I had a dream. A very strange dream. One might say it is the wildest one I had in my life. You want to know what it is? I dreamt of Feuer taking off her hat and found out that underneath it was a... a... pulsating tumor!
That's right, I imagined her having a disgusting growth on the top of her head, continuously throbbing and bulging. So much so, that I could see veins popping out. It freaked me out so bad that I woke up, sweating profusely.
But in all seriousness, dreams aside, Feuer's hat certainly holds some secrets. I stretched my arms and yawned, trying to shake off the remnants of my bizarre dream. The sunlight filtered through my window, casting a warm light over my room that washed over that eerie feeling.
"Time to get a move on, I suppose."
Murmuring myself, I got out of bed and left the room. The aroma of breakfast hit me as soon as I reached the stairs, and I saw Father in the kitchen, flipping burger steaks with the flair of a seasoned chef.
"Morning, Siegfried," he called out, expertly tossing a burger into the air. "Sleep well?"
"Well, Dad, I had the weirdest dream," I replied, scratching my head.
"Oh? Do tell," he retorted, arching an eyebrow in curiosity as he placed the steaks on plates and placed them on the table.
He then gestured for me to come join him to eat, so I happily obliged and took a seat next to him. While munching on the freshly cooked burger steaks, which are delicious by the way, I told him about my dream.
"So, there I was in my dream," I began, dramatically waving a fork in the air for effects, "Feuer takes off her hat, and instead of hair, there's this pulsating tumor on her head! Veins and all!"
"A tumor?!" Father exclaimed, almost choked mid-bite. " That's... quite the imagination you've got there, Siegfried."
"I know, right? Totally freaked me out," I remarked, shaking my head. "But seriously, that hat of hers must be hiding something. I'm sure of it."
Father chuckled lightly in response and was about to say something but...
Knock! Knock!
The sound of knocking can be heard at the front door. Father stood up and went to answer it while I remained at the table, curious about who could be visiting us so early.
I strained to hear the conversation at the door, but I only heard several muffled voices. After a few moments, Father returned to the kitchen, looking somewhat troubled. He walked past the table and went to grab his sword before turning to me.
"Siegfried, I'll be gone for a while, stay here," he instructed while putting on his mantle.
Confused, I couldn't resist asking, "What happened there, Dad? Where are you going?"
"The townspeople said there are a lot of armored bears showing up in the woods," he replied worriedly. "Not only that, but they also discovered some burnt corpses of those monsters, so I was invited to investigate."
Burnt corpses? My mind immediately jumped to Feuer and her fire magic. Could she possibly be involved in this event? Before I could voice my thoughts, Father was already heading out the door all geared up.
"Stay safe, Dad," I called out, seeing him smile on the way out.
Left alone, I couldn't shake the feeling that something might happened to Feuer. I needed to find her and figure out what was going on. After all, she might be in danger or worse, on the brink of death.
Determined, I quickly finished my breakfast and grabbed my magic staff before sprinting out of the house, heading towards the creek where I knew Feuer would show up. The path there looked normal, but it felt different for some reason. So, I quickened the pace, hoping to arrive as soon as possible.
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Upon reaching the destination, I looked around and saw nothing had changed, yet there was something off. The usually peaceful creek seemed to hum with an eerie energy, the kind that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Feuer! You there?" I called out, trying to keep my voice steady.
"....."
Just silence. Only the sound of the water splashing over the rocks and the occasional rustle of leaves answered me. I investigated the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of her hat weaving through the trees, but there was nothing.
Just when I was about to lose hope, I saw something that caught my eye. Nestled among the rocks by the creek, was Feuer's hat. My heart skipped a beat upon seeing it. Why would she leave her hat behind?
I rushed over and picked it up, feeling a strange blend of relief and worry. This hat was like a part of her, so seeing it here didn't sit right with me.
"Feuer, where are you?!" I exclaimed, clutching the hat tightly.
growl~
Instead of a female voice answering my call, a low deep growl resounded behind me. I turned around and saw a huge creature walking on all fours. It had dark brown fur and hard metallic armor covering its body. With these details, it was safe to assume this was an armored bear and not Feuer herself... Who am I kidding, of course, it's not Feuer!
My eyes widened as I took several steps back, clutching the hat with one hand and holding my magic staff with the other hand. The bear saw it as a threat and growled again, but this time it was louder, making my legs tremble.
"Okay, Mister Bear, I don't mean to ruin your beauty sleep, but can we settle this like sensible gentlemen?" I humorously asked while backing up and keeping my weapon ready.
The armored bear didn't like my joke, so it charged towards me with ferocious intent. Seeing that, I quickly pointed my staff forward and began charging up my attack.
"Zoltraak!"
A beam of penetrating light shot out from my magic staff, hitting one of the bear's limbs. The spell caused the monster to fall face-first but it immediately got back up. Then it roared even louder, shaking the trees around us.
"Great, now I've just made it angrier," I muttered to myself.
As I was about to fire another spell, a burst of flames shot out from behind the trees, igniting the bear until it turned into a burnt corpse.
"Good grief, these things are everywhere," a familiar voice called out.
"Feuer!" I exclaimed, relief washing over me. "Thank goodness you're here! I found your hat and—"
As she stepped out from behind the trees, I saw something that made my heart stop. On top of Feuer's head, although not a bulging tumor, were a pair of horns. Not just any horns, it was one that of a demon.
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While I was taken aback by the revelation, Feuer calmly approached my direction and seized the hat from my hand, putting it on to hide the horns I had just witnessed.
Am I dreaming? Is everything real right now? Because I can't believe that she was a demon the whole time. Wait, does this mean all the things she said before were lies and her smile was fake too?
"That was a close call, are you alright?" she asked, snapping me back to reality.
I looked at her, the expression she was wearing was sincere and her words didn't sound false at all. What the heck was going on?
"Anyway, you should go back, it's dangerous here," she added before turning away from me.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up!" I exclaimed, waving both my hands frantically like I was trying to flag down a flying carpet. "Feuer, you can't just drop a bombshell like that and expect me to walk away! What the heck was that just now?!"
Feuer sighed, adjusting her hat as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice them," she admitted, sounding more like she'd forgotten to take the laundry out of the washer than reveal a demonic feature.
"Wouldn't notice them? You practically flaunted them!" I protested. "What is next? Telling me you secretly run a petting zoo for dragons?"
"Actually, I do have a sanctuary of them somewhere," Feuer quipped, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "But that's beside the point. My horns are merely a part of who I am."
"Well, that's...kinda cool but still a bit freaky," I remarked, scratching my chin. "So, you are a demon, right? Like, a full-on demon?"
She sighed again, acting as if this was something heavy to unpack right now.
"To answer your question, let me ask you this," Feuer countered, ready to throw my argument back at me. "Are you a pure-blooded elf?"
"No, not really," I confessed, feeling uncomfortable. "I was a half-elf because my father was a human and my mother was an elf. They gave birth to me and here I am."
"Well, it seems we're the same then," Feuer asserted with a small smile. "I'm a half-demon."
With that revelation, I was so taken aback that I was afraid to hear the rest of her convoluted backstory. Every word she said felt like a rollercoaster ride through a Seinen manga, making me start to think that maybe, just maybe, my life was about to get a whole lot more intense.