Hotel Between Worlds

Lyra sat on the steps of the ruined temple, her head drooping as if she were injured.

Darian also sat on the temple steps with his head down, he was actually injured. That fox spirit girl had taken a big chunk out of him, skin and all!

He knew canines were territorial with their food, but he hadn't expected the fox spirit to be this aggressive when guarding hers.

"Benefactor…" Lyra finally spoke. Her soft white fur trembled as if she were about to cry. "I'm sorry… I couldn't hold back. I hurt you again…"

"Yes, you did hurt me again, but it's lighter than the first time we met." Darian sighed in defeat, looking at the blood on the corner of her mouth. He thought to himself, Good thing it was just one bite. The first time we met, she came flying at me with a subsonic headbutt that wound was much worse. I was practically severed from the neck down...

But Lyra tilted her head in confusion when she heard that. Clearly, she still couldn't recall what Darian meant by "the first time we met" he had tried to hint at it several times earlier, and each time she had the same puzzled reaction.

"Benefactor, you said… we really met once before, outside the ruined temple?"

"You don't remember anything?" Darian frowned. "I was fighting some messed-up-looking creature. You suddenly rushed in saying you wanted to help, and then bam everything went black. When I woke up, I was here, and you were wandering around outside."

Lyra narrowed her eyes as if straining to recall something. After a moment, her fluffy ears slowly drooped as well. The process of remembering seemed genuinely difficult.

Darian lowered his gaze and looked at the wound on his hand.

The bite mark was healing rapidly. Tiny new tissues sprouted from the torn flesh, and the blood itself moved like it had a will of its own, wriggling through the gaps in the wound. He could almost hear the faint sounds coming from within the sound of tissue regenerating, of torn skin binding back together. Everything… was returning to its original state.

Within just a few minutes, he no longer felt pain, only a mild itching sensation lingered around the wound.

That wasn't normal, and of course he knew that. Human wounds didn't heal at this speed. But compared to the fast-healing wound coming back from the dead was even more disturbing.

The changes in his body made him uneasy. Although everything so far seemed like a good thing, he couldn't shake the fear that there was some unknown consequence or price behind it.

Humans instinctively resist the unknown and the uncontrollable. And now, for Darian, his own body was becoming the greatest unknown.

But just then, a strange sensation abruptly interrupted his thoughts, he couldn't even describe what it was. It was as if he had heard something, or perhaps some foreign thoughts had suddenly "invaded" his mind. Thoughts and memories that didn't belong to him. He felt a part of his mind grow restless and uncontrollable. And within that chaos… there was another consciousness.

Mom's gone. Dad's gone. Auntie and Uncle are gone too. It's dark. It's poisonous. It's cold. I'm scared. I'm hungry. So cold. So hungry. Really hungry. The fruits are poisonous. Tree bark is inedible. Leaves can't be eaten. Dirt can't be eaten. Stones can't be eaten… nothing can be eaten. I'm hungry. So hungry. So hungry. So hungry…

An overwhelming wave of hunger surged through Darian's mind like it would crush his sanity. Even though it was just a fragment of foreign thoughts invading his brain, he felt as if his very reason would be devoured by that hunger. it roared through his consciousness, deafening in its madness. Only after it finally began to fade did Darian slowly regain his ability to think, and he slowly turned to look at Lyra sitting next to him.

The fox spirit girl was licking the blood from the corner of her mouth. Darian saw his blood moving like it was alive, wriggling along her tongue, seeping into her skin, into her teeth, into… her soul.

Lyra sensed his gaze. She licked away the last trace of blood and looked up at Darian with a simple, harmless grin.

But Darian, looking at her, felt like he was staring into her very soul. He saw… the part that was teetering on the edge of madness. He saw that wild hunger stirring and growing beneath her innocent smile.

She was hungry. Still very hungry. Hungrier than she looked. Possibly even hungrier than she realized.

"Benefactor…" she looked cautiously at his pocket, still wearing that silly grin. "Do you… still have something to eat? I think… my stomach doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm still a little hungry."

A chill ran down Darian's spine. He felt like something had just clicked in his mind. At the same time, he was more curious than ever about what had just happened, how had he "read" Lyra's thoughts and memories?

Why… was he able to see inside her mind?

He thought back to the moment his blood was absorbed into her skin.

Was that the cause?

Just then, he noticed a subtle shift in Lyra's expression.

It was as if something suddenly came back to her. Her eyes turned vacant for a moment, then stunned. She slowly stood up, staring straight at Darian like she was "re-evaluating" who he was. Then, suddenly shaking her head, she raised a trembling hand and pointed at him in disbelief: "Benefactor… you… you're not dead?!"

Darian froze.

Lyra then raised her hand to press against her forehead, swaying slightly. The conflicting memories in her mind were making her already unstable mental state crumble. Then finally, she began to recall the pieces of a "truth" that had once vanished from her memory.

She remembered their first "encounter," remembered that terrifying moment she lost control, remembered the shattered remains of her benefactor's body, remembered the warmth of fresh, living blood… then how that blood dissolved into nothingness, how the remains disappeared… how Darian's "death" faded from her memory…

She slowly steadied herself. Her golden-red eyes were dazed as she murmured, "Ah… I remember now. Benefactor, just now, we met outside… on the clearing. I lost control and you… but…"

She faltered and stopped. The second half of her sentence turned into a vague mumble, her clouded mind quickly descending into confusion once more.

Darian blinked. Clearly, Lyra had finally remembered their first meeting and that terrifying subsonic headbutt. He didn't know how she had suddenly recalled it all. Maybe it had something to do with him seeing her memories just now, but now was not the time to investigate.

Lyra's state was visibly unstable. Her body began to sway again, as if she were about to collapse at any moment.

Darian instinctively stepped forward only to stop himself abruptly at her next reaction.

Lyra raised her head, her golden-red eyes gleaming as if filled with bloodlust. She stared intently at Darian, a low, beastlike growl rumbling from her throat.

Slowly, she hunched forward. The disheveled tails behind her began to unfurl one by one, stretching out into the night. Fox tails flared and grew, and ghostly blue flames flickered and burned at the tips of each one.

She exuded the aura of a predator, wild and untamed, like a beast in the dark.

The hunger in her bloodstained eyes grew ever more intense, and through some vague connection, Darian almost thought he could hear the voice echoing deep within the girl's heart

Benefactor, you smell so good…

Darian swallowed hard and took a cautious half-step back. Just then, from the corner of his eye, he finally noticed a… shadow behind Lyra.

It was a massive, spreading shadow creeping in from the darkness, drawing closer behind her. The ghostly blue foxfire swayed in the night, illuminating the silhouette hidden in the dark. And slowly, the form took shape. it was as if countless grotesque, twisted animal limbs had been chaotically fused together. From the towering mass of flesh several meters high grew overlapping mouths, eyes, and claws. an embodiment of hunger and predation. Behind Lyra, the creature let out a deep, muddled growl, like a low and urgent whisper.

With each guttural sound and urging growl, Lyra lowered her body even more. Silver-white fur spread across her skin, her cheeks distorted, fangs emerged, and her human features quickly receded. In the blink of an eye, the simple, silly-smiling girl vanished.

What stood there now was a massive silver-white demon fox, her spectral blue tails ablaze, casting eerie light across the ruined temple… and Darian's face.

He heard a voice seductive, piercing, burrowing into his mind faint, yet unmistakable:

"Eat… eat, and the hunger will go away…

"Feast…

"Feast with us…

"You're hungry… eat…"

At first, Darian thought it was Lyra's inner thoughts, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case. That was the voice she was hearing, the real source was that grotesque abomination behind her.

It was urging Lyra to eat, tempting the demon fox girl to surrender to the hunger. The tone was like that of a cultivator waiting for the bloom of something long nurtured.

Darian wanted to shout, to warn Lyra not to fall for it. He had begun to piece together fragments of the truth. But before he could speak, he felt it that dreadful hunger radiating from the depths of her mind.

It was enough to drown out reason, to block out any foreign voice.

All he could do was force a bitter smile and spread his hands before the demon fox.

"I'm telling you, later your mouth and your stomach are gonna have some serious regrets. Next time we meet, it's going to be real awkward for you…"

Having said his part, he exhaled like someone ready to meet their end. He sank his weight down and assumed the starting stance of military combat boxing.

Of course, military combat boxing didn't stand a chance against a nine-tailed demon fox (or maybe it was seven or eight tails). But at least he could die with some dignity.

And hey, maybe... just maybe, whatever had changed in his body might give him one lucky hit. If nothing else, maybe he could punch her in the nose before dying and make it sting for a while…

That silly thought flashed through his mind and the next second, a fierce wind slammed into his face. The massive silver-white demon fox launched into the air. The sheer pressure of the air made Darian instinctively shut his eyes.

But death didn't come.

Darian opened his eyes in confusion.

He saw the silver-white fox twist mid-air and lunge, not at him but at that grotesque monster. She let out a feral roar, so full of rage it was almost a sob, and sank her teeth into the creature.

But in the very next instant, countless blackened bone fragments and keratinous spikes erupted from within Lyra's body. They pierced through her flesh, impaling her and pinning her suspended in mid-air.

Darian stared in stunned silence as the silver-white demon fox twisted her head painfully in the air. Crimson-gold blood poured from her wounds, evaporating as it met the night sky.

"Benefactor… run…"

{You smell so good…}

"I'm not a monster yet…"

{So hungry…}

"Run!"

{Run!}

(End of Chapter)

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