“Ha!” Pinoki throws a dagger back at Ginobelucci
“You’re too late fiend!
We are already–”
–Chomp!
A tentacle with a sinister jaw at it’s tip lashes out biting down on the little man’s leg, right as he nears a spinning portal
“Pinoki!” Kage exclaims, rushing to help the man up,
“Come on!
Come—” Kage pulls Pinoki’s arm through
“–Eeyahhhghh!!” Pinoki cries out
The portal shuts down on his arm sending it away with him
“No, no, no!”
Pinoki starts scrambling about feeling for some magic crystals, as blood gushes out from his upper right arm
“I’m dead! I’m dead! I’m dead!”
He uses a healing crystal on himself to subdue the bleeding,
“CrrrrrgrrrrrrrraaaaAAAAAAGHHHHHHHRRRRRHHHHH!!!!!”
The growing beast of spikes jutting out of the throne let’s out a ravenous roar sending all it’s tentacles at the man full force
“I don’t want to die!” he yelps
And in that moment—
…..
…..
****
“—In that moment my shadow magic evolved further, I manage to slip into my own shadow and escape, Ginobelucci, he would have definitely killed me,
But I the great Pinoki live to fight another day.”
“That’s good to hear,” Claude gives Pinoki a weak pat on the back
After rescuing them from the monster, the little man had revealed himself to be a lost friend of Claude, to Aki and Shiryu however he was still a mysterious figure…
…
“Give me back my strength.” Aki whispers squeezing Shiryu’s arm
“Wait, we’re not in any immediate danger right now, and this Pinoki guy seems strong.”
“I don’t know where he is taking us, plus I feel like he’s a tricky sort of person.”
“So, ask him them?”
“chhkknn!” Aki makes an unintelligible noise
….
“Where exactly are you taking us?” Shiryu asks for her
“….” Pinoki’s eyes rest on Shiryu for a while as if trying to dissect him from sight alone
….
“To the others, I am not the only person still roaming around down here, I’ve been picking up every person I could find struggling to survive down here.”
“You seem to be surviving just fine, does the draining no affect you?”
“Not at all actually, I don’t really know exactly why, but my guess is that it’s because of how long I spent inside a magic diamond not too long ago.”
(Inside a magic diamond?)
“Matter to magic conversion and storage is a pretty advanced science, I didn’t think the people of this ring were capable of scientific advancements.”
“People of this ring? Advanced what?” Pinoki echoes confusedly
“Shiryu often talks about things strangely.” Claude explains
“Reminds me of Kage,
Speaking of,
If you’re here Claude,
Where are the others?”
“…..” Claude hesitates before speaking…
“My sister is in Soterra with your friend Zinnia, and…
….
They died.”
“Huh?
Say that again?”
“Lyra, Apollo, Kage, Karina, they went up to the silver mountains searching for who knows what and died there.”
“….
Waahhhhghh!” Pinoki halts is pace crouching down to groan loudly
“Deadd??
I can’t…
I mean I knew we were all going to die sooner than later, but all of them at once?
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
How am I the one who has outlived them,
For Murdoc’s sake I lost an arm for them to escape,
To die,
Kage said we’d go an adventure together…
And Lyra she said she would kill her brother, even Apollo had to find out about his parents…
Uuwaahhhhghh–thank you for this terrible news, Claude, because now I have absolutely no reason for wanting to get out of here now,”
“Kage is not dead.”
“Shiryu not now with that.” Aki hisses
“What are you talking about?” Pinoki looks up
“Do you even know who Kage is?
Who are you even?”
“….
I am…
Apollo and I share the same father.” Shiryu struggles to piece the right words
“Hh?” Pinoki gives Claude a questioning look from which the boy shrugs back, knowing just as much as him
….
“So you are trying to tell me you are a brother of my friend…
Shiryu is it?
What are you?
Why have you chosen now of all times to appear?
And where were you for the last ten years that your ‘brother’ had to suffer through?” Pinoki lets off a barrage of questions passive aggressively
“I am a human but my body as a child fuses with a dragon egg, that’s why I look this way,
I have been suffering with beasts for the last ten years, no not even ten, seventeen years since I was an infant,
It’s only because I’ve finally woken Kage that I finally could leave the bends,
That is why even though no one will believe me, I say, Kage is not dead,
I know this for a fact.”
“Why couldn’t I have a normal adventuring life.” Pinoki exhales
“Ok, humor me then, what do you think happened to Kage?”
“They crossed over to another ring.”
“Another ring meaning?”
“There is a lot more people and places out there with things you have never heard or dreamed of.”
…
“There is?” Pinoki’s eyes gleam with excitement,
He picks himself up feeling less dejected
“I won’t say I believe all of what you said Shiryu, but I am a man who loves adventure, and the thought of there being more out there excites me, I hope that it is true so my friends aren’t dead…
Kage once asked something about an ocean?
I still don’t know what he meant.”
“The entire ring of Tellus is covered with more water than land that may be the ocean Kage spoke of.”
“Is that really possible?” his eyes open wide
Before Pinoki had come across as a mysterious warrior, but now as he speaks more that image breaks away showing him as the energetic thrill seeker he truly is
“Yes, it’s due to–”
“–Can we get moving again please?” Aki interjects impatiently
“We can be jumped any moment now, I’d rather we kept move than still,”
“Yes, we shall, keep moving,” Nods Pinoki,
“I haven’t been introduced to you as well, umm miss”
“Aki.” Is responds dryly
“That’s the chief of Bakufu,” Claude takes the task of introducing the stoic woman.
“She is the one who can help us kill Ginobelucci,”
“The chief hmmm…
Incidentally, I was actually out searching for you, in this city,”
“You were, from whom did you find out about me?”
“I rescued a few warriors from zombies a while back, do you know any warriors by the names, Natsu, Bane and Fuyu?”
….