Departed

Chapter 7: Perseverance

Morro's POV

     The Realm of Monsters.

     That definitely sounded bad. Mistake pulled out a dagger from the folds of her torn sweater sleeves, scanning the terrain around us with sharp eyes. How she could stand the heat of five sun disks in that, I had no idea. Since the disks were dropping in the sky, however, the air was getting colder and colder. I was shivering before I knew it.

     It felt amazing. I hated how intensely the temperature changed around here, but after spending so long in unbearable heat, this felt so nice. "W-where did y-you get th-that?" I stammered, pointing to the dagger.

     Mistake shrugged; she apparently wasn't bothered by the temperature change. "I happen to be a decent pickpocket."

     That's Harumi's dagger.

     The thought of her made me flinch with both worry and guilt.

     "This might come in handy if we face anything. Now—"

     "CAW! CAW!"

     Mistake grabbed my sleeve and pressed a finger to her lips. I looked around to see what was making the noise. I didn't spot anything, since it was getting to dark see far away. Since this realm had five suns, it would be natural to assume that it had five moons or more. I only saw one weak moon dripping over the horizon, its light too weak to properly make anything visible. Combined with the chill, the realm's atmosphere had suddenly changed from a hot desert to something you might see in a villain's lair. The cawing noise faded after a few nerve-wracking seconds.

     "We are not in the Departed Realm anymore," Mistake whispered quickly. "The monsters here can hear us, smell us, taste us, see us, and sense us. Keeping your emotions in check will not keep you alive here."

     "Can't w-we just b-bury ourselves in the s-sand?"

     Another caw rang in the dark.

     "Too late." Mistake said.

     The ground rumbled beneath our feet. Mistake, an Oni who could shapeshift into whatever she wished, looked afraid. I suddenly felt shaken too, but for different reasons. Harumi was still out there among the dunes. And she had no idea what was coming. We had to find her before this realm ripped her apart.

     "CAW! CAW!"

     "Duck!" Mistake screeched, throwing herself to knock me over. A large figure, so black it blocked out the faint stars above us, flew right over us.

     Heat rushed to my cheeks. Being saved by an old lady felt ridiculous. I had saved my own skin several times in the Departed Realm and suddenly I was too dense to get out of the way of a flying monster? It was humiliating. I got back to my feet, summoning any wind I could muster. The action exhausted me so much I nearly dropped to my knees as red spots entered my line of vision.

     "You are too weak to fight." Mistake growled. "Just like I am too weak to transform." Her violet eyes flashed. I could see her pale skin fading into Oni colors. She held out the dagger towards the sky. I saw the black flying thing circle around to face us again. Only then did I realize...

     "It's flying at us backward?"

     Mistake and I both jumped out of the way to avoid getting caught by it.

     "It is a spiderbird. They are fast, dangerous, and deadly poisonous."

     "CAW! CAW!" The creature flew towards us again. This time, it spit out a white substance. I jumped out of the way. Mistake screamed. It sounded human, but after a split second it began to turn into a monstrous cry. I turned to see her covered in the white substance. Horns broke through her grey hair, which was fading back into her head. She really was too weak to stay in another form.