Cel stared down past the thrashing creature, past the torn flesh and pooling blood, into the stomach far below.240Please respect copyright.PENANAzYsI8gT2ja
240Please respect copyright.PENANAq3acTBBL5g
The glow was spreading. Rising.240Please respect copyright.PENANAS0p9Ksq3gd
240Please respect copyright.PENANAiJdWWvzDrm
Something hot and ancient stirred in those depths - corrosive fire that promised to turn everything in this throat to ash.240Please respect copyright.PENANA2fgz1It921
240Please respect copyright.PENANAUr7U4xRv0O
Red light painted the ribbed walls in hellish hues. The stench hit his nose - sharp, acrid, burning with each breath.240Please respect copyright.PENANANGrniH0zJU
240Please respect copyright.PENANA43K1O9artW
The smaller creature shrieked in rising panic. Its claws gouged frantically at the throat's walls, shredding flesh in its desperation to escape.240Please respect copyright.PENANAz6diJy5fvi
240Please respect copyright.PENANAL9PYDtBIpc
Heat flooded upward through the worm's body - not seeping, but rushing like water through a broken dam. The flesh around him began to cook. The organic walls steamed, moisture evaporating in seconds.240Please respect copyright.PENANAZMnZu4ko2m
240Please respect copyright.PENANAmziC8kmGPd
Instinct screamed at him before understanding caught up.240Please respect copyright.PENANAJYbOgCGxTJ
240Please respect copyright.PENANARzFRWlVY65
The worm was going to breathe fire.240Please respect copyright.PENANAeyJflL1mNs
240Please respect copyright.PENANAQgPspUIveJ
And there was nowhere in this entire throat that would protect him from it.240Please respect copyright.PENANADVG4vmY9Zb
240Please respect copyright.PENANACOuxZcFBMf
The socket wouldn't save him. The walls offered no shelter. The teeth were his only exit - but the thrashing creature blocked the way, a whirlwind of claws between him and freedom.240Please respect copyright.PENANAuCtuZCiKYu
240Please respect copyright.PENANA1cMWaIG73B
Cel's mind raced through options with crystalline clarity.240Please respect copyright.PENANAmbowC2Yl4n
240Please respect copyright.PENANAOy7Gd0qLhg
He could try to slip past. Risk those claws tearing him apart while the molten breath rose behind him.240Please respect copyright.PENANANnKHFv5WQR
240Please respect copyright.PENANAXVQTLoalIj
Or…240Please respect copyright.PENANAOVAnRDHixf
240Please respect copyright.PENANAh5hmLCuMzq
His gaze locked on the creature's stone-like back.240Please respect copyright.PENANA56hqA05b59
240Please respect copyright.PENANAYkoUAXaRIJ
'Use it as a shield.' The thought arrived cold and certain. 240Please respect copyright.PENANAmdB1y2aEUA
240Please respect copyright.PENANA8BvYm5EzA3
The smaller creature was already dead - it just didn't know it yet. But its body could shield him. Give him a chance to survive the coming inferno.240Please respect copyright.PENANAAWpWxhdMxq
240Please respect copyright.PENANA150tRE2cE5
But would its flesh hold against that heat?240Please respect copyright.PENANAoEiQsc34SU
240Please respect copyright.PENANAxZ5rBEwOor
Doubtful.240Please respect copyright.PENANAOBZ2JQw2qd
240Please respect copyright.PENANAMcrAAaD5Yb
If he reinforced it though…240Please respect copyright.PENANAmYOOQk1k7I
240Please respect copyright.PENANAtciNPBfRnk
Cel threw himself out of the socket.240Please respect copyright.PENANAOvFyGAYdtB
240Please respect copyright.PENANAKw98aW9Syb
His feet hit the slick floor and he immediately launched forward - not toward the exit, but toward the thrashing nightmare between him and freedom.240Please respect copyright.PENANAbrhAQCwyEa
240Please respect copyright.PENANAAoXkNlIs63
The creature was a whirlwind of violence. Its claws tore at the throat's walls with mindless fury, ripping away chunks of flesh in sprays of blood. Its serpentine body coiled and writhed, every movement driven by pure animal panic as the red light grew brighter below.240Please respect copyright.PENANAKVduFJOGfj
240Please respect copyright.PENANApG5JQptcgf
Cel dove into that chaos.240Please respect copyright.PENANADJOBW2bKoV
240Please respect copyright.PENANAN8vCFM4J5e
A claw swept past his face - so close he felt the displaced air. He twisted, using momentum to drive his shoulder into the creature's side. The impact jarred through his already wounded body, but it gave him what he needed.240Please respect copyright.PENANAiS2Nz758rk
240Please respect copyright.PENANAZEwFleH7iA
Contact.240Please respect copyright.PENANA3qkwBIdW2W
240Please respect copyright.PENANAUdro8tJ7kt
His left hand slammed flat against the thing's stone-like back, and frost spread across its skin in a spreading wave.240Please respect copyright.PENANAbXLWXg631z
240Please respect copyright.PENANA1uM2gYJ0mM
It shrieked - metal dragged across bone - and whipped its entire body around with murderous intent. The thing that had been panicking about the worm was now focused on a new, immediate threat: whatever was touching it needed to die.240Please respect copyright.PENANAzk9agTfZnG
240Please respect copyright.PENANA5cLQnp9P2y
Its remaining claws found Cel's chest.240Please respect copyright.PENANAEFCVqGybCv
240Please respect copyright.PENANA1W4gUDFuOl
Four lines of white-hot agony opened from collarbone to ribs. Blood sprayed across both of them. The creature twisted in his grip like a serpent, trying to tear itself free, trying to reach his face with those needle-ringed teeth.240Please respect copyright.PENANAYN5CCiQeDq
240Please respect copyright.PENANAoyjBICqnqH
Cel grabbed it with his left arm and squeezed it against his body despite the pain.240Please respect copyright.PENANAdfVRjmihl4
240Please respect copyright.PENANADQlUCfZDKR
He wasn't trying to restrain it completely - that would be impossible. The creature was too strong, too frenzied. But he could redirect it. Turn its ice-armored back toward the depths below while keeping his own body behind that frozen shield.240Please respect copyright.PENANAoer7K833bJ
240Please respect copyright.PENANAFKDg0IsoHa
The creature's assault became even more vicious. Claws raked his arms, his shoulders, his jaw - anywhere they could reach. Each strike opened fresh wounds.240Please respect copyright.PENANA1ldYoZ1LVH
240Please respect copyright.PENANANRQtxWemKW
But Cel held on.240Please respect copyright.PENANAFVl6ieMeHC
240Please respect copyright.PENANA69I0NEulq0
Held his living shield between himself and the approaching death.240Please respect copyright.PENANAkfYOjEFK1X
240Please respect copyright.PENANAB4Az8RonfS
The red light reached blinding intensity.240Please respect copyright.PENANACAnII12Q9E
240Please respect copyright.PENANA9MZCkHZtjS
Heat slammed into the ice-armored back with the force of an avalanche. The frost cracked, shattered, reformed under his intent in rapid succession as impossible temperature met divine cold in explosive conflict.240Please respect copyright.PENANARewN71yHz2
240Please respect copyright.PENANAfnzsL97KCj
But heat bled through anyway. The creature shrieked - not just fury now, but agony. The heat was cooking it from behind despite the frost, charring flesh the ice couldn't fully protect.240Please respect copyright.PENANADHhN6zAhta
240Please respect copyright.PENANAD1V6GAbp0z
Cel's skin reddened, then blistered, then began to char under temperatures meant to melt stone. 240Please respect copyright.PENANA7bgM0TX8HM
240Please respect copyright.PENANAYr1tJKKNce
His left arm, wrapped around the creature to anchor the ice against its back, suffered worst. With no frost between flesh and hide, the heat had direct access. The burn went deep, sustained, eating through skin with methodical cruelty.240Please respect copyright.PENANAqA78wGlfkg
240Please respect copyright.PENANAjeRmh75GLT
Then the pressure wave hit.240Please respect copyright.PENANAdN7G3Q0PUI
240Please respect copyright.PENANAUnTm55eGFq
They were launched from the worm's maw like stones from a catapult - hurled into the night sky with such violent force that Cel's vision went white. The creature's weight became meaningless. His grip broke and they tumbled through empty air, spinning, separated by sheer momentum.240Please respect copyright.PENANAcKW68zjevl
240Please respect copyright.PENANAr1JYfxzGa7
The world spun in chaotic fragments - ash, moonlight, obsidian stones vomited from the worm's stomach alongside them. Massive fragments larger than his entire body flew through the air in a deadly storm, their razor edges catching silver light.240Please respect copyright.PENANAd4n1zFu1Bs
240Please respect copyright.PENANAbHzI9sLc5L
Cel's back slammed into ash-covered ground with bone-crushing force. The air exploded from his lungs. He rolled, tumbled, limbs flailing as momentum carried him across the wasteland.240Please respect copyright.PENANAUNdmLCrViA
240Please respect copyright.PENANAF5lsrPODJf
Obsidian stones rained down around him.240Please respect copyright.PENANAzJgHhtzN4b
240Please respect copyright.PENANA6CJZXYSJ2F
One struck his leg - a glancing blow that sent fresh agony lancing through already burned flesh. Another whipped past his face, close enough to feel the heat of its passage, before it slammed into the ground somewhere behind him in his spin.240Please respect copyright.PENANA21LRdbrnK1
240Please respect copyright.PENANA4g4SpVEx26
He hit the ground three more times during his uncontrolled tumble before finally stopping, sprawled face-down in ash that clung to his wounds like salt in open cuts.240Please respect copyright.PENANAaUSSFGvpiy
240Please respect copyright.PENANADPX7eFLvKg
For several heartbeats, he couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. His body simply refused to obey, overwhelmed by accumulated damage.240Please respect copyright.PENANA1GtNpOE7J4
240Please respect copyright.PENANAAZ1mszJLvd
Then his lungs remembered their purpose.240Please respect copyright.PENANAk9fSwE07NC
240Please respect copyright.PENANASnfjRHK1LW
Air rushed in - painful, burning, but real.240Please respect copyright.PENANAp0ZgXMp45s
240Please respect copyright.PENANAnw840xg7CO
Cel pushed himself up slowly, ash cascading from his back in gray streams. The air was thick with it - choking clouds stirred up by the worm's breath and the rain of obsidian. 240Please respect copyright.PENANAQS7L89V4sW
240Please respect copyright.PENANAqJ5PgOUXMf
He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision.240Please respect copyright.PENANAcCGcAIPiS0
240Please respect copyright.PENANAdSQZD3aZSu
Movement in the distance caught his attention.240Please respect copyright.PENANA1f2jtOMvwp
240Please respect copyright.PENANAQkOOaNq9JN
The massive worm.240Please respect copyright.PENANAp6NOBhoR10
240Please respect copyright.PENANAk3HKwbwkAs
Still surfaced. Its enormous body writhed above ground, steam rising from its open maw where the molten breath had scorched even its own flesh. For a moment it remained there, coiled like a conqueror surveying its domain.240Please respect copyright.PENANA1rgz6QTySX
240Please respect copyright.PENANAUjYagfZBFU
Then it began to sink.240Please respect copyright.PENANAV0afJCPUWo
240Please respect copyright.PENANAdXot51AeLz
Slowly at first, then faster. The ground opened beneath it - not violently, but as if the earth itself welcomed the creature home. Within seconds, nothing remained. Stone sealed behind it like water closing over a dropped pebble.240Please respect copyright.PENANAmP1lh57DBb
240Please respect copyright.PENANAT8uaaPWpUG
Gone.240Please respect copyright.PENANAlEZNbB6Ik7
240Please respect copyright.PENANAReAj44jJVM
Cel's gaze swept across the wasteland.240Please respect copyright.PENANAgd3sFlccpN
240Please respect copyright.PENANAcFNhIaptgM
The destruction was absolute. Where the breath had touched, the ground was scorched black, cracked like dried clay. Obsidian stones littered the landscape - some still glowing faint red with residual heat, others already cooling to dull black. Ash drifted through the air in lazy spirals, settling over everything in a fresh gray shroud.240Please respect copyright.PENANAh4nA8gtdoi
240Please respect copyright.PENANAHzNYuB7jxw
Then he saw it.240Please respect copyright.PENANAs0Svvlu9Fa
240Please respect copyright.PENANAVcBrDVwTBY
The smaller creature lay perhaps fifteen steps away, broken and steaming. Its body was shattered - body bent at an angle that shouldn't exist, its remaining arm twisted beneath its torso. Parts of its stone-like skin had cracked from extreme temperature shifts—frozen, then cooked, then frozen again.240Please respect copyright.PENANAZGnrstnEuK
240Please respect copyright.PENANALq1sx8UCUL
But Cel's gaze didn't linger.240Please respect copyright.PENANANtDxERUs2g
240Please respect copyright.PENANASqjR5o3TAk
Movement behind the creature caught his attention - something massive shifting on the horizon.240Please respect copyright.PENANAP7jAoQhqkK
240Please respect copyright.PENANA9tYfeRHCJR
His eyes traveled past the broken body, past the scattered obsidian, to what lay beyond.240Please respect copyright.PENANAzySj9fsMGO
240Please respect copyright.PENANANnSHbGuHr1
Ice flooded his veins.240Please respect copyright.PENANAAP4PJHk8G9
240Please respect copyright.PENANA9gRLcfwlaN
A wall of ash rose in the distance - impossibly tall, impossibly wide. Not drifting lazily like the settling dust around him, but spinning. Churning. A massive tornado of gray and black that devoured everything in its path, advancing across the wasteland with relentless purpose.240Please respect copyright.PENANATfonCdkR7z
240Please respect copyright.PENANAcKGljzTwgH
The sound reached him a heartbeat later - a low, hollow roar that seemed to come from the earth itself.240Please respect copyright.PENANAs6gOHLs663
240Please respect copyright.PENANAvtrO8f5Qk7
Cel spun around, scanning desperately for shelter.240Please respect copyright.PENANA8WLi22cNJ5
240Please respect copyright.PENANAWQIfRa2URK
Distant shapes jutted from the wasteland - ruins, their crumbling walls half-buried in ash. Ancient, crumbling, but they offered something better than standing exposed in the open.240Please respect copyright.PENANA51z2HDLPie
240Please respect copyright.PENANAwVaV8mM3m3
He ran.240Please respect copyright.PENANA2wX9uqlLjS
240Please respect copyright.PENANAhVinhLa3Nu
His enhanced legs launched him forward in powerful, uneven strides. Each step carried him farther than expected, his burned and clawed body protesting the abuse, but fear drove him harder than pain ever could.240Please respect copyright.PENANAJ7zJd8ycuQ
240Please respect copyright.PENANA0NcjToCEAB
The roar grew louder behind him. Closer.240Please respect copyright.PENANA8v2wodZM47
240Please respect copyright.PENANAJNxYgY0DBa
Movement flickered in his peripheral vision.240Please respect copyright.PENANAuBKiqU0rAX
240Please respect copyright.PENANAzi7zv5LEVw
Cel's head snapped sideways.240Please respect copyright.PENANAIOi8Pp8yiD
240Please respect copyright.PENANAEef9nELwST
The smaller creature had risen.240Please respect copyright.PENANAd02UlWox5C
240Please respect copyright.PENANAlkMEry5mcZ
Its shattered body dragged itself forward with impossible determination, stone-like skin cracked and bleeding, leaving a trail of dark ichor through the ash. But its eyeless head tracked him with perfect accuracy.240Please respect copyright.PENANAsosr8jF3zJ
240Please respect copyright.PENANAE7ItakJDiU
It was following him.240Please respect copyright.PENANA166OUOSFCt
240Please respect copyright.PENANA1K1GUJAjWU
'You've got to be kidding me.'240Please respect copyright.PENANABcmIYByYRU
240Please respect copyright.PENANA46HaZOeII2
The thing launched itself forward, its single arm clawing at the ground in desperate pulls, dragging its broken body in a lurching charge driven by pure animal rage.240Please respect copyright.PENANAr3YNyphXyT
240Please respect copyright.PENANAA8ddHvmpWU
The frost. The burns. Being used as a meat shield - the creature remembered. And it wanted revenge.240Please respect copyright.PENANAamIgjfpc1Q
240Please respect copyright.PENANAw9GmuslzuR
"Mindless bastard!" Cel snarled, pushing harder. "That's going to kill us both!"240Please respect copyright.PENANALhqYQL4wrT
240Please respect copyright.PENANAX0if6ZbXTP
But the creature didn't care. Didn't even glance at the approaching tornado. Its needle-ringed mouth opened in a shriek of pure fury, focused entirely on the one who had hurt it.240Please respect copyright.PENANAnNwm2WTBt9
240Please respect copyright.PENANAbazBMATtnv
And that was Cel.240Please respect copyright.PENANAqrmo5hglJm
240Please respect copyright.PENANA2cMoTFWMyc
The ruins grew closer. Twenty steps. Fifteen.240Please respect copyright.PENANAL3QGt8HGed
240Please respect copyright.PENANADtsMKsOK3u
Behind him, the creature was gaining. Its broken body moved with terrifying speed, driven by something beyond reason.240Please respect copyright.PENANAa0FrNiYVQE
240Please respect copyright.PENANAnHpcDrUCNA
Ten steps.240Please respect copyright.PENANA6bDrjy2vGX
240Please respect copyright.PENANAeFCLhG00cc
The roar became deafening. Cel felt the air pressure change against his back, a physical force that pushed him forward even as it pulled ash into spiraling chaos around him. 240Please respect copyright.PENANAhok6QrQcJa
240Please respect copyright.PENANA6TO7w6C45b
Five steps.240Please respect copyright.PENANAtcqAwyYmOm
240Please respect copyright.PENANAmOfHKLwcuM
Behind him, the creature lunged.240Please respect copyright.PENANAoPPbtVRq87
240Please respect copyright.PENANAuMNSSq9qnY
Cel threw himself forward in a desperate dive.240Please respect copyright.PENANAgIo5Ni5ygG
240Please respect copyright.PENANA7ZChsjUTAo
The creature's claws whistled past his head as he plunged through a gap in the crumbling wall, his shoulder slamming into ancient stone as he tumbled inside. 240Please respect copyright.PENANAPrt6oEgNH9
240Please respect copyright.PENANAwvqCgZmH9w
Then the ash storm hit.240Please respect copyright.PENANAFy4KFQHeNl
240Please respect copyright.PENANAqNLImczgfW
The creature's silhouette vanished - consumed by the gray wall that crashed over the ruins like a wave. Its shriek cut off abruptly, swallowed by the hollow roar.240Please respect copyright.PENANAbgqh1tLxfh
240Please respect copyright.PENANAgWbM247xPq
The world disappeared.240Please respect copyright.PENANAvweCCw1OLT
240Please respect copyright.PENANAuDHByxMigz
Cel's chest heaved, relief flooding through him.240Please respect copyright.PENANArAJKdnX8kw
240Please respect copyright.PENANA7DHQYtE26T
But that relief was short-lived.240Please respect copyright.PENANAsMxS0d43eG
240Please respect copyright.PENANA1eFqNQPt3n
Ash poured through every gap in the broken walls, thick as water, choking and absolute. The ruins offered shelter but not sanctuary - wind howled through the structure's wounds, carrying stinging debris that tore at exposed skin.240Please respect copyright.PENANApUXrNxEJtZ
240Please respect copyright.PENANAg7tDYVSnLb
Cel curled against the ground, arms wrapped over his head, trying to make himself as small as possible. Stone fragments and ash hammered against his back.240Please respect copyright.PENANANg61CKlAcp
240Please respect copyright.PENANA0HTF3mioYb
He pressed his face into the crook of his elbow, one hand cupped over his mouth and nose, breathing in short, desperate gasps. Even filtered, the air tasted of sulfur and ancient dust.240Please respect copyright.PENANAFZmPsiVhPY
240Please respect copyright.PENANAHZQMUy654w
The roar consumed everything - thought, sensation, awareness. Just sound, pressure and the terrible fear that the walls around him might not hold, that the ruins might collapse and bury him alive in this dead world's fury.240Please respect copyright.PENANAMF6hy5Ex6A
240Please respect copyright.PENANAOG7f3oyyuv
Time became meaningless. Seconds stretched into minutes stretched into—240Please respect copyright.PENANAEEJ3MeAWR9
240Please respect copyright.PENANAMF1E6PaCGU
The stone beneath him cracked.240Please respect copyright.PENANAHGdXapymtF
240Please respect copyright.PENANAYo98FHZ3zY
Cel's eyes snapped open just as the floor split apart directly below his chest.240Please respect copyright.PENANAtsGMEh4Uqh
240Please respect copyright.PENANAgkNCZrKczH
He threw himself sideways, rolling across ash-covered stone as the ground gave way. His burned left arm screamed.240Please respect copyright.PENANAcI3a21d5vm
240Please respect copyright.PENANAOZDx53gSdd
That broken, vengeful thing erupted from below in an explosion of ash and fury.240Please respect copyright.PENANAUZx1OKFMty
240Please respect copyright.PENANAWOdqtooUPz
It burst through the widening crack - shattered body twisted at impossible angles, stone-like skin cracked and weeping dark ichor.240Please respect copyright.PENANAmB7IvrBq3n
240Please respect copyright.PENANAJDIPB6DOGI
The eyeless head whipped toward him.240Please respect copyright.PENANAdYtVTWz9eg
240Please respect copyright.PENANAqydaMsAMJE
Its needle-ringed mouth opened in a shriek that cut through even the storm's roar.240Please respect copyright.PENANAhVOxFWbRBs
240Please respect copyright.PENANADB48ebMR0G
Cel scrambled backward through swirling ash.240Please respect copyright.PENANAMlLmQt7wXP
240Please respect copyright.PENANAYDNgBjXIRQ
Silent Moon materialized in his left grip.240Please respect copyright.PENANAkM6ooRoHgZ
240Please respect copyright.PENANAFV9Gfmz8vG
Four crescents ignited along the blade's length.240Please respect copyright.PENANAQYMT6uMbjU
240Please respect copyright.PENANA2PL6JrkV6K
The creature lunged.240Please respect copyright.PENANAlbLgiEuLvp
240Please respect copyright.PENANAZYowHs1mMG
240Please respect copyright.PENANAtUCKsGiHNc
240Please respect copyright.PENANAFejVbyaekK
---------240Please respect copyright.PENANAdhYMl8z6WQ
Hello, Author here! ^^240Please respect copyright.PENANANcfO8yuNd6
240Please respect copyright.PENANAB6UGaIZdTC
As promised, I've created a Discord server for Lunar Legacy!240Please respect copyright.PENANABzR7XYl0gs
240Please respect copyright.PENANAFcKrH0R4fV
Here is the link to the server: https://discord.gg/Uduxc48wfm240Please respect copyright.PENANAxMkGwUASPW
240Please respect copyright.PENANAlv79qKuO2l
Think of it as our little playground - a space for the you to connect and for me to keep you updated on what's going on.240Please respect copyright.PENANAqnaDxlGGBe
240Please respect copyright.PENANABat24RkcpY
I'd be happy to get to know you there :)240Please respect copyright.PENANAE9XR3TuL13
240Please respect copyright.PENANAm6BXKr3qsb
As always, thank you for reading and supporting Lunar Legacy. You're all amazing! :)


