Souls Online: Mythic Ascension

Leo let out a sigh of relief when Horo finally reappeared, five minutes before they planned to seek him out in the real world.

"Thank God you're back, Horo. Any changes on your end?"

Silence.

Horo stood there, unmoving. No quip, no sarcastic remark—just an unsettling, heavy pause.

Leo frowned as he observed the usually aloof and smiling snake was trembling on the spot in utter silence. 

Something must have happened, Even to the untrained eye, he looked terrified! 

Lily was the first to close the distance, reaching up and placing her hands on Horos cheeks so he would have to look into her eyes.

"What happened Horo…You look like you've seen a ghost"

Horo flinched at the word ghost before he groaned. He closed his eyes for a few moments before he let out a strained chuckle. 

"You know I might have seen something…..worse." 

Leo and Luna expressions tensed up, nervous to hear what Horo had faced while Lily tilted her head, concerned.

 Yet Horo was determined to change the topic, refusing to elaborate any further. 

"I have to say you were right Lily. I have changed in the real world…."

"Oh? did your hair change colours or something?" 

Lilys ears perked up hearing that yet another person had experienced changes like she had.

"I'll explain…but can you let go of my face? A passerby might think we are about to have an intimate moment…"

Lily released his head and jumped back, her face flushing bright red, embarrassed and angry that he was teasing her even now. 

"You Bastard!"

"How did my face feel?" 

Horo didn't laugh, his smile was replaced with a rigid and cold expression. There was no sign of him joking or playing around. He was serious

"Uhh…it was really smooth and somewhat cool…Almost as if I was holding a….oh god."

Lilys words faltered upon her realization as she saw a pained expression flicker across Horos face. 

"Its not just that…my blood…it's corrosive apparently.."

Luna grimaced when she heard that. It sounded less than pleasant to say the least. 

"How do you know?" 

"Well there are a couple of holes in my porcelain sink. Also last I checked, blood isn't supposed to be purple!"

Horo snapped back, irritated that Luna was questioning him. Yet he shut up when he glanced at Luna. Hadn't he just done that with her?

"I'm sorry Luna… I shouldn't have snapped like that. It was uncalled for and you didn't deserve that."

Lunas eyebrows furrowed even more, looking somewhat disgusted.

"Gross. Who are you and what have you done with our Horo. That snake bastard is never this serious. I think I might break out in hives from that apology!"

This reaction caused Horo to finally laugh, releasing some of the tension weighing him down. 

"Haha. Luna you know you can be a real bitch right? But still…Thank you" 

"H-hmph! I am going to go to tend the fire!" 

Luna spun around and hurried toward the campfire, her steps quick and agitatedLily and Leo snickered as they both noticed Lunas ears were red, She was really embarrassed.

"Sis…Awkward as usual hehe"

"Luna you are absolutely adorable"

"Both of you. Shut up!"

Seeing them banter and bicker like this was heartwarming to Horo, the horrors that he experienced seeming to retreat to the back of his mind for now. 

"Come on Horo, lets take a seat and relax for a bit" 

Leo called out to him as he approached Luna, patting a fallen log next to where he was sitting.

A small smile flickered on Horos face. His reality may be a mess but here, he had friends.

It was after a few minutes of jovial banter that Lily brought up a serious matter: What are they going to do now.

With the revelation that characteristics of their avatars were being transferred into reality, there would inevitably be some chaos. None of them had any faith that the government would be able to contain the situation. 

"I think we need to get stronger here. If we do that, maybe it will translate into the real world too."

Luna's suggestion was focused on growth here. She had no evidence to back her claim, only a gut feeling. 

"I agree with you Luna but we can't ignore the fact that my brother Anthony is after Leo. In fact I think we will all need to lay low for a while. We don't want him to find out about any of our changes."

"Ugh I almost forgot about that"

Horos reminder about the brutal man who was trying to get a hold of Leos body sent a shiver of disgust down Lilys' spine. 

"What about you Leo? What do you want to do?"

Luna turned her gaze to her brother who had been sitting in relative silence, lost in thought. 

"Oh me?" he asked surprised, pointing at himself, somehow not expecting that 

"Well first off I want to get out of the hospital and eat some real food for a change!"

Lily nodded her head in approval. Food was love after all.

"That's a pretty short term goal. What about after that Boss?" 

Even Horo had shown an interest in what Leo planned to do. The thought that they cared about his plans was endearing to say the least. 

"Well this game DID save my life. I might as well explore it whenever I can. If we have to get stronger, might as well have fun doing it right?"

The sentiment caused Luna to grin broadly, Horo and Lily exchanged looks before flashing smiles of their own. 

"It seems we are in agreement then. We are going to be sticking together for a while longer."

Leo smiled brightly hearing those words from his sister but suddenly he doubled over clutching his head.

He failed to scream as he felt like his mind was splintering. Like a mirror being broken into hundreds of pieces. 

 laid on the ground, in front of the fire, Luna instinctively reaching out to prevent him from rolling into the frames.

"What the fuck just happened!" 

Luna roared, fear causing her entire body to shake while Horo and Lils face were twisted in a mixture of horror and terror. 

Yet a moment later, the pain was gone. Replaced by a voice that was not his own. 

'Zodiac…Bonds..Save…World'

What was that?!