with a bang.

'What, really?'

"I know it! This world just hates me so much!" Alonn clicked his tongue and strangely didn't despaired, the reason? It wasn't that he lost his fear, but rather the fear was so big that he just didn't realized it. Unconsciously, Alonn's mind tried to deny reality.

Suddenly the beast's tongue moved and Alonn was swalowed by the 'lava whale'.

Everything was a darkness in Alonn's eyes, he could onle feel he was being dragged to the beast's stomach.

He was felling it, the scent of death-

Bang

Alonn felt he fell in something very hard.

Growl...

He also hear a kitty growling...

Still, Alonn suddenly cried, the reason was because he suddenly saw blue and yellow faint light.

His life-saving mosses were all over the place inside the beast's stomach.

The elf got off the tiger and crawled over the hot, sticky stomach of the beast.

The mosses were luscious with the fluids of the beast, but Alonn ate as much as he could.

Soon, the sensation of void in his body was filled with the internal fight of the poisons and the pearls.

He wasn't dying anym- At least for now he won't die!

Growl...

Alonn suddenly looked back and saw the tiger looking at him with it's deep white eyes.

"...What about making peace?" Alonn asked with no hope.

The tiger suddenly stoped growling and nodded with it's head.

"Huh?" Alonn almost doubted if he was really alive.

'Did it just nodded to me? Is it really intelligent?'

"..." Both looked at each other for a moment before atacking.

"Not at all that I would believe in a vicious beast like you!"

ROAAARRR

Alonn kicked the tiger's face with a bit of True Qi and managed to make it go back a little bit.

But then the tiger kicked Alonn in the leg, making him almost moan in pain.

Both were severely injured and the terrain was very difficult so the fight was at an impasse.

"I will kill you! It's all your fault!" Alonn shouted in fury.

RROOAARRRR

Time passed, and slowly they both ran out of strength to strike again.

However, both still wanted to kill each other.

'When I recover my energy... I will kill him,' both thought at the same time.

However, the way of heavens wasn't something mortals could understand.

Again, Alonn felt the scent of death-

No, it wasn't the smell of death... it seemed the smell that Alonn feels when he burps.

'Oh, no!' Both the elf and the tiger looked at the deepest part of the stomach.

It wasn't a illusion, the stomach was being filled with gastric acid. They were about to be digested!

'Alonn, calm down...' Alonn slapped himself and slowly got up.

He ignored the tiger and started to search for something.

'First of all, isn't it very strange that a 'lava whale' has a stomach with a temperatura cool enough for my survival? And what about the lava it swalowed before?' Alonn thought.

'There should be something here that regulates the temperature and removes the lava and I need to find it!'

This is his only chance of survival.

However, even after searching for a long time he didn't find anything.

'It seems I can only do it!' Alonn gathered a little moonlight moss in a corner with his arm without a hand.

After that, he prayed to all the gods he didn't believe in and used his True Qi. He was trying to ignite the moss outside of his body.

Boosh!

"Hahaha!" Alonn laughed whe saw the fire and changed his plans.

The tiger looked at Alonn with a look 'is he crazy? why is he laughing' and watched the elf gather more and more moss.

But now, he also mixed some of the sunlight moss.

"Hehhehehe" Alonn was laughing like a villain, even the tiger wondered who was the true beast.

But after some time, the tiger finally seemed to understand what Alonn was trying to do, although it doen't understand the reason he was doing it.

As if it wanted to survive at costs, it decided to help Alonn, his enemy.

It got some moss with it's big mouth and placed next to the watchful elf.

'This fucker...' Alonn clenched his teeth but accepted the help, the reason was that the gastric acid was raising faster than before and he had already planned everything beforehand...

After a while, all the available moss was gathered in one corner.

Alonn was gasping for air and the gastric acid was already reaching his feet.

'If not because of this tiger... perhaps I wouldn't be able to do this in time...' Alonn thought and swore to himself to give it a quick death.

At the same time, the tiger decided to not eat alonn if it survive, it will just kill him.

They both looked at each other and smiled amicably.

'Fuck, it knows how to smile!?' Alonn thought shocked.

"Here, pay attention!" Alonn separated a little moonlight moss with his foot and put it in front of the tiger.

After that, he channeled his True Qi and lit a fire with the moss.

"Can you do it?" Alonn asked.

The tiger tilted it's head for a moment and then nodded.

"Good," Alonn said with a smile.

"We need to do it together," Alonn said and pointed to the moss with his arm.

"To-ge-ther," Alonn said and gestured with his arm.

The tiger nodded after a moment.

Both then stood in front of the moss and prepared.

"Cough, you first. I need time to gather my True Qi," Alonn said with a gesture and fake smile.

Roar

The tiger roared and shook it's head.

Alonn clenched his teeth and insisted.

Roar

'Damn, this tiger is smarter than I thought...' Alonn cursed.

"You... first!!" Alonn said with a grave voice.

Growl...

The tiger seemed to be sneering.

Before Alonm could say anything, the gastric acid started to raise several folds faster than before.

The elf and the tiger exchanged looks.

"Fast, I've got your back!"

ROAR

"My True Qi was depleted just now, I can't do it!"

ROARR

"Do you want to die? If you don't do it now, we both die! What will I gain by lying to you?" Alonn said with an eloquent voice and black heart.

Alonn and the tiger were tingling in their feet / paws.

It was slowly evolving into pain...

'Damn, I'm already a cripple without both hands and one arm, I can't lose my legs!' Alonn thought and said one last time, "YOU FIRST! WE WILL BOTH DIE IF YOU DON'T DO IT"

The tiger finally hesitated.

The gastric acid reached Alonn's knee.

"DO IT, NOW!" Alonn acremed.

ROARRR

The tiger roared one last time and used it's True Qi.

It planned to just a bit of it, but unfortunately....

"Hehehe, byebye small kitty," Alonn said while waving his nonexistent hand, he was already using all his True Qi to protect his body, or at least to try.

All the tiger's True Qi was forcefully sucked away from it and all the mosses started to shine with two different colors.

The tiger looked at Alonn one last time and tried to roar.

BANGG!!!!

The peaceful lake of lava... the perfect place for it.

Sometimes it found some moss to eat, but recently it found two delicious meals. A strange two-legged being and a four-legged being.

It doen't know why others beings choose to live outside the confortable sea of melted rocks, but it was very happy with the meals.

When it decided to stop for a while, however, it felt a VERY BIG discomfort and then a VERY BIG pain.

It suddenly felt the desire to throw up.

This swam to the surface and went to a 'dry' shore to vomit. Smoke, pieces of flesh and blood came out of it's mouth.

It doesn't know if the blood and flesh belonged to itself or to the prey, but the fact that it happened after eating them left it with a trauma.

It unconsciously vowed never to eat beings from the surface again.

After the lava whale plunged into the lava lake again, Alonn opened his eyes and looked around.

He was completely covered with pieces of flesh and blood, just as he was all burnt.

He felt pain all over his body, but he survived!

'Fuck, it worked! I don't believe it worked! Hahhahaha"

Gro..wll..

Suddenly, Alonn heard the faint growling of the tiger.

It was in a much worst state than Alonn. Since it couldn't use True Qi to protect itself, the explosion hit it hard.

It was now helpless.

Alonn looked at the tiger with pity, he was sorry that the tiger was suffering so much pain.

"Don't worry, I will help you..." Alonn said and stroked the tiger's head.

The tiger looked at Alonn with hope and tears in it's eyes, as if touched by the elf's kindness.

BANG

Alonn kicked the tiger's head with all his might, shattering it's skull and killing it without pain.

"I live up to my words. I swore to kill you withou pain, you damn bastard," Alonn said and fell on his knees.

The heat of the lava chamber was affecting him again.

And this time he didn't know where he was.