Such exotic underwear was truly… a sight to behold! "Aya, Ann, you need to make me more of these. Their comfy!" What's worse, Ann was the one who had made them! Ann you ba***rd! How dare you make such dangerous clothing!?!
After putting on his new clothes, Ran took a step, when he suddenly dropped to his knees. His skin had already started turning a shade of blue, a sign of cyanosis!
Holy s**t! I forgot about his soul heart! Quick, Ran, reconstitute it!
Inside his body, the soul heart and threads were in tatters. "Dang it, this is why I didn't want to fight so much!" When Ran actively used his sigil, it had disrupted the flow of his energy and left it to sustain itself (which it clearly can't). What's worse is that his use of his ability had also absorbed some of the energy from the soul heart by accident, creating this very scene.
One has to know that when he sleeps, his soul heart still functions but starts to slow down until it dissipates. By the time he wakes up, his skin is a bit blue as well, but not to this degree.
By now, most of his blood had pooled to his feet and he was feeling fatigued. He knew his situation and used his remaining energy to revitalize his soul heart, successfully. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, he got back up when he felt a little dizzy and leaned against Queenie accidentally.
She caught him and looked at him, worried. Bob too, but Ann was the only one who responded to the sudden collapse of our hero. By frisking him! She checked every inch of his body, checked his temperature, everything; but obviously didn't find anything. "Hey… what happened?" She choked a little, afraid of the answer. Indeed, after hearing Rans explanation, not only Ann, but Queenie and Bob too were blown out of their minds.
"So you met a talking fish?" "Yep." "And she killed herself and gave you her blood?" Ran nodded heavily, his shoulders sunken. "And you entered the ocean through your dreams?" "Yep." "And you met a big fish that tried to kill you?" "Exactly." "And YOUR blood popped your heart like a balloon?" "Just like that." "Wow, your taking this pretty lightly aren't you?" Ann couldn't help but question with her eyes narrowed. This story was like those straight out of legends. She even remembered a similar-ish story. But who would actually speak of such things like it happened to somebody else and not them!? It must be his goofballness… Yes that's a word now.
***
Okay, for the sake of "world building", I'll explain the legend a bit. Basically, it goes like this:
Near the end of the golden era, an orphan was born in a small village. During the time of his awakening, he found out that he actually did not have a sigil. He cursed out to the will of the world for forsaking him as, truly, he was the first and only human in the world to have been born without a sigil. He took solace in the fact that at least his fetal organ was exceptional. A golden sword that definitely could have split a small hill in two if used properly. But he didn't have that chance yet as his life took a turn for the worse. You see, he lived right on top of a continental plate so they had frequent earthquakes.
But this time, it was different. The ground shook and shook until cracks appeared along the ground. It was so wide you can look down and only see the abyss. Wait… was the abyss supposed to be so bright!?
Boom! Geysers the width of whole buildings shot up into the sky and dropped down like rain. Lava! It flowed from the cracks and flowed onto the entire village and more. That entire island turned into an obsidian hell as the lava, and everything on the island it encased, cooled rapidly. Where was this orphan you say? He was right on the crack where the lava spewed out from!
Of course, this is a legend, and as the legend, something must have happened right? It turns out, the lava had been made a home by a creature. A Fire Dragon! Well more like a distant relative of a full blooded Dragon but, powerful nonetheless. When he sunk into the crack, he fell right onto the body of the Fire Dragon. But it didn't fight back. Because it was already dead! How? Who knows…
From that moment on, not only was he the only survivor from this island, he quickly (very quickly) became one of the most powerful people the world has ever seen. With the help of the Fire Dragon bloodline and superior sword, his lack of sigil was completely overshadowed. He was renowned as the Blazing Demon for a full two decades! But afterwards, he mysteriously disappeared and left the world dazed and confused because he was as dazzling as the very sun above their heads. Yet he, just, disappeared!? The hell was this!?
Well, anyways, hope you liked my little story.
***
"Well, it's in the past and I cant get my heart back, so what's the point?" Ran had a good point. No use crying over spilt milk. But the rest couldn't handle such terrifying news. They clutched their heads in shock because they didn't dare believe for one second that any of it is true… otherwise…
But Ran saw an opportunity. He clutched everyone's heads and pulled them to his chest. They heard it.
With a pale face, he said, "Kukuku, you hear that? It's the sound of God asking for retribution! Bob, don't think I forgot your little stunt you did with my head while I was unconscious. Ann, you must make more comfy undergarments, I'm afraid Queenie will one day ruin them! Queenie, you… what did you do again? Oh yeah, my clothes! Wu…"
Baduuuuuump badump. Badump badump badump.
"Oh gosh, make it stop please!" Bob was the first to give in. He tried to free himself, but he found himself locked in place in Rans arm. "Mommy… wu." Queenie followed afterward. She teared up a little. Odd. The soul heart seemed to have affected them somehow. Ann, however, was perfectly fine. She smiled and even got closer and hugged him a bit. Noo! Begone thot! Let someone else have Ran okay!? You've had him for too long.
"Ah, seems I took it too far." Looking at the teary Queenie, he was slightly confused. How did this even happen? He thought. He then forcefully pulled Ann off of him and looked at Bob. Bob was dazed and on the ground. With his inhuman hearing, he probably felt it the most. But Ran had no sympathy for such an indomitable existence. How dare you bob my head up and down while I'm unconscious!?
"Ah, it's okay, Queenie. Here look, I got you some candy." But why did that sound wrong? Nonetheless, when she saw the "candy", she immediately felt better. Holding up the rank 5 beast core, she felt ecstatic. Imagine how much cosmetics I can buy with these! She flashed him a thumbs up and returned to her home while skipping.
"Phew, glad that's over." Ran knew, through Ann, that women are the most mysterious creatures. One slight misstep and it's all over. But he managed to buy her happiness through recompense. Truly, he's the true master of this world!
***
After the duel, they made their way through the city back to the Academy. However, something else happened along the way.
While walking, Ran suddenly noticed something. A faint, extremely faint, blood strand made its way from somewhere and flowed into his nose. In fact, it was so faint that even Ran wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for the fact that Queenies spicy scent opened his sinuses.
Following its trail, his eyes landed on a rooftop about a hundred meters away. There, a streak of light flashed and instantly disappeared right as he had gazed upon it. He couldn't make out exactly what it was, but he could've swore it was a pair of eyes staring right at him.
Eventually, he shrugged and thought that maybe it was a bird. Except birds don't turn into flashes of light, do they!? Ran, how could you not see that!?
The rest didn't notice anything and so, they made their way back to their rooms.
While doing his usual sleep cycle, Ran heard a noise coming from outside.
Knock knock.
Opening his room door, he looked into the long dark hallway where the door outside lay. Ann heard the noise too and opened her door to check. Seeing each other, they mutually nodded their heads in understanding. While at first it might seem they were spared from the Kesh forces, they would never let their guards down!
Ann, being stronger, decided to go first and opened the door outside. When she opened she found… nothing! Aw s**t, get out of there quickly! Nothing good happens when a noise is heard but no one is there!
Woosh! A black flash went right past her and entered the apartment. Well, it's every man for himself now.
Bam! It struck Ran right in the chest! Wait, oh gosh, no! It… it bit him!
… in the arm. Softly. "Meor! Meor, meor meor meor meor!" "Ah? Fluffy, what are you doing here at this hour? If people see you roaming by yourself, they'll eat you before I can." Then, his eyes flashed as he came to a realization. "Wait… was that you on that rooftop earlier? Oh, you stalker you… you're making me blush. It's nice to feel wanted every once in a while." Ran blushed a bit while patting her head.
"Meor!" A soft paw came slamming down as Fluffy slapped him in the face. "Meor meor meor." She did her signature move of sliding her paw across her neck as she said, you b****rd! How could you leave me like that? I'm… I'm… I'm hungry gosh dangit! FEED ME! Remember, or else…
"Ah… I get it, I get it. Here." He summoned a bunch of raw fish from his pendant and Fluffy consumed them until she was satisfied and layed about lazily. Ann, however, was completely stunned. She just pointed at Fluffy while looking at Ran with a blank face. "Ah?" She blurted.
"Oh, right, you don't know about her. This is Fluffy, my walking pillow. See how Fluffy she is?" He poked her belly and his finger sunk in a couple inches deep. He pulled her into his room before he said goodnight to Ann with a wave of his hand. Ann just stood there for a couple minutes, blankly, before accepting reality and falling back to sleep. She had way too many surprises for one day.
Yawning, Ran woke up to the morning chirps of the birds and Fluffy's rumbly purring. It had to be said that she really did make for the perfect pillow. Her fat made for a perfect cushion and her purring was like a soft massage on the neck which made one want to sink into her even more.
While this place didn't have showers, they had storages of clean water for one to bathe in. After freshening up, he knocked on Ann's door. There many things he had to do not just today, but for next two weeks as well. But she didn't respond. At least, not in any language. Instead, a loud snore could be heard.
Yeah, she was one of those folks! Okay… I'm just hating on her. It's just all the surprises she experienced yesterday affected her sleep, that's all.
Opening her door, he found her blanket on the floor and her body was spread out in an uncomfortable position. Except the truly amusing part was that… she wasn't wearing anything!
Yes, this time, she truly was one of those! Usually she would just wear her undergarments (bra, panties, you know the usual), except it seemed yesterday was a bit warmer than expected.
Ran peered at her for a second before closing in on her. He used his shoulder length hair to tickle her nose so she could wake up.
"Aah. Your Tiny Holiness, mmmmnh, stop it." Her body squirmed a bit in an exceedingly irresistible manner from all the tickling. But such stunts no longer affected Ran as she had done something similar in the past.
Plugging her nostrils with his fingers, he blocked her breathing. "And the almighty lord said, ARISE my daughter!" She didn't budge. Finally, Ran resorted to his last set of tricks. This one… always worked.
"Oi, I need your help with something." Asking for help. Yep, you heard it here folks, he asked for her help! That was his greatest trick to get to do something.
Hearing that, her ears perked up. Swish! She disappeared and reappeared behind him. Kneeling, she said, "ah, your Tiny Holiness, you finally need me again. You have no idea how long I waited for you to say that again… wu." She even teared up a little. Three months. Three months! Oh gosh, what would I do without you!? What if you didn't need me anymore? She thought.
Ran patted her head, "I know. These past three months were… interesting. Either way, how are you supposed to help me when you're naked!? Are you an exhibitionist or what?" "Do you want me to be one?" "Not the point." "What's the point?" She then lowered her gaze and peered into his heart shaped briefs like she had x-ray vision. "Okay, I get it, just put on some clothes." He looked at her for a second before shaking his head. He then walked out of her room. Ann was left there, slightly disappointed for a second before smiling happily again. "Tehe, he needs me."