The second rope snapped in front of his eyes, severed by the hands of one of the villagers.
His leg screamed in pain where the drog's teeth tore flesh and muscle. Every second was agony for him.
'No. I cannot die here. Not like this.' Rage surged in his veins like burning fire towards the villagers, pure and unyielding.
Theron's face flickered in his mind, a curse, a promise carved into every pulse of hatred.
Blood-red eyes glared towards the villagers, ready to extinguish their life itself if he could by sheer will.
The fall swallowed the light and his anger. Darkness pressed against his eyelids, the miasma was thick and completely dark.
He clenched the rope tightly, it was his only lifeline between survival and oblivion, even as he was falling below.
The drog beneath him writhed, it was panicking as it was blinded by the choking darkness.
His mind was in chaos due to the betrayal. But he quickly controlled his rage, as survival was of utmost importance, and he did what was the best he could currently do right now.
'You bit me. You chose this fate.' Asterion grabbed the drog's head and hugged its body tighter with his legs, making a living shield against the jagged rocks.
Pain exploded in his body without warning; his bones shattered like glass. The drog's spine snapped due to the force, and his left leg was now broken under pressure.
'Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh'
Asterion screamed as much as he could due to the pain; he even forgot that he was now falling downwards after the impact, but endless pain and agony were all that were present in his mind.
His left leg was dangling in the air, but his survival instincts still held the beast with his right leg even after the pain he was suffering.
After endless minutes, he finally stopped screaming, not because he calmed down but because he simply couldn't speak.
He had screamed so hard that his vocal cord was damaged which again caused him a lot of pain but this time, he couldn't scream as he felt the pain.
After endless minutes, he finally regained his senses, except sight. He realized that he was still falling into the bottomless darkness and he couldn't even tell how much time had passed since he had started to fall.
'When is this going to come to an end? And would I even survive the impact?' He thought but still held the beast tighter, as even a small shred of hope might help him right now.
After an unknown amount of time, he had become numb to the pain in his leg and vocal cord when suddenly, he saw a small patch of light in the darkness below.
Before he could even feel happy, he quickly fell into the source of the light due to the acceleration he was falling at.
The sudden light made him close his eyes due to the sharp pain; his eyes clenched tight, muscles coiled in silent preparation for whatever brutality he was going to experience.
His speed surged, and he quickly fell into a waterbody with the beast still clutched tightly to him.
The impact with the water broke both of his hands too, but was that the end of it?
No. The speed was so much that they both headed straight to the bed of the pond. The drog's body slammed against the rocks, its body completely shattered upon the impact, and now floated in an irregular shape like an amoeba.
Asterion's condition was no better than the drog. Even with the beast's body, the impact broke more than 100 of his bones, and he was suffering from multiple internal bleedings.
He felt so much pain that he thought that dying would be a better option compared to what he was feeling.
He now knew that he was going to die. 'I wasn't able to avenge my father, but I wish I could at least see my mother for once, sorry mom,' were his thoughts before he lost consciousness with a bitter smile on his face.
After an unknown amount of time, his consciousness returned. Asterion's eyes fluttered open, breaking through the haze as his mind finally cleared up.
He found himself floating at the pond's surface. His aching body was feeling like he was strangely whole, like he was perfectly fine.
Confused, he scanned his limbs, and he was surprised at the scene before his eyes. His body was perfectly fine, holding no traces of even the slightest injury.
'How am I still alive? Didn't I die with the beast... wait, the beast. ' He again panicked but quickly calmed down as he saw the broken body of the drog some distance away from him in the pond, floating aimlessly.
He quickly swam and got out of the pond with his completely fine body but tattered clothes as he scanned his surroundings and the beast.
'The beast must have died upon the impact, due to which the water of the pond was not able to heal it back, or did it simply not work on it?' He had no idea.
Heck, he wasn't even sure that it was the water of the pond that had healed him, but right now, that was the only possible explanation he could come up with as he was unconscious.
The pond was crystal clear, filled with water and shimmering beneath sunlight filtering through tall trees.
Plants were swaying gently inside the pond, vibrant greens and blues of plants painted what felt like a majestic scene straight out of a painting.
Around him was a green meadow, green grass and yellow sunlight giving it a natural grace.
In front of him, there was a forest full of trees which formed a natural canopy, their trunks were wide and gnarled.
The trees looked to be around 40 meters tall each and their trunks were so much wide that it might require four people to surround it. The forest was itself screaming that it was full of mysteries and danger.
Asterion hesitated. 'Should I go or not?' As he was unsure of what dangers might lie within or what secrets it might be holding.
But as soon as he turned behind, he was so shocked that his jaw dropped. In front of him was what looked like an ancient ruin with tall walls, even taller than the trees of the forest itself.
A large amount of wild plants and vines were present on the walls of the ruins, and there was only a single entrance made of stone doors, which was currently open.
Clearly, it meant that someone might have already ventured inside, or someone might even be present inside the ruin right now.
'I have no idea where I am right now, and I still need a Void beast core to complete my assimilation before I can transport back to my planet. Why do I feel like someone is trying his best to kill me?'
He shook his head at the thought, and after a brief moment of contemplation on what path he should choose, he decided to enter the ruins, but first he had some testing to do.
He quickly went near the pond, hesitated for a moment, but still drank the water. He waited for something to happen.
Even after some minutes, nothing. 'OK, it looks like the water is safe to drink, but it still tastes like normal water. Was it really this plain-looking water that healed me?'
To confirm his thoughts, he quickly took out the knife strapped to his waist. Yes, the knife was still somehow present with him even with all the dreadful roller-coaster of experiences.
He sliced his palm a little; blood started flowing out of it as he dipped his palm in the pond.
After waiting for some seconds, he was pleasantly surprised that his hand was healed; he hadn't tested it just for his curiosity in this unknown land but for some other purpose too.
He quickly went to the nearest tree of the forest, climbed a little, and tore off a thin branch.
He used his knife and made a hole in the branch from one side and broke off the unwanted pieces; he now had a somewhat usable bowl-like thing that could work for his experiment.
He quickly took the bowl, dipped it into the water, took it out, and started moving towards the ruins with the bowl filled with the pond water in his hands.
But just as he went more than 5 meters away from the pond, the water from his bowl disappeared.
Seeing this scene, he knew he couldn't take the mysterious life-saving water, which could be comparable to a life-saving potion.
'I could have made a lot of money if I could even take some of it with me, or it might have helped if I needed it in the ruins.'
'Haah, looks like I need to do this with just my knife.' He thought as he started making his way towards the ancient ruins.
But what he didn't know was that he was currently in a place no mortal was supposed to enter, and what lay inside it might change his destiny itself.