Erea

"Why did you call me, Drakonious?"

"I have a new mission for you, Aru~! There isn't much time, so debriefing starts now."

"Am I allowed to say no?"

"Overruled."

"This feels very last minute… You're actually wearing armor. You look a little tired, too—don't tell me you're actually doing your job?"

"Not something you see every day; the Lord of Darkness, sleepy and serious. I was telling the truth about being on a time limit, so listen closely. I've been chasing a planet for a few months now, but it keeps getting away. A planet that runs--who would have thought! It's a clever son of a bitch too, and I'm getting impatient."

"…It is almost certainly pointless to ask, but have you tried opening a portal onto the surface of the planet?"

"You were right, Aru, that was pointless. Of course I've tried, but it's got a barrier in the atmosphere that I can't get through. This is very serious, Aru; this planet is fast enough to out-run me, can use portals to hop from star to star, and can block me from entering. Troubling, right?"

"I find it a bit hard to believe that you are being outperformed, Drakonious… if you say so, it must be true."

"I thought so too, at first. The fact that it is running is comforting though, because it tells us that whoever is at the wheel is afraid of me. After watching it for a while, I noticed that there is a small hitch in the barrier during the time it goes through a portal."

"So you're going to send me through that?"

"Yep!  I'll pull you out of your body for this mission and put you in a temporary body, then slingshot you on. Your real body will be all safe and sound here, and it won't age while it is vacant."

"Temporary bodies and slingshots? By the gods above and below… It isn't like you to risk my soul, Drakonious."

"Nonsense, this is actually much safer for you and that soul of yours. If you die, I can just shift you to another body and bring you back home easily. Through your soul, I'll watch and feel everything that happens to you. This is an observation and data-retrieval mission, Aru. We need to find out who is in charge above all, but feel free to enjoy yourself while you are there."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Alright, it is starting~! I won't be able to speak with you directly, but I'll be watching! See you soon!"
******

Wasting the air in his lungs with screaming had been foolish. Even after he ran out of air his body desperately clenched in an attempt to continue crying out, reminiscent of dry-vomiting. Aru strained so hard blood vessels in his face burst. All memory between Drakonious's parting words and this moment was gone, and the point where he'd started to shriek was gone too. However, screaming had felt right.

Without those few short gasps of old air to make the transition easier, Aru strained to breathe air as thick as cement. That was no exaggeration; the temporary body's lungs felt as if they were being forced concave from the pressure of sucking in this thick alien air. Agonizingly slow to drag in, even harder to push back out... In only a few minutes, the muscles of Aru's lungs burned from exertion. The hellish air burned and prickled down his swollen throat, leaving a stinging heady aftertaste. The clumsy gulps of air he swallowed crackled in his belly like fireworks.

The man's fingers numbly sunk into the soil, tightly closed eyes squeezing out tears over raw cheeks, body slowly twisting against the ground as his diaphragm seized trying to force the heavy air out, squirming in unnatural silence. In the struggle to breathe, Aru's mind was bent only on instinctive survival urges. Sensations from his body were disregarded—he was barely aware of his vulnerable position.

****

Aru could breathe somewhat after a time period he judged was around two days, not counting the irregular spaces where he'd fainted or fallen asleep. His lungs had managed to cope with the obstacle of breathing by forcing him to constantly hyperventilate, taking in small doses of the thick air. This method only pulverized his lungs further, and coughing up the blood only shattered the flimsy flesh inside his lungs against rigid oxygen. Blood streamed steadily through his thick inflamed lips.

Through all of the time and pain he'd spent, not once had Aru moved an inch from where Drakonious had dropped him. He'd tried to lift his hands, but even lifting a finger taxed his meager strength beyond what he could afford. The gravity on this planet crushed him like an insect, and Aru's temporary body was just barely strong enough to resist being crushed into oblivion. His sense of touch was dull and foggy, and soon he knew it would be gone too.

His ability to hear was long gone, and he was grateful that he hadn't been fully conscious when his ears had been burst from the pressure—all that remained from that encounter was blood caked to his neck and a deep ache in his head. The pain in his decimated ears had escalated so much he was sure the bloody holes in his head were festering. His whole body was stricken with alien illnesses, he was sure.

Only once had Aru tried to open his eyes, but after struggling to crack open eyes critically swollen as if he was suffering from bee-sting allergies, his soft eyes nearly burst from the pressure, and they ached and itched and watered constantly now.

Damn that Drakonious--he had conveniently failed to mention dying horribly. Through the haze, waiting to die with delirious hunger, Aru imagined throttling his master in as many ways as his blurred creativity could. By the time an unseen alien animal started to nibble at his thigh, Aru almost sobbed with gratitude.