Warning: This story involves scenes of oral vore and graphic digestion. If this is not your thing then stop reading now. You have been warned!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ori and the Blind Forest. Ori and the Blind Forest is property of Moon Studios, Microsoft Studios, and Nordic Games.

Ori and the Serpent's Lair

The forest beyond Ori's home was a dangerous and frightful place. He had never had any reason to venture this far from the safety of his den. But now there was nothing left for him there. He couldn't stay there anymore, not with all the sad and painful memories it held. On top of that, the incessant growling of his stomach served as a constant reminder of how hungry he was. He had to move on, and more importantly, he needed to find food; He couldn't let Naru's sacrifice be in vain. And so he wandered the dark woods, searching for a new place to call home.

Ori's steps were slow and weary; His arms kept huddled for warmth; His head constantly flicking about, seemingly frightened by every little thing. Cold, hungry, and tired; The poor spirit was the very vision of pitiful. And to make matters worse, the little guy felt hopelessly lost; Which was strange, because he had no exact destination in mind. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that he had taken a wrong turn somewhere, and stayed from his destined path. Should he turn back the way he came? Or should he push forward? It was a conundrum that had Ori deep in thought.

A light hiss and rustling of leaves shook the pondering spirit from his thoughts. Ori stopped and looked around nervously. He could barely see a shadowy form weaving among the bushes and trees, but he couldn't quite make out what it was. Slightly mesmerized by the smooth swaying motions, Ori's vision followed the dark form until it finally emerged from the shadows, slithering up and stopping just in front of him. Suddenly the creature's eyes shot open, and it raised its head high into air, looking down upon the bewildered spirit with interest.

The serpent was massive, its body stretching further than the light spirit could see, with coils thicker than Ori's whole body. Its entire length was stark black save for the two glowing eyes on its face and the line of bright white diamonds along its back. Looking into its gaze filled Ori with a primal fear, one that told every fiber of his being to run away. And the spirit listened, quickly darting back the way he came, only to find that his path had already been cut off by the beast's impressive length. In a panic, Ori tried another direction, but it was blocked as well. He kept turning, desperately searching for a route of escape. But he was surrounded, dark coils slowly closing in on him from all sides.

His breathing hastened as fear welled up inside him. He needed to try something, anything! But his mind was locked in the grip of primordial terror, foiling any attempts to form a coherent plan. He simply stood there, turning in place, watching as the coils drew ever closer. It wasn't until the beast was nearly on top of him that he finally snapped from his trance, making a desperate leap to escape the scaly prison. But it was far too late now; Perhaps if he had tried earlier, he would have had a chance; But now all it took was one swift motion to finish coiling around the spirit, thwarting his attempt at freedom.

The coils squeezed tight around his form; Not enough to actually hurt him, but enough to make any attempt at escape futile. However this didn't stop Ori from trying. He struggled against the serpent's grip, wriggling and thrashing within its grasp. But despite his best efforts, his arms remained firmly pinned within the beast's coils. After a few more feeble attempts, Ori wilted in the snake's grip, panting heavily from the exertion. Meanwhile the serpent just watched as it waited patiently for the small spirit to tire himself out. And once Ori finally stopped struggling enough to listen, the great snake did something unexpected...

"It seems fortune has smiled upon us." the serpent spoke slowly, dragging out each word like a long drawling hiss "It has been so long since I've seen one of you. These woods used to teem with your kind. Food was plentiful, and we lived in harmony. But now the forest dies, and we starve." the serpent reminisced sorrowfully "But you will grant us sustenance. Keep us alive, until another meal can be found."

Ori's eyes widened and he gulped anxiously at that last statement. Was this creature going to... eat him?! Ori shook his head frantically, letting the serpent know his opinion of that plan. However the snake regarded Ori's protests with cold indifference. It was not the first time his prey had pleaded for their lives. And though he was not a particularly malicious or cruel predator, he had no qualms about taking the spirit's life to preserve his own; It was simply nature's way.

Having no desire to drag this out longer than necessary, the serpent got right to work, lifting Ori above his head and opening his jaws wide, ready to catch his powerless meal. Ori looked with terror at the abyssal maw below him. Pitch black flesh funneled into an even darker pit; A trap from which no light escaped. There was a tense few moments where Ori could do nothing but whimper in fear as he was forced to stare into that void-like gullet, dreading its inevitable embrace.

The coils released, dropping the helpless spirit head first into the awaiting maw. Ori's squeal of distress was cut short as the serpent's mouth snapped shut, trapping the small spirit within. The cool forest air was instantly replaced by the moist warm confines of the serpent's throat. It was an uncomfortably tight fit for poor Ori, who wrestled against the walls of flesh assailing him from every direction. But it was a futile endeavor; Even at full strength he would have been no match for the powerful throat muscles. Instead his struggles only served to help coat his body in a thick layer of saliva, making his inevitable journey down the fleshy tube that much easier.

The serpent began to swallow rhythmically, gulping the tasty spirit down his starving gullet. A small bulge could be seen in his throat, steadily traveling down his impressive length towards its final destination. Ori let out a squeak of distress each time those slick fleshy walls contracted around him. The rolls of flesh were smothering him, seeming to constrict him even tighter than the coils had. He feared that his frail body would snap under the waves of peristalsis pulling him deeper and deeper down the serpent's throat. If felt like he had spent hours in that slithery tube, seeing nothing but inky darkness and hearing nothing except the slimy squelches of pulsing flesh. It was like a nightmare for the poor spirit, but little did he know that the true nightmare lied just ahead of him.

Finally a different sound managed to reach Ori's ears. A low groan, a bubbling growl, like something was eagerly awaiting his arrival. Next thing he knew, his head pressed up against an exceptionally tight ring of flesh. The rest of his body was scrunched up against the entrance, and for a moment he fear he would be crushed against the stubborn pucker. But one final push from the powerful throat muscles was enough to make the sphincter relent, allowing the spirit to squeeze through with a sloppy slurp.

At first Ori's new accommodations didn't seem that different; He was still surrounded by warm slimy flesh, with viscous fluids seeping from every wall. But slowly Ori began to pick up two keen differences. For one, the walls here were much more gentle, seeming to caress and massage him as opposed to the crushing muscles of the throat. It might have actually passed for pleasant if it hadn't been for the other difference he noticed; A slight stench in the air, the faintest hint of decay. It was enough to trigger the panic center of his brain. That smell meant danger! That smell meant death!

With a fresh shot of adrenaline, Ori fought against the stomach walls. Although not as oppressive as the throat, the stomach walls were highly elastic, easily absorbing the spirit's desperate struggles. He cried out frantically, voicing his fear and frustration; He didn't want to die! Not here! Not like this! Ori broke down into a sobbing fit. Why was this happening to him?! First he had lost Naru, and now this. What had he done to deserve such a cruel fate?! He curled into a fetal position, trembling in terror as he waited for the ghastly process of digestion to begin.

As the hours crept by, the walls continued to rub and kneed his body relentlessly, thoroughly soaking him in slimy stomach juices. It was disgusting, but surprisingly didn't seem to hurt nor burn him. In fact, the gentle motions had actually managed to calm Ori a bit. On top of that, the almost hypnotic beat of the serpent's heart combine with the spirit's own exhaustion had placed Ori in a sort of daze. And before he knew it, the lethargic spirit had dozed off, drifting into peaceful slumber.

******

Ori fidgeted restlessly in his sleep, vaguely aware of a nagging itch spreading across his body. His paw moved around on its own, subconsciously scratching at his irritated skin. But it didn't seem to help, and the sensation was only growing worse. The restless spirit cringed, paws working more fervently to soothe the savage itch. Ori's eyes shot open, suddenly fully awake and aware of the terrible itch wracking his entire body. He let out a squeak of distress; What was going on?! How long had he been out?! What was happening to him?! In a panic he scratched even harder, trying desperately to remove the source of irritation. But try as he might, he couldn't get any relief from the relentless itch. It plagued his body, driving him mad with agitation. He scratched, and scratched, and scratched, until he was too exhausted to move. Left panting and whimpering, he could do nothing but endure the irritating torture as it wracked his body for hours on end.

Ori wasn't sure when it had happened; When the itching had become an intense burning. The change had been so gradual, he had hardly even noticed it. But at some point the line was crossed, and what was once a minor irritation was now a major cause of distress. The poor spirit writhed and whined as searing pain assaulted his senses from every angle. His entire body felt like it was on fire! The once gentle caresses of the stomach walls, now felt like grinding sand paper as they chafed against his highly sensitive skin. Patches of fur began to pull loose from his weakened flesh, leaving him even more vulnerable to the caustic sludge coating his body. Weak acids and digestive enzymes worked their way deeper into his skin, breaking down the unfortunate spirit at the cellular level.

It was a slow and agonizing process, leaving poor Ori to suffer long hours of intense unrelenting pain. His skin had begun to boil and blister, oozing small rivulets of blood and liquified flesh from all over his body. A pool of chyme started to form around the dissolving spirit; A vile cocktail of molten flesh, fur, and digestive fluids. Ori's entire body trembled from shock and pain as he marinated in his own juices. For the most part he was reduced to whimpers and groans, but every so often he would arc his back and let out a pitiful squeal as his anguish reached a climax.

Hunks of skin slopped from his body exposing the tender and sensitive tissue underneath. Great spikes of pain wracked the poor spirit as his muscles were exposed to an environment they were never meant to see. They twitched and cramped involuntarily from the digestive juices soaking into them. The enzymes got to work right away, slowly but surely breaking down the nutrient rich tissue. Surely this was the end; Surely his body could not endure any more of this; At least that was what Ori wanted to believe, but unfortunately for him this had actually only signaled the beginning of his suffering. It had taken days for the slow working stomach juices to work through his skin, and although the tissue underneath was less protected, it was much thicker. It would take weeks for those meticulous enzymes to completely strip his body of usable meat. And the most horrifying part was that Ori would be alive for most of it, feeling each and every nerve scream out in painful clarity as they were slowly torn asunder by the unforgiving stomach.

He couldn't take it anymore, the pain was just too great. The poor spirit's sanity was being shredded, just like his muscles. There was no Ori anymore; There was only pain and despair. Every moment felt like an eternity of anguish to him. He yearned for death, begged for it, but its merciful release always seemed just out of reach. He was trapped in a living hell, a prison of perpetual torture. Every fiber of his being was crying out in unspeakable agony and he just wanted it to end.

Little by little his body began to fail. His fingers could no longer twitch, the necessary muscles reduced to a fine soup. His tail was all but gone, stripped of fur and flesh. His limbs were the next to go, falling completely limp as the muscles that powered them melted away. The digestive enzymes had worked their way through his chest, allowing a flood of acid and chyme to spill into his chest cavity, and begin the same agonizingly slow process of digesting his most vital organs. And yet his body continued to fight for survival. His little heart beat frantically, trying desperately to keep his failing body alive, even as the corrosive stomach juices started to eat away at the vulnerable organ. His diaphragm continued to expand and contract keeping his lungs filled with stale acrid air. However the efforts were beyond futile at this point, and only prolonged the poor spirit's suffering that much more.

He didn't know when it had happened, when the muddled moments of misery were replaced by the sweet serenity of surrender. The tortured spirit was finally free of his torment, free to pass on. However only a few fragments of his shattered soul remained. The fractured soul was lost and afraid, unsure of who or what he was. At first he thought he was alone, but slowly he became aware of another presence around him, a congregation of countless souls, scattered and fractured just as his own. There was an odd warmth coming from the group that felt both new, and yet somehow familiar. It was calming, comforting. It seemed to call out to him, and the broken spirit felt compelled to join them. Finally he had found peace; He had found where he belonged; He had found a new home.

******

For weeks the great serpent searched for more food, using the precious time he was giving from consuming the wayward spirit. However his effort all turned up fruitless, and the forest was growing more and more withered by the day. Things turned from grim to dire when he felt his tail grow longer, a new white diamond appearing to join the pattern along his back. That was the signal that his meal was done digesting, and that he had finished absorbing all the nutrients the spirit had to offer. He was on borrowed time now; If he did not find food fast, he would wither and die, just like the forest around him.

But there would be no food to be found; And the cruel irony was that by eating Ori, the serpent had actually sealed his own fate. For in devouring the hapless spirit, he had unknowingly consumed Nibel's last and only hope.