Star had no idea what had happened; all he felt was pain, at least until he came into contact with the void. Now, he couldn't feel anything but darkness—boundless, warm, and welcoming darkness.
Gazing emptily, his eyes unable to perceive anything, he mumbled.
"Am I… finally waking up?"
It was a great thought to have in his current situation. Nothing made sense to him anymore, the story… He really didn't want to see how it went; he already knew it all. His favorite author had done well to complete the story, and all he wanted to see was the comic adaptation.
So why wouldn't he wake up?
'Dammit, what the hell is happening?'
His body was stiff, moving yet stationary. Maybe it was just him going crazy from seeing the boundless nothingness for so long. But after a moment, something else began to happen.
He couldn't feel anything… No, it wasn't that he was unable to feel anything; it was that he felt like nothing… he felt fragmented and disoriented. Trying to think, he attempted to shake his head, but nothing happened. He was unable to feel his body anymore.
His mind felt empty, his body felt nonexistent, and his heart, that feeling of sadness and longing for his home back on Earth, was gone… Now he felt like the epitome of emptiness, nothingness… a void.
And then, just like his body, his mind began to tear apart as well. It was slow and painless, like he was running mad, and after that, he became nothing.
For a moment, time ceased to exist, and then everything slowly began coming back. His mind reformed, his thoughts reconstructed, his body reshaped, and his emotions reenacted.
And then a strange feeling suddenly came over him… It felt strange not being able to feel anything for so long, but now, his heart was beating heavily, his breaths were hoarse, and his body was trembling… This feeling… it was fear.
With a loud gasp, he opened his eyes, and then everything around him changed… it seemed vastly different… the darkness was gone.
Light…
He could finally see the light!
He marveled, instantly closing his eyes at the blinding light, and before he could do anything else, or even think, he crashed to the ground, his entire body ringing with agony.
He felt a searing pain in the right side of his abdomen, where the massive worm had hit him, his bones shattered, and then at his ankles, where its fangs had grazed him.
The ache came crashing into him like a wave, causing him to grit his teeth and hit his head hard on the ground multiple times. A few muffled groans escaped his lips, and then he gently placed his hand against his broken ribs.
But after a few moments of his masochism, he stopped abruptly and sniffed the air, the intense stench of dried hot air and sagebrush instantly filling his nostrils. He then stared at the ground, at the hot golden sand that lay beneath him.
Then, the pain only got worse.
With his skin now intensely burning, he tried to get up, but nothing happened. His ankles wouldn't budge, and his ribs made crawling impossible.
He frowned and mumbled.
"This doesn't make any sense. I was able to crawl with a wounded chest and shoulder, and now I suddenly can't move because of a few broken rib..."
His voice trailed off as he mumbled, his mind quickly getting fuzzy and his gaze blurry. He felt drowsy, like the world was spinning, and a second later, his face rested on the hot sand, and his eyes shut tight.
He had been so engrossed with the wounds themselves that he failed to account for other factors and had perhaps grown expectant of this new body. Even though Essie had healed him, he still suffered a great deal of blood loss, and it had finally caught up to him.
******
He drifted in and out of consciousness, his body completely failing him, and after many futile struggles, he finally gave in, consumed by darkness.
A moment later, his tired eyes slowly slipped open, and the first thing that caught his gaze was the ceiling of weathered stone, etched with intricate engravings that loomed above him.
Then, he tried to move only to notice a moment later that his body felt incredibly stiff… and cold. But he didn't have an opportunity to worry about it, though, because it wasn't the only strange thing about the place he found himself in.
There were soft blankets wrapped around him, and his body had sunk into the warm embrace of a mattress. It was a contradiction to the strange coldness that his body felt.
And then something else drew his attention; it was the overwhelming stench of blood that caused him to instantly turn his gaze to the side. Finally, he saw it… Sitting on the table to his side was a glass of red crimson liquid, and he was drawn to it.
He couldn't remember when the strange, overwhelming urge began, but one thing was for sure: he was unable to resist it. As if every ounce of pain and fatigue had suddenly been erased from his body, he sprang up from the bed and rushed toward the glass of blood.
But before he could grab hold of it, someone suddenly appeared in front of him, picked up the glass, and then lightly poked him on the forehead, bringing his movement to a sudden halt.
And then, a sweet and playful feminine voice echoed in the room.
"Oh… You're awake?"
Star frowned as he stared at the young woman standing before him. She looked only slightly older than he did, perhaps in her early twenties, and possessed a lithe, curvy figure.
Her eyes were gray-red and burning with an intense gaze, and her hair was raven black and neatly swept back, reaching slightly past her shoulders. Her skin was pale white, and standing before her, he could feel the almost palpable cold aura she radiated.
He tried his best to remain calm, looked up at her, and then remained frozen with his gaze intently fixed on her. His eyes were particularly fixated on the colorful red dress she was wearing with a low neckline and unfolded collar that reached past her neck and sleeves that opened up at her shoulders.
And just below that was the bosom of the dress, which had a curved slit in its middle that revealed her cleavage and a faint glimpse of her assets. She was beautiful… stunning.
While he was still drawn away by her beauty, her sweet, playful voice echoed in the room once again.
"And what might you be looking at?"
He gasped slightly and quickly turned away, stuttering.
"I-I… Nothing… It was nothing!"
She swirled the crimson liquid she was holding up in the glass and threw a sly smile at him. Then she furrowed her brow and glanced behind him at the bed.
"Are you not going to get dressed?"
Star paused for a moment and then glanced down at his body in horror. Quickly, he clasped both of his hands around his groin, his face turning red, and turned around quickly, running back to the bed.
The lady chuckled and turned her gaze to the side, taking a sip of the liquid as she leaned slightly against the table. After a brief moment, she glanced at Star, who was already done putting on a pair of shorts.
The boy was about to put on a robe and stopped abruptly as their gazes met. He remained still for a moment and then held the cloth aside and asked.
"So… Erm… Who are you?"
She chuckled and took another sip of her drink, and then her voice resounded, rather cheerful.
"Who? Me? Your Lord and personal Savior, who else?"
Star furrowed his brow, a bit confused by her words, but before he could say anything, she walked toward him and handed the glass of blood over. Without hesitating for a moment, he took the glass from her and gulped it down.
The overwhelming urge he felt was still there, but it felt slightly satiated after consuming the drink, finally allowing him to think more clearly. He gazed somberly at the empty, bloodstained glass for a moment and then looked up at her.
Noticing his strange actions, she leaned back and inclined her head slightly.
"I did what could only have been done. You know, there are very few ways to revive a dead body, and I just couldn't leave a vessel of divinity to waste."
She then stepped closer and placed her hand around his neck and leaned in, her cheek slightly touching his; then she whispered into his ear, her breath cold.
"It's time you embraced your new reality, Star. You and I are going to do great things together."