Unfortunately, I was unable to confirm or test that theory. There were no feral monster girls nearby, and I was stuck making sure Aisling didn’t escape from Samsara. However, Samsara’s grip was pretty intense.

  Everyone else that I was connected to via a soul link in Lateo was asleep. Eivor and Halinka lived in the same house on the far left side of the valley. They slept in the same room, but each in a different bed.

  While everyone else was asleep, Seraphina was awake. I was amused by what she was doing. It was like watching a small insect go about their daily life. Actually, it was more of a nocturnal life.

  She was currently reading a story about a girl named Dusk who got reincarnated as a poisonous frog in a video game world. Dusk started as a tadpole in a river and lived with her two tadpole siblings. Dusk advanced her skills and ate other creatures in the river.

  I found it fascinating that she was reading a story about a woman who turned into a monster. Unfortunately, I got distracted by Aisling when Seraphina reached chapter 9. Aisling was fighting me harder, requiring more concentration on my part. While the words flew by on Seraphina’s screen, I wasn’t able to focus on them.

  Seraphina let out a choked, wet sob that echoed in her quiet, luxurious room.

  "I can't," Seraphina whispered, her voice trembling as she tapped the screen to close the app. "I just... I can't read this right now."

  She folded up her phone and put it in her pocket. "It's so good," she mumbled into her palms, sniffing loudly. "But I need a break. Why does everything have to be so tragic?”

  I was a bit upset with Aisling since I had clearly missed what happened in the story. And it’s not like I had a phone as a Kaiju, so that I couldn’t check the story myself. I could take control of Seraphina, but I didn’t feel like exerting willpower when I didn’t need to. Aisling was becoming a bit of a chore.

  Eventually, Aisling calmed down, and her body slipped into sleep.

  With Aisling finally asleep, I turned my attention back to the soul link with Seraphina. The human woman stood up from her bed, wiping the last of her tears away. She paced around the room for a moment, restless energy buzzing through her limbs. I could feel her heart rate; it was elevated.

  She walked over to the window and opened it. A rush of cold, night air hit her face, and by extension, I also felt it as if the air was hitting me. It felt crisp, smelling of smoke and exhaust fumes rather than the earthy scent of the valley I was currently lying in. Seraphina climbed onto the sill, her golden light-wings materializing behind her back. With a soft hum, she pushed off, ascending into the dark sky.

  I watched through her eyes as the ground fell away. The outpost, OU-M-7, sprawled out beneath her. It was massive.

  From this height, I spotted movement on the illuminated grid of roads connecting the base's various sectors. Tiny yellow cars zipped along the asphalt, looking like little beetles scurrying between anthills. I blinked mentally. Cars?

  The previous outpost, OU-U-1, hadn’t had any civilian-style vehicles driving around inside the perimeter. Did the humans there just walk everywhere? It made sense, I supposed. That outpost was a fraction of the size of this place. Here, walking from one end to the other would probably take hours for a normal human without wings. It just went to show how many more resources they had here.

  Seraphina banked left, gliding over a massive stretch of paved concrete. It was an airstrip, lined with runway lights that stretched for hundreds of meters, if not kilometers.

  Parked along the tarmac were dozens of sleek, sharp-nosed jets. Next to them sat four colossal airships, tethered to mooring towers. They were identical to the one that had picked Seraphina up.

  The sheer volume of machinery was staggering. Unlike the previous outpost, where the juggernauts were hidden away in hangars, here they were left out in the open. I counted at least a dozen juggernauts lined up in neat rows, their armored bulk gleaming under the floodlights.

  “That’s a lot of metal to eat,” I thought, my mind thinking of the nice crunchy sounds they would make in my mouth.

  Seraphina continued her patrol, drifting toward the perimeter. Unlike the previous outpost, which only had turrets at the main entrance, this outpost had towers with triple-barreled turrets stationed at every corner. It made OU-U-1 look like a joke in terms of security.

  That didn't even count the main gate, which was way more fortified. Two turret towers scanned the barren plains, with two mechs standing sentinel on either side. They weren’t moving, but they looked more formidable than the ones at the previous outpost. Each one was painted a matte charcoal gray and carried a massive, angular box on their backs. I wondered if they were like backpacks. Why would they need them? The purified Synergy Source (AKA the meat blob) inside their torso must be providing enough power. Those boxes must be carrying other weapons.

  Seraphina flew closer to them, and the mechs looked up and gave her a wave. Each arm had oversized gauntlets. The gauntlets' fronts were honeycombed with holes. I could see little spikes poking out. Missiles. Or rockets. I wasn’t really sure what the correct term was.

  Seraphina waved back and then moved towards the center of the outpost. A shiver ran through her.

  “Are you seeing this?” she whispered to the empty air. I knew who she was addressing. “You’re watching, aren’t you?”

  I didn’t respond. She couldn’t even hear me if I did.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  She spun around in mid-air, scanning the darkness. Perhaps she thought I would show up. Of course, I would definitely show up after my next evolution. There was no way I was leaving these outposts up.

  “Do you even sleep?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “Or are you just… always awake?”

  She waited for a response that never came. After a minute of silence, the tension in her shoulders slumped.

  “I guess you are asleep,” Seraphina said. “Should I leave this outpost? What if you attack this one, too? Or are you going to keep me from leaving?”

  She yawned and stretched her arms. Seraphina turned back towards the residential block, diving down and slipping back through her window.

  She collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to change out of her clothes. I had seen her shower earlier today, but she wore copies of the same set of clothes every day. She probably enjoyed her golden latex suit.

  She pulled the thick duvet on her bed over her head, burying herself in the darkness. Her breathing slowed almost instantly. Within seconds, her consciousness faded to black. I lost her sensations from my soul link.

  The rushing sound of the river filled my ears. I shifted slightly, looking down at Samsara. She was sleeping peacefully.

  Hours later, Samsara stirred. She spoke groggily in my mind. “Ramona?”

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “I can feel you awake,” she said. “What were you doing?”

  “I was taking the first shift,” I telepathically said in her mind. “Actually, I still am.”

  “First shift?” Samsara asked. Her arms moved around something hard. “Wait, what am I holding?”

  I took my hair tentacles of her eyes and the eyes of her hair snakes.

  “Oh… oops,” she said, becoming flustered. I stifled a giggle.

  “You’re holding Aisling,” I reminded her. “The feral Kaiju turtle girl. Remember?”

  “Oh,” she said. “Right. It’s… It’s a bit weird, isn’t it? But she does feel warm. And… seeing her peaceful like this, it makes it easier to pretend she’s still in there. Somewhere.”

  “It’s fine,” I said softly. “Whatever helps you sleep.”

  Samsara let out a sigh, resting her head back against the shell. “Do you want to sleep now? I can take the watch. I feel a bit more energized now.”

  Samsara released Aisling from her hug and stretched.

  “I can still keep going,” I said.

  “Wait, how long have I been asleep?” Samsara asked. She looked around. Faint traces of orange lit up the sky. “You know what, you should sleep. I’ve slept for too long.”

  “But-”

  “No buts,” she interrupted me in my head. “You’re no longer working. There is no excuse for you to not get a healthy amount of sleep.”

  Before I could respond, I let out a yawn.

  “See, I’m right,” she said. “Now go to bed. I’ll keep watch over Aisling.”

  “Alright, Mom,” I said teasingly. “I’ll go to bed.”

  “I thought I was the mom,” Samsara jokingly said. “Goodnight, Ramona.”

  “Goodnight, Samsara.”

  I lay down on the ground. Two of my hair tentacles restrained Aisling, while another hair tentacle covered my eyes. Soon, my mind drifted off. Sleep came quickly, but something was off.

  My dream started with an unnerving silence. We were in some kind of swampy area, with fog extending in every direction.

  Samsara was connected to me, but I couldn’t hear any of her thoughts. She just gave me a thumbs up. Yet, that wasn’t right. She was looking down at Aisling and me. Wait, no, both of those things were happening at the same time. Samsara’s vision, looking down at me, remained constant. It was as if she were frozen.

  The other Samsara moved along with me. I stopped walking as a roar echoed through the air.

  The fog parted, shredded by a massive metal foot that was nearly our size. I looked up, craning my neck. A mech stood there, but it wasn’t like the one we had fought at the outpost. This thing made the juggernauts look like kids' toys. It was painted in a radiant gold. A blue aura surrounded it, and I screamed as it made contact with me.

  I sent my hair tentacles out to attack the mech, but my tentacles began to seize as they entered the blue aura.

  The mech didn’t even look down. It just reached out, its hand descending upon us. In an instant, it brought us up.

  Beside me, I saw Samsara. The mech grabbed her with its other hand. She screamed my name, thrashing against the crushing grip.

  “Let her go!” I shrieked. The mech ignored me.

  I could hear the sound of metal shifting and transforming. I looked down and saw the mech had brought us above its head. The angular box on its back was transforming. Out of it came a giant buzzsaw attached to a multi-jointed arm. It moved towards Samsara’s tail.

  “No!” I yelled. “Stop! Don’t touch her!”

  The saw continued, biting into the scales. A white-hot agony ripped through my spine. Samsara shrieked, her pain shattering my mind. The buzzaw slowly started moving inward, cutting through Samsara’s tail.

  The buzzaw finished cutting the tail, separating us.

  I gasped awake. My heart was beating fast. The sun’s bright light blinded me, and I raised my arm to cover my eyes.

  “Ramona?” Samsara asked. She cradled my head. “Are you alright? What happened?”

  Faint traces of the nightmare replayed in my mind.

  “Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry, Ramona.” She hugged me.

  I sighed. “It’s fine. It’s just a nightmare. You don’t need to be sorry about that. I must have gotten bad thoughts after watching Seraphina.”

  “You were watching Seraphina?” Samsara asked.

  “Yep.” I replayed images that I had seen through her eyes.

  “They upgraded the mechs?” Samsara asked, her eyes widening.

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