A Zoologist’s Guide to Surviving Magical Creatures

We rode in the buggy, its crystal engine purring softly beneath us, the only sound in a landscape that felt… wrong. The path stretched out like a silver ribbon through pale grass and ghostly trees, toward the place where the portal flickered—a threshold to the Between Realms.

Heim sat in the passenger seat beside me, arms folded, brows furrowed like he was trying to intimidate the horizon.

"This place gives me the creeps," he muttered, eyes scanning the empty plains. "Where exactly are we going? And why does it feel like the world's holding its breath?"

I glanced sideways at him. "Aren't you from the Shadow Realm? Shouldn't you be used to eerie silence?"

He snorted. "Don't lump this place in with my home. The Shadow Realm isn't creepy, it's—" he paused, eyes narrowing like he was about to launch into a lecture. "—ethereal. Calm. Harmonious. There's… music, actually. Resonance in the dark. Peaceful."

I tilted my head. "So… calm, serene, and kinda ethereal? Sounds familiar."

He shot me a look like I'd just insulted his entire bloodline. "That's not the same thing. This place feels dead. The Shadow Realm feels alive."

Before I could throw another jab, we reached the edge of a lake so still it looked like glass poured from a divine cup. Beyond it, tucked into a clearing that seemed to pulse with quiet magic, was our destination.

"That tree," I said, pointing. "That weird, ugly bald one in the middle of all the pretty ones? I need you to destroy it."

Heim squinted at the skeletal thing like it personally offended him. "You brought me all the way here to kill a tree?"

"It's not just a tree," I replied, hands on my hips. "It's enchanted. Blocking access to the Ziggurat. Just smash it."

He crossed his arms. "Why should I do that? I'm the god."

"You're technically a god under my temporary jurisdiction," I countered with a shrug. "Besides, we had a deal remember? What happened to that noble spirit of yours? Your majestic sense of justice? Your endless thirst for Agnos' approval?"

His eyes narrowed. "You're manipulating me."

I smirked. "And yet here we are."

He grumbled something under his breath—probably a curse involving my untimely death—then stepped out. With a dramatic flourish, he summoned his weapon. A warhammer. No, a warhammer. Capital W. The thing pulsed with a smoky aura that whispered "I bench-press realms for fun."

Without warning, Heim hurled it like a boomerang on steroids. The hammer spun through the air, shrieking like a banshee before it slammed into the tree with bone-rattling force. The poor trunk exploded into magical dust and splinters, and the hammer spun back into Heim's grip like a loyal dog.

I blinked. "Damn."

He stood there, bathed in the soft twilight of the broken enchantment, looking smug. Annoyingly smug. Like he knew he looked majestic. And honestly? He kinda did. For a fleeting second, I could've sworn there was a halo behind him. I shook my head violently to clear the thought. Nope. Not today, intrusive thoughts.

The moment the tree disintegrated, the landscape shifted. The tranquil illusion cracked like a mirror, revealing a barren wasteland underneath—ashen soil, charred trees, and a cold wind that howled like a haunted choir.

"I don't like this," Heim muttered, kicking a pebble. "It's so… desolate."

"It's been five minutes," I said, amused. "You already miss the tree?"

"I miss Agnos," he muttered. "If I were walking with him, this'd be different."

I squinted at him. "Okay, time out—what is it with you and this brother-worship thing? Are you trying to win some 'Best Brother Complex' award or something?"

He didn't answer right away. For once, Heim—the bratty, overpowered, marshmallow-chomping Wolf God—looked quiet. Thoughtful. "Agnos is family," he finally said, voice softer than I expected.

"Lucky you," I said without thinking. "At least you have family."

He glanced sideways at me, hesitating. "I heard what happened. From Jiuge. That you're adopted."

I groaned. "Of course she told you. That fox goddess's mouth should come with a volume control."

"I'm not judging," he said quickly. "I mean… at least you met your parents. Even if they weren't your real ones."

I turned to him, brow raised. "What do you mean?"

He stared ahead, not meeting my eyes. "Mine never met me. Not once. Just… left me. Agnos is the only one who ever came to find me. Told me we're half-brothers. That was it."

His voice didn't crack. There was no bitterness, no angry edge. Just… resignation. Like someone who had stopped hoping for an explanation a long time ago.

I felt something twist inside me. Not sympathy, not exactly. But… something.

"Maybe they're dead," I offered quietly.

He shook his head. "They're alive. I checked. They just don't want to see me."

There was no hatred in his tone. Just fact. Cold and hollow.

What kind of divine parents abandon their own kid? Even gods could be heartless, apparently. For once, I didn't see the bratty, cocky Heim. I saw the lonely kid behind the warhammer. And suddenly, using him to smash my way into the Ziggurat felt a little bit... rotten.

"…Sorry," I muttered.

He looked at me, confused. "For what?"

"For calling you a glorified puppy earlier."

He blinked. "You didn't call me that."

"Well, I thought it really hard."

He snorted. And maybe, just maybe, we both walked a little lighter after that.

Guided by my token, we finally reached the Ziggurat.

It stood like a stone sentinel in the middle of the dusty nowhere—ancient, enormous, and about as welcoming as a tax office at midnight.

The wind kicked up a few dry gusts around us, and the smell of scorched clay stung my nostrils. Even from this distance, the towering slabs of obsidian bricks shimmered with residual magic, humming faintly beneath the sandblasted silence.

Above the colossal entrance, carved in massive cuneiform letters, was the phrase: Ziggurat Information Mall.

I only understood it because the first time I came here, the Essence Token decided to unlock the language by slamming ancient knowledge straight into my brain—through what I can only describe as a magical panic attack wrapped in existential pain. It was like cramming for finals, except the textbook screamed back and possibly rewired part of my soul.

Heim, standing beside me with his arms crossed and his jaw tense, squinted up at the structure like it owed him money.

"This is it?" he asked flatly. "A temple?"

"It's not a temple," I said, brushing sand off my vest and shaking my boots out. "It's… an Information Mall."

He blinked at me. "An information mall? What does that even mean? Like a bookstore?"

I grinned. His reaction was almost identical to mine the first time someone told me about it. "Yeah. Kind of. But imagine if a library and a conspiracy theorist's attic had a magical baby and raised it inside a dimensional rift." I pointed up at the Ziggurat. "That's this place."

"Huh?" Heim still looked doubtful—until I dropped the bait.

"It's also one of Agnos's favorite places," I said casually, like I wasn't absolutely dangling that info like a carrot on a fishing line. "He hangs out here sometimes. Research. Reading. Brooding in knowledge corners, probably."

Not exactly a lie. Agnos did say he loved this place the last time we were here—so technically, it counts as the truth… for now. I'm just strategically leaning on the part that benefits me most. Call it selective honesty. Survival skill, really.

I didn't even finish before Heim's whole expression lit up like someone had gifted him a sword forged from compliments.

"He comes here?" Heim's voice cracked a little with the weight of sudden hope. "Like—on purpose?"

"Yep," I said, smugly. "Even brought tea. Just sat down and read for hours like a total nerd god. So, congrats. You're about to walk in Agnos's footsteps."

He didn't hesitate after that. Just straightened his shoulders and strode toward the entrance like it might earn him a badge in 'Brotherly Approval 101.'

I trailed behind, smirking a little, but part of me softened. Heim, the broody warhammer-wielding Wolf God, had the emotional vulnerability of a teenager trying to impress his older brother at a science fair. It was… strangely endearing.

And also a reminder.

Everyone's chasing something. Even gods.