Jack just stood in silence for a few seconds, before the absurd truth hit him in the face. At first he thought it was the entity communicating with him, but the voice felt unfamiliarly familiar. It was a voice that he could have imagined hearing before, but hadn’t.

He felt Luna’s warm body grow larger from underneath his protection, and soon Jack couldn’t shield her completely with his own.

“I accept!” Jack shouted out, knowing that if the entity were to direct even half of its tendrils to Luna, she would have no way of surviving. “I accept, but let her go. You don’t need her, your business is clearly with me,” Jack called out again, hoping the entity was amenable to negotiations.

He waited for a full minute, but there was no response. The tendrils though, seemed to start moving slightly erratically, Jack could almost start to recognize a pattern to their movements. The creation of new monsters had also slowed down, maybe the entity was thinking? He had no way to be sure.

“Enough is enough!” Jack screamed, and then followed, “You are not going to let me escape. That’s fine. But she clearly has no value to you. You can create life. But can you bring it back as well? What will happen if I implode all the Qi in my body? Can you bring me back? Can you take that gamble? All for a creature you were willing to kill a few seconds ago? Is it worth it?” Jack slammed the entity with every argument he could think of, holding nothing back. He could only hope that the entity did not react badly to his harsh words, but he wasn’t lying- a peaceful death seemed much better in comparison to being turned into those deformed monstrosities. Though the entity’s purpose seemed to run deeper, considering it chose to vent its anger on Luna instead of him earlier.

The tendrils of energy started to sway wildly, while Jack wildly channeled the Qi in his body without any direction, rhyme or reasoning behind its motion. One thought from Jack, along with this platform he was standing on would be blown to bits. Jack saw tens of reddish-black tendrils snake towards Luna, but before he could even react the light golden tendrils cut them off.

Flashes of light occurred in rapid succession, hapless, misshapen monsters being born and dying in the next second, sucked into the furnace of blue flames beneath the small floating islands and reduced to ash. Both the reddish black and golden tendrils seemed to pause after that internal conflict, leaving an eerie stillness in the air.

Jack sighed in relief as he saw the ‘evil reddish-black tendrils retreat, or at least that’s how he’d come to see them. The radiant golden tendrils remained frozen still in the air, before a single one approached Jack slowly. He was still prepared for a betrayal, but it seemed unlikely- the entity had all but one of the cards in its hands while Jack just had one scuffed card he wasn’t sure he had the courage to use.

Jack didn’t retreat from the tendril, but instead stood in front of it- in his effort to ensure Luna’s safety.

“No!” A boisterous feminine voice echoed out in protest in Jack’s mind. “Luna will stay, fight!” She loudly proclaimed, with masked anger than feigned to hide the fear she felt. But Jack could sense it through their bond.

Luna’s transformation had caught Jack aback the first time he saw it- but he had barely any time to evaluate or appreciate the changes. Her body now resembled that of a cheetah, albeit one with a beautiful, radiant silver coat of fur that Jack found it hard to take his eyes of. At the center of her forehead, a light, transparent diamond had been embedded, giving her the feel of an otherworldly being. Her golden eyes beamed with intelligence, while her fanged teeth had been enlarged to meet the size of her body- Jack could tell, those teeth were both sharp and deadly, because his danger sense was sending alarm bells when he had gazed at them. Initially Jack couldn’t tell, but her paws had sharp fangs that were made out of a crystalline, translucent material that seemed to blend in with the surroundings. All in all, Luna was now a true, bonafide predator, one that was capable of making even Jack wary.

But she was still Luna.

“Luna, do you trust me?” Jack asked, as the tendril drew nearer.

“Yes, but-,” Luna replied in an argumentative tone, trying to justify her side of the argument.

“Luna, do you trust my judgment?” Jack asked, this time with a commanding voice.

“I- um, yes,” She replied in a small, feeble voice as she slightly lowered her head, while the golden tendril now stood in front of Jack, making a circular motion in the air. Luna’s large, beady golden eyes were now wet, two drops of tears streaking down her eyes. She was now smart enough to understand that the existence of someone who could give her the power of advanced thought and such a strong physical body, would also have no problems taking it instantly. And she understood Jack enough to know what he wanted. She didn't want to leave him, and that coupled with her elevation to the status of a sentient being made so many turbulent emotions hard to process.

Jack couldn’t bear to be stern with her any more, so he turned around and opened his arms. Luna’s now large frame jumped into them, as she burst into a flood of tears when Jack embraced her.

Jack stroked her soft fur gently, before speaking, “Luna, I don’t know what… they want from me, but I am sure they have some need of me. Otherwise, they have no reason to concede to my demands.”

Jack paused, as he felt a gust of wind from behind him. He glanced behind, only to realize that the golden tendril had opened a portal for him, and Jack knew enough about the terrain to know it was in Malanike National Park. He guessed it was the backside of the mountain, because he saw no Orc Titan guarding the place.

“Go on, Luna. Trust me, have I ever taken any decision that I wasn’t confident I’d survive? I’ll be just fine. And Luna, I give you an objective. No matter what happens, you survive, you hear me? If anyone tries to hurt you, and leaves you no choice… you do what needs to be done, okay?,” Jack lovingly stroked her hair one last time, but then mentally nudged her to leave.

Jack could feel the red tendril that had sneaked up behind him- it just floated there, without moving. He understood what it was- a clear threat, and he didn’t want it to get antsy and lash out at Luna.

Two teardrops hit the soil as Luna put Jack’s head against her own for a full minute, before turning around and entering the portal. One last parting glance was thrown his way, full of grief, sorrow and what was unmistakably anger, directed towards the tendril behind him.

The portal closed the moment she left, and now Jack was alone in a land of eldritch horrors and unknown entities with obscure objectives.

The mask of bravado and confidence he had put on shattered the moment Luna left, replaced with vigilance, caution and above all else, a will to survive so that he could reunite with Luna and his parents.

It was time to finally discover what this accursed place wanted from him, and what secrets lay at the center.