Muta looked around at everyone, stayed silent for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out, excited:"YES SIR!"
He went on:"It's like… something we say back in my world, you know? When something good happens."
Everyone stared at him with that what the hell was that? look, and the silence got even weirder. Then, out of nowhere, Zoe said:"In my world, we say Aa'î shîhm" — making a peace sign and tilting her head.
Venus, all hyped up:"YOU HAVE SLANG TOO?! In my world we say Myaa sorepyon 😼✨."
Muta's eyes went wide."Was that… an emoji?"
Nobody even acknowledged him — like he didn't exist. Jack joined in:"Back home, we say Ouh là croa-bien 🐦⬛."
Zoe and Muta, now side by side, leaned toward Jack:"W-WHERE DID THAT EMOJI COME FROM??"
Ignored.
Edwin, a bit awkward:"Grru-hu, ogo-hi!"
Zoe and Muta, disappointed:"No emoji 😭"
Suddenly, an emoji popped into the conversation. The two held hands and jumped up and down while the rest of the group just stared.
When they finally stopped, Muta said:"Man, I don't know if it's just 'cause I don't know my own world's slang… or if, compared to yours, mine's just nothing. Like, you guys said the same thing but made it sound so cool."
Edwin answered:"Yeah… in my opinion it's not really 'cool slang' if you just take a regular phrase and give it another meaning."
Silence.
"Well, what matters is the intention, right?" Edwin added.
Jack got up from the ground and changed the subject:"So… what the hell just happened?" He pointed at the worm.
Edwin replied:"No idea. But whatever it was, it saved our lives."
Venus said:"It was super fast, but I'm sure I heard glass shattering — like when something ends up here."
Jack:"You're sure?"
Venus:"Absolutely."
'Hm.'
Muta tried to take in the size of the creature. It was so massive they couldn't see all of it at once. Even dead, it still scared him a little — and that made him feel bad.
He thought:I'm scared of facing something dead… so how the hell am I gonna face something that big while it's alive?
Without a second thought, he said:"Let's go inside this thing."
Everyone turned to him, and Venus shuddered:"No way we're going inside that disgusting thing!"
Jack shot back:"Actually… not a bad idea."
"Zoe agrees!!" Zoe herself said.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see what we find in there," Edwin added.
Venus, in disbelief:"HOW ARE YOU GUYS OKAY WITH THIS?? LOOK AT IT!! IT'S GROSS AND… AND… IT'S—"
She didn't even finish before throwing up.
Everyone looked at her and, at the same time, thought:What a drama queen.
Zoe went ahead, hopping with her plushie in hand.
Jack, Muta, and Edwin followed.
Jack told Venus:"If you don't want to be left behind, you'd better come along. If another worm shows up, the purgatory might not save you."
Venus pouted, shouted in anger, and started walking.
When they reached the creature's mouth, the stench was unbearable. Venus threw up instantly, then glared at the group like it was their fault. Calm as ever, Edwin opened his case and handed out masks — each one perfectly fitted to their faces. Jack looked like a plague doctor, Venus put hers on like a sulky kid, mumbling about how Edwin had everything in that damn case.
The group went in. They walked to the sword's blade — huge, covered in phrases in a language none of them knew, spread across its surface. One side was freezing cold, the other blazing hot. No one even had to touch it to know: on the left, the worm's flesh was frozen; on the right, burned.
Muta stepped to the cold side and touched it. The moment his hand made contact, it was like a drop falling into still water… and BOOM! — the sword shrank down to normal size. He caught it on reflex, but it vanished instantly.
Nobody understood. Muta, panting, grabbed his eye and shouted:"G-GUYS, MY EYE… SOMETHING'S WRONG!"
His left eye now had two irises. He could see perfectly in the dark, but that wasn't the problem — the discomfort was unbearable. The irises moved independently, overlapping half his vision with erratic focus. The headache was brutal. Agony. Screaming.
As if on instinct, Muta reached out. Light shot from his eye, condensing in his palm — it was the sword. The second iris vanished immediately. He dropped the blade to the ground, sweating and feeling like he'd just gone through something awful.
The sword stopped at Venus's feet. She picked it up without hesitation, like it had called to her. The instant she touched it, her missing eye came back. Now she could see in the dark, had faster reflexes, and could almost glimpse seconds into the future — and no pain. The sword felt like it was made for her.
The group stood in awe. Venus, beaming, stretched out her arm like Muta had, and the sword appeared in her hand — now stronger, radiating an orange aura. She'd never held a sword before, but it felt like she'd had centuries of training. The eye vanished from her face, but the powers stayed — a detail she didn't notice.
She swung the sword slowly… and the gust it created made everyone's eyes go wide. Strong enough for the worm's mouth to slam shut. In the middle of the excitement, she completely forgot the disgust and yelled:"READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!"
The sword's glow was the only light, illuminating Venus as she skipped ahead. Edwin opened his case again and took out a jar of glowing fruit — this time, only one was left. He handed it to Muta, who was still recovering from the headache. Zoe clung to him, clearly nervous.
Muta ate the fruit, took a deep breath, and followed the group deeper into the worm. No one knew what they'd find… but what was coming would shock them all.