"Submit!" I commanded.
As soon as the pressure lifted from her, Kitsune collapsed to her knees, visibly drained. "I understand… I submit," she muttered, her voice trembling.
"Take these next words as scripture," I said, stepping toward her. "You will not report to Thanatos unless I explicitly order it. If you disobey… I'll know!"
Finally, I called out, "Tailed Lilith."
She appeared before me in an instant, her usual smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "I see you're still in one piece."
"You expected anything less?" I asked.
"Only your downfall," she said with a teasing glint in her eyes.
Kitsune, meanwhile, looked as if she'd seen a ghost. The moment the tailed Lilith appeared, horror twisted across her face.
The tailed Lilith glanced at her with a bored expression.
"What are you?" she asked.
Kitsune didn't respond—too stunned to form words.
"You got a problem with me?" the tailed Lilith followed up, irritated now.
"You… how are you here?" Kitsune finally choked out.
The tailed Lilith narrowed her eyes. "Do you know me?"
"Of course, I do. You are ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)¯\_(ツ)_/(ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง-1 0⚆ _ ⚆." Suddenly, Kitsune's voice shattered like static in a broken transmission.
A blinding white light appeared inside her mouth, and the very space around it warped, pulsing unnaturally. Her mouth moved up and down like a puppet's, but no sound came out. Glitches rippled through the air around her, as though the fabric of reality rejected the words she tried to speak. Her own body seemed to rebel against the knowledge.
"What the hell is wrong with her?" the tailed Lilith muttered, her voice laced with confusion.
I scanned Kitsune's body, sensing Theós' presence briefly radiating from her before it vanished, as though it had never been there. She looked completely unaffected, her demeanor indifferent, as if the strange event had never occurred.
"Kitsune, do you know her?" I asked, gesturing toward the tailed Lilith.
This was an opportunity to learn more about the tailed Lilith. Her origins, her true nature—everything about her had remained an enigma.
Kitsune shook her head. "I've never seen her before."
"But you just…" the tailed Lilith began.
"She's telling the truth," I said, interrupting her. "I think I understand what's going on."
"Do you know Thanatos?" I asked the tailed Lilith directly.
"Never heard of him," she replied, her attention still fixed on Kitsune.
'The tailed Lilith is definitely different from Kitsune,' I thought, processing everything. 'Theós is clearly hiding something. Whatever it is, the taled Lilith's orgins are far from simple.'
I pushed the matter aside for now.
"Let's meet the locals," I said, shifting focus. "Take us to the nearest town."
Kitsune nodded and quickly darted ahead. "Follow me."
In the blink of an eye, I was right behind her, covering miles in an instant.
'Wow, I've gotten faster. I teleport so often, I've forgotten what it's like to actually run to get somewhere,' I mused, a sense of exhilaration washing over me.
Seeing me appear next to her, Kitsune jumped in surprise, clearly not expecting me to catch up so easily. Without missing a beat, she quickened her pace, and I matched her stride, still able to keep up effortlessly. The tailed Lilith was running beside us, she didn't seem to be exerting herself at all.
Armando struggled to keep up, his pace faltering as Kitsune continued to increase her speed. Within half a minute, we were already on the opposite side of the planet, far from the supposed "nearest town."
Kitsune dove into a cave, weaving through a network of tunnels. She eventually came to a stop in the middle of a hidden city, clearly winded, though she tried not to show it.
"You know, teleporting takes way less effort. Much less," the tailed Lilith grumbled, her tone irritated.
"We could have been here in an instant. I can't believe you made me run like that in these heels. Now they're completely ruined!"
Armando finally caught up, also looking fatigued. I gave him a nod of acknowledgment before turning to the tailed Lilith.
"Stretching your legs every now and then isn't so bad," I remarked calmly, a slight smirk forming on my face.
"You!" Kitsune snapped, turning toward me with fiery determination. "I want a rematch. You could only keep up because I let you follow me."
Kitsune, her pride bruised by the encounter, had never met a reaper from a weaker planet who could match her speed. To make it worse, it was just a random reaper who had just appeared and defeated her reaper. It stung, deep down. She needed to feel like she still had control.
"Why not?" I said with a smile.
'She thinks like a child, but her confidence in her speed is evident. I'm sure she can push herself even faster than she just showed,' I thought.
As I surveyed my surroundings, I realized we were now in the middle of a city. The marketplace was alive with noise and energy. It resembled a medieval bazaar, with stalls filled with various goods and haggling vendors. The stalls themselves were made of the white material, the natives called it "Celestium." It seemed like it was part of the planet itself as the stalls grew out of the very ground.
Green-skinned beings, each with four arms and tusks protruding from their faces, moved about the marketplace—these were the Asímians.
A few of them were whispering to one another, their eyes darting our way, clearly intrigued by our presence. Some were still engrossed in their trades, while others milled about, riding six-legged creatures that resembled horses down the street.
"Let's go," I said, vanishing from the scene.
We reappeared in a quiet alleyway, away from prying eyes.
"I really don't want all that attention on me, not without enough knowledge of this place," I said. "I would like to peacefully explore this place."
It was my first time exploring a planet other than Earth, and the excitement was palpable. Given that I had quite literally seen and learned from everything that the Earth had to offer, being somewhere new and surrounded by the unknown was refreshing.
"I need new shoes," the tailed Lilith muttered, then, as if it were second nature, she grew another set of hands. With that, she tore two holes in her t-shirt, her skin shifting to a vivid green, transforming her into a true Asímian. With that, she strode confidently out of the alley, fully blending in with the crowd.
I could understand her excitement and her rush to go as well. She had been alive longer than I had. I'm sure she has been bored longer than I have.
"Will she be okay on her own?" Kitsune asked, her tone uncertain. "She looks… fragile."
"She'll be fine," I replied, glancing toward the exit. "Hopefully, no one pisses her off… for their sake."
I turned to face Armando, an eyebrow raised. "Now, what do we do with you?"
"I shall go wherever you go, my king," he said, turning into a cloud before merging seamlessly with mine.
"Umm… okay?!" I blurted, completely unaware that what he did was even possible.
With a shrug, I sprouted an extra pair of arms and shifted my skin to a deep shade of green. Dressed in a white kilt and brown sandals, I finally looked like a proper Asímian.
Using the dark cloud, I could alter my physical form at will. Unfortunately, doing so always placed a strain on my body. But the Asímian form was different—this transformation felt embedded in my soul, natural, almost effortless. In this shape, I found myself more attuned to Armando's power, as if my very essence resonated with his.
"How do I look?" I asked aloud.
"Like a king," Armando's voice answered from within the dark cloud.
I couldn't help but smile, slightly amused by his response. Turning to Kitsune, I asked, "Will you be fine looking like that?"
Without a word, she transformed into a young Asímian girl—she looked about eighteen years or older.
"Lead the way," I said, gesturing with one of my newly grown hands.
She nodded and walked ahead, almost reluctantly leading me back to the bustling marketplace. As we stepped into the heart of the street, vendor stands lined both sides, brimming with foreign goods.
Some stalls sold what I assumed was food. I say 'assumed' because even though people were eating it, anything that's still moving and makes eye contact with me didn't exactly scream edible.
Other stands displayed fine jewelry and exotic fabrics, all shimmering under the soft glow of Celestium. Many of the goods had traces of the radiant material woven into their very design.
"There." I pointed toward a stall that caught my eye.
It stood out in a far corner, near an alleyway. Unlike the rest, this one sold weapons and armor. My gaze locked onto a black longsword encased in glass and another white and brown one hanging at the back of the stall.
The white and brown one seemed to be made of centrium and a weird type of wood. It had golden markings carved on it. The aura coming from the sword felt familiar.
The black longsword however, exuded a chilling aura of death. White carvings ran along the blade in the Asímian tongue. The translation struck me immediately: "To Die Is To Gain"
'Wait… when did I learn to read the Asímian language?' I wondered.
I continued studying the sword. Despite its dark aura and heavy battle-worn energy, it looked brand new, untouched by time.
"You've got a good eye, sir," the vendor said, puffing his chest.
"That's the legendary sword of the great Qatar Adolf. Yes, that Qatar a fearless warrior who ended the planetary raid on Asími almost single-handedly. With just one swing, he took out dozens of the enemies' ships. This is one of my most prized possessions!"
'Bit dramatic,' I thought. 'Still, it's a fine weapon. Azrael would like this.'
I reached for the sword.
"So what's it doing here, then?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the Asímian man.
"...Qatar is my family's ancestor. This sword has been passed down through generations," the shopkeeper said with quiet pride.
"Yet you're here selling it?" I asked, disbelief written all over my face.
"I'm the last of my bloodline," he replied, a shadow passing over his eyes. "There's no point clinging to an old legend. I'm broke, and I still need to survive, and... there are people I must protect."
'I wonder what happened to the rest of his family,' I thought.
'I killed them,' Armando said casually from within the cloud.[1]
That didn't surprise me. Instead, I reached into the glass case and carefully lifted the sword. It felt cold and it's aura had some weight to it—promising. I tested its balance, then gave it a gentle bend to assess its durability.
It snapped in half!
A cold silence filled the air as I glanced at the shopkeeper. His expression was frozen, eyes locked on the broken remains of what was once his "prized possession."
With all the grace of a thief caught red-handed, I placed the two pieces back into the case.
"You don't mind paying the man, yeah?" I muttered to Kitsune, then quickly turned and walked away, pretending nothing happened.
'How could something like that even stop a planetary raid?' I thought to myself.
'One would have to assimilate with the centrium within the sword to truly awaken its power. Until then, it's just an exceptionally durable weapon. Under normal circumstances, even I would struggle to break it,' Armando said through the cloud.
As Kitsune settled the payment, I continued strolling through the stalls, inhaling the strange, rich air of the planet.
"This place is incredible," I murmured to myself with a chilling smile. "It's like the atmosphere's laced with steroids, and the planet itself applies a constant pressure. I can only imagine how naturally strong the natives must be compared to humans."
'The lifespan of Asímians far exceeds that of humans as well—two, maybe even three hundred years. I can feel it…I'm getting stronger by the minute. My senses—sharper, clearer. The power of two worlds is now within me!' I thought excitedly.
As I walked I felt as if the world itself bent beneath my feet. I felt invincible. Unstoppable.
And then, out of nowhere, a young Asímian boy—couldn't have been older than thirteen—bumped straight into me.
The boy hit the ground hard, landing on his backside like someone who'd just run face-first into a wall. A cloth bag spilled beside him, bursting open to reveal a mess of shapeless, tomato-like fruits—bright red juice splattering across the dirt…and my kilt!
I looked down, frowning at the fresh smear of red.
Behind the boy were four Asímians barreling through the crowd, their eyes locked on the boy.
"THIEF! THIEF! THIEF!" they shouted in repeat. It was like they were high.
"Vermin," I muttered coldly, my voice sharp enough to slice through stone.
The air shifted. Death aura pulsed from me in waves. Overhead, dark clouds thickened and twisted as purple lightning coiled within them like serpents ready to strike. A different consciousness seeping through.
With a flick of my hand, a bolt cracked down from the sky—aimed straight at the boy.
[1] Yes...there will be a backstory about this. Not any time soon though>ᴗ< Kinda wanna randomly throw it in there when ya'll least expect it. Whilst Grayson is taking a dump or something(っ- ‸ - ς)