With the explosion still ringing in his ears, Damon's mind completely emptied. He was instantly expelled from the dimension as his body was torn apart and scorched in the blast, thus embracing darkness once more.
Then, in the forest of Ya'arseele's hidden residence, Redhill Manor, his bloodshot eyes snapped open to a wooden infirmary ceiling.
He had made it home.
However, he wasn't safe yet. Before he could take a breath, an insatiable itch engulfed his mind and began to spread across his flesh as if it were a raging flame.
Damon flipped onto his side as blood vessels expanded to resist the heat. He bit down on the bed sheets as he tried not to give in, but the sensation seemed to worsen by the second. His entire body was getting itchier and itchier, and it felt like he could just break apart at any minute.
He screamed inwardly for a moment of relief, but what followed was an array of scrambled noises!
It sounded beastly at times, sharp like a tiger's roar, then subtle like a rodent's teeth chattering, before rising into maniacal laughter, a cruel puppet master compelling his hands to move.
As his mind shook, Damon tightly closed his eyes, then opened them again, hoping they would disappear.
'Please, leave me alone! Please!'
Yet soon he could no longer bear it.
Bang!
He rolled across the bed, rubbing his irritated skin against the flax linen sheets, and bumped his head into the grey metal frame.
Damon then groaned in pain and began scratching fervently. His nails blackened with skin and blood as they dug beneath the brown layer that concealed the tender muscles and tendons.
But the pain just wouldn't stop!
In mere seconds, steaming blood started oozing from his pores like sweat, and he could no longer describe the pain he was feeling…
It wasn't simply an itch anymore.
It was as though something binding his soul to his body began to rattle like a chain under immense pressure. He could feel the cracks forming at each curve along his spine, twisting around his cartilage and burrowing deeper into his veins.
'What the hell is happening to me…?!'
Hunched over, Damon felt blood filling his mouth and puffed out his cheeks. Under the force of his jaw, the molars at the front began to chip and shatter like glass.
He retched with disgust and quickly coughed out the shards of enamel mixed with blood and spit.
At this moment, a sharp sting suddenly pierced the side of his neck.
Damon's body jerked as he whipped his head toward the source, collapsing onto his back. His strength vanished, and he stared blankly at the ceiling as his vision slowly began to blur.
"To think you'd wake so soon."
Startled, Damon looked over to see a woman standing by his bedside.
Long white bangs fell over the right half of her face, masking her features like partitioned drapes. At the same time, the main body of hair sat upwards in the form of a Huaren bamboo hat or an open umbrella, as if to guard against impending rain.
Her enchanting amethyst eyes gleamed against the shadows cast around her hair, and she wore a long white open tunic jacket with plain white lingerie visible beneath, exposing flawlessly smooth skin.
"How fascinating. His limbs are being subdued, but this strange itching persists. I'll need to get someone from below the mountain to bring me more neurotoxins to test."
'Who..?' Damon heard the sultry voice again and then froze, breathless.
Her figure was vaguely reminiscent of Rosa, though there was something distinctly different about her presence; her collarbone seemed to sit slightly higher. It was noticeably thicker too, with more pronounced curvature.
Instinctively, Damon narrowed his eyes as the stranger raised her left hand and shook a half-empty syringe of green fluid in thought.
His vision continued deteriorating, but he desperately tried to make out the person's face.
He almost missed the fact that there was a golden earring on the woman's left earlobe. It was shaped like the number nine.
After seeing this, his gaze slowly traveled downward.
The woman's sleeves were unusually oversized, extending well beyond her arms. Her right hand was completely concealed within the fabric, leaving only the left hand exposed.
'Strangely styled hair, the long sleeves and that earring... There's only one person I know who dresses like that…' Damon muttered internally. His pupils dilated as he connected the pieces.
The "woman" before him was none other than Keene!
The very snake he wished least to encounter in the orphanage, and his eldest brother.
'How did I end up in his hands!?'
'And why is he naked!?' Damon exclaimed in his heart. He found it unbelievable that the attendants would permit the reckless treatments the snake often opted for.
'I don't know how, but I need to call for help... who knows what he plans to do next.'
Keene covered his mouth and let out a chortle, noticing Damon's stare. "Aw, it seems you recognized me. That's disappointing. I even took the liberty of making some adjustments to my body to hide my involvement too."
"Hey, you'll keep this our little secret, right? Blink once for yes."
'Like hell I will, you psycho!'
At this moment, Damon wanted to unleash a barrage of every curse in his vocabulary. But before he could form a response, his pupils faded, and darkness abruptly reclaimed his consciousness.
After discerning that he had passed out, Keene smiled creepily, showing his white teeth, and said pensively, "Now, should I let the others know, or have them continue waiting..."
...
Beyond the infirmary's walls, a ragtag group of adolescents lingered just outside the chestwood door, occasionally shifting their gazes around.
Their expressions were dreamy, and shadows sat beneath the eyes of one, yet for the past five hours, none of them had made any suggestions to leave.
"Hey... um, guys, I'm good with waiting for Damon to wake up, but can't we have Mr. or Ms. Salamanca prepare us a snack?" said Henry as he rubbed his eyes.
Clutching his growling stomach, Kayn nodded in agreement.
But Vincent shook his head and replied, "They already went to bed, and besides, Mother doesn't allow overnight requests."
His lips then curled slightly, and he looked towards the quiet green-haired boy sitting nearest to the door with a book. "Why don't you ask Abel to share? He's been hiding the candy he got during Ethan's last visit for nightly treats."
This was an obvious lie; however, Abel suddenly flinched and froze.
"So you have been hiding them..." Vincent's smile faltered as his brows shot up. He was surprised to discover he had guessed right.
But then again, it was also understandable, considering they were talking about chocolate.
As ingredients such as cacao beans were deemed a high-class commodity due to their ability to slow the mutations of regular animals, the quantity of candies that included chocolate continued to dwindle.
Because of this, one would have to be extremely fortunate to obtain a consistent supply.
Thus, it was rather common to hide any candy they received, since no one besides their mother knew when Ethan would return from his guard duties along the northern sector of the border.
The lucky lad had been assigned to protect an eccentric noblewoman by the name of Shelly Wonka, the owner of one of the two major chocolate factories located in the kingdom of Aegis.
"Let's just hope he remembers to pace himself and bring us a new batch soon," Vincent sighed.
The others shared similar looks of exasperation. After all, they all knew that the seventeen-year-old Ethan had a crippling sugar addiction.
At that moment, there was a commotion inside the infirmary. Soon, the sound of footsteps approached the door.
"Damon must have finally woken up... he's really late as always, huh..." Vincent smiled. Due to how much they sparred and played together, he couldn't help but dote on him even if they weren't connected by blood.
"Do you kids plan to wait up all night?" Keene looked over, amused, as he cracked the door open and stuck his head out. "If so, care to join me for a few tests? I'll be gentle, promise."
"Really? Will you make me something to eat if I say yes?" Kayn asked thoughtlessly.
"Certainly," Keene said. "I've heard cooking can be quite the experiment as well."
"Will you cut the crap, brother, and tell us how Damon's doing?" Vincent bluntly interrupted, massaging his brows. Watching this interaction made his blood pressure rise.
"Well," Keene began ruminatively, his expression shifting.
"It's complicated"