There are many things I've done in life that could be classified as "questionable." Like using stealing the fruits meant for Sweet Tooth's back at the dragonling den during my internship term. Or mistaking a siren's underwater boutique for a merfolk crime den (don't ask). But walking straight into an Eternal Prison chamber to tame a demon beast that once ruled the winds of a dead world?

That one takes the cake. And lights it on fire. With wind magic.

This pitch-black void we'd stumbled into—it had to be one of the sealed chambers meant to contain Pazuzu, the Abyssal Emperor War Beast. A place built not to imprison, but to withstand him. And if my instincts were right—and they usually were when survival was on the line—then we'd done it. We had broken into the Eternal Prison.

Unfortunately, it seemed we'd skipped the sneaking part and gone straight to the part where we were offered—gift-wrapped, clueless—right into the monster's gaping jaws.

This wasn't a cell in the traditional sense. It was a vortex of ruin shaped into a fortress—a suffocating cyclone of darkness, soundless pressure, and ancient wrath. Every breath here felt borrowed. Every second stretched thin like a thread above a guillotine.

Razor wind circled the domed cavern. The air shimmered like boiling glass, and the very ground trembled with pressure.

I took a breath. My fingers trembled slightly as I recalled the ancient text from the Ziggurat Archives:

"Pazuzu, the Storm King, may yield only to an Innocent Soul. A pure essence may calm its primal winds."

I'd spent the better part of a sleepless night interpreting that passage. Over tea and mild panic, I concluded "innocence" meant…well, virginal.

And unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on your spiritual outlook—I was still very much a card-carrying, certified, socially awkward virgin.

So naturally, I decided this was my calling.

"Are you sure about this?" Agnos murmured, his voice low but laced with sharp disbelief. His brows twitched—less from skepticism, more like they were bracing themselves for the funeral march my plan was surely composing.

All I'd done was whisper the gist of it, and he already looked like he regretted every life decision that led him to this moment.

"No," I replied. "But I'm feeling brave, stupid, and morally upright. It's now or never."

I turned slowly, spine stiff with dread, until I was face-to-face with the monstrous beast looming above me—its growl rumbling through the floor like a warning from the underworld itself. My pulse thundered in my ears. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to curl up, to disappear.

But I didn't.

I drew in a breath that barely filled my lungs, clenched my fists to steady the shake in my fingers, and forced myself to stand. Every movement felt like defying gravity with a broken spine. But I stood—because I had to.

The temperature dropped. The wind roared. And there, curled like a gargoyle carved from obsidian stormclouds, was Pazuzu.

It raised its lion-like head slowly, eyes glowing with a molten gold light. Its serpent tail flicked once, twice. Claws clicked against the stone. Its four wings shifted like a cathedral about to take flight.

Then it growled. Low. Like thunder mourning something long dead. Drool thick as honey dripped from its fanged maw, sizzling slightly on the floor.

I raised both hands and took a careful step forward. "Easy, big guy. I come in peace."

Another growl. The wind around it spun faster.

"Listen, I read somewhere you don't attack the innocence. And uh..." I cleared my throat. "I'm extremely innocent. Like... laughably so. Never even held hands. Full purity package."

Pazuzu blinked once.

I pressed on, trying to soothe my voice like I was approaching a stressed-out pug.

"Who's a misunderstood wind demon, huh? You are. You've just been judged unfairly. Bet you're a real cuddler. Bet you—"

It sniffed me.

One huge inhale that nearly sucked my soul out.

Then another. This time closer. The barrier dropped as it stepped forward, breathing me in like a sommelier judging the bouquet of a vintage wine.

What is it with creatures in Mythica and their obsession with sniffing me? Seriously—this is the third time I've been used as some kind of walking scent sample.

Its eyes widened.

Its entire body shivered.

Then, without warning, it licked my face.

Like an oversized, storm-themed Labrador.

I froze. "Wha—?"

Agnos screamed from the hallway. "IT'S TASTING HIM LIKE A LOLLIPOP!"

Lightning crackled as Jiuge appeared beside him, eyes alight. "He's going to die sweetly. I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN."

"STAND BACK, CARL!" roared Heim, stomping forward with his warhammer raised. "WE'LL SMASH ITS HEAD IN AND AVENGE YOUR FLESH!"

"No wait—!"

Too late.

Agnos flung a pulse of spirit magic directly at Pazuzu's side.

Jiuge unleashed a forked bolt of purple lightning, crackling with divine fury.

And Heim, in all his muscular godly glory, leapt with a scream and aimed a full-bodied overhead warhammer swing at the beast's neck.

BOOM.

All three attacks collided with something invisible. Like glass-shattering on divine steel, their powers rebounded and flung the trio backward like ragdolls hitting magical trampolines.

A shield. A barrier of storm wind, humming with Pazuzu's protective aura.

And then Pazuzu growled—a full-bodied, earthquake-in-the-windpipes growl, furious and terrifying.

Its eyes blazed. Its wings flared open, scattering lightning and shards of air itself.

"Oh no," I said.

"Oh yes," Jiuge groaned from a pile of stone, sparking faintly.

Then, Pazuzu turned. And with a sudden lurch, bit into my backpack like a mother picking up a kitten by the scruff.

"W-Wait—hey! You're drooling all over my emergency snack pouch!" I yelped as the beast dragged me away like a chew toy.

"HE'S KIDNAPPING CARL!" Heim roared. "YOU PUT HIM DOWN, YOU MANGY BEAST!"

"NOOOO!" Agnos yelled, scrambling upright. "WE'LL GET YOU BACK, CARL! STAY ALIVE!"

"No… guys! You don't understand!" I tried to shout around the jostling and flapping. "I think it likes meeeeee!"

Agnos, Jiuge, and Heim stood frozen, bewildered, as I was yanked backward into the darkness like a poorly planned magic trick. My voice echoed through the gloom, trailing behind me as I disappeared into the abyss.

"Totally fine! Nothing to worry about!" I called—though even I didn't believe it.

My words bounced off the cavern walls like a bad joke that no one laughed at.

Turns out, Pazuzu did more than just like me.

He took me into a small storm-warped hollow deep within the chamber—lined with feathers, bones, polished stones, and...oddly...a small heap of red cloth scraps.

It was a nest.

He placed me down carefully. Then sat like a stone statue, tail flicking, eyes narrowed, still watching the hallway where my god friends had launched attacks.

Then he looked back at me. Licked my hair one more time.

And...sighed.

A long, tired breath of wind.

I was completely drenched in smelly drool.

I felt it then—not from the wind or lightning or legends. But something older. A weight, like grief soaked into the bones.

He was tired of being feared.

Tired of being attacked.

Tired of carrying storms without a single clear sky in sight.

"...You were never evil, were you?" I whispered. "You just needed someone to see you."

The golden glow of his eyes faded into a soft blue. He leaned forward and gently rested his forehead against mine.

I didn't feel power. I didn't feel danger.

I felt peace.

A glyph shimmered on my chest—an ancient one, shaped like a cyclone inside a sun.

[Soul-Link Formed: Pazuzu, Abyssal Emperor of Winds]

My breathing hitched. It was real. It had accepted me.

No.

He had chosen me.

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