Existence Intertwined

Eternus rushed towards the rock at full speed, leaving a fine trail of dust behind him. He reached the rock just in the nick of time, inclining on it as Neko laughed hilariously at the spectacle but inside she bore a warm smile as she realized his eagerness to learn more about her.

Eternus caught his breath in a few seconds while resting his hand on the big boulder. He then said in his usual straightforward way, "I've reached it in just 20 seconds. Now, tell me… What exactly are you and why do you seem so familiar to me?"

"I already know you can talk like us Humans…" He narrowed his eyes, making it clear that he was on to her little secret.

"Haha… You heard me talk while I was sleeping, didn't you?" She laughed nervously.

"So you really can talk…" His eyes widened with surprise after Neko confirmed his suspicion, "I wasn't sure before… But now I know."

"Well, I'll have you know that I can do a lot more than just talk…" Neko boasted proudly with a smirk as she tickled the Boy's cheek with her long whiskers.

"Alright then… Tell me abou-'' Eternus felt a tremor in his hand coming from the boulder. His instincts told him to jump back and so did.

"AGH!! It's coming to life!!" Neko shrieked near Eternus's ear like a scared little girl when she noticed the boulder shaking vigorously as if it was coming to life!!

Eternus shook his head in response to the piercing shriek and took out the Crimson Blade from his belt, holding a vigilant stance on the shaking ground. He stared with peeled-open eyes at the boulder, expecting something to happen.

As the boulder's vibration increased in its intensity, the rock was slowly making its way out of the hard ground. And soon, it sprouted out and stood up in the shape of a giant statue with thick limbs, bulky hands, and a slightly rectangular head. Its face was flat and plain empty and the only noticeable thing was a big gem embedded in the center of its face.

Adding more to the peculiar scene, the statue growled, punching and stomping on the hard ground in anger, as if something or someone had annoyed it really badly like a child waking from his nap.

"Oh no! It's a Golem." Neko exclaimed in worry, "We should get out of here."

However, Eternus was unaware of any knowledge about a Golem but he knew very well that his chances to win against a moving pile of solid rock were very little...

And that is exactly why he stood his ground with intense eyes and clenched his sword tightly to avail this chance to test his limits.

"Neko, you step back. I'll deal with this!" He said to Neko, his voice filled with excitement and confidence.

Neko tried to argue for a moment, "B-but you can't win!" She gave up as soon as she remembered who she was talking to. She hopped off of his shoulder and moved aside, "Be careful." Said Neko, seriously.

Eternus stretched his shoulders and spine as a warm-up for the battle.

The golem slammed its huge fists together and rushed toward Eternus to make the first move.

The golem came and punched the ground at Eternus's feet causing a cloud of rubble to fly up and just at that time, Eternus swiftly slid from the gap between its short legs.

"An opening!"

Eternus exclaimed, taking advantage of the Golem's confusion, he slashed the Golem's leg but the enchantment of the blade prevented him from slicing through.

The Golem turned around and swooped its gigantic arms to grab the Boy, but once again Eternus nimbly evaded back and struck once again, aiming to cut down its arm. However, the sword clanged and bounced back upon impact, causing searing pain in his palms.

"This damn sword is useless…" He cursed under his tongue as he looked at the sword that did him no good. "This might be a chance to try 'that' out..." He said to himself, implying that he had something under his sleeve, perhaps a new move.

He went further back and stood upright. Then he shoved his sword down into the rocky ground in front of him and rested both his arms on top of its hilt. Showing a careless yet graceful stance with his eyes closed seeming as if he had already won. While in reality, he was imbuing Mana into the Blade.

Neko couldn't fathom his reasons and yelled out loud,

"YOU FOOL!!!"

The golem with its low level of intellect took the Boy's careless stance as mockery and pounded the ground in anger. It stomped on the ground while rushing as fast as it could, leaving big holes as footprints with each step it took.

At a few yards' distance, it raised both its arms with the intent to crush Eternus like a bug.

It was at that moment Neko noticed through her Mana gaze that Eternus had already suppressed the enchantment of the Crimson blade and imbued it with his own Mana.

'Just a little more Mana… Then I can see if it actually works.' Eternus thought inwardly as he focused deeply to augment the blade as much as he could.

Alas, He couldn't ready his attack in time and left himself in the open and as vulnerable as a cooked dish on a silver platter for the Golem to squish.

Neko screamed from behind, "Eternus, No!!!"

In a breathtaking moment, Eternus opened his eyes and saw the Golem bringing down its arms with the force of ten great hammers, all aimed at the Boy's head.

Eternus attempted to counter by pulling out the Mana-filled Blade, but he realized as the Blade's tip left the ground's embrace… That it was too late to counter.

In that moment of truth, he had realized his mistake that he shouldn't have left himself in the open. His life flashed before his eyes once again, implying the end. Time spent with his parents, the smiles they shared, his old friends, everything played like a fast-forward film in front of his eyes.

"Is this it for me?... I was supposed to… find answers." He whispered in that decisive moment when he knew that he was only a moment away from being killed.

A familiar and mature female voice resounded once again but much more fiercely, "You won't die on my watch, Eternus!"

Simultaneous with the sound reaching Eternus's ears, something thick and powerful struck the Golem's descending arm, causing it to sever and land far back.

It was the same majestic beast with the fiery black figure and glowing golden eyes that saved Eternus from being taken away by Inura on the night of their fierce battle.

The Golem stepped back and reacted as if it felt pain, even though it was entirely made of stone.

The Black Beast growled with aggression toward the Golem and went straight for its head, biting it clean off with its crushing force.

"I-Its you again…" Eternus recalled the vague memory of the beast that saved him. 'Even though I couldn't see properly, I know it was this beast that saved me that night.' He thought inwardly as his mind contemplated the Beast's every feature; from its larger-than-average size and fiery figure to its claws and sharp teeth, he noticed everything.

But one thing that struck him most peculiar was its Two tails that moved harmonically in the same fashion as someone else he knew.

"Can it be?... Is that really you?" Eternus said with surprise as he realized something about that Beast, a possibility that may or may not be true.

The Beast took a majestic pose, resting its hind on the Stony monster's dead body, it spat the Golem's head down and eloquently placed its paw on top of its head. And after showing its magnificent pose, the Beast let out something that seemed like a sharp smirk.

It was then that Eternus knew for certain, that the beast that saved him on that eventful night and just recently… was none other than his goofy new friend, Neko.

"Neko… So it is you!" He said as he walked slowly towards his transformed friend.

The fiery black beast nodded gracefully and its fiery figure that seemed to be made out of pure Mana expanded, Its thick dark aura with a yellow lining surrounded its graceful figure. And after a moment, the aura condensed back into a small cat-like shape.

The elegant personality of the Big black beast was also liberated with the form and Neko had returned to her old Two-tailed cat form along with her goofiness that showed as she sat on top of the Golem's head with her tongue sticking out at Eternus.

"Told you I could do more than just talk." Neko winked at Eternus, showing little signs of exhaustion.

Although pleasantly surprised and amused at his little friend's ability, Eternus was still full of so many questions for her, "Neko, What was that black beast you turned into?" He asked with even more fascination, "Why is your Mana… the same as mine?!"

Neko realized that this was the moment of truth and there could be no better time. She released a sigh, readying herself to explain, "I'm sure you already knew that the incident with the Horned wolf back in the forest was just a setup so I could tag along with you… What you saw now, was one of my transformations." She gave off a mild chuckle and continued, "I call it my Matabi form."

Eternus listened to every word of revelation Neko spoke and added up the missing puzzles of his mind.

"As for your other question," Neko continued with a serious gaze, "My existence… is linked with yours."