Ray shut his eyes and the whip struck the ground beside his head. Fluid boy's voice called out, "Open your eyes, watch me."
Onyx walked to Ray and whispered in his ear, "You know what you need to do… he'll definitely kill you. I know you don't want to die. I can help you, let me help you."
Fluid boy's whip cracked against the air as he struck the ground again. This time, closer to Ray's face.
Ray gritted his teeth, 'Be damned the consequences!!' Then he inhaled sharply and his red core pulsed.
The energy coursed through his body, increasing his blood flow and his spatial awareness.
He could feel the passing wind against his skin more intensely, the coarseness of his earthen constraints, and his thoughts ran faster. But what good was seeing a blade if you were unable to dodge it?
'How did I get here?' Ray knew that there was some truth in Onyx's words. For some reason, Fluid Boy was acting out of proportion to what he had done.
Ray slowly opened his eyes and stared at fluid boy's. The latter was filled with a heated rage.
In his peripheral vision, Ray could see Onyx leaning over him, millimeters away from his ear.
"Are you sure nothing will happen to me?" Ray asked Onyx aloud and the fluid boy froze.
He looked around and confirmed no one was close, so who was Ray talking to? Was it himself?
"I haven't started and you're already losing your shit?" Fluid boy burst into laughter, doubling over.
Ray ignored him and continued staring at Onyx who seemed to be deep in thought. "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
Ignoring his survival instincts telling him not to give in, Ray let out a slow breath and accepted, "Fine."
Onyx's smile widened until it became unnerving and he vanished. Within his solar plexus, the dark core spurted out tendrils that wrapped around the red core.
For the first time, the core didn't react and the tendrils remained safe on the red core.
Ray's eyes darkened until they became as dark as Onyx's.
Fluid boy's laughter cut off abruptly.
Ray was looking at him. Not the same way as before—not scared, not desperate. Just... looking with black eyes that refused to blink.
"Why are your—"
Ray moved and fluid boy didn't see him stand. Before he could react, Ray's hand wrapped around his neck and with the slightest effort, lifted him off the ground.
Staring at the fluid boy's reddening eyes, Ray was dumbstruck. His eyes darted from the boy he was suffocating to the broken constraints on the ground.
'It had been easy to break those… didn't I try hard enough? And this isn't as bad as I thought.' Ray still felt like himself.
His expectations had been along the lines of losing himself or sitting in the back of his own mind but this was far better. There was no difference.
Fluid boy scowled and his right arm moved to bring the tip of the whip against Ray's face.
A sharp sting made Ray wince and Fluid boy's head snapped to the side as Ray slapped him across the face with his free hand, dismantling the whip.
He reached for his face where the whip had struck. Ray pulled back his fingers and saw them stained with purple blood.
'Wait, that isn't—' Ray paused, the thought that had been occupying his mind a second ago was nowhere to be seen.
The purple blood stared at him, 'Has my blood always been purple? Yeah… yeah, it has.'
It hadn't.
Fluid boy's face was purple—not like Ray's blood, but the purple of suffocation. His legs kicked uselessly.
'I should let him go.' Ray dropped him and he fell roughly against the ground.
He tried to run but Ray grabbed his leg.
"I am feeling a little hungry." Ray hummed to himself and tightened his grip around fluid boy.
Fluid boy struggled ceaselessly against his grip but it was useless.
A well of golden energy streaked around fluid boy's arm as Ray held him. The energy gathered in front of him.
Ray suddenly dodged as a bullet made of water materialized and fired, grazing the skin on his face.
"You tried a spell?" For the first time, Ray asked him a question.
Seeing his spell fail, fluid boy increased his struggling.
In his solar plexus, the tendrils tightened around the red core, ready to pierce it but Ray didn't let it. Consuming the core would cause too much pain and fluid boy could escape.
"But then again, who says I have to go hungry?" Ray's eyes darkened further and a new world revealed itself to him.
Beyond fluid boy's flesh was a glowing blue core in his solar plexus, pulsing with enticing energy.
Fluid boy twisted his body and his joints slid smoothly out of place to escape Ray's reach.
He managed to escape and his joints popped back into place as he scrambled backward, fear finally breaking through his rage.
"What are you?"
Ray tilted his head and placed his hand under his chin as though in deep thought, "I'm hungry."
The tendrils around his core pulsed then they reached for the darkness surrounding it. Their tips stopped just short of the infinite darkness… then they pierced through.
Inky black tendrils crept out of Ray's solar plexus into the world and shivered slightly against the cold air.
Ray's eyes scanned the tendrils with neither shock nor worry. It was like he'd always known he could do that.
Fluid boy turned on his heels but it was too late. The tendrils shot forward and vanished through him.
Within his solar plexus, a blue core floated in still darkness until the surface rippled and tendrils broke through the surface.
The core reacted sending slashes made of water to the tendrils. A few were cut down but three more grew in place of one.
Soon, the core grew dull and the tendrils wrapped around it, crushing it.
Waves of energy spread out in all directions and the tendrils greedily absorbed every bit of it, sending it to Ray's body.
The cuts on Ray's face healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The dark core absorbed a large amount of energy but so did his red core.
Fluid boy remained frozen in place, staring with empty eyes at nothing, horror plastered on his face.
The tendrils retracted and wrapped around the red core again but this time, it reacted.
Its surface grew as it absorbed every ounce of energy it could. Soon, it reached a point where it could grow no more and so, it collapsed on itself.
Ray fell, limp, as wild, red-hot energy fired through the dark space, burning the tendrils and pushing the dark core away slightly.
The energy coalesced into a newer, brighter red core with a brighter glow.