章 13: ABILITY UNLOCKED

'Drip... Drop...'

Flynn's eyes slowly opened to the feeling of a warm liquid touching his face, before dropping on the floor.

Dizziness was another sensation which covered his eyes. He tried moving, but, tightness stiffed his body. He could slightly shake his body, but he felt his feets getting soaked in a warmer silky liquid.

"W-what?."

His hands as well felt sticky and soon, the image around him got clearer.

At this moment, Flynn realized he was dangling from the top, and facing, White swollen threads.

Not thread, silk like swollen cocoon.

He tried stretching out, but it didn't work, then, raised his head seeing his body trapped in one of the cocoons.

"What in the world...? What is this?"

He struggled to move, but the cocoon's grip tightened with every twitch. The warm liquid inside increased with each motion, slowly filling his body from legs to his knee.

Realizing movement wasn't an option, Flynn firstly focused on his surroundings.

The blue crystals from the previous dome-shaped cave were still present, but here they were more densely packed. The ground was closer to the top, and opposite sides of the space were lined with white cocoons.

Through the process of searching, Flynn's gaze locked onto a cocoon at the far end. Its surface was all closed up, but, fist-like pounded from within, desperate to break free.

The struggled rapidly increased, then before his very eyes, it abruptly ceased, stopping, as the cocoon released a puff of red air.

Flynn's eyes widened in terror. At this moment, his initiative spoke louder than his words — I'm in a death bag.

The warm liquid surrounding him began to boil, scorching his leg. The fabric of the remaining parts of his trousers disintegrated, dissolving into the slimy liquid.

Flynn's hands splayed in panic, and to his horror, the liquid surged upward, towards his chest. The corrosive sensation tore through his skin like acid.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Flynn's scream echoed through the cavern.

The more he struggled, the tighter the cocoon constricted around him.

Panic set in.

Sweat dripped from his brow, and his heart raced wildly. Desperate, Flynn pushed against the cocoon's walls, but it wouldn't tear away.

The liquid's temperature spiked, scorching his skin. He felt it peel away, layer by layer, like burning paper.

Flynn bit his lower lip and let out another scream, that which echoed through the cavern, his voice was basically hoarse from the exertion

With every ounce of strength, he tore through the silky cocoon.

"Rip~"

The cocoon gave way, and Flynn tumbled to the ground, landing beside two intact cocoons.

He quickly rolled forward, avoiding the liquid spillage from his burst one, and reached a safe distance, there, Flynn collapsed, his eyes fixed on his ravaged legs. His breathing quickened as he looked at the terrible deep burns, scorched skin hanging in tatters.

His trousers had also been reduced to shorts, in a terrible way.

With shaking hands, Flynn unwrapped the cloth from around his hand, blotting out excess silky liquid. He gingerly placed the cloth on his leg, but the contact made him scream. The fabric stung his burnt skin like a thousand needles, when suddenly,

'Creak..'

The sound of footsteps on the ground halted Flynn's screams. He fell silent, his breathing shallow, as the steps drew closer. Instinctively, he pushed himself toward the nearest cocoon, his eyes fixed on the crystals.

The footsteps echoed, and curiosity got the better of him. He raised his head, scanning the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. Yet, the compression on the ground and the cracks. Definitely, something was present.

"What's there?" Flynn whispered to himself, his gaze following the invisible creature as it moved toward the broken cocoon.

"If only I could see it..."

[HOST SURVIVAL ABILITY RECOMMENDED.]

Flynn's frown deepened at the sudden voice in his head. "So, when I was dying and struggling in the cocoon, that wasn't survival—?"

[ABILITY RECOMMENDED: GHOST EYES (+30mins.)]

He took a deep breath, "... If I could understand more about this voice.... and if it's possible to communicate with this voice... How do I do that...?"

[ABILITY USAGE: UNLOCK/CLOSE.]

Flynn again frowned, "How can I answer this..."

"Unlock?.." he whispered.

[....]

"U.N.L.O.C.K." he counted the letters.

[.....]

He paused, then a hesitant thought, "... What if.."

In his mind, he mentally replied, "Unlock."

[HOST SURVIVAL ABILITY UNLOCKED: GHOST EYES (+30MINS).]

Flynn's eyes transformed, and his vision shifted. A circle of blue filled his sight, with glowing runes. The cavern's light changed, showing purple energy signatures, which moved around him, indicating the presence of the creature.

".... Okay, Now what—!"

[HOST USAGE ABILITY INFO: GHOST EYES.

[ABILITY DESCRIPTION: Ghost Eyes, enables the HOST to see beyond the physical realm, revealing spirits and the unseen.

[ABILITY WARNING: Ghost Eyes grants enhanced awareness, but also exposes HOST to unsettling or disturbing visions.

[ADDITIONAL WARNING: The Dark Energy, Beware The Dark Energy.

[DURATION: 30MINS.]

Flynn's breath caught as the voice sounded within him.

"So, I didn't get a system or a status screen? ... Just an odd voice?. But, let's see how this would go."

He closed his eyes, steeling himself, and reopened them to confront the creature.

As his gaze met the horrific being, his pupils dilated in terror.

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