Primordial Sage: Plight of Immortality

As the content of the stomach completely spilled out on the ground they saw flesh and corpses of their comrades. When they wanted to celebrate their successful endeavor they noticed something else.

It was another humanoid corpse that was much smaller than a normal human. It was half melted but it didn't rot so it seemed that it was not in the stomach for so long...

"What is this creature? Some kind of dwarf? Maybe that so-called halflin- Huh?! It moved!" as the chief observed the 'corpses' he saw that it started to convulse. When he retreated together with his scared clan members who thought it was some undead creature he saw the creature having a heavy coughing fit. Immediately after it started to vomit 'water' from its lungs as saliva, blood, and vomit came out of it.

What was the most bizarre though was that the skin and muscles, which were melted in most parts of its body, that made some bones visible, started to visibly heal. It was a slow but gradual transformation where fiber after fiber of each muscle grew on the mutilated body and on them started to grow the skin now completely pale as that of a newborn. Slowly but surely body of a human child boy appeared before their eyes. It seemed slightly muscular yet looked even more underfed than the aborigines before it and looked to be in its teens.

When he finally regenerated, his bald head, which didn't have even strand of a hair, started to sprout like weed after rain. The silky deep dark hair revealed itself after a few minutes falling to the buttocks of the boy.

"What is this demonic child ?! This is blasphemy..." muttered the chief while looking at the boy.

When the boy heard some voices for the first time in a long while he looked into its direction. But he still didn't see anything. On the other hand, aborigines saw his empty eye pockets as if looking deep into their souls. Little by little they became bloodied as they got filled with blood and some liquid slowly forming the shape of the eyeballs.

After another few seconds, those liquids solidified, and eyes with bloody pupils similar to the monster they just killed showed up looking deeply at the aborigines. There was no fear in them nor anger or pain. There was no visible emotion beyond the gaze when he looked around himself. Unfortunately, before he could enjoy his newfound freedom...

"Our lord guided us to kill the monster that procreated this devil's spawn. We must dispose of this atrocity." said calmly chief of the clan and then hurled the spear at the human boy.

The spear pierced the boy right through the chest before he could react. Aborigines didn't expect this anticlimactic ending. The boy was impaled on the body of now dead monster and could not do anything as he still was weakened. On the other hand, while he was impaled he wasn't dying any soon time too.

"What kind of demon is this ?" aborigines were horrified. He wasn't dying but instead writhed himself while being impaled.

"Don't give in to the fear comrades! It is just the temptation of the devil! If we can't kill it then we will capture it and do life sacrificial ritual for our lord!" shouted the chief with conviction as he came closer to the wriggling boy as he slashed at his tendons in the legs and arms to impede his movements.

"Aahh" this time boy screamed in pain. It didn't pass out as it had big pain tolerance but ever since it emerged from the monster's stomach it was bewildered, disoriented, and didn't have any chance to form any kind of formulated thoughts before being incapitated.

Unfortunately for the chief, the limbs started to slowly regenerate so he didn't have any other choice than tying the devil's spawn with the rope they brought with themselves. He didn't want to touch him as he feared that it would somehow infect him with its evilness. The only reason he was willing to touch it and bind it was because of their Grand Shaman's blessing.

When he was done binding the devil's spawn to the thick branch they took from the forest he tried to knock off the boy but it seemed impossible as the boy's grit was really that of the devil. Chief feared to try anything else lest the devil would do something to him so they set off immediately only taking their dead comrade's bodies and letting the big monster off as it would be too hard to move. Especially when they had much more important sacrifice.

Two of the aborigines took in their hands one of the ends of the branch put it on their shoulders and carried the boy who was bound to it together with others disappeared in the thick forest leaving behind themselves only carnage and the bodies of several unlucky animals and the body of the monster who was the cause of this entire event...

Stone was confused. Everything happened too quickly for him to process.

'What is happening? I think... Did I see light? Did I get out? But why did the pain not stop...' the Stone who was the entire time impassive confused. His mind was completely foggy after living more than 3 years in that hellhole.
When he finally saw those aborigines he felt little joy for seeing living humans for the first time in a very long time. He heard them yelling something but didn't understand. For a while, he wasn't sure if he just forgot his mother language or if it was a different one.

Unfortunately, before he realized that those aborigines were hostile it was too late. He was pierced and so shocked he couldn't even feel pain for the moment. Now bound to some big branch that aborigines held they carried him to the unknown place of those humans which were so much similar to him. What was worth noting though was that their skin was much rudder than normal humans despite being in this snowy land. They were much skinier as if they didn't eat for weeks and their tools and weapons were obsolete even in the village boy lived in.

'Ugh...' headache came to him when remembering what happened to his village and the anger that dissipated after years of clogged mind started to reignite once again.

The wounds that were inflicted by the biggest guy which seemed to be the leader started to heal even faster as the boy felt the anger while he looked around. They carried him through the pine tree's forest during the twilight as the sun slowly fell down behind the horizon. When he saw the happy people who he thought as some backwater aborigines he felt anger and sadness even bigger than before.

'Why is life so unfair?! What did I do to them to deserve this?! I hate this!' as he thought so he started to wriggle once more.

Unfortunately, before he could do anything he was slashed by the biggest guy in the chest. He did so with considerable distance where only the tip of the dagger slashed him but it was enough to make a long and jagged wound. It hurt so bad that a few tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Although he got very good pain resistance after years of suffering, this was a pain so different from the one he felt before that he couldn't control himself.

Thankfully his willpower made him swallow another scream as he was determined to get away from them. The pain completely woke him up from his groggy state and he realized in what condition he was.

He was surrounded by dozens of armed people who looked menacing despite their skinny stature. They just carried him through some well-trodden path deep in the dense forest. It seemed that this path was used often as they navigated through it as if the absence of light didn't bother them.

It looked like he needed to be quick and use the element of surprise if he wanted to get out of there. He didn't know where they wanted to take him but knew it would not be anything good for him. He felt anger towards them as the hostility for them grew in his heart.

Stone's mindset blinded by anger was completely different now as he wanted revenge against anything that hurt him. The monster that ate him and his brothers unfortunately died at the hands of these brutes so he couldn't do anything to it. He felt relief but also frustration from this. The only solace was that it was probably his doing that the monster died as he was the one who used the sharp edges of the decomposed bones to pierce the monster's stomach from the inside. It was mainly to get out until he realized he couldn't pierce it completely. Then he just pierced it so the monster felt at least a fraction of his pain.

This endeavor started a few months ago when Stone finally found the strength to do something else than hold onto something or try to eat some of the corpses to not die out of hunger and thirst. Despite being disgusted and saddened by the fact he needs to eat raw rotten meat he does it anyway albeit with difficulty. When he first realized that he wouldn't die from digestion some months already passed after the incident and his will to survive intensified so he did whatever it took to live. After some time he felt little difference. His body which was melted and regenerated in cycle felt much stronger than before. The process even accelerated when the monster ate all kinds of plants that then melted in the acidic juice. Stone felt like it was similar to the 'herbal bath' the granny Meddie talked about once albeit much more painful and horrifying. At this point, the boy realized the 'real' power of his gift. As long as he survives he would one day get out. It was painful and it was tiring but he persisted.

And it paid off when the monster finally breathed its last breath today. In the end, he survived this nightmare. He was permanently scarred on his soul but he was alive. And Stone won't let this opportunity pass despite being mentally tired after all of his experiences and the endless regeneration.

As such Stone threw side eye at his hands which were tied with the crude yet effective rope which was thick as two thumbs beside each other. He thought that if he tried he would be able to break the rope with his newfound strength but it would probably take a considerable part of the time. Considering he would use the raw power the aborigines would find out soon after thwarting his attempt.

So instead he looked at his fingers. Respectively his nails. His nails same as the hair were growing much faster than that of the average person. Back then it was just a bother but it was essential for his survival during those three years. Thanks to his nails that grew more and more hard he got to stick them in the other contents of the stomach to keep himself afloat. Every time he felt he couldn't hold on he would try to get out of the acid even if for just a moment and when he needed to eat he used mostly his nails to slice the meat. The human's nails are usually curved so they are not very sharp but with all the whetting with hard objects and biting those nails into the right form Stone did manage to turn them into lethal weapons. Fortunately while now they are not that long their sharp tip was still there as he made sure of it.

As long as he curls his fingers right, and grows consciously the nails a little then he will be able to break the rope without anyone noticing. During the years he noticed that that he can influence his growth of hair and nails little as he pleases so he is confident he can do it. And as it can be seen with his wrath influencing the speed of his recovery Stone believes he would be able to control the entire power of his gift in the future.

During the Stone's contemplation, the Aborigines carried him deep into the forest. Before there were no signs of human activity as they were far from their clan but now he could see more and more signs of their doings along the way. He saw some stakes on which were stabbed skulls... Some were those of animals like deer, boars, and bears but some were the same as those of humans.

When Stone saw this he was disgusted. Those guys were really nasty! He was even more in a hurry when he saw all kinds of corpses hanging on the trees as they took him towards the village which he could already see in the distance. He knew he didn't have much time so he hurried as he concentrated on his nails.

Those started to slowly grow until they reached the right length. Stone cheered in his mind as he sawed the rope while being on guard. Unfortunately, while this method was quite inconspicuous it took much longer than he expected. When he sawed the rope enough to keep it together but easily tore when needed he was already at the gates of the ominous village. So Stone had to wait to get the opportunity to get away while looking around vigilantly.

The aborigines who were at the crude wooden wall which was more appropriate to say fense started yelling something in their language and opened the gate. They slowly entered the village as many Aborigines were around jumping and cheering. The biggest guy who Stone thought was their leader started to point at Stone and was saying something. Other aborigines started to be even more loud and some started to throw things at him while others sprinted god knows where. After a while aborigines moved out of their way and the party went towards the direction leading deeper into the village. The sun already set and the dark permeated most of the forest but this village was full of light.

Everywhere were lit fires while the warm winds brought with them the rotten smell of dead bodies. Stone was already used to it but the disparity between the fresh air that he was able to get after so long and this stale, rancid smell made his stomach churn.

Aborigines didn't waste time as they went to the center of the village where there was a big village square. Only two cottages were surrounding it while one looked much better than the other. Right in the middle of the square was some kind of monolith surrounded by three long totems that had skulls on them. Under it was a very dirty and bloodied altar platform...