"So you understand why we still struggle in this war against the humans and hide throughout different sectors of Earth,"
Miliani said and Arlo gave a slow nod.
"Now that you know the reason behind this war, I want to ask you a very important question..."
As she said this, she rose to her feet, her dark eyes locking onto Arlo’s.
At that moment, he noticed her eyes slowly beginning to spin back into a dark vortex, a sign that she was shifting back into her beastly form.
"You arrived in this world barely hours ago, which means you have no affiliation with either the humans or the Vorath. So tell me which side you wish to join in this war?"
The pressure filling the cave suddenly intensified, as Arlo remained quiet for about ten seconds before calmly replying:
"I choose neither."
"What?"
Miliani stared at him in disbelief, not expecting the answer. She had expected him to choose the humans, considering they were the ones who had found him first.
Or perhaps, he might have sided with the Vorath, considering there was a chance of her deciding to kill him if he chose to side with the Humans.
Never, however, had she imagined he would reject both sides.
"I said I choose neither the humans nor the Vorath. I won’t involve myself in this war."
Miliani let out a cold snort.
"That’s bullshit."
"No, it isn’t."
Arlo met her gaze.
"I came to a strange world, and barely five hours in, you expect me to throw myself into a war that has absolutely nothing to do with me?"
"Have you forgotten that I have a home of my own?"
"Umbrasol..."
She muttered.
"Correct, and my only goal right now is to find my way back there."
"You and the humans can continue fighting over this world all you want. The moment I find a path home, I’ll leave without looking back."
"Hahahahaha!"
Miliani laughed, though there wasn’t the slightest trace of amusement in it.
"That’s funny. Do you think we, the Vorath, don’t want to return home as well? We’re fighting because we’ve found no way back."
She slowly unfolded her arms, pointing a finger at him.
"Besides, you arrived here with nothing but the clothes on your back."
"How exactly do you intend to gather the resources needed to search for another world?"
"Resources that our entire race couldn’t obtain even after spending centuries serving humanity as little more than slaves?"
She asked but there was no reply from Arlo.
"You’ll become nothing more than another pawn in this war, manipulated by people far stronger than you, each promising they possess the answer you’re searching for."
Arlo simply looked back at her, his expression unreadable.
"I honestly don’t care which side you choose," Miliani continued.
"All I know is that you saved my life, and I repaid that debt by sparing yours instead of driving my claws through your throat and eliminating a potential threat to both races."
She stepped closer.
"Besides, despite the incredibly pure magical essence flowing through your body... you’re weak."
Her claw came to rest against his chest.
"Once the humans discover that ’one of their own’ can wield magic, what do you think they’ll do? Celebrate you as a hero?"
"Maybe?"
"NO!"
She snapped at him.
"They’ll tear you apart exactly as they secretly began doing to us in the past century, trying to uncover the source of your magical power."
"You’ll either spend the rest of your life hiding your magic among the humans, or abandon it completely and replace it with technology."
"Only we Voraths will accept you for what you truly are, even more since that strange magic of yours can bring us back from death’s door."
"That gives you some value, and makes you an asset instead of a liability."
She took her hands off of him, rising to her feet.
"When you finally realize your search for a way home is impossible...consider everything I’ve said today."
She turned her back, preparing to leave only to suddenly halt a moment.
"And of course, I never met you, and you never met me. Goodbye...lone alien."
The instant the final word left her lips, her body dissolved into countless dark shadows that shot toward the tunnel through which Arlo’s squad had entered.
"Well, that changed pretty fast..."
Arlo muttered but then shrugged his shoulders, when all of sudden, everything changed.
Thick black veins suddenly began spreading across his face. Raising his hands to his face, he found pitch-black blood trickling down from both eyes like tears.
"What the hell is goi..."
The words never left his mouth, when he felt a hot pressure build up in his chest, and in the next moment, his mouth widened to their limits.
ROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRR!!
A monstrous roar erupted from his throat, shaking the entire cavern as horrifying green veins writhed across every inch of his body like living serpents.
Another deafening roar followed, echoing through the cave as those green veins rapidly darkened into pitch black while his blood surged through his body hundreds of times faster than before, generating an unbearable amount of heat.
He clenched his teeth so violently that cracks spread across them.
Pain.
A horrifying, indescribable pain unlike anything he had ever experienced.
It was so overwhelming that, for one irrational moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear his own heart from his chest.
BAAADUUUUMP!!
The ground beneath his feet exploded apart as a violent shockwave burst from his body, reducing the surrounding stalagmites and stalactites to rubble.
Arlo instinctively reached for his chest, but the moment he tried to move, both arms slammed back into the ground as though they suddenly weighed thousands of kilograms.
BAAADUUUMP!!
BAAADUUUUUMP!!
BAAAAADUUUUUMMP!!
His heartbeat grew louder with every pulse, each thunderous beat unleashing another devastating shockwave that rippled through the cavern as though his body itself was tearing apart.
Then, amidst the unbearable agony, a dark light so dark, it was light in the darkness suddenly appeared.
Almost instinctively, Arlo raised his eyes toward its source.
His forehead.
The Black Sun Runic Crest had appeared once again, blazing with an overwhelming radiance.
Blood seeped through his clenched teeth as he forced the words out from realization..
"I’ve started the final phase of my First Awakening... my First Gate is finally opening... but... it was never supposed to hurt this much..."
BAAAAAANG!!
It felt as though a colossal sledgehammer had crashed into the back of his skull, causing his vision to instantly go black as he collapsed face-first onto the shattered ground, the light on his forehead rapidly fading.
The final thing he heard before darkness fully consumed him was a distant voice calling out to him.
"Arlo...Arlo!"