Algron

"In the cave of Smashio," he says, walking past her. I get out of the way.

"Smashio?" she asks, confused. I'm confused too. "I've never heard of that cave. Where can I—"

"Smashio mama!"

Gottem! *Chuckle* "Sorry," I apologize as she frowns at me.

She grumbles in frustration while he laughs, proud of that childish joke. Her every step looks like she could punch holes in the ground.

"This is important!" she insists. "Just tell me and we'll be on our way."

"I already told you a million times, girl."

"You're just lying to me. You just don't want me to be free of this curse!"

"Seeking that won't free you."

I'm assuming that they know each other for a long time now. The way they're talking says it all. She keeps bothering him for another hour and he makes fun of her in every possible way. I wanna laugh but I don't wanna end up like a dry prune.

The people we pass by all pay their respects to him. Is he the chief of this place or something? Or is it just he's popular because he stands out? Having that huge stature will sure do that.

We are far outside the settlement now. This is basically the wilderness of the Underworld. Here in the forest of giant mushrooms, the place is dimly lit by glowing bugs and small lamp-like mushrooms.

Not a few minutes later, we arrive at a strange place. Under our feet is sand—like in the sandbox in the park. Further, is all water. Water crawls to us and then crawls back. It might consume me! But Algron is fearless, treading in it. Nisha does the same too so I think it's safe.

Woah. . . it's cold. I kinda like this. In the far distance, I see glowing craters of volcanoes in the deep darkness. I know a volcano when I see one. My planet is volcanic, after all. I can hear their low and quiet rumbling. The water reflects the lights so I can tell that there is water as far as I could see.

This reminds me of something I learned from school. It was about blue planets like Earth used to be. They have these huge natural bodies of water called "Oceans" or "Seas". I still remember how they looked in the pictures and even dreamt of seeing the view in person. It turns out that I get to see it in a different way, in a different universe. It's a dark black sea underground. I cannot see the ceiling above. Maybe it's very high.

Algron dives into the water while Nisha is agitated, returning to the shore. "Let's go," she growls, upset.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing! He was good as useless!"

Something huge explodes out of the water. It looks like a serpent! It wails loud in pain as Algron rides on it! What the hell?! That's badass!

"Wow!" I exclaim. "Nisha, are you seeing this?"

She doesn't care enough to turn around. "You're impressed by that? It's nothing incredible."

I don't know about her but I find this incredible. The serpent is thrashing its head on the water, hoping to get rid of him. It has glowing spots on its body pulsing very frequently. It does that because it's in distress. Up to the air, it stretches. Its body is so long and huge! How big is this thing? An explosion happens right where Algron is hanging on. It was from his huge handgun.

ARGH!!! It's gonna fall toward us! "Nisha!" I yell to let her know but she doesn't give a damn! Does she wanna die?!

She's too far so I grab her using my Shadowclutch then avoid being crushed by the serpent. The ground shakes then sand and water scatter across the place.

"You almost died, you dimwit!" I pant, hitting her arm. She responds with a frown. Her eyebrows crash into each other and her lips stiff up all the way to her nose. "You look ugly, stop that."

I brush away her face with my palm. Then I turn around. The serpent's glowing spots are dimming. Algron gets off of the serpent and has a satisfied grin on his face.

"Got a big catch."

"Gigantic, actually," I remark.

"You kids have nothing to do? Help me out."

"Only if you swear to answer me," she demands, her hands folded.

"Alright," he smiles. She raises an eyebrow. "I swear."

"Hmph!" she scoffs, looking away.

He steps back as she unsheathes her sword. A single slice cuts the head of the serpent. Blood comes gushing out and flows into the sea. He kicks the head into the distant waters and pulls the rest of the body out of the sea. She slices it into even pieces until there is nothing left but the webbed tail. The pieces of meat are scattered along the shore. What are they gonna do with these? Why is he stretching?

After he's done, he grabs one, spins it around, and throws it back further inland!

"Why is he hurling it?" I ask her. I'm failing to hide my worry.

"Food for the people in the slums."

"What if he accidentally kills someone?"

"Nah, he won't. He has done this a million times over the past thousand years."

"Wow, he has been doing this for a long time? What a chad. . ."

"What did you call him?"

"A chad."

"What's that?"

"A generous, kind, and tough man. It's kinda like a man that every man must strive to become."

"Oh. . . So, are you a chad?"

I look at Algron who is a prime example of a chad, and at the same time, reflect on what I view myself as. "No," I answer, inciting a chuckle to let her know it was ridiculous for her to ask me that question. I'm not. Even chads won't say they're chads if they're asked.

A few moments later, he's done. He brings a piece of meat to us. "Let's cook it here," he says.

He gathers dry mushroom stems from the forest while I help Nisha season the meat. My Daemon nose is telling me that we don't even have to cook it before eating. I ignore it and just help her. Algron snaps his finger, creating a bright spark that lights the mushroom timbers into the fire. The fire is not a bother to him as he holds the meat with his hand above it.

As we wait for it to cook, around the fire, we sit on the sand. Then she says, "Now, talk."

His always-smiling face gradually loosens into an empty expression.