"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal."
― Albert Camus
"Of course Cain isn't wearing his mask," Ven let a snort slip out as he shook his head. He wanted information on how the Father of Murder changed the flow of time within the realm. "I guess I'll message Lyra…"
A gate of light interrupted his thoughts, a doorway that disgorged an avatar of the Hive. The mechanical humanoid sank to one knee and bowed before him like a devoted servant.
"Lord Vendak, we bring news!" The A.I. collective raised its hands and projected a hologram of Rafe. The image zoomed in, until it burrowed into the Halflings head and beyond. "One of your warriors has been infected by an outside power… our runes have isolated the foreign energy, but we cannot remove it!"
"Hmmm…" Ven peered at the invasive orb, buried under the A.I. 's runic formation, and frowned. Featureless silver, it seemed content to ignore the script around it. "I…"
A ripple of fear flowed into his mind, backfed from his connection to the realm. The newly awakened will recognized this metallic orb. Ven soothed the terrified consciousness, a gentle pulse of reassurance that quieted the emotional assault.
"That thing is bad news," Ven tapped his foot on the ground, head tilted as he let the jumbled knowledge of his realm fill his mind. All that carried through was a deep seeded fear, reinforced by the image of a bloodshot silver eye. "I was going to have you send him home, but now…"
Ven waved a hand and teleported himself and the Hive to Min's simple cottage on the system's star. The kind hearted woman was one of the top three in his realm. He couldn't send the system avatar out, but Min was free to come and go as she pleased.
"Hellooo?" Ven knocked on the oversized door, large enough to accommodate Giant's large frame. "Sister Min, I need some help with a sick friend of mine!"
A shift, the thud of heavy feet, and the door opened inward. The brutish face of his Giant, tilted in confusion. The massive imp squeezed free of the cramped entryway, into the light of the system star. It had grown more defined over Ven's long sleep, the trace of human features under the hungry shadows of its body.
"Min is out?" Ven questioned as he peered into the empty house. The former Minder was one of the few in his realm that could avoid his detection. It wasn't intentional, the peaceful woman simply blended into the energy around her with uncanny perfection.
"Hmm," Giant shrugged his shoulders and pointed to a distant star. Ven knew the beast's mind without the need to look, the subconscious connection that he'd so far ignored.
"Eden, huh…" Ven sighed. The Academy that Kalina founded was still on his list of places to visit, but he'd avoided it. "I guess it's time to meet the younger generation."
– – – –
Hunger and blood. Head tilted back, Lyra loosed her fury onto the world. The ocean around her churned, repelled from her fur by the force of her howl. Her heart and Fen's, locked in step as new fangs sprouted from her jaws.
"TODAY WE SHALL FEAST!!!" Fenrir snarled from within, pressed tight against the restriction of Lyra's flesh. "NO MORE FEEDING FROM THE SUN LIKE A DOG!!!"
Vendak's realm was a place of easy growth. No conflict or worry to inspire the soul, just endless food and familiar faces. Both Lyra and her inner wolf were in need of a true adventure. Freedom and risk, a return to the danger of their youth.
Lyra's body lengthened, expanded, until a massive canine took its place. The fusion of two wolves into one, black fur marked with streaks of white. A howl launched a shockwave toward her prey, the dragon that dared to hunt her and the friends by her side.
Ten times her size, the beast smashed through the compressed wave. Mouth opened, it swallowed the ocean as it closed the distance. A mad grin bared Lyra's fangs to the world. She opened a mouth that devoured the light, a shadowed maw that was never full.
Space twisted, bent and broken as it fell down her throat. The dragon realised its mistake too late, face caught in the wolf's inescapable pull. Green-blue light built at the back of its open mouth, a glow that the wolf-kin's maw drank like honey.
Dragon's breath lanced out, bent like a luminous string as it fell, into the blackhole past Lyra's throat. A roar of terror and the beast's head followed. Bones crunched, while diamond scales screamed as they folded down. Chaos erupted as the dragon's body coiled and flailed, a beater that frothed the ocean to a thick, bloodied foam.
"Buy the Gods…" Lucifer recoiled, sword extended to block his fall into the wolf-kin's mouth. Space sheared as Lyra snapped her jaws closed, the beheaded corpse still lost in involuntary spasms. "Both of you have been hiding your power," The Devil squinted at the black and white wolf, a light in the depths of his dark eyes. "Mortals that rival true gods…"
"It's because of Ven's realm," Cain flexed his hand and let a billow of red energy free into the water, enough to display his own increased power. "It has none of the restrictions or tribulations we're used to, no limits for a low born's growth."
"He will be the enemy of all for that alone…" the Devil laughed as Lyra took another massive bite from the dragon's remains. "Mortals are forbidden to rise above their station for a reason, it keeps the balance and lets energy return to the multiverse."
"Balance," Cain scoffed as the last of the poor dragon disappeared into Lyra's gullet. "Ven has no need for anything but that star in the centre of his realm… it can support the abundance needed for the mortals to grow forever, provided they have the talent and willpower to see it through."
"The broken system's of Identity are certainly a boon to their masters…" Lucifer sighed. His attempts to seize Ven's star had been futile, yet he would never give up hope. "Let's collect the overstuffed wolf and return to the abyss, we'll continue once she's awake…"
Lyra drifted through the bloody water, returned to her humanoid form. Eyes closed, a resonant chain of snores rattled from her nose. Lips turned up in a satisfied smile, she rubbed her belly in her sleep, drool on her face as she opened and closed her mouth.