With the explosion still ringing in his ears, Damon's mind emptied completely. He was expelled from the dimension at once, his body torn apart and scorched in the blast before darkness claimed him again.
Then, in the forest of Ya'arseele's hidden residence, Redhill Manor, his bloodshot eyes snapped open to a wooden infirmary ceiling.
He had made it home.
However, he wasn't safe yet. Before he could take a breath, an itch spread across his flesh, gnawing at his mind like a raging flame.
Damon flipped onto his side as blood vessels expanded to resist the heat. He bit down on the bedsheets, trying not to give in, but the sensation only worsened. His whole body grew itchier by the second, until it felt like he might break apart at any moment.
He screamed inwardly for a moment of relief, but what answered him was an array of scrambled noises.
It sounded beastly at times, sharp like a tiger's roar, then subtle like a rodent's teeth chattering, before rising into maniacal laughter, a cruel puppet master compelling his hands to move.
As his mind shook, Damon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, hoping the sounds would disappear.
'Please, leave me alone! Please!'
He couldn't bear it much longer.
Bang!
He rolled across the bed, rubbing his irritated skin against the flax linen sheets, and knocked his head into the gray metal frame.
Damon groaned in pain and began scratching fervently. His nails blackened with skin and blood as they dug beneath the brown layer that concealed the tender muscle and tendon underneath.
But the pain wouldn't stop.
Within seconds, steaming blood began oozing from his pores like sweat, and he could no longer put a name to what he was feeling.
It wasn't simply an itch anymore.
It was as though something binding his soul to his body had begun to rattle, like a chain under immense pressure. He could feel cracks forming along every curve of his spine, twisting around his cartilage and burrowing deeper into his veins.
'What the hell is happening to me…?!'
Hunched over, Damon felt blood filling his mouth and puffed out his cheeks. Under the force of his clenched jaw, his front molars began to chip and shatter like glass.
He retched in disgust and coughed out the shards of enamel mixed with blood and spit.
At that moment, a sharp sting pierced the side of his neck.
Damon's body jerked as he whipped his head toward the source, collapsing onto his back. His strength drained away, and he stared blankly at the ceiling as his vision slowly blurred.
"To think you'd wake so soon."
Startled, Damon looked over to see a woman standing by his bedside.
Long white bangs fell over the right half of her face, hiding her features like a drawn curtain. The rest of her hair sat upward, shaped like a Huaren bamboo hat or an open umbrella braced against coming rain.
Her amethyst eyes gleamed against the shadow her hair cast, and she wore a long white open tunic jacket, plain white lingerie visible beneath it, exposing flawlessly smooth skin.
"How fascinating. His limbs are being subdued, but this strange itching persists. I'll need to get someone from below the mountain to bring me more neurotoxins to test."
'Who...?'
Damon heard the voice again and froze, breathless.
Her figure was vaguely reminiscent of Rosa, though something about her presence felt distinctly different. Her collarbone sat slightly higher and thicker, with more pronounced curvature.
Damon narrowed his eyes as the stranger raised her left hand and shook a half-empty syringe of green fluid, thinking something over.
His vision kept deteriorating, but he tried, desperately, to make out her face.
He nearly missed the gold earring on her left earlobe. It was shaped like the number nine.
His gaze slowly traveled downward.
Her sleeves were unusually oversized, extending well past her arms. Her right hand stayed completely hidden inside the fabric, leaving only the left exposed.
'Strangely styled hair, the long sleeves, and that earring... There's only one person I know who dresses like that…'
Damon's pupils dilated as the pieces clicked into place.
The "woman" before him was none other than Keene.
The very snake he wished least to encounter in the orphanage and his eldest brother!
'How did I end up in his hands!?'
'And why is he like that!?' Damon exclaimed in his heart. He found it unbelievable that the attendants would permit the reckless treatments the snake often opted for.
'I don't know how, but I need to call for help. Who knows what he's planning next.'
Keene covered his mouth and let out a chortle, noticing Damon's stare. "Aw, it seems you recognized me. That's disappointing. I even took the liberty of making these adjustments to hide my involvement too."
He then rested one hand on his hip and pushed the two mounds attached to his chest forward. "Hey, you'll keep this our little secret, right? Blink once for yes."
'Like hell I will, you psycho!'
Damon wanted to unleash every curse he knew. But before he could form a response, his pupils faded, and darkness reclaimed his consciousness.
Once he was sure the boy had passed out, Keene smiled, showing off his white teeth. "Now, should I let the others know, or have them keep waiting..."
...
Beyond the infirmary's walls, a ragtag group of adolescents lingered just outside the chestwood door, occasionally shifting their gazes around.
Their eyes were heavy-lidded, and shadows had settled beneath one boy's eyes, yet for the past five hours, none of them had suggested leaving.
"Hey... um, guys, I'm good with waiting for Damon to wake up, but can't we have Mr. or Ms. Salamanca prepare us a snack?" said Henry, rubbing his eyes.
Kayn, clutching his growling stomach, nodded in agreement.
But Vincent shook his head. "They already went to bed, and besides, Mother doesn't allow overnight requests."
His lips curled slightly, and he looked toward the quiet green-haired boy sitting nearest the door with a book. "Why don't you ask Abel to share? He's been hiding the candy he got during Ethan's last visit for nightly treats."
This was an obvious lie. Still, Abel flinched and froze.
"So you have been hiding them..." Vincent's smile faltered, his brows shooting up. He hadn't expected to guess right.
Then again, it made sense, considering they were talking about chocolate.
Cacao beans were considered a high-class commodity, prized for slowing the mutations of ordinary animals, and the supply of chocolate candy kept shrinking because of it.
That made a steady supply hard to come by, so hiding whatever candy they received had become common practice, since no one but their mother knew when Ethan would return from his guard duties along the northern sector of the border.
The lucky boy had been assigned to protect an eccentric noblewoman named Shelly Wonka, owner of one of the two major chocolate factories in the kingdom of Aegis.
"Let's just hope he paces himself and brings us a new batch soon," Vincent sighed.
The others shared similar looks of exasperation. They all knew seventeen-year-old Ethan had a crippling sugar addiction.
At that moment, there was a commotion inside the infirmary, and footsteps approached the door.
"Damon must have finally woken up... he's really late as always, huh..." Vincent smiled. He and Damon sparred and played together often enough that he couldn't help but dote on him, blood or not.
"Do you kids plan to wait up all night?" Keene looked over, amused, cracking the door open and sticking his head out. "If so, care to join me for a few tests? I'll be gentle, promise."
"Really? Will you make me something to eat if I say yes?" Kayn asked, thoughtless as ever.
"Certainly," Keene said. "I've heard cooking can be quite the experiment as well."
"Will you cut the crap, brother, and tell us how Damon's doing?" Vincent interrupted bluntly, rubbing his brow. Watching this exchange made his blood pressure rise.
"Well," Keene began, thoughtful, his expression shifting.
"It's complicated."