Whirlll~
The air blew through his clothes as Nathan stood before his house. The neighbourhood was quiet. Too quiet.
The door right before him was torn open like the cover of a tin can. Wooden splinters lined the ground and the inside smelled of burnt wood and debris. The windows on all sides were broken and Nathan could see faint blood marks somewhere along the dark hallway inside.
He stood frozen for some time. His senses weren't expanding. There were no mystical creatures nearby. Meaning both Reuben and Freddy were absent from the house.
His eyeballs shook inside his sockets and he forced himself to stay calm. Clenching his fist, he slowly walked in, analysing the extent of the damage. Some claw-marks lined the wallpaper and all the furniture was destroyed. The sink in the kitchen was constantly running water, making a gurgling sound that made it seem as if someone was choking. Some plumbing had burst open, making the entire floor wet even in the drawing room. The sofas and the TV were both vaulted over, broken into a thousand pieces.
The more Nathan saw the more his blood seemed to get colder and colder. His breathing was becoming deeper and his hand clenched so hard it would have drawn blood, if not for the axe he had already summoned into his hand.
Without a word, he grasped into the air and the compass appeared into his hand.
Where is Reuben? He called out in his mind. The compass turned, pointing East. He released a deep breath he realized he had been holding. Reuben was alive. That was good enough. But for the one that broke into his house...
His eyes narrowed as he called out again in his mind, Where is Freddy?
The compass spun around again and pointed in the same direction. Nathan got back to his bike and put it into his system inventory. Then, opening the custom order tab, he began to model.
He changed the design, making a biological design instead of a mechanical one. It was the Usumgallu, the Lion Dragon[1]. Its face was of a lion, the body covered with feathers and had four legs with large claws. From its back rose two feathered wings.
[Bio-Mechanical]
[Growing Consciousness]
[Bound to its Creator]
[Fast as the Wind]
The end cost was 230 points after he fidgeted around with the speed for a bit. Putting in the name, he hit the confirm button.
[!]
[Your Order has been completed!]
[You have gained 'Drago!']
The beast leapt out from the void as Nathan placed it out from his inventory. He had thought many times about making a steed for himself, but the cost to make living organisms was a bit too large.
He could circumvent this somewhat by making a Bio-Mechanical life, but it was counterproductive as for reasons he could not fathom, it would elevate the cost of other upgrades he wanted to add.
He chalked it up to the growing complexity that came with trying to balance machine and life, but since things like Colchis Bulls and Gullenbursti exist, he was not so sure.
Drago, as the beast was now named, purred and stared at him with its slitted yellow eyes. Not wasting time, Nathan climbed onto its back.
"Let's go partner."
Roarrrr!
The beast let out a sonorous roar and with a single powerful leap, ascended into the air!
The wind fluttered around him and the ground got farther and farther away. Nathan's senses, which had now expanded due to Drago detected a strange movement in the clouds. He heard the booming sound of lightning somewhere in the distance and hoped that they would not be striken down by the very angsty Olympian King. Luckily, perhaps due to the Lion-Dragon being an inherent creature of the sky added with being of a different Pantheon altogether, no lightning struck them.
As the ground zipped past them, Nathan released a sigh of relief. His steed was obviously not even close to the Usumgallu in the Mesopotamian Cosmology.
The lion dragon was one of the strongest monsters of the mythology and was largely invulnerable.
Drago could not compare in any capacity. But given the points he had spent, he was sure Drago would prove to be more than just a means of travel.
Nathan focused back onto the compass. The axe in his hand seemed heavier somehow.
With gritted teeth, he braced for an upcoming battle.
...
...
Huuu~
Reuben awoke to an unnatural chill. Everything felt cold. And painful.
His muscles ached all over and the side of his face felt like it was on fire. He could not feel his legs, and every breath took way too much effort. His throat was parched and everything hurt.
He felt something place itself onto his lips and a sweet liquid poured into his mouth.
Reuben opened his eyes. Above him stood a young boy who looked older than he was. He had bright blonde hair, a sharp nose and upturned eyebrows. His blue eyes seemed a little lost but on his lips hung a weak grin.
"Drink it up." He heard the boy say. Reuben swallowed, and the pain instantly began to ease up.
Before he could say anything, his consciousness failed him, whisking him away into darkness once again.
...
Reuben awoke an unknown amount of time later. He still felt cold and the sound of dripping water was unmistakable. He looked around and instantly noticed that he was in a large room with concrete walls. The room was a little bit dark, having a single bulb at the left wall which gave off a dim orange-red light. He was laying on a hard bed mattress and all over the room, he noticed, were several other kids.
Reuben tried to get up, but could not muster the strength to do so.
"Don't bother yet." He heard a familiar voice say from beside him. He turned his head, finding the same boy who had fed him sitting on another bed right beside his own. "Hope you take long to recover. They won't take you if you're too injured."
Reuben groaned out in a hoarse voice.
"Who... Where is this? I don't remember anything." Just then, he realized his head was bandaged up. So was the left side of his face, his left hand and both his legs.
"It's not surprising. You were pretty messed up when they brought you in. You must have given them a lot of trouble." The boy sat beside him and sighed.
"Brought me in? Who did? Wait, what is this place? Where am I? Who are you?"
The boy gave him a sad look. "Myself K. Just that. As for this place... it's where kids like us are brought from all over. They call it the crucible."
"They?"
"The monsters... and... and Lord Roy." He whispered the last name.
Reuben struggled to digest all this information.
"Roy? Who's Roy?" The boy sat up straighter and looked around at the other kids with alarm.
"Shh! Don't say that so loudly! It's... it's a sensitive name here." He explained. "That is what we call him. Roy. It might be his name, it might not. We don't know for sure. But if there's one thing we know, he is always watching."
Reuben looked at the other kids. Some sat along the walls, some on the ground while looking at the ceiling. A couple were attending to a small baby on one of the beds and a few were looking his way with a sad but curious look. They were mostly American but he saw some Mexican or even Asians among them. But if there was one thing that they all had in common, was the cannula in their wrists.
"You'll get yours soon." K said from the side, showing him his wrist. "They take our blood. We don't know what for."
"Blood?" Reuben asked with horror. "But... everyone here is a demigod right?"
K nodded. "It's good that your already know. You're a smart one huh? I'm also very smart but that doesn't amount to much here. Those that act out of order or ask too many questions are taken away. We don't tend to see them again. Everyone shares everything, and that includes security. You should go along with anything the caretakers say. Otherwise, it'll makes things difficult for all of us."
Reuben suddenly felt a sharp pain on his head and grimaced.
"Ouch... I remember now... The monsters stormed the house. Wait... Freddy! Freddy was with me!" He turned to K with a desperate tone. "Did you see a squirrel with me!? Please tell me he's okay!"
"A squirrel?" K gave him a strange look. "I don't know. The caretakers only threw you in here and told us to take care of you. I don't think they would have taken a squirrel with them in the first place..."
"No! You don't understand! Freddy is special! He's super fast and can speak!"
"Ah, so he's probably a monster. Then he might've been taken into the correction program. It's where they make new monsters join them."
Reuben quieted down and his hands gripped the bed sheets. K's gaze softened and he sighed, "Don't feel too bad. It'll only make things worse. I know I can't offer too much in terms of consolation, but the sooner you accept that this is your life, the better."
A short instance of silence passed between them. The baby on the other bed started to cry, making all the kids try and cheer him up.
"That's Little James. He and his sister came in at the same time. His sister is 4 years older, but both are demigods."
"...No."
"Hmm?" K turned to look at him. "You don't believe me?"
"Not that." Reuben shook his head. "I won't accept this type of life."
K's brows furrowed.
"Listen-"
"Because I know someone will come to save me."
"What? Who?"
"My Big Bro!"
The young boy gave Reuben a horrified look.
"No... no no no..."
"I know he will come! He'' save everyone here! I know he will! He saved me from the maze so he'll also take all of us out of here!"
His shouting had begun to attract attention from the other kids. Some of them walked up to him, trying to see what the fuzz was about.
"NO!" K suddenly shouted, gripping his shoulders and staring right into his eyes.
"Your big brother... he cannot come to save you, understand?" He spoke in a grave tone. His eyes shook in their sockets. In them was a fear so potent that you could see his body shaking and his face already drenching in sweat.
"You do not know... If he does... he is sure to be killed. He must absolutely not come here." He repeated. "Roy, will kill him if he does."
...
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A/N: Comment your thoughts and leave a review!
[1] Ušumgallu or Ushumgallu(Sumerian: 𒁔 𒃲ušum.gal, "Great Dragon") was one of the three horned snakes in Akkadian mythology, along with the Bašmu and Mušmaḫḫū. Usually described as a lion-dragon demon, it has been somewhat speculatively identified with the four-legged, winged dragons. It's actual role in the myths is pretty insignificant but is used as a direct comparison to describe the feats of many powerful beings. Tiamat is said to have "clothed the raging lion-dragon with fearsomeness" in the Epic of Creation, Enuma Elish. The god Nabû was described as "he who tramples the lion-dragon" in the hymn to Nabû. Marduk, widely regarded as the strongest Babylonian God, is given the title, "the ušumgallu-dragon of the great heavens".