Xen's head was hammering from the inside.
It was that constant sound of metal clinking which was making him go deaf.
" Don't be scared... I'm here... don't be scared... " He could hear the voice of his sister fading as the sound of the metal began louder and louder.
He could feel their presence.
He had no clue who they were but he knew they were not human. He was scared.And so was his sister. But she shielded her with her body while Xen twitched and turned under her weight.
" Calm down... little brother.... we cannot go out... " And then they heard their mother scream. Panic took over their little hearts and minds.
" Noooo.... " His sister pleaded with her eyes but Xen could not restrain himself and let out a guttural war cry but all he wanted to do was vent out his fear.
His sister hurriedly stood up and shoved her brother out of the dog-door.
" Run and never come back.... " She warned as she mimicked his voice exactly and sprang out of her hiding stop in an attempt to deter the pursuers.
Xen felt the deja vu of that pain. The boiling heat within him,that contorted his shape and form into something bigger, larger, mightier but absolutely loathsome.
" Xen.... Xen what's happening.... answer me.... Xen, we need to get out of here.... pull yourself back together... "
Mira's voice was able to faintly pierce through his mental fortress.
" Mira, I have seen them... " He murmured, trying to focus.
" What? I don't understand... talk a little louder.... " She was on the defensive as the creatures began circling them from a distance.
" These creatures.... I have seen them before.... when I was a child.... I have seen them in my house.... they are the reason I have no family.... "
Xen stood up with boiling anger , bubbling like water from a hot spring.
" Xen.... " he had no clue what was happening to him, he just felt the heat of the anger within him.
" Xen.... What's happening to you? Xen... come back... oh my goodness... What should I do? "
The figure in front of her was more frightening than the ones that were circling them previously.
Picture a towering, monstrous humanoid figure with grotesque, elongated limbs covered in writhing, sinewy tendrils and tentacles, standing there in place of Xen.
Its body was a nightmarish fusion of twisted flesh and dark, slimy appendages, giving it an unsettling appearance. The tendrils writhed and reached out in all directions, adding to the aura of dread and horror. His face, if one could call it that anymore, was a nightmarish visage of contorted features and malevolence.
Mira's jaws dropped open, as she stood there, staring.
" MIRA.... GET OUT OF HERE.... MIRA.... RUN.... MIRA... " Xen was screaming internally but not a single word came out of his mouth. It was as if he was trapped.
Though it seemed like his body was getting paralyzed, he could feel the fog in his mind clearing out.
The images from that day were flashing in front of his eyes.
He remembered that feeling. As if it was some kind of muscle memory.
He remembered changing into this creature back then. He remembered that he did not run away. He went back. He remembered how he was able to smack the sh*t out of those creatures terrifying his family.
And then he remembered losing his control on that heavy flesh suit. At Least that's how he remembered it felt like. It was as if he was operating from inside the body of another being.
As soon as realization hit Xen could feel that palpitation was hitting. He remembered how he was the reason behind his sister's death.
All his life he had been blaming those monsters but the reality was that he was the culprit.
And then he went at it again. History was about to repeat itself as Xen swung one arm after another, almost hitting Mira's jaw instead of the ones who were encircling them.
Xen was screaming, begging, yelling from the inside for Mira to move but she was adamant or perhaps she didn't understand the gravity of what he was capable of doing.
" Xen.... knock it off.... XEN... I NEED YOU... I CAN'T FIGHT THEM ALONE.... XENON... "
She touched some nerves. Something inside him shattered. A strange transformation swept over him. The elongated limbs began to coil and retract into his body, twisting and folding upon themselves in a grotesque and almost painful dance. The writhing tendrils retreated like serpents into Xen's flesh, as if being sucked into an unseen void.
In an unsettling spectacle his monstrous height slowly diminished in stature, reshaping itself into that of a human boy. The dark, twisted features of his face gradually softened and contorted into his handsome face yet an eerie aura of residual malevolence lingered in his eyes.Was this the shadow of mystery that always surrounded him?
Xen collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, disoriented and bewildered by the transformation he had just undergone. His body trembled, and his eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and confusion, as if he had just awoken from a surreal, nightmare into a bewildering reality.
" Are you alright? " Mira could barely utter the words when the figures around them launched their first attack.
Mira could easily dodge them but it barely missed Xen.
She quickly rechecked before going on the offensive.
" Need to be more careful, I guess... " she smirked as she told herself.
Mira noticed something odd about their attacks. Odd but similar. They were shooting fire from their bodies, very much like how Mira was able to, back at the cave when Braze was in danger .
" Who are you? What do you want? "
She yelled on top of her voice, moving fast, to make sure they could not harm Xen.
Mira leaped around Xen, carefully dodging what they shot but she slipped. She slipped because she was worried about Xen. His body was in a state of convulsion.
They hit her shoulder... one after the other. Mira felt the shock wave but she didn't feel the burn.
She turned around to find her dress on fire. She was able to scoop the fire with her bare hands. She handled it as if it was cotton candy.
The assaulters were stunned. They froze in their tracks.
" Can't you see, I am worried for my friend? " her voice had an uncanny shift in its demeanor.
" I did ask for an introduction, didn't I? I can see we have something in common... We could have just talked, you know... " She rolled the fire into a little ball and tossed it in her mouth and gobbled it up as if it was a candy or chocolate.
With every step she took towards them, she found them scared and retreating, watching each other, confused and perhaps begging for help.
" You know, you can't blame me for this... You asked for it, I'm just obliging... "
That smirk wasn't her anymore.
Mira closed her eyes, feeling the charge building up at her fingertips.
" Here we go.... "
She clapped her hands together, forcing the heat to radiate from her body and eyes.
A flash, equaling the intensity of a lightning, blinded everything around.
The pursuers vanished as the fire followed them beyond the portals that they used to get out of there.
" ..... " Mira heaved a sigh, with her hands over her knees, bending forward, trying to catch her breath.
" Miraaaaa.... Mira are you alright? " Kian finally came floating back . He landed beside Mira who was heavily sweating and he touched her back to check on her.
Mira pointed at Xen.
" See if he is alright.... " She was still breathing heavily.
" I'm so thirsty.... Do we have any water? "
Kian was on his knees beside Xen, trying to make sense of what had happened to their friend.
" Was she hit by a bulldozer? Kian asked, absolutely puzzled.
" He transformed into one... " Mira answered nonchalantly , willing to sweat with her sleeve.
" What do you mean? " He asked, absolutely clueless.
" Pick him up. I'm wasted... I need to find some water... "
She turned around and began walking, " I will tell you what happened on the way.... My throat hurts when I'm talking... I need water... "
She clumsily led the way forward as Kian supported Xen over his shoulder. Xen looked at Kian as if he had never seen him before. His eyes were disoriented.
" You need to walk mate! I can't give you a piggyback ride you know. You are a full grown man. The climb upwards is steep. "
Kian complained but to his surprise Xen did understand what he meant. He took one baby step after the other, using Kian's grip around him as a clutch.
They made their way towards the Mountain of Forgetfulness unaware but apprehensive of what might lay ahead.
" Hold on Braze.... we are coming... "
Mira murmured in her head as her eyes kept searching for some water. Any liquid to quench her thirst and relieve that discomfort. That itchy, rough and dry feeling that was stuck in her throat.