Everything looks too bright.
And blurry.
The arteries on my neck must be ruptured, based on the amount of my blood that is on the floor.
Of course they would be ruptured as the demon king must be trying to cut off my neck.
But I don't think he will go through with it as I'm too valuable to him.
Even though my vision is getting blurry, I can somehow see that Lion is sobbing his eyes out as he tried to wrap all sorts of cloth around my neck.
I tried to apologize to him for the mess but somehow, I coughed up blood instead.
Oh.. it's getting hard to see him..
And it is also.. getting hard.. to hear him too..
Am I dying again? Is this for real this time?
Ah.. my list just keep on getting longer and longer..
I can feel myself being carried by Lion in his arms in which I can see a bright object floating in front of us.
Wait. Is that the artifact that can bring us back to our own time?
But.. I don't want to go back yet..
Oh, wait.. I want to go back.. I want to see Sly.. I do hope he is not on another rampage again.
Heh.. I missed seeing Alpha's tail wagging whenever he sees me..
I hope that Orm is alright.. it's just a short moment.. but I know that he needs a lot of reassurances and soothing.
Ghost.. I have to find Ghost.. maybe he's in danger..
Bubu and Puma.. thanks for being my friends..
Um.. why am I talking as if I'm dying?!
Ah.. it must be the lack of oxygen in my brain..
Wait! I should tell Lion not to leave our stuff behind! My trinkets that he gave me! All the stuff he made for me!
I touched Lion's arm weakly in which I can feel him nuzzling me as he spoke something to me that I can't understand.
The light from the artifact seems to be getting brighter in which I tried to grasp his arm while attempting to tell him not to leave all our stuff behind.
After a bit of nuzzling from him on my face, he seemed to understand what I'm trying to tell him as he snapped his fingers, making all our stuff inside the cave disappear in an instant.
Oh, good!
I gave a sigh of relief then snuggled towards Lion's chest.
His tears kept falling down on my face as he kissed me softly.
Then his grip on me tightened as the light from the artifact engulfed us.
In a blink, everything around us disappeared.
....
I can hardly see anything properly but somehow I can recognize who is in front of me.
Sly!
He nuzzled me all over my face as Lion tried to tell him about something.
Then with tenderness, Sly kissed me while giving me his blood through his mouth.
Slowly, my eyesight and hearing are starting to return to normal. I can now see the relief on Sly and Lion's faces as they both nuzzled me all over my face and neck.
I tried to ask Sly the whereabouts of Alpha and Orm when to my horror, I couldn't make a sound.
Once again, I tried to ask him another question but the same thing happened.
Lion and Sly began to panic in which Sly bit his arm again and made me drink his blood.
Yet, despite our efforts, it seems that I lost my voice.
It makes sense that I would lose it as a result of what happened to my neck.
Temporary or permanent? I do not know.
Ah.. I can't sing anymore..
I can't sing...
Even my sobs right now are silent. It's as if someone pressed a mute button on me.
Lion kissed me gently on my forehead then handed me to Sly.
Where's he going?
With intense rage in his eyes, he ran towards the wall of the temple as sparks appeared on his fists and began punching the wall in anger that cracks started to appear.
He yelled in anger while continuing to vent his frustrations to the walls of the temple.
While I was thinking of ways on how to make him stop, Sly whispered sadly in my ear that I should let Lion be as there are limits to how much a person can take without breaking.
I see..
Sly then told me that we should give Lion some privacy for now and slowly brought me outside the temple.
He held me closer to his chest as he continued to walk silently without a particular destination.
Good thing that it's evening or else the heat from the suns would be painful to our skin as there's no shade everywhere except the temple.
It's kind of weird seeing the city in ruins.
The memory of how the place looks like back in ancient times is still fresh on my mind. I can still remember everything, the sounds and the smells. Now everything looks different and forgotten.
Sly cleared his throat and admitted that he understood how Lion felt as he also did the same earlier.
What did he mean by that?
I nuzzled him on his chest, making him chuckle as he told me that it broke his heart seeing me disappear in front of him.
He's been waiting for me at the temple for several days already.
SEVERAL DAYS?!
But Lion told me that I would be gone for what seemed to be minutes!
Sly seems to understand my thoughts as he shrugged then told me about how there are times that magic can be unpredictable.
He smiled at me sadly and then pointed to some of the ruins as he asked me if I can still remember that there were several buildings left standing before I disappeared.
Wait, really?
After thinking for a bit, I somehow recalled seeing some buildings when we were on the way to the temple.
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that.
Sly gave me a grin then told me that he was the one who destroyed all of it.
But why?
Oh...
He was on a rampage when I disappeared.
I knew it.
With a sigh, he told me that he is going to bring me somewhere but near the temple as we are going to wait until Lion cools down.
I snuggled towards him while he walked silently as if he is lost in his thoughts.
Suddenly he stopped and started to sob uncontrollably as he placed his head on my shoulder.
Gently, I caressed his head which is all I can do since I lost my voice.
I tenderly kissed his head then nuzzled him all over when he slowly glanced up and stared at my eyes.
He kissed me softly then held me tightly towards him without speaking for quite sometime.
Then he resumed walking silently.
....
He brought me to a cave near the ruins where there's an underground spring inside.
It's not that dark inside as there is a big hole on the wall of the cave that provided light from the outside.
I can see some of the moons too!
The moons looked particularly lovely tonight and the moonbeam that came inside from the hole on the wall shimmered on the water, making it looked mesmerizing and serene.
It's as if it is beckoning us to go inside it.
Silently, Sly removed my clothes then gently placed me in the water.
To my delight, the water is quite warm and soon I began to close my eyes.
I can hear Sly removing his clothes then slowly went inside the water and placed me on his lap.
He didn't say anything as he continued to embrace me with one of his arms as his other hand removed all the cloth that is covering my neck.
Gently, he touched my neck as he whispered that he was glad that the wound healed nicely.
He slowly licked my neck before remembering that I still have some of my blood all over it.
Instantly he washed my neck as he muttered all sorts of curses towards himself. He took his time on cleaning it until I had to make him stop as it seemed like he is getting more and more agitated.
I kissed him tenderly before he finally stopped and he embraced me tightly while he kept on apologizing for his actions until I gave him a look.
It's getting annoying since I know that he didn't do it on purpose.
After awhile, he began to relax. His embrace tightened around me as he told me how he kept waiting for me and that he's willing to wait for me no matter how long it takes.
Then he started to cry as he admitted that he was conflicted on seeing me in Lion's arms. Of course he was extremely glad to see me and he doesn't mind Lion holding me but it broke his heart upon seeing my condition.
He tried to ask me what happened before remembering that I lost my voice.
Then he tried to soothe me, saying that he's here and how he will try his best to go with me next time.
In a quivering voice, he told me that he almost lost his mind with grief as he was near me but didn't managed to hold on to me.
Oh, right! I remembered that he was right behind me when I got absorbed by the portal. It definitely was not easy for him as this is the second time he saw me disappear right before his eyes and to make it more painful, I was just an arm's length away from him.
He sobbed as he told me that he didn't know what to do as the last time I disappeared, it took three years before I appeared again before him.
That reminds me, where did he saw me? I seemed to remember him embracing me suddenly as I was running away from some male creatures who nearly took advantage of me when I got drunk.
Seeing the expression on my face made him chuckle as he told me that he was the one who I bumped into. He wasn't sure at first that it was me even though my scent seemed to tell him otherwise. He pulled my hood to made sure that it was really me and his heart filled with joy when he saw my eyes.
He laughed when he told me that he tried to hold me but I was too panicked at that time and he understood my distress when he saw the creatures chasing me. Of course he instantly resolved the situation and immediately went after me.
Though I have no voice, he can see me laughing at the memory and nuzzled my neck as he continued to talk about all sorts of things.
He told me that Orm and Alpha lost control of themselves upon learning what happened to me before Khamsin calmed them down with a relaxing spell and told them that they will find a way to bring me back.
Khamsin told Sly that they will go somewhere to find a spell or an artifact to bring me back.
They brought Bubu with them as she became distressed as well and started to bite all of them out of grief.
Oh, Bubu! I'm sorry that I caused you distress!
All of the golems got destroyed in an instant when the artifact disappeared.
The artifact! I wondered what happened to it?
Sly again seemed to understand my thoughts as he told me that he noticed that it broke earlier by itself during the time when he made me drink his blood.
He shook his head as he kept murmuring good riddance to the artifact while I simply bit my lip as I felt pain in my heart.
It was like a dream...
....
We kissed passionately for awhile when we heard footsteps coming towards us.
It seems that Lion had finally calmed down and his eyes looked tired as he removed his clothes and sat down beside Sly.
Sly kissed me tenderly before handing me to Lion who embraced me tightly and nuzzled me all over my neck.
After several minutes of nuzzling, he placed me on his lap with the rest of my legs on Sly's lap.
Sly rubbed my feet as he began singing a song then Lion eventually joined in as well.
Both of them are singing some sort of a mellow song harmoniously that soon I began to feel sleepy and closed my eyes.
Lion tenderly held my head towards his chest as he whispered to me that I should sleep and that he and Sly are here with me.
Then they continued to sing together until I finally fell asleep.
....
It seems that they are talking about something serious.
I continued to close my eyes as I tried to listen on their conversation.
Both of them are embracing me as I can feel us lying down on a comfortable rug.
It's a bit chilly that I shivered unintentionally, making them stop talking in an instant as I can feel a blanket placed on top of us while both of them moved even more closer towards me.
This is so...
Their voices interrupted my thoughts as they continued on talking about something that sounds grim.
When I heard Sly mentioning Orm's name, I finally understood whatever they are talking about even though they are speaking in another language.
It seems that Orm told Sly about what he realized when we were at the library during our date.
That's good.
Now everything is up to them.
But wait! I still have to find out the false identity of the demon king!
How on earth will I be able to do that?!
....
They talked for a long time until my body feels like cramping as a result of staying in the same position for a long time.
I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes before opening them.
Glancing around sleepily, I noticed Sly and Lion had stopped talking and are looking at me tenderly.
Oh, gosh... They looked so...
I turned around instantly as I felt myself starting to blush.
What's wrong with me?!
Am I still in heat?
I hope not!
I know that they are too striking and alluring for their own good as they attracted all sorts of female creatures and beings towards them like a magnet despite their displeasure at the attention given to them.
So it's no wonder that most of the female creatures and beings I've met are hostile to me except for a few like Bubu, Puma, Nyma, Puoma and some of the female attendants at the palace.
And along with Alpha, Orm and Ghost, it is like adding several cherries on the cake.
Lion's voice interrupted my thoughts as he asked me to lie down beside them while pulling me gently back down on the rug.
Sly asked me if I had a good sleep in which I nodded while continuing to stare at the ceiling.
I tried my best to concentrate on reciting all the sutras on my mind when both of them embraced me tightly and nuzzled all over my face and neck.
They seemed like cats!
They're so clingy!
I laughed without a sound and though they looked a bit sad on my condition, they seemed pleased as well at seeing me laugh.
They seemed too pleased that their nuzzles soon turned to little kisses.
I enjoyed their attention until I realized that we are not wearing anything. It's only a blanket that's covering us.
Uh-oh.
Lion kissed me slowly while Sly licked my neck as both of them touched me all over my body.
I closed my eyes as Lion licked my ear then he told me in a panting voice that if I don't like something that they did, I should hit them.
Both of them told me that they will stop what they are doing instantly if I hit them.
I don't want to hit them but since I have no voice...
Sly kissed me passionately as Lion started licking me towards my chest.
I can feel myself starting to get wet as Sly and I began kissing deeply while Lion licked me all over my chest when suddenly, we heard Bubu's voice calling us from outside the cave.
She cheerfully asked us if we are busy as she will be waiting near the entrance.
Also she doesn't mind if we get too noisy.
I can hear Sly and Lion muttering all sorts of curses before yelling at Bubu as they told her to go away.
It's so funny!
Bubu cheerfully asked me if I needed anything and that she's glad to see me too.
I opened my eyes and saw her staring at us in amusement.
I didn't hear her approaching us!
Despite my embarrassment, I just grinned at her while Lion began explaining to her through clenched teeth that I'm in good condition but unable to talk right now because of a reason which he will tell later.
Sly glared at her with intense annoyance in his eyes which Bubu ignored as she told us calmly that the others are on the way here and that we should probably continue whatever we are doing in another time perhaps.
And oh, she have some news for us too regarding of an interesting rumor that she heard from where she just came from.
Then with a laugh, she went back outside the cave.