So I've escaped the spider's clutches, so what?

My legs aren't going to be getting me anywhere. The adrenaline's starting to wear off, leaving me with nothing but immense pain and a splitting headache. But, I can't stop now-- I need to get to safety. So many people have died in order for me to live. People I care about.

I look to Khil one last time, before picking up her spear and flying back out.

My wings are so tired, but I can't stay here. It's not safe anymore. The wordless harmony between monster and beast within these caves has been broken, all because of that bastard Brysen.

I retrace my steps back to where the cicadas once were. As expected, all of them lay dead on the ground, likely having been dispatched by Elioxus and the others. It's a shame that they've been awoken from their slumber only to be murdered right after, but whatever.

The air is foreboding-- I genuinely don't like how silent everything has become. No signs of life anywhere, be it kobold, spider or slime.

Speaking of slime... I wonder what happened to Blubbo-- The slime we took on as a pet three years ago. ...Gah, it's probably dead too, after everything that's gone on.

I hate being alone like this so much. There's no noise to block out my thoughts, to distract me from thinking morbid things like 'Oh, our pet's probably dead too, now.' This is torture.

Almost makes me wish Brysen was here, just so I could have something to motivate me to run-- something to anchor me to reality and help me remember that I'm not dead myself.

After what feels like forever, I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The second entrance to the cave system. Rocks have collapsed around it, but not enough to completely block me out of escape. Thank the gods. I slide the spear out first, before pressing into the cavity myself.

...

...

...It's a tight squeeze. Nothing unfamiliar to me, though-- I used to be pretty limber back in my old world. I try and push my way through... only to realize I'm stuck. Great. I guess I was asking for too much to hope that ability transferred to this world.

A tan hand reaches out to help me. I nearly take it, before realizing whose it is.

It's... Toko. Short, dark blue hair that I swear stars are glimmering in, dressed with as much exposed skin as you'd expect a seasoned dancer to have, and a pudgy belly covered in what I only assume to be bits of dead cicada.

I'm reluctant to take her hand.

She laughs nervously-- clearly feeling awkward, herself. "It's... It's okay. Bry-nya isn't here." She keeps her hand held out. "I'll help you out."

Well, it's not like I have any other options. I grab onto her hands, feeling her tugging as she strains to carefully pull me out. Thankfully, she's fairly strong, so it doesn't take too long.

"Th-thank you." I'm confused. Why did she of all people come to help? Where's Elioxus?

You know what-- I should just ask. "Where's... where's Elioxus?"

"Oh, Eli-nya?" She rubs the back of her neck, uncomfortable. "He's... letting off steam. He's super pissed, as you can imagine."

What sounds like a lightning strike erupts out in the distance. Huh.

"I didn't know Elioxus could be angry. Not that I blame them."

"Oh yeah, Eli-nya's very serene-- but when you get on his bad side..." She grimaces, makes an 'eesh' sort of noise.

A look of realization lights her face. "Oh! Right! You uh... you probably already know this, but I'm Toko-- Nema Toko!" She beams.

"Pento." I respond, too tired to not be blunt.

"Nice to meet ya, Pen-nya."

...

I just realized-- It's sunset. We won't be able to make it to the castle before night falls, even if I continue to push myself to fly. That's annoying.

...

We both stand awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to say next.

Thankfully, Elioxus approaches, brushing their knuckles. They're bruised and bloody, clearly indicating that their venting lasted longer than I could've known.

They look to me, eyes opening wide.

"P-Pento!" They pull me into a tight hug, which I reciprocate. "Thank the gods you're okay!" They crouch down, performing... healing magic on me?

"I thought you didn't cast spells."

"I, ah... I lied."

I respect their honesty, at least.

Finishing up, they rise to their feet. "How are you feeling?"

"...Tired, exhausted, sore."

"At least you're not bleeding anymore." Toko interjects-- seeming like she wanted to laugh, but restrained herself at the last minute.

"...Where's Khil'nub?" They ask, not knowing the knife that they're twisting into me.

I don't respond.

They notice the spear-- wordlessly placing a hand on my shoulder.

Toko speaks up. "I'm... I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what it's like, honestly." She puts her hands together. "I'll be praying for your safety, Pen-nya-- and for Luma to watch over all those who were lost today."

"Thanks... I appreciate it." Come to think of it, I don't actually know what the deities are in this world. I'll have to ask another time.

"If you need anything, just ask. I'm sure Eli-nya and I will be willing to help in any way we can." She smiles lightly.

...I'm guessing she doesn't know.

"I should get going-- don't want Bry-nya wondering where we are-- you know how he gets." She looks to Elioxus. "I'll just tell him you need some more time, Eli-nya."

"Much appreciated."

She turns back to me, seemingly trying to figure out how to say what she wants to say next. "Do uh... do you need a place to stay?"

"I've got something in mind for her." Elioxus interjects. "No need to worry about that."

Yeah, she definitely doesn't know.

"Ah, alright then! See ya." She waves, before running off.

After she leaves earshot, Elioxus sighs. "We should reconvene with the others-- I assume they were assisting with fighting off the beasts, yes?"

...

Oh, gods.

A pit in my stomach forms.

"?"

"There... there was a cave-in-- the front entrance was blocked off by rubble, too."

Elioxus tenses up, giving a look of absolute horror. "Can you run? Or fly?"

I try to move, almost falling over myself. I try to flap my wings, before they lock up from the strain. Even with the healing magic, I'm still in a lot of pain. "...No."

Elioxus grabs Khil's spear, before crouching down. "Hop on-- quick." I do as such, climbing onto their back. ...For such a lithe individual, they sure are strong. They break into a sprint, managing speeds that would suggest I didn't weigh a thing. I'm certainly impressed.

We make it to the other side of the cave, immediately noticing Exgrave and Zephys standing beside the entrance. Their looks of concern and fear are overwritten by shock and confusion upon seeing me.

"P-Penelope??"

"Lady Pento?!"

Elioxus lets me down, just in time for the two to approach.

"What in the ninth layer happened? How did the cicadas wake up?"

"Brysen." Elioxus cuts to the point.

"After all the time I took to put them to sleep..." Exgrave clenches their fists, trembling with rage. I've never seen them this angry-- not even when dealing with Crimson. "All the time and effort I put into bettering the quality of life for the village-- undone in an instant." They look as though they could strangle Brysen with their eyes alone, if given the opportunity.

"Wait..." Zephys speaks up. "If you're here, Lady Pento, then who's in there?"

"Huh?"

"We heard someone still alive in there-- we thought it was you."

Elioxus's head swings to face the entrance. They hand me Khil's spear before rushing over, trying to gauge the situation.

It's completely blocked off-- if you didn't know any better, you probably wouldn't even realize there was an entrance there.

Elioxus lets out a loud groan, temper showing once more. "Stand back, all of you."

Exgrave obliges, seemingly understanding something we don't. Zephys and I follow suit, not wanting to upset Elioxus even further.

"Tell. No one. Not a single soul." They speak with a seriousness that even Exgrave shivers to. Then, they begin to... change.

Their body shifts, morphing and growing-- pushing back trees with their newly immense form. Their face gives way to a snout, long flowing hair morphing into tendril-like appendages as their skin and clothes change into... scales? Bright blue... scales?

Oh, is-

Is Elioxus a dragon??

.

...

...Yeah. They're a dragon. A giant blue dragon with a cream-yellow underbelly, standing as tall as the spider from earlier. Truly, a majestic beast.

Zephys faints from shock-- their own tail cushioning their fall. I don't blame them.

"If anyone is still alive, stay clear of the entrance." Their low, booming voice rings out. They fall silent for a moment, listening for any response. Then, they take a deep breath-- preparing something I'm all too familiar with.

What catches me off guard, however, is the fact they're breathing out raw lightning. I guess it's not too surprising-- dragons having other elemental breaths isn't too absurd of a concept --it's more the fact that it's Elioxus of all people doing it.

The stones crack, shatter and disintegrate, before giving way to the entrance to the village in no time at all. They shift back, shrinking down to the human form I'm more familiar with, before heading in.

I fly after, fighting through the pain to catch up-- gasping in shock at what I see.

The village. Poi Village.

Little to nothing remains of it.

Dead kobolds, dead spiders, dead slimes. All of the houses in various states of disrepair, some only partially destroyed, others completely shattered.

My home... gone.

Tears well in my eyes-- I've got another home in the castle, yet the feeling of grief that hit me is all too familiar.

Yet, one thing, one single red thing in the center of the village, is enough to give me a spark of hope in light of all the despair.

Mae'poi-- Mom --she's alive.

Her right leg has been crushed under a rock, pinning her to the ground, and she's looking incredibly battered and bruised from all the fighting she's done, but she's alive.

...Her spear rests on her lap, pointed end facing her.

I hope she wasn't considering what I think she was considering-- but given the hopelessness of the situation prior to us arriving, I couldn't blame her.

"M-mom...!"

"Goddess!"

The tears that were welling in my eyes begin to flood-- though this time in joy --as I fly over, moving to sit beside her.

"I-I'm so glad to see you made it out alive."

"I'm just glad you're alive, mom...!"

Her expression dims as she notices the spear in my hands.

A moment of silence, before she places a hand upon the spear."...I can only hope her next life is a peaceful one."

Wait, if I'm in the presence of three spellcasters-

"Can't... can't we bring her back to life?" I ask, having an unfortunate guess as to the answer.

Exgrave shakes their head, contemplating their words carefully. "...Ignoring the matter of the narrow time window in which a soul can be pulled back, we lack the immense resources required."

"That, and Allogor was a far more powerful magician than I." Elioxus adds with a sigh. "Though I'm sure the physical toll of the spell, if not cast as a ritual, would tear their current body apart were they to try it."

Dammit. Dammit...

Mom pulls me in for a hug. "We've still got each other."

"Life will get better." I add.

She looks surprised, before smiling. "Took the words out of my mouth, go-- ...heh, daughter."

...Genuinely, I'm touched that she corrected herself there. I'm so glad she survived.

After letting us have our moment, Elioxus speaks up. "This- this will hurt a lot." They gesture to the boulder.

Mom grits her teeth, bracing as Elioxus pulls the boulder off of her, throwing it to the side. Now that I know they're actually a dragon, their strength is starting to make a lot more sense to me.

...

Mom's leg is... well, to put it lightly, in a dire condition. It's honestly more of a suggestion of a lower leg, if anything. She's not going to be standing on this, at all.

"..I'm sorry." They pull out a knife. Mom nods in acknowledgement.

I look away, not wanting to add an amputation to the list of horrible things I've seen today. "I... take it we lack the time and resources to just restore her leg good as new, then?"

"Mm." Elioxus responds with a quietness that I didn't expect. I guess they've run out of anger at this point. I think we all have, really. "All good, for now." I look back-- they were able to heal it to a stump, at least. "We can look into prosthesis another time. I'm sure my mentor would have ideas on where to procure one-- if she cannot produce one herself, of course."

"You're too kind... Narce."

They chuckle to themselves, helping her to her feet-- giving her the spear to act as a makeshift crutch for her to put her weight upon.

"Narce?" I ask.

"My dragon name."

Ah, right.

"So wait, does that mean I can shapeshift, too?"

"In time-- yes. It takes quite a bit of practice, however-- I would not be surprised if it took you months, even years, to be able to do so."

Still, if I could go back to my old form...

"You'll have to teach me, if you get enough free time from Brysen."

"Of course." They smile. "It will prove invaluable when you can."

"It's getting dark." Exgrave struggles to avoid yawning. "We should head out sooner rather than later."

"To... your castle, yes?" Mom asks.

"Indeed. Unless you would prefer to stay here."

"No, I..." She looks around. Aside from me, she's the sole survivor of Poi Village. "I would prefer the change of scenery. I'm just not used to sleeping anywhere else."

"We're not going to be walking the whole way through, are we?" I ask.

Elioxus chuckles. "Of course not. I'll fly us all there-- it's gotten dark enough that I don't mind transforming."

"Ah, right." Stupid question of me, but I've been through a lot today. Cut me some slack... me.

That's going to take some getting used to, though-- knowing another dragon. ...I have half a mind to ask why he doesn't just... eat Brysen or something. But, I figure if that was even a possibility, it would've been done by now. That, and it just feels so awkward to ask.

As we all make our way to leave, I feel a familiar wetness nudge into me.

"Oh, Blubbo! You're alive, too! You're... bigger than I remember."

Mom laughs a bit. "They came to my rescue when I was trapped underneath the rocks. I think they may have absorbed some of the slimes that were attacking the village."

Thankfully, they're still smaller than me-- I honestly would have lost it if I had met one more person that dwarfed me in size.

We make our way outside, being sure to pick up Zephys and load them onto Elioxus' back before heading off to the castle. We've all tired ourselves out in some way, shape or form-- it's probably best for us to get some sleep. Or at least, attempt to get some sleep. I'm sure most of us are going to be haunted by today's events-- myself especially.

...Gods damn that Brysen Powers.

When I get powerful enough to take over the world...

...he's going to get what's coming to him.