What a fool I am for doing this, for leaving my comrades behind to hog the glory for myself. Now I lie in the dirt and blood, broken and battered, awaiting the end at the hands of the beast standing unharmed before me. It was an awakened being, a former sister-in-arms turned monstrosity more than five times my size, but unlike the few I battle before, this one was elegant, almost human like. She fought with fearsome wit, brutish strength, and unmatched speed. A warrior of my caliber could never have stood a chance.
A gush of blood escapes my lips, a sign one of my lungs was crushed. She stands there and watches for a moment, probably enjoying the moment, then reaches down and scoops me up like a child would a precious creature. My limp form lies in her palm as she holds before her gaze and studies me. She takes particular interest in my hair, which unlike my sisters, still has a tint of black from when I was human. The being's lips curl into a disturbing grin as her tongue slides across them.
"A warrior with colored hair?" She speaks with a voice that booms in my ears. "You're still fresh, aren't you? What a prize I hold in my palm."
She begins plucking my armor off and tossing it aside before sliding her knife-like talon down the center of my suit and tearing it away, leaving me nude and revealing the scar we warriors bare. The time she spends doing this, I use to mend my bones. I do not doubt that she knows what I'm doing.
"My, what a beautiful body you have." She coos, then raises me to her lips. She opens her great maw and her tongue departs. She licks with a single stroke and pulls back. There is a brief look of disgust in her eyes.
"You still taste like crap, but not as much as a normal warrior. You're making my mouth water. Can't wait to-". The awakened being stops and looks up. She can sense my companions. "Of course you would have friends."
She looks to me and grins again.
"Why don't we take our leave? Maybe by the time we get somewhere more private, you'll heal yourself enough to squirm." An unsettling giggle follows her final word as she turns around and rushes deeper into the woods.
Within the span of minutes, we arrive in a small, quiet meadow. By now, I managed to mend my bones, not that it mattered. I was without a sword or armor or clothes. I was nothing but a toy for a monster.
She set me down in the calm stream that cut through meadow's flower coated field, presumably to wash off the blood that tainted my taste. To be honest, I enjoyed the feeling of the cold water passing by, it was better than what was probably to come. However, I was quiet curious as to why this being granted me such mercy, even if it was temporary. With what strength I still had, I turned my head and spoke.
"Why?" I mumbled as loud as I could. "Why are you doing this? Why show me this small act of kindness?"
She looked me, almost offended by the words that left my lips.
"Have you forgotten? I, too, was a silver-eyed warrior with nothing but the utmost devotion to the Organization without a Name. Had I a friend to give the Black Card, I wouldn't be here, eating anything remotely human."
"If you feel that way...Why don't you let yourself be slain?"
"Hah! What I spoke was merely the truth, a truth that doesn't make me human enough to kill myself. Besides, I've taken a liking to this form. I wield so much power now!"
"Oh." I turn my head away, disheartened. "So that's how it is. What do you plan on doing with me, beast?"
"Aww, is that how our relationship is gonna be? I thought we could be friends in the little time you had...Wait, what if I did this?" Suddenly, her massive form shrunk and contorted itself until she took to that of a human. "Comfortable now?
"No." Normally, I wouldn't dare waste anymore words with an Awakened Being, but with my demise near, I might as well talk with anyone willing to listen. "But fine. First, tell me your name."
"Selca. In my time, I was number 4." I nearly gasped in shock when heard what she said, unable to believe that the monster sitting beside the streams was once one of the five most powerful warriors long ago. "Now, I just wander around the continent, eating anything I find and fighting off pests like you. Speaking of which, who're you?"
"Necaa, number 36."
"And what were you doing before I caught you, Necaa?" Hearing my name in her breath sent chills down my spine.
"We finished hunting an Awakened Being. It was my fourth hunt, too. Then I sensed you, fought you, and...well. Now, I'm going to die."
"If it makes you feel better, you fought pretty well for a 36." Great, being complimented by a monster. It was like a dagger to my already bruised ego. "And who knows, maybe you won't die."
I look to her, skeptically. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, you already know that I'm desperate enough to eat you, but this time, I feel like swallowing something whole."
My gaze widened in fear. Swallowing me whole meant that death wouldn't come swift, but slow and painful instead. The very thought of my body melting in her humid depths...
"I want to see what happens and who knows? Maybe you halflings are indigestible." Selca laid back and rubbed her stomach. "Either way, you'll keep me fuller, longer."
I soon found the strength to sit up from the water chilly embrace, coming to terms with what fate had in store. Whether death came quick or slow, at least I would rejoin my fallen friends.
"I'm ready. Lets get this over with." She quickly sat up and looked at me with childish disappointment.
"Already? You don't want to talk some more, maybe share some old battle stories?"
"No...I'm ready, Selca."
"Fine." Selca yawned. With a sudden burst of a energy, she grew to the size of three houses and gently plucked me from the gentle stream, taking great care not to pierce my skin with her talon tipped fingers as she raised me to her mouth.
"It's been an honor, Necaa. The Organization were fools to give you the rank of 36. You're far better than that."
"Thanks. Getting eaten by a former number 4 is honor too, I guess."
"That's the spirit." Selca exclaimed with a wide smile. She held me high into the air and her spiked teeth parted. There was a long pause before she dropped into hot and sticky mouth. Inside her maw's dark cavern, I was tossed and turned by her enormous tongue, getting drench in her saliva with each shove. Then, she opened her mouth, giving me one last view of the world. For some strange reason, it was even more beautiful than I remembered.
Finally, her lips closed shut and felt myself begin to slide backwards. All I could do now was curl up into a ball as her throat muscle grabbed hold of me and forcefully dragged me downwards. It felt like an eternity had passed by the time I lurched to a stop. Nothing happened first, then something opened underneath me and I fell unto a wet, squishy floor.
I was now in her stomach. I was no longer a warrior fighting to protect humanity from the beasts that preyed upon them. Now I was food for the very beasts I fought, rotting in a place where many a poor soul's remains were broken down and made part of the monster. I was helpless and as soon as that thought sunk in, I broke down. All the things I thought before, things I thought were the bravest things to think, flowed with the tears. I sat there, against the acid secreting stomach walls, crying into my hands, praying death wouldn't come.
I don't want to die. Please God, Teresa and Clare, I don't want to die!