BEYOND 3A: BloodRed and ScaleBlack

The Forty-Seventh Feather: A Nostalgic Place

Deep down in the blinding darkness of the sea, Levia was floating motionlessly and despite not feeling anything, he knew for certain that he was sinking lower and lower.

He ended up falling inside a trench where he spent several minutes lying down motionlessly. Then, a small crab walked over his body, prompting him to think: "A crab... I'm allergic to those. Have I always been allergic to them? My mother didn't feed me many different sea foods, just regular fish you'd find at a marketplace. But... I do remember one time. She wanted to try something different, so she bought a whole bunch of shrimp and cooked them. Next thing I knew, I was bedridden with a horrible fever. I even thought I was going to die... At any other point, I would've been content, but back then, much like I am now, I didn't want to be alone. All I had was her and that was all I could've ever asked for. Just her and I, in our humble little home... Our humble little home... The one I never wanted to leave... The one I always felt lost without... I want my home back... I want to put this all behind me and find home... Home... Home... Home..."

Not a moment too soon, A house appeared and started slowly sinking down to the sea floor. Levia stood up, swam toward the closed door, and opened it. Strangely, the outside water refused to flow inside, leaving the place completely dry, if not a little humid.

Levi was in disbelief when he sensed the environment of the house. It was identical to the home he shared with his mother. Every detail was immaculate, everything that was recreated was a perfect replica of his beloved space. His bedroom was as neatly tidy as ever, with many toys and plushies overflowing the basket in which they were kept, and his mother's bedroom was as messy as ever, with papers and documents scattered around haphazardly. Levia didn't know what was written on those papers, so the recreation was just childish scribbles. It wasn't as if he could have read them even if they were the real thing.

One thing that came to his attention was a trapdoor hidden under his mother's bed. He saw it once when he was little, but despite being a little curious about it, Levia's younger self didn't care enough to investigate it on his own or even ask his mother about it.

Levia, this time around, knew better and wanted to uncover whatever secrets were stored down there. However, since he didn't know what was below it, it didn't lead anywhere.

There was another thing, one last thing, that grabbed his interest. A picture frame on her nightstand. Levia's blindness induced by the horns sticking out of his eye sockets prevented him from seeing the picture, but he knew exactly what it was.

He sat down on the bed, holding the picture frame, and started quietly crying simply because of his inability to see his mother's face.

After a while, Levia returned to the mainland where Demogorgon was waiting. She asked him: "You have been gone for quite some time... What have you accomplished...?"

Levia: "Well, I managed to create a liminal space but I also ended up crushing whatever specks of spirit I had left."

Demogorgon: "Excellent... You are a quick learner..."

Levia: "I think I'm done for today. Send me home."

Demogorgon: "Do you not wish to learn how to manifest clothing?"

Levia: "After all this, I think I know how to do that now. You can go and receive your rewards from L'étranger after you send me back."

Demogorgon: "Very well..."

She summoned her door one final time for the day and allowed him through, but before he shut the door behind him, he looked back at her and asked: "By the way, how would you rate my look?" before he took off his leather jacket and used his newly learned clothes shifting ability to change the regular white t-shirt he was wearing into a chef jacket with very noticeable black circles where its buttons were. He added: "Very chef-like, isn't it?"