Chapter 12

As time flowed, so did the rain.

There was this weird revitalization within Darthra.

He exhaled. Over time, he felt his body fill to the brim with energy, and like a boiling kettle of water, some of this streamed out, as if to repair his lost wings.

Before he knew it, even after the rain cleared up, they were back.

'So weird,' He thought, his wings moving gently, 'the days passed so quickly, why am I not fazed?'

Darthra didn't mind.

Like promised, and because he wanted to, his wings flapped as if refilled by fuel. When he hovered in the air, Darthra screeched with vigour.

"I've missed this!" He couldn't help himself.

With that sorted, Dartha headed for Anguirus.

The flight was slow and forgiving, helping him settle within the constant motion of air.

Anguirus was finally in his sights.

As Darthra landed, his feet touched the smooth landscape, his wings fleeting dust into the air.

There was this strange glare from Anguirus before he nodded and broke into a chuckle. Darthra ignored it.

"Well, Well," He laughed, "look at you,"

"I know, right?" Darthra replied with a cheerful screech, raising his wings, "That's why I came to see you,"

Anguirus nodded with a sad frown.

"Well, didn't think you'd actually come and see me,"

Darthra nodded.

"Farewell," Anguirus greeted, "like I said before, hope your luck never runs out,"

"Yes," Darthra slowly moved his wings, "goodbye,"

"One more thing," This stopped him from flying, "this loss may have been temporary, but the darkness is eternal,"

Anguirus stared at him.

"Don't forget," He continued, "you may improve, but as you stare into the endless sea, one day, you will meet yourself in those depths,"

Darthra paused.

Why did that sound familiar?

"I understand," was all he said, his wings finally alive.

With a flap, and a screech, Anguirus watched Darthra ascend into the air before soaring away, the sun gleaming off his lightly coloured fur.

'What did he mean by that?' Darthra thought, flying at a gentle and slow pace, 'That stare, too...'

He looked forward, the horizon his only limit.

'I'm still stupid,' Darthra thought, watching the land move past him at a constant rate, 'I'm like an abandoned ship, I have no idea of where I'm going, nor have a goal in mind, but the current pushes me, the waves are my road to a neverending sea of twists and turns,'

He shook his head, 'Now I know I'm stupid,'

As he flew, Darthra enjoyed flying at a steady altitude, while he watched the land.

'What can be my goal?' He looked around, 'What can I achieve to make myself stronger?'

Minus One came to mind.

Darthra had a shiver go down from his head to his abdomen.

'It won't beat her, for that matter,' He frowned, 'I'll still be a failure,'

In the end, Darthra couldn't help it.

'Maybe that whole sacrifice speech would be helpful,' His wings battered against the breeze, 'but, would I really do it? Sacrifice myself? For myself?'

For a moment, that didn't sound very logical.

Even after some thought, it still didn't make sense.

'I need a goal, whether I like it or not,' He squinted, though his blue eyes stayed the same, 'maybe it's down there, and not up here,'

Darthra carefully lowered himself down, descending close to the ground.

There were no monsters.

Just a stretch of trees, a few small rock surfaces, and grass.

In these tall mountain sides, were a few crevasses. Some may have led to caves.

Speaking of which...

'Ggh,'

A strange sensation hit the back of Darthra's head. There was something addicting about it if he had to describe it. It was a craving.

He needed it.

'This feeling,' Darthra looked in a certain direction, 'must I follow it?'

For all he knew, it could be a trap. Hell, maybe he would be cursed or something. What if he was sent into an endless purgatory?

He looked around.

'Does a failure have anything to lose?' Darthra shook his head, 'I must stop talking like that,'

'What did Anguirus say again?'

He thought for a moment.

'Whatever,' Darthra glided forward, 'my goal, for now, can be to see what this thing is, that's got me hooked like a fish,'

This sensation guided him through these mountains, and he turned and swayed in between each piece of rock.

A large mouth appeared on his right.

One of a cave.

To judge, Darthra could fly in and out without a problem.

The only problem, however...

'There could be a monster waiting within,' He thought, flying around to get a good look inside.

Weirdly enough, torches lit up a few parts of the massive pathway. Which meant something else.

'Someone else is in here,'

A woosh later, Darthra flew in, slowly scanning the walls as he went through.

He came across two rock pillars. Both are the height of the cave. They were neatly defined, with a curvature and roundness that was rare within this tunnel. More torches surrounded the bottom of the pillars, lighting up a part around them.

'If push comes to shove, I can fly,' He thought, flying in between the pillars, 'I don't have the firepower, but I have the power to retreat,'

Rounding a corner, Darthra entered a room.

It was large enough for him to fly around freely. The walls of this place were smooth. At the far end, a small, square piece of ground stood leveraged above the rest. Big enough for Darthra to sit on.

Light peeked from above. From this, Darthra eyed at the single podium of stone again.

"What!?" He let out a screech in surprise.

His heart slammed around within his thorax. Some rubble from the ceiling fell around him.

There were also a few screams from below.

Darthra snapped his head down.

He watched as these humans ran for the walls. Some had torches. Within the cracks, they found their refuge.

Pairs of eyes jabbed at his sides with an insurmountable amount of fear.

However, Darthra had none of that.

'What was their business here?' He looked around, 'Oh...'

The podium came back to view.

As he stared longer, the more he grew uneasy.

From the light above, the space was emphasized.

Within it...

A moth.

A moth statue.

As the dust clung to the outer rim, the gleam of the statue was something of majestic quality.

Everything.

From head to abdomen, wings to feet, was like a disco ball. All these spots of silver shined despite how old it looked.

This was it.

It was as if Darthra was pulled into a black hole.

Whatever this silver statue was, it called to him.

"Power..."

"Sacrifice..."

"Desire..."

Darthra heard this.

'What?' He looked around, 'Am I dreaming?'

"Power.."

The statue on the podium came into view.

An unsettling rush of electricity zapped Darthra.

'Trap, Trap, Trap!' Was all he thought, 'The people here must be summoning a demon, and I may be the sacrifice,'

He heard a click.

Then another.

'Oh my word,'

Dominic shivered.

The statue moved.

Like an insect moulting, it came to life, opening itself. Clangs and clicks echoed throughout the room.

As it opened up, it regurgitated something out.

A corpse.

'That's a moth!'

The already rotten body stood the same way the statue did. The only differences were the missing wing, antennae and most of its skin and flesh.

'What the...'

Darthra's skin crawled.

The silver part moved.

Directly off the elevated stone.

It landed with a thud, the heavy wings slamming against the ground.

Slowly but surely, it limped its way to Darthra, head and thorax open, as if welcoming him in.

Yet, even though this scared the skin off him, Darthra never moved.

Not even the confused screams from the people wavered him.

'Why am I not afraid?'

Even if the walking skin could inflict trauma on someone, the voices came from it.

"Power..."

"Sacrifice..."

"Desire..."

It was from this abomination of silver.

Darthra thought for a moment.

Was it worth it?

Maybe the corpse it left was what it did? Was it a moth killer?

His wings raised, and Darthra flew into the air.

This entanglement of shiny silver attempted to do so as well, but the wings clanked about, offering no help.

'I must've walked into a cult,' Darthra looked at the ceiling, 'I don't know what that thing is, but it definitely isn't a kaiju,'

He looked at it.

It wiggled around, body clunking against the cold, stone floor.

Darthra turned his head.

'It...looks like some kind of armour,' He shook his head, 'whatever,'

As he hovered around the ceiling, Darthra was able to fly out. The space was big enough.

When the sun slapped against his body, he looked down again.

'I guess my goal is complete,' Darthra flew forward, 'let's find another one,'

He stopped.

There was a cry.

One of a kaiju.

More of a screech.

It made Darthra's hair stand on end. This was because of the screech. There was this uncanny feeling about it. So, as he turned, Darthra jumped when he heard it again.

Now, he could tell why.

It was the noise.

That metallic noise.