That Time I Reincarnated as a Stone: Series

Chapter 19: Blood, Horror, and Bone

My eyes snapped open to an absolute void, save for a distant, pathetic sliver of light bleeding into the gloom. Where the hell am I? was my first coherent thought. A torturous pressure hammered against my skull; I was face down, pinned. What happened? I remember being hit, and then… I was adrift, disoriented by a mental fog that felt like a permanent hangover.

I tried to shift, but I was caught in a vice. A viscous, cloying substance held me fast, and the metallic tang of iron—blood, I realized—stung my nostrils. The stench began to thicken as a rhythmic, wet dragging sound echoed from the dark, drawing closer.

“Dammit!” I hissed, struggling against my bonds to no avail. The presence approached with agonizing slowness until I felt a hot, rank breath ghost across my face. It was foul. Suddenly, a flare of light ignited a few meters away, casting the world into a stark, hellish relief.

Before me crouched a creature of nightmare: obsidian skin veined with sickly green, and eyes of pure, dead white. Yellowed fangs jutted from a mouth twisted into a grin as wretched as its breath. I took in the sweep of its down-turned horns and the wicked length of its talons. It watched me, poised and predatory.

What is this thing? A kidnapping? Since when do beasts do this? Then again, Priya never ceased to surprise me. I glanced sideways and saw another wretch like myself. A different species, perhaps, but the shared terror in his eyes told me one thing: we were dead men.

The beast lunged, sinking a claw deep into the stranger’s shoulder. I could only listen to his ragged screams as the organic steel burrowed deeper. The bastard was enjoying it. As the light intensified, the full scale of the abattoir was revealed: entrails, severed limbs, and half-eaten corpses rotting in a lake of gore.

The monster continued its butchery. With a single, casual motion, it buried its hands in the man’s chest and tore him open. I have to get out of here! my mind shrieked. I thrashed wildly until one of my claws tore free. I began hacking at the resinous filth binding me.

“Hurry, Samuel, or you’re next,” I whispered, my voice tight with anxiety. To my shock, the bindings gave way easily; before I knew it, one arm was free. The beast was feasting when it suddenly went still, turning its head to track my movements. It rose to its full height—a spindly, skeletal frame standing over seven feet tall, with something pulsing and luminous deep within its gut.

It didn’t rush me. It simply stood there, a silent spectator to my escape. I scrambled free and hit the floor, springing up immediately into a defensive crouch. By the time I had steadied myself, the creature was gone. Vanished? No. It was playing with its food. A hot drop of liquid splashed onto my shoulder. I looked up. There it was, clinging to the shadows above, leering down with the face of a lunatic.

I couldn’t win a fair fight. I bolted, but hadn’t taken two steps before I tripped, slamming face-first into a pile of decomposing meat. The squelch of the soft tissue and the overwhelming stench nearly made me gag.

“Damn it! Why is this happening?” I scrambled up, snatching a long, jagged bone from the floor. If I was going to die, I’d do it swinging. The thing vanished again.

“Stop playing with me!” I roared, my fear curdling into rage as I scanned the shadows for any sign of movement.

Without warning, the ground shuddered. The floor split open and the beast erupted from the earth. Before I could react, it crushed my arm with inhuman strength and slammed me into the dirt. The impact was so jarring I nearly blacked out; my vision swam. It was too strong.

I tried to rise, but my legs were water. Frustration and pain burned in my chest. The beast stood over me, making no move to strike. Instead, it emitted a low, guttural vibration that I could have sworn was laughter. I wasn’t a threat; I was a toy.

It charged, a blur of fury. I’m already dead, I thought. In that moment, the adrenaline hit like a tidal wave.

“It won’t be that easy, you deformed freak!” I braced myself, bone in hand. As it closed the gap, I lunged forward, driving my makeshift weapon deep into its belly—right where that strange light glowed.

A pained wail ripped from its throat. It shredded my back with its claws, even gouging one deep into my eye, but I didn’t flinch. I simply watched as the light in its eyes flickered and died.

“Damn it all…” I collapsed, my chest heaving, feeling my own blood slicking my skin.

“I don’t want to die again!” I gasped. Then, the floor vibrated once more, harder this time. From the distance came the thunderous sound of a pack—dozens of them—racing toward me.

What now?! I need to hide. Desperation took over. There was nothing but desolation around me, save for the carcass of the beast I’d just slain. Using my claws, I ripped open its remaining entrails and crawled inside. It was the most revolting thing I’d done in all my lives, but survival demanded it.

The interior felt like molten lava. The pack arrived, thundering past my hiding spot. Peering through the gore, I saw a sea of those monsters. What kind of hell is this? When the silence returned, I dragged myself out of the carcass.

“Hey, System!” I spat at the empty air. “I know you’re watching! Where am I? What’s going on?”

“Samuel emerged from the creature, shouting at the void like a madman. Perhaps he finally lost his mind?” the System’s voice narrated, dripping with its usual mocking tone. It was back; three years of silence, and it chose now to reappear.

“Answer me.”

[You do not have access to that information.]

“You’re never any damn help!” I fell to my knees, coughing up a spray of crimson. “I have to get out of here…”

I couldn’t fight it any longer. Darkness took me…

…"