Draimon: Fracture: Erasend- Book 2: Journey's Beginning

Chapter 3: The Physical World

No, I'm good; practically no one goes out at night. We shut off the lamps to save power and close up the city," I said. "Which means it's nearly pitch black, and I can barely see anything in front of me," I groaned, "why the efk can't I see in the dark.

"You just can not. Those are traits for physical entities, like your friend there."

I stepped out and moved my hand along the sign and felt the blind directions towards the sixteenth sector, "good, we haven't cured blindness yet, terrible thing, but it helps me get home." I began following the groves home; as I did, my mind wanded to diseases, and new memories came into my mind. "The miasma First-born created diseases to make us suffer," I sighed, "how do I know this again?"

"You can access Shadgon's memories through me; you can know what he does."

"No thanks, don't want my world view shattered any more than it is now," I said as I kept shuffling through the darkness, holding onto the blind-rail. We had forgotten much of our history from before the Resource-wars. Memories of people fighting Dragon with all kinds of weapons flooded my mind. "We fought Dragons before this; then something happened that caused the world to fracture in two."

"Yes, my father killed many of your race during that time."

"Aaa, take them back," and I felt them leave me. I moved as fast as possible. I knew if I could feel pain, my body would be in agony by now. I laughed slightly to myself.

"What is it?"

"I just held back against a whole bunch of Dragons, and now I'm shuffling around practically blind."

"That is the effect physical zones have on elemental beings."

"Come on, where's the; we should leave here immediately and find somewhere with elemrgy."Shard chuckled.

"O, don't tell me you even enjoy the suffering of your host."

"No. No, I know now that I was foolish to try and dictate your actions. With you having received elemental energy from three sources, your shadow is large. So long as you don't use any elemental energy, that shadow will stay large for a long time."

"What would happen if it runs out?"

"You wouldn't die, though you would be rendered immobile."

"That means no video games or anime. Ok, fine. I'll leave when that time comes."

"That is all I ask."

"But once I'm fine, I'll come back."

"Very well."

"And don't worry, there'll be badass fights and action for you to watch. Course, none of it will be real."

"Screams of pain and anguish?"

"Umm, stuff like that exists, but don't you want to see super-powered people beating the... stuff out of each other."

"I do enjoy the thrill of combat, though only when it is real."

I sighed as I kept pulling myself along the rail, "you're very one-note, aren't you? But I guess with Dragons not having brains, they have simple personalities."

"Very well," Shard replied; I could tell he didn't care.

I kept moving in silence, "I was able to break their legs; they can recover from that. But what if my magic affected their heads, necks or chests? They would have died, and a slow one at that.""If you had done that, but sooner, you could have escaped with few becoming aware of your existence."

"I Just picked up a damn flower, and that ruined my life, forever." Upon mentioning it, I saw one of the same flowers. I stomped it with all my strength. "I never knew it would lead to all. This. I don't want to become a killer; that's something I can have a say in."

"And what of the battle when the time comes?" Shard said, "there will be No-eyes and other Humans working to kill everyone here."

"Why do those Eye-less Monsters have to talk? That one sounded so Human."

"You can either immobilise them and bring them pain, but in time they will come back to kill the ones you have bonds with. Or you can kill them, give them a noble death and ensure that they do not kill again."

"But it's still a life, a life that I am taking away when they can become a better person."

"Those who kill must be prepared to die themselves, to go into every battle prepared for it to be their last. I have doubt that those down there can ever change. There will be a time when you have to kill; there is no denying that fact. But don't kill out of anger or like my father. Fight to protect the ones you love and to give them a better future. Hold on to that ideology, and you shall remain yourself and not become what you fear."

I held back before replied, "wow, Shard, thanks for that, really, but don't you want us to merge? That can only happen if I kill indiscriminately."

"From what I know, merging means the mental death of both the Human and the Dragon personality, the two form into one consciousness. I do not understand it fully though I have found more mental clarity after the Dragon separated us. I have grown to like you, how your thinking is so different, I want to watch over you. I apologise for what my father did to you. Though I am glad, I was born into you."

I was silent for a few moments, "you know what, I don't hate you anymore, I don't want to. You were just doing what nature dictated and had no control over it.

"Where is this coming from?" Shard asked.

"Well, I'm fking immortal now, so I don't want to hate you since you are a part of me, and I can't get rid of you. I should hate myself but not that p.o.s Shadack caused all of this. He put that flower there. Even better, that bastard could have just left me alone, but he didn't."

"So you are choosing to direct all your hatred to my father, thank you. Let us just hope we do not see him again."

"Hey, can we be friends? Let's be friends. Please, I'm so god damn lonely and like everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Sure, whatever makes you feel better."

"Thank you."

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From behind buildings, two Variant-Shifters watched. Instead of legs, a Geoian, Aquarian hybrid with blue skin, hair and brown eyes had eight long, thick tentacles.

Unlike the first, the second had no Human features. His horizontal body stood on thick digitigrade legs with large claws to grip the ground and a long tail blunt-mace tipped tail, wider than the other's tentacles. He had a giant maw that dripped with green slime and had two thin, long hanging arms.

"Come on, hurry up; at this rate the Meems'll be deployed," the one with tentacle legs said as she hung from the walls.

"Let them rip him apart; he let that Bioian go!" The other snarled, "his regeneration was so strong, I wanted to eat everything except his head in one bite," his voice turning to a whimper.The tentacled one whipped the other with a leg, him whimpering again and rubbing the wound.

 "Undyn said he is to be kept alive and control yourself, Bilor."

"Fine, I'll eat any who try and take him away. How about that?

"Damn gorgers, fine you may and try to get their memories, would you."

"Honestly," a fair-faced Mechoian with yellow hair and eyes said. "Seems rather stupid to have one of you working at one of our meat stores. All you do is eat the damn merchandise; the number of times I've said your eating was an Animals to the Human customers," he said."It's because I can eat the supply that makes me want to get the tasty ones," Bilor said.

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Above, three others watched.

"Who is he? A hunched Shifter with bulky arms and biological cannons on his back asked. He looks like a Sludged, and those spines must just be a part of his body, can't explain that blue light though.

"But if'e were a Sludged, he wouldn't be shambling around like that. He smells like a normal person, so how does he have those spines," a girl with a scaled body along with wings and a tail said.

"He doesn't look aggressive; I say we help him."

"Agreed. Meems are coming after him, ready."

"And am sure other Shifters'll be after him. This'll be fun," a pale hair and eyed Phyioan said with a smile.

"He looks strong, so they should send powerful ones after him; glad we have you, Camba," the one with cannons on his back said.

"Happy to be of assistance," she said, bowing, "come on, let's go," as Camba leapt off the building, with might from her feet slowing her descent.

Bareag and Birotic followed.---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I kept shambling along, "how big are these sectors," I grunted. I looked around, "why can't someone send stuff en route to my Home-house? I could hop onto it."

"Do not worry, you can make it. Believe in yourself. That will actually help here."

In the silence, I heard something behind me. I turned again to see parts of the ground rise up, leaving masses of metal behind. They folded out to reveal mechanical Monsters, "Meems," I cried and tried to move faster, but I tripped instead, "this can't be how I die."

"What is that thing," he asked, as the Meems with two powerful legs, clawed arms, tail, maw, horns and shoulder cannons opened its eyes towards me. The eyes folded back, and it charged on all fours.

"Mechanical entities engineered for Monster s*******r, the sensors must've picked me up," the Meems began to charge its cannons.

"I knew this was..." Shard was cut off as thick tentacles smashed the Meems in two; I saw more emerge from the ground, and they all met the same fate. The girl attached to the tentacles turned to face me and stretched them towards me; my arms shot in front of my face.A large being crashed in front of me, I saw a barrier form to block the blows, and I saw it fire back.

Another, this one looking much like me, though with scales, landed beside me. "It's not safe here," she said, picking me up. I saw a bipedal mawed Monster rush after the tentacle-leged girl as she moved towards me.

I could also make out a man holding a long sniper rifle in the dim light. When he got close, I saw it wasn't made of synsis. "Tycal, do you have to be so fast," he panted as he leaned on the g*n like a walking stick.

"Well, sorry for being born like this; if you're not fast enough, then learn how to shift your muscles," she responded.

"You know I struggle with stuff like that," he replied. Behind, I heard an explosion.A female Phyioan landed in front of us, "so we just gonna let them finish or just kill them?"

"Good battle etiquette to let them finish," the one with cannons on his back said.

"I think they need to get this off their chests," the one holding me said.

"If you can form the ******* bio elements, I think you can learn how to shift your muscles. Right, put him down," she said, facing us.

"We won't let you have him; there's no telling..."

"O, we don't want him," Tycal said as the Sniper destroyed more Meems, "he has the power to break bones." I was let down, the three creating distance between them and me. "On top of that, he can attack souls directly, think it even goes through guard," they backed away further but bumped into the buildings.

I sighed, "I can't use it here, and I don't want to," they came closer in, and I breathed out. Though I quickly became agitated with so many so close.

"And he has shadow magic. We don't want him," Tycal said.

The winged one looked shocked, "Yo, you don't. Want him? She stuttered, "those are perfect reasons, just lure us to the Underground and have him kill us all."

"That's why we don't want to force him to come with us. Look, someone who can break every bone we have with a thought wants him to be safe," Tycal said. Could that be my mum, I thought.

I shook my head, "uhh, shut up, I don't want anything to do with all this magic and Monsters."

"Hey, sure I can make paralysing bullets, but it isn't magic. Learn your terminology.In the Phyioian's hand, pale orange swirled, and she hurled it at a Meems it exploding with the impact, "you could say might is magic, but it isn't if it's even stronger here. It's stamina and fighting spirit given form."

"And don't call us Monsters; you're hurting Bilor's feelings," Tycal said as she lowered herself to smooth his maw, "this is just how we were born, but we are Human."

"I don't mind, **** Humanity," Bilor said.

As he did, I couldn't help but focus on Tycal's chest, them covered by what looked like scales. I looked away but caught the other one's, "like what you see?" She asked, "plenty more, just like me if you wanna come with us. Don't worry, it's normal. We're quite popular."

"I just want to go home!" I cried.

"And you can, if these ones'll let you."

"I'll take'm home," the winged-one said.

"We don't you getting pissed off and breaking bones," Tycal said as she destroyed more Meems.

"That was one time," I breathed, "it was an accident. I'm sorry."

"O, they're good, just needed Bioian replacement limbs and saw numb-d**g," Tycal answered.

"Wait, you can hear me," I said, turning my voice down."

The winged and tailed one bent down, "we all have strong hearing," I looked up and saw she had horns which reminded me that I had the same.

"uh, take him home and hurry, but this place is dangerous for those like you. I'll have Bilor track your scent and check up on you, make sure you're not dead."

Another Meems came close but was cut to pieces before my eyes; the one I rescued came into view.

"Didn't cut you, did I?" He asked when seeing Tycal and Bilor; he slouched and sighed.

"There you are," Bilor said, l*****g his teeth.

"Yes, so good you came back. You know our customers simply adored your meat."

"I just saw he was in trouble, so I did what any sane person would do, and it seems he's brought me right to you two. Time for some payback," the Shifter said as his arms shone and a tail grew. I also saw his legs change them gaining another knee.

"We will take you back," Tycal replied.

"Birotic, hurry back so we can outnumber them," the other male Shifter said. As they talked, I saw more Meems emerge.

The other two attacked, and I saw and heard Meems fall around me. "Yeah yeah, look, can we just focus on protecting that Draan. Now you hurry up and don't take him to your base; I know we'll be able to deal with these three by the time you come back," Tycal said.

The one holding me flew high, "ok, where do you live," she asked.

"Put me down. I can get there myself, stop this," two Meems boosted after me, and with a flap of her wings, icicles were plunged into their bodies, and they fell.

"Sorry, but I can't let ya die. I'll drop you off, then that's it," as she destroyed more Meems with her feet."Fine, it's Home-house sixty, floor eighty home..."

"Dude, I live underground," she butted in as she ran her tail-spike through another and kept flying.

"Ok, it's right in front of us, just go higher," the Shifter did what I asked and flew around my floor. I saw my home, "here," I said, and she put me in, and I crawled inside. It wouldn't be long until I was away from all this.

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"Ha, take your time Birotic," Camba said as the Variant flew off, "I want these guys all to myself," she said as she slammed her fists together with might flowing into her body. She looked at the Ranger, him firing, which she dodged to the side. "You know what? That Ranger is gonna be a pain. Can you deal with him, please?" She said, turning to Bareag.

"On it," he said as he unloaded shots of might.

They were blocked by Tycal's tentacles, "at least with the roof being closed, there're no storms to slow us down. I'll kill you all before that damn bio element user comes back." She shifted her arms into armoured fists and leapt onto the walls with her legs as Bilor charged and Crotol fired.

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As I crawled, it was like I had a map to my home.

"those things must be able to detect your energy; try lowering it."

"We have these Monsters called Night-wraiths; they create and feed off nightmares to grow stronger. I must have a similar signature to them," I thought about Night-wraiths more, "uh no memories."

"You can only know what my father and that other Dragon know."

"Yeah yeah," I said as I tumbled to the floor of my home and got up; I paced around. "Looks like he's on a shift; if I knew the date, I could figure out how long till he'll be back. More importantly, how long I've been gone." A panel opened, "come on, what is it now," I sighed as small flying Meems entered the room. Their eye-flaps opened, and they flew towards me.