The Last Circle-Chapter 11: Scavenger

Roars. Caws. Rumbling. Flapping. Not another sound dared to pierce the veil of silence. The frenzied sky remained in its chaotic hues of red, yellow, and orange, reflecting the hellish nature of the creatures and environment that made up Hell.

The rumbling of toppling rocks weaved in between the sounds of a fierce battle. It was as though an earthquake had arrived, ready to consume anything that dared stand into rifts of pure darkness.

Hidden beneath the burial sites, Nameless stuck a bloody arm out of a pile of rubble, struggling to get himself out with his lazy effort. With enough time, however, he managed to pull away at the rocks that covered his scratched up face, casting a tired gaze into the frenzied sky.

He groaned, eyes half open, face smudged with dust and the black of rocks. He coughed, revealing a raspy voice as he gasped for air. He knew that he needed to be on the move, but out of all times, now was when he wanted to rest for a bit.

Especially when his legs felt numb, he certainly lusted after sleep.

The need for it never existed before, but now, sleep presented itself as a sweet and alluring whisper, beckoning him with its irresistible temptation. Just a few moments couldn't hurt... right?

'Right, it can't be that bad...' he told himself, letting the weight of his eyelids slowly invite him to the darkness, extinguishing the flickering flame. 'I'll just...'

"No!" he yelled, sitting up at the speed of lightning, sending rocks flying everywhere. "That's not sleep, that's death!"

He shook his head, forcing his eyes wide open as he took deep, ragged breaths. The ensuing fight between what he could only assume was the greater hellbound beast and the avian beast caused his head to dart off to his right.

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The following cracking sounds that came from that action felt cathartic as he winced. Painful, but satisfying.

He quickly got to work, shoving the rocks in an attempt to free his legs that he could barely feel. At the very least, retaining his sense over them was a relief. What wasn't a relief was feeling a warm liquid trickling down them, along with a burning pain that itched, forcing a wince out of him.

After freeing them from the burial, he stared at them, seeing that they were in a bloody ruin, lacerations running across each other, letting blood trickle down.

He sighed, though he didn't know if he should be relieved or worried. On one hand, he could still move them fine, and he'd be able to walk, but on the other hand, if it came down to running from a beast, he was most certainly screwed.

He ran a hand down his wincing face.

'At least I'm still alive... well, I guess I would've been anyway.'

True. An eternal cycle of life after death existed in this realm, so either way, he'd be alive, but he'd be wishing he was eternally dead, if death were to befall him.

Nevertheless, he forced himself up, feeling not just the burn, but his aching bones as well. Sleep really would have been nice, but it was one thing he knew he had to resist at all costs.

'If you don't need to sleep in Hell,' he looked around as he thought, studying the wide open area, scattered with piles of rubble, 'then that can only mean that feeling is death.'

He decided to stretch, letting his cracking bones add onto the endless roars and caws, while he thought about his next course of action. The obvious answer was to simply keep going while he still could. After all, with how many Sinner Hellbound Beasts the greater one sent running away, now was the safest time to do so.

But...

'If that bigger cousin is fighting the chicken, then,' he lazily dragged his gaze towards the direction of the echoing chaos, 'that means one of them is going to be weakened, if not killed.'

A wicked smirk formed on his face as he steepled his fingers and held them in front of his mouth.

'That means more seeds and maybe, just maybe... a damn weapon and some clothes!'

The bell rung, and he grimaced, rolling his eyes as he sighed.

He took a couple deep breaths before yelling, "Who even considers damn to be a bad word!?"

His ears were pleasantly graced with the ring of the bell, yet again, though his wincing face said otherwise.

'Ugh, whatever.' He scowled, crossing his arms as he walked off. 'Let's just go and see who's winning.'

***

Nameless swiftly traversed through the many piles of rubble. When he first entered the chasm, he felt claustrophobic, but now he could've sworn he was growing agoraphobic. The reason for that, however, only lay with the fact that the avian beast existed. Had it not been for its presence, there would be no fear of the change in environment. In fact, he felt like he was completely exposed to all the dangers of the Vagrant's Pass this way.

And quite frankly, it had him feeling as though he were naked, without being able to hide behind anything. Perhaps that was also brought on by the fact that he was only wearing a loincloth that oddly remained in perfect shape.

If only he could say the same for his physical state...

Regardless, moving out in the open was still relatively safe, for that allowed him to see any hellbeasts, envoy imps, or other creatures he had yet to lay eyes upon. He also had the system to thank for granting him the Shard of Sin, for that also allowed him to feel much safer when moving around.

With each step he took, tremors grew stronger, noises became clearer, and he even witnessed the obediently floating Shard of Sin wobbling ever so slightly. Whatever that was about, he was sure it meant the beasts had to be nearby. After all, it supposedly whispered every time he killed the hellbound beasts, so surely it was drawn to a greater variant.

But he chose not to pay it too much attention, for the shard still remained a mystery. Knowing that it was a symbol of pure malice—having borne the weight of trillions of sins—it was beyond being called simply arcane.

He froze, his thoughts silenced by a raucous outcry, answered by a screeching caw, all while he stood in the centre of a graveyard of shattered rocks.

'We're close.'

He looked to the corner in the far right, where some pillars still stood, though he wondered just how long it was until that statement would change. He quickly ran over, taking shelter in between the wide gaps that led to another, much larger open area.

It was like a gladiator's pit, only filled with all the tiny rocks one could count, dust that tainted the air, and a wide, circular arena bordered by whatever pillars miraculously stood.

'This has to be the place,' he told himself, slowly approaching the edge of the open arena.

And there it was. His bright and flickering eyes beheld the grand sight of the avian beast and the greater hellbound beast engaged in a furious fight to the death; until one would become the other's meal, and he was the scavenger ready to steal.