This chapter changes to the perspective of a new character with a new storyline. She looks kinda like Kikoru Shinomiya from the manga Kaiju No. 8.

 

 

But today, I got my wings. Six of them, centered in the middle of my back. The top and bottom pairs reached about 2 meters out to my side. The middle pair were about twice the size. They were a brilliant white.

 

I glanced at the old clock hanging on the wall. It was almost time for me to get to school. I dashed out of the tiny abandoned building I lived in and swiftly climbed the ten feet to the roof. I dashed off across the sea of metal and cloth and wood. My wings, which I could move as if I had forever, helped with crossing some larger gaps that I had had to avoid before.

 

And then the ground rumbled. I looked back to see a building launch into the air, smoke rising from it. A massive beast-like head emerged from a brand new hole in the ground. It was a dragon-type Orix and probably a King-class.

 

It roared and scanned the area. Its gaze landed directly on me.

 

"Oh no," I said. I saw the Orix open its huge jaws and shoot out a blast of fire. I threw myself to the right and barely dodged the scorching flames.

 

I ran. It chased me down, crushing buildings in its path. Then a ridiculously long tongue shot out from its mouth and slammed into the building only a meter behind me. I leaped across a gap in the buildings and continued running. I heard a whistle as the tongue shot out again.

 

It slammed into my back, latching on with sticky saliva. I cried out as I was yanked through the air. It let go of me when I was over its mouth. It leaped up and snapped its jaws closed around my falling body. I hit its tongue and slid toward the dark hole of its throat.

 

I could only see the inside of its mouth because of an (American) football-sized crystal set in the back of its mouth that was glowing softly. I noticed that one corner of it was sticking out. I grabbed onto it and hung for dear life.

 

The Orix growled loudly, making me wince in pain. It shook its body around, trying to dislodge me. I heard a tearing sound and saw the crystal beginning to come out of the Orix's throat.

 

The growling and shaking grew more frantic as the crystal became looser.

 

When it finally was torn all the way out, a blinding light shone from it. I felt an intense heat all around me and a sharp pain in my heart. I cried out in pain before everything went dark.

 

 

When I finally regained consciousness, I couldn't see anything. I vaguely heard voices all around me and the beeping of a machine in the background. Everything hurt.

 

"Where am I?" I tried to ask, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was a grunt.

 

"Keep that healing going until her heartbeat settles down," I heard a woman say. "And get numbing magic going, she's in a lot of pain."

 

I tried to move and felt my arm flop out to my side. Searing pain shot through my whole body, and I gasped. I finally managed to open my eyes and saw a woman with bright pink hair leaning over me. I tried to sit up, but she stopped me.

 

"Don't sit up," She said. "It'll hurt more." I nodded and relaxed. Some of the pain began to wane as someone started using a variant of healing magic that numbed the body. After a minute or two, I could speak again.

 

"Where am I?" I asked.

 

"You're at the Konol 2nd Division Base hospital," The woman said.

 

What? I thought. That didn't make sense. They almost never let people from the Outskirts into the city.

 

"Apparently, something's up with your Aura," The woman said. "So they brought you here."

 

Oh. That explained it.

 

Then the same sharp pain in my heart from before began to grow more intense. Blackness crawled over my vision. I felt a pulse of energy shoot out from me and heard the shouting of people and the crashing of machinery breaking.

 

After an uncertain length of time, the pain lessened and the blackness receded. When I saw what had happened in the room, I nearly vomited. Blood was everywhere. All the people that had been in the room before had deep slashes all over their bodies and some were missing limbs.

 

The walls, tables, and machines were also covered with similar slashes. It looked as if something had clawed everything but me and the hospital table I was on to bits.

 

Then a door flew open and a tall beautiful woman who also had six white wings like me came in. She looked around and saw the destruction.

 

"What happened?" She asked.

 

"I don't know," I sobbed, tears streaming down my face. "Everything hurt and went dark and they all died." I continued crying, trying to wipe my tears away.

 

"It's okay now," The woman said, striding toward me.

 

"No," I said. "Don't come close. I don't want you to die too."

 

"It's fine," The woman said. "I'll be alright." Dark energy began to swirl around me as my emotions thrashed around. It created a vortex of dust and bits of wood and metal all around me. But it did nothing to the woman as she came up to me.

 

"You're going to be okay," She said, wrapping her arms around. The vortex slowed to a stop as I calmed down.

 

"Thank you," I said.

 

"It's alright," The woman said. "What's your name?"

 

"I don't have one," I said.

 

"What about your parents?" The woman asked.

 

"I don't have any," I told her. Tears brimmed in my eyes again.

 

"Oh, you poor thing," She said, letting me lean on her. After a few minutes, she said, "I can be your parent."

 

"So you can be my mom?" I asked.

 

"Yes," She said. I smiled and leaned into her again. "And I'll give you a name."

 

"What?" I asked.

 

"Hmm. . ." My new mom said, thinking. "How about. . . Shayde."

 

"Shayde," I said.