Egg World

Chapter 1 - A Taste of Home

Illustration credit goes to Konomi at https://www.instagram.com/konomidrawz/

SYLVIE POV:

The light that had enveloped me began to dim, revealing another dark setting. I struggled to focus my eyes after having been in that bright light for so long, and came to realize that I was not in the same darkness that I was in before.

Rocky walls loomed on either side of me, forming some sort of a dome overhead. Jagged rocks protruded here and there. I reached out my hand out of curiosity to see whether or not I could interact with the cave that I found myself in, but before I could reach the wall, I realized that my hand was now a paw. I had been shrunk into my fox form, while retaining the white-flame-like quality of my last form. Swiping my claws through one of the nearby rocks, I confirmed that I could only physically interact with the ground, as my paw passed right through the rock.

I began exploring the cave, taking a path that I assumed took me deeper underground. As I walked around, I began asking myself questions about my current situation.

Where am I? Why am I in this form? If I'm not dead, what exactly am I?

As I pondered, I reached a point where it looked like there was some sort of opening in the ceiling. But before I could get closer to get a better look, I froze at a bloodcurdling sight.

A giant sat on a throne of rock some distance away from where the cave's opening was. But this was no ordinary giant: it had frighteningly red eyes, with two horns curling outwards from its head. Sharp teeth poked out from between its lips, and to add to the already-menacing look of the creature, an intimidating set of black armor seemed to gleam while donned by the giant.

The giant smiled. "We finally meet."

Its words caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting the monster to be familiar with me in any way. "Do I know y—" I began, but then my eyes locked onto a different sight in front of the giant, and it was like time had stopped.

A small, human child sat in front of the monster. All I could make of his physical appearance was his auburn hair, and his short build which gave away his young age.

I couldn't see his face. But in that moment, I knew that it was him.

Leaping in front of my bond and the monster, I took a defensive stance against the giant and hissed. The beast gave no indication of being surprised by my action.

"Bugs will fly into your mouth if you keep it open that wide," it stated, almost mockingly.

"One's going to fly into yours if you open it again," I growled, getting ready to pounce. "Let us leave and things won't have to get messy."

"As for what I am, I won't say anything more than what you can see from looking," the monster replied.

"I didn't ask—"

"It is going to take a while for me to open a dimensional rift that will transport you to your house, so until then, just be patient and wait here," it interrupted. "There are special roots that grow here. You will be able to live off those until I finish."

Confused at the nonsensical words, I took a couple steps backwards to be closer to Arthur. And then to my complete surprise, the child-Arthur stepped right through my body and bowed to the creature, before thanking the being.

My eyes opened wide in realization, as the two continued their conversation. Arthur being a child should have given it away, but in my protective urge, I had neglected to see what was obvious: this was the past. And in my current non-interactive form, I was a witness, not a participant, to the events happening around me. I was invisible, and my voice fell on deaf ears.