Rex's point of view
The man was intimidating. The strong ash was also. But I was a perfect counter to him as I could simply teleport the ash away, and I did.
I gave the man chance after chance. I tried to let him give out from exhaustion, but over in the distance I saw a different problem. Over a forest of ulnarah trees a giant sword swung above the forest. Then a golden light flashed and the attack replayed again, a pond amount of magical water started to fall down onto the forest below.
I swiped my hand and teleported the man onto another planet for me to deal with later. He'd survive a few hours there while I investigate this.
Teleporting up to where it was casted I saw a bloodied body and a falling giant maríft. The body of the maríft was severed cleanly into two diagonal parts. The sword that did that and the girl were now falling under the giant wave of water.
I sighed when I saw Heo and teleported the water away. It was actually harder to force away than I thought, meaning it was on a presence level. I swooped and caught Heo, only realizing the severity of her wounds when I held her. Her body was bleeding from everywhere I could see, parts of her body were completely purple.
"Are you still alive! Heo!"
"G-" She coughed blood up from her mouth. "Get my sword and that maríft's cape!" She demanded while actively dying.
"A-are you dumb!?"
I teleported us to a doctor in East Mila that was working for the army. She wasn't expecting anyone as badly injured as Heo was. I had to fight Heo who tried desperately to command me to grab those two things for her.
The doctor rushed away and back with a sedating medicine and put her under. The insane amount of wounds she accumulated bled profusely. Once her body was dried bruises were scattered all over her body.
Her entire right arm was misplaced, the only way that would have been possible was if someone ripped her arm with teleportation magic. She had two giant cuts on her shoulder and left arm. Blood came out of everywhere it could over her body.
Once the doctor trained in high tier healing magic got her under control she examined Heo's bones. Her right arm was completely shattered, along with the obvious displacement, and so was a handful of bones around her body. Her ribs poked into her organs and lungs.
If I didn't see Heo's giant attack she would have bleed out in that forest. I sighed looking at her.
"Wouldn't have been the first time you died…" I said quietly.
…
Stella Estellé's point of view
"YOURE JOKING!" Herika yelled through my phone.
"Don't you dare yell at me!" I abruptly yelled, her tone piping down.
"S-sorry. So, Heo leaves you, doesn't answer her phone for nearly a week, doesn't tell anyone where she goes and next time we hear about her she's half dead?" I could hear Herika shake her head on the other side of the phone.
"Trust me I'm just as mad." My voice was coming off meaner than I wanted it to.
"You're heading to her right now, right?"
"Yes, we are getting her parents and Rex offered to help us get to her."
"Well, keep us informed. Wait let me add you to the group chat with Ezree and Angel."
We hung up and I joined my family getting ready to leave. It appeared it was just another tragedy after me. I shivered, just imagining what Heo might have gone through.
Once I woke up my jacket seemed to have a mind of its own. It wrapped its sleeves around me in a hug after the call.
"Thank you." I said to my jacket. "I don't know what you are, but I'm glad you're so kind." I patted my own back in an attempt to pet it.
The inside temperature of the pirate jacket warmed up from my touch so I took it as a good sign, knowing my fire resistance though, it could be trying to burn me alive and I wouldn't be able to tell.
My whole body I could manipulate given I was a full dragon, I had tried to recreate my horns but every time I did they came out sharper than how they looked before. I dressed myself in a tight shirt and pants covered by the oversized jacket. It could also change its shape, so I made it larger to cover more of me.
I felt so scared for Heo but deep down I knew she'd be fine because she always was. Shortly after my parents got ready and checked me over a thousand times while bartering me with questions, we were off.
…
Heo's parents went in first. She was just waking up and the first thing I heard from her mouth were commands.
"SOMEBODY GET THAT STUPID PRIEST REX IN HERE AND TELL HIM TO GRAB MY SWORD!"
"Pfft." I laughed and tilted my head in.
Her bandaged and lightly yellow glowing face turned and saw me. The weird symbol in my eyes, she had one as well. Her face twisted trying to find an emotion to stick with.
"How are you, Heo?" I smiled so relieved to see my sis.
"Stella!" She yelled and pushed past her parents to me.
IVs and cords being ripped from her as she tackled me to the ground. Something I never expected fell from her eyes. She cried, more like wined into me like Āpala. She'd only shown me this side of her a few times. She apologized on the floor for Fayha. The name alone made me relive it.
Against my own muscles, I punched Heo in the head. She didn't seem to react to it at all. Before I hit her again the nurses and Heo's parents pulled her off me and back into bed.
I panted, wide eyed on the floor. "Heo, listen to the nurses!" Again I spoke and my voice came out more rude than I wanted it to.
She complied and got back onto the bed willingly. My parents helped me off the floor. Heo stared directly at the IV as they retracted it to her, like it didn't bother her at all. My fingers twitched. She was forced into a conversation with her parents about how stupid what she did was.
They were as kind as mine and even kinder given how dumb she could be at times. But Heo, there was something fundamentally different about her when it came to family, something you'd have to be blind not to see as all their words rolled off her.
…
I was finally left with just me and her again. The way her teeth showed in a smile around me left me feeling odd. Scared but also comforted by her being there.
Heo recounted to me the fight with Baydí how they lost but Rex came in and saved them. Like a hero. She then told me some of how Ezree Herika and Angel were doing. She told me the quests she did solo up until she left for Marine.
My body was shivering, feeling really cold and uncomfortable just talking to someone.
"Then —I'm not joking— someone tried to blow up Spirit. If one more hit I and everyone else would have been annihilated by that exploding ash of his."
"Wait really!" I tensed up.
"Yeah, but Rex teleported the ash away and the man killed himself right after."
Everything she said made me relive a part of what happened. My immediate response was to hit her but I restrained my body.
"Wait, are you talking about that 'Lord of Explosions' guy?" I asked.
"Thats what they're calling him?"
"Yeah. He didn't die. Rex was fighting him when he saw you, so get onto how you got to bleeding over that forest." My voice came out commanding.
"Alright so let me start from the second my feet touched Marine…"
She recounted a tail so crazy it had me double checking her curved black horns again and again. My fist clenched so tightly around certain parts of the story, again I was overcome with a feeling to attack Heo. I differently hit her a few times, but she didn't react to the punches, just smiling when I hit her.
Then Heo then told me something crazy…
…
Heo Estellé's point of view
"If you'd believe me I used Universal Being. Actually I've been using it for about a month. During the fight against Calamid I confirmed how one of the abilities worked."
"You have! You gotta explain it all to me!" She yelled differently than how she normally did, more mad.
"I will just make sure no one else hears it." I gave her a shh, hoping she wouldn't clock me again for that.
"Alright I will." Stella shot up from her seat and rushed to the door.
"Is there anyone?"
A man nearly a foot taller than Stella peered his head in. His black hair and red eyes staring into mine. The tallies on his neck gave the man the look of a thug rather than the head priest of the black hole gods.
Stella took a stance, but stopped herself before hitting Rex.
"You want to explain this Universal Being thing to me as well?" He looked down at Stella and gave her a smile.
I didn't respond but the man simply rose the Segmented Sea and the giant cape of Calamid up from the doorway.
"Yeah, I don't see why not."
I told them what I currently knew about Universal Being. About how destruction could increase damage based on range of attack which is what I used against Calamid. Somehow that attack replayed which I hadn't figured out yet.
I told them about Universal Helper and how it supposedly opens up more places to use magic points. Story Change how bad it was for time manipulation apparently. Lastly, I told them about Split Personality.
"I don't completely know how it works but I can ask this guy named Heo Primé to help me and he'll take part of my overall magic and come out of my body."
"Primé you said?" Rex asked.
"Uh, yeah. He said he was Heo Primé and to just call him Primé because it would get confusing."
"Did he say Destroyer or something like Planet Eater?"
"Gods, what?" I looked between Stella and Rex. "Destroyer yes, but Planet Eater? Do you know Primé for any reason to call him that?"
"I do." He smiled.
"Who is he?" Stella asked.
"What I know is off hand information from the King of Time so I can't give you a good description but if I had to try…" Rex cleared his throat before speaking in a lower forced tone. "That damned Heo Primé. Gods If I saw him again I rip him in half again and again for what that planet eating fucker did!"
Stella's fist bawled up and swung at Rex.
"Stella!" My eyes widened.
"Stella, I'm not going to do anything to Heo." Rex caught her hand and lightly dropped it.
Stella panted heavily, flicking her hand away from his grasp. Her face scrunched up in a way I've never seen her make. She pulled a hood over her head that I didn't see before. It came from her normal pirate jacket but it was much larger.
She hid her face before she spoke smaller. "That doesn't sound like she likes him at all? You mean the King of Time right? Our President of Mila?" Her voice came off like a weak animal.
"I'm afraid they have some past.."
"Gods, is she gonna kill me!" I screamed. "He's not even-"
Primé's scar covered hand came from my chest. "I'll deal with it." He spoke.
Stella jumped back, her pupils constricting down. Rex even took a stance against me from the hand. Stella hyperventilated even though she didn't need to breathe anymore she still did.
Then another hand came out. The hand was not scarred like Primé's and it waved Rex and Stella down. Only seeming to tick this new Stella off more. Her staff falling from somewhere in her jacket to her hand.
"Calm down, Primé is a tamed beast." Another voice that sounded like mine spoke.
"Who are you!" I asked, looking at the two hands coming from my chest.
"Obviously you. I'm Heo Chimé, just call me Chimé or we'll get confused. Haha" It laughed.
"I thought I'd have control over when I used Split Personality! Why are you just using it for me!"
"Heo, how many of them are there!" Stella yelled at me.
"I d-"
"Infinite. That's how this thing works." Chimé or Primé spoke, their voices too similar.
"Gods, what is happening!" I yelled at myself.
All the commotion caused nurses to come in looking around for a problem. Stella white knuckled gripping her staff, Rex was about to attack me himself, and my chest…
I looked down at the two extra arms gone from my chest. The nurses yelled at Stella and me for causing trouble. They told me not to get out of bed and to stay still.
So that was as far as I got with Universal Being. The two arms didn't come back out. The conversation around it ended. Stella stayed by my side like I did for her, but Rex left. Of course I made him put what I asked for in my bloodied burned backpack.