Chương 7: Book 1 - Chapter 7: Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees

The lion panicked, his terror washing over Dominic like an oily wave. Dominic fought to keep an even keel. It was easier than he'd thought to separate his emotions from those of the lion – far easier than it had been earlier when he realised he was trapped in a box. Unlike then, he managed to maintain awareness of his surroundings – and of his actions. However, it wasn't quite enough to stop him from pulling hard at the chains binding him – probably because he wanted to be free just as fervently as the lion did.

By the time he'd managed to calm himself completely, his wrists were bleeding, and his ankles hurt too where he'd been tugging at them. Despite his best efforts to rid himself of the hated chains, they remained in place, glinting malevolently at him. Bite them! the lion urged him. That won't work, Dominic replied though not without wishing that it would. Leonine teeth were sharp and strong, but he had no desire to crack them on these metal fetters.

Realising he needed another solution, Dominic looked around, finally taking in more about his new environment than the shackles alone. He was once more in a corridor, but this time the door was much further away than it had ever been before, perhaps twice or even thrice the distance that had been between the doors previously. The door had a pawprint and a very clear 'Exit' carved into it – and there were no other doors. As calmly as he could, Dominic tried to shift one of his forelegs towards the door.

To his slight surprise, the chain that had resisted all of his attempts to break free shifted with him, more links appearing in the hole from which it emerged. He took a step forwards, the chains clinking. And then another. By the time he'd taken four steps, the chains were starting to tug firmly against his legs. By the time he'd moved each paw again, the tension was increasing. He nodded to himself as he recognised the challenge – and drew conclusions about what would happen next.

Then, gritting his teeth, he kept going. Step by step, he covered the distance to the door that seemed all too far away. He attempted to surge forwards in a leap, but found the resistance abruptly far worse. Clearly, that was not permitted. He resumed his regular pace. The shackles cut into his skin and the pain that radiated up his limbs only grew with every step he took. The blood from his wrists increased, trickling down the side of his paws and making his footing more slippery.

Yet, as he looked backwards and saw the shadows beginning to creep from under the door, he realised there was only one real option. He extended his claws for more grip and kept going. A third of the way through the corridor, he felt a trickle of blood soak through his left back paw. Lowering his head further with a pained moan, he kept going. The resistance increased even more.

He kept his eyes fixed on the door ahead of him and just kept moving, despite each step feeling like burning brands were being pressed into his flesh. Because the shadow beasts were moving too – a glance backwards proved that they had entirely pulled through the crack under the door. Even now they prowled closer, moving slowly but without stopping. With his current pace, they were ever so slightly faster, and the distance between them narrowed moment by moment. Have I doomed us?

Dominic wondered with quiet desperation. He revolted at the thought, searched for someone else to blame. It was the fault of the trap creator, the one who had forced him to run the maze. But they didn't force you to take the extra challenge, a quiet voice inside him insisted. Dominic hung his head for a moment. He couldn't deny it. He'd been the one who had decided to throw the dice when the lion would have preferred the safer option. But he refused to regret it.

Better to die on your feet than live on your knees, he told himself. Better to be a firework that fizzled on its way up to the top, than one that never left the box. Of course, he'd rather not die at all, so he set his eyes on the door again and pressed harder against his chains, doing his best to ignore the way they bit agonisingly into his flesh. Nothing mattered but getting to his goal. Pain was just another obstacle.

He took one more step then faltered as a shiver of warmth ran through him, making his fur stand on end. For a moment, it felt like something was pressing against his skin from the inside, like he was a balloon blown up just a little too much. It hurt, but oddly he had the distinct sensation that this was meant to be – like they were growing pains rather than anything malicious. Then the sensation faded away. Move! the lion urged.

Dominic flinched a little in shock, then shook his head to knock the cobwebs out of it. Right, he agreed, pressing onwards. When he took his next step, he almost stopped again. Not only did his leg feel heavier, denser, in a way he couldn't quite describe, but it also didn't hurt as much. He took another step and felt the difference even more clearly. There was no less resistance than before – if anything, there was more – but his flesh no longer gave way so easily to the metal shackle.

Heartened, he pressed forwards, moving slightly faster than before, despite the resistance. The gap between him and the shadow beasts started to widen once more. Within a few paces he noticed something else – his footing was becoming easier again. And a glance downwards proved why: what he had previously bled had dried, and there was no more dripping from the shackles. I was right! Dominic cried in triumph. By performing – audience or not – he could earn rewards.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The satisfaction didn't last long as the resistance suddenly increased far more quickly than before. By the time he was within three steps of the door, his pace had all but ground to a halt and the shadow beasts had closed the gap once more. Fear crept in once more as Dominic fought against the chains but couldn't force them a single step more. The door was so close. If he could only step forward twice more….

Snarling angrily, Dominic fought against the chains, yet they still refused to let him move on. The shadow beasts were almost upon him. Push! the lion ordered frantically. What do you think I'm doing? Dominic demanded, putting his all into moving, yet only shifting forwards a bare inch. And then he ran out of time – as claws of ice swiped across his hindquarters and left painful weals in their wake, he knew that the shadow beasts had caught up.

Yet, instead of fear, Dominic felt only burning anger – to have growth and transformation dangled before him, yet just outside his reach…. I will not die here! he cried, and felt a matching surge of determination from the beast within him. Together, they pressed against the chains. A shiver passed through Dominic as a soft chime rang in his ears. Abruptly, the resistance released just enough to let him move. Dominic staggered forwards two steps until he was within reach of the door.

There was no way he could lift his paw to press it to the imprint; so instead he pressed his nose to it, hoping beyond hope that it would count. For a moment, it felt like everything froze. And then, the door clicked open, and the chains fell from his paws, letting Dominic stumble forward. Dominic glanced behind himself. The cloud-like beasts had disappeared as if they'd never been.

The moment his back foot cleared the threshold, the door closed behind him with another decisive click – and then transformed into another stone wall. Dominic felt a surge of something like triumph, but he didn't let himself glory in it. The shadow beasts had disappeared, but there might be new danger. A message flashed up in front of his eyes, but he dismissed it immediately to clear his view. Looking around himself warily, Dominic only relaxed when he didn't see any signs of anything about to leap out at him.

Thankfully for his peace of mind, there was nothing for them to hide behind – he was once more in an empty box-like room, though this one still had the dank castle-theme like the corridors rather than just being another opaque blue cube. Couldn't the creators of this gladiator's gauntlet have been a little more creative? he sighed. Would it have killed them to put a few pictures on the wall?

Seeing as he was safe and there wasn't currently any exit out of the room, Dominic took a moment to rest, slumping down onto the ground. Giving into his instincts, he licked at where the shackles had cut into his flesh. The taste of blood made him aware that his stomach was starting to feel a bit empty again, and the feel of the bristles on his tongue combing through the fur on his legs was a little weird, he had to admit. Still, it felt good to clean himself and was calming.

After all the stress of the last few minutes, that was exactly what he needed. He was interested to find that the wounds caused by the shackles had already scabbed over, and, unless lions healed a lot faster than humans, they looked a couple of days old rather than minutes. Even as he watched, the scabs sloughed away and were replaced with new flesh. Not normal, the lion confirmed, his tone thoughtful, though with a slight tinge of fear.

Dominic himself was less afraid of what the difference might mean, and more intrigued. He had been driven to push the limits of his strength, and had then been rewarded for it by gaining an extra boost when he needed it most. Not only strength, he thought, looking at the quickly fading wounds. Leaning down, he set his teeth around one leg and then bit down gently.

He wasn't all that surprised to realise that he needed to apply far more force to begin piercing his skin than he would have expected – he remembered the feeling of the shackles no longer biting into his legs in the same way. Now he was paying attention to it, he felt that everything was just a touch heavier than before – but it was barely noticeable because he seemed to also be stronger. Curious, he lifted one front paw and bashed it into the flagstone with as much strength as he dared.

The impact was a lot louder than he was expecting – but also didn't hurt as much as he'd feared. I wonder… he murmured to himself, pulling up his status screen. DOMINIC MARTIN COLE /? Species:? Form/s:? Tier/Rank:? Domains Predation – Basic Stage 1 Aegis – Basic Stage 1 Sovereignty – Basic Stage 1 Bingo. What? the lion asked, clearly uncertain why satisfaction was suddenly pulsing through Dominic.

Look – Aegis is no longer processing, Dominic told him triumphantly, feeling like his choice of continuing had been justified. I wonder…. Show last message? he directed the System, and was pleased when the message he'd dismissed reappeared. [Aegis: Unlocked Basic Stage 1 achieved You did not stop. You will not stop. Endure what you must.] Endurance, Dominic mused even as the message's clear declaration of determination struck a chord within him. It fit – the tougher skin, the faster healing.

Though he didn't feel like he was any less fatigued than he should be. And there was clearly a strength component to it too. This was just more evidence for what he'd concluded before – that the System was enabling his actions to have tangible effects on his body. And mind, he decided, considering how it had been easier to control the lion's panic after he'd earned Sovereignty. It put a different spin on what was happening to him. Perhaps it wasn't a gladiator's gauntlet – or not only.

Maybe this was some sort of trial – and the better he did in the trial, the more rewards he earned… Closing his status, he jumped a little when he noticed that a door had silently appeared in the wall ahead of him while he was distracted. Pushing himself to his feet, Dominic padded closer. This door matched the majority he'd seen so far – bare, with only a paw imprint upon it. Danger, the lion warned, a flash memory of the shadow beasts passing through Dominic's mind.

He knew the lion was right, but that wasn't all the door represented. Dominic recalled his sharper weapons, his denser and stronger muscles, his quicker healing. Opportunity, he returned, then lifted his paw and placed it in the imprint.