A Zoologist’s Guide to Surviving Magical Creatures

We were sprinting like our lives depended on it—because, well, they did—when something cold and glowing yanked the rug right out from under my survival plan.

The necklace around my neck—the token, supposedly Kaleon's essence—suddenly lit up like a dying star. It floated off my chest and began humming with an unnatural pull.

Then it dragged me.

Not away from the danger.

Toward it.

"No—No, NO—ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?" I shouted, clawing at the chain like it was a cursed leash.

The stupid thing wouldn't budge. It pulsed with this weird force, yanking me right toward the giant beast still roaring like an ancient volcano with abandonment issues.

ROAARRRRRRR

This is it. This is how I die. I always figured it'd be dramatic, but not "sacrificed by accessory" dramatic.

A firm hand latched onto my arm—Agnos. His golden eyes were sharp, focused.

"Whatever you do—don't let go!" he barked.

Helpful advice if we weren't both being dragged uphill like goddamn parade balloons.

Heim's voice cracked through the air next. "AGNOS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Being an idiot!" I shouted.

Heim didn't waste time. He sprinted in and grabbed Agnos by the waist like he was auditioning for a tragic romance role. "I GOT YOU, BRO!"

Spoiler: it did nothing. Now all three of us were being towed like bargain-bin groceries tied to the back of a runaway carriage.

"This is insane!" Jiuge cried out, panic flaring in her usually flirty voice. "I knew this mission was cursed!"

Desperate to help, she grabbed the first thing within reach—Heim's hair.

"OW—Jiuge, you sadistic maniac! NOT THE HAIR!"

"I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU, YOU FLUFFY IMBECILE!"

In the middle of Heim screaming from hair trauma, one of Jiuge's twitching tails smacked him clean across the face.

"STOP ASSAULTING ME WITH YOUR TAIL!"

"I'M PANICKING, OKAY?!"

So there we were—one tired interim owner and three Unknown Gods of Mythica now part of an accidental conga line, slowly, painfully being reeled toward the beast in the sky like bait on a divine fishing line.

And the beast? Oh, it knew.

It hovered, wings spread wide and glowing like the night sky had caught fire. Its eyes locked onto mine—ancient, knowing, hungry.

Nope. Not good. Very not good.

I looked down at the gods tangled around me. My shoulder screamed from the strain. This couldn't go on.

Time to do the stupid thing.

"Agnos!" I yelled over the roar of wind. "Let me go!"

He stared at me like I'd just suggested eating Jiuge's tail for breakfast. "What?! You'll be beast food!"

"I have a plan!" I lied. "Trust me!"

He hesitated. Just for a moment. But that was enough. His grip faltered—he looked me in the eyes, and I gave him my best I-swear-I'm-not-lying smile.

Then he let go.

The smile dropped from my face the second he did.

"Sorry," I mouthed just before the pull intensified, yanking me skyward like a ragdoll in reverse.

"No! CARL!"

Agnos lunged after me, summoning his power in a flash of light—but it hit a barrier, hard. A blinding pulse repelled him backward, as if some ancient protocol had activated, warding off even the divine.

Jiuge and Heim joined in, both shouting my name, their own powers flashing like wild comets—but the same thing happened. Nothing reached me. I was untouchable.

Untouchable, and rising.

Higher and higher. Closer to the waiting jaws of the unknown.

The roar came again—deep, echoing through my chest. The beast unfolded like prophecy, its presence ripping the sky in half.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Goodbye… Mythica."

I braced for death. Not metaphorically—I mean real, dramatic, my-life-flashing-before-my-eyes kind of death. The kind with roaring beasts, gods screaming your name, and the existential clarity of knowing you'll never finish that snack you left in the fridge.

But then… nothing.

No searing pain. No thunderous roar. No Heim yelling profanities or Jiuge shrieking in panic.

Just—

Silence.

Unnatural. Heavy. Suspiciously clean silence.

The force that had been yanking me skyward—gone.

I opened one eye.

Still here. Still midair. Not falling. Not rising. Just… hanging like a glitch in the world's most dramatic action sequence.

"What the...?"

Everything around me had frozen.

Literally.

The sky was locked in place like someone had pressed pause on reality. The clouds? Stuck mid-swirl. The beast? Frozen in the air above me, wings outstretched, eyes wide, fangs bared—but completely still.

Even Agnos, Jiuge, and Heim, far below, were caught in the moment—mouths open, hands reaching out, expressions twisted into a perfect triad of panic, disbelief, and chaos.

Time itself had stopped.

And I was the only one still moving.

I slowly turned upward—and that's when I saw it.

A shard.

A fragment.

Suspended above me, glowing like a tiny star having an identity crisis. My token—the necklace—was still hovering too, its light streaming upward, siphoning some kind of essence into the fragment.

Oh. That's... not terrifying at all.

I stared at it, heart thudding loud in my ears, the only sound left in the entire world.

Was that my fragment? One of the pieces of Vorta's divinity I crammed into my backpack like spare socks?

I didn't know how or why—but I could feel it. This one pulsed with something ancient. Something beyond divine.

Time.

It was controlling time.

"Holy crap…" I whispered—then snorted, mostly out of pure, nervous absurdity.

And that's when the idea hit me.

I looked down at the gods, still frozen mid-scream.

My panic cracked under the weight of pure, immature revenge.

I fumbled into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and grinned.

Click. Click. Click.

"Perfect," I muttered, angling for a close-up of Heim's dramatic "I'm about to save my brother" face. "Gonna frame this one."

Jiuge looked like she was yelling about taxes. Agnos actually had tears at the corners of his eyes. A single blink frozen in emotional HD.

I caught every unflattering angle.

Click. Click.

Oh, but the beast. I angled the camera on my phone just enough to snap a side profile of the Emperor War Beast mid-roar.

"Yup. Mythigram is gonna eat this up," I said with a grin. "Hashtag: I paused time and all I got were these epic selfies."

After I'd milked the situation for all the blackmail and bragging rights it was worth, I slipped the phone back into my pocket, still half-shaking.

Focus, Carl.

The fragment above me was still glowing, still humming with that quiet, terrifying power. The token on my chest continued to pour essence into it like a lifeline.

This was what saved me. One of Vorta's fragments—The Unknown God of Space and Time himself. Of course his divine leftovers could hijack the universe's play button.

I floated there for a few seconds longer, letting the weight of the situation sink in.

This wasn't luck.

This was something else entirely.

Now the question was—how do I shut it off?

Because suspended in midair next to a time-stopping relic while a giant murder-beast hovered six feet away was not exactly the safest place to stall.

Think, Carl. Think.

If this fragment was feeding off the token, maybe—just maybe—I could reverse it. Reclaim the essence. Or... guide it. Give it direction.

Or accidentally destroy the universe trying.

That too.

I took a slow breath, steadying myself. I reached out toward the fragment, not really sure what I expected to happen. But whatever was coming next?

I knew one thing for sure.

This wasn't just some fragment anymore.

This was a key.

And I have a feeling someone—or something—wanted me to use it.