"H-h-help, a-aid…"
When Cuhlun heard this voice, he initially thought something was wrong. Hadn't everyone died?
…
No--he had experienced this many times during the apocalypse. It had to be a shapeshifter, yet he could never be certain. The possibility that someone was still alive was priceless.
Since Cuhlun was not in his main body, he wanted to check the source of the sound.
At the far end of the giant dragon's body stretching to the horizon, he found the source of the voice--it came from beneath a broken bone. Curious, he landed with his small bird form. Despite his tiny steps, he moved forward with enough patience.
Finally, he arrived inside the darkness, a place completely filled with blood, flesh, and bone fragments.
He was within a large wound of the dragon, and the voice repeated…
"H-h-help, a-aid…"
What human would come here? He was certain he was not human--this place… it was horrifying, smelled terrible, and had he not been in a bird body, he would have vomited immediately--it was that bad.
Cuhlun turned his back to the darkness and headed toward the exit. Just then, besides the "help" voice, he heard another sound--a small rustle. Cuhlun slowly turned his bird's head and exchanged a brief glance with two pairs of eyes staring at him… He flapped his wings, trying to take off. He barely rose one meter when whatever was behind him lunged at incredible speed and caught him.
Cuhlun thought he would be tortured there, but it didn't happen. Whatever held him squeezed him so tightly that his bird body seemed to explode.
Cuhlun opened his eyes as if waking from a nightmare, his face full of horror. Looking up, he saw it was morning, and Renas was looking at him with a chocolate in hand…
"Just woke up and you're already asking me for my chocolate? Sorry, this was the last one, and they were hard to find…"
Cuhlun turned his head to him and spoke in a louder-than-usual voice, "I bet it's not really the last one--"
Renas interrupted him.
"Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't have shared it anyway." He took another bite of the chocolate.
Cuhlun said, "Fine, you eat it--I didn't want it anyway…" Then, in the next instant, he lunged forward. But Renas was faster. Pulling his hand back, he defended the chocolate."Come on, stop acting like a child."
Cuhlun knew his speed, so he decided to make it harder and jumped onto Renas, knocking him to the ground. Either he would get the chocolate or it would be crushed--either way, he would benefit.
Renas delivered a solid punch and shouted, "Enough!"
He turned his back, stepped forward a few paces, then looked back and spoke. His military uniform was still on, many parts covered in crimson blood. Sleeping on the dragon's corpse might not have been a good idea."Enough already. I won't give you the chocolate. Judging by your expression when you woke, you probably died on watch last night, right? What happened? Tell me."
Just as Cuhlun was about to explain, a voice called out.
"H-h-help, a-aid…"
Damn, that was the voice that had nearly caused Cuhlun's death. Still, he recognized it and knew he had to quickly explain everything to Renas to stop him from going toward it.
Cuhlun quickly tried to stand and speak, explaining everything to Renas, preventing him from rushing to the sound.
"Hey Renas, no, this--"
Renas, preparing to leave the wound they had stayed in during the evening, turned his head and spoke,"Shhh, calm down. I'm not stupid enough to go toward that thing, okay? There's plenty of meat around us already; we don't need food."
Cuhlun let out a mental sigh of relief. He had thought Renas would go toward it to eat…
The apocalypse had been harsh. Often, food and water were major problems for humans. Renas, however, was someone who did not struggle with this--not willingly, of course--but because it was an apocalypse, he was forced into it, and… yes, he might have resorted to cannibalism. Cuhlun had never eaten human flesh and had no intention of doing so, even if Renas claimed it tasted like chicken…
The two exited the small wound they had stayed in yesterday. Of course, the wound was small relative to the giant dragon's body; otherwise, it would have been car-sized.
After leaving, they traveled under daylight. As yesterday, Renas carried Cuhlun on his back, and Cuhlun, in bird form, scouted the surroundings.
They walked for hours, finally reaching an area with better climate. Lightly ruined buildings, charred trees, and oddly evolved, unfamiliar plants surrounded them.
Cuhlun and Renas saw, on the horizon, toppled, dilapidated moss-covered buildings and the sinking sun. Behind them was a rotting mass of meat, with a monster attempting to reach it.
No water existed--no puddle, no bottled water, no ocean. Nothing.
They were far from the oceans and seas even at the start. Three years ago, during a mission, the seas had been overtaken by Leviathan-type creatures, and humanity had relinquished control of their oceans to these sea beings. Initially, only a few incredibly powerful aquatic creatures--like krakens or giant eel-like serpents--existed. But later…
They gained intelligence and humanoid bodies, founding a kingdom. They could survive for a long time above water.
But no matter how long they survived, they could only travel about 800 km from the shore. Every coastal city thus became extremely dangerous and deadly.
The world's oceans no longer held supernatural beauty--they contained powers beyond reality. Powers so formidable that escaping them could be harder than escaping the dragon behind them.
Cuhlun sighed and set his thoughts aside, focusing on the present. Renas had survived many battles. In the past, his antique rifle had many enchantments, and with his Signature Ability, he had been invincible. Now, however, both his abilities and enchantments were gone. Still, just his five years of combat experience allowed them to defend against nearby monsters.
Although Cuhlun wanted to use his powers frequently, doing so would require double the food.
Using his Avenor magic also required feeding his sleeping body; without food or drink, a body cannot survive.
But how could a body that couldn't open its mouth be fed?
The answer was simple--it shouldn't be the one eating. Therefore, every time Cuhlun used Avenor and entered another body, both bodies needed to be fed, meaning he grew hungrier and needed more food.
Currently, their food situation was dire. All their supplies were gone, making using Cuhlun's ability impractical.
Renas…
He was not someone to use his ability frequently. Being overly cautious, he reserved his Signature Ability for the last moment--it was a powerful skill that could not be used repeatedly.
"Cuhlun…"
"Cuhlun…"
"Cuhlun!"
Renas shouted to bring the daydreaming Cuhlun back from staring at the sinking sun. Cuhlun returned to himself."I was just thinking about a few things… sorry," he said.
Renas sighed and replied,"The night is coming fast--we need to find a safe place quickly. We need a building with a basement; your combat ability is zero, so you could die. We can't separate. You need to follow me."
…
Cuhlun simply said, "Okay."
After a brief search, they found a building with a basement, entered it, and closed the entrance. They would stay there for the day, with enough food and drink for comfort.
Although Cuhlun was exhausted, he tried to sleep--he still had to keep watch.
Renas rummaged through cupboards to find something to eat…
After some time, neither Cuhlun had slept nor had Renas found anything.
They sat on a couch, facing each other.
Cuhlun immediately understood what was happening. Renas did not prolong the matter; his nearly white eyes shone like a hunter's in the dark. Cuhlun chose to speak first, though his voice was tense.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Renas replied,"Stop pretending—you know exactly what happened."
Cuhlun sighed and refused to speak. Seeing this, Renas said,"Spill it—what happened when you tried to enter me[1]?"
[1] For those who don’t understand: Renas is asking whether Cuhlun has tried using his Avenor ability on him. It’s very likely that he did, especially after obtaining the keywords, because the world inside the Avenor ability becomes much larger and different in intelligent beings. It generally consists of memories, and by replaying a past memory, he could have attempted to steal Renas’ keyword there.