BEYOND 3A: BloodRed and ScaleBlack

The Sixteenth Feather: Her Name Was Raphael...

A few hours later, Corna and Kid were in the hospital. However, Dennis was the only one who had to receive treatment, since Corna's body allowed her to just turn her severed arm into tiny birds and reattach them. Dennis, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. His hand was treated and stitched back on, thanks to Corna quickly flying him to the ER, but it would take a long while to heal to the point of functionality.

Corna entered the room he was staying in for the time being and asked him: "Hey, Kid. Are you feeling better?"

Dennis: "I could be better."

Corna: "Okay, I hope you get well soon."

Dennis: "Thanks, but I still have no clue how this even happened."

Corna: "Neither do I, but if I had to put my two cents in, I'd say we got caught up in someone else's fight from far away."

Dennis: "Man, I fucking hate this planet. You can't even walk back home without being almost decapitated."

Corna: "Yeah, that's the reality we have to deal with, I guess."

Dennis: "Also, while we're on the topic, how the hell did you reattach your hand like that? Just... What the hell are you? You control and read minds, you can sprout wings, your body parts break into birds, and you're dressed like a devil!"

Corna: "It's all because I'm not actually human."

Dennis: "... Go on?"

Corna: "I'm a Hylic Beyonder."

Dennis: "Yes, of course, I totally know what that is! You don't even need to explain it!"

Corna: "Ugh. Look, do you know how Beyonders possess people?"

Dennis: "Yes, I've got one in me as we speak, yes."

Corna: "Well, a Hylic Beyonder is what happens when a Beyonder possesses the corpse of a dead child."

Dennis: "So... You're a walking corpse?"

Corna: "No, I'm just a Beyonder with a physical body, nothing more, nothing less."

Dennis: "Wow, that's awesome! You get to have multiple powers! I'm not the kind to get jealous, but I'd trade!"

Corna: "Sure, thanks."

Dennis: "Anyway, the doctors said I can go back home later, so you can go home if you want."

Corna: "Actually, I, uhh, I came here to talk to you about the favour I told you about."

Dennis: "Oh, riiiight, I totally forgot about that. Do fill me in."

Corna: "It's... Sigh, it's a long story. Do you know about the Northern M.I.S.S.I.O.N branch that was destroyed last year?"

Dennis: "Yeah, it was all over the news."

Corna: "I'm... One of the few survivors of that incident."

Dennis: "Uhuh?"

Corna: "That place had a place similar to a daycare relegated to kids like me, who have no place in society. I made a lot of friends there, but they're all dead now, save for only one."

Dennis: "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss."

Corna: "And... There's this one friend I had, named Raphael. She was a Hylic Beyonder like me, but ultimately, she died to save our lives."

Dennis: "Wait, I don't want to ruin your emotional moment, but why is that girl named Raphael? Isn't that a boy's name?"

Corna: "Heheh... That's what everyone thought, too. When she died, her spirit told me to find her, wherever she ended up. That's what I want to do."

Dennis: "Really? I'll be frank, if it was me, I would've thrown in the towel. Like, she could be anywhere on the planet!"

Corna: "I don't care how long it takes me, I'll find her."

Dennis: "Why? I get you were friends and all, but why go through so much effort?"

Corna: "I... I did a lot of bad things in a previous life. So many horrible things that I can't sleep with. I want to do at least one thing to atone."

Dennis: "Uhh, I... don't know how to respond to that."

Corna: "It's fine, this is my own personal dilemma, one that I can't do alone anymore. That, I'm willing to admit. Which is why I need the help of as many people as I can, starting with you."

Dennis: "Okay, I think I got the whole deal. Are there any dead-... Clear giveaways that I can recognise?"

Corna: "Raphael had the ability to bring people back from the dead."

Dennis: "Oof, That's a good power."

Corna: "But due to the law of conceptual understanding, it must have changed into a different, but fundamentally similar power."

Dennis: "What of whatual whating?"

Corna: "One Beyonder can give multiple people an infinite number of varying abilities depending on that person's understanding of the spectre's concept. For example, If a Beyonder with the concept of lightning possessed two different people, one will get super speed and the other will get electric powers. Do you understand any of that?"

Dennis: "..."

Corna: "...Kid? Hello~?"

Dennis: "...AH! Sorry, my brain fried from all the big words you threw at me."

Corna: "You're the one who asked for an explanation, dumbass! Don't ask questions if you can't handle the answers!"

Dennis: "Fine, fine, relax. Okay, I think I get the full gist of what you're trying to do. I'll ask around."

Corna: "No, try to keep a low profile about it as best as you can."

Dennis: "...Why?"

Corna: "It's the power to revive dead people, Kid! Why wouldn't evil people try to jump at the chance?!"

Dennis: "Ooooh, that makes sense."

Corna: "Alright, I think that covers everything. I'll be going home now, I hope you get well soon."

Dennis: "Thanks."

Corna: "...Oh, I forgot."

Dennis: "What is it now?"

Corna: "I almost forgot to give you the get-well-soon gift. Here you go!"

Dennis: "... A loaf of bread?"

Corna: "Don't knock it, any bread blessed by me will taste delicious. See you soon."

After she left, Kid laid back on the hospital bed, staring at the bread he was given and thinking: "Who the hell gifts someone bread? Agh, I feel like I'm about to get into something way over my head with how bizarre that girl is."

He opened the plastic bag and ate a slice to calm himself down. He thought: "Hmm, this is pretty good."

Sixteenth Feather:

Plucked