The high-pitched screams from the beast brought him back to the presence as he ran down the dark cave, carrying both Arina and Odo on each arm.
He could hear the creature getting closer as he ran out of options.
The beast appeared from his right and he merely dodged its claws, moving backwards. Arina fell off his shoulder and a groan escaped her lips.
"Arina..." he whispered, as some threads pulled her feet into the shadows.
He quickly pulled her arm but the threads pulled her deeper into the shadow and he had no choice to pull harder, causing her feet to be ripped off her body.
"Forgive me!" he cried as she screamed, regaining consciousness. Her blue eyes opened instantly, veins appearing on her forehead.
As he put her over his left shoulder, another thread pulled Odo's head. He tried to pull him but the threads pulled harder and he knew he would rip his head off.
The beast then appeared above Nijahoeba and Odo slipped from his hand into the shadows.
Nijahoeba dodged the creature's claws, holding tight to Arina. That was when he spotted the light at the end of the cave. He looked at it and then at the shadows where Odo had disappeared.
He could save him if...No! he couldn't. Not if he wanted to live afterwards. The price was too high, even for his own soul.
Tears clouded his vision as he ran for the light, remembering memories he shared with the old man.
"It was not your fault. We played our part, helped a young woman. That is all that matters."
"If only we had honest Upper Beings!"
He remembered Odo saying those words and immediately stopped running.
"What are you doing...?" Whispered Arina in pain.
"I'm saving Odo," he replied as he placed her down on the rocky surface quickly. Her feet were already healing slowly. She looked at him in tears, her hands letting go off him.
The beast was already approaching, screaming with rage. Nijahoeba pulled out the silver compass and stared at it.
"Crawl out of here," he ordered Arina before running for the creature.
A large roar left his lips as a strong gust of wind blew by.
Arina was already crawling out of the cave, into the night sky. She crawled as fast as she could, her hands reaching for the end of the darkness. She smell the salty already, she was close. Hearing the loud roar, she winced, never looking back.
The cave began breaking down as rocks fell. Luckily for Arina, her feet had grown back and she was out of the cave. Her chest rose and fell while the wind blew the dust in the air. She could see the sea already.
She began running for the shore, where she could see their ship.
They had been tricked into believing that the beautiful island was real.
Who could have known?!
From behind, a beast with a skeletal lower jaw and exposed spine and rib bones appeared from the rubble. The hollow dark eyes, looked like Nijahoeba's. He had transformed into a beast with predator hind limbs.
I From the other side, the long thin beast with an empty face appeared, its hair flowing in the air.
The beasts ran for each other, hitting and smashing one another.
The loud roars filled the island as Arina finally stopped running and turned to face the two creatures. Her blue eyes opened wider in shock, when she saw the beast that Nijahoeba had transformed to.
"Sailor?" she whispered in disbelief, "Is that you?"
The vicious thin beast ran its claws across Nijahoeba's face causing him to move backwards before falling. Dust and rocks rose in the air, while Nijahoeba roared in pain.
Thick threads then wrapped his body as he roared trying to break free. The threads tightened, aiming to rip him into bits.
"Sailor!" Arina yelled in tears. " Get up Sailor!"
A melancholic cry left Nijahoeba's mouth as the thin beast assaulted him in with claws.
His roars decreased as his vision turned blurry. The thin beast then pulled his lower skeletal jaw, hoping to separate it from his face.
"Sailor!!!" cried Arina. "Nijahoeba!!!"
Hearing Arina's screams, Nijahoeba regained his consciousness, using his might, he spread his upper limbs as hard as he could, tearing the threads of hair away.
"No!!" cried the thin beast, holding its hair in devastation. The empty face wrinkled instantly.
Nijahoeba then ran with all his four limbs, heading for Arina. The ground shook as Arina jumped into the water, swimming for the boat.
"No! Don't leave!" cried the thin beast. "Nobody leaves my lair alive! Nobody!"
Nijahoeba jumped inside the dark water and swam for Arina. Even as he swam away, he could still hear the beast's cries.
He could not go back though, he would be killed if he did.
"It was not your fault. We played our part, helped a young woman. That is all that matters."
"If only we had honest Upper Beings!"
***
Sea gulls screeched across the blue sky as Arina looked through the binoculars, for any sign of a ship.
There was no ship from the distance. A relieved sign left her lips as she climbed down the crow's nest and walked towards the right edge of the ship.
She looked down at the water and met the face of a beast with a skeletal jaw. It lay on the waters, its head resting near the ship.
Her forehead tensed as the beast made a deep sound.
"I told you to go deeper into the sea. We cannot afford anyone seeing you." She spoke in concern.
The beast made another deep sound, vibrating the whole ship. She held onto the ship with her might.
"I can't help you if you do not listen to me!" she yelled in anger, tears running down her cheeks. "Please, go deeper..."
The beast slowly sank deeper into the endless sea, leaving Arina to collect her emotions.
He could feel how shattered she was from everything. She had lost hope.
As he swam deeper into the darkness memories returned.
"Nijahoeba, can you hear me?" his mother had asked after he had taken in the beast.
Huge chains bound his arms as he took deep breaths.
"Mother..." he had answered.
That was when the congregation clapped hands as his mother smiled.
"You did it son, you have taken the beast for me." She had said, tears running down her cheeks.
That was when he changed into a beast, ripping the chains apart.
His roar echoed inside the temple as he attacked the congregation, ripping them into pieces.
"Nijahoeba!" his mother had yelled in fear.
The power had been to great for him to wield, he could not control it and ended up killing his only hope of being a normal man.
The sound of canons echoed terribly, pulling him back to the presence.
He looked above him and could only see shadows of what looked like ships.
Arina! Was she alright?
Suddenly, a body dropped inside the waters. Her blonde hair flowed beautifully as she swam deeper, heading for Nijahoeba.
He reached out his claw towards her and she touched it, sending a feeling of warmth throughout Nijahoeba's heart.
That was when his claws turned back to hands and he turned back into a man.
The waters moved and both he and Arina were pushed to the surface.
He gasped for air as the breeze blew passed his face.