Anderson's breathing picked up. The realization that he was north of the hollow mountains sent him into a panic. No one had ever survived the north of the hollow mountains. No one even knew if there was anything north of it to begin with. No awakened returned from the north so most assumed it to be filled with death zones or to not exist. And that place was where Anderson had ended up.
A feeling of dread slowly filled his body. Staring at the wall of impenetrable mountains Anderson moved. There was no thought behind it. He needed to get somewhere safe. The chances of any nightmare creature being weak here were slim. So he ran to the only place there was, the Spire.
Even though he ran for hours the Spire did not seem to be any closer. The only things around him were mainly leafless trees and snow. Every once in a while he would find vine like plants.
After hours of running he gave up on running to the Spire. He did not know what was out here, but he needed energy to fight or flee.
Now walking he grabbed any of the vines he saw as he walked. Slowly grabbing and weaving the bark off the trees to make some form of clothes and armor. By the end of the day he had a breastplate and leggings.
And so night came. He sat in another tree. He didn't want to sleep. The worry of imminent death hung over his head. How could he sleep anyway. His body was only holding up against the cold thanks to smoking the pipe. If he didn't smoke it then he would freeze.
As he waited he heard something. Pattering of feet against the ground. It almost sounded human.
Just as he was about to call out he saw it. A centipede like creature moved across the ice. Each step it took the ice and snow crunched under it. Even though it was as big as a PTV the centipede left only small divots in the snow.
It seemed as if the creature was ignoring Anderson as it crawled by. Staring closer Anderson realized it had no eyes. However, that only put him on guard.
Holding his breath he waited for it to go by. In only a few moments the creature was at the edge of the light of his pipe.
It stopped. Anderson's heart froze. The creature turned as if listening. For a brief moment it did nothing.
It turned away, only for its tail to slam into the tree Anderson was in. The tree fell and so did Anderson. Thankfully the snow along with his enhanced body allowed him to remain unscathed. getting up Anderson readied himself. The creature lunged using every leg to push off the ground. Dodging Anderson tried to find anything to use, but there was nothing. The world was dark and he knew there was nothing as he had been checking everywhere for the entire day. The only option was his fists.
On the next lunge of the creature Anderson grabbed onto one of its legs and pulled. Nothing happed for a moment.
SNAP!
One of its legs detached from the centipede's body with it came a spray of green viscous blood. The tip of the leg seemed it be in a point almost like a spear.
Luckily Anderson had been training with a spear while in the academy.
Anderson waited for the next lunge, but it never came as the tail came from his side slamming him into a tree causing it to fall.
Getting up Anderson breathed hard. The leg in hand he looked for the centipede. He saw it clearly, but that was the problem. He could only see the centipede.
He realized it was circling him. However, there was no time to react. The creature moved, trapping him, squeezing him.
He couldn't breath the creature had trapped him. He tried to move his hands but nothing came of it. He saw nothing but the smoke around him.
'Is this the end? Is this how I die?'
Anderson mind started to waver. He was not getting oxygen to his brain. However, with the last wisps of air in his lunges to spoke two words.
"Command Push."
The command was a simple one. It pushed anything around him away from himself.
The centipede stopped. It felt a push. Not one but many. It was pushed in all directions. Its body stretched then tore.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Harvester Scout]
Hearing the Spell Anderson's eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. His lunges were empty and his mind was blank.
He laid on the dirt breathing. He laid there for a while before it hit him.
'It was a scout!'
Realizing this he moved. Getting up his body ached. The pain was immense, so much so he hadn't even realized that he was missing five of his fingernails.
He quickly dug through what ever remained of the centipede. Finding two crystals he crushed them. As he did they released sparks of light that flowed into him, but he didn't stop he grabbed as many of the severed legs as he could and ran.
If the creature he killed was a scout then something else was coming his way.
He ran and ran till it was day and yet he did not stop he kept running until noon when he could run no more. He fell in the snow. Falling unconscious.
The smoke around him from his pipe moved. The smoke seemed to follow the essence he absorbed earlier. However, it met resistance. His body and soul rejected it and yet it still moved. Deeper and deeper until it reached his soul sea. His soul was blank. There was nothing but a single core that rested in the center of the nothingness.
The smoke seemed to still. Slowly it moved. Circling the core. It almost looked like a reverse event horizon.
The smoke entered the core, leaving behind nothing to show that it was ever there.