Chapter 6 The Cycle of Life

I was in darkness once more but there was nothing to be afraid of. The sh.e.l.lfish on my side would probably disagree. We weren't in a pleasant place at all and without the sh.e.l.l, the sh.e.l.lfish looked really small. I wonder if it felt fear.

This was probably it for the sh.e.l.lfish. However for me, I was now stuck in a very different place. It took me a while to get out of the sh.e.l.lfish's prison but how long would it take me to escape the bird? Unless I could successfully absorb its entire body into me, I highly doubt I could escape. Even so, I needed to be able to move on my own after I did that.

Both of us landed in hot liquid that smelled terrible. While nothing other than the smell affected me, the same could not be said for the sh.e.l.lfish.

The moment the sh.e.l.lfish touched this foul liquid, it started to melt in a horrific manner. What was happening? I could only watch on in fascination and horror.

It took a while to understand what I was seeing, the fatigue left behind me.

Burning the sh.e.l.lfish's last moments into my memory, I now understood why the sh.e.l.lfish was so stubborn and refused to give in to the horrible attacks by the bird. If it gave in, it was doomed. Unfortunately, the bird was stronger and it met the same fate.

My respect for the sh.e.l.lfish hit the climax. What a n.o.ble way of life and yet what a cruel death. I will adopt its way of living in memory of our almost-friends.h.i.+p.

With that thought, I felt the fatigue that left me return at full force. Now that the sh.e.l.lfish was no longer here, I had no more reason to fight it. Sleep took over as I grew immune to the putrid smell.