The sky is ripped apart, drenched in blood. Dripping blood floods the sky with dense blood patches. The demonic eye creeped out. Its blood veins wrap the sky.
The gnashing, serrated teeth are ready to shred flesh from poor humans. The grotesque tongue, covered in blood, makes it uncertain if it has eaten someone recently.
"Oh God!" Coarto whispers silently under his own breath.
Curving teeth stretching inside, pointy and sharp, make it an absolute flesh grinder.
A gust of wind sways Hudson's chest. He is still feeling heavy; his mind is clouded with the fear of his life. He didn't expect to encounter another monstrosity after jail. He hesitates to step forward; he is trembling. The unsureness grips over him.
The whole area breaks into disaster as two eerie and skinny hands emerge from the sky. Beaded wrist and pale skin with thin hairs all around the arm. Tall black nails and long fingers, reminding Brac of the pale hand in jail.
The hand stretched toward the weakest among them.
"Oh no, it's coming towards me. Does it know that I don't have any power?" Coarto's mind rushes with thoughts; he is thinking quickly in fear.
"Oh God, please no." The hand is slowly stretching itself.
"What do I DO!!?" Coarto's shivering. Chills go down his spine. He has never witnessed such a thing.
He is regretting joining Brac. He couldn't find a way. Should he just betray them and run away? But wouldn't it be foolish for him to stay? What else could he do except run?
"DON'T COME CLOSE, NOOO!!" Coarto screamed like a madman in immense fear. Coarto ran toward the road as fast as he could, the hand reaching for him as he tried to get himself away by jumping here and there. Fear… ONLY fear is what he is feeling now.
Suddenly he tripped and bashed onto the floor. His ankles are hurting, knees screaming in pain. He is still trying to get away. He helplessly crawls... He tried to say something, but his voice cracked in the middle.
The hand clamped Coarto from the ground and wrenched him tightly, making him cough blood.
He can feel his inner organs busting. He is restlessly trying to get out by pushing himself outside the filthy hands.
"Brac, please do something!!" Coarto screamed with a small hope that it would reach Brac.
"What are we gonna do..." Hudson thinks to himself. He is disappointed in himself.
"How can I be such a coward?
Why can't I help?" He's sobbing deep inside. He can't come up with a plan like always.
"I need to do something, but how?"
Think. Think.
Brac looked at Hudson. Watching Hudson break down in fear is making it more hard for Brac.
"Hudson..." Brac's face is neither showing hope nor despair.
"Hudson. I don't know what has grasped you in such sadness, but I can clearly see the reason why you are worried," Brac said in a calm tone, though it is hard to remain calm in such a situation.
"When I got out of the jail... I never thought I would meet someone in this world who knew about it," Brac continued.
Hudson cleared his blurry vision and glanced at Brac.
"You were the someone who kept my sanity. You were the one who planned out the whole cultists takedown... I am sure you can find out something again." Brac's smile spread across his face as he counts on Hudson's intelligence.
Something clicks inside Hudson. It seems Brac's words lighted a spark of hope in Hudson's heart. Something that Hudson needed the most at this moment — hope. His will seems to be restored. He can finally step forward and do something.
Hudson stood up. His fears seem to blend out in the air.
"Thanks... big boy," Hudson slightly smiled at Brac.
"I zoned out a bit, but I am fine now."
"Ah, I am relieved... So what's the plan?"
Brac sighed and then stiffened up.
"Let me think."
"Aha, got it... Let it eat me." His eyes turned into a dot as he gave Brac a big smile.
Brac was completely baffled by Hudson; his eyes turned thin. He blinked repeatedly.
"What? Whaattt!!?" Brac's jaw loosened.
"YES! Do as I say."
Hudson starts to run towards Coarto.
"Hey Hudson, wait!" Brac shouted as he joined Hudson. He is trying to figure out what Hudson meant.
"Ohh ooooohhh.. I see." Brac rushed to Coarto.
Hudson jumps on the wall and then to the roof of the nearest building.
"Brac, chains! Now!!"
Brac takes a leap toward Coarto. The Eye swiftly rushes its other hand and tries to catch Brac.
Brac disappeared in the very moment when the Eye was about to catch him.
FAST! The Eye was startled.
Brac came from behind toward the other hand, summoned his chains. Chains emerging out the thin air of his palm. Brac's chain lunged forward, wrapping the hand. He started spinning furiously around and tightened the chain. He jumped off from the hand and rolled over the ground. He pulled the chains with all his might.
"MONSTERS and MONSTERS… I am tired of dealing with all of your lousy asses." Brac is gritting his teeth yet not leaving any chance to be badass.
His voice resonates with his arrogance.
"But why the other hand?" Coarto is confused.
"I need human! I need... human!" The Eye spoke with its horrible voice. Its terrifying twisted tongue, showered in blood, came out again as
it quickly devoured its lunch from the hand.
The whole place went quiet, leaving only its swallowing sound in the rain.
The Eye slowly starts laughing.
"HEHME.. HAAAHAH! You humans are so foolish! Even I can devour you,… Brac Aldenson." The Eye looked down on Brac.
"Take a look around, buddy... and you will find out who is foolish." Brac turned around as he laughed. His chains turned into dust particles as they vanished with a rustling sound.
"HUH!" The Eye moved its vision slowly to the ground.
Coarto was lying on the ground senselessly.
The Eye was in disbelief. Then did it swallow…
"Yeah, that's right... It was Hudson."
"You damn humans!" It swiftly rushed its hands toward Coarto.
With lightning speed, Brac summoned the chains again and wrapped Coarto, pulling him toward like a gust of wind carrying the leaves.
----
"Ahhhh, disgusting, disgusting," Hudson murmurs, holding his breath, trying not to vomit as he slides down the decayed and rotting throat of The Eye.
The foul smell of rotten blood has gotten into Hudson's nerves. The filthy, gooey substances seep into Hudson's skin.
"Ah jeez, did you ever brush in life?" Hudson teased The Eye just to get some tension off his neck.
"These... whatever these liquids are, I don't think the smell would go off even if I take a thousand showers," Hudson's thinking as if he hasn't come to rescue Neon, instead to judge the insides of The Eye.
"I wonder if Neon would still be alive... nah, he must be... he has to be." Hudson's face turns dull.
Gooey substance shrugs off from Hudson's shoes and latches onto his face.
Wak
Hudson brushed it off.
"It's taking too long, how long even is its throat? This is even diabolical to think of." Hudson is trying not to lose his mind. Because if he fails to keep his calm, he DIES.
His eyes widened, almost bursting out. The liquids on his body evaporated of heat. Scorching blaze and spurts of blood — what he was seeing was about to bring him death... either by boiling his guts or out of pure disgust.
His head is spinning, the nerves of his nose have never felt such horrible smell. He even doubts such a disgusting smell even exists.
"Did Neon fall here? Well, if he did, he would not be alive at this point."
Hudson's thoughts impulse as heat rushed through his veins. He is thinking quickly.
CATALYST: 1
A beam of yellow, rich light came out of his palm, spiraling over his hand. Slowly, a bow formed out of thin air. In the very moment, double-helix shaped, purple-hued light seeped out with an arrow from the other hand's palm.
"See this, you damn monster," Hudson looked up and shouted.
"You made a mistake." Hudson is being arrogant but not completely losing the sense of reality.
Hudson turned sideways. Swiftly and fiercely stabbed the arrow on the throat as he slid.
The arrow pierced through the throat, splitting it into two. Hudson stopped at the very edge of death.
Boiling blood latched onto his shoes. Blood from the throat showered onto Hudson. The whole body of The Eye shook and screamed.
Hudson hanged onto the arrow, swung up, and latched on it.
"Tsk, man, why do I always gotta be the one to find myself in these situations?" Hudson sighed furiously.
"Well, it was my idea, so guess it's my fault. Can't blame anyone," Hudson said as he breathed heavily.
"Looks like I can't find Neon this way… I hope that he is not dead."
"Forget Neon, how the fuck do I even get out of here?" Hudson uttered worriedly; he is crying inside.
While Hudson was thinking, an outrageous amount of eyes popped out from the fleshy walls of the throat.
"Human, forget your friend. Be my snack for now," the eyes spoke in a gruesome voice.
Hudson shot the eye with his arrows. But as it popped and vanished, another one appeared on the flesh walls.
"Futile, your mere power can't do anything to me.
"Remember moments ago you were out of shit."
The words struck Hudson in the heart.
"You can't do anything, you don't even know what you can even do now.
"All you can do is sob and boil in my stomach."
Hudson stood still. Not a single move, not a single thought.
"You are pathetic.
"Your friends are struggling outside. Them and you will also DIE like your friend,
N E O N."
Hudson kicked into consciousness, his eyes flared in disbelief.
"Quit yapping!" Hudson shouted.
"I am here to get Neon back, not to hear your dumb bullshit," Hudson said in a cold voice, lifting his chin as he looked dead in the eyes of the flesh wall.
The eyes chuckled.
"People with willpower are more fun to eat," the eyes looked down to Hudson.
Hudson pulled the bow and shot on the top of the flesh wall.
"You foolish human, what this small arrow even can do to me?"
Flesh ropes emerged out the walls. It thickened and surrounded Hudson, tightening him up, clenching his ribs.
Wrapping around his throat and ankles.
Hudson chokes and can barely speak. More flesh ropes grab Hudson's hands. The ropes are almost tearing Hudson.
"Now!"
Multiple circles opened around the ropes. The arrow tore through the portals one by one, teleporting from each to another.
Cutting the flesh ropes in pieces with its sharp edge, Hudson fell as all the ropes were torn. The arrow then gave Hudson a landing, emerging out of the throat.
The whole place shook. The Eye screamed. Boiling blood rose up.
"Shit!!"
Hudson stiffened himself and took a deep breath, though it felt awful for him.
He shot 10 times haphazardly.
A countless number of portals opened all around the throat.
The arrows traveled at godspeed, piercing through each inch of the throat.
Hudson is smiling with closed eyes as the storm of arrows massacres around him and showers the area with filthy blood.
"AUGHHHHH! AUGHHH, IT HURTS!!! IT HURTS!!!" The pain rose the boil to Hudson's feet.
In an instant, the carnivorous Eye blew up. Its hand vanished into thin air.
The whole playground was splattered in blood.
Hudson glided down harshly and landed on his foot.
He walked towards Brac with a gloomy face.
"We killed it... Hudson," Brac said like it was easy, as if he wasn't bleeding out of his head.
"Wait... Where is Neon?
"Don't tell…." Brac flapped eyes.
In a blinding flash, a huge white stone fell from the sky.
Breaking the ground into pieces.
"Hey, Hudson... did something fall from The Eye's stomach?" Brac pointed at the stone.
"Wa.." Hudson said in a confused voice as he looked behind.
Brac slowly approached it. Hudson followed.
As Brac got closer, the confusion in his mind became more visible through his face. He doesn't know how to react. His body frozen in amusement and shock. He doesn't know whether to be happy or to be worried.
As he got closer and closer, his eyes burst out in tears.
NEON.
"He is alive, Hudson," Brac falls on his knees.
Neon's naked body is sealed inside the transparent white stone.
"Wait, it's…" Hudson approached the stone.
"It's thin and soft… Brac, this thing... it's made of paper