Feeling [Cloudeath’s] effects firsthand, I wasn't surprised why Axel had been downed by Adrien back in Bia’s Dungeon. He'd already been at low health. Us pushing back the poison with healing prevented the more serious seizuring side effects, for which I was very thankful. It didn't stop my limbs from tensing from pain, my entire body one taut rubber band.

  And still nothing was happening.

  Was the dragon immune to the poison?

  Had I fucked up?

  A dread creeped in, invading my mind.

  It was stupid since this hadn’t even been one of my more harebrained schemes. I’d seen this same thing happen again and again in TV shows and movies.

  We just had to wait.

  It would work.

  To tether myself in reality, I said to Tam, Tell me, who’s your worth killing for? What's her name?

  Tam's cat body quivered.

  Farrah. My wife's name is Farrah.

  That's a pretty name, Wren whispered, barely audible in my mind.

  It is, I agreed. A cloudy whiteness fogged my thoughts. Probably just oxygen deprivation. What's she like?

  Just because we’re dying doesn't mean you get to do twenty questions, babes.

  The toxic fumes had seeped into my skin, into my muscles. My paws were screaming in pain, demanding I release them, loosen up, a cramp in each limb.

  Humor me, I replied.

  Tam didn't respond, blackness beginning to waft over my mind. Then the cutthroat said, She's sweeter than I ever thought I deserved. Loves liquorice though, so that about evens her out.

  I laughed despite our horrific circumstances.

  You know what? Axel loves liquorice too.

  After a beat, in unison, Tam and I said, Disgusting.

  We shared a chuckle, and it crackled through my agonized body.

  Raspberry liquorice is nice though… Wren's words drifted off.

  Her [Healing Hand] sputtered out.

  Shit. Fuck.

  How much health do you have? I asked Tam.

  Praying it's enough, dandelion. This was followed by wet coughing.

  Suddenly Wren's hand lit up with the green glow, her limp body regaining function.

  You are fucking lucky I'm here.

  Thanks, Makris, I said, fully heartfelt.

  You're a hack of a party leader. Throwing yourself into danger like this. All but killing us all without knowing how things will turn out. I’ll kill you myself if we get out of here.

  Thanks, Makris, I repeated, sarcasm flattening my voice.

  Bit of a whiny shit, ain’t you? Tam remarked about the man inside Wren's head.

  He had a point, though. It was impossible to know how much time had passed. Wren was the only one with a watch (Tam, Mirror, and I having no clothes at all right now, magicked away by our transformations), and it was too dark to see the numbers.

  If everyone went down, even with [Stubborn], I'd perish too. One more stomach squeeze after the trait activated and I'd be a goner. Underneath the exasperation and fear, there was a kind of annoyance. I really hadn’t expected this to go as poorly as it had.

  The concept was so simple!

  Blackness wisped on the edges of my consciousness, each twinge of the poison sinking into my body pushing it further and further.

  With venom, Makris added, I can’t last much longer. Wren’s body isn’t strong enough for this.

  Makes me wanna upchuck comparing myself to a parasite, but I ain’t got much fuel left in the tank either. The exhaustion and restrained pain in her voice told me all that I needed to know.

  No one was going to last much longer. And if we lost consciousness, all our abilities would falter.

  We’d die in under a minute with the remaining two [Cloudeaths] around us.

  Into the pained silence, I said, I might’ve miscalculated.

  You think, shithead? Makris hissed.

  There was no response from Tam, the gases around us slowing in their billowing, her input missing.

  She’d fainted, though her claws secured her in place.

  I was glad that Mirror couldn’t feel pain. It was like poisoning and healing a dummy. At least its [Healing Hand] would never stop unless it ran out or it died.

  Markis, how are you doing?

  Fuck you.

  Wren’s body fell limp, her other arm tucked around the knife she’d dug into the stomach wall providing just enough purchase so she wouldn’t be dragged away deeper to be digested. Another constriction tightened around us, jostling her, and my concern peaked, but she remained.

  The only light left was Mirror’s and my [Healing Hands].

  Yeah, maybe this was a bad plan.

  But it would work.

  Wouldn’t it?

  Mind beginning to sink into dread, I decided that Mirror was expendable right now and redirected my [Healing Hand] to Tam. It wouldn’t last long without my assistance, but neither would the cutthroat. Battling almost two [Cloudeaths] required constant healing or it would move into the worse side effects, and having seen what Axel went through, that was difficult to recover from. She would likely die even if we made it out in time without this switch.

  I blinked into the almost darkness as the world constricted about us, trying to push us further down its stomach.

  This was probably the end.

  And, for once, I hadn’t died just sacrificing myself. I’d sincerely thought this would go off without a hitch. More the fool me, I guess. The fact all my plans had worked so far must’ve been sheer coincidence. Part of me had begun thinking that maybe I was actually kind of good at this. A dose of humility was always good for the soul.

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  ‘Cause that’s all I’d be soon.

  Maybe it was the low oxygen in my brain, but the idea of dying here didn’t seem that awful. It’d be a type of peace. The same expression I’d seen on my and Axel’s faces when we’d found them. The four of them had realised there was nothing else they could do. And so, they’d gone out in serenity, accepting their place. I wonder how long it took them to get to that mindset. Uncle Seb and my mother were surprisingly stubborn people. Perhaps, like the Ranis, their partners had calmed them. I could see that, easy.

  What were their last thoughts?

  Was it freedom?

  There’d be no more fighting. No more killing. No guilt. And none of that fear. I’d never lose anything again. Because there would be only nothing.

  If this was the end, wouldn’t it be better to let it wash over me?

  Because there was no way out of here.

  Also, wouldn’t it be a hell of a story to tell if the others won the Event and we were brought back?

  “Yep, I dived into a dragon's stomach to save my teammates but failed, and we gassed ourselves to death.”

  I died trying to do exactly what I discovered the purpose of my life was.

  It was a little pathetic that my idea, which had seemed so simple, hadn’t worked.

  I guess real life doesn’t work like it does in the movies.

  Well, if this was it… I had to reckon with what I was leaving behind.

  Sorry, I said, though every single one of them wouldn’t hear it, realising how many promises this meant I was breaking. I wouldn't be seeing the end of the Event like I'd thought. Not with Jye, and not with Axel.

  Thinking about it, as the [Cloudeaths] pried into my body, there actually weren’t a whole lot of things I regretted leaving unfinished, surprisingly. Though with how I’d lived my life before everything, perhaps that shouldn’t have been shocking.

  There was the obvious; not bringing back humanity by winning the Event was at the top of the list.

  Making such a huge deal out of saving Jye when I hadn’t been able to follow through.

  Not being able to convince Makris to inform Wren about the memories he’d stolen.

  Never figuring out Gigi’s wish or xir real background.

  Being unable to reunite Tam with her wife and not understanding her heel turn.

  And recognising my feelings for Axel so late.

  My consciousness wavered, dimming. Despite my lifelong exposure to panic attacks, I was also reaching my limit.

  The torture was hitting a point I could no longer function through; the very last drops of personal willpower running dry, brain turning into a haze of not quite thoughts.

  My mind returned to who it always returned to when I was dying.

  At least neither of us would have to watch each other die this time.

  It was a small solace.

  Damn.

  He’d been right.

  This was a stupid ass plan.

  He’d lord that over me forever, even in my death.

  Whether it was spite or something else, an energy began pooling inside me, drawing from the very depths of my soul. Through the thickening miasma of near-unconsciousness, I counted to six, then four, and let the others fill my mind.

  I was still going to die, that I was sure.

  So, this was no hail mary, no last ditch option to save us.

  But if I was going out, I’d do as much damage as I could.

  Fuck accepting this.

  Death would have to take me kicking and screaming.

  Vindictively, I switched Mirror to [Cloudeath], alternating [Saintly Intent] between Tam and Wren as I did so. I was juggling their lives in my metaphorical hands. Even if I went down, I couldn’t bear the thought of them dying before me. Maybe it was a waste of mana, but that’s unfortunately who I was. And add to that, I’d accepted Nabu’s request, so I had to try to keep Wren alive, at least, lest my entire party perish as punishment the second she went out.

  I started zapping the dragon’s inner flesh directly with [Shockshot], the ability sherbert on my tongue, only pausing between for its short cooldown. Each one sparked into the denseness of the atmosphere, and the muscle flinched beneath the electricity of them. The involuntary reaction made me smile.

  At the very least, I was causing it pain.

  It didn’t matter if the stun messed up its stomach anymore.

  That was a lost cause.

  Dying would mean saying goodbye to everyone in my party.

  I'd never see him again.

  The aide’s noxious fumes joined mine, continuously forming, saturating the air into greeness. It’d previously halved in effectiveness with Tam losing consciousness, but almost the full force returned and without Wren’s and Mirror’s [Healing Hand] to assist in the healing, I was watching the effects of the gas begin to affect them fully, despite my best efforts to manage them.

  Party member Tam at critical health.

  Party member Wren at critical health.

  Yeah, that made sense.

  [Drain] was keeping me steady, but my consciousness was slipping, the blackness vignetting my sight almost claiming me entirely, the yoyoing pain and relief beyond comprehension.

  Even my newfound malicious motivation hadn’t fortified me enough to go much further through this torture. I was also burning through mana and stamina more than it could keep up, even with the LVL 5 upgrade and [Drain’s] input. I was running myself dry in every way possible, the continuous [Shockshots], [Cloudeath], [Drain], and [Saintly Intent] eating through my reserves and regen like it was nothing.

  This was it.

  Dimly, as I struggled to redirect [Saintly Intent] to Tam, I realised there was only one thing, one want, one wish, under all other thoughts truly keeping me awake, even as my body begged for the mercy of darkness, the dizziness pleading, peace beckoning me.

  It should've been more, I knew. I almost felt guilty that my other goals and motivations had faded to reveal just this. In fact, it would've been more profound if the last thread of myself I still held wasn't just one person's face.

  My eyes closed, unable to resist any longer, tension leaving me entirely as I lost control, almost all my active abilities dropping. Mirror continued pulsing out [Cloudeath], the wafting toxicity blowing past me still.

  I’d thought two unending [Cloudeaths] would do it. But the dragon was so large.

  I’d been wrong.

  When would I ever be right?

  My last thought was that I should’ve probably already died a dozen times over.

  So maybe this was them catching up to me.

  As the world finally began fading into nothing, a bassy gurgling rumbled.

  The sound was like a lasso wrangling my grey matter back and dragging its limp, soggy form back into reality. Scrounging up the last dregs of everything within me, I forced my eyes open, lurching back to consciousness, the barest glimmer of hope reigniting in my chest. I tried to take in the situation, nothing making sense, my brain completely addled.

  The gas about us spun violently, mixing, liquid frothing up at our feet. Then the muscles surrounding us convulsed, constricting us to the point of grinding, a wave of stomach acid gushing up, drenching every single part of my body.

  It had… worked?

  Though my existence was blurry, relying on this surge of hope and desperate desire to fuel me, I floundered over to Tam and Wren, prying their death grips from the stomach walls but digging Mirror’s claws in tighter, nestling its body against the flesh. I switched it to [Drain]. Just in time.

  The dragon’s stomach lurched, the liquid awash about us rising above our heads.

  Its stomach lining compressed.

  Our bodies were crushed.

  In the next instant, Wren, Tam and I were being propelled back up its throat alongside a slide of juices, projected through the tubule rings of the organ. We were jettisoned along, blasted from all sides by bitter and acerbic liquids, my world tumbling as we moved. It lasted both longer and shorter than it should've, my own stomach on the brink of rebelling.

  The dragon vomited us up.

  A ping accompanied this from the system, declaring my reward for saving Wren Makris available.

  Our three small bodies were deposited unceremoniously amidst other half digested carcasses of lizardfolk, harpies, and beastkin onto the forest floor with a splattering of moist plops, followed by a flood of stomach juices.

  I was crying.

  Relief that it had all worked as I hoped was only second to being able to breathe again.

  Fresh air exploded into my lungs, and I greedily inhaled, dragon saliva and bile mixing inside me. I didn’t care about the acid coating me or the imminent danger we were in on the outside. All I could think about was filling myself with oxygen, my brain like soup in my skull.

  Chest heaving, I detransformed, black smoke bursting into the air, my limbs oozy and gooey, trying to gain a measure of what was happening, but failing to understand anything.

  Why hadn’t the dragon attacked us yet? I’d heard no hisses of defense on our party’s side, which meant we were fair game. Unless Axel had been downed?

  As I cleared the spit from my eyes, panicked, fearing the worst, a lurching of dashed hopes, I was met with the most ridiculous sight I'd seen in the entire three weeks since the Event had begun.

  Jye was holding the dragon in a chokehold.

  Somehow, the giant had literally become a giant.

  They were on par in size with the creature they were restraining.

  What the hell had happened while we’d been inside?

  What the fuck? I asked into our [Mindlink], gobsmacked.

  Jye laughed, their voice booming from their now even more sizeable chest as they started shuffling away from the rest of the party, pulling the flopping dragon in tow. Guess which of us cool guys finally figured out what their other starting ability was.

  Chapter Two, Jye's introduction, since uploading. Check out the paragraph starting with: "Their thick red eyebrows furrowed together." XD A year to this very day.