Chapter Fifteen: The Black Pit

"Are you broken, human?" Ittetsu's voice cut through the chaos of my mind, icy and taunting. "You will be."

With a grotesque gesture, he expelled glowing orbs onto the ground, their eerie light a stark contrast to the surrounding gloom.

"Or perhaps you'll die. Who can say? I wonder what I'll find when I return." His words hung in the air as he departed, leaving me to ponder my fate in the moon's uncaring glow.

Confusion gave way to a creeping realization when I heard a faint cracking sound. My eyes snapped to the orbs—no, not orbs. Eggs.

A cold shiver of horror ran down my spine as I watched the first fine lines of fracture spider across the eggshells, illuminated eerily by the moon's pale light. Then, with a suddenness that wrenched the air from my lungs, small, sinuous tentacles pushed forth, glistening wetly in the night. They were followed by wriggling, rhythmic tails. Spawn of Ittetsu, horrifying miniatures of the entity himself, twisting and turning in the ghostly light.

These vile offspring slithered out, mirror images of their abhorrent sire, their flesh a sickly, glistening pink under the lunar glow. They bore unseeing eyes, yet those eyes seemed to pierce through me, reaching into the very depths of my soul.

They wriggled and writhed over each other, a mass of pulsating life, moving inexorably towards me, no, towards us – they were being drawn to our warmth. In that moment, under the uncaring gaze of the moon, I knew true fear.

They moved, hundreds of them, their little bodies shining like perverse stars in the darkness, walking above the viscous substance that ensnared me. In this moment, under the uncaring gaze of the moon, there was no doubt about it – I was to be their feast.

One of the creatures dared to crawl onto my thigh. In a reflex of disgust, I swatted it away, only to freeze in horror as it split itself in to two and returned, undeterred.

Then, a scream, almost human in its agony, cut through the air, drowning out the moans of the trapped animals around me. It was the raccoon. I clenched my eyes shut, trying to block out its cries of torment, but the sound etched itself into my mind. When the screaming finally ceased, I opened my eyes, only to find five more of those hatchlings crawling up my torso.

Anger flared within me, hot and fierce. I shook them off, my disgust turning to rage. These creatures had no right—no right at all. I could hear the sickening crunch of the hatchlings every time I swatted, slapped, punched them away.

Then, "Fuck," a sharp pain—a bite. One of the little bastards had got my hand. I killed it, but the bites kept coming, their little jaws tearing at me.

My legs, ensnared and immobilized by the viscous substance, were like anchors, pulling me deeper into oil with each movement. I felt a growing weariness, my arms heavy as I swatted away the abominable creatures.

I swatted, punched, threw them off, but they kept coming, two for every one I killed. I was breathing hard, my limbs heavy with effort and despair. Fuck, I had to think. An idea, anything. Then I remembered, my foot, my foot was still out there.

If that was true, could I use my Bara Bara No Mi? Shit. A pair of little teeth pierced through my uniform and wrenched my wrist. I swatted it away and closed my eyes, trying to feel it out there.

Then a bite in my cheek. Fuck. Panic clawed at my throat, but I shoved it down. I had to do this, to ignore. Fuck. Concentrate.

There! A faint connection to my foot, still on solid ground. Could I… I focused on that sensation, the bizarre, disjointed awareness of my own body. My body, my own body, disjointed, disconnected, yet still a part of me. I focused, concentrating on the sensation of my foot, grounded and safe, away from this this hell.

My foot, I willed it to move, to respond. Slowly, awkwardly, I anchored it to the ground, using as a pivot. The pain from my fractured ankle shot through me. The sensation intensified, a buzz spreading across my entire body. Then, with a lurch that made my stomach flip, my upper body came free. I hovered above the dark pit, staring in disbelief at my legs, still submerged.

The hatchlings, confused by my floating upper body, snapped at thin air. There were so many of them spread to the lake, hundreds, maybe even thousands. I swallowed. Seeing that the ones that had been attacking me were but a fraction of they're real number. The one's who didn't mind, if they're food was fighting.

I maneuvered my floating upper body with newfound agility, thinking about to take my legs from there. My arms… could I detach them? I pushed mentally, urging my body to heed this bizarre, new command. A peculiar sensation washed over me, as if my very essence was being torn asunder and reassembled.

My arms… they were moving on their own! I reached down, hands plunging into the oil. Hatchlings leapt at them, tearing at my uniform. I yanked them out and fought back, flinging bits of myself, now makeshift weapons, at them.

They scattered, multiplying with each strike. No time to waste. Hand in oil, I gripped my lower half and began to pull. It was a strange, muffled battle beneath the surface. I grasped, pulled, and with a final surge of effort, freed my legs. They shot out of the oil, reattaching to my torso with a bizarre, almost magnetic pull.

I smiled and went down. Calling my arms back as I descended. They hovered, disjointed but compliant. I reassembled myself, limbs clicking back into place with a focus I never knew I possessed. Landing awkwardly on my good foot, I steadied myself, grimacing at the pain in my ankle. But I was out, whole, and most crucially, still breathing.

Now I had to make sure I remained so.

Suddenly, as if responding to an unseen signal, every hatchling turned towards me. My heart skipped a beat. I reached for my sword, drawing it from its scabbard with a swift, but awkward motion.

Whatever that fuck, was the force that downloaded information into my brain – please come now, show me the way.

⋘ Kenjutsu…⋙

Images. Footwork. Sword Forms. All passed through me. Lightning my head on fire.

I gripped my sword tight, feeling a wild grin spread across my face.

"Come on then, you bastards."