Living being or shady things encapsulated by the sky of red to be crowded by the lack of hue. You're tuned in, motionless. Ending the awkward thug act—welcome to the imaginary cinema of shame where you play an inaudible film for a round or two. Down on an unknown realm and time, surrounded by a gruesome view.
You get down from the Suolija's carcass and pick up the two offerings by the seemingly troubled and mourning group that you've successfully made their situation more difficult.
The first object, Elemental Crystal. You sure as hell don't know what it is but it looks and sounds precious, probably useful in the future.
The second object, Jagged Black Knife. Again, you don't know if it has any special abilities or something but you keep it because it looks cool.
'Maybe I can ask or give it to Mr. Carbonite for an upgrade' is what you're thinking.
Still using the blood exo-muscle, you can't help but feel uncanny with every movement you make. It feels different, just like how a doll being controlled by someone, a reluctant marionette.
You're making sure that there is nobody in the vicinity using the virus vessel that your factory is still generating to this moment. It's rather nauseating to keep track of many vessel's senses so you only use one of them to scout the area tediously.
'Yes, there is nobody around!'
With a master degree of self piloting, you embark your little and painful journey to the backpack containing all of your belongings.
Right there in the corner of your vision! A fat rucksack lazily idling by with no care in the world. Approaching forward, you notice that the barrier isn't there anymore. It seems like the group of people back then had already deactivated the forcefield.
'Huee! Those guys didn't steal anything from it! But wait, I think they came from a different direction.'
Your mind wanders with haste of every possible scenario, reenacting that embarrassment.
Satisfyingly enough, you fill up the crystal gourd with all the blood on the battlefield except the blood you used for controlling your dead muscle. Wafting formlessly from all directions they come! The container feels bottomless with every liter of dense red liquid it drinks, maybe in some other times you can have the chance of recreating your dream of being a sleek blood bender.
'Blood Overlord', 'Blood Crystal Queen', 'Crimson Manipulator'. The pain begins to dwindle as your mind is fading away into daydreaming numerous titles you make in your head, until a ridiculous one pops up to your attention.
'Queen of the Apocalypse.'
'Okay, that one is too much,' you suppose. It will only be some pipe dream until you can kick the ass of Chronos when you meet her later. Jokingly, you begin to act like the revolver of the world just to ease your anxiety and mental trouble away.
In just a short period of time, you've achieved many things that can be deemed as impossible for a normal human's standards. You now have the knowledge to manipulate blood, you have defeated a crazy ass ape—even though you lost a potentially great partner in the process.
That dream title, It is still crazy as it sounds.
But will it remain to be a dream?
A slash out of nowhere, a wave made of air. The invisible blade has destroyed your talisman with laser precision.
Your sight quickly pursues the direction where the wind-scar came from. A familiar figure appears to the frame, clutching the hair of a severed head with its eyes scratched brutally. Just like a devil coming to forebode an armageddon, it breaks your daydreaming merriment in an instant. At least that way the fright didn't hit like a mace.
The current violent pain and the fighting record you've achieved couples of minutes ago has strengthened your mental tenacity. Instead of fear, you're likely to be more cautious as you prepare the blood within the crystal gourd to create a spreading shield at any time.
But unlike her usual scornful smile, she appears to be weary, discontent, and in pain. She is supposed to be able to regenerate using black substances all the time as if she is ethereal and invincible, as if she is out of this world. Now, she is battered with numerous scars that can be seen through her torn clothes and the fact that she inherited your child-like appearance, it just feels wrong.
She looks human, except for the fact that she throws the shockwave using her middle finger.
"Buckaroo, It's been a long time, ey? How are ya doin'?" says Lues, forcing a convincing smile just so she can talk to you.
"It has only been around eight hours since the last flipping session." You then slowly back down to take the black blade out from your backpack, trying to preserve your mana in case things get rough, "So, miss psycho, what is your deal with that severed head in your clutch?"
"Oh right, sorry about that."
She drops the tufts of hair, letting it roll on the ground. Closing her eyes, she puts both of her hands to the sky.
She then continues, "Firstly, I'm here by no means of trying to be accusatory. I might have done you something gory but that is the past, no?"
Lues shows a rather sincere expression even though she did you more than just a 'gory'.
"I'm listening."
"Lassie, I have no power now, so I'm offering you a tepid truce for the time being."
"And then you will kill me?"
"Heh, back then I would be. As of now, it will only make me a dull-witted idiot if I do that." She shows you her playful snickering.
Processing her reasons, it might be connected with the 'mirror'.
You put back the blade, showing her your trust.
"I don't mind a crazy homicidal bitch following around, if you're sincere. I'm just your normal kind of person, trying to stay alive."
You can see her eyes scanning at your blood-driven exo-muscle. She then sluggishly walks forward in a cheeky manner.
"I thought that I'm blooming to be a different entity. Turns out it wasn't an apple from the same tree, I'm just a parasitic branch living off by sucking the saps of my host. So forgive my unwiseness, I'll kill you later when we're not one of the same, capisce?" she says, showing her usual smirk.
Which means that she will disappear if you die.
You ignore her taunting and strap up your backpack, preparing to leave to the other side of the forest. Just as you are doing so, some word constructed by your subconscious is running away from your lips, "It must be tough, isn't it?"
She might be a psychopath, a doppelganger of death to its original, but you couldn't help but feel pity as her battered appearance of yours is reminding you of the experience in this forest.
'it must be tough'.
"How about you? It must be tough, isn't it?" she asks.
"It is, idiot, so don't make my life harder than it is." You say, truthful to your feelings.
"Turns out we're rather similar, ay?"
"Don't care."
Just as when you avert your eyes from her, she falls like a fallen tree. It might be a feint as far as you know but you don't care if someone will call you impulsive and unwise. In panic, you approach and help her stand.
She is actually becoming more pitiful than it seems, you couldn't help but laugh. "Hahaha, you're so energetic when you're having a killing fest back then."
"...D-Don't joke around—I'm running out of mana."
You look left and right instinctively to search for something, only to find that nothing is useful in this situation.
"You're a part of me! I have some mana left, can you do anything to take some!?"
"Oh right."
She catches you by surprise by reaching her arm to your behind, incipiently shoving her mouth into yours. Your lips and her are caressing each other, gently soft and warm. You can feel something is leaving you, either it was your mana or your consciousness from the shock. It's only a few seconds before she presses her tongue inside, colliding and plunging to explore your taste.
Lues then pushes you down with both of you still connected, the backpack cushions your fall to keep the stimulus going. As if it wasn't enough, she pins down both of your palms to your backpack exterior so you can't run away. It takes a while before she retracts her french-kiss out, you can see the saliva is stretched as far till it falls on her lips and yours.
She then puts on a smug face with pride, "Thanks for the meal."
"Your-meal my ass!"
She immediately floats away to make a proper distance while leaving you bamboozled, trying to recover from the sudden attack. The dark-red ominous aura she usually emits is back together with her repaired clothes.
"Hey, it was your first and I'm making sure it was the best, no?"
You only stare at her in embarrassment, "I feel tainted. Is it really necessary!?"
"Nope, I'm just teasing ya! Beside, I've taken quite a liking of you."
"Urgh, atleast change your appearance so it doesn't feel awkward. I have mixed feelings with a real self-cest."
"Hmm? If you say so."
She only shifts her hairstyles and colors, from long crimson hair to darkish brown and short-clean bob style with a peculiar bang that covers both of her eyes.
"I swear, you look like a 'hentai protagonist'."
"I applaud you for getting that reference."
Continuing the shape shifting, she ends up with a reddish black color with the same 'hentai protagonist' hairstyle. It seems like there is no change in her complexion at all, she is only frick'ing with you.
Dilly-dallying around. A tiny white block on your rear view appears large periodically, hopping around to your direction enthusiastically.
"G-GOYANG!?"
"Goyang!?"
The dopamine from the kiss is turning into the ecstatic feeling of reuniting with your dog once again. You saw it with your own eyes that he was totally annihilated back then, but the reason why he is still alive doesn't matter. What matters is that he is still here ready for you to accompany you on your journey once again.
"Good boy, good boy!" you say, while injecting him with pain more and more.
Goyang is twitching, that is the sign of happiness!
"What kind of sick frick you're doing to that poor lad—"
At that very moment, Lues realize that she is not the only one who have a screw loose.
After trying to find your microgun on the messed up land, both of you go through the cave to meet with a an open glade. The rising dawn is greeting you with warmth in-between numerous giant trees, it's been a while since you had this experience. Just normal sunlight showering your skin.
The traumatic stress on your muscles hasn't recovered, but your mental stress does. It's only a slight act of kindness from nature to reward you with familiarity in this bizarre world.
Lues, although she might be in the same state as you, she can float around in the air just like a feather in the sky, a deadly feather, and a smooth one.
"Now I remember, you're the one appearing in my dream back then in the hospital." you say.
"Yepper."
"Does Chronos know you?"
"Oh, my love. She hates me to the core."
"Perfect, I can watch a cat fight later."
Two tired individuals walking toward the sun, trying to solve their own problem in their own way. Together with an immortal piece of block, the story shall be spilled by the time's quill with ink onto the right page.
Who would have thought, that the very being to make you embrace the pain is now floating near? Fate is a fickle thing after all.
You've survived the 'night'.
Arc 1: The Unbecoming Growth - End