My body was screaming to give up, but my will refused to listen. The knife embedded in my thigh seemed to have fused with my flesh, as if it were a grotesque extension of my very being. Despite the searing pain that tore through me with every step, I kept running.
Blood gushed from my wound, leaving a crimson trail that marked my desperate escape. Each drop spilled was a second less of life, but I couldn't stop. Not now. Not when death roared at my back with the voice of a goblin.
The echo of its bestial bellow reverberated through the stone corridors, making every hair on my nape stand on end. The primal, guttural sound needed no translation: it was hunger, it was fury, it was the promise of a bloody end if my legs faltered.
I focused on my breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Survive. It was the only thing that mattered in that moment, the only thought my mind, dulled by pain and fear, could process with clarity.
My lungs burned as if I had inhaled embers. The blood loss began to manifest as black spots dancing at the edges of my vision. Yet, the certainty of what awaited me if I stopped was a more powerful stimulus than any physical threat.
I turned a corner and let out a choked scream that rose from the depths of my being. It wasn't a scream of fear, but of determination. Adrenaline allowed me to ignore the agony for a moment, just as my eyes met a new obstacle.
Another goblin.
— Damn it! —I muttered through gritted teeth, assessing my new enemy in a fraction of a second.
This one was different from the one chasing me: smaller, unarmed, with an almost comical expression of surprise on its greenish face. In any other circumstance, I would have considered it a minor threat, a surmountable obstacle to finally reach my awakening.
But I had no time to devise a strategy. The hot, fetid breath of my pursuer was becoming more noticeable, like the proximity of death itself whispering in my ear.
I sped past the lesser goblin, taking advantage of its momentary confusion. It was then that my body, that traitor, decided it had reached its limit. My legs, until then miraculously functional, turned to lead. I fell with a dull thud that reverberated through my entire being.
The impact caused the knife to dislodge from my leg, producing a wet, obscene sound. The blood, previously partially contained by the blade, began to flow freely, forming a scarlet pool beneath my body. The pain was so intense that for a moment, the entire world vanished in a white flare.
I tried to stand. My arms trembled under my weight. My legs refused to respond. My body, the vehicle that had carried me through ten years of existence, had finally decided to abandon me.
A coldness began to spread from the tips of my fingers. It wasn't the chill of the environment, but the cold of life slowly slipping away. How ironic, how pathetic an end for someone like me. A bitter laugh, devoid of all joy, escaped my parched lips.
The world began to blur around me. The outlines lost definition, the sounds arrived muffled, as if I were slowly sinking into deep waters. Each heartbeat pumped more life out of my body, each breath was shallower than the last.
A primal fear seized me. I didn't want to die. Not like this, not now. The cold of desperation surpassed even the cold of blood loss. There was so much to do, so much to live for. Impotence hit me like a truck, crushing any hope.
The larger goblin was approaching. I could feel its steps rumbling on the ground, sending vibrations that reached my bones. It was the rhythm of a funeral drum, the announcement of my imminent end.
— …Ha ha —a weak laugh, almost a whisper, escaped my bloodless lips.
The pain was so absolute that it seemed to transcend the physical, becoming an entity of its own that devoured every inch of my being. And yet, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Hadn't anyone warned me before? Monsters are bastards who always exceed expectations. Those words, read at some point in my short life, returned to torment me in my final moments.
Should I complain about the injustice? No, I had been too arrogant, too naive to expect my enemies to be lenient. Monsters weren't known for their compassion; they wouldn't patiently wait for the protagonist of a story to awaken their powers or for a giant robot to complete its transformation.
Damn it, I thought with a bitterness that corroded me from within more than any wound.
The harsh reality was that there was no escape. No matter how much I wracked my privileged brain, I couldn't find a solution to my predicament. I couldn't even determine with precision where I was at that moment.
When my thoughts reached that point of absolute desperation, tears began to stream from my eyes, uncontrollable. The memory of my mother flashed through my mind like lightning, illuminating the darkness surrounding me for a moment. Her last words echoed in my consciousness with painful clarity.
She had ordered me to live.
Thinking of all the unimaginable obstacles I had overcome to reach this point, a toxic mix of anger and resentment flooded my chest. Sadness hit me like a tsunami, sweeping away any vestige of dignity or composure.
Tears I thought long exhausted ran freely down my dirty, bloodied cheeks. With determination born of the most absolute desperation, I flailed my arms as I dragged myself across the ground like a wounded insect. What a pathetic, miserable image I must have presented, but I didn't care.
Even if I had to wallow in filth, I preferred that humiliation a thousand times over death. I didn't care if others might judge me for my pitiful appearance or for behaving like a desperate worm.
I want to live…!
That primal desire, that basic need, couldn't abandon me as long as a breath of life remained in my body, not even as the steps of death approached slowly.
With trembling lips that could barely form coherent words, I whispered:
— …Help…
My fingers sank into the damp earth, clinging to it as if it could anchor me to life. With a broken voice, I continued:
— …Please…
Using the last strength still residing in my battered body, I gathered enough air to shout:
— …Help, please…!
My plea echoed in the emptiness of the corridor, bouncing off the indifferent walls before fading into silence.
There was no one. No one in this damned place who could hear my desperate call. The moment I grasped the magnitude of my solitude, when I realized I would remain abandoned to my fate and no savior would miraculously appear, an indescribable void settled in my chest.