Chapter 3: A Companion Or?
His own heart seemed to sync with the one in his hand, with it pulsed his veins, trying to get out of his very skin and feed the blood hungry heart, and they did
Like tendrils his artery slipped out the fingertips, connecting to the heart and pumping in his own blood, soon clouding the heart with expanding red mist
"Blood...."
He desired, feeling his own running dry, thankfully he was sitting in a pool of blood, belonging both to his mother and the dead deer
Under his Trait's command they rushed into his body, and through it toward the heart, nourishing it and expanding the red mist until everything in the surrounding vicinity was consumed, only then did the mist start to compress, shrinking in a rhythmic beat, sinking with it Jack's consciousness into an empty white plain
'Where am I'
His hazy mind questioned just before a figure appeared before him, a bare girl with a very standard look about her once the pristine white hair was ruled out, much like the basic figures one drew before adding details
'Design..'
Perhaps his mind went there because something told him he was able to shape this figure anyway he liked, even a preset build was present if he decided otherwise
Switching to the preset build the figure morphed into his mother's
'Mother?'
Thoughts of revival and such quickly flooded his mind, but he knew that wasn't the case, his trait, while somewhat of a mystery, certainly did not revive the dead, at most he would create a walking shell of what she once was
'....I promised I would move on'
Certainly, having his mother walking around would not help with the promise, if anything it would only create a lingering regret
Thus, as much as he wanted to not be left all alone, Jack kept to his promise, switching back to the basic figure
'It's good enough'
Truth be told he might have changed it if the circumstances weren't so depressing, but for now he merely chose brown for the girl's hair color given the fact that white seemed way too notable, then finished up his design, feeling his mind leaving the not so empty white plain
Jack's eyes gradually peeked open back in reality, taking in his surroundings after what felt like a moment, which in truth was quite the while
"....Hello"
Meeting the brown haired girl's eyes he greeted, a response never came back however
His eyes moved from hers to the rest of her bare body, then around the place for anything she could wear
The only thing he spotted was his mother's ripped dress, filled with ashes, just as the corpse of the deer next to it had turned to dust
Clutching the dress he tried to think about what happened to them, alas he knew time tight since beasts might fill the land in no time, thus the two must leave at once
"Wear this"
Throwing it to the girl he watched her fit the dress over her head, hiding the bare figure from sight, though it seemed too long as his mother was a tad taller
"Let's go"
He got up and moved to leave the town, the girl followed behind, tripping moments later and falling into the rubble
"...."
Jack waited for her to get up and come along but she fell right back down
"Haaah"
After helping her up this time he ripped the dress from the bottom so she could walk, at least that was the plan, yet the girl tripped on her very feet, an astounding achievement not many would manage naturally
'Is she...learning how to walk?'
That's what it seemed, reminding him that the girl had practically been born moments ago, perhaps everything needed to be learned at slow pacing
'No time for that'
His life was on the line here, both of theirs actually, and their lives were spared thanks to his father and mother's sacrifice, he wouldn't waste it no matter what
Making up his mind Jack grabbed ahold of the girl's arm and pulled her forward, making sure to support her wait in case she seemed like tripping
Step by step they treaded the alleys between the houses, slowly allowing the girl to learn, after walking five blocks she could be left to stride on her own
'Good, I'm barely capable of dragging myself away'
Now that he could walk normally again Jack sped his steps, the town was big so they would have to pick up the pace if they wanted to get to that grotto before sundown, his arm still needed disinfecting after all
'The place is like a graveyard...though in a way it is one'
Only his and the girl's steps could be heard, nothing else but the dripping blood off roofs sounded in the once boisterous town
'What's that?'
Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a twinkle of yellow light inside one of the houses
"Peaaa"
Its owner shot out from the window, almost stabbing into his skull with its pointy beak if not for him dodging backward
"!!"
Seeing it continuing toward the girl Jack wanted to yell for her to duck but she beat him to it by tripping in surprise, narrowly escaping a very early death
The bird continued in its flight forward and Jack picked up a nearby plant pot as a weapon, but the little birdy didn't seem willing to fight at all, merely ascending to the sky beyond reach
"Weird thing"
Not having to fight was better, he needed all the energy he had to make it out of here alive
'I better watch out, there might be more of that bird hiding somewhere'
If not for him spotting its shiny eyes he wouldn't have survived the sneak attack, the girl was just as lucky for slipping in time, unless that was her way of dodging
Thus with a plant pot in hand Jack made way through the alleys, occasionally seeing little creatures he had never witnessed before skittering around the town, some looked dangerous and some seemed cute, none however posed a threat since they ran at the mere sight of him, perhaps they were here for the free meal and nothing else
"We are almost out of town"
He told the girl, knowing that she probably didn't understand a word he said
"Hehuuhuhu"
Perhaps jinxing it a sound followed Jack's words, originating from above
Following the sound he saw the back of a little red creature squatting on the edge of the roof and laughing to itself in a silly manner
'The hell is that thing?'
He wanted to sneak away seeing it, perhaps another route would be a better option?
'No! It's just a little creature that's not even half your size, for how long will you be scared of everything Jack? I probably have better chances at fighting this thing than anything else hiding around
Admonishing himself he decided that running would not solve his problems, sometimes one must take arms and fight, and so he did, with his trusty plant pot in hand he climbed the mismatched bricks of the single floor house quietly, walking the roof tiles as lightly as he could
Creak-
He flinched hearing one of the tiles make a sound under his weight, the little thing didn't seem like it noticed though, still laughing to itself, in fact a little more than before
'Are its ears decorations or something?'
Continuing in his slow steps he lifted the plant pot up high, ready to bring it down as soon as the creature was within range
'This will be quick, I promise'
"HuihuiHA"
Suddenly the little thing's head turned one-eighty degree like an owl, its mouth wide open showing sharp teeth, but more importantly was the dart like thing shot from within it at his unguarded body
"Woaah! Crap!"
Surprised Jack stumbled backward as the dart punctured his waist, slipping due to the bloody roof and falling to the ground
"Hup!"
Surprisingly he didn't hit the ground, rather the girl caught him in a princess carry
"Hui hui hui"
With its head still backward the imp like creature started to crawl down after them in a fit of creepy laughter
"Run for it"
He yelled while throwing the pot at the imp, which it casually dodged, still that allowed the girl to run off with him in hand, heading toward the tree line signaling the end of the town
The imp didn't give up that easily, even though its speed was a tad bit slower it still tried to chase after them by running on all fours
'I should run myself but...I feel...dizzy'
His sight turned blurry, God knew what poison that dart had but its effect kicked in way faster than expected, robbing him of his energy and soon his consciousness
"Guaaa!"
A cry sounding in the alleyway was the last thing he heard before falling to slumber
"!!!!"
A tail swing greeted his eyes the next second, his body instinctively jumped to dodge, but his little jump took him to the roof instead of merely over the tail
It wasn't all good however as the darned roofs were all filled with blood, unsurprisingly making him slip down into the open maw of a large lizard with spikes filling its back
"Damn!"
In order to avoid getting mauled he kicked against the wall of the building he'd slipped from, rolling across the ground somewhat painfully but still dodging the bite
"What the hell is going on"
He asked himself, noting a second later that his voice seemed an entire octave wrong, and then the heavy thing he was carrying
Looking down he saw himself, asleep in his own arms
"???"
Weekly Power Status
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