It hit me hard—like a collapsing pipe slamming into my head. The memory…

  I fired the last shot I would ever take, striking the jaw of the man who had stolen my sister's humanity. I, the Blue-Winged Rabbit, had done it! All the pain and suffering he'd inflicted upon mankind—was it finally over?

  The blast hit its mark, ripping the skin from his jaw and revealing the mechanical exoskeleton beneath. He grinned, then scowled, his glowing eyes drifting away from the last survivors who had reached the portal—a gateway to who knows where. He didn't care about them anymore, at least not right then. His rage boiled over; how could a mere vermin have managed to harm him?

  I'd always been seen as nothing more than a nuisance, but now I was a genuine threat. No, not me—it was the creature floating near the nape of my neck, that spawn of a monster. He had overlooked it, never expecting it to side with those pitiful beings. After all, prey is prey!

  "KiAera…" whispered the small horned creature levitating at my side, "are you certain about this?"

  "You need to go. I'll handle it from here."

  I stepped forward, my hand instinctively reaching for my weapon.

  Around me, the space station groaned—its structure buckling and tearing as the vacuum of space clawed hungrily at its failing hull. Sparks rained down, and ruptured pipes spewed vapor that caught the dim emergency lights, casting eerie halos in the thinning air.

  This would be the last time I stood between my people and utter annihilation. My heart pounded—not with fear, but with a fierce pride, knowing that if this was the end, it would be on my terms. I squared my shoulders, eyes locked on the menace.

  "You think you can defeat me? I'm invincible!" roared the mechanical threat.

  I leaped, my cloak billowing as I descended, firing round after round at him. He remained motionless, allowing my blue projectiles to ricochet harmlessly off his form. Yet I pressed on, refusing to relent.

  The station continued to break apart around us. We floated on a massive fragment that had once been part of the main tower—a jumble of panels, debris, and remnants from the ship's former might. Above, the cosmos raged, fiery blasts tainting its vast expanse. In the distance, a red ball of fury exploded, briefly illuminating the battleground where we clashed.

  We clashed—over and over.

  Skewered!

  My arms fell to my sides, dripping crimson, matching the red gleam of his arm as it punctured my chest—hoisting me up slightly as he smiled wickedly. The final confrontation was over; I, the Blue-Winged Rabbit, had failed.

  I was tossed aside like garbage, landing not far from the portal where I could glimpse a future that would never be. Tears welled in my ocean-blue eyes as I managed a bittersweet smile and pressed the button to detonate my reserve missiles. They slammed into the station, throwing the entire structure into chaos as it was torn apart and hurled into the void.

  The portal was destroyed. Unreachable.

  What did that mean? Was mankind safe?

  I drifted in the boundless void, catching sight of the mechanical menace—his faux skin now discarded—and saw him direct a gleaming finger toward me, signaling the final blow.

  My eyes widened as I witnessed a tiny creature rise up between me and the death ray. I screamed silently as it exploded in a burst of light—a selfless act of sacrifice, though hardly necessary. The little monster was still alive, its tiny horns and wings intact, its tail swaying, and its face beaming.

  "This is farewell, right, Ms. Rabbit?" came a small, almost wistful voice.

  Then it all ended with a fluorescent flash that pierced me with searing pain and heralded my gradual decay—a mechanized death. I fell unconscious, drifting in the abyss of the universe, clutching that little monster to my chest, never willing to let go.

  My final thought was a plea to the universe: "I want to protect them, no matter what! Allow me to continue!"

  That was my final request and my last act of kindness. I could only hope the universe accepted my plea—my last wish, my final desire.

  Abeion snapped several times, rudely yanking me back to the present. "I don't care what he's done to you. But it's interesting—you had a relationship with that one's creature."

  "That one's… creature?" I thought. Why was it so hard to remember that little monster…?

  I was taken aback by his previous remark. "What do you mean I died? I'm right here in front of you. Living, breathing, talking, and moving. How is that dead?" I smacked my chest, drawing deep, rapid breaths, counting silently as I tried to keep an impending panic at bay.

  Dead? Dead! Dead… No…

  "You're right. Not dead. Erased." Abeion's tone dripped with smugness as he made the distinction—a distinction that nearly made me want to punch a hole in his face. "Go ahead; do it. You won't be the first. Others have tried, young mortal, but they all went out in a blaze of foolhardy glory."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I nodded in agreement, fighting down the urge to hit him. "Erased? Like... gone? Deleted?" I shuddered at the thought and began pacing in a circle. "No… That's not possible. That can't be right!"

  My head began to throb, and soon I felt lightheaded. The pain was excruciating—I squeezed my eyes shut and collapsed to my knees, clutching my head.

  Abeion sighed and shook his head, clearly uninterested in explaining anything further. "Oh, by the way, mortal—you owe me a favor for bringing you back to life."

  I raised my head and stared at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?" I caught myself, quickly abandoning any urge to speak in a familiar tone with a being larger than life.

  "A favor." Abeion leaned forward on his throne, his fiery gaze boring into me. "That's right, I restored you to life after you died. So you owe me one."

  "Okay," I drawled slowly, trying to process the information. "That's all well and good—I appreciate the gesture—but I have no idea where I am. I can't remember how I got here or what happened. I don't even know your name, Lord…"

  "Oh, right. I neglected to introduce myself," Abeion said, reclining again and resting an elbow on the armrest. He pressed his knuckles to his gaseous head as he recited in a monotonous tone, "I am Abeion, the great and all-powerful. I seek nothingness, I rule over nothingness, and I reject everything except nothingness."

  "Great and all-powerful? Ha! Yeah, right," came a snide voice from behind. "That's funny coming from the likes of you."

  I turned and shuddered.

  Floating behind me was a woman with long, two-colored hair braided neatly at the back. She looked angelic—an actual angel—with wings that shimmered and shifted mesmerizingly from black to white, engraved with strange symbols. Her piercing dark eyes were fixed on Abeion as she shot him a mischievous smile.

  I was at a loss for words as I stared at this newcomer. I had no clue who she was, yet my instincts screamed at me to keep my distance from the Predator, the Devourer, the Omega Hunter… DeNultra.

  What? Who was—

  "Spectacular intuition," a guttural voice whispered in my head, as if it recognized my insight.

  Abeion's flames burned brighter as he sneered at the angel. "Oh? The Devil has arrived. To what do I owe the displeasure?"

  "Devil? Is that what you think of me?" DeNultra replied, placing a hand on her hip and laughing. "How cruel of you. I'm merely an angel trying to guide this poor mortal toward a better life."

  She turned her attention to me and smiled kindly. "It's a pleasure to eat you. Don't bother listening to that Sovereign of Nothingness—I asked him to revive you for your sake."

  Her smile sent chills down my spine; there was something about the way she said those words that made my skin crawl.

  Abeion's flames flickered and warmed me as he snorted, "As if, you deceiver."

  DeNultra shot Abeion a withering look, wagged her finger, then gave him a cold smile. "You are quite rude. I've done nothing to warrant such behavior—I'm simply trying to help her."

  I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. It was like watching two gods bicker in a room, their words laden with power that sent tremors through the surrounding space.

  Slowly I noticed a thin veil began to flicker on and off around me, and I quickly deduced that the shredded gown I wore was protecting me from the full brunt of their presence.

  "Right, right." Abeion waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever you say, 'angel.' So, what's with that form you've chosen to guise yourself as today?"

  DeNultra laughed—a sound that echoed throughout the space. "I thought it would be appropriate, given our situation here."

  "That so?" Abeion leaned forward once more, scrutinizing her angelic form.

  I murmured, "You're Lucifer?"

  "Hehe, what an interesting child." DeNultra's eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled. "However, that entity is another existence."

  She gracefully landed on a platform of her own creation and curtsied lightly. "KiAera, I am DeNultra—a Great Old One of sorts. I'm the one who persuaded that pompous lightbulb over there to bring you back to life."

  "Hm. Better a beacon of light than the grotesqueness you represent," Abeion retorted.

  "Uh, hello—I'm still here. It's a pleasure to meet you, DeNultra." I inclined my head in greeting and offered an awkward smile. "But how did you know my name?"

  DeNultra's smile widened, her eyes glimmering mischievously—even predaciously. "I know a great deal about you. I've been stalking you for some time now." Her fangs caught the light as she grinned.

  "Wha—"

  "Yes, yes," she interrupted. "But we can discuss that later. There's much to do and not nearly enough time." She gestured toward my gown. "Look at how torn it is. Even with the Weaver as the designer, it can't withstand our prolonged presence here. Think of it as an hourglass." She tapped her temple thoughtfully.

  I looked down and realized that my once ankle-length gown had been shredded—exposing my thighs and continuing to rip, revealing more skin. "What? How?" I frowned.

  Ignoring my question, DeNultra turned to Abeion. "The favor you seek from me is too insignificant. We must find something more meaningful for her. Before she perish once more, we must adjust her form. Humans are delicate creatures, after all—she must be transformed into something resistant to the elements."

  Her eyes sparkled with a plan. "Indeed, let us make her a Zeldritch."

  "What are you scheming this time, DeNultra? What are your motives in this matter? Why does it matter if she becomes a Zeldritch?" Abeion asked suspiciously.

  "Consider how she might stand out in a world teeming with monsters," the angelic woman countered. "Do you want her to be targeted, or to blend in and thrive?" She grinned. "You, above all, should understand the importance of that."

  After a moment of contemplation, Abeion nodded—and I couldn't shake the feeling that DeNultra had struck a chord with him. "Tell us, do you prefer rabbits or kittens? Which do you fancy?" Abeion asked, turning toward me.

  I stood there, caught in the midst of divine banter, feeling both amused and bewildered by my own fate. "Uh, both, I guess?" I arched an eyebrow at the absurdity of the question.

  "Fascinating. Very well. There is a creature called a Merecritt—a blend of a cat, a rabbit, and a mouse. It has the ears and feet of a rabbit, the body and temperament of a cat, and the tail of a mouse. Are you interested?"

  I nodded hesitantly, intrigued by the unusual creature Abeion described. "Yes, I would love to see it." There was no doubt in my mind about the existence of this cuddly chimera. "Can you bring it here?" I asked.

  "I cannot," Abeion replied. "It's not in this universe—it's in another one. But I can take you to it if you desire. Accept, or perish now."

  I pressed my lips together and glanced nervously around. I wasn't exactly threatened, but I still harbored lingering doubts about trusting either of these so-called "Great Ones." Despite my reservations, my curiosity won out. After all, what did I have to lose? I might even gain a cute, cuddly companion.

  "Alright, take me to it," I finally conceded.

  Abeion's metaphorical smile widened as he snapped his fingers. "So it shall be."

  And with that, the transformation was initiated: [Human] → [Merekit].

  Before I could utter another word, a sudden gust of wind slammed into me, and I felt myself lifted off the ground by an unseen force. In my panic, I barely registered my own squeaky scream or the frantic flailing of my smaller limbs as I desperately clung to something, watching everything around me fade into oblivion.

  Just as suddenly as the chaos had begun, the wind died down, leaving me sprawled on the unfamiliar terrain of a strange realm awash in loud reds and blues. The eerie silence sent shivers down my spine, intensifying my disorientation.

  As I listened more intently and struggled to regain my bearings, my ears caught the chilling chorus of a thousand monsters intoning, "Welcome to Zeldritzon, mortal."