The sand rose, revealing an aberrant being emerging as if it were a freshwater beast lifting its head above the surface of a river.
Its massive black carapace, shaped like an upside-down plate, covered the upper part of its body. That same shell was marked with yellowish patterns that shifted and slid across its surface, as if they had a life of their own.
What lay beneath that carapace was even worse.
What were supposed to be its articulated legs—and, in fact, the entire composition of its body—were actually dozens of thick, fleshy gray tentacles, coated in sand-dust. The palms of those tentacles were lined with small spikes, each ending in circular, toothed mouths.
The carapace cast a shadow over the upper part of the tentacles, where two yellow eyes shone—bright and dangerous.
The beast stood roughly six or seven meters tall, its bulk proportional to its height.
'It's huge!' Nova shouted internally.
The Aberration was slightly smaller than the fire colossus Kayn had fought, but that didn't mean it would be any weaker.
Besides, estimating an Aberration's category by its size was usually a good call. This one was almost certainly a Category 6.
But there was no time to think. Nova had to run!
The Aberration looked at Nova with curiosity, but also with the eerie silence of a predator.
A second later, the deformed mass of tentacles lunged at him at an overwhelming speed. Its boneless, fleshy limbs dragged across the ground chaotically, stretching and contracting in a grotesque rhythm, yet granting it tremendous mobility.
Nova didn't hesitate—he ran for his life.
As exhausted as he was, being beaten to death by an Aberration would hurt like hell, and the last thing Nova wanted was to die without even being able to fight back.
'Why now? Why couldn't you send me a small Aberration carrying a bottle of water?!'
Desperate, he forced one foot in front of the other, throwing himself forward just to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Aberration—but it wasn't working. The bastard monster was too fast, and its tentacles made it terrifyingly agile.
Skrrrsh! Skrrrsh! Skrrrsh!
The sand echoed with every dragging tentacle, like countless serpents chasing their prey. At the same time, Nova's scorched boots pounded the ground heavily and unevenly.
He could barely stay on his feet.
'A solution. I need a solution. Think—now!' he thought, forcing himself onward.
The Aberration, however, wasn't about to let him feel hope. Its tentacles shot forward the moment it finally caught up to him.
A single graze was enough to send Nova flying sideways, launched by the overwhelming strength of the tentacled monster.
He rolled across the ground again, just like the first time he'd arrived in this world, sliding through the sand until he finally came to a stop.
Exhausted, he tried to stand, bracing himself with his knees and hands against the burning sand—but his entire body failed him. Drops of blood spilled from his mouth and nose.
If the kick that had sent him to this world had cracked his ribs, this bastard's tentacle had finished the job by breaking them completely.
Splintered, shattered, jagged bones pierced into his organs, carving shallow cuts and causing severe internal injuries.
'I can't… I can't breathe…'
The climate of this place didn't help at all.
Seeing the pitiful, strange being, the Aberration slowed down and crawled toward him leisurely. Its tentacles brushed the ground as they slowly reached for the dying Nova.
'I'm going to die…'
It was something he already knew, but dying far from home, alone and in agony, was undeniably sad.
Still—what were sadness, happiness, anger, or fear? Complicated emotions for someone as relaxed as Nova.
Outwardly, he remained calm despite the disaster. Inside, it was the same. Nothing he felt carried true emotion—not like other people's, at least. Feeling less than others wasn't the same as feeling like others.
Because of that, Nova remembered someone who had once made him promise something related to this very thing.
'Mom…'
In his agony, he saw a mirage in the distance—a vision wavering in the desert heat. There, he saw a small child holding hands with a younger version of Adelaide.
That child was Nova, but there was something different about him compared to the present Nova. His expression was completely lifeless, devoid of any real emotion. The boy looked like a beautiful glass doll without feelings.
Then his closest friends appeared—Viktor and Loki. All of them gathered before him, as if to say goodbye.
'Everyone…'
His friends. His family.
Yet once again, Nova's true nature surfaced. Since he was very young, he had always had episodes like this.
'Me… What am I supposed to feel right now?'
Like that child, his gaze went completely dull, turning into opaque amber eyes that glimmered faintly with the light of Serenity. A deep, inhuman calm defiled his heart, sending a warm chill through his entire body.
Rising from the sand with irritated hands, staggering, falling, and forcing himself back up once more, he turned to face the damn monster.
This wasn't the time to reflect. Nova was wrapped in the aura of his Spectrum.
'I'm dying. I'm supposed to be afraid.'
Disconnected from his own mind, in a state of absolute emptiness, he faced the Aberration in silence.
The many-tentacled monster stopped in front of him. It lowered its dark face from beneath the carapace toward Nova and chewed forcefully in the darkness, producing a nauseating sound.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Its breath was foul. Its face beneath the shell was even worse. A massive, grotesque mouth stretched wide across half its face, curling into a grin filled with psychotic predatory malice as it revealed hundreds of thin, sword-like teeth.
Its small, bulging eyes, set into a pale, compact face, reflected Nova's expressionless stare.
He gazed at the horror in silence. When a tentacle coiled around his body and lifted him off the ground, he let out a tired sigh.
'I guess this is where it all ends.'