After approximately twenty minutes of sitting on the floor doing nothing but catching my breath, I finally mustered up enough strength to stand up.
Stupid earring, where's your box? I searched and searched, before finally finding it on the floor, along with my stationaries, all scattered by my panic.
The box was open, its red cushion fell out, along with a slip that's new.
Curiosity struck me, and I took the slip to read instead of the box.
Unfurling it, its content revealed itself in cursive: [Angela Mok Fay, you have been chosen to be the Dragon Zodiac Warrior.]
What the hell is this? Kung Fu Panda?
SNAP!
The surroundings vanished in an instant from the snap of someone's fingers. I was back in the void, and the cloaked they were behind me.
"You should allow your spirit to explain."
I whipped my head around, my breath accelerated again, "What the hell?!"
"I've chosen you."
"What does that mean?"
"Let your spirit explain."
...
...
...
Again, it was like nothing ever happened. I was standing in my bedroom, door still ajar, but something that wasn't in my palm before was there now.
The box, the red cushion and the earring on it.
No, I refuse. I shut the box and headed out.
I swung the door, walked through, and
"GODDAMN IT WHY?!" I screamed into the void, turning my head and scanning the endless nothingness again until I found them, "WHY?!"
"Let your spirit explain."
...
...
...
I was standing in my bedroom, and the box in my palm was open again.
"ARRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!" I screeched while scratching my hair.
But I don't have a choice, do I now?
Reluctantly, I picked the earring back up. I went back to stand before the vanity mirror,
Clip!
"Thank you." He was back, and sitting on my work desk, still shirtless.
"Can you wear something?" I muttered.
"Oh... You don't like this?"
"No." I still hadn't turned around, I wouldn't even look at his reflection in the mirror, I refuse to.
"Weird. Isn't this appearance objectively the most sexually attractive to human females?"
"..." My tongue must've tangled for a moment when I tried to find the appropriate response, "WHAT?!"
"Yeah? I came in this form because of that. Or does this universe call it sexually appealing instead of sexually attractive?"
"W-what? W-we call it both?"
"Then, is this form, not the most sexually attractive?"
"..." Wait, shit, the answer's yes. "... No?"
"Oh, well, tell me what it is then; I'm a shapeshifter. I'd like you to be comfortable with my appearance."
"U-uh... a uh... a puppy?"
"Done. You can turn around now." His pitch went up so much higher; it was an entirely different voice now.
My gaze first found his reflection in the mirror, then after confirming he had indeed changed his appearance, I turned around to face him, or it, it's now a Pomeranian.
"Weird." It stroked its chin, "I thought it was Universe B-39 where humans partake in sexual intercourses with dogs. Do you do that here in C-17 too?"
"What?! No! We don't fuck dogs."
"Eh? Then... how are dogs sexually attractive to you?"
"THEY'RE NOT!" My own voice startled me, I was too loud, so I stepped over to the door and shut it.
"Then, why would you want me to look like this? Pretty sure only dominant species from universes that starts with an A reproduces asexually."
"Because you're... you're harmless like this. It makes me feel safe."
"Oh wait oh shit!" It wagged its tail with its tongue stuck out, "I remember now, Universe C-17 is the universe where people find domesticated animals to be cute. Ahhh, I get it. Nonetheless, are you sure you wouldn't prefer the most sexually attractive appearance?"
"What?! No?! Why would I?"
"Well, most of my holders prefers that. But I guess not you. So a puppy is fine?"
"Uh... Yeah..." I nodded lightly.
"Sure. Now let me explain." It jumped down my desk onto my chair, then down to the floor, before approaching me with little steps.
Even though it was a puppy now, it still had its red eyes and dragon horns, and the size of the horns didn't change, leading to a very uncanny look where a single horn was larger than the puppy's entire face: not that cute.
"You have been chosen to be one of the zodiac warriors by Them."
"Who's Them?"
"Them!" It hopped onto my bed, chased its tail until finding a comfortable spot to lie down, "I'm sure you call Them Them too!"
Oh, Them, the cloaked Them.
"They chose you to be one of the protectors of this universe. You see, rifts open up in this world, allowing monsters from other realms to infiltrate. You don't know about this, because the zodiac warriors are just too good at their jobs."
"Okay... typical fiction stuff but... why me?"
"Woah woah!" The puppy waved its paw like palms, "I wouldn't know that, you have to ask Them."
"How do I talk to Them?"
"You don't. They talk to you."
Great, "I can't fight monsters; I can't even beat the alley cat that keeps stealing my breakfast."
"Oh that's okay!" The puppy sat with its tails wagging happily, "That's where I come in. I am your zodiac spirit, and I can give you superpowers! Did you forget how your hands melted earlier?"
"I don't see how that's a good superpower..."
"That's only because you hadn't mastered it! And also that you hadn't fused with me. Also, if I keep forgetting things about your universe, that's because zodiac spirits exists in every universe simultaneously. So in every universe, there is a me, and all of those me's are the same person, who is me, living an infinite amount of lives at the same time!"
"Incoherent." I shook my head.
"That's fine! You just need to excuse me if I mention something irrelevant to your universe. After all, we will be partners now! We'll be seeing and speaking to eachother really often... unless you don't like that... I cannot disobey my holder's will."
"So I'm your holder?"
"Mmhmm." It nodded its head quickly.
"You mentioned something about fusing with you?" I raised a brow.
"Yes! That's how you use your powers to the fullest. Also how you can look like a badass Narvel superhero."
"Marvel?"
"Shit, right, Narvel's C-19. Would you like to try fusing with me?" It hopped off the bed and started circling my leg, tickling me with its soft, white fur.
"That's not an alternate universe way to say sex, right?"
"Oh, gosh no. It's just for you to transform into your protector form. Right now, you're just a regular human. After transformation, you'll get increased strength, increased agility, increased dura—"
"Okay, I get it, I become a superhero. How do I refuse?"
"You hadn't fused yet, how can you re-fuse, silly?"
"I meant deny! I don't want this!"
"Oh... Well, whether you accept or deny, you can't do that to me, you need to go to a specific location, meet a specific someone and deny there... Oh wait shit, C-17 doesn't even have the word 're-fuse'..."
"Okay then, tell me where and who."
"I can't tell you either. This specific someone is paranoid. The only way to meet him is if I lead you to him."
"Alright, after class then." I walked past the tiny puppy to get to my work desk; I have class soon and I need to prepare.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The puppy hopped and scratched its front paws on my knees, "Please seriously consider this, They do not like it when people refuses."
"They can suck a dick and lick a clit at the same time with their gender-neutral ass. Can't you see who I am? A finance student, not a superhero." I shoved everything into my bag: my laptop, my pencil case, wait, it felt light, most of its content was scattered on the floor.
"But you want to be one."
I heard the noises of paper crumpling.
I turned to the direction of the noise, and the puppy was trampling all over one of my Marvel comics.
"Hey! Stop that!" I snatched it back and slapped it onto my desk. "I thought you can't disobey me."
"I can't, I stopped almost immediately when you told me to stop. But I'm not wrong, am I?" Its tail somehow danced wryly, "You want to be a superhero. Or superheroine, is that a thing?"
"Yeah, yeah it is." My gaze found the comic book again. It was Fantastic Four, and Sue Storm had the spotlights in the cover for this issue, but my eyes focused more on her family behind her, "You said I was only one of the protectors, right?"
"Mmhmm."
"How many are there?"
"Can't tell you. The specific someone saved that part for himself."
"I thought you can't disobey me."
"I can't disobey that specific someone more."
"..." I folded my arms with a pout, "Do the protectors work together?"
"Like a family!" It turned in circles cheerily. "Oh please just fuse with me once! Once you see your protector form, you will fall in love!"
I tapped my chin contemplatively, while staring down at the puppy, then Sue Storm, then the puppy, then Sue Storm's family.
I don't know if you would believe this, Amelda, but the biggest reason why I'm considering to be a protector, is the part where I might meet my family...
Was that cringe? Shut up, Amelda.
"How do I fuse?"
"Yes! Just say 'fuse' with intentions to fuse."
"Fuse? ... Woah..."
The puppy turned translucent first, then it gradually turned redder and redder, until eventually becoming a cloud of red smoke. That red smoke engulfed me in no time, causing me to stumble. I held my breath, but that wasn't necessary; it felt no different from regular fog.
After the red smoke dissipated, I found myself in front of my vanity mirror: I now had lustrous, icy blue hair tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon. My lower face was masked red, and in my hair, the spirit's two vermilion horns sat proud. Even my eyes were different, they were now a gleaming hazel.
My outfit was an elegant off-shoulder silk-made collared blouse, black in colour, tucked into a tasteful long scarlet cotton skirt that cascaded perfectly all the way down to my shoes, which were samurai wooden sandals.
By my waist, a sheath, hiding a katana with crimson blade. On my collars and the sheath, dragon scales decorated.
A small red cloud came out of my ear and carved a smile into itself, "What do you think? Pretty badass, right?" It was the puppy's voice.
Yeah... Yeah, it's pretty cool.
"But I still have to get to class first."
The puppy whimpered in disappointment.