Chapter 52 : The First Night Beneath the Eye
Dirga descended from the towering black-leafed tree, boots crunching softly against the brittle forest soil. The air smelled strange — not rotted, but thick with something unnatural, like metal and static.
As his boots hit solid ground, he paused.
There, not ten steps ahead, a snake coiled — pure white, with piercing green eyes that locked with his. Its scaled body stretched nearly six meters, thicker than his thigh. A still moment passed. Both hunter and prey assessed each other.
Then it lunged.
Dirga didn’t flinch. The Crimson Core flickered in his palm, morphing instantly into a sword. With a subtle twist of his fingers, he pulled at the gravity within the snake’s midsection, yanking it off trajectory mid-air. A telekinetic burst from his palm propelled his arm forward with brutal speed.
The blade pierced clean through the serpent’s skull.
A single hiss. Then silence.
"Huft... nice and easy," Dirga muttered, exhaling.
He crouched beside the carcass, inspecting it. The meat seemed dense, clean. Back on Earth, snake was edible. Why not here? He carved out several portions, wrapping the meat in thick leaves, and peeled the pale skin clean. It might serve as a pouch or makeshift sling later.
Nearby, he found a narrow stream. The water was dark, reflecting the blood-red sky, but after tasting it carefully, Dirga noted it wasn’t bitter or tainted.
"Good enough," he whispered.