An Entity with a black, rough shell, framed by smoke, rose several feet. The coal-swamp insects ran over it as if it were their own mother
Han stood there, afraid to breathe in or out again.
The Black-Shelled Entity turned its head to Ki, smiling with three rows of sharp teeth and flashing a trio of acid-green eyes.
[God, what is this monster going to do?] Mangaka clenched his fists.
The insect-infested Entity stretched out its hand towards the cultivator.
Han quickly picked up the fragment of the doll and hit the entity on the translucent head. The eggs floating under the skull only stirred slightly, because part of the head was covered by insects with a flat body, like tiny shields.
A Round Beetle with massive legs slid down the Black-Shelled Entity's arm. The insect opened its throat, and several fireflies flew out of it. They circled over Ki, showering glowing pollen.
The Round Beetle opened its mouth again. Huge claws, comparable to the limbs of a horse, emerged from there. The beetle's throat stretched out like a rubber one. A mantis with nine claws climbed out of it and bent over Ki.
Han was biting his lip.
Under the glow of the fireflies, Ki Bai was cutting with God. The cultivator was breathing softly. When it reached the shattered bones, the insect coughed up a couple of white worms. The worms lay on the bones and melted, flowed inside. A second later, the fractures disappeared. Spiders and caterpillars crawl out of the mantis's belly. They started making a click. The mantis was carefully stitching Ki's flesh together.
Finishing their work, spiders and caterpillars returned in belly.
Despite the number of operations, the whole process took no more than three minutes.
Ki woke up. Seeing the giant mantis with many legs, the cultivator jumped up and took a fighting stance.
The mantis muttered something and climbed back into the tiny round beetle, the fireflies rushed after him.
The round beetle returned to its swarming brethren.
"Ki, you're alive! Ha-ha!"
"My legs?! They are intact… How much time has passed?"
"Five minutes… Um ... ten branches of Ginotataskansk."
"Clear."
The Bully and the Insect-Ridden Entity were smiling amiably. A centipede slid onto the entity's palm.
The centipede flashed red. A purple liquid with a pungent smell flowed out of her mouth. The liveliness took the form of a jelly ball. The bully offered a red ball to Ki.
The cultivator became alert.
"What is it?"
"I don't know, friend. But these two can easily shove it down our throats if they want to. And... I don't think it's poison..."
"Great Orbits!"
Ki takes the ball. The Bully grabs an invisible ball in the air, bites through and imitates the sound of sips.
"All right…"
Ki bites through the ball and drinks the contents. [Does it taste like ... water? No. Even water has its own taste, and this incomprehensible liquid has no taste at all. That's... I don't know.]
Lost in thought, Ki did not notice when he drank everything. The empty balloon shrank and melted into a bloody haze.
The bully bent down to get a better look at the guy's face.
"Pe," the bully snorted.
The centipede became transparent and released a colorless liquid. Ki drank it.
After that, the insect glowed sky-white and clean. The cultivator swallowed the white liquid. A pleasant heat immediately spread through the body. Strength enveloped the muscles.
"Uuuuaaaa! Ha-ha-ha-ha! I am overwhelmed by the power of the gods themselves!!! I'm so happy! How wonderful life is!"
The centipede hastily poured the clear liquid into Ki's throat. The blissful feeling immediately disappeared. The cultivator returned to its previous state.
The big man scratched his swarthy chin thoughtfully.
"Wakhnegikh tsekhets."
The centipede's shell was clothed in a dirty purple, and the centipede gave Ki a third liquid.
[ I wonder what the result will be. ] The first sip, the third, the ninth...
"What.... Aaaaahh!"
The cultivator threw up. Purple smoke poured out of his ears, and his eyes were filled with primordial madness.
"Cats dance with the devil! Cats dance with the devil on the bed! Dancing on the be-e-e-e-ed! Aaaaahh! Cats are dancing! Holy orbits!!! Cats are dancing with the devil on the bed in my head! Stop it! Please!"
The centipede shot a huge jet of colorless liquid, similar to water, at Ki.
The cultivator regained his sanity.
"Great Orbits… What happened to me just now?"
"Oh..." the Bully looked back at the lady in red.
The lady stood with a distorted face. Noticing the bully's questioning look, the woman growled.
"Bih to?!"
"Pe bih! Pe bih! Laimihat, Akhe Leroo!" the Bully turned away cowardly.
With a sigh, the man released a tiny mosquito from under his hat. The bloodsucker bit Han in the neck.
Mangaka instantly fell into a deep and sound sleep against his own will.
<- - ->
Han heard a sweet purr. Mangaka woke up in "his" bed, under a blanket with a picture of cute cats. Now the drawing came to life, and the kittens were playing right on the bed. Han sat up, causing the tiny cats to freeze and turn back into a drawing.
[Am I not bound? Oh, what a joy! Hmm, I'm wearing pajamas. Apparently, the kimono is being repaired, and the shoes... although it doesn't matter.]
Han stood up and stretched. The guy involuntarily drew attention to the wall. [There was a window near the bed, no? Heh.] Mangaka smiled bitterly. He looked around the room, and his smile began to tremble.
[The door sank into the same place.
How many different things can a person learn about himself after having been in critical situations? During these days, I discovered a fear of meat, a fear of dolls and a fear of ... closed spaces.
I wonder what the situation is with my friend Ki?]
"Aaaaaaaaahh! Damn monsters! Damn the world! Damn crazies!"
Han screamed for a couple of minutes, so that his throat was almost covered with blood.
[Good, very good. I let out the accumulated steam, now I feel better… I've gotten better, haven't I? To hell with it! I'll go look for something useful.
The only thing I know is that I will have to stay in this world for oh so long... if no one kills me. Which is better: death or insanity? What should I choose...]
A tear ran down the mangaka's cheek.
[My mother said that death is too easy a way out. If you drop your hands, you can't solve the problem. I... will not give up... I will not give up... break off, you damned monsters!]
Han began a thorough inspection of the room.
As before, the ceiling was covered with a triangular carpet with the image of three eyes.
There were pillows of various shapes in the corners of the room. Mangaka took one outstretched, the pillow wrapped around his forearm.
"Aaaaaahh!?.. Aaaaaah... Aaahh… Ah... This is the most pleasant monster in the whole world. Do you want to be petted, my friend?"
The living pillow purred, producing vibrations. [Wow! This is a personal massage therapist! God, you didn't leave me even in this crazy monster world!]
"Thank you, my friend. But I'm busy right now… You can get on my back. Although it's better not to, in case you're poisonous. Hmm, I don't think so. However, you'd better sit with your brothers while I search the room."
Mangaka reached into the cabinets. The first find was geometric figures made of soft translucent material. [Okay... let's move on.]
The next one contained herbs with a sweet smell. And the third shelf was intended for brushes, paints and canvas.
Mangaka raised an eyebrow. [The former owner of the body was engaged in painting. I wonder at what level he possessed our brave skill of artists?"
Han searched through twelve boxes, but found only canvases with unknown writing from the right one.
[Color calligraphy, notes, letters?]
Han was holding a blank canvas.
[Ki Bai, I hope you're still alive... now I can only wait. I haven't painted for a long time.]
Mangaka took a brush and paints, spread the canvas on the floor and began to draw.
First, I plastered the background, drew the sunset sky. Black lines formed mighty branches. Green marked the ground. The blue dot grew into the silhouette of a falling man.
Mangaka added shadows, details, highlights. The time is gone. Han plunged into work, into an endless trance without beginning and end, without death and sorrow, only the creator and his still undeveloped creation.
<---
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The lady in red was twirling her mug. It was the same mug with which Han left the ill-fated White House. On the mug there was a portrait of a mangaka drinking from the same mug, where the same Han drank from a mug with his image…
The lady looked up from an interesting trifle. An image of a room without windows and doors appeared before her eyes. In the center of the room, a young man was drawing on a canvas.
"Kerikh Kipa to?" the ledy thinking about something.
There was a bully sitting next to the lady. "Stormetsakhetah pe, Leroo".
Both people talked about something for a long time.
After the conversations, the lady put the mugs inside the scarlet snake. Then she opened the big-eyed book, in which Ki was sleeping peacefully and quietly.