New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

As he flew closer to the plume of smoke he had seen, he thought it unwise to land directly next to the camp or house. So he landed a few hundred meters out in the forest, where his landing was hidden from sight.

He thought about the wings disappearing, and his hands being normal, and they morphed back to normal.

'This is never going to become normal to me…' he thought, looking at his hands.

But he would have to disregard it for the time being.

At least he didn't feel too drained from flying or changing his morphology.

As he walked toward the plume of smoke, he asked Geminae in his head, 'Why don't I feel exhausted from all those changes? Or the time spent flying? Shouldn't this use up a massive amount of mana?'

Geminae took a moment before answering his question.

'Remember how I said we were now part of your body? Well… This is what I meant…'

Alex halted, his brows furrowing.

'What do you mean? Am I not just melding with you two?'

'…'

'Not exactly…'

Alex's frown deepened.

'Then what?'

'You could say you have become a changeling of sorts. Your body now has more than one natural aspect. And you can morph into them with ease and without cost. We are part of you, completely.'

'Excuse me?'

'In technical terms, you have become more than human. You are one-third human, one-third demon, and one-third divinity. You are what we call a Nephilim…'

'So… I'm a monster?'

Before Geminae could reply and try to comfort Alexander, the imp jumped in, grabbing the occasion to torment Alexander.

'Yes! You are the monster you so despise! Doesn't it make you feel despair?! Don't you want to give up on life?! I'll take over your body, don't worry! Rhakhakhakha!'

But instead of feeling a wave of despair from Alexander, he felt a wave of rage and an immense pressure suddenly slamming him into the ground.

'Shut up, you weakened piece of demonic trash. I should have never let you out of your hole. I wish I could slam you back into it and forget about you…'

The imp squirmed in pain and whined, but quickly shut his mouth.

Inside the white room, Geminae looked at it with disdain and pity.

'I guess provoking him now has consequences…' he thought.

'Screw this. I'll deal with it later. I just needed to know what to expect. Thank you for being truthful, Geminae. But don't think I don't remember your intentions…'

Geminae gulped, replying to Alex.

'Of course… Ha ha… I wouldn't dare entertain these thoughts anymore…'

Alex smirked as he resumed walking toward the cabin he had found.

It was a small wooden log cabin with almost nothing around it, aside from a little Chevy truck marked with the Fauna Protection logo and an ATV parked near it. Aside from this, the only other thing of note was the dirt trail that led up to the cabin.

Alex looked at his destitute clothes and imagined he should act like a lost hiker if he didn't want to raise flags.

Walking toward the cabin in a quick gait, trying to look like he was weak and stumbling, he knocked on the door.

"Excuse me?! Is anyone in there?!"

He waited for a moment as he heard movement inside, and the door opened to an elderly man dressed in uniform, holding something behind him.

The old man eyed him up and down before putting a shotgun to his side.

"You look like shit… What happened to you, lad?"

Alex looked at him and tried to fake relief.

"Oh, thank god, a person! I've been wandering the woods for a week now. I went out of food two days ago and thought I was going to die."

The elderly man eyed him up and down again before backing away from the door.

"Come in, lad. Let's get you fed first. You can tell me what happened as you eat," he said, dismissing Alex as a threat.

Alex thanked him profusely, walking inside slowly, trying to act afraid of the gun as the old man led him near the fire.

He had a small pot of something boiling on the fireplace that also acted as a stove, and opened the top to mix it with a wooden spoon.

"I hope you aren't one of those silly vegans because I'm not. I have rabbit stew for breakfast."

Alex shook his head.

"No, meat is fine by me, sir. Thank you so much for sharing with me."

"Think nothing of it, son. My job is to ensure no one dies in these woods. Come to think of it, I did send up two other people not too long ago. A young couple. I hope they aren't lost. Hmm."

Alex heard his words and felt a tinge of guilt.

"I didn't see anyone as I trekked. I'm sure they are fine," he lied, knowing full well they weren't lost but dead.

The old man eventually pulled the pot away from the fireplace and dropped it on a small, round wooden table, where he also put two bowls.

He served himself and Alex and then asked the young man to explain what had happened to him and how come he hadn't seen him go into the woods in the first place.

Everyone hiking up here had to query a licence from him, and he would also give them a rundown of the risks, often even leading them to a safe spot.

Alex had to lie again, disdaining himself for it. He told the old man how he wasn't aware of this and had just hiked from a nearby village and got lost on the way up.

He told him his clothes had gotten so damaged as he ran away from something black chasing him in the woods and was lucky to be alive.

After half an hour of eating and talking, the old man eventually admonished him for his recklessness and offered to lead him back to the nearest village, where he could grab a plane back to the city.

Alex thanked him again, saying he was a lifesaver.

The old man gave him a set of cam