Salted air reached his nose, along with the smell of wet earth.
He could not tell which direction was up and he grew disoriented. He could not see anything. His body was confined, and heavy. There was a constant weight pushing, and holding him down. His lungs, powerful as they are, struggled to breathe. He lost track of time, though that didn't matter much. A lot of time must have passed because his stomach began to ache. It was painfully clawing in his gut and seemed to never stop. His mouth felt like sand. 'How long has passed?' he wondered. Trying once more to make his limbs move, but he was only met with betrayal. 'Will anyone find me?'
The blessing of sleep no longer came to him. Instead, he was left abandoned and awake. 'Was everyone else experiencing this too?' He hoped not. His guild-mates didn't deserve this terror.
It was so very quiet, but not silent. He could hear the drumming of his heart as it took pounding steps within his chest.
Thump-thump, thump- thump, thump- thump.
He could also hear the rattle of his strained lungs. The roar of his stomach, growling in anger. He was going to die, alone. That thought hurt. He was an S-class elite mage. With almost endless power and strength at his will. He was a man who never asked for anything from anyone. Resorting to solving his issues himself. Now though, as his lungs began to tire, for once of the only times in his life, he begged./p
He begged for freedom from this hellish darkness. He begged for a bite of food. He begged for a drink of water to soothe his burning insides.
He begged for no more pain.
Eventually, when all those pleads were unheard, He begged for death.
But it seemed life was even too cruel to grant him that.
His magic was a bright, flashy element. It was always there to help light up the darkness he was as a child terrified of. His magic was his sword and shield, allowing him some form of protection no matter the situation.
A fight? Easy. Runaway from a bad situation? Yeah, that too. Intimidate any potential enemies? He would whip out a flash of lightning in the sky and they would shake.
But here, where the only enemy was the consuming darkness, his childhood fear returned. Only this time... His lightning would not protect him.
He was terrified.
'Food, food, please, and water!' his mind was frantic. His strength was slowly fading. He was a dragon slayer for fuck's sake, reduced to this. Helpless as a newborn. He tried to use whatever magic he had left, which, was not much. Thanks to the fucking dragon. Opening his mouth slightly, he began to inhale, trying to regain ethernano into his body. Different types of ethernano elements immediately hit him, earth, rock, sand, soil. So he was under the earth.
At least he knew where he was now. But whatever hope he had gone out the window of being found. No one will find him. Hope dimmed, he focused back on his task to feed himself. If he were to consume ethernanos other than lightning, he will become sick. Which would knock his survival chances down significantly. But, if it fed him, then he would take that risk.
Earth tasted disgusting, nothing like the sky. He wondered how Gajeel could stand to eat metal if it came from a place like this. However, he could feel his ethernanos returning. That was good enough for now.
He eventually had to try to find a water source. Sure the earth was wet, but it took too much time to get enough water from it. He decided to close his mind and shoot out electricity through the ground and follow it. It was a trick he learned while during exile. His lightning was like tree roots but grew faster.
Jagged paths formed under the earth. It travelled further, reaching for anything. His heart grew slower but it beat even louder in his ears. He needed water right now. The Ethernanos he gained left him quickly as he used more and more of his magic. He was going to run out before he found water.
'Come on, come on!'
Lightning reached and reac- oh. He found some. His lightning immediately electrified the water. Shocking any life or impurities from it. He sensed life fading away, fish. He inhaled and inhaled. Getting water ethernanos into his cold body.
Relief.
He no longer bothered to guess the time, instead, he used the routine grumble of his stomach to tell how long has passed. A day has passed every time his stomach demanded for attention. He was used to this feeling now.
When his magic was somewhat restored he used it to explore the area around him. He could feel the energy of plants, water, and animals all above him. Eventually, he felt their movement and the energy that would expel from it.
He thought a lot, as that was the only thing he could do down here to keep him from going insane. His stomach grew much more hungry again, ethernanos from the earth were not filling his belly quickly enough. He needed energy.
'Hungry, so hungry. Food, anything. Hurts, so much pain.' Mind disarrayed. His thoughts were jumbled. So cold. He blasted out some electricity into the earth in desperation. Finding energy around him from animals. One was particularly close, small. It was like he could finally hear a heartbeat other than his own.
It was a quiet one, but fast. The smell of blood from its veins was striking. If only.
He grew weaker, and his magic grew more frantic. Out of control. It slashed at the energy source, shocking it, and stealing the energy from its body.
It was the best thing he ever tasted.
'More, MORE!' His magic consumed the energy from the once blissful creature. Absorbing it, and storing it, until there was nothing left. Its heart silenced. Movement stilled. He killed a defenceless creature.
But his stomach calmed.
That was how he discovered he could consume the energy from living things. Since living things held electric currents within their body, he was able to grab hold of the small currents and pull.
For every life he took, his mind mercilessly whipped at him with dark thoughts. He was never a killer at heart, not to those who had no way of defending themselves. He always would rather a challenge, a fair fight. But, as the days roll by, and his energy started to deplete, even more, it seems something else took over his body and controlled his decisions. How terrifying is was to be under the will of something else.
Plants became his main source. He didn't want to eat animals unless he had too. It felt as if he was reaching in and squeezing the heart of the animals he hunted. Draining it of its blood. Its fuel. Its energy. But sometimes he just couldn't contain his hunger.
His need was too strong.