Part 1

  The road seemed to stretch to infinity as clouds the colour of ash hung in the sky, looking as if they would crash down like lead at any second. A young woman was stumbling towards an unknown destination, her body carried by a single thought: getting away. In her current state, she could not recall who or what she was trying to escape, just that the alternative was too terrifying for her to bear. Her limbs felt numb, her head like a broken buzzer that would not stop ringing. From time to time, she had to pause and check her body to make sure it was still there. Everything below her torso felt especially empty, a possible result of days without sustenance. Her vision had long begun to fade, but not completely, not just yet. Her throat was like parchment paper, her lips like the earth on the sides of the road. From a distance, her wobbling figure could be associated with the living dead from a horror film.

  While her sense of time had been lost for a while, her body soon reminded her how much of a slave to it she really was as her legs gave up, causing her to meet the ground with a thud lamer than a cardboard box’s. She lied there for minute after minute, her mind going in and out of focus, jumping between the desire to keep moving and the craving for rest. Eventually, the former won and the woman’s arms started to stir. As if separated from a black hole by a mere concrete wall, she struggled to lift her upper half using her elbows, then slowly inch towards the same unknown she had been chasing for gods-knew-how-long. Her eyelids were pressing against her eyes, which could barely register her surroundings anymore. Darkness was threatening to envelop her vision when a white light appeared ahead. It did not burst like an explosion; rather, it manifested as a singular spot of brightness that gradually grew little by little until it stung her eyes, but not enough to force them closed.

  Something soft, bearing a fragrance that she could not pinpoint, touched her head. Warmth spread throughout her body at a rapid pace and she immediately found her energy returning. She could once again feel the weight of her body and limbs and see more clearly than she might had ever seen. She blinked multiple times, not just to test her eyes, but to dispel the disbelief that was actively undermining the fortune that had apparently graced her. In doing so, she noticed the person standing over her: a similarly young woman, with hair as white as snow, azure eyes and two marble horns protruding from the top of her forehead, bending backwards. A white Eastern dress decorated with blue and golden patterns adorned her shapely body.

  “Are you alright?” she asked. “I saw you collapse. You must have been exhausted.”

  “Um…who are you? Where am I…?”

  “Ah, I apologise! I should introduce myself, yes. To be honest, I have many names, but you have probably heard of Baise Long, right? That’s me.”

  “Baise…Long?”

  “Mhm!”

  “Baise…Long…Wait…Baise Long?! The White Dragon Goddess?!”

  “Yes, exactly her! It’s nice to meet you. May I ask you your name, young lady?”

  “Um…”

  The addressee’s heart was thundering, her breath catching in her throat. While many in this world would give up even their most prized possessions for just a few seconds in the presence of one of the Dragon Gods, the woman currently on her knees before Baise Long was the opposite. She knew that if the goddess learnt what she was, her existence would end on the spot. As the fear of death was steadily creeping up her spine, her eyes darted across the surroundings, trying to find the escape route that would be most likely to take her to safety. The rational side of her was aware that no mortal could escape the wrath of a Dragon God, but her body propelled her to still try.

  “Oh, my, you seem quite agitated,” Baise Long remarked, with a look of both surprise and confusion on her face. “Have I scared you? I’m sorry, it was not my intention to do so.”

  “No, it’s alright…I’m just…in a hurry…I have to get somewhere fast, so…I should go. Thank you for helping me.”

  Maybe if I leave now, she won’t realise…the woman tried to convince herself. She has no reason to suspect me of anything yet. I should be fine if I just—

  As she was about to move past, the goddess stopped her. Her delicate hand on the woman’s shoulder sent shivers throughout the latter’s body, instantly freezing it in place.

  Oh, no…This is it, this is where I die…

  “Please wait a moment! Are you in any danger?”

  The woman was struggling not to show terror on her face.

  “Danger…? Why would I be in danger…?”

  The goddess scrutinised her.

  “Well, for instance, this is one of the roads that leads to the city the rebels captured recently. You seem to have come from the opposite direction, so…Did you live there? Are you one of the survivors of the attack? But wasn’t there a mass evacuation…? Although, hmm…I guess you could have got split up from everybody else; maybe even kidnapped?”

  Baise Long was talking to herself at this point, leaving the woman stuck about her next course of action.

  “Agh, I’m not a detective and I’m not smart enough to be one, anyway! I just want to help, so please tell me what happened to you.”

  “But I have to—”

  “Oh, yes, you did say you’re pressed by time. Where are you going? I can take you there.”

  Please, just let me go…Please…

  “N-No, that’s alright, I wouldn’t want to impose on you…I can continue on my own.”

  “But what if you collapse again? I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the rebels have caused such a massive devastation that every nearby city and town has been evacuated. If anything happens to you, no one will be there to help. Even now, you were extremely lucky I was in the area.”

  The woman bit her lip. She wondered if the goddess truly had not noticed the darkness within her. Her knowledge about the Dragon Gods was severely limited, but in her view, it was expected for them to somehow sense the one force in the universe that could kill them. At the very least, in a world dominated by animal-human crossbreeds, any one person could identify danger more accurately than they would if they were regular humans. Moreover, deities should have been the most proficient at it. The woman no longer had the intention to hurt the Dragon Gods, but that would probably not stop Baise Long from executing her right then and there. Still, if her fate was sealed, if nothing she said would convince the goddess to simply allow her to be on her way, the woman would rather not antagonise her. Despite the precarious situation, she did not want to voluntarily bring ruin upon herself.

  “To be honest, I don’t know where I’m going,” she confessed. “I just want to…get away.”

  Baise Long’s eyebrows drew together.

  “What do you mean? Get away from what? Or who?” she asked.

  “You were right, I was there when the rebels attacked, but I wasn’t from that city. I wanted to escape the destruction, but I…I couldn’t do it with everybody else. I managed to get out of the city eventually, but I’ve been walking for days without encountering anybody. I did find some cars, but I don’t know how to drive, so I couldn’t use them. Although…I didn’t really stop for long in the towns I’ve passed, so I didn’t check for other means of transportation. I was too afraid of the rebels catching up to me…”

  Muddled truth is always more convincing than a lie, no matter how elaborate that lie is, thought the woman. Maybe there’s still hope for me yet. If I can just take advantage of the goddess’s pity, I might just be able to survive.

  Baise Long squeezed the woman’s shoulder.

  “It sounds like you’ve had it rough. I’m sorry to hear that. The rebels’ actions took us all by surprise, but we’re doing our best to come up with a solution. In that sense, since you have no destination in mind, would you be willing to come with me? I can take you to a safe place. Please.”

  The woman blinked and studied the goddess’s face, but she could not notice any trace of deceit.

  What the hell, here goes nothing.

  “Okay, thank you. I’ll be in your care,” she replied, nodding.

  “Great! By the way, what’s your name?”

  “Ah, it’s Paige. Sorry I didn’t tell you the first time.”

  “Don’t worry, no harm done! Nice to me you, Paige!”

  Baise Long smiled and the two were on their way. However, after a few hours, an inhabited city already appeared on the horizon, as confirmed by the white dragon. It seemed Paige had been closer to civilisation than she had thought when she had passed out.

  “Hold on for a moment, before we get too close,” the goddess stopped the woman.

  “What’s going on?” Paige asked, but obeyed nonetheless.

  Baise Long eyed her, her expression like steel, the exact opposite of how she had looked on the way there.

  “Listen to me carefully. When I asked you what had happened to you, you either lied to me or you partially hid the truth. Now, I don’t know how aware you are, but your Origin is corrupted by Terminus. I felt the corruption the moment I restored your body. I’ve been gauging its level this entire time and I’m certain that it hasn’t reached an advanced stage yet. Also, we have travelled together for a while and not once did you even consider attacking me, at least from what I could observe, which most likely means that you are not a rebel. Therefore, I see only two explanations as to why you possess Terminus: you got infected when the rebels attacked or you are a rebel who deserted.”

  Paige was listening to the goddess’s words, but they were barely registering. The only thing she could clearly discern was the constant thumping in her ears. Her eyes were wide and her mouth dry.

  “Either way,” Baise Long continued, “there’s nothing about you that feels malicious, so I won’t kill you. Still, even if I don’t, the corruption will. Or, it will transform you into some twisted monstrosity. So, we’re going to go into that city, we’re going to buy a drink and I’m going to turn it into medicine that will specifically keep the Terminus from sprea—”

  “Wait, wait, wait a moment,” Paige interrupted the goddess. “I’m sorry, but I don’t…really understand what you’re saying…”

  The white dragon sighed. She looked around, spotted a rock, then went to pick it up. In her hand, the rock was enveloped in a white light before it was thrown on the road. After a few seconds, it transformed into a simple wooden bench. Baise Long walked up to it and sat down as if it was the most natural thing to do in that moment. Mouth agape, Paige was having trouble processing what she had just witnessed.

  “Wha—” she managed to finally say. “What was that?!”

  Baise Long looked at her with amusement in her eyes.

  “Come on, sit down. I’ll explain.”

  Despite feeling like she should not, Paige complied.

  “First of all,” the goddess started, “I should apologise for dumping all that information on you, it was a mistake on my part. With that being said, please let me give you a bit of a lesson in cosmology before anything else. When this universe came into being, concepts appeared alongside it to ensure its sustainability. One such concept is called the Origin Point and there’s also an End Point, which acts as a counterpart. Everything in the universe has both an Origin Point and an End Point. The Origin Point refers to the beginning of any kind of existence, while the End Point refers to its finality. The rock I picked up had an Origin Point, this bench we’re sitting on has an Origin Point…and you have an Origin Point as well. The same goes for End Points.

  These Points cannot be perceived by the majority of intelligent and non-intelligent life, the only exception being the divine entities Initia and Termina, who are not only able to perceive Origins and Ends respectively, but also manipulate them using the Initium Force and the Terminus Force, once again, respectively. Technically speaking, Initia is my mother, so I am able to do a lot of the things she can do, such as alter the Origin Point of a rock to be the same as that of a bench. Speaking of, Origin Points influence how things are visible to living organisms, as well as how they function in the world – their fundamental properties. Comparatively, End Points mark the degradation something goes through in order to stop existing.

  In this world, the rebels you know have had their Origins corrupted by Terminus, which is why they can cause the destruction you’ve witnessed. They are very dangerous and I am convinced they will grow even more so still, but they will never hold a candle to Initia and Termina; those two are, frankly speaking, almost beyond comprehension. In a sense, without them, nothing would exist; not this planet you’re so familiar with, not the universe, not life in general. They are literally the pillars of existence. They might not be the only ones, but they are vital nonetheless.

  In any case, once someone is corrupted by Terminus, if they don’t die or transform into a monster immediately, either their Origin Point slowly gets consumed until only the End remains, which then leads to death, or the Origin Point becomes ensnared, which then results in that person’s becoming a Terminus ghoul. Basically, the outcomes are the same as far as consciousness is concerned; it’s just a matter of when they happen. For you, the Origin Point is enduring and the corruption level is relatively low, a perfect state for medicine administration. You would only have to consume small doses at regular intervals in order to reduce the corruption. Unfortunately, nothing can completely remove it, as your End Point acts as a proxy for it, but at least it won’t interfere with your daily life anymore.

  …do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Paige had been listening as carefully as she could, but now she was even more confused than before.

  “Um, I think so?” she replied with a frown, feeling as if she was back in school again and a teacher had just asked her to recount the previous lesson. “It’s a lot to take in, though…I’m not even sure where to begin to process all this…”

  “Well, I don’t want to rush you, but we should be on our way soon. I don’t want the police or the military to suspect me of anything.”

  “Wait, what do you mean? Why would anyone suspect you? Of what?”

  Baise Long sighed.

  “Things are…a little complicated. Some people are saying the Dragon Gods are partly responsible for what’s been going on. If society hadn’t been designed around a caste system, there would have been no rebels. Or if we’re truly divine beings, why haven’t we intervened decisively? In short, there are those who think we’re either incapable or colluding with the enemy. As a result, those in charge of maintaining order and protecting the citizens have begun doubting us. In my case, they are watching me carefully, so I don’t want to give them a reason to suspect me. The fact that I will be returning with only you will most likely be viewed with suspicion already.”

  “I see, it does indeed sound like a complicated situation. But are those people right to doubt you? Why did you let the rebels destroy and capture a whole city?”

  The goddess lowered her head and stared at her hands, folded on her lap.

  “They’re not…completely wrong. I told you my mother, Initia, is very powerful, but that’s not necessarily the case for all her daughters.”

  “Oh, so it’s not just you. I didn’t know.”

  “Yes, I have more sisters than I could count, honestly. I have never met any of them, though. Our mother usually places one of us per universe, so…it’s quite unlikely for us to meet. Unless in case of emergency, I guess, but nothing of the sort has ever happened in my life.”

  Paige frowned.

  “I did find it odd when you referred to the universe as ‘this universe’, as if there are others...Are there?”

  “Ah, definitely. There’s technically an infinity of universes, like leaves on an ever-growing tree. I know it’s popular in this world to assume that the universe is the infinite one, but that’s not the case, in reality. All universes are finite, but many are extremely large; astronomically so.”

  Paige was quiet for a moment.

  “…they say you learn something new every day, but I feel like today I’ve learnt enough to last me a lifetime.”

  Baise Long chuckled.

  “I can’t blame you. Originally, even Mum didn’t know everything. In fact, she still doesn’t. I remember her sighing quite often when I was little, when she would make some major discovery or other. Although, now that I’ve witnessed Termina’s power in the rebels’ hands, I have to wonder if that wasn’t part of Mum’s burden as well. She would sometimes look very worn or frustrated.”

  “Why? Is Termina powerful too? Is that why you haven’t intervened against the rebels?”

  “Indeed. Frankly speaking…we’re all afraid, the Dragon Gods and I. None of us has faced Terminus before; we don’t know how to deal with it without sacrificing ourselves. Even then, there is no guarantee that we would eradicate it. Hence, it’s best to contain it, but in order to do that, we need to observe the way it works. We’ve already seen it in action and I’ve gathered valuable data from meeting you, but this isn’t enough for us to expose ourselves and risk death.”

  “I see. So, the rebels were right. You really are too weak to face them.”

  Baise Long glanced at Paige and tensed. The woman’s eyes were hidden behind her hair.

  “Earlier,” Paige continued, her tone as ice, “you said I’m either an infected or a former rebel. You weren’t wrong. I used to be a rebel.”

  She turned her head and her eyes were glistening with tears waiting to fall.

  “This world is unfair and we’ve always resented it. Not just you, the Dragon Gods, but the people who occupy lucrative positions not because of their skills and hard work, but just because of their species. Some of us couldn’t buy enough food or medicine to take care of ourselves or our families. Some of us even lost friends or family because they were prey, rather than predators.”

  The goddess looked at Paige’s long rabbit ears and understood what she was describing. A pang of shame knocked against her heart.

  “Still,” Paige resumed, in a lower voice. “Our actions grew too extreme. Innocents, people who didn’t join us only because they were scared of being punished by the authorities, were killed alongside those who had actively oppressed us. At the same time, my friends and comrades – they all started changing in time. They have become angrier, crueler and more violent. We all accepted what you call Terminus willingly, but I always felt like I was poisoning myself. I tried talking to the others about it, on multiple occasions, but nobody believed there was something wrong with what we were doing. Or, maybe they just chose to ignore it. Either way, the attack on that city made me realise I couldn’t take it anymore, so I left. Unfortunately, I had no plan and I probably would have died without your help. For that, I am thankful.”

  The white dragon kept silent for a moment.

  “Do you still feel the same way you did when you became a rebel?”

  “I…I don’t know what to think anymore, really. On the one hand, society still favours some species over others. The rebels weren’t wrong to want to change that. But maybe not everybody is to blame. Again, you’ve helped me, so I cannot not be grateful. Still, you don’t represent the whole dragon pantheon, so…who really knows? Who even knows if the rebels still believe in what they originally wanted to achieve or if they’re all under Terminus’s influence? I guess…I guess I still want equality and fairness for everybody, but I just…don’t have the energy to fight for it anymore. Especially if using Terminus is the only way to get the world to listen. At this point, this conflict is probably between you guys, the gods, and the rebels; no one else. Anyone else would just get in the way while trading their life for it.”

  The ice coating Paige’s words had melted completely and Baise Long finally relaxed.

  “While I’m relieved we don’t have to be enemies, you were right to resent us,” the goddess admitted. “The fault lies with us too, it definitely does. We built society in a way that would enable people to take advantage of their strengths and account for their weaknesses, but we left matters of order in the hands of the authorities. We should have paid attention to what’s been going on. Maybe then none of this would’ve happened.”

  Paige watched Baise Long.

  “Well, there’s no point in thinking about what could have been. What matters now is what you can do to improve the situation. Uh…not that I’m telling you what to do…I’m sorry, that was rude of me to say…”

  The goddess smiled.

  “No, it’s alright. You are not wrong. We do indeed need to come up with a solution. First, though, I should get you some food and that medicine I promised. We can chat more on the way and in the city.”

  “Ah, yeah, we’ve probably dallied for too long. I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”

  “Don’t worry about it. As long as we are on the same page in terms of background information, things should be fine. The police cannot detain you without proof and they definitely cannot do anything to me. While I might be a little late, it won’t be by much. Besides, I realise my comings and goings are my responsibility and I’m sure I can deal with the consequences.”

  Walking through the Infinite Forest, Baise Long remembered the day she had met Paige as if it had happened yesterday. At the time, she had not expected to come across a deserter, but it had been a stroke of fortune that she had because, at least for a time, it had allowed the Dragon Gods to research Terminus more smoothly. In exchange for being left in peace and receiving medicine, the rabbit-woman had revealed everything she had known about the rebels’ plans and future movements, as well as their history as a group and the extent of their Terminus abilities. She had also agreed to offer some of her blood from time to time for the study of Terminus’s biological effects and the effectiveness of Initium in combating the former, in addition to any potential side effects.

  The goddess had maintained regular contact with Paige as part of their arrangement, but Paige had been missing for months now, so she suspected that their discrete meet-ups would cease for the foreseeable future. Her chest stung at the thought, but she kept telling herself that with Terminus covering the entire planet, something of the sort had been bound to happen. People had either been lucky enough to get on one of the floating cities or had been stuck on the ground ever since. While surviving in the Forest was technically not impossible, Paige’s adaptability was not strong enough to withstand constant exposure to Terminus. No living being’s was, aside from Termina’s. Baise Long sighed internally and shook her head.

  Enough with running in circles in my own head, she scolded herself. Time to see what Termina’s game is all about.

  Part 2

  Before it had stretched enough to earn its epithet, the Infinite Forest had been teeming with thousands of lower-caste animal-human crossbreeds, eager to punish those of the higher-castes. The rebels, as they had been dubbed by the media, had grown large enough to be able to form battalions, which they had split into companies, platoons, squads and teams in order to cover more ground. To many citizens, their faction had seemed to be everywhere, but now, the Forest was mostly empty, its trees like oversized gravestones, solemnly watching over whatever was left of their former masters. The same rebels that had given them life had been consumed by them alongside the simple folk that had been left behind while the privileged had ascended into the sky. With time, they had all become nourishment for the Forest, regardless of the lives they had led, their beliefs or their social status.

  Presently, however, the Forest’s silence was almost-imperceptibly being disturbed by two figures – one male and one female. They were in what had used to be a neighbourhood at the edge of a large city, approaching one of the few houses that had not become dilapidated as a result of the Forest’s expansion.

  “Say, Baise Long,” the man addressed the woman, “what exactly are we doing here?”

  He was a whole head taller than her, his hair darker than a strawberry but lighter than a cherry. Like Baise Long, he was wearing Eastern clothes that matched his hair, complimented here and there by orange and black. His dragon horns were longer and more angular than hers, almost like a demon’s. Their colour harmonised with his hair and clothes. If Baise Long were to be described as akin to a snowflake in terms of appearance, her companion would then be the freshly forged blade that could slice it in half.

  “Are you saying you insisted on following me for no reason?” she retorted.

  “It wasn’t for no reason. You are my wife. It's only natural that I do.”

  The dragon woman scoffed.

  “Is that another of the dragonkin’s customs? I swear, I can never remember them all.”

  “Rather, it’s a way to ensure that our children don’t lose their mother. That would be a terrible tragedy, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Well, you are not wrong. Anyway, didn’t I tell you before leaving that I’ve received a report on Termina’s whereabouts? We’re here to investigate.”

  “You did tell me, but can you trust it? As I recall, the person who delivered it was sent by Termina herself. This could very well be a trap.”

  “Oh, I's well aware of that. I would almost be disappointed if it wasn’t a trap. Nevertheless, it’s my duty to find information about her and her power. In a way, it’s yours too.”

  “Hmm, point taken. However, I can’t help but feel like we’re walking into the lion’s den, so to say.”

  “It’s a good thing we’re dragons, then,” she teased him.

  The man sighed.

  “I just find it odd that you’re willing to take such a big risk when you’ve always insisted on being cautious. Not that I disagree with your general approach. I also understand the urgency to obtain as much information as possible, but…I guess it’s surprising that even our world is expected to perform at the same level as others, despite our numerous weaknesses. Do we even have a plan in case we run into Termina herself?”

  The woman smiled, but her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

  “I’m not sure, but we do what we can. I hope at least one of us can survive and lead a long life, though. It would be so sad if the kids were left all alone.”

  Hongse Long’s eyebrows rose as his eyes widened. His words caught in his throat for a moment, then he smiled and put a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

  “In that case, let’s make sure we both survive. That should be double the happiness for the young rascals, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Yeah, definitely!” Baise Long replied, the corners of her eyes wet.

  The two gods stopped in front of the house they were supposed to arrive at. The report stated that Termina wanted Baise Long, specifically, to be here, but the goddess could not think of a reason for this location in particular being so important. From the front, at least, the place looked like a regular middle-class household. The building had barely suffered any damage. In fact, only a few signs of neglect could be spotted on its fa?ade. If the goddess did not know any better, she would assume that someone still lived there.

  “From what I can tell,” remarked the man, “it doesn’t look like anybody’s here. We can wait outside, but that would probably leave us exposed to a surprise attack. I say we go in and explore, maybe we can find some clues.”

  “Hmm, except she could be waiting for us inside. Initium cannot detect Terminus and vice-versa, remember? The two are tied to opposite concepts and thus are unknowable to one another. That’s why intelligent life has been dragged into their conflict and that’s why proxies like Initia and Termina exist. Anyway, Termina could see us coming, but we couldn't see her, so she is at a clear advantage.”

  Hongse Long shook his head.

  “Indecision won’t do us any good. If she is inside, can’t you fill the house with Initium? That would force her to come out, right?”

  Baise Long pondered the suggestion.

  “Since I'm nowhere close to my mother's level, I don't imagine anything I do will have any effect on her, but since our options are limited...”

  The man nodded and turned towards the rest of the Forest.

  “I can maintain a barrier for us and watch out for any ambush. You do what you can.”

  “Alright,” the woman agreed, nodding back.

  She knelt at the first step and sent her Initium forward, weaving a web that connected the Origin Points of the door, the walls, the windows and everything else the house was constituted of and contained, including, she discovered, the smithy in the back. A number of Origins were broken for some reason, but being one of Initia’s daughters, she could link to them nonetheless. She then filled the gaps in-between to the point of restoration and waited. Around her, Hongse Long’s Initium was shimmering lightly. Their surroundings remained as silent as they had been this entire time.

  “Maybe Termina isn’t here,” suggested the goddess, rising to her feet after a few more minutes and releasing her Initium.

  “Or, like you said, she’s just very resistant to Initium. Come on, we’ll head inside and check. I’ll take point. If you notice anything weird, immediately back off, alright?”

  Baise Long felt her chest heat up for a moment and wanted to protest, but she held back.

  “Okay.”

  Hongse Long tried the door and, finding it open, he stepped in, immediately checking his surroundings multiple times. Slowly, his wife followed him, her body tense. They did not see anybody, but the house had two stories, so they split up to cover more ground. Baise Long headed upstairs, while her husband continued further in. She went from one end of the hallway to the other, checking every room in the process. There was no sign of life, which accentuated the goddess’s puzzlement, as she once again wondered why Termina had chosen this location. The house looked like a simple family home.

  Hold on, the woman was suddenly struck by a thought. Could the people who used to live here have a meaning? Is Termina trying to tell me something? But would she even do such a thing…?

  ‘Communicative’ is not a word she would associate with the Goddess of Terminus. Growing up, her mother had always emphasised Termina’s chaotic and destructive nature.

  Besides, why would she communicate with me? By association with my mother, I am her nemesis. She should want nothing more than to crush me.

  Then, another question popped into Baise Long’s head.

  Wait, what about the family who lived here? Why would they matter? Due to my role in society and my duties, I have no idea who the majority of the civilians are. Unless…

  She dashed to the bedrooms to look for photos, but she did not find any. She climbed downstairs to try the living room and noticed a few at the opposite end. She scanned them all, then picked one up. In the picture, there was a burly man with small, round ears akin to a bear’s next to a woman with rabbit ears and long, slightly curly, chestnut-coloured hair. In-between stood a young rabbit-girl, her hair like almonds, smiling widely. The goddess’s eyes stopped on the woman. She studied the image again and again, but there was no mistaking it: she knew who the rabbit-woman was. In fact, she was the only civilian Baise Long had ever known as a person.

  Thought after thought flooded her mind, but before she could even begin to sort through them, she felt the impulse to share her discovery with Hongse Long. She was about to go find him when the front door opened and a large man stepped through. He was carrying what looked like a deer, dangling from his broad shoulder. The goddess froze, photo in hand, and the man did so as well when he noticed her. Judging from his appearance, he was the same man she had just seen in the picture. After a moment, he slowly put down the deer, then looked around.

  “What happened here?” he asked, finally resting his gaze on Baise Long.

  His words brought the goddess back from her stupor, but before she could answer, her husband appeared next to her. Judging from his stance, he was ready to fight.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, his voice like ice.

  The stranger sighed.

  “I’m the owner of this house. Well, one of them. You guys are trespassing.”

  The goddess gulped and looked at Hongse Long, whose body visibly relaxed and whose expression immediately became embarrassed.

  “We apologise for the intrusion, sir,” the woman spoke before the awkwardness could become unbearable. “We didn’t think any survivors remained in the Infinite Forest.”

  “Oh, there are a few. Some have lost their minds, though.”

  He eyed Baise Long for a few seconds.

  “I would ask what you’re doing here, but I think I know. You, the lady in white – you’re Baise Long, right? I’ve seen you a few times on the news. You always spoke on behalf of the Dragon Gods.”

  “Yes, that’s me. This is my husband, Hongse Long. Might we know your name too, sir? I know we don’t belong here, and we apologise again, but—”

  “Never mind that. Again, I know why you’re here. I was expecting you, although I was hoping you would arrive a bit later. I was supposed to wait for you, but I grew hungry, you see. Been tracking a few mutated animals for a while now and came across this one,” he explained, pointing at the dead deer on the floor. “For some reason, it kept frequenting the same place, not far from here, so I thought I could quickly catch it. Food is scarce around here.”

  A mutated deer? From Terminus? With an abnormal behavioural pattern? the goddess wondered, curiosity filling her heart. I wish I could take a look at it, but now is not the time for that.

  “In any case,” the owner of the house continued, “I don’t know what you guys did, but I suppose I should thank you for tidying up the place.”

  “Pardon?” asked the woman.

  The man removed his jacket and hung it up, then walked to the couch and sat down.

  “The place,” he gestured to the room they were in. “It’s been messy for a while, lots of broken things everywhere, but it’s fixed now.”

  “Oh!” Baise Long exclaimed, remembering the damaged Origin Points she had noticed earlier. “Right, they must have been restored by my Initium, which I used to check if the house was contaminated with Terminus.”

  The owner simply watched her for a moment.

  “Well, thanks again. Now, come, have a seat,” he invited the gods, gesturing to the two armchairs on both sides of the coffee table in front of the couch. “Lady Baise Long, you must have received a report from someone who knows where Termina is, right?”

  “That’s right,” the goddess confirmed as she and her husband seated themselves, after placing the family photo back where it belonged. “How do you—”

  “I was the one who gave that info to the guards at the base of the nearby city platform. My name is Cedric. My wife’s name is Paige – I’m sure you know her – and our daughter is an incredible girl called Elizabeth. Termina instructed me to tell you our story. After, you two will be able to meet. You can refuse to comply and look for her yourself, but if you choose to do so, she said she will wipe out everybody in this world.”

  Part 3

  There are two types of complete darkness: one that is so clear and feels so real that most who perceive it soon get struck by a paralysing fear that makes their body seem uncontrollably weightless and one that appears as a black blur, which they have a degree of control over and, as a result, can provide comfort in the right situations. However, like many things in the world, even this latter darkness can be forced upon someone, to the point that comfort becomes anger or even dread. Similarly, light can be a source of hope and relief for someone lost in unending darkness, but it can also be a cause for frustration when that same person has finally been able to take refuge from their fatigue in a darkness of their own making, especially if the light keeps shining persistently, borderline burning the precious darkness away with each passing second.

  This was what Elizabeth was experiencing when the sun had risen high enough to be a bother. In the morning, most children would have to deal with a nagging parent, but in her case, at least today, it was the sun that was pushing her tolerance to the limit. When it became clear that trying to salvage her sleep was a fruitless endeavour, she pushed herself up and opened her eyes. Blinking, she noticed she was seated at her desk, something purple spread in front of her. She touched it and discovered it was soft, albeit slightly coarse. When she raised it and noticed the opening at the top, to which a hood was attached, her memories crashed against the torpor still holding her mind prisoner. What she was holding was a hoodie she had been working on for weeks, her first major creation as an amateur tailor.

  She looked it over again and again, her chest swelling a little every time, a permanent grin on her face. She wanted to show what she had made to her father, who was a professional tailor respected and sought out in the entire neighbourhood. She had been learning how to make clothes from him for as long as she could remember and she now wanted him to see how much she had improved. She rose from her chair and went to wash away the few slivers of sleep that kept tugging at the corners of her eyes, brushed her hair, then donned her creation. It was a bit large for her still-developing body, but her upcoming growth spurt was precisely why she had made it like that. Her father had taught her that it was good for children to wear slightly larger clothes as a way to not have to buy new ones all the time. She spun multiple times in front of the mirror before declaring to herself that there was no issue with the hoodie. Then, she rushed out of her room to the kitchen, where she knew her father was making breakfast.

  “Papa, Papa, look!” she spoke with sunshine in her voice.

  Her father, Cedric, was like a bear, a panda bear according to him: big, strong but also soft, and with the ears to match. A relatively wide white streak rose from his hairline and a dark beard framed his face. He was plating the family breakfast as she entered the kitchen. Lifting his gaze, he immediately spotted the seemingly new hoodie his daughter was wearing.

  “Ta-da~” she presented herself, gesturing at her torso. “I’ve made this from scratch! What do you think? Does it look good?”

  Cedric walked around the table, a smile on his lips, and took a closer look. He inspected every side of the hoodie as if it was meant to later be delivered to one of the Dragon Gods.

  “This is great work, Lizzie” he finally proclaimed, pride shining in his eyes. “I can take an even closer look after breakfast if you want, but this…this is seriously impressive. It’s simple as far as the design is concerned, but practical nonetheless. I especially like how you thought to conceal the ear holes using those buttoned flippy bits. This way, your hood won’t look weird when you’re not wearing it up. Great attention to detail and good fashion sense!”

  He gave Elizabeth a quick hug and a kiss on the head.

  “Very proud of you, little bunny.”

  “Hehe, thank you! Do you know where Mom is? I wanna show it to her too!”

  “Ah, your mother is in the back, working on a commission. Tell her breakfast is ready, by the way.”

  The girl gave her father a thumbs-up and ran to the forge, where her mother worked as a blacksmith.

  “Mamaaa! Are you heeere?” she called as she opened the door.

  “Over here, honey,” an even voice replied from the other end of the room.

  Elizabeth followed it until she found her mother, Paige, hunched over her desk, making notes on some designs.

  “Mama, check it out!”

  Paige turned and the girl did a half-twirl. The woman watched, but her face remained unchanging. The daughter thought that her mother was almost looking through her.

  “Look, I made this! The whole thing, myself,” the Elizabeth explained, tugging lightly at the hoodie.

  Finally, Paige’s eyes seemed to show some light.

  “Oh, I see. It looks good. Well done.”

  She turned back to her drawings and resumed her work. Her daughter’s heart sank.

  “Um, Papa said…breakfast is ready…”

  “Is it time to eat already?” the mother asked no one in particular as she tapped the screen of her phone. It was past 9 AM. “Okay, I will be right over. I just need to finish up here. Ah, I was going to refill the oil bottles too, though…But you guys can start without me. I’ll be there eventually.”

  Elizabeth’s shoulders slumped and she felt like a deflating balloon. As always, she was about to leave her mother alone, knowing that it would upset the woman if she got in the way, when a sudden flame burst in her chest, filling her with the desire for a regular family meal for once in years. The flame engulfed her reason and pushed her to act. Looking around the forge, she identified the table where her mother kept various bottles, some of which she knew to be of oil. Then, she spotted the bigger bottles, where oil was stored before being divided among the smaller ones, a system that Paige had personally devised in order to control the amount of oil used as a way to prevent overuse. The bigger bottles were on a higher shelf, so the girl used a nearby chair to reach them.

  “Elizabeth? Are you still here?” the mother asked upon hearing noise from behind her.

  She turned to check and saw her daughter stretching to reach one of the big oil bottles.

  “What are you doing?! Be careful!” the woman shouted as she rose from her chair.

  At the same time, the girl managed to grab onto the bottle, but as she was about to pull her arm back, she lost her balance and fell on top of the table where the small bottles were. The sound of shattered glass filled the forge.

  “Ouch…” Elizabeth let out, rubbing her side after rolling onto the floor. The big bottle had jumped out of her hand and was rolling away, still intact.

  “No!” Paige screamed as she approached the table, multiple substances mixing with one another into a messy pool, which had already pushed past the hundreds of bottle shards, dripping off the side of the desk. The girl jumped to her feet, her gaze frozen on her mother. Paige’s extended hands were trembling slightly, her face as if she had just witnessed a murder.

  “Ma—” Elizabeth tried to speak as she gulped.

  “What have you done?!” the woman snapped. “My med—ugh! What did you want to do?! Tell me, Elizabeth! Why were you on that chair?!”

  The girl’s eyes began burning and her chest tightened.

  “I just w-wanted to h-help…”

  “Help how?! Why were you touching my things?! Who gave you permission?!”

  “I’m…I’m sorry…”

  “You wanted to help…Well, look at this mess! How is this help?!”

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m really—”

  “Enough. I don’t want to hear anything from you anymore. Leave, and never step foot in here again.”

  Tears burned trails on Elizabeth’s cheeks. Her sobs were threatening to choke her.

  “But, Mama, I’m—”

  Paige pushed her daughter to the ground and pinned her. Their faces were a mere breath apart. In her mother’s eyes, Elizabeth only saw fury.

  “If you don’t get out now, I will make you get out,” the woman threatened, growling.

  The daughter was trembling, air stuck in her throat, but she managed to get up and run away. Behind her, Paige remained on the ground and slammed her fists into it until they were numb. As if in a daze, Elizabeth reached to kitchen. When he saw her, Cedric’s colour drained from his face. For a moment, the girl watched her father as sobs were racking her body. Then, she fell to her knees and screamed, feeling as through something were tearing at her very being.

  Cedric rushed to her side and knelt next to her, putting an arm around her.

  “What’s going on, Lizzie? What happened? Where’s your mother?”

  Upon hearing mention of her, the daughter screamed even louder, clenching her fingers until the knuckles turned white. Her head was buzzing and her voice no longer felt like hers.

  “Alright, wait here for a bit, I’ll be right back,” her father instructed her, pressing her against him and kissing her head. “Okay? I’ll just be a minute, I promise. Everything will be alright.”

  He rose and ran towards the forge. In-between sobs, the girl had a passing thought that Cedric would be gone for a while, but he returned after only a few minutes.

  “Hey, sorry for leaving you alone. Are you hurt anywhere? Let’s get you checked.”

  He pulled her up as if she was an expensive ornament and took her to the bathroom. As he did, he looked her over again and again, but he could not find any indication of injury.

  “C’mon, wash your face. Can you do that for me, kiddo?” he said, opening the door to the bathroom.

  Elizabeth had managed to calm down slightly, her tears mostly gone, but she was still sobbing and would not look at her father. Cedric put both of his hands on her shoulders.

  “Lizzie, look at me. Please look at me.”

  The girl clasped her hands together and, after a moment of hesitation, she slowly raised her head. On her father’s face, she thought she saw a mix of concern and relief, but not a trace of anger, which made her body feel lighter.

  “Listen, I understand why you’re upset, but you did nothing wrong, alright? It was an accident, a mistake. We all make mistakes,” he reassured her, squeezing her shoulders.

  “B-but…”

  He shook his head.

  “No, it was a mistake. Listen to what I’m saying. I don’t want you blaming yourself for doing nothing wrong.”

  “But I…!”

  “Lizzie, I promise you. I promise you, yeah? Everything is fine. I promise. Don’t worry about anything.”

  A part of the girl could not understand how making a mistake was not something wrong, but she did not want to upset her father as well, so she did not say anything. Instead, she went in the bathroom and started washing her face. Cedric closed the door behind her and waited in the hallway. Minute after minute passed, but he did not move. When the door finally opened again, his daughter was no longer sobbing, but her face was redder than usual, especially around the eyes. However, her eyes revealed that she had not yet moved on from what had happened earlier.

  “Feeling better?” the father asked, despite knowing the answer.

  Elizabeth looked away and grabbed her elbow with her hand.

  “I don’t know,” she mumbled in reply.

  Cedric sighed.

  “Well, I can’t blame you. Then, how about you go outside for a bit, get some fresh air? Or you can eat if you’re up for it.”

  “Mmm, I’ll go for a walk. Are you sure that’s okay, though?”

  The man smiled and patted his daughter’s head.

  “Of course, take as much time as you need. We can talk once you’re back. Just please remember not to blame yourself. And, if you can…try not to blame your mother either. I know that’s probably not want you want to hear, but she’s had it rough for a long time. Her heart has grown heavy and sometimes she does or says things that are not like her, things that she doesn’t mean. We all do, really, but maybe she does it a little more. Still, she loves you very much, you can be sure of that. We both do.”

  The girl understood what her father was saying, but his words were like air brushing against rock.

  “Okay. I’m going, then.”

  She went to grab her keys, put on her shoes and left. Cedric had expected a door slam, but none accompanied her exit. Outside, she headed down the road, her hard footsteps carrying her to the only place she could take refuge and think: the woods.

  Close to Elizabeth’s home, there was a small forest she had spent uncountable hours exploring growing up. It was a place that had always brought her comfort. Normally, she would use her bicycle to get there, but today, feeling upset, she forgot to do so and consoled herself that the extra time and exercise was what she needed to clear her head. Even so, not long after she reached and stepped into it, something felt wrong. She could not put her finger on it, but the very air somehow felt heavy and prickly, almost as if she was being coated in sizzling oil, minus the excruciating pain. She had half a mind to turn back, but after a few minutes, the feeling subsided enough that she decided against it. Part of her was curious if the sensation would persist as she kept going deeper. Still, she tried not to think about it too much because she did not need yet another source of stress; the incident from this morning had given her enough. Instead, she forced her mind to conjure happier thoughts. It was a scuffed way of meditating, but it did work to an extent. As a result, she realised later than she usually would have that the forest had changed once more.

  This time, it seemed darker and bigger, as if she had shrunk at some point; the trees appeared taller and thicker, almost blocking out the sun completely. The strange sensation was still there, but it was barely noticeable now. She looked around, but nothing else stood out to her, until she spotted a glow coming from far ahead. It was low in intensity and purple. Intrigued, Elizabeth quickened her step slightly and discovered that the dim light was being emanated by a patch of flowers. She was no expert, but she was fairly certain she had never seen this species before. Compared to the forest, they did not feel wrong, just different. She bent down to pluck one of the flowers, interested to learn whether it would retain its glow, when the world suddenly grew even darker. As she looked up, a massive, dark figure slammed into her, knocking her away and cutting off her breath for a split second.

  Before she could even attempt to push herself up, she was pinned down with enough force to make her fear for her bones. Two rows of teeth the size of an adult’s hands appeared before her. A pair of burning red eyes was trained on her. Wide-eyed, she could only watch with a thundering heart, unable to breath, as some kind of unknown creature, a monster, had her at its mercy. In her mind, a myriad of thoughts was being formed, but all would disappear almost immediately after, vanquished by the terror in her heart that had begun creeping towards every corner of her body. She could not even scream in the face of what was likely her death, nor was she able to avert her eyes from it. However, death never came. The monster grabbed her like a toy and threw her away. She frantically rose to her feet and noticed she had landed right next to a tree.

  She turned towards the monster and, to her surprise, saw it position itself in front of the patch of flowers, sitting down. Then, it started rubbing bellow its head, but above the shoulder, seemingly not interested in the rabbit-girl anymore. Elizabeth’s brain was telling her that she should run away immediately, that she was lucky the monster had not done worse than toss her around for a bit, but the way it was acting had caught her attention. Despite its hulking appearance, the creature appeared mostly docile, prompting her to wonder why it had not torn her limb from limb or why it was not chasing her. Nevertheless, just observing it was not going to reveal the answer, not to someone as unknowledgeable as her. Hence, she made what many would consider the poor decision of approaching the strange beast.

  When it noticed her, it rose back up and roared at her, causing the girl to freeze in her tracks, her hands in the air. It did not move an inch, though, which clued her in that she was not in any danger yet. She continued to put one foot in front of the other, her breath trembling in her throat, her heart knocking against her chest, her head injected with adrenaline. In doing so, she saw that what the monster had been rubbing before was a gash half a fingernail deep at the connection between its neck and shoulder. Its fur bore a certain luster from all the blood. In addition, the girl realised that there were numerous cuts across the creature’s entire body. Some were still healing, while some had healed long ago, but had left spots of missing fur behind.

  The beast stepped forward and swung its clawed hand at her, only missing her by a hair. Elizabeth wondered if she had got too close, but she told herself that there was no going back now. In the monster’s wounds, she saw an opportunity. She wet her lips, cleared her throat and took it.

  “Um…I c-can heal your wounds…” she offered.

  The creature swung its hand again, with greater force, but still remained in place.

  “You’re hurt! I can help with that!” the girl insisted with more courage.

  The look in the beast’s eyes changed for a second and she took it as a sign. She scanned her surroundings, but she could not see anything sharp nearby. Maybe she could find something suitable farther away, but she did not want to move and agitate the monster any further. As she was racking her brain, her eyes fell on her raised hands. She gulped, then looked at the creature.

  “I’ll show you,” she told it in the calmest tone she could muster.

  She slowly brought her hand to her mouth and bit into it as hard as she could. Pain shot to her head in but a second, bringing her to tears almost instantly. However, she did not intend to stop until she tasted the warm liquid of life coursing through her veins. She felt as if she was about to faint once she finally did, but she gritted her teeth and with tears still streaming down her cheeks, she showed her bleeding hand to the monster. Then, she put her other hand next to it and focused on the warm, soothing sensation she was familiar with, as well as her intent of healing herself and the beast. A low, white glow enveloped the wound she had just given herself and in but a moment, her hand looked as if it had never been injured, thus ending her demonstration.

  “I can do this for you too,” she reassured the creature, her chest heaving after holding her breath through the pain.

  The monster brought its face close to the girl’s healed hand, looking at it from multiple angles. Then, it bent down and tilted its head, exposing the gash, blood oozing even now. She could hear it growling, surmising that it must have been from the pain. Without wasting time, she extended her hands, careful not to touch the beast. She regulated her breathing and, once again, focused on the act of healing. Compared to restoring her hand, the current process took much longer, but Elizabeth could see the progress every step of the way, which filled her with relief, determination and a modicum of pride for being able to heal such a serious injury. Maybe the practice she had done with her father since her abilities had surfaced was paying off. Maybe her father getting injured so often had been intentional, at least sometimes.

  “Alright, it’s done!” the girl announced once the wound was completely closed, moving back a few steps to make space for the creature to move about and test for any remaining pain. When it did not find any, it let out a sound that might have been a squeal of happiness, but due to its deep voice, it ended up as a weird sound that Elizabeth could not help but laugh at. For a couple of seconds, she no longer felt in danger.

  “I’ve noticed you have a lot of smaller wounds too. I can also heal those if you’d like,” she offered, pointing at her own body and then at the monster’s. She did not know how much of what she was saying it could understand, but it extended an arm ravished by cuts in response, which was proof that communication was possible. With a lighter body and a wider smile, she began treating it, one injury at a time. She reckoned at least an hour must have passed by the time she finished.

  “Phew, that took a while,” she exhaled, slumping to the ground. She was sweating all over and her breath was warm, as if she had been exercising the entire time. She knew well that using her ability for a longer period of time would tire her, but she had not expected quite this level of exhaustion. At the same time, she had never healed anything for this long, so she was not that surprised. The creature simply watched her from the side. After she rested enough, she got up and wondered if she should return home. A part of her did not want her father to worry, but another found the thought of seeing her mother akin to coming face-to-face with a devil, so she opted to stay out a little more.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She shifted her gaze to the purple flowers for the first time since the appearance of the monster. She walked towards them, an idea in her head, but the monster moved to bar her way. When it attacked her before, its eyes seemed bloodthirsty, almost mad, but now they were much clearer, albeit still firm. They appeared to warn the girl that it would not hesitate to strike her again if she did not listen.

  “Um, you see…I’ve never seen these flowers before, but I think they look beautiful, so I was curious about them. Also…uh…I had a fight with my mother today and I thought I could bring some of these flowers as a gift…Is that wrong?”

  The creature looked at her for a moment, then stepped away, pointed at the flowers and shook its head. It straightened and looked around before pointing to the ground with a growl. Elizabeth was not sure what it wanted, but she did not dare approach the flowers anymore. She watched as the beast started searching nearby for something. Shortly, it returned with a twig. It raised it in front of her, then proceeded to point between her and the tiny piece of wood multiple times. Finally, it took the twig and placed it inside the flower patch before taking it back and snapping it in two.

  “Uh…I’m not sure I understand, but…are you saying the flowers are dangerous?”

  It threw away the broken stick and nodded with fervor.

  “Oh, I see…They don’t look dangerous, though,” pondered the girl. “Well, I understand that you don’t want to me to touch the flowers, so whatever the reason may be, I won’t. I don’t want to upset you. Still…it’s a shame I can’t bring anything back to Mom. I do feel bad about causing her trouble, even though I can’t stand her shutting herself in that damn forge day after day…It wouldn’t kill her to spend more time with us…Or to at least actually look at what I’m doing…Ah! I’m blabbering, sorry! Forget what I said! Although, maybe all this is too hard for you to understand, hehe…Sorry again.”

  The beast lowered its head, then after a few moments, moved a few steps away, pointed to the east and growled. It kept repeating this process until Elizabeth realised that it wanted her to follow it. At first, she hesitated to do so on account that she did not know where it wanted to take her. She was unable to shake the feeling that her entering the forest had been like crossing into another world. Between the atmosphere, the trees, the purple flowers and now the monster, she was not sure she should keep staying here, let alone go even further in. However, the beast had not hurt her. In fact, if she were to believe that the flowers were indeed dangerous, it had protected her. Moreover, it had chosen to trust her enough to not only let her be, but also accept her healing when this entire forest might have been its territory. It would be almost rude not to repay that trust in kind.

  The girl jogged towards the creature and the two walked side-by-side until they reached the edge of the forest. She stopped, but her companion kept going.

  “Ah, wait! Are you sure it’s safe for you to expose yourself?”

  The monster stopped and cocked its head at her, before, once again, pointing ahead. She looked around for a bit, then decided to continue following it. She did not know why she was being cautious – after all, the road leading into and out of the city was on the other side of the forest and there were no more houses or settlements in general beyond or around it. Regardless, she thought it was somehow strange for a beast like it to be out in the open, against the backdrop of a relatively clear sky, warm sun and green grass. It contrasted too heavily with the creature’s dark-furred body, three times her size, claws as long as a machete and numerous horns twisted at multiple angles. Now that she had had a good look at it for a while, Elizabeth thought it was like a werewolf crossed with a deer, like a nightmare in the middle of Paradise.

  Eventually, the two reached a field of flowers, bursting with colour everywhere the girl looked. There were many species she recognised, but many she had never seen before as well. The beast gestured towards them and made a pick-up motion a few times. She could take any flower she wished. With a glint in her eyes, she said her thanks and began inspecting them one species at a time. She had to remind herself multiple times that she should not dally much any longer, but once she looked at them all, she was able to quickly form a bouquet that seemed as if she had plucked a piece of a rainbow. Her chest full, she brought it to the beast to show it.

  “I’ll take these, thank you for bringing me here. I had no idea there was such a beautiful field so close to the forest!”

  The monster let out a low, guttural sound and nodded.

  “Well, I should go back home now, so…Goodbye, and take care!”

  She started walking back towards the forest, but the creature stepped in front of her and knelt.

  “Um…what is it?”

  For a brief moment, she wondered if it did not intend to let her go. Her healing would be valuable to anyone or anything getting injured as hard as it had.

  It pointed to its back, but the girl remained confused, so it got up, pointed at her and at itself, then at the forest. When it ran in place, she finally understood.

  “Oh, you want to…carry me back?”

  It nodded in reply. Elizabeth’s gut churned a little at the prospect of riding on such a large beast, but she did not want it to misinterpret her hesitation as ungratefulness or arrogance, so she bit her lip and slowly climbed on top of it. She placed herself with her legs on both sides of its neck, just like her father had used to carry her when she had been younger. The monster pointed at its horns and made a fist, so after putting the bouquet in her hoodie pocket, the girl grabbed onto them. Another guttural sound told her what she had done was correct. Then, the creature lowered itself and broke into a sprint. It took her by surprise, her heart sinking in her stomach, but she held on as tightly as she could. However, she was unable to keep her eyes open, as the speed and the wind proved too much for her. She was relieved in more ways than one when they arrived at the forest’s entrance from the city’s side in a matter of minutes. Getting off, she discovered her legs were shaking.

  “T-Thank you…” she said weakly to the creature.

  She turned towards the city, scanning the first houses and the streets for people, but no one was in sight.

  “Alright, I’ll be going, then. Be careful not to get hurt again, okay? Bye-bye!”

  She waved at the beast as she walked away and it waved back. When she reached one of the houses, she looked behind, but she could not see the monster anymore. Although, with how dark the forest looked from afar, it could still be there, watching her. She shook the thought out of her head and took a detour home.

  After she locked the door behind her and took off her shoes, she started looking for her parents and found her father in his workshop. The room was smaller than what a tailor needed, but they had never had the money to expand. Her mother was earning significantly more now than she had in the past due to the ongoing lower-caste rebellion, but a lot of that money was going back into the forge and whatever she needed for her commissions. As one contracted by the government, it was a matter of respect and even pride to always design the highest-quality weapons and armour, which secured even greater financial stability for them as a family. Until the rebellion would be over, at least, they were caught in a financial cycle of investing into the forge and the smithing business as a way of making more money.

  “Ah, Lizzie, you’re back,” Cedric said when he saw his daughter. “You were gone for quite a while. Everything okay?”

  The girl fiddled with the bouquet in her hand, still in good condition after the monster’s sprint. The flowers had fit almost perfectly in her pocket due to being relatively small, so they had been protected from the wind.

  “Yeah, sorry, I kinda lost track of time…I was picking these.”

  “Hmm? Flowers? For…your mother?”

  She nodded, lowering her eyes. She could hear her father get up from his desk and walk over to her.

  “Well, don’t worry about it. The flowers are beautiful. I’m sure she will appreciate them. Do you want to give them to her together?”

  Elizabeth remembered the look on her mother’s face and the strength with which she had been pinned down. The monster had felt considerably stronger, but in this moment, Paige was the sole reason the girl had a pit in her stomach.

  “Please,” she replied, raising her gaze with a pleading look.

  “Alright, let’s go. She should still be tidying up in the forge.”

  Elizabeth’s heart sank. She started worrying that her mother had been so caught up in sorting out the mess she had caused that the woman had not had time to make progress on her work. She was in the middle of pushing the thought out of her mind, her pulse on the rise, when Paige entered the living room as the two were about to go to her. The mother looked at her husband, then her daughter, but instead of saying anything, she continued walking towards the front door, a garbage bag in her hand. The girl clenched her hands. The father turned to her and shrugged, a tiny smile on his lips. When she returned, he stepped in front of her. She tried to dodge him, but he did not let her. Watching them, Elizabeth’s chest tightened.

  “Paige, just wait for a minute. Lizzie has something for you.”

  The woman refused to glance at her daughter.

  “What? New bottles? New oil? New med—”

  She stopped herself and tried again to walk past him, but he blocked her way once more.

  “C’mon, we’ve talked about this. You know she didn’t mean to break anything.”

  “It was not her business to get on that chair and grab the oil on the shelf!” she hissed.

  “You’re right, it wasn’t. Your forge is your business, but think about why she did it.”

  “I don’t know why she did! What does it matter?! It was stupid of her to do it! It’s not like today was the first time she did something like that either. She always touches what she shouldn’t.”

  “She’s a kid, for—She’s curious! She wants to help! These things happen.”

  “And you know the cost.”

  “Listen, I understand you’ve lost…something important, but we’ll figure it out. I will help you however you need.”

  “It’s not that simple!”

  “I get that too, but what are we supposed to do now? Break apart because of an accident? It’s not fair for any of us.”

  “Losing my bottles wasn’t fair either.”

  The girl felt as if something was squeezing her inside. Heat had risen to her head and it was making her dizzy. Then, something in her heart snapped.

  “You talk about your bottles like they’re made of gold, like…like the gods themselves have given them to you! Screw your damn bottles, what about us?! Why aren’t you my mother anymore?! Why is your work always more important?! Why can’t you look at something I do, something I work so hard on, and tell me ‘good job’?! I got you these damn flowers…I wanted to apologise, but you know what? I won't! You’re not worth it! I hope you get buried in your work and when you do, I'm not gonna lift a single finger!”

  Elizabeth threw the bouquet at her mother and with bursting tears clouding her vision, she ran upstairs, to her room. She slammed the door, jumped on the bed and sobbed. Even after her body grew numb, the tears did not stop flowing.

  When she opened her eyes, Elizabeth discovered that her room was bathed in darkness, as night had already descended upon the world. A dim light was shining through the window from one of the streetlights, adding a watered splash of orange to the blackness. The girl sat up and felt hair sticking to her cheek and temple. Her head still swimming slightly, she brushed it aside and got up to check the time: it was almost 7 PM. As she was thinking about what to do, her stomach growled, giving her the answer. At the same time, the door opened and her mother stepped in, light spilling in from the hallway now too. The two stared at each other for a moment that seemed to stretch into infinity for the girl, her gut churning every step of the way. The one who moved first was Paige, as she closed the door, walked to her daughter’s desk and switched on the lamp.

  “I’m sorry for not knocking, I thought you were still sleeping. Your father and I knocked earlier, but there was no reply, so we checked and you were asleep. Sorry for that too,” she said after another moment of silence.

  The girl did not respond. Instead, she made it a point to look anywhere but at her mother.

  “I was going to just wake you up and tell you to eat, but since you’re up already, can we talk for a bit?”

  Elizabeth remained silent, but pulled the chair to the side so that it faced her mother and slumped in it.

  “Sure,” she finally said.

  However, Paige did not speak. Instead, she cleared her daughter’s desk and then sat on it. The girl watched her and her eyes twitched. She felt the impulse to click her tongue, but she refrained.

  “What happened this morning…” the woman began, “I’m sorry about the way I reacted. It’s just that with how much money we put into the forge and the tools and equipment in there, I consider everything to be precious. Maybe I’m also stressed and only viewed the accident as an inconvenience. I didn’t even think about whether you got hurt or not and I’m sorry. It’s…not how a mother should behave.”

  Fresh tears were being pushed against Elizabeth’s eyes, but she tightened her body. She refused to allow herself to cry. Nevertheless, a general softness was spreading from her chest towards her limbs and head.

  “I’m also sorry for what I said after you came back. While it is frustrating when people make mistakes, it’s not always their fault or at least not entirely. I’m not only referring to you, but your dad and even myself too. We all make mistakes, so we should try to be understanding of others when they do. I didn’t do that and I’m sorry. But I’d like to understand now, if you’re okay with it.”

  The girl was still trying to hold in the tears, playing with her fingers as a distraction.

  “I really was just…trying to help. You said you still needed to refill the little bottles, so I was going to do that for you. I thought I could get the oil bottle down without any issue, but I guess I was wrong…”

  “Okay, I understand. I’m happy and thankful you wanted to help, but you have to be careful. You could have cut yourself, maybe even worse. You should have asked or told me what you intended.”

  “I…Maybe, but I just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. I wanted us to have breakfast together.”

  Elizabeth could not see, since she was determined to only stare at her fingers, but Paige clenched the desk upon hearing her daughter’s words.

  “Because I haven’t been spending time with you…right?”

  Her daughter nodded. The mother sighed.

  “Yeah, I haven’t, that’s true. I talked with your father while you were asleep and he said the same thing. I’m…I’m sorry.”

  A sudden rush took over Elizabeth and propelled her to stand up, locking eyes with her mother.

  “You keep saying ‘sorry’, ‘sorry’, but what are you gonna do about it?! Because if you expect me to just accept your apologies and never be bothered again, I—”

  Paige got off the desk and embraced her daughter, pressing the girl against her as hard as she could. Elizabeth did not even have time to react.

  “I will do better. I promise,” the woman declared with a strain in her voice.

  Once her mind caught up with what was happening, the girl hugged her mother back and unleashed the sobs that had been building up the entire time.

  “Mama! Mama! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

  “I’m sorry too, Bunbun. I really am.”

  Hearing that nickname for the first time since being a child caused something to shatter within Elizabeth and she cried with renewed vigor. Warmth spread inside her chest as countless memories of her being called so bubbled to the surface of her mind, like gas in a freshly opened fizzy drink. The two continued to cry in each other’s arms until the tears exhausted them both physically and mentally. At that point, they sat on the girl’s bed and talked about anything and everything, about the past, present and future. Cuddling, they never once let go of each other’s hands, at least not until the girl’s stomach started rumbling audibly enough for both to notice at the same time. They laughed, then went downstairs, where Elizabeth wolfed down the day’s food and asked for seconds immediately after. When she returned to her room, she went straight to bed, falling asleep again almost immediately, but not before pondering something that had been bothering her the whole day, stuck in the back of her mind: Had the forest always been as large as it had looked from the flower field?

  In the months that followed, Paige kept her promise, spending more time with the rest of the family almost every day, especially during meal time. However, the rebellion intensified at the same time, which prompted the government to be more demanding of her for designing more effective weapons and armour against the dark magic of the rebels. Soon after the attacks had begun, Paige had been the only smith in the country, possibly the entire world, that could create equipment with even a modicum of resistance to it, so now, many expectations and hopes for the future were riding on her shoulders. Since money was part of the proposition, her only condition had been that she would be allowed to work from home. She was more comfortable using her own forge and tools and she did not want to be separated from her family either. Her wish had been granted, but staying at home did not necessarily mean that she was exempt from long days, where she did nothing but create gear. This was partly the reason why she had shut herself in the forge day after day for years and recently, it had become worse than ever before.

  Across the world, the rebels had been advancing almost unabated via a forest that kept expanding like cancer, not only destroying everything in its path, but providing its masters with the energy to fight longer and even causing them to become stronger in time. The various forces tasked with keeping the peace were unable to stop or stall the rebels’ progress, which resulted in more and more people joining the latter’s cause, dissatisfied with the caste-based design of the world’s societies. Suffering a seemingly-unending streak of losses, the governments had started investing in floating cities, where people would be safe from the rebels and the forest. With the help of the Dragon Gods, constructions had been going smoothly and the cities were nearing completion. An evacuation order had been quietly delivered to citizens deemed irreplaceable by the government of their respective countries. Paige was one such individual, but because of her agreement with the state, the order included her family as well.

  There was no urgency yet, as the rebels were active in a different part of the country, but nevertheless, the government advised everybody to head to the closest floating city as soon as possible to avoid any potential future complications. They were also supposed to keep the evacuation a secret, in order to prevent any defectors or rebel spies that might have infiltrated society from learning about the government’s intentions. While information control had already been happening, Paige suspected that the real reason was trying not to cause an outrage. After all, it was impossible to fit the entire population of a nation in a few cities and the people not selected would surely make their displeasure known.

  When she revealed the notification to her family, Cedric became more heated than she had ever seen him, but in the end, their choices were limited. It was unclear what would happen if the evacuation plans were leaked, but it was likely that they would no longer be permitted to board the floating city, either they specifically or everybody who had received the evacuation order. The government must have accounted for the worse-case scenario in some way. Hence, Paige did not want to risk being stuck on the ground when the forest came. It was best that they looked out for themselves and no one else. Elizabeth understood the situation well enough, but she hated the idea of leaving her friends behind, including the monster, with whom she had got very close following their meeting.

  At first, she had been scared to venture into the forest anymore, thinking that it had only been by the grace of some miracle that she had not died at the hands of such a ferocious beast, but one day, she had noticed a hulking figure making its way towards their suburb. Thankfully, the sun had almost completely set, so nobody else had seen it. The girl had rushed towards it and had quickly discovered that it had indeed been the same monster, considerably more injured than during their prior encounter. It had taken almost all of her energy, but she had fully healed the creature once again. With a great degree of difficulty, the beast had revealed that getting hurt was a frequent occurrence for it, at which the girl had felt guilt taking root in her heart, but being swallowed by a wave of sympathy almost immediately after. From then on, the two had been meeting at least once a week – Elizabeth healing any new injuries and the monster learning how to better communicate with her using the standard sign language, which she had been learning alongside it.

  The week she learnt about the evacuation order, she planned to talk to the creature about it. So far, they had kept their conversations simple, but she had noticed that her new monstrous friend had gradually been growing more understanding of her words, so she was confident that she could explain the situation. She doubted there was any way the two would be able to see each other anymore in the future, but at least she wanted to inform it of what was going on and say her goodbyes. When she arrived at their meeting spot – the small grove where the strange, purple flowers were growing – she found the monster already waiting for her, which was unlike it; usually, she would arrive first and then it would join her after. It was hunched over in front of the flowers, seemingly not noticing her; another unusual thing. Her gut was telling her that something was wrong, but she called out to the beast anyway.

  The moment she did, it snapped its head to her, growled and jumped at her. Just as when they had first met, it pinned her to the ground, but instead of glaring at her, it sunk its teeth into one of her ears and pulled. Pain assaulted her brain and shock paralysed her body, but she still managed to scream at her top of her lungs, tears and blood oozing out of her. The one whom she had started considering a friend roared at her and prepared to attack again. At the same time, the light of a miniature sun exploded out of her and then she fell into darkness.

  Eventually, the darkness faded away and revealed a few tree trunks rising high into the sky, multiple sunrays pouring through their canopy onto them and her. It did not take Elizabeth long to realise that she was lying on the ground, cold and hard against her head. As she pushed herself up, she was struck by a feeling that something was not as it should have been. However, her head felt like she had been sleeping for days, so she could not identify what was bothering her. She looked around and her eyes landed on a figure sitting cross-legged and half-turned a few meters away from her. What completely banished the drowsiness clinging to her mind was not the fact that the figure was a man as bare as a newborn baby, but the fact that his ears were the same as hers. Pushed by instinct, she reached up to touch them and discovered that one of them had been reduced to about 50% of its regular length. It did not hurt at all, but the unnatural shape caused her to freeze and her heart to skip a beat. However, when she looked at her hand, there was not even a speck of blood on it, which both relieved and confused her.

  She shifted her gaze to the man and took a few steps towards him.

  “Who are you?” she asked, her body tensing up.

  He had been watching her this entire time and now it seemed like he was struggling to find the proper reply.

  “I’m…My name is…Damon. You…are Elizabeth.”

  The girl frowned.

  “How do you know who I am…?”

  “You…You told…You told me.”

  It appeared that he was having difficulty speaking, his words taking longer to form than they would for a regular person.

  “I…I am…monster…” he added.

  Elizabeth frowned again.

  “You’re a…monster? What do you mean?”

  The man looked down at himself, then at his surroundings and then back to the girl.

  “Big monster…Covered in fur and…Horns on my head…Many horns. And claws! You saved me…You…h-healed my…wounds…”

  The girl’s eyes widened.

  “Are you…the monster I’ve been meeting…? This whole time?”

  The man jerked up.

  “Yes! The monster was…me! You…helped me! Thank you!”

  A flood of words dashed against Elizabeth’s throat, but none came out. If the man truly was the beastly friend she had made, it would explain why he was there with her, why he knew her name and why he was completely naked.

  “I…I don’t understand,” the girl finally said. “Why were you a monster? Why do you look like this now? What happened?”

  As soon as she finished her questions, the man jumped to his feet and faced something beyond the purple flowers. The girl instinctively turned away upon seeing his exposed butt, but not before catching a glimpse of him lowering his body. He seemed ready to attack something. She thought she even heard him growl like an animal, another indicator that gave credibility to his claim that he was the monster. After a few moments, she heard footsteps approaching from behind and was turned around before she could do so herself.

  “It is dangerous here…You must leave,” he warned her, his eyes darting constantly from left to right and vice-versa.

  “What? Dangerous? Why?”

  “People are…hunting me. You…cannot stay here.”

  “What people? What are you talking about?”

  “Listen…to me,” he urged her, shaking her shoulders. “I…I am a…a…a rebel. And…I am your…f-father too. I’m…I’m sorry. I wanted to…let you know. Thank you for…everything you have…done for me. Now go!”

  Damon pushed her towards the suburbs.

  “Go! Go! Go!”

  Elizabeth watched him as she walked backwards, a million thoughts swirling in her mind, before turning around and sprinting home. As she was exiting the forest, she realised in passing that there was no way she could hide the damaged ear from her mother.

  To Elizabeth’s surprise, Paige’s first reaction was to check how hurt she was and if there were any other injuries on her body. Then, she bombarded her daughter with questions and only after the girl explained everything about the forest and the monster did the woman explode.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been going to the forest this entire time. I thought you stopped when the rebellion began! You know, after I told you it was most dangerous to be in places with no people?! What if you died?!”

  “…I didn’t die, though,” mumbled Elizabeth.

  “But what if you did?! How could you have known that you wouldn’t?! Gods, you’re so—”

  “Pai…Pai, relax, alright? She’s fine. Well, mostly. Besides, I knew what she was doing, c’mon,” intervened Cedric.

  The girl felt embarrassed at her father knowing, even though she had never tried to hide her trips from him.

  “And you let her do it?!”

  “I mean, what was I supposed to do? Lock her inside her room? Track her phone at all times? Be reasonable. She wasn’t doing anything bad.”

  “That’s not the point! The point is that things have got dangerous! Look at her! Look at her ear! How am I not reasonable?! There’s an unknown creature in the forest and I’m the one who’s not reasonable?! What about her?! She’s been spending time with it like it’s one of her school friends! Fuck!”

  Even Elizabeth had to admit that her mother was making a good point. In retrospect, it was nothing but her misbehaviour that had got her in trouble and had caused her to lose half of her ear.

  “Fine, you were right!” the girl yelled. “I didn’t listen and I got bit, literally. I’m sorry for that. But can we think about what to do now?!”

  “What could we possibly do? About what?” Paige asked in a significantly calmer tone after letting out an audible sigh.

  “Mom, before I ran away…That man said he was my father. Is that true…?”

  She looked uncertainly at Cedric. The man’s expression was unreadable.

  “What, your natural father? That’s impossible…”

  The woman did not sound like she fully believed her own words.

  “He had rabbit ears…”

  “Elizabeth, it’s not like you and I are the only rabbit-folk on the planet.”

  “Okay, well, he said his name is…Damon. Yeah, Damon.”

  Paige’s eyes widened for a split-second.

  “Do you remember your ex’s name?” her daughter pressed.

  The woman did not reply, but was no longer looking at the girl either.

  “Mom! Tell me!”

  Paige continued to remain silent.

  “Dad!” Elizabeth shifted her attention to Cedric. “Do you know anything about Mom’s ex?”

  “I’m sorry, but your mother’s past is something we never talked much about. It wouldn’t be fair if I talked in her place, anyway,” he answered, shaking his head.

  Still, the girl thought that she detected a trace of bitterness in his voice. Maybe it was all in her head, though. At the same time, Paige raised her eyes and looked at her daughter.

  “…what did the man look like?”

  “What?” the girl asked on reflex.

  The woman closed her eyes and sighed, but this time more softly, the only indication of it being her slightly open mouth in the shape of an O.

  “I don’t know, I didn’t look at him well…I only noticed his ears because they stood out. But…I think his hair was lighter than yours, for instance, and pretty short. He had a beard and I guess he was pretty buff, but not more than Dad.”

  “Hmm. And you’re sure he said his name is Damon?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I misheard him. He spoke loudly and clearly enough.”

  “Ugh, I don’t know. Your father…Your natural father was indeed called Damon…but I don’t think it’s likely that he’s still alive.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  Paige looked to the side and narrowed her eyes.

  “It’s a long story…”

  “Well, if you don’t tell us, how are we supposed to know?”

  “Does it even matter, though?” the mother snapped. “The past is the past. It’s no longer important. We should be thinking about the future. Besides, we know nothing about that man. Why should we trust anything he said?”

  “Mom, why would he ever say that to me of all people?”

  “Maybe he confused you. Maybe you just look like his daughter.”

  “He knew my name, though. What are the chances that I not only look like his daughter, but also have the same name?”

  “He still could have been confused. Didn’t you say he changed from an enraged monster into a person. Since he attacked you, he might not have been sound of mind to begin with. Who knows what he knew or didn’t, what he remembered or didn’t?”

  Elizabeth bit her lip. Her mother was being reasonable, but for some reason, she could not accept her words.

  “I could see that being the case while he was a monster…but after he changed, he felt pretty lucid to me. He only had trouble speaking. After all, he was able to sense the reb—”

  The girl stopped herself, but it was too late.

  “The what? The rebels…? Is that what you were about to say?”

  When she had recounted what had happened in the forest, she had not mentioned the rebels because she had not wanted her mother to yell at her even harder than she had expected the woman to. Now, Elizabeth wanted to kick herself. Paige’s eyes felt like they were piercing through her.

  “…yeah, he said he was being pursued by the rebels.”

  “The rebels have got this close already?!” Cedric exclaimed, alarm written all over his face.

  “…he also said he was a rebel himself,” the girl added.

  The woman’s eyes widened to the maximum, blood draining from her face. Panic shifted into shock on the man’s face. Their daughter wanted to be anywhere but there.

  “No, this can’t be…” Paige murmured, turning to the side.

  Silence, then, descended upon the household and Elizabeth started wondering how hard she would be chastised, potentially punished, for hanging out with a rebel for months. All of a sudden, however, her mother turned back to her.

  “Wait, the flowers! The flowers you brought me months ago? Where did you get them? Did you pick them yourself?”

  The girl blinked multiple times.

  “Um, yeah, I picked them myself…I mean, the monster took me to a flower field outside the forest. They were all growing there. He told me I could get some there. Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

  Somehow, Paige’s expression grew even graver.

  “Back then, I wrote it off as a coincidence…but maybe…”

  Both the daughter and the father were watching the mother.

  “Mom…?” Elizabeth spoke up, her voice only slightly more audible than a whisper.

  The woman ignored her and continued pondering, her face contorting under the weight of her own thoughts. Eventually, Cedric put a hand on his wife’s shoulder and brought her back to reality.

  “Are you alright, Pai? What’s going on?”

  Paige jumped as if she had been caught doing something she should not.

  “Ah, yeah…Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just…thinking…”

  “That’s okay, but…we should probably decide what to do. If the rebels are nearby, we should leave as soon as possible,” Cedric suggested.

  “Wait, what about Damon?!” his daughter demanded.

  The man sighed, but did not reply. After a few moments, it was Paige who spoke next.

  “There’s…a chance that whom you met was your natural father,” she addressed the girl.

  “Uh…Yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying. I guess we can’t be certain, though, right?”

  Elizabeth looked dejected, her mind slowly coming to terms with the absurdity of such an idea.

  “No, you don’t understand…I’m saying you might—No, there is a good chance you’re right.”

  “What? But didn’t you say it was impossible?”

  “I mean, it should be be…Ugh, look, your father was a rabbit-man called Damon and he…really loved flowers. In fact, he would often talk about one day settling down with me and building a garden. I had never been too interested in flowers, but your father kept showing me different species. In time, I started becoming fond of them and I told him which were the ones I liked the most. The flowers you gave me were all flowers I like.”

  “So, you’re saying…”

  Paige nodded.

  “It’s possible, or at least more possible than I initially thought. Were the flowers planted by him, though? Do you know?”

  “I don’t…Because he’s been a monster this entire time, we couldn’t communicate very well. He just took me to the flower field and told me to pick from there. I guess someone might have planted them, but I can’t say for sure.”

  “Well, someone did, because those flowers wouldn’t normally be together from what I can remember, not naturally. There was nobody else there?”

  Elizabeth shook her head.

  “I have never seen anyone in the forest besides the monster. That field was also empty while I was there.”

  “I see. No matter, it’s not like the flowers would be the only indication…”

  The girl frowned.

  “What do you mean?”

  Paige looked between her daughter and her husband, seemingly locked in a wrestle with herself.

  “The…man I knew as Damon was a rebel. And I was too,” she finally revealed.

  Elizabeth felt as if she had been struck with a hammer. Cedric barely reacted.

  “I’m sure you both are aware” the woman continued, “but our society is split based on the feeding habits of the animals whose genes we bear: predators and prey. The predators, who inherited strength, endurance and other such traits, are the leaders meant to guide the prey, who are weak and defenseless. However, we’ve all seen the slums, the discrimination, the violence and the injustice the prey must endure in exchange for that ‘guidance’. Many years ago, Damon and I were young and, in retrospect, quite foolish. We saw ourselves as liberators, even heroes, as we joined the rebellion, dreaming of an equal world. But as you’ve heard on the news, what I, personally, valued more than life itself ended up being nothing but a lofty ideal, discarded as soon as the rebels go their hands on…a power from beyond this world; a curse that has twisted their minds with hatred, rage and greed.

  Damon was one of the first to change. One minute he would be a sweet lover, the light of my life, and the next, he would turn into a rambling madman, as if possessed. I tried to show him how dangerous that alien power was, but he never listened. Both our families had suffered as a result of the prey’s mistreatment and his thirst for revenge became greater than the pleading of the woman who loved him. The way he was changing was too much for me, so I eventually left him and the rebels for good. Only months after did I realise that I was pregnant with you, Elizabeth. Having a baby was scary and hard, with the rebellion growing in size and strength each month, but thankfully, I met your dad, who has been supporting us so much ever since. As for Damon, I haven’t heard anything about him since. I’d assumed he died, either in battle or from the power corrupting him; it has that effect on most living things. After everything you have said, though, I’m not so sure anymore…”

  The girl’s head was about to burst.

  “I don’t know what to say…Did you know about this, Dad?” she asked the man.

  “I…Hmm. I knew your mother was a rebel, yes. I knew about your father too, but that’s it. This is the first time I hear about…a power from beyond the world…?”

  “It’s more complicated than that, but the details aren’t important right now,” Paige said.

  “Could this power be the cause of Damon being a monster, though?” Cedric suggested.

  Paige took a moment to think.

  “Honestly, I don’t know…It’s possible, I guess, but back then, there weren’t any cases of any kind of transformation. People would either just die or survive the intake of the power. After that, I only saw changes in personality.”

  Elizabeth considered her words and feelings carefully.

  “If…If there’s a chance that the man I met is my other dad, I want to help him.”

  Paige and Cedric exchanged a look. Cedric spoke first.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. If the rebels are involved, there is not much we can do for him. Also, say we do help him – why would we do that and how would it benefit us?”

  The girl was taken aback by her father’s pragmatism. She might have expected her mother to talk like that, but never her warm and kind father. The woman showed her husband a smile that contrasted heavily with the look in her eyes and put a hand on his arm.

  “There’s no need to force yourself, dear. I know you have no reason to care about my young love, but it’s not in your nature to be so dismissive of someone’s life.”

  “I’m not for—” the man tried to protest, but was stopped by his wife, who turned to their daughter.

  “Don’t mind him, your dad is trying to say what I would normally say. It’s his way of protecting us in this situation.”

  “What you would normally say? But what do you say now?”

  The mother did not reply right away.

  “Honestly, part of me wants to help Damon, if only to see whether he really is the one I know. But it’s dangerous, so I know I shouldn’t. Besides, I don’t want to somehow drag you two into it. You’re much more important to me.”

  Cedric nodded, seemingly pleased with his wife’s reply.

  “Are you saying we're gonna leave my dad to die?!”

  A fire was roaring in Elizabeth’s chest, stoked by her parents’ words, and her tone was fueled by it. To her surprise, though, the woman shook her head.

  “No, I’m saying we SHOULD leave him to die.”

  Her husband and daughter frowned in unison, tensing without realising.

  “But I won’t,” she declared, determination in her eyes.

  The girl’s mouth spread into a grin, but before she could say anything, the man cut her off.

  “Pai, what are you saying?! I thought we were on the same page about his!”

  The woman smirked.

  “But we are. Elizabeth wants to help Damon, you want to help Damon and I kinda want to help him too.”

  “I told you that I don’t—”

  “And I told you not to pretend, Cedric.”

  Paige’s words were like a hammer striking an anvil, sending a light shiver through the man’s body. She paused for a few seconds, then resumed.

  “Even though, deep down, we are all in agreement, going to the aid of a single person in this situation is pure selfishness because our entire family could end up in the crosshairs of the rebels. Because of that, I intend to go alone and I want you two to start packing and head to our designated floating city. I will catch up later.”

  Both father and daughter erupted in protest and it took Paige too long for her liking to quiet them down.

  “Listen, I’m the only one who has even a shred of a chance to save or protect Damon. Remember that I used to be a rebel myself.”

  “Okay, but we can go with you! Or, I can, I dunno…” the girl suggested.

  “Elizabe—”

  “No, hear me out! How many times have you been into the forest, Mom? Do you think you can find your way easily? Do you even know where to go?”

  Paige visibly bit the words about to burst out of her mouth.

  “Besides, if he’s injured, I can heal him! What happens if you find him, but he’s dying? Do you have time to bring him with you and take him to a hospital? I told you he’s been hurt countless times up until now! He doesn’t even have his monster form anymore!”

  “You don’t know that…”

  “No, but are we willing to take the risk? Why would you even go if you’re not willing to prepare for every scenario?! Or at least as many as possible.”

  “Enough!” the mother yelled. “The biggest risk is you dying! I’m willing to go because I can protect myself well enough. I understand your compassion for your dad, so if your wish is to help him, then I want to at least try to grant it. Naturally, I’m not indifferent myself, as he was the one I loved the most all those years ago. That being said, you and Cedric are my family now and I won’t put you in harm’s way.”

  “Well, you’re my family too, Mom!” the daughter retorted. “I do want to help Dad, but I don’t want you to get hurt either. I’m sorry, I’ve been so fixated on Dad…but I can’t choose between you! I want all of us to be safe, which is selfish, I understand…but I’m willing to do my part to make it happen! Please understand that.”

  Between reason and emotion, there was no right answer, but the two had chosen to still hold onto their values, their visions of an ideal future. It was their way of protecting each other, as well as their way of reaffirming themselves in the other’s eyes. However, this meant their clash would yield no victor, so Cedric stepped in, holding onto the most important women in his life with both hands. Paige and Elizabeth were watching him, unsure of what he would do.

  “It’s hard,” he said, his tone reminding the girl of an old monk. “It’s hard to reconcile some of the things we want to do whenever doing so requires a compromise that we don’t want to make. Even so, there’s never just one way to do anything, so maybe there are other ways to compromise too. For example, add in a new variable and the whole equation might change.”

  Expectation was hanging about the room, so the father sighed and got to the point.

  “What I’m trying to say is that…we should all go help Damon together.”

  Before his wife or daughter could reject the idea, he stopped them with a gesture.

  “I’ll be honest, I’m still torn about how we should go about this. On the one hand, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble or the risk to assist someone that we don’t really know. It’s true that Lizzie became friends with Damon and that Pai knows him from when they were young, but he’s a rebel and he uses some mumbo-jumbo that’s apparently not even native to the planet. Who knows how these things have changed the man? On the other hand, though, Pai was right. I do want to help him because not only is he important to her, but also a regular person like all of us here, despite his abilities and monster form. From what Lizzie said, he’s tried to protect her as much as he could as well. I have to give him credit for that and I think he deserves to be repaid.

  Of course, I would hate for anything to happen to you two…which is why we should stick together. Not only can we actively protect each other, but we increase the chances of us actually being successful too, assuming Damon is still alive. I really don’t want you girls to be in any danger, but if we’re gonna do this, we should do it properly. Pai can fight and Lizzie can heal. Meanwhile, I can keep you both safe from any potential surprise attacks. And if Damon is heavily wounded, he will need to be extracted quickly, which I can definitely help with.”

  Both Elizabeth’s and Paige’s gazes shifted to his large, muscly torso, unable to deny the last bit even if they wanted to. With regards to everything else, the mother spoke first.

  “My mind is not going to change. I’d rather not bring any of you with me…but I see what you’re saying, dear, and…I don’t have any way to stop you.”

  Cedric almost recoiled from his wife’s words.

  “Really? I didn’t expect you to agree so readily. In fact, if there ever was a moment when you vehemently disagreed with me, it should this one.”

  Despite the pressing situation, Paige cracked a shadow of a smile and her throat even let out a chuckle.

  “In any other situation, I would, but while it hasn’t been that long since Elizabeth came back, Damon probably doesn’t have the luxury of however much time our talk would normally take. Besides, you two would end up doing whatever you wanted anyway.”

  The mother hit the nail on the head and the discussion came to a close. She then went into her forge to grab some weapons that were still lying around: a small dagger for her daughter and a machete for her husband. As for herself, she took out a rod the size of her arm, wrapped in fabric and secured with rope, from the cabinet she had tucked it away in many years ago. Removing the now-worn fabric, she exposed the object to the sunlight still coming in through the window. It looked like a cylinder with a sharp end and a blunt end in the shape of a rabbit’s face, its eyes staring lifelessly at her. She grabbed the rod by its middle, steadied her breathing and summoned her darkest memories, one by one. She recalled how she felt before joining the rebellion, how she felt during the ritual that granted her her abilities, how she felt watching her then-boyfriend slowly lose himself to the power gained, but despite her efforts, the suffering, the pain, the anger had faded away and the rod remained unresponsive. She needed something fresher.

  She focused on the frustration that had been building up towards the government over the years, on the guilt of neglecting her family in favour of her work and, finally, on Elizabeth’s half-bitten ear, which caused her chest to feel like an erupting volcano. In her mind, Paige knew that she was overreacting, but this time, she let herself do so because strong, negative feelings was the only way to reawaken her abilities and connect them to the piece of metal in her hand. She could tell that her Terminus was like a starved beast and she kept feeding it bits of herself until the rabbit’s eyes shone a dark purple. With the connection established, Terminus filled the surroundings, oozing out of the woman and the activated staff. To reign in the corrosive effect, she shifted her mental focus to her family and the thought of saving Damon, which forced the Terminus to retreat and nestle inside its host and her weapon. However, if it could not corrupt the exterior, it would settle for the interior. In a matter of seconds, the darkness in Paige’s heart was amplified exponentially until her urge for murder and destruction was almost palpable.

  At the same time, a faint sound reached her ears from behind the door to the forge. Her mind was immediately filled with images of her husband and daughter, but just as quickly, they were torn to shreds by her dissatisfaction with them made manifest under Terminus’s influence. She turned towards the door and, like a zombie, staggered towards it, staff in hand. A shrinking part of her was screaming at herself to stop, but her body would not. For it, there was only one purpose: to end every existence in sight. Terminus began gathering at the tip of her staff as she positioned herself in front of the door. She was going to blast her only family to dust, the mere thought filling her with excitement and anticipation.

  “Mama! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Dad and I are ready! Hellooo?”

  Upon hearing Elizabeth’s voice, the dark fog enveloping the woman’s mind was pierced by a simple command. In response, she dropped to her knees, lifted the hand clutching the staff and slammed the sharp end into the palm of the other hand, then pressed down on it until a pool of blood formed underneath. The shooting pain pushed away the negative thoughts and urges, breaking Terminus’s control over her. However, she knew regaining control was not that simple, so she repeated the process of stabbing herself with her staff, as blood flew in every direction. Only once her hand was starting to look like a mangled piece of flesh did the Terminus retreat wherever her End Point was. Right then, the door opened and Elizabeth poked her head inside. She almost screamed, but her mother, despite her mind being overloaded from pain, rushed and opened the door with her elbow, then pulled her daughter in with her good hand. Paige pushed Elizabeth against the wall and put her index finger against her lips. The girl was too petrified to disobey. The mother closed the door as quietly as she could, her whole body trembling. She thanked providence that Cedric was not around.

  “Heal me!” she commanded her daughter through gritted teeth.

  “But…what’s go—” Elizabeth stammered.

  The woman grabbed the girl’s shoulder and squeezed, who almost yelped from the pain.

  “Heal! Me!” Paige repeated herself, her heart beating like the timer of a bomb about to explode, sweat causing her shirt to stick to her body.

  “Ouch, okay, okay!” Elizabeth exclaimed and hurriedly grabbed her mother’s arm.

  As soon as she laid her eyes upon the deformed hand, her stomach began to churn. The day’s breakfast climbed up to her throat, but she managed to hold it in as a white light appeared around her hand. She wanted to look anywhere else, but she had found from healing the monster so many times that she could focus better if she looked at wounds directly. She speculated that seeing the progress of her healing boosted her confidence in her ability, which in turn enhanced the ability itself. This time too, the healing’s speed kept increasing the more the woman’s hand was returning to normal. When she finished, the girl discovered that she was not as tired as she used to get, which filled her chest with pride. Perhaps healing Damon over and over had made her more adept at it.

  “Thank you so much…” her mother murmured, looking as if she had just run a marathon. “And I’m sorry for scaring you, but it hurt a lot.”

  “Okay, but what happened? You told us not to enter while you were grabbing something and I wasn’t going to, but you weren’t answering while I kept knocking and then I heard some strange noises and then—”

  Paige grabbed her daughter’s hand and smiled.

  “It’s okay, honey. Everything is okay.”

  Elizabeth looked at her mother’s healed hand, then at the drying blood on the floor.

  “Mom, I don’t think you should be hiding from me. Why can’t we talk?”

  The woman sighed and spoke in an exhausted voice.

  “Because now is not the time. We need to go after Damon, remember?”

  She moved to where she dropped the staff and, after taking a few deep breaths, she bent and picked it up from the floor. Her body and it buzzed in unison and the rabbit’s eyes flashed briefly before returning to being lifeless.

  “Can you grab those weapons on the desk, please?” she instructed the girl.

  Elizabeth watched her mother for a moment, then did as she had been told.

  “The dagger is for you. Keep it in its sheath and only use it when attacked directly. Aim for weaknesses such as eyes and neck,” Paige explained. “Your dad will use the bigger blade. I will use this.”

  She raised the staff and showed it to her daughter.

  “What is it?” the girl asked. “It looks like a giant nail.”

  The woman chuckled.

  “It does look like one, doesn’t it? It’s called a staff. People who cast magic use it as a catalyst for increased accuracy. At least that used to be their purpose amongst the rebels.”

  The role of a staff was slightly more complex than that, but Paige did not feel like going into details now. Elizabeth was once again watching her with a strange expression on her face.

  “Listen, we can talk once we’re on our way to the floating city. We shouldn’t waste any more time now.”

  The woman walked towards the door and her daughter, with more questions weighing on her mind than ever, went after her.

  When Elizabeth and her parents arrived at the purple flowers, Damon was nowhere to be found. The three of them were not surprised by this and immediately began looking for any potential clues with regards to his whereabouts or state of being. They walked past the flowers, moving slowly and studying every tree trunk and every spot on the ground.

  “You know,” Cedric remarked, “maybe I’m out of it, but this forest doesn’t look how I remember it. It’s been years since I’ve seen the inside, though.”

  Paige did not reply, but her face was tense. Their daughter realised that, since the rebels were here, it was possible that they had done something to it. Countless news about an ever-expanding forest, nurtured by the rebels, flashed through her memory. She gulped as her palms were becoming sweaty, but she did not say anything. Instead, she shook her head and tried to put any ‘what if?’ out of her mind. Whatever the case was, she needed to focus on helping her other father.

  Upon coming across the first, presumably rebel, corpse, the girl was stunned by how it had been deformed as if some force of nature had passed through, but her parents urged her to keep going and she obeyed. As they continued advancing, more and more corpses littered the ground, accompanied by traces of blood, claw marks and footprints. The family followed them with increasing speed, tension building up in each of their hearts. When the deathly silence of the forest was shattered by a loud, guttural scream, they all broke into a sprint. They found Damon surrounded by multiple cloaked figures, some closer, as if they were embracing him, while the rest were standing farther away, possibly guarding their companions. The trio was spotted the moment they arrived, two cloaks immediately rushing them, glinting blades in hands.

  Paige stepped forward and raised her staff. Right before the attackers could strike her, a ball of darkness formed above them and pulled them towards it, as if they were made of paper. The two struggled, but the darkness wrapped around them like the tendrils of a ghostly being, Then, dozens of black shards burst from their bodies, blood splattering in every direction. The figures dropped to the ground like discarded dolls, the shards sticking out of them like thorns. Before any of the other cloaks could react, Paige pushed her assault, her Terminus flying faster than arrows and striking harder than bullets. Unfortunately for her, her enemies were aware of her now, which enabled them to adapt accordingly. They danced around her like oversized bees and were even able to strike at her with finesse. Before long, she started getting overwhelmed, but she could still land the occasional killing blow.

  In the meantime, as they had strategised on the way here, Elizabeth moved around the fight to Damon’s side, protected at all times by Cedric. Some of the cloaks attempted to attack them, but they were always repelled by Paige. Kneeling next to her natural father, the girl first noticed the pool of blood he was lying in, his body shaking as if besieged by a cold. His back and torso were covered in multiple red cuts and stab wounds, still oozing the liquid of life. The girl put both hands on him and summoned the familiar white light, which enveloped him like a blanket. Soon, blood stopped flowing and the injuries began closing, but they were many and by now she knew that they would take a few minutes to fully heal. Nevertheless, time was not something they had a lot of as Cedric was hit in the shoulder, recoiling slightly from the impact. Elizabeth noticed what looked like wood the size of two fingers stacked on top of one another sticking out of him. She shifted her eyes to her mother and the cloaks, discovering that the latter were now weaving in shots from crossbows attached to their forearms in-between their dagger attacks. The bolt that struck Cedric had been aimed at Paige, but she dodged. As she was about to redirect her focus to Damon once more, another bolt flew towards the girl, too quick for her to react, but was blocked just in time by the panda-man’s forearm.

  “Dad!” she yelled.

  She could not see it, but he winced.

  “Don’t worry! You keep healing! I’ll protect you!”

  For a moment, Elizabeth wondered if they should have pulled Damon behind a tree for both his and their protection, but she immediately realised that their enemies could have simply tracked them. If anything, the extra distance between them and her mother might have made the situation worse. Biting her lip, she tensed up and tried to only think about healing. The light flared up in response, but the very next moment, her concentration was broken by movement she caught out of the corner of her eye. One of the cloaks had managed to sneak around Paige and Cedric and was about to slice her throat. In the approaching silver blade, she saw her own death and her heart stopped. At the same time, a large hand rose from the ground, grabbed the assassin by the head and squeezed it like a grape, blood and brain bits splattering all over her. A naked, masculine figure stood up and threw the corpse to the side. It was Damon. Elizabeth did not even have time to blink before her natural father lunged at another nearby cloak.

  At first, their enemies were thrown off by him regaining consciousness, but they quickly recovered, only one being torn to shreds by his clawed hands. Half-transformed, Damon lunged at them repeatedly, but they all managed to dodge him with relative ease, since his movements were slower than theirs. Nevertheless, his presence enabled Paige to stabilise her fighting style by surveying the battle and coordinating her attacks with his. The cloaks were being forced to abandon offense and concentrate on defense. However, Paige and Damon could not push their advantage because they also had to protect Elizabeth and Cedric. Damon’s remaining wounds were preventing him from being more aggressive as well. As the two groups were essentially caught in a tug-of-war, a noise akin to the growling of a giant echoed between the tree trunks. Everybody stopped for a moment, but then one of the cloaks broke off from the rest, running away while fumbling with something at their waist.

  Damon rushed after them, but the closest cloaks immediately intercepted him. If not for Paige, they would have plunged their blades into his back. In doing so, she left herself exposed and the remainder of her enemies simultaneously shot at her using their crossbows. Fortunately, Cedric pulled her out of the way. At the same time, Damon continued to pursue his target, who had climbed one of the nearby trees, perching on one of its lower branches like an ape in rags. Then, they straightened, put something against their mouth and a sound like thousands of claws on a chalkboard followed. Pressing her palms against her ears as hard as she could, Elizabeth saw Damon stagger as he clung to the tree’s trunk. The very next moment, he pulled the cloak down, instantly killing them as he landed, but it was too late. He watched as Paige kept hurling Terminus at their enemies, then bolted next to Elizabeth, picked her up and tossed her to Cedric. As he passed the only woman he had ever loved, heading straight for the cloaks, he shouted: “Run!”.

  Some of the cloaks tried to run around him, but now fully a monster again, he struck as if possessed. One mistake on their part and they would be slaughtered in the blink of an eye.

  Daughter in arms, Cedric stopped next to his wife and the two looked at each other for a few seconds, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Without a word to anybody, he started running towards the city, while the woman stayed behind. Terminus seeping into the core of her being, she gripped her staff and let the darkness in her heart wash over her, like ice jelly. The staff began to glow stronger and stronger, a purple blade being built at the tip. When it was almost complete, she yelled at Damon, who was struggling to protect himself, his energy close to spent: “Drop down!”.

  The monster-man only needed a look to understand what the woman meant. He pressed himself against the ground, ignoring the cloaks that were about to strike. Paige tensed her arms, gripped the staff with both hands and spun once. As she did, the blade grew to the rough width of any of the surrounding tree trunks and ten times her size in length, cutting through the trees it came in contact with and slicing every single cloak in half. Damon froze for a moment, before looking from their enemies’ bloody corpses to his ex, a million questions in his eyes. When he saw her collapse to the ground, he rushed and picked her up before the falling trees could crush them. His speed greatly reduced, he ran with her against his chest until his legs could not carry him anymore. He laid Paige down and shook her as gently as he could with his clawed hands, assuming that she had passed out, but her eyes were still half-open. With a trembling hand, she touched one of his fingers.

  “I’m so happy you’re alive,” she said, a single tear falling out of the corner of her eye.

  His heart skipped a beat and was about to burst with happiness when he sensed movement behind him. Before he could turn, however, multiple shadows appeared out of thin air, silver blades ready to sever his and Paige’s mortal coils. On instinct, he pushed the woman away and put himself in their trajectory. He stopped some, crushing the arms that wielded them, but the rest found their target in his flesh. In fact, he angled himself to ensure that they would. After being wounded many times in the past year alone, he was almost numb to the pain, but it still stung enough for his body to give in under its assault. Paige watched, frozen, as a monster twice her size was brought down by the same cloaks she had killed mere minutes ago. Behind them, she spotted blurry figures running towards them. With her head swimming from fighting this entire time and with the core of her being strangled by her own Terminus, the woman tried to stand up and repel the cloaks that should have been dead, but one raised their arm at her and she heard a click, followed by a soft twang. She managed to dodge the crossbow bolt by a hair’s breath, but she lost her balance in the process and fell back on the ground. At the same time, a thud came from her right. She glanced in its direction and discovered a female body with hair the colour of almonds and a half-bitten rabbit ear lying down motionlessly.

  In this world, one hypothesis with regards to the origins of life was that it was born in the sea. The first organism appeared in depths where no light reached and learnt how to feed, protect and, eventually, reproduce itself. The depths became the home of the generations that followed until one day, when a descendant was born with the capacity for curiousity. Following an impulse etched into its existence, the descendant sought the distant light that could be seen even from its home. It was always somewhere high above, which would have made the journey daunting for a more intelligent being, but the descendant did not know or understand much, so the location and the distance meant nothing to it. Without a care for anything, without even a thought spared for its home and family, it braved current after current until it finally surfaced above the waves. As it came into direct contact with sunlight, it could not explain the almost scorching sensation spreading throughout its body, but it nonetheless felt as if it was no longer the same as at the start of its ascent, to the point that it was hard for it to even recognise itself.

  The rabbit-girl Elizabeth recalled this story that her father had told her in order to help her better understand her early biology classes as she too was ascending through a suffocating darkness towards a hazy light. However, upon reaching it, she was not greeted by the blue sky and the bright sun she had expected. Instead, the light gave away to a strange panel she had not seen before. As the blurriness in her eyes faded, she moved her head around and discovered a multitude of decorative objects she was completely unfamiliar with. The wall opposite her was adorned with scrolls, the symbols on which meant nothing to her, and artwork depicting various scenes from nature, such as trees, mountains and rivers. On a desk, she noticed a tiny tree that had twisted against the direction of its growth. In a corner, she spotted a rectangular prism only slightly larger than her palm held in place at an angle on the wall. On what she had recognised as the ceiling after a few seconds of her brain thawing following its emergence from the cold dark, there was a ball of light inside an inverted, red bowl. At the foot of the bed she was lying on, there was a panel that obscured the rest of the room.

  As she studied her surroundings, Elizabeth noticed there was a shadow at the edge of her vision. She pushed herself in a sitting position, but it remained there. She blinked a few times, but it would not go away. Her heart accelerating, she touched her right eye with the tips of her fingers. They fell into her skull. The girl screamed and immediately retracted her hand, her fingers now covered in black goo, almost like tar. Her breath and heart froze before she jumped from the bed, looking for a mirror. She found one next to door, which like so much in the room, looked almost alien to her. Her entire body trembling as if she had been dropped naked in a snowfield, she approached the mirror. Next to her left almond eye, there was nothing but a black hole. Petrified by her own image, Elizabeth could only scream again. A moment later, the door swung open and a figure in white with horns like branches rushed at her. The girl screamed even louder and took a few steps back, then found her body tilting too much as the ceiling was coming into full view again. However, something grabbed onto her before she could collapse.

  She was pulled frontwards, arms wrapping around her. The entire time, she did not stop screaming, her breath hot against her throat. She squirmed, pushed against and struck what was holding her with all her might, but to no avail. Her legs were the first to give up, bringing the added weight down with her. It did not crush her, but held her into place instead. She was only sobbing now. Her head felt as if it had been submerged in a fizzy drink with a rock tied to it. Her chest tight, she let herself go, but instead of anything bad happening, she suddenly felt her back being rubbed. She remembered her mother had used to do the same and new tears welled up, but this time, her voice was gone. By the time she was let go, her body could not cry anymore and she had almost forgotten what she had been crying about. Before her, kneeling just like her, was a woman in white with ivory horns.

  “Hello,” she greeted the girl, bearing the smile of a mother. “I know this is probably a stupid question, but how are you feeling?”

  It took Elizabeth a moment before she could find her voice once more.

  “Uh…I’m…I don’t know…”

  The woman nodded as if she understood the fact that the girl did not know better than the girl herself.

  “Are you in pain? Does anything hurt?”

  Elizabeth was about to shake her head when she remembered her hollow eye. She raised her hand towards it, then stopped midway. Despite the fact that the eye was missing, or maybe due to it, the socket did not hurt.

  “No…” she replied, lowering her hand.

  She noticed the woman was watching her almost as if she would a patient or maybe an experiment. It made her chest tighten slightly.

  “That's great, then,” the woman concluded with a smile that instantly soothed the girl. “You must have a lot of questions, but before I can begin answering them, do you remember what happened to you?”

  Elizabeth frowned and tried recalling. Although her memories were enshrouded by fog, she was able to slowly catch glimpses of the most recent past.

  “My…father was in trouble, so my family and I went to help him…We found him and we were trying to escape, but we were being chased…so Dad and Mom stayed behind to buy me and my stepdad time…But…they were not catching up with us…I waited, but there was no sign of them…I got worried and…I went back for them…My stepdad tried to stop me, but…I didn’t listen…I did find my parents, but…they…they…”

  “They what?” asked the woman.

  The girl looked at her and, in her eyes, the girl saw knowledge. The woman knew what had happened.

  “They were being attacked. I saw my father go down and rushed to help him. I have the ability to heal, so I was sure I could…”

  Elizabeth clenched her hands and bit her tongue. If there were any tears left, she would shed more.

  “I guess I never actually made it…” she concluded, tasting only bitterness.

  The woman did not speak immediately.

  “How much do you love your family?”

  “They are the most important for me!”

  The girl replied with no hesitation.

  “Would you say that…you love them more than even yourself?”

  She was taken aback by the question, but only for a moment.

  “Yes.”

  A smile that Elizabeth did not understand spread across the woman’s lips, declaring victory over something the girl could not understand. The woman stood up and extended a hand.

  “Then you will give yourself to me in order to save them…right?”

  Elizabeth gulped.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It's simple. Being one of the Dragon Gods, it is my principle to not intervene with the cycle of life and death, so as to not create unrealistic expectations. Nevertheless, it is my principle to exchange something of value with something of equal value as well. Now, the lives of your mother, father and stepfather, whether they still draw breath or not, would require a steep price, one that most would not be able to afford, but the current times are delicate. The world is about to collapse and the Dragon Gods are running out of options. Therefore, we are willing to break some of our principles and grant you and others like you – people afflicted by the war with the rebels – any wish you desire. All you have to do is offer yourself to us in servitude.”

  Elizabeth felt as if she was developing a headache.

  “Wait, you’re one of the Dragon Gods? Then where am I?! Where are my parents?”

  “The answers you seek and the happy life you once had lie beyond the exchange I have proposed.”

  “Okay, but I need to know more. How can I agree when—?”

  “Are you implying that there might be something that would convince you to forsake your family? Did you lie when you said that you love them more than yourself?”

  “N-No, but this is so sudden! How do I know I can actually do what you want? I’m just a girl…”

  Without realising, Elizabeth touched the side of her face next to her empty socket.

  “If you’re worried that the value you can provide won’t match the value of your family’s lives, don’t be. I wouldn’t ask for you if I didn’t think you’d be worth it. Now, take my hand and enter my service.”

  The girl’s heart was slamming against her ribcage, causing her entire body to shake, but she nonetheless took the Dragon God’s hand and stood up. There was no turning back now. As if to seal their deal, light swirled around her healthy ear and coalesced into a radiant halo. She could not see it, but she felt its warmth.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, traces of alarm in her voice.

  “Don't worry,” the woman assured her soothingly. “It's a sign of our contract. As long as you bear this halo, you are one of the Fallen.”

  “The Fallen…?”

  “It means that your soul – or consciousness, if you prefer a more scientific term – has fallen victim to the rebellion. The halo bounds us across space. In other words, I will always know where you are and you will always be under my protection. At the same time, it will stave off your Terminus corruption from reaching the critical point.”

  Elizabeth let go of the Dragon God’s hand and walked to the mirror. There was indeed a white halo around her ear.

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying…What corruption? What do you mean that my soul has fallen victim?”

  The woman sighed and went to the door. It had been closed sometime before.

  “Right, you must still be quite confused. Follow me. I will explain everything.”

  The two stepped out of the small room into a large, circular hallway that seemed to go on forever. The girl trailed behind the woman, studying their surroundings, and quickly noticed that every door they were passing looked exactly the same. In fact, after a while, she wondered if they were really moving and not walking in place because every element of their surroundings was repeating itself. After a while, however, a larger door became visible on the left side of the hallway, decorated with draconic imagery. The two stopped before it and the woman revealed that it was a gateway that only her and her kin could use. She configured it to take them straight to her private office by tracing some shapes on it, her fingers illuminating its surface. In response, the door opened to an image of a room considerably larger than the one Elizabeth had awoken in, undulating, as if painted on water. They stepped through it and the girl found herself before a spectacle of red and gold, a heavy contrast with the Dragon God’s fashion. They walked to a tea table and sat opposite each other in wooden chairs.

  “Welcome,” the woman started, “to the place I conduct most of my business from. It's a place nobody can enter without my permission, so we will not be interrupted here. Now, allow me to provide you with the answers you seek. Right now, you are in a dimensional space that I have created for the Dragon Gods. The space itself is embedded in the world you know, but it functions separately from it. One of its purposes is to contain the souls of those corrupted by a cosmic force called Terminus. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to elaborate in great detail, but just know that Terminus represents the end of existence. Sometimes, it acts like a disease, turning living beings into rabid beasts. Other times, it empowers those able to retain their sanity to bring an end to others, preying on their negative emotions. Through some twist of fate, the rebels you surely must have heard of have got their hands on Terminus, which is why the situation in the world is the way it is.

  Terminus is incredibly difficult to deal with, not only because it easily spreads and there is no traditional cure for it, but because it can even afflict one’s soul. Nevertheless, the Dragon Gods and I are determined to find a solution to it, so for now, we are bringing everyone affected here. At first, it was only to monitor them, but we have since been able to slow down or even halt the corruption, albeit for a limited time. As a result, we have begun conducting exchanges similar to the one you have agreed to, where we trade people’s service for their most ardent wish. Specifically, that service implies that those people become our agents and help us improve our methodology for containing Terminus. They are sent to other universes and other worlds to investigate Terminus’s presence there, then report back to us. Simple, right?”

  “I…I’m so confused,” the girl stammered. “This is all…so…”

  She could not find the appropriate words to describe what she had just been told.

  “I understand that it’s a lot. You can take some time to process everything, but you need to be ready for deployment later.”

  “Deployment?”

  “Time is of the essence, so you will be sent to another world in a few hours.”

  Elizabeth’s heart sank.

  “Already? What world? I don’t know anything about it…I don’t know what I should be looking for either. I’m…I’m scared…”

  She did not notice the woman tensing upon hearing those words.

  “Elizabeth, we’ve made a deal. If you want to see your family again, you must obey me without question.”

  “Okay, but I’m just not ready! I need more—”

  “You must be,” the Dragon God snapped. “The Dragon Gods and I cannot leave. If we do, we won’t have a world to return to and both you and your family will be gone along with it!”

  “Why don’t we all just leave, then?! Together! What’s the point of the floating cities if you can go to other worlds and you can also give me and the people here the same ability?!”

  The woman shook her head.

  “You don’t understand. Traveling from world to world and universe to universe is not a problem for me, personally, but it becomes increasingly harder the more people I take with me. Carrying this world’s population on my back is impossible and I’m the only one here who can travel to a specific destination across the multiverse. If I’m not there to guide everybody, you all would scatter to random universes, literally like leaves in the wind.”

  Elizabeth made a mental note that there was a multiverse. A tiny part of her wanted to know more about it, since she had only encountered the concept in fiction, but now was not the right time.

  “Can’t you ask for help?” she suggested instead. “Aren’t there others like you?”

  “I have no idea. This is why the Fallen are needed. You can be my eyes and ears. If help can be found, you are the only ones who can find it. All I can do is ensure that your home does not fully collapse, as well as study Terminus and analyse your findings.”

  “Are you sure?” the girl confronted the woman, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t think you would have ordered an evacuation if things were that simple. Can you really promise that this planet and my family will still be around when I’m done with my job?”

  “They will be if you stop wasting time,” the Dragon God replied, holding her accuser’s gaze.

  Elizabeth put her head in her hands. She almost felt like she could cry again. A silence that could be cut with a knife was hanging over the room.

  “Fine, I’ll go,” the girl finally spoke. “But I have two requests before I do.”

  “You're not in a position to make demands.”

  “Whatever, I’m asking you, then! Can you please grant me two requests?!”

  The woman sighed.

  “Fine. If they will help you be more cooperative, let's hear them.”

  “First, I want you to protect my family no matter what happens. Whether I live or die, whether this world survives or not. They must be alive and safe.”

  “I can do that.”

  Elizabeth expected more resistance from the woman, but she did not let its lack thereof phase her.

  “Alright, then second: I want you to take a moment and answer all of my questions, not just the ones that directly benefit you. I need to know what happened to me, what Terminus is like, what symptoms I should expect, what the world I am going to is like and so on. Keeping things secret benefits neither of us at this point.”

  To her surprise, the Dragon God chuckled.

  “Well, you’re not wrong. Ask your questions, then. I will answer them to the best of my ability.”

  “I still don’t understand why you like playing those games with the Fallen.”

  The parent figures of the Dragon Gods, Baise Long and Hongse Long were watching a tiny light on the Initium Trails of Existence that comprised the known map of the multiverse. The light represented the newly-created Fallen, the rabbit-girl Elizabeth. Her destination was unknown, both to them and to her.

  “I would not call them games, dear,” Baise Long replied to her husband. “The way I act and the way I speak, as well as what I choose to tell the Fallen, is a test to evaluate what they are like as people – their thinking and personality. It helps me manage my expectations. I also get an idea about what strings to pull and buttons to push to get the most out of them.”

  “…you’re quite devious for one of Initia’s children,” commented the man.

  “Ah, but if you knew my mother, you wouldn’t be saying such a thing.”

  Baise Long meant to sound light-hearted, but her words carried an unmistakable trace of bitterness. Hongse Long noticed it and changed the subject.

  “So, what did you think about this girl? How reliable is she?”

  “Oh, I think she is destined for greatness. She was emotional at the start of our conversation, but that's to be expected from teenagers. Still, she was able to regain her composure relatively quickly. When I confirmed that she had died, she even told me that she had been suspecting it.”

  “How did she react when you told her that the only way for her to move on to another world is to die? That one’s always tough to swallow.”

  The woman looked away from the map.

  “She was shaken, how could she not be? But she did her best to hide it. And once she understood that death is the only way for someone like her to become part of the Initium data stream, she had no choice but to accept it. Presently, without Initia’s or Termina’s specific aid or without being related to them, no living being can physically travel on a multiversal scale. Even within this universe, it would take too long to do so. She was smart and tough enough to accept her situation, even at her age, so I think she will be able to face the challenges ahead.”

  Baise Long returned her gaze to the map, just in time to see Elizabeth’s existential signal move out of the map and into the void, a part of the multiverse that not even Initia herself had explored. The Dragon God bit her lip enough to draw blood. As many times before, she cursed the unpredictability of the Trails of Existence.