Apotheosis of a Cynic

The young cynic's eyes widened as the voidborn's body broke through the wall ahead of him and slammed into the opposing. Sending a cloud of dust and fragments of cobblestone bricks flying past him. The shock rippled through the passageway, and for a brief moment, the ground shifted as though threatening to give way. Unnerved, Mathew glanced down and noticed a few loose and wobbling cobblestone bricks that had slipped through. From the gap, the hollow and ominous hum echoed.

As he peered into the dark abyss between the cobblestone bricks, the dust settled, and the woman in tattered clothing stormed through the gaping hole in the wall. Stopping just shy of where the beast had landed, she folded her arms and sneered in a contemptuous and condescending tone.

"What are you doing you useless guard!"

She didn't notice Mathew standing only a few feet away in her haste.

'Did she not see me?'

Looking to seize the opportunity Mathew began edging away. Retracing his steps as carefully as he could manage, ensuring not to draw any attention to himself. But unfortunately, things wouldn't be that easy. His foot struck a fallen cobblestone brink, sending it skittering noisily across the floor.

'Shit!'

Of course. He had already had a terrible day, so what was one more flash of misfortune going to do? The sound drew the woman's attention and he couldn't have been more apathetic. His expression portrayed no sliver of emotion. But make no mistake, below the apathetic look was an unexpressed anger.

The beautiful womanraised a curious brow and asked.

"How are you still alive?"

Mathew just stared at the woman. What kind of question was that? Did he not have the right to live or something?

'How am I alive she asks. Is this person crazy?'

Barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes and feeling all but obliged to muster a proper response in this absurd situation, the young cynic said in a flat tone.

"Pure luck I guess. Or maybe I'm just too stubborn to die."

The woman was left in a state of pure shock, but before she could even process Mathew's words the dust began to settle, and faint outlines emerged from the swirling haze. At first, they could make out the outline of the armored man the beauty stood by him and called the guard. The outline showed the man standing above the still beast, but something felt off.

There was an eerie atmosphere he just couldn't shake off. Slowly, the last traces of dust drifted away, revealing the true state of the man.

Stood atop the beast, his pristine silver and black accented armor was stained red with blood.

But it was not the beast's.

The man's chest had been pierced clean through by the mandibles of the Lacertilla. The ground rumbled as the beast stirred, its massive frame shifting with a bone-chilling groan. Slowly it pushed itself upright with its now blood-stained mandibles glinting in the dim light.

They watched as with an almost casual motion, the lacertilla lifted him effortlessly into the air. And without hesitation, its second powerful mandibles snapped shut, separating the man's head cleanly from his body. The now lifeless body dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood gushed from the stump that was once the man's neck.

Horrified by the sight, the woman collapsed onto her backside with a hopeless expression and hollow eyes filled with despair. As it chewed on the head of the guard its movements paused, and its tentacles twitched. It turned its head sharply toward her and Its predatory gaze pierced through her, the cold glint in its eyes signaling that it had taken notice of her.

Luckily for Mathew, the bastard hadn't noticed him yet. For some reason, it felt like he was invisible to the beings in this world. But that advantage would be useless to him unless he figured out what to do in the brief few moments he had.

'Option one. I stay put and hope it doesn't see me.'

Unlikely. After all, the woman who was now sitting on her ass ready to piss herself noticed him eventually, so he wasn't exactly invisible. It was more like he had no presence for them to take note of.

'Option two. I run and let her be the distraction.'

No. It doesn't matter how fast he goes. That thing would just make quick work of her and run him down.

'Option three then? I intervene.'

That's the dumbest one so far! What could a useless and weak person like him do in this situation? He might as well just walk up to the beast and say eat me.

He racked his brain hard, desperate for something. Anything at all that would give him even the slightest chance of surviving, and as if reading him for his efforts. He stepped back and noticed another brick fall onto the floor and an idea popped into his mind.

'Alright, that just might work.'

While he was lost in thought for a brief few moments, the beast circled them with its maw wide open and dripping with saliva and blood. As it moved around them at a slow and methodic pace, almost as if toting with its prey. But the young cynic was thankful for the beast's arrogance because the only reason he was going to survive was the beast's pride.

Mathew watched the beast's every movement with sharp eyes. Cataloging every minute shift in its muscles, every breath it took, waiting for it to make a move and that wouldn't take long. Its leaned back ever so slightly and its muscles tensed.

Noting this change the young cynic also readied himself to act.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman sitting on the floor shifting nervously, realizing something was about to happen.

He sighed. Of course, he didn't know the woman, but he couldn't just leave her there to die. He leaned forward, telling her not with a request or a shout, but a calm, measured command.

"Get up!"

When she didn't respond, he added, with a faint trace of pity beneath his otherwise flat and unbothered tone.

"If you don't move now, you'll regret it."

The woman flinched, but before she could act on his words, the beast lunged forward. With no more time, Mathew grit his teeth and seized the woman's arm. He waited until the last second, timing his move with precision by letting the beast close the distance until it was a mere foot away.

Then in a single swift movement, he yanked the woman away. With its shadow now looming over him, he pivoted and drove his foot down with all his strength on a gap between the loose cobblestone bricks.

The ground almost instantly gave way, creating a gaping hole the swallowed the beast. But Mathew didn't wait to watch it fall. He reached out and grabbed a metal rod that protruded beneath the cobblestone floor, narrowly escaping the beast's thrashing claws as it disappeared into the abyss.