The crimson figure dropped its warms, the scales softly flaking off as the cool chill of the night eased throughout the pool room. Wandering eyes found themselves caught in the crimson afterglow. Their focus solely on the pleading figure of the Coarseblood as faint cracks began to form across the crystalline flesh of the creature.
K-11’s glare dropped as his systems decompressed as a deep breath left his steel-bound jaws. The Rak’da had surrendered to its wounds and had passed out on the cool tile floor.
Morray rolled his neck with a satisfying crack as he felt the eerie Kyyr fade away. He exhaled as he tapped a comms device on the side of his ear. “The Coarseblood has been...” he paused, watching the crimson frame shattered and crack. “Dealt with,” he said softly.
Serfet dropped down from his hold against the wall, carefully watching the Coarseblood as he speed-walked over to Morray. “Brother, what happened to it?”
Morray watched the frame flake away further, revealing the frail human within. “I have a theory; doubt its right though,” he said with a shrug. “It’s best we ask him ourselves,” he said with a smile as he made his way to the shatter-crust crimson form of Gira.
Serfet sighed but was startled by the sounds of boots against metal clanging from above. Looking up, he spotted a blood-soaked Sey and a wobbly Alice.
“Sey?!” Serfet exclaimed in confusion.
“Oh hi there, Serfet! Is it over?” Sey asked with a wave.
“Uncle Morray!” Alice cried out.
Morray gave her a wave and a smile as he leaned down to examine Gira.
“A-are you okay?” Alice asked shakily.
“We’re okay, sweetie. Are you alright?” Morray asked, his tone surprisingly tender.
Alice nodded as she looked down at the battered Gira. “What happened to him?”
Morray grunted, yanking at the stubborn crystal flesh as he dug around for Gira’s arm. “That’s—ugh—what I’m trying to figure out,” he muttered, his fingers slipping before he braced himself for another pull. “Come on... ngh…”
“What about uncle Serfet?” Serfet mumbled to himself as Alice ignored him, instead focusing on the crimson sight of Morray and Gira. Serfet sighed, lowering his head in defeat. “Are you two alright?” he called out to the two.
“Kind of!” Sey exclaimed with thumbs up, “Well, at least physically,” she added as Alice wide-eyed stared down at the grisly display.
Below them Morray finally managed to dig out Gira’s upper torso. He placed his ear against his chest and listened. Thump… Thump. Morray’s expression softened. The brat lives…
Feeling the warmth on his chest, Gira suddenly snapped to consciousness, grabbing onto Morray in an anxious panic. “I… cough…” blood spilled out as he opened his eyes, staring deep into Morrays. “D-did I?” blood spilled profusely from his mouth as he let go, his body writhing in pain as tears began to trail down his cheeks. “Please…tell me.” He paused, letting the sting fade slightly from his bones. “Did I eat anyone?” he asked, his voice bathed in a desperate plight.
Morray firmly grasped the shaky young man. “I made sure you didn’t.”
Gira smiled as the rivers of blood began to fade. “Good,” he said, letting go.
A bitter voice echoed from the back of Gira’s mind. “I fulfilled my promise. You won’t die, but—” the voice was cut off by another, more familiar, coarse voice.
“You hear that, me?!” Savagrios butted in, “Our core was fixed.”
Savagrios?! W-where were you? Gira asked.
“Sorry us, we were being used and abused by that wretched pissed-eyed asshat!”
The bitter voice scoffed, “Whatever…”
Wait, who’s that?
“Oh, that’s our most Hateful self—loathsome and not very talkative, a truly vexing entity if you ask us.” Savagrios said.
Gira the Hateful...
“Correct…” Savagrios voice echoed.
Gira’s muscles tensed as the pain began to subside. His eyes widened as he grabbed onto Morray, using him to stand.
I’m not bleeding? Gira called out in his mind.
“Correct! Our limit is one transformation per... uh—day?” Savagrios didn’t seem very sure. “Just don’t transform for a while; it was a terrible experience eating ourselves... and obviously we of course don’t want to stress our core anymore.”
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Gira nodded. “I won’t transform again. Got it,” he remarked out loud.
Morray’s head tilted slightly, “That won’t do.” he said.
“Wha—” Gira’s stomach cramped as he curled into himself. “Ugh,” he grunted in pain.
So this guy was the Coarseblood? Morray thought to himself, studying his gray-black eyes of the young man, that despite the horrid beating he’d received from Morray, he was now clinging to him as his guts rearranged themselves.
Savagrios, what’s wrong with me?! Gira cried out in his mind.
“Give it a second; our organs haven’t settled quite right.” Savagrios whispered into his panicked brain.
K-11’s eyes suddenly shot open, the massive Rak’da rising to his feet as a small mechanoid sprayed a congealing serum onto his dismembered arm. His voice module had been mangled but it still managed to croak garbled words, “G-Gira, you-u be-betrayed your word!”
“What?” Gira asked as he looked up to see the terrifying-looking K-11. His frame worn and mangled his draconic eyes, staring down in rage.
“Yo-ou clai-ai-med you couldn’t bear the cr-cr-crimson sh-shroud, yet you wore it minut-tes after we depa-parted.” K-11 pressed.
"I—well, th-that was beyond my control!” Gira said weakly, holding his guts in pain.
“You were not in control?” K-11 got closer, the stench of blood and oil growing as he leaned down.
“My, uh, damn it, what is called?” Gira mumbled to himself.
A voice lulled from the bitter recess of his mind, “Our Calamity Core.”
Right… “My core it—it broke, and I was dying. I’m sorry, K-11 I didn’t know what was happening.” Gira said with a faded surrender as his guts twisted.
K-11’s massive head tilted in confusion. “I am-am confused-d. And I must ad-m-mit our duel was truly in-invigorating. So there is n-no need for forgiven-ness.”
That was too easy! Gira thought to himself as he clamped his eyes shut.
“A bat-tle of that s-sort is easy!” K-11 announced, “But repair-rs are not. So. I sh-shall take my leav-ve.”
The Rak’da then shook his heavy neck as he stomped past Gira and Morray, making sure to grab his torn arm before he walked through one of the many gaping holes that lined the walls.
Morray had been staring at Gira. His eyes glimmering under the red glow. “I’ve made a decision,” he announced.
“What? Wait, who are—” Gira began to ask before Morray grabbed him by the shoulders and raised him up like a child. “Wowowow? What? Who are you?”
“I am your master! I intend to train you on the fine art of Kyyr!” Morray declared.
“What? Really, wh-who are you? P-please—stop—sh-shaking—me it hurts—a—t-ton!” Gira cried out.
Serfet’s shoulder dropped as he put a hand against his forehead. “Of course…”
Sey and Alice had finally climbed down from the maintenance catwalk. “Watch your step,” Sey said as they walked over to the group. “Eeeeek! Ca-ca-captain! His little crimson friend is showing!” she said, looking away but still pointing at Gira’s blood-soaked crotch.
Gira looked down, realizing he was naked. “Oh, no wonder I felt so breezy,” he remarked before Morray spun him around in excitement.
“HAHA! This one’s got no shame either! Perfect! Absolutely perfect!” Morray’s cool demeanor had changed, resembling more so an excited child playing with a new pet.
Alice, on the other hand, stared at the spinning Gira, her amber eyes replaying the encounter with the crimson monster deep within the labyrinth of pools and tunnels. Her left eye twitched in shock as she couldn’t connect the image of the monster and the blood-drenched idiot currently being held like a massive baby. The twitching continued until something snapped within her mind and she fainted.
“A-Alice!” Serfet cried out as he caught her. “A-are you okay?” Alice heard the words echo in the back of her mind as she faded into the unconscious.
And with that night of the Coarseblood had come to a rather dissonant end.
----------------------------------------
But unknown to them all, not far perched high above in the furthest reaches of Krreat, a group of inhuman figures watched the ebb and flow of Kyyr down below. Their metalbound frames, veiled in pale, ghostly cloaks, fluttered wildly in the wind. Their eyes faintly aglow with an eerie red light that pulsed rhythmically as they studied the commotion surrounding the ranger station.
"AEGIZ, mustn’t the Coarseblood be accounted for?” a shrill metallic voice cut through the howling wind of their perch high atop the tallest towers of Krreat.
From the shadow that hid their figure, a massive mechanical head emerged just enough to reveal the ivory skull of a Revenant Stalker. Its ivory steel head resembled that of a dragon, with a sharp, blade-like upper jaw shaped like a beak. The sides of the upper jaw were adorned with glowing interlacing chevron patterns. Where the jaw met the cheek, countless faint lights blinked at random intervals, casting flashes into the entrance. A metallic growl echoed as the upper jaw stretched, revealing a flashing red eye set deep within a lower jaw lined with rows of sharp, shark-like teeth. Dark wires extended from the jawbone, vanishing into the shadows. Hinting at the crown of spikes and armored frame beyond our vision.
AEGIZ watched with tender care its visual module inspecting the commotion as rangers began to slowly return to the building below. But its eyes caught a glimpse. A frail human being swung around by a figure it recognized.
“Morray has apprehended the Coarseblood. We must ensure the specimen is removed from Krreat. We can’t allow it to rise Vizor further—” AEGIZ said, its synthetic voice soft yet haunting.
“Is this the correct course of action?” Another mechanoid asked.
“Bryle has reported... uncanny behavior after the Kyyr surge this evening." Another one of the figures added.
AEGIZ receded into the gloom, clutching its chest with its massive claws. “Vizor must gather more. It’s the only solution. Lest you desire to clash with his madness.” The Stalkers remained silent as they crawled back into the shadows of Krreat. Leaving AEGIZ alone to linger at the edge of light and dark. It raised its long armored neck and peered into the crimson-shattered sky. Its bionic gaze zooming beyond the clutter of the clouds above, its synthetic gaze settling on the draconic shadow of the Steel Dragon.