章 52: Night time

A sigh escapes my lips as I pick up a filled coconut half, the sight of Isabella's faux defiance eliciting a pang of begrudging sympathy. "Alright, I'll feed her, but she's going to have to work for it," I say, much to the relief of Aira.

"Don't worry, Isabella might be rude but she'll keep her word," Aira assures, her faith in Isabella stronger than anyone else's in the group.

I approach Isabella, the filled coconut bowl in hand, only to be met with a glare and an annoyed snarl, "What do you want!? I said I don't need your pathetic food!" Her voice cracks at the end of her sentence, followed by the betraying growl of her stomach.

I suppress the smirk threatening to spread across my face, instead, holding out the bowl to her. "Take it, but it's not for free. You better work for your food," I state, my tone non-negotiable. This damn brat needs to stop being so stubborn.

A stubborn 'hmph' and a swift turn of her head is her only response, her pride clearly preventing her from accepting the help. "Alright, suit yourself. I'll give it to Isadora, she seemed to like it," I remark, making to turn away when her voice halts me. I Fucking hate it, and yet I can't completely hate her, after all, I'm the one that designed her.

"OK, I get it. I will work with the group," she grumbles, her face contorted into a grimace as she accepts the bowl from my outstretched hand. I nod. Finally, this brat gave up.

Liam chuckles, his amusement apparent as he remarks, "Haha, Isabella is quite a handful."

Aira's soft voice interjects, "Thank you for feeding her." I just sigh in response, raising my gaze to the sky. It's already dark, the vast expanse dotted with twinkling stars and a beautiful nebula stretching across it. A truly beautiful sight, if anyone back on earth saw this they would've cried.

After cleaning up, I instruct the group, "Everyone go to sleep, Isadora and I will take the first shift." To my surprise, Rai has already brought a bunch of jungle leaves for us to lay on, while Arin asks about the timing of the shifts. "Maybe like in 3 or 4 hours," I reply, and with that, the camp gradually quietens as everyone settles down. When did they begin to work well together?

Off to the side, Isadora is already standing alert, her sword moving with practiced precision in the moonlit night. Approaching her, I ask, "Hey, I'm going to look around. Can you keep an eye on them?"

Her movements continue unabated and for a moment, I think she's ignoring me. Well, this is her typical behavior. But then she stops and turns towards me, her voice calm and emotionless as always, "You want to look around at this time?"

I take a step back, a little thrown off by her question. Did she just say more than two words? did she actually form a sentence? No way she just asked a question. "Haha, don't worry I don't plan to go too far, I haven't had the time to look around," I respond. What the hell is going on? Am I dreaming? Maybe I've fallen into a parallel universe. Hey system, did I fall into a different parallel world?

[...]

[Maybe]

She begins to swing her sword again, her attention back to her practice as she dismisses me with a curt, "Worried? No, do what you want."

Leaving Isadora behind, I venture further into the darkness of the night, a sense of calm seeping into me as I move farther away from our makeshift camp. The surrounding sounds of rustling leaves and chirping insects add to the surrealness of this alien environment. Being able to see everything clearly really makes this island a lot less scary.

Without warning, a tiny glowing red figure materializes before me, its high-pitched voice recognizable even before it starts to complain. "Damn you Kael! You've had me stuck in that damn sword all day! Why didn't you let me out earlier!?"

With a sigh, I look down at Ilka who is currently attempting to punch my forehead, her tiny fists glowing a vibrant red. "Ilka, you really should look around before you talk," I advise her, not that she ever listens.

"What? The beach? No, you're on an island? What is this, some sort of test?" she fires back, floating back as she takes in her surroundings. Walking over to the sea, I plop down on the sandy shore, my gaze locked on the glowing coral reef.

"Well damn, would you look at that, who knew the great Ilka was a detective," I tease, earning a huff from her. She crosses her tiny arms over her chest, her wings fluttering as she floats before me. "Enough of that you bastard, aren't you being tested? Wouldn't the professors think you're crazy talking to yourself over here?"

At this, I reach out, grabbing the tiny spirit with two fingers and poke her cheek with another. She struggles, her tiny body squirming in my grasp. "I didn't know you cared so much. The professors set up crystals throughout the island to detect and record any movements; normally one wouldn't be able to notice the crystals but I already know the locations," I explain. At least that damn system was useful for something, if I hadn't asked it I'm sure it wouldn't have told me it can map a surrounding area.

"Let me go, you bastard! You know what, this is perfect. We're going to train your goddamn hand movements," she declares once I release her, her tiny body darting around me.

"Hand movements?" I repeat, curious at her sudden change of topic. But then again, nothing she does should surprise me at this point. I thought it was too early to learn hand movement techniques.

"That's right, to be more precise, you're going to train your control over your arms and hands. You have a long way to go before you learn my fist arts," Ilka announces, determination lighting up her tiny face.

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. "Alright, but we got 3 hours before I need to head back,"

"Tsk, 3 hours? Well, I guess that will have to work," Ilka mutters, her tiny figure flitting around before she points towards the water. "Mmmmmmm, there we go. You see that weird thing in the water?"

I squint in the direction she's pointing, my eyes finally falling upon a strange-looking coral with small fish swimming around it. "What is that?" I question, curiosity piqued.

Ilka grins, her tiny body lighting up with excitement. "That's an Eif, I'm surprised they still exist. Hehehe, look, they attract fish all around them using scent. However, what's really great about them is their sting."

Taking a closer look, the coral just seems like a cluster of weird rocks, nothing particularly dangerous. "So what am I supposed to do?" I ask, turning my gaze back to her.

"Hehehe, the sting paralyzes fish, however, when a human is stung they feel like their hand is going to fall apart. Additionally, when you are stung your nervous system will be stimulated. After doing it a couple of dozen times, your movements and your reaction speed will be enhanced. You know what, I change my mind. I was thinking of only having your arms stung but it would be better if your whole body is stung dozens of times. For today, let's aim for 8 stings, hehehe," she announces with a devilish grin on her face.

I blink at her in disbelief, the reality of her words slowly sinking in. "You just want me to suffer, don't you?" I accuse. This bitch is trying to make me suffer. Dammit If only she felt pain then I could...

"No way~ This is training~ hehehe. You're going to do it anyway, so don't complain," she dismisses, her laughter echoing in the quiet night. I sigh, resigning myself to my fate. If it's for training, then I can handle it.

"Well, might as well get this over with," I mutter, removing my shirt and wading into the water.

With a deep breath, I step deeper into the water, bracing myself for the impending pain. Before I even have a chance to mentally prepare, a sharp, searing pain lances up my arm, as if my entire limb is being ripped from its socket.

I gasp, an instinctual cry getting stuck in my throat as my knees buckle. My mind goes blank for a moment, the only thing I can focus on is the agonizing pain coursing through my body. This, this is worse than anything I've ever felt.

Despite the searing pain, I manage to keep my silence, though I'm pretty sure I've turned several shades paler. Gritting my teeth, I stagger around in the water, clutching my throbbing arm with my free hand, my vision blurring around the edges.

And throughout all of this, I can hear Ilka's high-pitched laughter echoing around me, the sound grating against my ears. "Oh, you should see your face right now, Kael! It's priceless! Hahaha, hey let me borrow your TSI, I need to take a picture of you." she cackles, clutching her tiny stomach as she hovers around me.

I shoot her a venomous glare, but the action only seems to amuse her further. She continues to laugh, rolling around mid-air, her body glowing even brighter. "Oh, this is too good! You look like you're about to cry. Are you going to cry, Kael? Are you? Its ok, I promise I wont tell anyone, cry all you want"

Breathing heavily, I manage to ground myself, the pain receding just enough to let me think. Damn her. If I wasn't in so much pain, I'd... I'd...

Before I can finish the thought, another wave of pain shoots up my arm, my vision flashing white. With a gasp, I stagger again, barely managing to keep myself from falling into the water.

In the midst of my struggle, Ilka's laughter continues, her words floating around me like a cruel mockery. "Aww, poor Kael! Can't handle a little sting? And here I thought you were supposed to be tough! Ahahaha, where did that serious face you always make go?"

I grit my teeth, my nails digging into my palm as I focus on her words, using them to anchor myself against the overwhelming pain. Seven more times... I can do this. Shit this bitch, I'll keep her in that damn sword for a month straight! Fuck! It hurts, shit I'd rather get stabbed than feel this shit again.