“Hey, hey. Let’s play a little guessin’ game. There’s a word. It starts with ‘i’ and ends with ‘t’. It just so happens to describe you perfectly. So, can you guess?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m an idiot.”

  “Excellent! And where does this oh-so-apt observation come from?”

  Orion lowered his head, sighing. He knew at what point a relatively easy fight almost turned into an utter disaster. He could live with that wound on his leg, but it was only a matter of a few centimeters before he ended up like Martha. At the thought of her, he felt a stab of pain, but with the courtesy of his companion, it quickly disappeared. He looked gratefully at Neru, who looked different in his current state. The shape and distinctive features were the same, but the colors were reversed or changed. His eyes were black voids with multicolored irises that contrasted with the ethereal white that filled most of his body, except for the claws, spikes, and bony fragments that were now pitch black.

  “I should wait carefully until it runs out of strength. Even if the beast got back on its feet, it would fall on its own with these wounds. I just wanted to…”

  “I know what you wanted!” Neru hissed and began to scold Orion for being naive. After a long moment, he sighed and said. “Seriously, I thought fate was giving you a head start, but you had to screw it up. Oh, okay, okay. There’s no point in scolding you. You’ll wake up soon. Prepare.”

  After a moment, Neru and the surrounding black landscape began to blur. Opening his eyes, Orion immediately felt an attack of pain caused by his injured limb. His friend’s tail was currently lying on his leg, and although it didn’t even touch the wound directly, it was somehow stopping the leakage of his blood. Seeing his confused look, Neru said.

  “I can create things that are both material or not entirely real, but as soon as they stop touchin’ my body, they disappear,” he explained. “It’s not like I just eat and get nothing from it.”

  “Dude, you’re totally overpowered.”

  This time Neru looked at him with a rather grim expression, which surprised Orion as it was the first time he had seen him like that. Several theories about this reaction came to his mind, but he decided to keep them to himself and changed the subject instead.

  “Hey, it’s pretty cold to the touch,” he said, pointing to Neru’s tail. “I guess the wound will start bleeding again when you take it off. Can you hold it there for a moment? I’ve got an idea.”

  After receiving a nod, Orion carefully rolled off the beast he had passed out on, trying not to move his leg. He then reached for his sharpened rock and began skinning it. After exposing the creature’s flesh, he began to cut and eat it. He remembered that while they were much shallower than this one, his wounds from his first fight had disappeared quite quickly after the meal. This time, trying to ignore the intense sensations that accompanied the food, he focused on his wound. He could actually feel his body heat up around it and tingle, as if the energy from the food was intuitively directed towards the injured parts.

  He also noticed that he didn’t feel as powerful sensations as before. Either it was a matter of energy expenditure for regeneration or the lower quality of the meat, due to the beast. He suspected the former, however, because when eating hyenas, he also felt intense energy boosts, even if he tried very hard to control himself while eating so he could talk. After a while of greedily devouring the meat, he slowed down to relieve his mind a bit. The condition of his wound was indeed improving at an astonishing rate, but he estimated that a dressing would be needed anyway.

  After eating a few pieces that he could access between the beast's armor, he set about creating a bandage. Although it wasn’t perfectly clean, he decided to use the scraps of the bag he had woken up in. He stood up with a groan, causing Neru’s tail to stop touching his skin. The wound immediately began to bleed, which caused another wave of agony. After regaining control of his body, he continued talking to Neru while also beginning work on modifying the bag.

  Taking it off first, he separated it into two pieces, creating a makeshift shirt and underwear. He already had an idea of ??how to keep it on his butt, so he started on the dressing part. He cut it out so that a large patch was created in the place of the wound, and from it came the straps that were used to attach it. After rolling the patch into several layers, he applied it to the wound. Again, he almost fainted from the pain, but he managed to grit his teeth and focus on securing it.

  He needed a moment to recover from this, then began modifying the lower part of his garment. He used the sharp edge of a rock to create several holes around waist. The remaining material he had obtained, after cutting out strips to hold the dressing, he tied together at both ends, creating a longer strap, and threaded it through the cut holes, obtaining an acceptable way to hold the material on him. Since his shirt barely reached below his chest, he still had some material left, which he intended to use for other purposes.

  The first time he killed the creature here, he had Martha’s body with him, and he was too overwhelmed by all the emotions to think about it. In this case, however, he decided to make the best use of the beast’s corpse. He went to the leather sack and shook the ash dust off it thoroughly, then unfolded it to place pieces of the beast’s flesh inside, which he began to cut off moments later.

  This time he decided to use the creature’s bones. He also had armor pieces at his disposal, which turned out to be pretty damn strong. He had to rest several times to break them off, but he managed to separate something that would act as protection for some parts of his body. After what seemed like an eternity, he disassembled the beast’s corpse into pieces, obtaining various bones, a few usable pieces of armor, and flaps of skin. Having no better way to process it, he scrubbed it with the blunt part of his weapon, rubbing in the ash dust. In this way, he got rid of the remains of meat and other unidentified substances that he preferred not to think about. As he began to prepare the new clothes and makeshift armor, he talked to Neru about various topics. It started with a summary of the fight and thoughts for the future. Neru watched his work on the new equipment with interest, occasionally adding ideas or insults directed at the style of his craft.

  “Okay, we should get back to the subject we were so rudely interrupted on. Remember? You and goin’ home? Well, I can’t promise it’ll be home, ‘cause as I said, dream fragments are currently comin’ from some cut-off place. I’m still workin’ on gettin’ them. I mentioned how I feed myself by sendin’ out energy threads, searchin’ for dreams. Although I never fully did it, I’m pretty sure I can reverse the process. In short, I’m goin’ to kinda throw you up.”

  Hearing this, Orion stopped what he was doing and frowned at Neru, causing him to laugh.

  “Ugh. So in the end, you’ll eat me first so you can puke me out?”

  “No, you imbecile. This is where the gates feedin’ this place comes into play. If I touch it, I’m pretty sure I can modify it, or rather take it over, usin’ the hair as a sort of tunnel. I can’t move matter through the hair, but the gates do it constantly.”

  “Pretty sure? You mentioned you can create stuff, but do you think you can handle something like this?”

  Neru smugly leaned back, lifting his head and tapping his temple.

  “Think about it. Even though we call it a ‘gate,’ it’s really a separate entrance and exit in the belly of this place. There’s goin’ to be some tinkerin’ and improvisation involved, but by connectin’ to the gate, I’m goin’ to change the properties of the actual exit so that it’s no longer recognized as such. Instead, I’m goin’ to make the gate recognize the hair as a path marker, at the end of which I’ll do somethin’ that the gate ‘thinks’ is an exit. That way, when you enter the gate, it’ll take you through the hair tunnel and out the other side. And, ugh, I’ll warn you ahead of time. I’ll have to pay for this, but I’ll manage, so don’t interfere, got it?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Orion continued to stare at him, but after a moment he nodded. He had some time to think about Neru’s situation, so he wanted to also do something to help him.

  “Okay, but once I get out and quickly sort out what’s going on, I’ll figure out a way to get you out too. You’ve been drifting here alone, among mindless beasts, long enough. I don’t know how, but I’ll do it.”

  Neru laughed at the declaration, but wasn’t about to deny it. While, theoretically, getting him out of here was impossible, at this point there was no telling what was possible and what wasn’t. He also knew that if someone had to figure out a way, the kid could actually handle it.

  “You should’ve seen me, when I was just gainin’ my ego. I was a shapeless, unintelligent little tripe floatin’ here, who, seein’ new dreams, was so fascinated by it all. I never expected to be so separated from them. When I realized what this place was, you don’t even have names for the number of times I tried to leave.”

  “So I guess you can’t use the gates yourself?”

  “What? Why? Of course, I can. I just wasn’t in the mood. And bein’ serious, the transition process, while very fast, is not immediate, and I have to hold the entrance. I tested the theory once by bringin’ a mindless beast into it and then droppin’ the connection. Half of the beast remained here. One side of this half was whole, but the side that was in contact with the gate ended up like bloody spaghetti.” Neru said with a laugh, making an expression as if reminiscing about the stupid things he did at a college party.

  With that scene in mind, Orion grimaced and went back to work, changing the topic.

  “You mentioned dreams from outside and if I understand correctly, they don’t just come from earth. I’m curious about what dreams from other life forms look like. Can you tell me something about them?”

  “Splattered.”

  “What?”

  “They are splattered. At least on a few planets, life has liquid forms. So they’re like crawlin’ goo that just want to reproduce. Most of their lives, it’s like, you wobble slowly, you meet another sludge, and two becomes one. If they don’t match, they separate, and then they wobble away, looking for more partners. And if all goes well, two sludges, and then one sludge, makes three. The Miracle of Life. Either way, you can imagine their dreams.”

  The vision of being a copulating sludge entered Orion’s mind, but he quickly pushed it away. I guess it’s normal for him to see this shit all the time, he thought.

  “There are also planets with gaseous life forms. These dreams are very rare and... highly diluted. Every time they dream, it’s an interestin’ experience. Their dreams are like the winds inside my head, with different tastes.”

  “Dude, winds on the skin, winds in the head, come on. You know what I imagine when I listen to this.”

  “I mean normal breezes!”

  “Oh, got it. That actually sounds nice.” Orion worked in silence for a moment, imagining the refreshing breezes inside his skull. After a while, he spoke again. “Actually, I’d like to change the topic again. I pushed it to the back of my mind pretty quickly, but why do you sound like that? You say some words in a high, and some in a low tone.”

  “It’s not about how I sound. It’s about your perception. I don’t have a mouth or a throat, which means no vocal cords. I’m kinda broadcastin’ my intention of what I want to say, but you set the tone. You often like to think about right and wrong, moral and immoral. Perhaps you still don’t know what to think of me?”

  Orion thought about it for a moment, but he doubted he saw Neru as evil. He had saved his life and helped him from the beginning. Even before they met, he had saved him from nightmares. After realizing what he fed on, he had no reason to think badly of him. Now, he was also his only hope of getting out of this place.

  “I think it’s more shallow than it sounds. I suspect it’s about the look. The contrast between the white and black of your body, like night and day. As I said, that was the first thing that caught my eye.”

  “Is that annoyin’? I mean, the sound.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Good. Then I have to talk more.”

  So they talked. Sometimes about travel, dreams, or the armor, while Orion worked on its creation. Tying a sharp-pointed pebble to the bone, he managed to create a makeshift drill, with which he carved holes in the armor to attach it. After preparing the individual parts, he used the remaining material to create more bindings, and when that was no longer enough, he used the skin of a killed beast, of which there was fortunately plenty. From the harder parts, he managed to assemble a chest and back guard, shoulder pads, and greaves. From the beast’s skin, he cut a primitive vest and something like a fighting kilt, which he partially cut between the legs so that it would not restrict his movements. After putting everything on and tying the armor, he finally felt somewhat prepared to move through this land, at least in terms of body protection.

  Neru flew over to him and watched, assessing. With an expression that was strangely serious for him, he checked each piece of armor, poking here and there to make sure it was properly attached. He flew off a bit, then said.

  “Spread your arms wide.”

  Orion did as he was told, thinking it was to test his range of motion. The shoulder pads did block his movement at one point, but a little sawing off should fix it. He didn’t normally plan to wave his arms so wide, but in combat, any obstacle can be fatal. He was snapped out from his thoughts by Neru’s loud laughter.

  “Perfect. If only your nose was a little longer, you’d be the perfect cosplayer. Fancy a little ant?” he said, spinning in the air and pointing at a pile of unused bones from a slain beast.

  Only now Orion realized that he was dressed in the skin and armor of the anteater monster, standing in its intimidating pose.

  “Fuck you.”

  ***

  He first opened his eyes over a month and a half ago. Even surrounded by his entourage, he stood out among them. He was twice as tall as the vast majority. Only two other individuals matched his size. Inevitably, there were fights with his counterparts, as each of them wanted to establish dominance. However, it soon turned out that their strength was similar and only by the foolish luck of the opponent, he lost the fight first. But that didn’t change the fact that he was called a war brother. It was decided that the three would divide the weaker units among themselves and, with the army thus formed, would go out into the world, spreading their kind.

  Rhaz V’ul Ghargk Nhamat had information in his head, the origin of which he did not know. He knew that although he was born here, there was also a being in this place who had outlived his years on his home planet and had been brought here. This being, by blood, had the innate right to rule him and his army. He knew instinctively that if he met it, he would have to show respect. He also felt that the mission of spreading and breeding his species would be approved by their ruler.

  Among his units, he selected a few elites who seemed capable of logical thinking. Of those chosen, he assigned three to scout and gather information about the surroundings. It was from them that he learned about the situation outside their camp. He was informed that a few days’ march from their current location, a settlement had been discovered where other species lived. While most of them looked like living constructs, a smaller portion was made of flesh, blood, and bones like himself. He knew that his species was adapted to breed with others, and the result would always be a green-skinned male.

  The report given to him was that, although there were few of them, they had spotted some prey that were suitable for breeding. Given the small number, they would have to be careful not to damage them too much in the acquisition, and they would have to rationalize their exploitation to avoid death by exhaustion. Rhaz V’ul Ghargk Nhamat paced the forest clearing as he planned his movements. He had to go a little further, for it was impossible to think freely among his noisy minions.

  The sound of a branch snapping pulled him from his thoughts. Turning his head quickly, he noticed a creature in mid-stride, staring at him with raised eyebrows. Seeing it, his mind informed him that it was a human male. It was about the same height as he was, dressed in green clothing with a quiver of arrows strapped to its back. After a quick assessment, he decided that while it would not be suitable for breeding, it would be a good source of food.

  “Hello there. Rather windy today, isn’t it?” the human said, though Rhaz V’ul Ghargk Nhamat couldn’t understand him. The male turned and began to run, quickly disappearing into the trees.

  He didn’t have time to give his units detailed instructions, so he shouted a loud order to follow him and set off in pursuit of the man. Although he lost sight of him, there were tracks on the ground and the distinct scent of his prey was in the air.

  Chasing through the forest, he tried to locate his quarry. He could hear from the screams that his minions were already on their way, so he tried to leave tracks behind him, marking the trees with his weapon. In his hands, he held a large bone axe with a sharp blade.

  As he ran, his leg was attacked by a terrible pain that forced him to stop. He noticed that he was locked in something resembling wooden jaws with sharp teeth. As he bent down to free his limb, a noose appeared around his neck, pulling his head upwards while cutting off his air supply. The moment it happened, he couldn’t move, feeling several arrows land deep in his chest and neck. Bubbling softly, his vision began to blur. With the last of his drifting consciousness, he could hear:

  “Sarah, Aaron, good work. Reinforcements will arrive soon. Take up new positions.”

  “What about his axe?”

  “Tie it to him quickly. It should look like he’s alive.”

  “Man, what I would give for access to duct tape.”