Strax heard about the small changes as he lay confined to his bed. His wives took turns telling him about their experiences and their new achievements while he calmly listened to everything he could hear. After all, he couldn't move a single muscle of his body. His body was still weak, his muscles heavy, and there were lingering traces of the battle with Lithara in his mind, as well as the exhaustion he felt after transforming into a Dragon.
At first, he tried to orient himself, but soon realized something was bothering him.
An unease mixed with the relief of being awake, and the first thought that settled in his mind was Sylvia's face.
He didn't even understand why she occupied his thoughts at that moment. They weren't close.
In fact, Sylvia was almost a stranger, someone he had crossed paths with in turbulent situations but never beyond that.
Still, something compelled him to get up, to see how she was doing.
It wasn't logical, but the feeling grew stronger each time he lay in bed, like a persistent anxiety... It was truly strange.
'What the hell, I'll just have to figure this out myself,' he thought as he tried to turn over in bed.
He attempted to sit up, despite the pain radiating through every small fiber of his body, his muscles almost giving in to exhaustion.
He wavered, feeling his legs weak, but ignored the dizziness and pushed forward, heading down the hall toward her room.
'Why am I worried about someone I don't even know?' Strax thought, the questions coming in waves with each step, wondering what was causing his concern.
The strangeness made him frown; he wasn't someone who easily cared for others, especially not someone nearly unknown. And yet, here he was, moving with hesitant but determined steps.
When he reached Sylvia's door, he hesitated for a moment before opening it. Sylvia was awake, reclining in bed, her eyes lost in the window, as if watching something distant and invisible. Her skin was still pale, and the tired look in her eyes reflected the intensity of her recent recovery. When she saw him, she shifted her gaze from the window, and for a moment, an expression of surprise softened her face.
"I was told you'd woken up. Didn't expect to see you here," she said, her tone mixing surprise with lightness, as if trying to understand why Strax had come.
He wasn't sure how to respond.
Looking at Sylvia, he felt the weight of a silent strangeness. Why, after all, was he so concerned about her? Why was he... But still, the intensity of the impulse seemed stronger than any simple logic.
"I... just wanted to see how you were," he muttered, feeling a bit uncomfortable admitting the reason.
"I haven't heard from you since... well, since what happened." He said.
She gave a small smile, as if she noticed the hesitation in his words.
"I'm recovering, I think. The poison almost took me, but I guess I'm luckier than I thought," she replied, her voice carrying an unexpected calm. "And you? You seem to have woken up a little too early."
"Too early? I'd say it was just the right time," he responded, trying to hide his discomfort as he pulled up a chair nearby and sat down beside her.
Inside Strax's mental world, the scene was utter chaos. Every part of his subconscious seemed to vibrate with disordered energy, and tension hung in the air. Ouroboros, the imposing dragon with gleaming scales and an untamable aura, and Lithara, the succubus with an overwhelming presence and enchanting charisma, were at the heart of the turmoil. The two figures stared each other down with fierce intensity, each determined to claim their place and prove how much they meant to Strax.
"I've known Strax long before you!" roared Ouroboros, her thunderous voice reverberating across the vast expanse of the mental world. "I am his primal strength, his guardian! He is mine, and nothing can change that!"
Ouroboros rose with majesty, her scales reflecting a black radiance that radiated power and protection. She looked like an unshakable wall of confidence, and her gaze held brutal determination.
Lithara, on the other hand, exuded a much more... complicated figure. Her eyes gleamed with a touch of provocation, and she wore a sly smile, as if every word was calculated to irritate Ouroboros to the maximum.
"Strength? Guardian?" Lithara laughed, a mix of mockery and sweet enigma. "I am the desire, the passion he never knew he had until I showed up. I am the fire that ignites his deepest emotions. You can protect his body, Ouroboros, but I have his heart. It's inevitable!"
'They sound like two poets arguing... this is annoying...' Kallamos thought as he watched the bizarrely stupid scene unfold.
The dispute continued, growing in intensity with every passing second. Between each exchanged word, bursts of energy exploded around them, shaking the already unstable mental world. Kallamos and Tiamat stood motionless, like living statues, their eyes almost lifeless as they watched the scene unfold with disinterest.
'I want a body... I want to get out of here...' Tiamat thought nervously. Was this the tenth time such a bizarre argument had happened? Over nothing!
Kallamos could only sigh, as if he had lived this moment a thousand times before.
"Don't they realize this fight is pointless?" Kallamos muttered to Tiamat, his voice somewhat disdainful but with a hidden note of concern.
"It seems the intensity of passion has blinded both of them," Tiamat replied, bored. "But you know how it is, Kallamos. For them, this isn't just a fight; it's a declaration of identity."
Meanwhile, both seemed exhausted by the dispute, but something pushed them to continue—a compulsive need to be heard, a need to be recognized as an essential part of Strax's being.
Finally, Lithara stepped forward, narrowing her eyes as she pointed a finger at Ouroboros.
"You think you can just erase me? Make me disappear just because you got here first?" Lithara challenged.
The battle between the two intensified, and Strax's mental world seemed on the verge of collapsing under the weight of their conflict. Their energies intertwined, creating a tangle of emotions and contradictory feelings that spread like sparks, sending waves of energy through Strax's mind.
Kallamos looked at Tiamat, his expression finally showing some frustration.
"Maybe we should intervene before these two destroy everything," Kallamos murmured, finally moving slightly forward as if considering stepping into the confrontation.
"Maybe," Tiamat replied, but without conviction. "But I want to see how far this goes. Whether they'll burn themselves out or finally realize the futility of it."
"You've changed... I thought you were fair and didn't like conflict..." Kallamos said, and Tiamat gave a small smile.
"The price of love is unleashing some new sides," she remarked before finally looking up. "Seems like he's arrived," she said, and Kallamos watched as a massive red dragon floated in the air.
"Shut up, how am I supposed to recover if you won't let me sleep in peace?" Strax, in his dragon form, questioned.