Dimension Walker: The Veiled Paragon

They continued walking under the enchanted canopy. The forest at night felt like another world entirely—glowing vines hanging from above, soft sparks of insects dancing in the air, and every now and then, a creature rustling behind a tree, watching.

Garuda was quiet, unusually so.

Then he asked, eyes still facing forward,

"That… tsundere thing. You mentioned earlier. Is that common? In your human stories?"

Norian smiled, amused.

"Oh, yeah. There's always one in the group. Mean on the outside, soft inside. The classic slow-burn romance type."

Garuda nodded slightly, thoughtful.

A few moments passed. Then Norian chuckled.

"Actually, let's imagine something,"

He said, voice suddenly conspiratorial.

"Let's say there's a Lizardwoman in your village like that. Total tsundere. Always yelling at you, calling you stupid, but secretly stealing glances when you're not looking."

Garuda glanced sideways, skeptical.

"Lizardwomen don't act like that."

Norian smirked.

"This one does."

Garuda huffed but didn't argue.

"Now one day,"

Norian continued,

"you take her to a quiet place. Just the two of you. She's pretending like she doesn't care. Still acting all tough. You tease her a little—just playful stuff, nothing weird.

But she starts to react. You ask, 'You like this?' and she says, 'No!' but she's clearly lying. You can see it in her tail, her breathing."

Garuda raised an eyebrow.

"So she lies... and that's normal?"

Norian nodded.

"It's part of the charm. She's embarrassed to admit how she feels. That's what makes her moments of honesty hit harder."

Garuda stayed silent, listening.

"Then,"

Norian continued,

"just when she's getting into it—feeling good, all flustered—you stop. Step back. She opens her eyes and says, 'Wait… what are you doing?' And you just shrug and say, 'You said you weren't enjoying it. So what's the point?'"

Garuda blinked. He was definitely visualizing it now.

"And then,"

Norian said, grinning,

"she lowers her head. Voice trembling. 'It… felt good. Please don't stop.'"

Garuda's steps slowed.

Norian turned toward him, finishing dramatically,

"And you go, 'Too bad. I'm not in the mood anymore… unless you beg.' And she—she begs. Eyes soft, cheeks red, she says, 'Please, Garuda… make me feel good…'"

Norian trailed off, letting the silence hang.

Garuda had stopped walking.

He stood completely still, eyes closed, head tilted slightly toward the stars like he was receiving divine revelation.

His breathing had deepened, and his jaw was slack. For a brief moment, he looked… enlightened.

Norian was about to make a joke—until his gaze drifted downward.

His expression froze.

Then—

He saw it.

A long, pink rod peeking from beneath Garuda's makeshift animal-hide wrap. Glossy. Alive.

Norian's face went pale.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs, staggering back, clutching his face.

"OH GOD—WHAT DID I JUST SEE?! WHY?! WHY DIDN'T THE WORLD END BEFORE I SAW THAT?! MY EYES!! MY POOR, PURE EYES!!"

Garuda blinked, coming back to reality.

"Huh? What happened?"

Norian was on the ground, rocking back and forth, rubbing his temples like he'd seen an Eldritch horror.

"WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SEE?! WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO GIVE LIZARDS THAT MUCH DETAIL?!"

Garuda blinked, still dazed,

"Huh? What's happening—"

"DON'T TALK TO ME, YOU ABOMINATION!!"

Norian backpedaled in horror, tripped, rolled, got up, and vaulted into a tree like a terrified monkey. He clung to the trunk, pointing a trembling, accusatory finger downward.

"STAY BACK! DON'T COME NEAR ME, YOU SCALY PERVERT!"

Garuda looked down, then slowly realized what Norian saw.

"OH, FOR SPINE'S SAKE—THAT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU DESCRIBED IT LIKE YOU WERE WRITING SACRED EROTICA!"

Norian screeched,

"I WAS BEING TAME! TAME!! WHO THE HELL STARTS LEAKING LUST LIKE A BROKEN BARREL?!"

Garuda growled, pointing right back.

"YOU KEPT GOING! DESCRIBING SOFT VOICES AND 'PLEASE CONTINUE' AND 'BEG ME FOR IT'—HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY NORMAL THROUGH THAT?!"

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO REACT, YOU HORNY IGUANA!"

"YOU SHOULDN'T TELL STORIES THAT SUMMON THINGS, YOU CURSED ORATOR!"

"YOU NEED A COLD BATH—NO, A GLACIAL FREEZE! JUMP INTO A MOUNTAIN LAKE AND DON'T COME BACK!"

"YOU NEED TO EAT A TREE BRANCH AND CHOKE ON YOUR OWN DIALOGUE!"

"DEGENERATE!"

"DUMBASS!"

"TAIL-WAGGING FREAK!"

"DADDY'S MISTAKE!"

"SHUT UP!!"

"NO, YOU SHUT UP!"

They went at it like madmen, voice over voice, insult over insult—yelling so loud even the creatures in the trees started fleeing for safer branches.

"YOU'RE THE REASON THE FOREST WENT QUIET!"

"YOU'RE THE REASON I LOST MY SANITY!"

"I WAS SANE BEFORE YOU SPOKE!"

"YOU WERE BORN SCREWED UP!"

"YOU ARE BIOLOGICALLY UNNECESSARY!!"

They finally paused—heaving, sweaty, glaring.

And then—

"Pfft, Hahahaha"

Garuda burst out laughing.

Norian tried to hold it in. Failed.

They both collapsed, howling like wild animals under the bioluminescent sky.

Norian rolled down the tree with a flop, hit the ground headfirst with a loud THUD, and sank face-first into the moss.

"GHHHFF—!"

He pulled himself up slowly—mud all over his face, hair spiked like a cursed porcupine, eyes wide with humiliation.

Garuda pointed at him, wheezing.

"SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU POND-SCUM-LEVEL GOBLIN!"

Norian coughed and groaned.

"AT LEAST I'M NOT LEAKING LIZARD JUICE LIKE SOME UNSTABLE TADPOLE!"

Garuda dropped to the ground laughing, tail flopping wildly.

"BUAHAHAHA"

The glowing forest pulsed around them, but they didn't care. The world could've ended right then and they would've died laughing.

And for Norian?

This was the most alive he'd felt in years.

*****

✢═─༻༺═✢═─༻༺═✢

✶ Dimension Walker ✶

✧ The Veiled Paragon ✧

⊱ Eternal_Void_ ⊰

✢═─༻༺═✢═─༻༺═✢

*****

They were walking again.

The forest still glowed softly around them, but the chaos from earlier had finally faded into silence. A light breeze passed, swaying the hanging vines above like glowing threads in the dusk.

Norian massaged his throat with a groan.

"My throat hurts,"

He muttered.

"I think my voice is gonna crack. I screamed way too much."

Garuda scoffed, arms crossed, not even looking his way.

"Weak human."

Norian glared at him, eyes narrowed like a grumpy cat ready to pounce—but in the end, he sighed and let it go.

Then suddenly stopped.

"Wait,"

He said.

"I can just use the Miracle Water."

He reached for the water pouch the villagers had given them and took a few careful sips. Almost immediately, the ache in his throat began to fade. A small, relieved sigh escaped his lips.

Then he spread his arms wide and stood tall—chin raised, chest puffed like a war hero returning home.

"I've achieved what mankind never could,"

He said dramatically.

"Healing through hydration! Behold... the Giga Chad!"

Garuda, watching this display, scoffed.

"Stop pretending, you bastard. This isn't some ancient temple of glory. This is a dirt trail. Now move it. We're close to the village—few more hours at most. I don't want to get delayed because of your theatrical nonsense."

Norian, still feeling like the scientific messiah of voice restoration, looked at him with a deadpan stare.

"You know what? One day I'll win a Zephyra prize. And you'll still be stomping around in your loincloth."

Garuda didn't even flinch.

"At least I don't worship water like a baby god."

They both muttered under their breath but picked up the pace.

A stretch of quiet passed before Norian turned to him again.

"By the way, Garuda… the village's out in the open, right? Don't they get attacked by monsters?"

Garuda nodded.

"They do. But they don't matter much. They have got numbers—way more than the our tribe. That alone keeps most beasts at bay. They hold the line."

Norian nodded thoughtfully.

"I see…"

He glanced sideways, noticing Garuda seemed oddly tense—restless, even.

He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want to say?"

Garuda looked like he'd been caught red-handed. He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well… I was wondering…"

Norian raised an eyebrow.

"Can you tell me more about that… anime, manga, novel stuff?"

Norian stopped walking.

Turned his head slowly with a teasing grin.

Eyes wide.

"Oh?"

He said, dragging the word out.

"What was that? Is that how you request something from your master storyteller?"

Garuda winced.

"Come on, man, don't be like that. We were just messing around earlier. We both had fun, right?"

But Norian wasn't letting up. He tilted his head with the same smug expression.

Garuda clenched his jaw, looked away, and muttered under his breath,

"Please, Norian… tell me more about anime."

Norian leaned in, hand cupped behind his ear.

"What? I can't hear you."

Garuda groaned.

"Louder."

Garuda gritted his teeth.

"Please, Norian… tell me those stories."

"Still can't hear you,"

Norian said, enjoying every second of it.

Garuda exploded.

"FINE! YOU WIN, YOU BASTARD! PLEASE TELL ME THE STORIES ABOUT ANIME AND MANGA!"

He was panting afterward like he'd just fought a beast with his bare hands.

Norian clapped his hands with glee.

"Of course! I'll tell you. Who else would?"

He turned and started walking ahead with the smugness of a crowned king.

Behind him, Garuda bared his teeth in annoyance—but he followed quickly, his steps back-knocking Norian's heels like a tail-swinging shadow.

And so Norian began explaining again—his tone more casual now, a real sense of warmth in his words.

He spoke about different genres, favorite arcs, ridiculous tropes, and emotional gut-punches from stories that lived in his mind like old friends.

Garuda listened, eyes bright again, his earlier embarrassment fading into the quiet joy of learning something new—something personal.

And under the enchanted canopy of that glowing forest, the two of them walked forward.

Different races. Different worlds.

But now laughing, talking, and walking the same path.

-To Be Continued