In another distant land, a black portal opened, throwing a man out of it. The moment he appeared, he fell straight into the mud. The ground was soft and wet. Something wriggled beneath him
He stood up, panting and hurriedly wiping the filth from his face. He was barefoot, dressed in loose prison clothes. He checked his pockets to see if anything was there, but they were empty.
Around him stretched a swamp. Many twisted trees rose out of black water, their roots like claws, with fog so thick he couldn't see ten steps ahead.
A voice buzzed in his head.
[Bearer No.5 recognized.
Granting abilities….]
[Ability: Bone Shift]
[Ability: Swamp Sight]
He shouted in pain, his eyes began to bleed and soon they adjusted. He looked around and could see further now. He could see faint outlines of some creatures moving in the fog far away.
He crouched, something inside him shifted. His bones cracked aloud, his fingers twisted longer, sharper, more like claws. His spine adjusted to the movement low and fast. This was his second ability, Bone Shift.
Even though it hurts too much when changing, it feels awesome, the speed increases by a notch.
He ran through the trees, ducking under roots, scaling limbs. The sudden rapid movement alerted many nearby creatures. They all started to move towards him. They were all tall, thin as sticks, with empty sockets for eyes.
As soon as he saw the first creature, he lunged at it. His bone-formed claws pierced its neck. It didn't bleed, but simply cracked and after a few seconds it crumbled into moss and water.
Soon, more followed. He danced between them, silent like a moving shadow with sharpened limbs. The battle lasted a few hours, leaving him exhausted. He grew tired and slowed down his speed and walked without attracting any attention.
By nightfall, he had built a small nest in the hollow of a tree. He used his claws to carve out shelter and waited. He slowly began to let go of his guard, as Swamp Sight let him see any of the creatures nearby him. He slept soundly that night.
The next morning, he started to move again. This time he moved toward the deeper part of the swamp. Which would be his first and last mistake.
As soon as he entered the deeper part, he stepped into a patch of moss that wasn't a moss exactly, but was a mouth.
It opened and dragged him under before he could have a chance to jump. He screamed at the top of his lungs. Before the swamp went to its original silence.
[Bearer No.5 eliminated
Time survived: 1.4 days]
[Cause of death: ambushed by predatory terrain, swallowed whole]
[Result: failure.]
[Selecting the next bearer….]