"Wait, little dog," Gat said.
"That's not a dog," Billy replied. "It's a giant wolf."
"Well, whatever," Gat said as they saw the gigantic animal approaching them at full speed. Before reaching the team, the wolf stopped and turned with an alert gaze towards where it had thrown the guardian.
"Phew!" "What a relief," Billy said, almost wetting his pants and dropping to the ground. The others also felt their souls return to their bodies after almost becoming dog food, like Aiden.
The rocks that had buried Urion began to move one by one until they rose into the air, revealing the being from another universe once more, now with blood where its mouth and legs were supposed to be, without arms, and with a look of pure evil. It began to shriek loudly, and its entire body filled with a dark red aura, thick like blood, enveloping it completely. In its mind, it thought: You'll pay for this animal. I am one of the most powerful guardians of the universe, and it will not stay like that. I swear, no one has ever pushed me to this state and came out unscathed. Now I will have to use all my power to finish you.
Urion's insect eyes began to contract and disappear; the tentacles from its waist started to detach from its body and float at shoulder height. The mantis' skin began to peel off, as did the lion's skin. Its entire body revealed a kind of muscle and bone without skin covering it, to then be wrapped again in the dark aura, transitioning from a shriek to a more human scream. When the scream ceased, the dark aura began to slowly disappear, turning into smoke, which transformed into vapor and rose to the sky, revealing Urion's figure.
Now, Urion had a more human appearance than its previous version: its skin was yellow, its eyes red, and its hair resembled a lion's mane. It had feline features: a nose like a feline and a more human mouth but with large lion fangs. Where its arms used to be, there were now tentacles that gave the impression of arms on each side, united. Its hands had three fingers with sharp claws. Its legs were still like a lion's, but its feet looked like pointed green shoes, referencing the green insect it once was. At its waist, it wore green wrestling-style trunks, and on its chest, a green protector in the shape of mantis wings covered its shoulders and upper back. Where its ears used to be, there were two pincers like a mantis's mouth.
Now that he had a mouth, he could be heard speaking, and he shouted:
"Damn animal! I never show this form just like that. I will finish you for pushing me to the limit and then the entire human race for daring to challenge me."
The new Urion began to run because he no longer had wings in this new form and headed towards Podbe. However, upon seeing him, Podbe also ran to meet him. As they were about to face off, inside the wolf, Aiden could be seen inside a sphere, connected to some kind of tentacles attached to his head. The boy was in a fetal position, and, in his mind, Aiden, wearing his hospital gown, was in a kind of dark room with vapors emanating from it. He began to look around, but there was darkness everywhere, and there was no door. He approached what seemed to be a wall and touched it to see if it was real. He gave it a few small knocks, but it was very solid.
"Where am I?" he wondered. I only remember being in the battle with that guardian, and then Podbe died and turned into a wolf and swallowed me. That's the last thing I remember. That means "I'm inside him, but it's this dark and lonely." I don't think that's it.
He touched the other three walls, but with the same result. At the last wall, he decided to crouch down and sit on the floor against the wall. He thought for a while and said:
"I know, and if I say his name, I lose nothing."
He started to shout:
"Hello, Podbe! Podbe! Podbe!"
He said his name three times, but only heard the echo in the room. He was about to say it a fourth time when he heard someone say his name.
"Aiden, is that you?" the voice began to say.
"Who are you, and where are you?" Show yourself; "I can't see much in this darkness," the boy indicated.
Suddenly, a candle began to approach from one of the walls, and a woman's silhouette could be seen.
"Hello, it's me," indicated the person with a feminine voice who was getting closer with each step.
"Who, me?" said the boy, standing up and placing his hands as if holding the wall.
The silhouette continued to approach and indicated:
"What do you mean, who is me? Well, Reia," and revealed her face just like when they were in Podbe's mental space.
"Reia, is that you?" the boy said.
"Of course it's me. Who were you expecting, Elena?" she indicated sarcastically.
"No, sorry," the boy blushed a little. He still felt something for Elena, even though she had betrayed him like that. "I didn't think I would find you here, Reia." "I thought I had lost all trace of you once Podbe turned into that beast and I could no longer contact either of you," the boy commented.
"Well, I also got trapped in this dark and swampy place," Reia said, showing the ground with the candle she was holding on a plate in her right hand. What was once solid now had water up to her ankles. "Look at my white suit; now it's dirty because of this stuff that looks like mud," she added, annoyed.
Aiden stood up and hugged Reia.
"And why was that?" she asked.
"Well, to make sure you're real," and they both laughed. She also hugged him with her free arm.
Once the hug was over, Aiden asked Reia:
"Do you know where we are? This isn't the same mental space."
To which she replied:
Yes, it's just that when Podbe's health points reached zero, a black light activated and shut everything down, even the system. On one of the monitors, the word 'ERROR' appeared in capital letters with exclamation marks. After that, everything started to shut down, and my books and all the information were restricted. "I couldn't access anything, and then I was expelled, wandering through several rooms like that," Reia explained.
Aiden was trying to understand and process what she was saying, and, after a while, he asked:
"And do you know how to get out of here and recover my four-legged friend?"
Reia paused for a minute and took a watch out of her arm.
"This is the only thing that was saved." "I could see that Podbe, in his Galactic Wolf form, swallowed you and placed you in a sphere, connecting you to his mind."
"I thought I was dead or something once Podbe swallowed me, but seeing that you're real, that means I'm still alive," the boy commented, a little surprised. "Also, what do you mean by Galactic Wolf?"
Yes, apparently, the last message from the system said, "You have lost, and your health points have reached zero. Initiating system protection activation. Beginning transformation to the Galactic Wolf. And well, you know the rest."
"So, that means I'm in Podbe's entrails and, at the same time, inside his mind, connected by those things," Aiden indicated.
Reia said yes:
"It's strange, but yes."
The boy asked, worried:
"But isn't there anything we can do to bring him back and recover Podbe, right, Reia?"
"I don't know, Aiden." "Maybe we could continue the path until we reach his neural center and make him come back to himself, although the message said his form would remain active while he recovers his health points," she said.
Then, what you're telling me is that he's not dead. "Great!" "There's hope to see and hug my furry friend again," Aiden indicated, excited and hopeful.
"In his new form, he's more erratic, like a primitive animal with only the instincts to fight for survival and hunt," she commented. "Maybe we should go to his neural center anyway, to be able to talk to him and make him understand so he doesn't see everyone as his enemy."
"Well, let's go then!" "What are we waiting for?" the boy said impulsively.
"But I have no idea how to get there." "Luckily, I managed to reach this place and find you by your voice when you shouted for Podbe, but that's it," she pointed out.
Both lowered their heads in frustration at not being able to find a solution when they heard a voice that said:
"Do you wish to reach the central core? I can take you."
They both looked up, and Reia illuminated the direction from where they thought the voice was coming. They saw a guy in a black suit with a grin from ear to ear, winking at them.
Who was that guy? They wondered, never having seen him before.