Missy darted to the right, desperately creating distance between herself and Razuroc in the confined space. She managed to make it a quarter of the way around the room before being forced to halt abruptly. From the ancient stone ground, two imposing golems emerged, their forms crackling with magma that coursed through them like burning veins. Without hesitation, Missy reached out and pulled the magic from their earthen shells, causing them to crumble. Razuroc released a frustrated, thunderous sound that shook the chamber before charging at her with terrifying speed.
Missy smiled grimly, hoping she could keep the massive beast distracted long enough for Rinale to retrieve the Ortus and make her escape. She twisted and weaved, doing her best to dodge Razuroc's relentless assault while noticing that she was gradually absorbing the ambient magic in the air. With each passing moment, she felt the tiny room in her mind expanding.
Though she was staying just ahead of Razuroc's attacks, Missy knew it was only a matter of time before she faltered, even with her magical capacity slowly increasing. Through quick glances, she spotted Rinale attempting to stealthily make her way toward the Ortus. Knowing she couldn't let Razuroc notice the former goddess, Missy pushed aside her own mounting fears and concerns. She needed more power, so she reached out, pulling desperately on the surrounding magic, causing it to rush toward her like a tide.
She had assumed the magic wouldn't be overwhelming since it wasn't particularly dense in the air, but as she pulled, it felt unnaturally right. Her essence began to expand rapidly as she reached out, finding the source. A peculiar sensation washed over her as she encountered the translucent sphere that swirled like morning mist. Within moments, she located the tiny crack, now slightly wider than before. She hesitated briefly as her fears and doubts resurfaced, but the compelling call from the other side proved too powerful. Before she could reconsider, she plunged into the crack.
The metaphorical weight of an entire world came crashing down as she established a link with what lay beyond. She might have completely lost herself had the link been stronger or the seal weaker. Even now, she felt the crushing mental pressure slowly eroding her sense of self. While distracted by forging this connection, Razuroc seized the opportunity, landing a devastating blow that sent her crashing into the wall.
Missy barely felt the impact as she emerged from the rubble, feeling inexplicably magnificent, as if the whole world was hers to command or destroy at will. She caught sight of Rinale watching, fear and concern painting her elegant features. Missy smiled condescendingly—it was almost cute that the little goddess was worried about her. How could this insignificant insect hope to oppose her? Looking at Razuroc, who had seemed so large and imposing moments before, she couldn't fathom why she had ever felt threatened.
With each passing second, subtle changes crept across her features. Her eyes transformed into reptilian slits as pristine white scales began to appear and spread, starting at the corners of her eyes and the base of her tails. Her tails now moved with an unsettling, serpentine grace, writhing like living snakes with a mind of their own. Missy approached Razuroc with casual confidence, completely unthreatened.
"How can you recover so easily? Who and what are you?" the beast demanded.
Missy shrugged with indifference. "I am your world's history, although it appears to be a forgotten history now."
Her thoughts and feelings felt increasingly foreign to who she had been mere moments before, her perspective shifting drastically as her senses expanded beyond mortal comprehension. She began to question why she was even bothering with these tiny creatures. While they were mildly interesting, they were ultimately just two among countless others. Why waste time with such insignificant beings? It felt like something was crawling around in the back of her mind, an unsettling sensation that refused to dissipate. It was mildly distracting, like there was something she had forgotten, but that should not have been possible—not for her, at least. Her consciousness now expanded far beyond mortal limitations.
While she was in thought, contemplating this peculiar mental itch, the red speck rushed forward with surprising ferocity, slamming into the tiny part of her that had recently reconnected, giving her limited access to the outside world. The red speck couldn't really hurt her, being far too insignificant and fragile to cause any real damage, but it was annoying nonetheless—like a gnat buzzing around her awareness. She could easily swat it away, crush it without a second thought...
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Oops. It seemed she might have broken the red speck. It was a little hard to focus on the tiny details through all the information assailing her vast awareness, but it seemed to have left the red speck a broken, crumpled mess. As she tried to study the speck more closely, that nagging little part in the back of her mind grew in intensity, becoming an increasingly uncomfortable sensation that demanded attention.
Missy swayed, her consciousness reeling as she forcefully cut the connection—she had nearly been completely overwhelmed, but a small, crucial part of who she was had somehow survived. Through sheer force of will, she had managed to patch the crack in the seal, cutting herself off from that overwhelming cosmic awareness. That repaired section was still weak and wouldn't last long against the pressure building behind it, but for now she was herself again, her identity intact, and there shouldn't be any escaping—at least not for a little while.
Missy looked around and let out a sigh of relief. Rinale had made her escape with the Ortus. She really hoped Rinale hadn’t witnessed her loss of control. With that thought in mind, she turned to face where Razuroc lay.
Missy's whole body tensed up, and she started to tremble uncontrollably as she approached. It was then that she noticed that she was no longer in her kitsune form. She looked down at her body. Pristine white scales covered a long serpentine body, each one catching and reflecting light like polished pearls. Where her scales met her underbelly, there was an intricate lattice work of overlapping patterns, delicate as frost on a windowpane, hinting at her underbelly before giving way to exposed flesh. Her underbelly gave the impression that she had swallowed the night sky itself, its shimmering surface painting the flooring in a kaleidoscope of colors—deep reds, midnight blues, and occasional flashes of stellar white.
Her perspective was now lower to the ground due to her small size, making the world seem larger and more imposing around her. Her current form was pure essence without an outside shell like most mortals possessed—it would be the equivalent of a mortal brain being outside their bodies. However, unlike mortals, this was her natural state, the truest expression of her being. Missy shook off her momentary distraction, forcing her thoughts back to the present situation, and turned her attention back to where Razuroc lay.
As Missy approached, her form rippled and shifted back to that of a kitsune, the familiar sensation of fur replacing scales washing over her like a warm breeze. The great behemoth's body was crumpled and broken, twisted in ways that defied natural anatomy. Missy's horror continued to mount as she drew closer and was able to make out more grotesque details. One of her most pressing concerns was put to rest as she approached—she could hear Razuroc's shallow, ragged breathing. She relaxed marginally; now she just needed to figure out how to fix this mess.
Her bare feet became stained crimson as she stepped into the expanding pool of blood surrounding Razuroc, the warm liquid seeping between her toes. She reached out with a shaking hand and placed it on the broken mess that once was an arm, the flesh warm to the touch. She extended her senses into Razuroc's body, just like when she had observed Arc to figure out how eating food worked. This time, instead of trying to alter herself, she was hoping she could repair what was broken.
As her awareness crept through every inch of Razuroc's form, Missy came to a crushing realization—she had no idea what she was doing. She had no idea what any of this should look like. She hadn't observed the inner workings of anything living very often, mostly just mortals and only to observe specific things, like when she tried figuring out why mortals kept using the bathroom. It was never mentioned in any of the books Jezel had suggested she read, so she had decided to do a little research. That had been a rather unpleasant learning experience. She hadn't studied their whole body in great detail, a fact she was deeply regretting now, even if the more she learned about mortal bodies, the more certain she became that they were rather gross.
Missy was not about to give up. She continued to study Razuroc's body, looking for anything that might help. It didn't take her long to notice active parts of the body starting to slow down and stop altogether. The deterioration seemed to be accelerating; she didn't have much time. She tried to remain calm as she studied, her hands trembling against Razuroc's cooling flesh. As she watched, she noticed a pattern—despite the body failing, she thought she could see that it was trying futilely to repair itself. She wasn't absolutely sure, but she was out of time. She focused intently on that particular bodily process and poured everything she had into helping accelerate and enhance it, channeling her power into the dying tissue.
Missy slumped over, ending up laying sideways in the pool of blood. She lay there unable to move and unsure if she had succeeded. She feared she had failed when she saw no movement from Razuroc, but the steady sound of his breathing kept her hopes alive.
Missy wasn't sure how long she lay there, the only disturbance being Razuroc's breathing, but eventually she heard the distant sounds of approaching footsteps. It wasn't long before those approaching footsteps entered the room, and she heard gasps from the newcomers. Someone rushed over to her and began fussing over her, hands fluttering anxiously across her form.
"Missy, please be okay! I'm so sorry I left you all alone. Please be okay!" Rinale's voice, choked with emotion, reached her ears as the unpleasant sensation of someone touching her registered through her exhaustion.