The scene before him felt surreal, the ceiling opening up to magnificent clouds as a black worm-like creature the size of a train dropped from the sky. Lean muscles rolled under the thick, dark hide of the gargantuan creature, and sticking out from its upper body with terrifying grace were two massive fangs. On the worm-beast's forehead, a single horn grew upward, slightly darker than its skin.
With a slight gasp, Star quickly jumped out of the way, along with the two elf sisters, and a second later, with a deafening thud, the black, hard, rough exterior of the massive worm crashed against the floor of the golden room.
A bit tense, Star looked at the creature, its symmetrical body towering over him. It looked imposing, causing him to instinctively take a few steps back.
A few seconds after it hit the ground, the massive body shuddered, and then a growl filled with madness, rage, and hunger resounded throughout the room. The growl was so intense that he had to cover his ears, and looking to the side, he saw the sisters doing the same.
He stepped back further, away from the menacing creature, and tried to observe the situation better. From the looks of things, the worm-beast was finding it difficult to move around in the room given its size. However, against the three of them, he wasn't sure that would be a problem for it.
And to make things worse, just one look at the creature lying on the floor before him told him that its imposing size and strength were the least of their worries.
And… his thoughts were exactly right.
The worm swung the top half of its body at the elf sisters, prompting them both to quickly try to evade the incoming attack. Luna simply leapt up, slightly twisting her body midair to avoid getting caught in the beast's path, while Essie did something else entirely.
Standing still, right where she was, the golden tree in the distance to her side suddenly swayed, and then its branches shot up from the floor, heading straight for the fast-approaching worm.
They slammed hard against the side of the beast's head, causing it to sway slightly, and then extra golden appendages shot out from the extended roots and began to wrap tightly around the oversized black worm.
Star stared intently as the golden vines slowly began subjugating the vile worm, a few thoughts forming in his mind.
'I almost forgot Essie had an affinity that had something to do with plants… or life forms, rather… was it nature?'
He decided to dismiss the thought immediately, since even his own thoughts made little sense to him, and he didn't want to lose focus on the vile worm that was now struggling, bound by a thousand golden appendages.
The vines continued to wriggle and twist as they tightened around its body, barely keeping it pinned to the floor. The worm was resilient and strong, and on closer inspection, he could see some of the golden appendages slowly breaking apart.
They had to do something fast.
Since his new body had proved rather ineffective since the beginning of this fight, he knew his limits and understood that he would be useless here. That left only the two sisters to deal with the worm.
Luna reached out her hand and instantly, two curved twin blades appeared in her hands. They were a deep, austere blue and seemed difficult to handle—though not for her.
Gripping a sword in each hand, she spun them once and charged toward the massive creature. With swift and deadly precision, she struck at the creature's skull while performing a few acrobatic maneuvers in the air.
But it did absolutely nothing. The creature's hide was just too tough. A low growl escaped from the beast, but before anything else could happen, Luna moved into action once more.
Twisting her body at an impossible angle, she spun and kicked off the side of its head. With a swift jump, she landed at the center of its head and struck again, this time at its protruding horn.
Star's eyes widened.
'That's exactly how it happened in the story.'
He was surprised—though he thought this was a dream—at how accurate it had turned out to be. And while the two sisters continued to strike at the worm with all their might, a new thought began to settle in his mind.
'Well… how do I wake up?'
For a moment, he looked at the bound worm and then at the sisters doing their best to bring about its end. Without much thought, he began to slowly walk forward.
He wondered what would happen if he changed the events of the story, or perhaps brought about his own death. He knew the moment to test his theory would arrive soon.
As Luna struck at the massive creature once again, it suddenly growled in mad fury, its bindings instantly shattering as it lunged forward, throwing her off balance. She gasped, a look of shock flashing across her cold face.
The vile worm was… it was heading straight for Essie.
With frightening speed, the massive creature stretched its head toward the only person standing before it, opening its mouth wide, and then it struck down. A loud moan escaped from Essie a moment later.
But she wasn't standing in front of the beast anymore. She had been pushed aside… by someone. Her eyes widened as she saw the worm's maw close down on someone—but it wasn't her elder sister.
She looked down at her palms as a rush of disbelief hit her and mumbled, her voice almost silent.
"He saved me?"
******
Closing his eyes, Star tried to ignore everything around him as the creature's massive jaws closed down on him. Its fangs would soon sink into his body, and after that, it would tear him apart.
The first instance of pain he felt was around his ankles, causing him to grimace—but after that, nothing happened. The creature suddenly stopped, then opened its mouth wide and let out a loud growl.
He covered his ears, almost falling to his knees. This close to the creature's maw, the deafening sound was far more intense, and he could feel blood trickling down his palms.
The beast's growl settled a moment later, allowing him to open his eyes, and what he saw made him shudder.
Above him, the creature's head was raised, pressing hard against the ceiling... and it was trembling. The beast's body continued to shudder as it let out an ear-piercing shriek, prompting him to cover his ears once more.
Then, still visibly in pain, it lowered its head and stared at him for a moment before swinging its massive head at him. All Star could do was gasp as the force of it struck him like a car.
His ribs shattered effortlessly as he went flying across the room toward the tree standing in the distance.
At the moment he was sent airborne, something strange began happening around the golden tree.
At first, it looked like a distortion in space, but soon it began to ripple. Those ripples coalesced, turning into black tendrils which then merged to create a massive tear in space—a single dark void.
Unable to see what was happening behind him, Star flew straight into the void, bruised and broken. He was devoured by the darkness, and as he opened his eyes—finally back to his senses—a strange, overwhelming yet familiar feeling grasped hold of him.
He felt… the feeling…
It was the feeling of nothing.
All around him, there was nothing but darkness.
Warm.
Welcoming.
Darkness.