Starry Resonance Ch. 12

'I am sorry' the Star elf would say whenever he would take a particularly hard pant, faltered, or sweated droplets onto her. He would just smile and say some empty words of reassurance, but they both understood the hopelessness of the situation.

"What can it even do? It doesn't seem that threatening," Nelimir said.

"Do you know what is chasing us?" the Star elf asked.

Nelimir shook his head.

"It is a starchild that has lost his mind," she said. "Just like my ears, their weakness is emotions. Only, lose control of them and they lose control of their inherent and acquired powers, becoming mindless beasts that attack anything that gets near."

"How is that a weakness?" Nelimir asked with a particularly harsh huff as his sides begged for oxygen.

The Star elf looked at him like he was the most clueless man she had ever met. Truthfully, he was just sick and tired of that thing, and whatever had happened to this person, it was clearly working against them.

"Starchildren are like any other one of us, they have wants, needs, and loved ones. Yet they are also more sensitive. Slight anger can flip into rage, slight sadness can flip into sorrow, slight happiness can flip into joy. What do you think happens when they lose control?"

Nelimir didn't have to give an answer. Instead, he thought of Nora, and the moment she put a knife to his neck. The hostility had seemingly come out of nowhere.

The Star elf continued, "A chaotic storm of emotions with no rhyme or reason. And that thing is controlling space, allowing it to keep up with us at a slow pace. I cannot begin to explain what type of knowledge and how much starlight one needs to achieve such a feat with ease. Our one saving grace is that it is an old entity. Enough time has passed for it to reach tumultuous tranquility. But as soon as it reaches us..."

Nelimir didn't bother to ask what she meant by 'controlling space'. At this point he was too out of his depth to even care. Only their impending death mattered.

"Is there a way to turn him back?" he asked.

The Star elf nodded, "It is possible, but someone vastly more powerful, and willing to help, would be needed."

"You wouldn't happen to know someone," Nelimir said with a tired laugh.

"I do, for all the good it does us at the moment," the Star elf said sadly when her head abruptly swung up, "watch out!"

A hammer slapped against Nelimir's chest, blasting his body away several feet. It was all he could do to brace for impact, every muscle protesting as they were pushed past their limits. When he came to a stop and rose on his hands, the being was again standing right on top of the Star elf, only this time her arm was breaking apart in rectangular strips at the touch of its darkened tentacles.

There was no blood, and she didn't scream out in pain, only looked up at it.

What could he do? Nelimir roughly panted as his mind tripped over itself trying to find a way to help her, but the Star elf was being gradually ripped apart with every tick of a second. There was no time to form a plan. He stood, grabbed a handful of dirt, and ran toward the all-powerful being.

Throwing his makeshift weapon at it, Nelimir didn't bother to ascertain its uselessness. He rode the adrenaline coming out from empty reserves and grabbed the Star elf, lifting her with a shout and running away.

"Are you okay!?" he asked.

The Star elf coughed, spitting blood out onto his damp shirt with more pouring into his chest from the hole in her shoulder.

"I was slightly off in my description of that thing," she said with barely audible pants. "He is cruel. His mind was lost long before losing control. No wonder it is so calm in such a state. It plays with us for its amusement."

Is that why they managed to escape, then? For all the good it did. Nelimir's legs were slowly seizing up. From a run he went into a jog and then a walk until finally he stopped.

"Sorry," he said, breathing heavily, and buckled under the weight of the Star elf, falling knees first. "I...I can't go on anymore." It shamed him to say it, but he was spent.

Arms quivering, he put the Star elf's lower body down while holding her up from the back.

"You have done more than could be asked of you, Nelimir," she said, paler than before. Her eyes visibly gaining a milky-white shade.

The being was again walking, taking its sweet time reaching them.

"Did it not hurt? What he did to your arm." It had been stripped up to her shoulder.

Nelimir took off his shirt and tried to stagnate the flow.

The Star elf shook her head. "I would have preferred for it to hurt though. It was somehow more unnerving to see myself disappear with nigh a feeling."

"I'm not sure, I think I'd be grateful to go out without pain," he said.

"You are about to get your wish," she said, looking past him.

Nelimir couldn't help himself and released a small, hopeless laugh while the Star elf remained looking all death-business. He wanted to tell her a million things now that they were about to die, maybe that short instance before the being reached them would last forever.

"Zilyana Ent," the Star elf said, almost like a spell, then rose at a speed too fast for Nelimir to follow before pushing him aside. There was almost no strength in the move, but it was enough.

Her arm still on his shoulder, an obsidian tentacle came out of her back, having punctured her stomach all the way through. She immediately began to break away in rectangular strips from the inside out.

"That is my name," she said with a smile before her eyes darkened, body too broken to function anymore. Then she was gone, her pieces floating away like leaves.

"Now you tell me," Nelimir said in a mildly annoyed tone.

The being ignored him at first, instead focusing on the strips that made up Zilyana, but once said parts were gone it shifted toward him.

"Sorry," Nelimir said, crawling back, "but I can't let you kill me."

The shadowy silhouette didn't respond, slowly making its way to him with round, glowing holes staring. Its tentacles painting an unreadable path of destruction.

Nelimir kept going regardless, it was almost funny. That thing could have probably killed him in the blink of an eye, but apparently it was content to just watch him try his best to squirm away.

"Are you really going to let her sacrifice be in vain?" he said, filling the dead silence. "She said you were cruel, but you aren't that heartless, right?"

One of Nelimir's hand pulled his body back, and then the other, his legs doing their best to help along.

The being quietly drew closer.

Nelimir grit his teeth, "Get...Get away from me!" Either the exhaustion, or a particularly deep hole on the ground made him slip and fall on his back.

"Fuck...Fuck!" He couldn't move anymore. She died. He let Zilyana die.

The tentacled shadow reached him and from the other side, the part his head pointed toward, a boy walked into view with the same leisure.

"I'm sorry, Nelimir. None of this should have happened."

It was...

"Selt?"

The kid extended an arm toward the shadow.

"That's enough out of you," he said. The tentacles wrapped around him, but nothing happened. At least, nothing happened to the kid. Every dark inch began to burst into particles of light, first slowly and then all at once. The being that had terrorized Nelimir and Zilyana for so long exploded into nothingness.

Without paying it any more mind, Selt spoke, "Come on, everyone is waiting."

Nelimir wanted to ask if they were okay; wanted to ask what in the stars was the kid doing there and how he survived that thing's touch. Yet only one thing mattered.

"Why didn't you come sooner?"

Before he could get an answer, with the danger past, every muscle in his body relaxed along with his consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.

---------

Roesia, in her current state, couldn't go downstairs. Not like she would want to, either. And so, Nora decided she'd keep the sorceress company while Elly and Yvain went to greet their leader.

"Did you hear about Roesia?" Yvain asked as they made their way, but his master only gave a dismissal grunt that could mean anything.

The image of him having sex with Roesia, especially the manner in which it took place, most likely shocked her. But it couldn't have been enough to stop her from worrying about the sorceress. Or was it?

Could it be jealousy?

Yvain mentally kicked himself. What in the stars was he even thinking? Still, Elly's state of mind weighed on him. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. But if one thing was true, it's that the best way to handle that situation was to just give her space, so that's what he did.

As they were about to turn into the dining room, a chair flew out the entrance, crashing into a hundred pieces against the far wall.

"You still think she doesn't have anything to do with this!? I will rip that fucking bitch apart!"

The succubus was enraged.

Yvain and Elly rushed in to find the two strange men looking sour, the succubus glaring at them.

The largest of them huffed, "She would just come back eventually. Not that it matters, her reach is ever present while ours is insubstantial."

"We stick to the plan," the other man said. "If one of us being obliterated was enough to unravel what we've built then we might as well just give up."

Yvain had no idea what these people were talking about, so instead he searched for Nelimir.

Elly had already walked in, so finding her brought him to where their leader was, slowly spooning soup into his mouth while shirtless.... And right next to him, standing at ease, was Selt.

Why expect any different? Yvain didn't bat an eye or question the kid's presence as he made his way.

"You're looking good," he said. "Finally got to experience the dungeon life?"

His friend looked up with sunken eyes, no outstanding wounds to be seen.

"You could say that," Nelimir said with a flat voice. "Selt saved me from an untimely death, which I'm grateful for. I do have to ask though," their leader turned toward the kid, "who are you?"

"What do you mean who am I?" the kid asked with an unusual seriousness, seemingly unbothered by the query. He didn't seem to even be paying attention, instead eyeing the smaller of the two men with the succubus.

Actually, Selt's whole demeanor--even the way he stood--had shifted entirely.

"That," the elegant man said as he stood, "is not for any of you to know. Now that you're all here, it's time for this dungeon to end."

"I don't need your help, lizard," Selt spat.

The elegant man didn't react to the apparent insult.

What exactly was going on with the kid? Did he and these strangers know each other?

"It is very much in our interest to know," Nelimir said, "as he is part of our guild. How is it that he managed to so easily destroy a being that by all rights brushed off a cataclysm? How is it that he arrived here?" then, looking to the kid in question, "why did you insist on joining our guild in the first place?"

Nelimir's spoon swam in the murky soup, forgotten.

Selt looked at their leader while the 'lizard' and the rest kept quiet.

"I don't mean any of you ill, if that's what you're wondering," he said. Then a sardonic smile tore at his lips, unnerving Yvain. "Not that I could hurt any of you even if I wanted to. That thing which attempted to murder you and the Star elf was just a special case."

"Zilyana," Nelimir said, "Her name was Zilyana."

"Zilyana," Selt repeated with a nod.

Mulling over the kid's words, their leader said, "We'll discuss this again once we're back at the carriage," before going back to his meal.

Whatever was going on with Selt, it could be handled later. There was one thing though that had been eating at Yvain since he arrived here.

"Speaking of our mysterious companion," he began before addressing the two men, "Who are you people?"

The elegant man looked at the succubus, "Did you not explain it to him?"

She didn't bother to answer him and instead turned to Yvain.

"As I told you before, reach the Protos rank."

"Are they supposed to be 'friends' too?" he pushed on, pointing at the men. Whatever information he could get out of them would be helpful in ascertaining their purpose.

The biggest of them gave a loud laugh that grated Yvain's ears. "You aren't worth the shit under my boots, calf."

"You're of no use to anyone at the moment," the elegant man said. Not as crass at least, but still nodding his head, agreeing with the other. "It's high time you reached the Protos rank."

"I assume, then, that you all know of us," Nelimir said. "Just like Zilyana."

"I still can't believe that she told you her name," the succubus said.

"Look at the man," the rough looking one began. "He might be a weakling, but it's plain he knows how to bed a woman. I'd consider it a blessing if he didn't bed her in the short time they knew each other." Giving another ear splitting laugh he walked up to Nelimir and set a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Don't let it get to you lad. She died protecting you, that's more than most of us get sometimes. Do your best to carry that responsibility."

"Sometimes you speak sense," the elegant man said with an empty stare toward the dining room's exit.

The whole scene gave Yvain an uncomfortable itch at the back of his head. Despite his misgivings, every single one of them, while keeping their distance, didn't feel malicious at all. On the contrary, it was as if they were all...family? The way the larger man handled Nelimir's presence alone was much too congenial. Too past friendliness.

Nelimir didn't reject the man's touch or words, instead he seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. But holding his chin steady, and gulping a few times, their leader held fast, giving a somber nod.

"Good!" the rough man continued with another loud laugh and more heavy pats.

"Regardless," the succubus said and pinned Nelimir under her eyes, "You must keep her name between everyone here. Do not discuss it with anyone else, not even in passing."

"So be it," Nelimir said, keeping to his meal.

"Should we get the other two?" the elegant man asked.

"I'll do it," the succubus said and turned toward Yvain with a playful smile, "Come along."

"Right," he said and began to follow. Getting anything out of them would be impossible without violence, and something told him doing as such would amount to nothing. There was also lot of context missing in the words the rough looking man said. For one, who was this Zilyana? And who was she to his friend for her death to affect him so? He would need to ask him for answers once they were done with the dungeon, because these people wouldn't provide them.

Going up the stairs, the succubus's ass was on full display.

Yvain beheld it with cold calculation. It wasn't as taut as Nora's or Elly's, having a minimum amount of developed muscle, but it was much bigger than Roesia's. Plump in a soft manner, perfect for countering a strong pounding. The tail coming out of the top seemed to call for any admirer to taste it. It was a wonder how, despite it being such an enticing view, he felt no urges toward it.

What in the stars am I thinking?

"You should definitely pay my country a visit," she said in a tone that implied his thoughts were known. "You will find many like me more than willing to become your slaves."

"Why would I want that?" he asked. There were more than enough problems between just Nora and Roesia, and he wasn't into owning slaves.

"Good point," the succubus said with a laugh. "It wouldn't hurt to check things out though, if you ever find yourself in the home of demonic sin."

Demonic sin. What a combination of words. Saya would have had a field day with them.

"That's the land by Astros's northeast, isn't it?" Yvain asked.

"That's...right," the succubus said, sounding unsure of herself.

They reached the entrance to the master bedroom and upon opening the door found Nora and Roesia deep in a kiss.

The goddess seemed to have realized they had company and quickly pulled away with a gasp, the sorceress just as out of breath, saliva spilling down two chins.

"Sorry to interrupt," the succubus said casually then turned to Yvain with a smirk, "You can deal with this after we get you all out of here."

Yvain gave a derisive snort. Both women had already kissed before, but their conversation hadn't indicated a positive or negative outcome. He had expected them to continue the discussion once they got back to the carriage. They had another idea in mind though and being left out of it filled his mouth with a sour bile.

Nora looked ashamed, but she didn't offer any words.

Roesia had gone back to staring at her pillow with embarrassment.

"How do we return her back to normal?" he asked the succubus. "She can't leave like this."

"Have you tried pushing it out?"

For a second Yvain thought the succubus was joking, but while her tone remained playful, she was very serious.

"Yes, I would prefer to not do that again," he said.

"You're no fun," she said and went to stand next to Roesia before taking off the covers completely.

The sorceress squeaked and tried to hide her body but failed because of how misshapen it was.

Nora's eyes turned angry and in a split second roughly grabbed the succubus's wrist which was closing in on the bloated stomach.

"Hush," the succubus said and tapped Nora's forehead with her free hand.

Yvain couldn't tell what happened. The goddess simply froze, eyes wide, and the horned woman removed the hand holding her without effort.

"What did you do to her?" he asked. Though deep down a voice told him Nora was okay.

"Exactly what you see, I stopped her movements temporarily," the succubus said as she continued her work.

Nora? Just like that?

Touching Roesia's stomach, countless motes of light poured out of the succubus's hand. It was just like the prelude to 'Nightfall'. She was using starlight. It covered every inch of the sorceress.

"Relax now, I'm not going to hurt you," she said as the sorceress gave a small grunt.

A moment later, a stream of the cum that had accumulated in her stomach began to slide out of her asshole in an orderly manner. There was no better way to put it. The starlight carried out the goo, the inflated stomach beginning to deflate.

Then, without missing a beat, the succubus opened her mouth and began to swallow it.

Yvain found himself unable to voice a complaint, or anything for that matter.

No one said a word as the succubus fed until nothing was left. Her stomach hadn't grown at all.

"This might be considered narcissistic, but that was delicious," she said. "If you ever get a succubus for yourself, you'll make her very happy."

"May I ask why?" Yvain managed to find his voice.

"Because it's delicious, did I not just say this?" the succubus said, looking to Nora, who was still frozen, and Roesia as if they would agree with her.

"No, why did you eat my cum?" Yvain asked again.

"What else was I supposed to do?" she said, touching Nora again and releasing her.

The goddess gained back all the minute movements a person unconsciously makes. She debated something as she stared at the succubus before speaking.

"Succubi feed off of sexual energy; sperm being a perfect source for it."

The woman in question gave a baffled stare aimed at Nora and then him.

"Anyway," the succubus said, "this should be okay now, right? It's time for all of you to go." Standing up, she moved to leave, "I'll be waiting downstairs."

Once the succubus was gone, Yvain went to help Roesia stand, already a protest forming on her lips.

"I either help you walk or carry you," he said, which put a stop to whatever she was going to say.