Life explosion in the First Planet

Millions of years after Mutilator creation of the First Planet and the First Sun, a life explosion period, known as Life First Days, occurred. Up to that point, life was limited to solely bacteria, and nothing else. It was after some of these bacteria's finally managed to unite forming larger beings that we could see life at his true potential.

The world was still covered in water, with only a few small rocky islands with no life on it. Life on land did not evolve yet. But in the water, that's where things were different.

A strong current ruled the seas, called Raosẽn, ruled the giant ocean called Rapid, creating two distinct "Seasons": a warmer one, where food is abundant, and a colder one, when most creatures seek shelter. However, the fight for life and survival which started when small bacteria's fought each other had increase even more in this "Eden".

In the South, there is a tropical-like sea, full of life. It is here that our adventure begins.

In the tropical waters of the First Planet, a Pilobita swims in a forest of Giant Sea Grass. The Grass is tall and bamboo-like, quite particular but not as much as the Pilobita. It has a large circular head, with two compounded eyes and two short antenna's. This particular specimen had a long scar on his left eye, probably caused by a fight with another member of his specie. There are some small barbed structures behind the antenna's. While the head is large and round, the body seems more slender like, with blades coming out. These blades, 15 on each side, form the body, because the stick-like part in the middle is, in fact, its backbone, covered in some sort of exoskeleton. Under the blade-structure on the side of his body, there were several short, thin legs. However, it was swimming with a continuation of his backbone; it was longer, and beared a thin caudal fin-like structure similar to the one of eels. It is grey in coloration, and the first four blades are completely grey, while the remaining where for the most white with a single grey stripe. The caudal fin had grey stripes, but was mostly white. it beared three pink stripes on the upper part, while also having the outline color being pink. It was 40 cm long, and it was swimming in an undulatory motion, carefully moving in the forest.

After a while, it started to move deeper, until it reached the bottom of the forest, where it started looking for food. It's diet included anything that sank in the forests, using its antenna's and it's barbed structures. It occasionally searched in the sand, its mouth eating anything it could find: life is not easy in this Eden: it was the "Famine Season", a period when food is scarce, and even for generalist animals such as the Pilobita, some of the most adaptable animals in this world, finding anything to eat is still hard. The forests are important to this animal: they give protection to predators and, as such, there are other Pilobita's in the area, all looking for food. He finds other members of his species, and sometimes the meetings are not peaceful. The newcomer, relatively larger than some other Pilobita's in the forest, violently attacks them, using his small jaws to inject painful bites to the smaller comrades. Suddenly, something gains his attention: six long yellow tentacles moving, sometimes upstream. Most of the time, an animal such as the Pilobita would be careful and not jump to conclusions, but it's basically starving. He hasn't eaten in days and has swam for a long distance, avoiding predators left and right. He's a battle-scarred male, on his twenties, which is quite elderly for a Pilobita, and he is battle-scarred by many events in his life, since he was a small larvae floating in the current. He has seen many things. But hunger gets the best of anybody. Even a veteran. As such, without a doubt, he comes closer to the tentacles. They're around his size, but they were static, seemingly easy for picking for a Pilobita, especially if fully grown up. The male remained static for a while, behind the truck of a grass blade. Then, using his tail as a propulsion, he launched himself at them. The male managed to quickly cut a tentacle, but before he could move to the next, the ground started to shake violently. An earthquake maybe? No, it couldn't be. The Pilobita did not feel anything with his legs, which were extremely sensible and capable to feel the slightest vibration in the terrain. However, the terrain did not vibrate. It just shake.

Suddenly, a shriek came out of the opposite end of where the Pilobita was standing. The "tentacles" belonged to a strange being, something that not even our Pilobita has ever seen. It was a Rotaticaris, the true giant of these forests. It was a flat being, which could had been confused for the ground floor if it wasn't for the head: it too was flat, but beneath there was a circular mouth with bristle like teeth. It had two compounded eyes, black in color. The strangest structure were two claw-like appendices with long bristle-like spines, which it used to collect plankton in the water, only to bring it to the mouth. Its tentacles served to capture other microscopic beings, and were directly connected to the stomach, so anything that would be captured by them would end up directly in its belly. It was an excellent system to improve his successes in feeding in such harsh seasons. The tentacle would re-grow shortly after, but the pain was basically immediate and it would remain for quite a while. Its upper body part had a light green coloration, while the lower part was dark green, alongside his appendices.

Shortly after the giant, reaching a length of 105 cm, managed to shake off the attacker, swimming away in a ray-like manner. After recovering from being thrown off the body of the giant, our Pilobita started eating the tentacle. Rotaticaris was well adapted to stay in the sea floor, where, aside some incidents, he was the true king. However, outside of the Giant Sea Grass forest, he showed to be a very bad swimmer, having an hard time keeping the momentum, and soon it became tired. Before he could rest however, a shadow came above him. And in an instant, powerful appendices similar to the ones he beared, although way more robust and with sharp spines, grabbed him near the tentacles area, while also other tentacles wrapped around his body. The true king of these seas has arrived. Anomalodonia.

For a world of dwarves, this was truly a titan, being almost two meters long. Its body had an egg like shape, but was thinner(still thicker than the Rotaticaris). On his flanks where 7 red appendices, similar to Pilobita's blades but shorter and with a wider distance between each other. The "blades" where connected by flashy structures dark pink colored which formed a large fin similar to the one of rays. They culminated to the end of the body in a long fin like structure similar to the ones of lobsters, but made of flesh and with a dark pink coloration. Under the blade-like structures there were four long blue tentacles even bigger than the Rotaticaris. In front of the blade structures there were two long, red wing-like structures that helped him cruise speedily in the waters, taking advantages of the currents. It had compounded black eyes supported by bulbs. It has a similar mouth to Rotaticaris, but it had sharp teeth-like structures, which started to consume the prey alive. Its ventral area had a pink-blue coloration, while the rest of the body had a red-blue coloration with a c-like structure black-colored.

The Rotaticaris tried to wiggle away, but it was too tired for it and, even if it wasn't, the Anomalodonia grip was too strong. The prey death was more painless than one would expect: in a short amount of time, the predator had pierced the main neural chord, stopping all vital activities, killing it in a sea of blood. However, the predator did not stop feeding, with large chucks of flesh coming out of the victim. Despite the dangers of becoming a prey for other Anomalodonia's, several Pilobita's started to amass under the kill, feeding of the chunks coming off the prey. They haven't eaten in weeks, and they're really hungry. Alongside them was our veteran, who started pushing around other smaller members of his specie. He ate the majority of the pieces, and his belly was getting full of food. He had forgot how good it was to stuff his mouth with meat, and considering that ahead of him there is still a long time before food would become plentiful. Some other Pilobita's managed to snatch some food before our veteran could grab them greedily. Suddenly, another male approached the veteran, snatching some food out of him. The veteran was at first accepting: food was plentiful, as the Anomalodonia was leaving such big chunk behind it was almost a shame. However, most of the time Anomalodonia, thanks to his larger sized, most of the times managed to find food, so his feeding behavior could be afforded to be wasteful. He even left the head of his prey fall in the Sea floor, where it was swarmed by several Pilobita's, which took several chucks of flesh out the head, until the veteran and the newcomer arrived. The newcomer was slightly younger than the veteran, but had his fair share of injuries, missing an eye and with part of his tail fin cut. While the smaller specimens scattered in the forest, the two males started to quarrel against each other. For most of the time, the two were simply engaging each other in shows of strength.

However the price was just too big to give in; the younger male jumped against the veteran, embracing him with his legs and biting him in the head. The veteran quickly shacked him off easily, he saw many battles before, and knew how to turn dire situations around, and charged at the opponent, propelling himself against the enemy, hitting him with his head. The two males were both expert fighters: they both reared up, using their tail as a base, hitting and scratching each other with their tiny legs: ineffective, but able to avoiding the direct contact with their small, powerful jaws. However, this can also lead to other risks: if one topple over, the other could attack his vulnerable underbelly. The veteran then did something unexpected: he used his tail to propel himself upward, with the younger male falling down. He managed to land on his feet, but lost sight of the veteran. The next thing he knew, he felt a sharp pain in the caudal area: the veteran had bitten the tail. The young male managed to shake off the opponent, and now he met him face to face. Both of them remained still for a few seconds. However, the young male was the first to react, propelling himself toward the veteran, hitting him near the mouth area at top speed, almost making him fall back on his back. The veteran propelled himself quickly enough to avoid such fate, and was forced to abandon the field, as the young male was clearly stronger, and he could not risk his life against this specimen. However, the younger male had not finished just yet: he started to chase him out of the forest. He made it clear: the forest belonged to him: as such the veteran was forced to leave the area. Despite now having his belly full, he knew that long periods of starvation would follow. He once again started swimming in the endless ocean. This animal knew how to be opportunistic, and sometime he even know how to hunt, unlike many of his comrades which limited themselves on feeding on carcasses. Three months has passed since he was defeated by the young male, and he was starving. Suddenly, an opportunity arrived for the starving Pilobita: a small pod of Peypsotoia's is nourishing itself. They have found a large plankton herd. Peypsotoia's have a body similar to the one of Anomalodonia, but lack a caudal fin and the wings. Instead they have 4 larger, brown blade-like structures similar to the ones of Anomalodonia. They don't have tentacles, and their appendances are more similar to the ones of Rotaticaris, but were shorter in length. They were mostly light brown in coloration, but with two eyes-like spots on the back of the neck, black spots on the side and the spine was black too in color. They have a similar size to the veteran: however there are pups, which make for an easier meal for the Pilobita.

The problem was: how to get them? Pilobita wasn't as good as a swimmer, only counting on small sprints compared to the faster velocities of these powerful swimmers. He couldn't ambush them: there wasn't anything allowing him to hide in miles: it was basically a giant desert in the ocean. He had abandoned the tropical side, and now he was in the desert tide area. While he was calculating the next move, however, small worm like creatures started to pop out of the ground. They were Hallurgessochatea's, small scavengers which lived in tunnels under the sand, coming out only to search for food.

The body, because of the coloration, seemed divided into two parts: the rear, which was red in color, and the front, which was blue with the interior having some blue-brown variation. The bottom had three pairs of long stick legs, ending with a claw covered in fur. On the back there were three pairs of sharp spikes. There were also a pair of pincers in the bottom, alongside two thick tentacles of no purpose except distracting the opponent. In the front it had another three pairs of legs, however there were just two pairs of spikes on the back. In the "head" there were four tentacles that helped searching for food, alongside a small trunk where the mouth was. They weren't even 10 cm long. Way easier pickings for the veteran. If he could catch them. Problem is, these bastards digged in the sand faster than the Pilobita could catch them. The scene continued for five minutes, until an horrifying scene for the veteran occurred: a large shadow. It was too bigger to be a Peypsotoia: it was an Anomalodonia. The veteran at first freezed in order to not be seen: he believed that the apex predator would have targeted the pod. How wrong he was: suddenly, the king tried to catch him with his appendices, but the veteran quickly dodged.

The Pilobita started to swim for his life, but the Anomalodonia was just faster and could also count on his tentacles. While they were swimming, however, none of them noticed something: the water was getting shallower. The Sea was draining: it was one of the weird phenomenon's that occurred in the central and the majority of the north of the First Planet: the terrain was higher up and water tended to dry faster. As a result, small tide pools tended to form, and large portions of land came out of the water, a bad sight for creatures used to live in water. When the veteran and his pursuer realized this, it was too late: while the Pilobita was lucky enough to reach a small water pod big enough to contain him, the Anomalodonia remained stuck on land. Outside of the water, the air was toxic, and the First Sun tended to hit like the laser Mutilator used against Satan: the Anomalodonia died in an instant, despite his armor. Never was the veteran this close to death: had he not started swimming slightly faster than he did, his life would have ended alongside the king. In the small tide pool, he had the possibility to encounter creatures he had never saw before: one of them was a spiky creature that, had it not moved slightly, he would had confused it for a rock. It was a Wiwaysheaia.

Its body was round, light blue and covered in rock-hard scales. On his back were golden spikes, obviously used as defense. It had three pairs of short legs and a pair of "arms" armed with spikes, way longer than the legs. Near the mouth there were small tentacles, and the head did not bear eyes. Normally it would be feeding on sponges, but here, the only thing this 13 cm long creature can do is wait for the tide to change. It obviously was no easy meal for the veteran, and he passed on the idea, being more interested on the Anomalodonia carcass. However, something caught his eye: the king of the tide pools: the Mabilia.

It was a grey creature with a length of almost 10 cm. It had a long body with two wing like structures similar to the ones of Anomalodonia, but slightly thinner. There were 6 fin like structures similar to small pectoral fins all united together, and the tail was even more similar to the one of a lobster. However the head was the weirdest part: it had 2 pairs of eyes, two tentacles on either side and a long truck where a pair of jaws stood. It could easily tear off big chucks of flesh with them. However, against the veteran, it was no match: the Pilobita was the largest carnivore in the tide pool, and took advantage of the situation. It ate the smaller carnivore, and even assaulted some juvenile Peypsotoia's that remained stuck in there. Shortly after, his hunger was partially calmed. However, it would be considered satisfied only when he got his hand on the carcass of the king: other than that, he also fed on other carcasses of unfortunate beings unlucky enough to remained beached during the low tide.

A month had passed since then. The veteran had decided to migrate back in the tropical areas. Casually, he managed to reach a forest: the same forest where he was defeated. He causally walked in. This time, he was not gonna give up that easily.

His sent allowed him to reach a carcass. There, a swarm of his comrades was feasting. The Famine Season was at his end, and soon food started to become less scarce. The veteran walked among those youngsters, showing who was boss. That, until an old enemy appeared. He too was feasting on the best part of the carcass. The veteran once again started to challenge him with a show of strength. However, this time around he was the one to attack first. He charged at the enemy, hitting him in the "nose". The male remained paralyzed for a second because of the shock, enough time for the veteran to start targeting the eyes and the head. The young male had an harder time shaking off the opponent than the veteran the first time. However, he did not waste any time and charged at him, biting the sides; bad move, as the veteran used the flexibility of his body to bite the juncture of the head, causing the young male to back up. The veteran then bit the tail multiple times, and was almost near the backbone of the young male. The opponent did not know how to respond, and tried to swim away to recover and attack the veteran from above.

However, somebody was watching the scene, and took the opportunity. Suddenly, before he could react, the young male was grabbed by two appendices that quickly crushed him to death: an Anomalodonia had took advantage of the situation and quickly started to eat his victim alive. While pieces of the young male started to fall on the ground, the veteran started to take some of them and eat them. After feeding himself, he then notices something. Another member of his specie, but with a fundamental difference. It was a female. The veteran had mated many times in his life, and this time it would be no different. The other males are not old enough, nor would they challenge him for such rights. He approaches the female, trying to seduce her, but in vain. The female did not seem interested. The veteran remained patient. He knew that soon there would be plenty of ladies all for himself: he would mate with as many as possible, allowing the next generation to gain his strength and adaptability to survive the harsh seas. Only in this way the specie can survive. This is one of the only laws in the Second Universe: survive and procreate.

Hello there folks: in the following days, I'm going to post drawings of the creatures I showed here in my deviant art channel. Here it is, so stay tuned.

ferrariantonio

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review so I can learn your opinion. I'm willing to accept suggestions, so stay tuned. Also remember to like and follow.

See you on the next chapter