Palan floated in a sea of white light. There was no ground or sky, his body suspended in nothing. He tried to speak but found that he couldn’t move his mouth—or any part of his body at all. Palan would’ve frowned if he could. There were no sounds or smells; his body was unable to feel anything. The white light burrowed into his body, dissolving it piece by piece. His skin fell away, revealing the red muscles and tendons underneath. His muscles eroded strand by strand until only his bones remained. His eyes melted into a gooey mush, causing his vision to turn black. Holes perforated his bones, creating a structure similar to a termite mound before his bones dissolved completely. The only thing that remained was his brain which floated around aimlessly in the whiteness.Although Palan couldn’t see, billions of images flashed through his mind. A humanoid figure with hunched shoulders pounded on its chest and shrieked before tearing apart a tree with its bare hands; its frame reminded Pal
Michael, Elrith, Elrith’s attendant, and Pyre stood around Raea’s bed with Cleo hiding underneath it. The golden cocoon was still pulsating on top of the covers. Elrith had arrived at the outpost, and berated Michael for providing false information. Michael got into an argument with him, calling him a young whippersnapper that needed to learn how to respect his elders. Pyre had walked in on them and informed them of the anomaly happening to Raea which led to the current situation.“You walking corpse,” Elrith said, glaring at Michael. “My baby sister was under your care and this happens? First you come back and beg for my help, and then you provide me false information about the rebel army. Was that not enough? Are you that bitter that I surpassed you?”“I’m not bitter about anything, you little brat,” Michael said and pointed at Raea’s cocoon. “I didn’t do anything to cause that. Don’t pin the blame on me when everyone knows she has two deadly sins.”Elrith’s face darkened as he clen
“The last thing I remember was healing someone who was crushed by a boulder,” Raea said and bit her lower lip. “Then a series of dreams overwhelmed me. They felt so real.” She shuddered and pulled the cocoon tighter around her body. She raised her head and looked at Pyre. “Has Palan returned?”Pyre answered as if he could sense her gaze. “Not yet,” he said. “But it seems like he’s evolved, or you wouldn’t have had to gone through that … metamorphosis.”“All of you,” Elrith said and looked around the room, “scram. I want to speak with Raea alone.”“Can I just plug my ears?” Pyre asked. Elrith’s attendant sighed and grasped Pyre’s hand, tugging him outside the room. Michael narrowed his eyes and stared at Elrith while walking towards the door, continuing to make eye contact until Elrith closed the door in his face.“Now then,” Elrith said and turned around. A white chain opened the door while another wrapped itself around his waist. Elrith’s eyes widened as he was tossed out of the room
Raea rushed outside the room with Elrith. They could see Michael running down the hall ahead of them. Elrith reached out and snatched his tower shield from his attendant and dashed down the hall, gaining on Michael. Raea hesitated while watching the two general’s run ahead. “Go,” Pyre said and kicked her on the rump. “No one’s going to treat you as a deserter now that the Tyrant’s here.” Pyre pulled out a blindfold and handed it to Raea. “You might want to wear this though.”“Huh?” Raea asked and took the blindfold. “Why?”“Your eyes look like a snake’s,” Cleo said and blinked at her. Then she puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms, turning her head to the side, still angry at being thrown out. Raea furrowed her brow and placed the blindfold into her robe before sprinting after her brother. Cleo and Pyre glanced at each other before charging into the room, dashing for the golden cocoon Raea left behind.“It’s mine!” Cleo said and tugged on one end.“What are you even going to do w
Palan’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Elrith. “Let her go,” he said as his tail uncoiled from around his body. Its mouth opened and hissed at the angel, showing a pair of pointed fangs. “Or what?” Elrith asked and raised an eyebrow. He stepped in front of Raea, blocking her from Palan’s view with his towershield held horizontally across his body. It still managed to cover the region between his shoulders and knees. “Stop,” Raea said and tugged on Elrith’s arm. “He’s my demon.” Elrith’s brow furrowed, and he shrugged his arm out of Raea’s grasp. “All the more reason for me to fight him,” Elrith said and took a step forward. “My baby sister can’t be contracted to a weakling.” Elrith straightened his shield and thumped the front with his left hand. “C’mon, you exhibitionist. Give me your best shot.” “This is your brother?” Palan asked. His tail floated in the air behind him, like a snake extending itself from a tree trunk. “Yes,” Raea said and tugged on Elrith’s arm, pulling him off
Cleo squealed as she leapt over the wreckage of a collapsed building from the previous trebuchet bombardment. “You can’t have it!” she said and scrambled to the side of the road. Her eyes lit up when she saw a rapidly approaching figure dressed in white. “Raea! Save me!”“I can give you extra limbs! Four more arms and two more heads! Maybe even a beam of light that shoots out of your eyes!” a raspy voice said from behind the orange lizardman. Pyre climbed over the wreckage, gasping as he placed his hands against his knees while hunched over. “Just give me half of that cocoon.”Cleo waved her hand over the road. “Rae”—a tear dropped on Cleo’s face as Raea ran past her—“a….” Cleo whipped her head around and stared blankly as the running angel’s figure disappeared behind a corner. More thudding sounds came from the direction Raea just came from. Cleo’s eyes lit up again as she ducked and avoided Pyre’s lunge. “Palan! Save me!”Palan raised an eyebrow when he saw Cleo scratching Pyre’s ar
“Stop trying to eat me, you stupid noodle,” Cleo said and smacked Palan’s tail as she tried to crawl away. “It’s a good name!”Raea sat on the ground by the fire, her clothes still wet, and watched Cleo’s futile efforts. A smile was on her lips, but her eyes still seemed sad, threatening to wet themselves at a moment’s notice. Palan frowned as he stared at Raea and lifted Cleo fifteen feet into the air with his tail, causing her to scream bloody murder, scaring away all the birds in the nearby vicinity. The clasp on her bag came undone, and objects began to pour out: Raea’s discarded cocoon, Palan’s rotting severed hand, a necklace with over thirty teeth, multiple orbs borrowed from Pyre, a smaller pouch containing hundreds of essence crystals, a clump of musky wolf fur.Raea gaped as more miscellaneous objects continued to pour out of Cleo’s bag. “How do you even fit all of this inside that tiny bag?” she asked. A cloth object fell onto Raea’s face, blocking her vision. She removed i
Palan turned his head towards Cleo while Raea looked away, her face flushed. The orange lizardman froze and took a slow step backwards. “W-what?” she asked and eyed the Danger Noodle approaching her. “Don’t let me ruin the mood. Just continue wha—, eep!” She dove to the side, but she was too slow and Danger Noodle swallowed her tail.Raea stared at the bonfire that was starting to die down. “What should we do?” she asked, still not looking at Palan. “Find Elly? Go back? I’m not sure if I’m ready to do either.”Palan shrugged as he dueled Cleo with Danger Noodle. “Do whatever you want,” he said. “When did you become so dependent on me?” He turned his head to stare at Raea. Her forehead was creased.“Aren’t you a wisdom demon too?” Raea asked and pouted. “It wouldn’t be very smart of me to waste a resource like that.”Palan snorted. “Let’s go back,” he said. “I need pants.” Cleo let out a yelp as she was swallowed whole by his tail. Palan and Raea stood up. Raea gathered her dry robes t