fire…fire…burn…fire…burn…fire…help…burn
fire…burn…fire…help…fire…burn
burn…
The overwhelming murmurs assaulting Flame's mind slowly subsided as the familiar piercing fangs dug into his flesh.
Slowly, the time passed.
Flame's hollow eyes regained their pale Azure glow.
Flame had many questions and many more curses.
Currently, laying on his back inside the very room, Flame stared at the orange glowing ceiling with no amusement. What happened right now was no joke.
But Flame had made the joke himself. who would have thought that catastrophe of words used by him during his descent to stay awake, will become reality!
Who told him to blabber his mouth, and if anything had to become a reality, then why did it have to be the thing about the soul sucking skulls!
There were also many other beautiful things he mentioned there, like marrying the Blood Queen, couldn't that become a reality?
Unfortunately for Flame, for that to happen, he has to return back to earth and which felt very distant right now
Tickle!Tickle!
Suddenly, Flame's body shivered as he felt something wet slurring around his ears, instantly he scooted and looked on his side.
Hiss!
There, he saw a beautiful white snake with mirroring white scales slithering around on his shoulder. She was currently doing something which could only be described as akin to nibbling, as she hurriedly moved her crimson tongue around his neck, ears and all over his face.
Flame couldn't help himself and feel his eyes wet. So much time, so much time has passed since he had seen his short-tempered best friend's tantrums.
"L-Lucy…"
Flame couldn't find the right words to express his emotions. He ran head into the forest as he saw Lucy acting as his decoy. Then, he escaped from the swarm of Awakened and Chaotic Headless monsters, before diving the obnoxious Elixir Pond. Then he got his blood sucked and nearly died, before he somehow gritted and jumped into the swirling Darkness. Hung naked in the lightless cham on the ancient roots, forgot his right arm's existence and nearly lost his mind from the foreign feeling of loneliness…
Why did he do all these things? Why did he struggle from all these catastrophes? Where was the way for him to return back to earth—to his bedridden mother and friends—in all these ordeals?
"Lucy! you… are here"
Cause, Lucy was the way for him. as long as they were together, Flame believed that he will be able to survive any situation, just like how he have been doing throughout his life.
Flame quickly wiped his bawling eyes and stopped Lucy from baring her fangs into him.
"NO! I stop"
He pushed her on the ground and waited for a while. Now, that he had found Lucy, Flame felt much calmer. He felt like a huge boulder which he had carrying all along has been lifted and instead Lucy replaced the boulder—which was definitely better thing to happen.
Suddenly, Flame saw the little snake looking at him strangely. She didn't struggle against Flame's push and remained on the warm ground, dazedly staring at his right side.
Realizing what she was thinking about, Flame smiled awkwardly and scratched his head—or tried to.
"oh!...this? what can I say…well, I just kinda forgot it somewhere"
Her vermillion eyes suddenly looked blank as a hint of worry and grief passed through her eyes for her poor friend.
she slightly lifted her head, elevating her almost a meter long body in air, and wistfully stared at his missing arm.
Flame shook his head and asked "well, that's for me, but why are you here? I thought you escaped the giant and must be hiding somewhere in the woods"
The little snake flinched a little hearing Flame's words. Hint of pride and reluctance could be seen from her shaky vermillion eyes.
Eventually, she moved a little further away from Flame and started her acrobatics.
She first slithered a distance away and stopped and formed a small circle on the floor from her body, then she slithered back to her original position and lifted her head and moved towards the before formed circle. Then she abruptly fell down and closed her eyes.
After that, she opened her eyes again and slithered out of the door, before eventually entering back into the room.
Then, she quickly slithered her way across Flame's neck and coiled around.
"…so, I think I understand"
Flame fell into deep thought as he realized what Lucy was trying to say.
Normally, he would only have to exchange simple instruction from her, eventually getting replies in either her shaking her head or acting as though she don't care, or sometimes, by poking holes in his skin.
Either way, today Flame was being was tested against his friendship and he didn't want to upset his best friend anymore
"so, you jumped along with giant, thinking that you will find some ancient rats down there and then you jumped into the water thinking the rats here like to swim, and when you didn't find anything in water, you entered the closest room and searched for them inside the sku—???"
Flame had to halt his sentence, as Lucy shook her tail vigorously in annoyance and hissed.
"OK!OK! I was joking. you just slipped here and found an open room. that's it right?"
Hiss!
Lucy's vermillion eyes warmed a little and she hissed and bobbed her head up and down.
Flame sighed in relief.
In the end, he was happy to have his partner back. Now all that is left for him is to find a way to ground!
'oh shit! Wait'
Suddenly Flame remembered that he was still inside the room. After seeing Lucy, Flame had almost forgot that he was still in the same room as the hollow-eyed soul sucking skulls.
He gulped slowly and turned his head above Lucy.
There, beside the glowing stairs, countless hollow eyes could be seen clustered one over another.
"…"
Flame stared and almost froze from fear again, but this time something was different. He felt something was odd. The deep swirling darkness which he saw in their hollow eyes—or maybe he felt—was there no more.
The only thing which left there was soft orange glow of the magical stones, reflecting on their shiny ivory white cranium.
Flame turned his head over his shoulder. The cute little nibbling Lucy couldn't be seen anywhere, instead the lazy white snake was wrapped around his neck with her eyes closed.
"…was I hallucinating again?"
He wasn't so sure about that.
This was the third time that he had the same idea. First back in the battlefield while seeing a silhouette, second when feeling his hand lost—or forgotten in the pitch black darkness, and now…
The Runes of the Ancient Call can also be not seen nowhere, he had also spent around there to four days inside the Awakened Rift and now, he was somewhere deep into the depths of Tyrant's Marble City…
None of these things were normal.
Flame wasn't sure what exactly was he supposed to do now.
So, he just followed the pattern of strange events and walked towards the glowing stairway leading into the darkness.