Snake like tounge swiftly came out the Creature's mouth,
wrapping Neon.
"Neon.."
Brac was stunned to speak as his past flashes in front of him.
"NEON‼‼‼"
Brac screamed at top of his lungs.
Brac ran expeditiously towards Neon before the creature could flee.
But it is already at a great height.
Brac ran across the playground to get to the tree and climbed up at a great speed.
Hoping from one branch to another, Brac came at the top and leaped high.
But he barely could reach Neon.
Brac fell hopelessly on the ground.
At this very moment Hudson and Coarto had arrived the spot.
The carnivorous eye has escaped the situation by tucking itself in the blanket of the dark sky again.
"Hey Brac!!"
Coarto and Hudson ran towards Brac.
"whar happened? What was that monster?"
Coarto asked in a frightened tone.
"First of all tell me why you guys were so late‼"
Brac said in a pained voice.
"Sorry I thought nobody would come.
And this Strom was all so sudden..
I didn't think this would be because of the monster."
Hudson helped Brac to stand up.
"Do you really think it's because of the monster?"
Coarto questioned the statement.
"I don't know..
what else can it be?
And why there is a storm all so sudden?"
Hudson stuttered in agitation.
The tension can be clearly felt.
"Are they from 'the jail' you guys were talking about?"
Coarto is very much in fear
Or more like terror.
"Where else can they be from?"
Brac exclaimed in frustration.
"Hey hudson.
I saw Neon..
the monster took him away."
"what!"
Coarto wanted to know more.
"shit"
Worry can be noticed in Hudson's voice.
---
Ozwell Gasper is walking home while smoking a cigar to keep his self warm.
The Strom wind rises.
Sticks and dust are flying in the speedy storm,
windows are clacking.
The street lights are dimming.
The sky above Brac is acting unsettling. Something's off...
"Wait, look at the sky," Coarto points at the sky above them. He is feeling uneasy, his limbs are clicking, eyes flickering in fear as they turn big each time he blinks.
Hudson looked back at Brac.
"Ha..." He realizes that Brac and Coarto noticed something that he couldn't. What is it? And what's up with the sky?
Brac is standing still. Unlike Coarto, he can understand that something bad… no, horrible… is on its way to happen to them.
Hudson shimmers as chills go down his spine. His hand is shaky.
"You didn't explain how did I summon the chains, right? Hudson?" Brac hesitates to say as he tightens his jaw and grits his teeth. His breath becomes heavy.
"Huh?? What are you going to do with this now?" Hudson is baffled by Brac.
Hudson stiffens himself. He decides, whatever is going to happen will happen to us together.
"Whatever, no matter whatever is going to happen, will happen to us together."
A distant voice, a saddening memory, overflowed his mind as his eye bulged.
> "Your name is Hudson, right?"
A dark-eyed, reddish-haired man said, slightly tilting his head. He was wearing a brown thobe, tied up with a rich-toned purple sash at his waist. Hands strongly built for war.
"Yes…" Hudson replied in a fretful tone, startled by the man's charm.
"The Tear of Sun chief ordered us to also take you with us in the expedition."
The man smiled a little, then went grumpy, as he knew it is not an easy task.
"What expedition?" Hudson seemed confused.
"To search for people, if they are still roaming around this Connector... and stop asking questions."
The man stared into the gate of the Base of Tear of Sun colony.
"Come with us!"
They took Hudson to their creature paddock.
He hasn't seen something like this. Sure, he's been here for quite a while, but he can't say he has witnessed such scary yet heavenly-looking creatures.
The body of a panther, skinny yet strong legs, and dark purple-toned fur around its neck. Glowing ocean-blue stripes on its body. Head of a giant cat.
"Choose your Doeri, big boy," the red-haired man chuckled.
"Wh... How? And what is this thing even called?" Hudson looked at the man.
"A Doeri."
Relaxation could be noticed in the man's voice.
"How am I gonna even ride one?"
"Don't worry. They are very friendly."
The gate slowly opens, and the team heads out.
"Doe, you sure he is fit for this?" an expedator asked the red-haired man.
"I am not sure, but the chief said... I can't do nothing about this," replied Doe Welsker.
"But whatever, no matter whatever will happen, will happen to us together."
Though they were talking in very low tones, Hudson overheard their conversation.
They were scouting around a bridge then—
In an instant, a giant distorted creature came breaking through the wall. The whole area started to shake. It was covered in dark substance. Four legs and two hands. Resembling a disfigured elephant yet skinny enough to fit on the bridge.
All the team members gathered in a circle. From their experience, they knew it couldn't be stopped by hands—it's the distance which would help them play out the battle.
The creature's eyes glowed white.
Breaking the silence, they charged their bows against the behemoth.
The monster growled, shaking the whole bridge.
It slid its large hands on the surface of the bridge, tackling at least half of the team members off the edge.
The other members were frightened by this, but no one hesitated to stay.
The monster stomped out more team members with its legs, leaving only three members:
Doe Welsker, Hudson Gasper, and a random.
> "You and Hudson evacuate—leave this place right now!!!"
The fear, tension, anxiety—every aspect of horror could be felt in Doe Welsker's voice.
He took out his sword and directly charged against the creature.
Hudson was left in shock and immense trauma.
How can this get more horrible?
At first, it seemed like Doe had it under control. He sliced through every part and took good care of the monster. But he unexpectedly got stuck in the black goo, giving the monster the upper hand.
In an instant, the monster stomped on him, crushing every part of his bones. The blood splatter became more dense.
One minute…
One minute remaining until they are dead too.
Hudson stood still without a single word nor movement of limbs.
As if he fell into an abyss of no return.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Discovering himself in a dark room.
He felt like a floating rock in space.
Something instructed him to walk.
He walks...
And walks...
Out of nowhere, he stumbled upon chains tied to the darkness of the endless void.
Something—some creature or some otherworldly being—was sitting menacingly in front of him.
Its neck tied with rusty chains.
He doesn't know how to describe it, but he sure feels some attachment towards it.
A dense skeletal body with little amount of flesh.
Head slightly down, but he could tell it's devastating and catastrophic.
Resembling a moose skull, yet dark, having dark brown tree-branch-like horns.
Radiating sheer terror, it lifted its head, staring right into Hudson's eyes.
"..."
Hudson was left speechless.
He felt like someone twisted and pinned his tongue.
"What the hell are you…" Hudson gasped.
"Something or some power you always wished you could have but, to your utter failure, you couldn't…
I am your Chimera."
The twisted, unfaithful, harsh voice of the beast echoed around the room.
"W..I. Why am I here?"
"You were looking for a way to save yourself, weren't you?"
The beast harshly chuckled.
"Don't you remember how your partners died in front of you?"
"How did you know that?"
Hudson took a step back.
"Hey, no need to worry… I am here to help you.
See these chains? If you free me, I will give you the ultimate aid for your problems."
The beast's tone gives him shivers.
He can sense the greed inside him.
"But how can I untie these chains?"
"Let's take it easy, shall we…
I know your situation right now. Quickly, make a deal with me. If I give you a power, then you are willing to untie one of the 10 chains."
"But how does that work?"
"Don't question that much. It's a divine quality in you…
But remember: you only have ten deals. Choose wisely."
"Sure."
Hudson didn't think that much. He was lost in how he could get out of the situation.
Deal.
The beast leans his hand forward.
Hudson shakes hands with it, and with a dark chaotic sound, one of the chains shatters.
The beast laughs.
"Hudson! Hudson!!"
The man shakes Hudson's body.
Hudson gains consciousness.
The creature is now 15 meters away from them.
It's rushing towards them.
"Come on... come on… I have to do something," Hudson thinks to himself.
He tries to feel the power that his Chimera had given him.
Hudson sweeps his hand forward.
He is in such a pose that he is holding a bow.
In an instant, a dark yellow-hued bow and arrow with glowing blue stripes appears in his hands out of thin air.
He pulls the arrow—shoots towards the creature.
The arrow pierces through the leg.
But the monster doesn't stop.
He thinks, in pressure, that the arrow should have gone through the other parts.
The arrow suddenly merges in air, leaving behind dark blue particles.
In an instant, one after another small portal opens, covering the monster.
The arrow comes out through one, piercing the monster and entering the other.
One by one, the arrow digs hundreds if not thousands of holes into the thick-skinned body of the monster.
At last, the arrow pierces through the internal organs, ripping every limb one by one and coming out from the middle of the monster's head—leaving a giant hole in the face—making the monster nothing but the absolute thing that trypophobia is based on.
The last team member aside from Hudson was flabbergasted.
"How did you do that?"
The man's surprise is reflected in his voice.
The distant memory slowly faded away as Hudson regained his consciousness.
He looks at his hands, trembling in unsureness.
"Why is it this time... for God's sake, this time the beast isn't showing up to help me!"
Hudson screamed at the top of his lungs, but no one could hear.
In his blurry vision, he could only sense the storm's wind.
The empty, helpless feeling hasn't worn out yet.
"Be ready... it's about to come out again."
Brac hardened his foot as the sky slowly starts to shed blood.