Mother

In a moment of eerie silence, the corridor transformed into a symphony of chaos. The Centipedes, once following Richard like obedient hounds, became frenzied, as if they had lost their guiding thread. Their shrill screeches reverberated through the hollow hall, filling it with an unsettling intensity.

Richard's companions swiftly rallied. A nameless woman, her strange, glowing contraption in hand, began shouting orders, her voice cutting through the chaos. A crystal catalyst materialized before her, and within moments, a crimson barrier formed, encasing the group. Horror etched across their faces, but it did not paralyze them; it spurred them into swift action, determined to safeguard their survival.

Two of the men, with haste in their movements, bent down and retrieved ornate daggers from their robes. In a single, fluid motion, they slashed their palms, releasing a gush of blood that defied gravity. The crimson fluid hung suspended in the air, creating a mesmerizing dance as it rolled in hypnotic patterns. Then, it drenched the obsidian floor, painting an intricate and artistic pattern within the protective barrier.

As one, the group moved in synchrony, each member taking their place inside the newly etched design. Together, they began singing a haunting chorus, their voices intertwined in perfect harmony.

"Oh, Crimson God, Sovereign of Blood's Dominion,

In this dire hour, 'neath the sinister moon's vermilion.

We prostrate ourselves before thy majestic presence,

Beseeching thee to shield us from terror's malevolence.

Envelop us in thy scarlet cloak of fervent flame,

Guard us from the vile beast's murderous aim.

Preserve our spirits, mortal forms, and noble quest,

In thy crimson refuge, we implore thee, be our crest."

Alec watched in awe as this mystical incantation unfolded before his eyes, a fervent prayer to an otherworldly entity. It all transpired in mere moments after Richard's demise. The shadow that had engulfed Richard's remains had vanished, leaving chaos in its wake. The once-obedient Centipedes had descended into madness, turning on each other and the crimson barrier Richard's team had erected.

Then, in a breathtaking turn of events, Alec witnessed a shadowy figure rising from the obsidian floor. It morphed and advanced like a dagger, menacing and swift. But Alec, despite the impending danger, felt a strange calm wash over him. His inner gremlin, hidden deep within, revelled in the bizarre spectacle, its ecstasy contagious.

Before the shadowy dagger could reach him, it transformed into a rain of a thousand needles. Each needle found its mark on the runes that confined Alec within his cage. In the blink of an eye, he was free.

The crimson barrier, meanwhile, was undergoing a transformation of its own. It shifted to a brighter shade, solidifying as if responding to the prayers of Richard's team. But the armored Centipedes, frustrated by their inability to breach the barrier, had now fixed their gaze on Alec, seeing him as the next target.

Yet, Alec's benefactor, whom he could only think of as "Mother," had seen enough of the their antics. It was time to put an end to their game.

Then, She revealed herself.

From the absolute nothingness above Alec's head, a monstrous, nightmarish maw emerged. It bathed in the deepest shade of obsidian, appearing as if it were a creation of pure malevolence, a manifestation of darkness incarnate. Its colossal jaws, adorned with exquisite ebony spires, unhinged wide like the ancient gates of despair. Each tooth was a gleaming shard of obsidian, radiating a haunting and iridescent allure.

{Draco Abyssus Lv86}

Richard's companions stood by in utter horror, momentarily forgetting their prayers to the crimson god. The enormous maw stretched wide, covering the entire corridor, and unleashed a dark beam, a tangible embodiment of pure malevolence. Under its relentless assault, the Centipedes, the crimson barrier, the people, and even the very fabric of reality itself disintegrated.

Alec watched in astonishment as the beam of darkness tore through the fortress's reality, revealing the absolute void beyond. But just as quickly as it had vanished, reality restored itself. The castle corridor was whole once more, but all traces of Richard's companions and the Centipedes had vanished, as if they had never existed just moments before.

Alec found solace in the fact that his inner gremlin was firmly in control of his emotions. Without it, he couldn't fathom how he might have reacted, standing on the sidelines and witnessing the unbridled destruction that unfolded before him.

And now, the moment had arrived. Ever since his bewildering arrival in this world, he had never imagined he would come face to face with his true mother, a void dragon of colossal proportions. For a fleeting moment, he wanted to burst into laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all. How much of his reality had shattered within these few hours since he had taken his first steps as a naked kitten in this new realm? Yet, he was too fatigued for laughter, so he allowed his inner gremlin to take the forefront.

What Alec felt at that moment was a surge of unbridled joy, akin to that of a lost child finally reuniting with their parent. It was the promise of protection from all the malevolence in the world.

The dragon's maw, which barely fit within the massive corridor, defied the laws of the very space. It turned toward Alec, gazing directly into his eyes. The dragon's eyes, vast and ancient, were like two pools of unfathomable darkness, rimmed with a swirling, ethereal iridescence. In those depths, Alec saw the wisdom of ages and the boundless love of a mother.

Overcome with ecstasy, Alec leaped like a playful cub and embraced the giant dragon's maw in a heart-warming and long-awaited reunion.

He meowed with tears of pure and innocent joy, each utterance a heartfelt narrative of a lost child and his myriad adventures. His meows wove together the emotions of excitement upon acquiring new skills, the exhilaration of outsmarting foes, the dread of mana depletion and dire predicaments, and now, the unbridled and pure joy of reuniting with his mother in the midst of darkness.

This form of communication was almost otherworldly, transcending the need for spoken words. It was a language of pure emotions, a profound connection that went beyond what Alec had ever known as a human.

The colossal Dragon, seemingly amused by her child's antics, unfurled her maw. An unseen force gently lifted Alec, suspending him in midair. With an expression of profound tenderness, the Mother dragon lowered her massive head to the tiny Alec. Her colossal dark tongue, many times wider than Alec himself, moved with astonishing precision, caressing his face and cleaning him with meticulous care, removing specks of blood and dust from her child's fur.

Alec was utterly flabbergasted, but his inner gremlin revelled in ecstasy, content in the presence of his long-lost mother.

As she groomed Alec, the colossal Dragon purred, a deep and resonant symphony echoing through the corridor. It was an expression, a complex tapestry of emotions – sadness, helplessness, confusion, and vulnerability. It was an apology, a whispered acknowledgment of her perceived failure as a mother. Her purring voice wove the strands of a forgotten past, of her bewilderment upon awakening in an unfamiliar realm, stripped of her once-mighty power. It sang of the sorrow that accompanied the necessity of sending her child away for its safety. It spoke of her powerless stance against an adversary and her fragility in the face of the unknown.

She rumbled once more, her purring voice shifting to narrate a different set of memories. This time, it unfurled the tale of the void, of conquest, and her gradual ascent to power. It recounted the unexpected ally. Her purring voice held the threads of a long-lost history, with mere fragments etched in her memory. It revealed stories of triumphant battles against a formidable foe and of ageless might coursing through the tapestry of time. And, lastly, it spoke of a valiant warrior who had aided her in reclaiming a shard of her former self.

Alec, though he only partially comprehended the depths of those shared emotions, didn't mind at all. He and his inner gremlin were in such perfect harmony that even he couldn't distinguish between them. He purred deeply, as if punctuating his bewilderment, playfully admitting that he was too naive to grasp any of it.

In response, Mother let out a deep rumble, as if she were chuckling. She was delighted to see him safe and sound, and her laughter resounded in the corridor.

However, she rumbled once more, this time with a tinge of sadness. It spoke of an unfulfilled task, a mission left incomplete. Before Alec could inquire about it, the force that had suspended him midair shifted, gently placing him on his mother's colossal snout. In an instant, they were engulfed by the void once more, disappearing from the corridor.