-My… my instinct? What do you mean by my instinct?
( Said Morgan, confused )
That "thing" began to move. It was walking forward, keeping its gaze fixed on Morgan—and that terrified him. Morgan slowly stepped back, while the creature's pace grew faster and faster. The shadows twisted together until they formed a hand… a deformed hand, with claws and unnaturally long fingers. That hand rose and stretched forward, as if it wanted to touch—or "reach"—Morgan.
Terrified, Morgan stumbled backward; trying to escape, he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. The creature quickened its pace—it was already very close to him… and to the being with blue eyes.
-Why… why is it coming closer? Why is it coming toward me?
( Said Morgan, frightened )
-I told you, didn't I? That's your own instinct. Why would you be afraid of it? It's a part of you.
( Said the blue-eyed being coldly )
-Ahhh… ahhhhh!
( Morgan tried to scream clumsily )
The blue-eyed being laughed at Morgan and his fear, and with that same mocking smile, he turned to look at "that thing."
-I admit, this is rather amusing… But I can't allow you to take possession of him. That would be very bad for me.
The creature was now only a few steps away from the blue-eyed being, its gaze still fixed on Morgan. The being stepped forward slowly, closing the distance between himself and that abomination.
-So… don't take it personally, alright?
( Said the blue-eyed being with a confident smile )
The being cloaked himself in blue fire, and as he walked, his form began to distort. His body bent, arched, transformed… until he became a black dog, almost hairless. His spectral blue eyes remained, glowing in the dimness.
When the creature stood practically before him, the dog barked.
Its bark was so powerful, so deafening, that the shockwave hurled the creature to the farthest reaches of Morgan's mental space.
The entity roared in fury. The shadows that made up its body writhed violently, like a living storm. Its roar was… strange—it sounded like the roar of many animals fused into one, a symphony of beasts.
It tried to move closer again, but the blue-eyed being stopped it. He took a deep breath, lifted his head toward the sky, and unleashed a bark so intense that everything around them trembled.
The ground beneath the creature split open, and beneath its feet began to flow something impossible—a river.
Its waters were not made of water, but of constellations, stars, and galaxies; a torrent of pure cosmos that shimmered with infinite light, illuminating the entire place.
The creature tried to swim, tried to cross to the other side… but it couldn't.
No matter how hard it tried, it seemed to move without advancing, slowly dissolving into the starlit current. It turned desperately, looking around, only to realize the river was endless.
It was trapped. It could not cross.
This enraged it so much that it roared again, with all its might, deforming even further until it nearly lost its original shape. Meanwhile, the blue-eyed being returned to his humanoid form and, with a victorious smile, murmured:
-That will be enough.
Morgan watched him, mouth agape. It took him several seconds before he could speak; the words tangled on his lips.
-You… you… who are you? What are you…?
The blue-eyed being smiled again, with calm pride, and replied:
-It's true, I haven't introduced myself. I… I am the weak one, the bringer of misfortune, the one who blows his winds to the east, the guide of the dead… the dog. But you may call me "Xol."
And so, they stared at each other in silence for a long moment:
the one who called himself the weak, yet had displayed inconceivable power,
and the one who believed himself strong, who thought he could handle everything,
but trembled like a child before the abyss of his own instinct.
Two opposing faces of the same coin.
End of chapter.
Next chapter: The Sheep.