Chapter 22: The Return of Phragons

Phragons.

Creatures that travel through the different forests of the world when winter draws near.

They are not born of egg or flesh, but of something more deeply entwined with the world itself. Phragons are spiritual beasts, woven from the very essence that represents the world, which is mana. Their sole, sacred purpose is to safeguard the forest through the long cold, protecting the delicate spark of life that waits beneath the snow until spring returns.

Molly stared upwards, her right hand lifted to shield her eyes from the pale sun as she watched the flocks of Phragons gliding across the sky as though they were one with it. Their sleek forms carved through the expanse in effortless, sweeping arcs, a silent congregation of shadows drifting upon the wind.

“Oh! Ted, look.” Lilly exclaimed cheerfully, tugging persistently at Ted’s sleeve. “Nom Nom came back.”

“I can see that,” Ted sighed in reply, though the sound carried a quiet fondness beneath its weariness.

“Nom Nom!” Lilly shouted, giving small, happy jumps. She waved her right hand wildly toward the sky, as if she could catch the attention of every Phragon in the soaring company.

Molly glanced at the woman for a moment, a faint frown settling upon her features as she puzzled over who Ted and Lilly called Nom Nom. As far as she could discern, all the Phragons bore a very strong resemblance in color, each one sharing the same sleek, panther-like silhouette, a piece of the night itself given form and breath.

She shifted her gaze back to the heavens to observe the creatures once more, her breath catching slightly in her throat when she noticed one of the Phragons possessed a distinct red marking upon its chest. The crimson brand was like a lone ember against the charcoal darkness of its body. She had not spotted the marking when she was looking at them earlier, perhaps because her focus had been scattered across the entire swarm rather than studying each phantom individually.

The marked Phragon broke from the drift of its kin and descended in a graceful, spiraling arc toward where the three of them stood. Chill air eddied in its wake, carrying the faint, crisp scent of something ancient.

With a soft, near-silent flap of its gossamer wings, the Phragon landed calmly upon the ground near them, its talons making barely a whisper against the floor.

“Nom Nom!” Lilly squeaked, her arms flung wide open as she rushed happily toward the spiritual beast, who flapped its wings with gentle, restrained beats while awaiting her embrace. A low, melodic trill hummed from its chest.

The moment she reached it, Lilly wrapped herself tightly around the medium-sized creature, pressing her cheek against the velvety coolness of its chest region. Molly’s expression softened into something tender and warm as she watched Lilly hold the Phragon close. Nom Nom curved its long neck and used its head to rub softly against Lilly’s head, nuzzling into her bright pink hair while giving a deep, rumbling growl of pure satisfaction as they shared the silent warmth of reunion.

“You know, there’s a saying,” Ted began, his voice calm and measured, the timbre of it drawing Molly’s attention. She turned her head toward him, her eyes attentive as she awaited what he was about to reveal.

Upon noticing her focus, Ted continued, his eyes remained fixed on the pair ahead. “Phragons can also act as guardians to the afterlife for us humans.”

Molly’s black orb drifted silently beside her, its surface rippling as it projected her thoughts.

~ Really?

Ted gave a short, firm nod when he read the glowing script. “Yes,” he said, before casting her a look tinged with gentle uncertainty. “Though it hasn’t been written down yet, through the stories I’ve heard, I’m quite certain that since Phragons are spiritual beasts, they possess the ability to act as guides.” He combed his fingers slowly through his dark hair, the strands falling back into place as his gaze shifted toward Lilly, who wore a radiant, cheerful expression while she patted Nom Nom’s shimmering neck. A subtle, warm expression surfaced on Ted’s face as he watched them.

“I’ve also been a witness to one myself,” he said, his voice dropping to a lower, more intimate register.

Molly turned her head to look at Lilly and the Phragon again. Her eyes widened slowly, the crimson depths flickering as she pieced together what Ted’s words implied. She spun sharply back toward him, her intention to project a flurry of thoughts clear in her posture. But she paused, holding her mental projecting back, when she saw him prepare to continue.

“You may not know, but seven years ago, Death claimed Lilly’s only family in her sleep,” he said, his voice a steady murmur that seemed to blend with the whispering breeze.

Molly’s expression went blank for a long, still moment as she tried to process the words. Her lips parted slightly, then pressed thin. Slowly, her features dulled, the light in her eyes dimming as a single, heavy word echoed in the hollow of her mind. Death.

Unaware of the shifting shadows passing over Molly’s face, Ted continued, his gaze still fastened on Lilly and Nom Nom with a distant, contemplative ache. “The young girl was just thirteen years of age back then. She was as cheerful as Lilly, her mother, had dreams and goals she wanted to achieve just like any other child would. She had even enrolled for the academy in the main region.” He exhaled a long, measured breath. “But as life would have it, death came for her at an unexpected hour, leaving Lilly drowning in tears and sealed within her own isolation for almost a year.”

A fleeting warmth softened his features then, a brief crack in his composure. “And that was when Nom Nom came in. If not for this Phragon, no one would have ever seen this side of Lilly again.” He glanced sideways at the saddened Molly, her hair stirring gently in the wind. “And most especially, Lilly wouldn’t have been able to see her daughter one last time, even though it was just for a brief, borrowed moment.”

Molly’s eyes flew wide at those final words. The sorrow clinging to her expression immediately fractured and morphed into astonishment, her breath stalling in her chest.

~ Did the Phragon help her?

“Yes. I saw it with my own eyes,” he confirmed, his voice a low, steady murmur. He turned his gaze toward Lilly and the Phragon, who still lingered in their quiet embrace. “I saw Vera bid her mother a final farewell before returning to the afterlife.”

Molly watched Ted with silent wonder settling over her features, her brows lifting ever so slightly. She hadn’t known that Phragons could actually guide and summon souls from the afterlife, nor had she ever imagined them possessing that kind of quiet authority over the boundary of death.

A wistful expression drifted across her face. Her gaze unfocused, turning inward, and for the span of a single heartbeat, a subconscious thought flickered through her mind, a fleeting image of Jen’s face, of seeing her again, even if only for a borrowed moment.

She immediately shook the thought away, a quick, sharp motion of her head that sent strands of her hair dancing against her cheeks. That wouldn’t be possible. Firstly, Jen’s death hadn’t been an ordinary passing, and trying to summon her again would bring more harm than good. And most especially—

It would only open that wound further, because she would have to watch her go yet another time, and the scar was still too tender to bear such a second parting.

“Is something bothering you, young lady?”

Ted’s voice reached her from close beside her, laced with a gentle concern. She turned her head to find his worried face angled toward her, his brow furrowed. He had been watching her expression sadden while she was lost in thought, the shift in her demeanor not escaping his notice.

Molly shook her head, the movement smaller this time, as she forced a bright smile onto her lips. The curve of her mouth was careful, though it didn’t quite reach the depths of her eyes.

~ I just had a thought about something.

Ted stared at her for a long moment, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. He didn’t buy her words that easily, she could feel his scrutiny like a warm weight, but his concern was swiftly distracted when Lilly’s cheerful voice rang out.

“Ted! Nom Nom wants to give you a hug too.”

Lilly approached with Nom Nom padding silently beside her. The creature’s large, glossy eyes were fixed on Ted with an expression of pure, guileless affection as it moved forward, its gossamer wings flapping with happy, eager enthusiasm.

“I’m good, thank you.” Ted waved a dismissive hand, his lips twitching somewhere between a grimace and a reluctant smile. He stepped back, one foot retreating across the cold ground, but his escape was futile. Nom Nom was already upon him, closing the distance with cat-like grace.

Ted sighed in resignation and stood still, his shoulders slumping, while the creature extended a large, cool tongue and dragged it affectionately over the top of his head. The gesture mussed his dark hair into a spiky disarray, and the chill of the touch left a fleeting, tingling dampness. A peal of laugh erupted from Lilly, and even Molly found a genuine giggle bubbling up from her chest.

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After the Phragon had thoroughly anointed him, it dropped back to all fours with a soft thump. The elegant, prehensile tail swept through the air. Nom Nom wagged the tail once, twice, and then turned its large, glossy black gaze toward Lilly before it landed, with sudden and quiet intensity, on Molly, who stood a few paces to the side.

The Phragon’s head tilted, ear nubs flicking with a shimmer of violet light, as it regarded her with open curiosity.

Molly, in turn, found herself staring back, her own fascination kindling as she studied the creature’s form closely. At first glance, a Phragon was unmistakably draconic, a sleek, aerodynamic silhouette built for cutting through the skies. But upon a longer, more careful inspection, a fleeting resemblance to something more spectral revealed itself. The body was not wholly solid; there was a translucence to the charcoal-black hide, as if the creature were carved from solidified moonlight and shadow layered together.

Nom Nom began to walk toward her, moving slowly on all four legs with the silent, measured grace of a stalking feline. Every step was deliberate, the muscular frame rippling beneath the velvety hide, the broad wings folded neatly against its sides. It stopped a few feet away, and a frown creased the Phragon’s rounded face, a furrow of uncertainty that pulled at the corners of its expressive eyes.

Molly’s brow knitted in confusion. She watched, motionless, as the spiritual beast resumed its approach with an uncertain look, head low, as if navigating some invisible threshold. When it reached her, the Phragon bent its long neck and brought its face level with hers. Its glossy black eyes searched her own, staring with a probing intensity, as though it could see beyond her physical body and into something far deeper.

A nervous expression flickered across Molly’s features. She held herself very still, her hands curling at her sides within the thick sleeves of her robe.

Then, something shifted. The Phragon’s large, expressive eyes began to change, the glossy black paling to the glacial blue-white of a deep crevasse. They glowed softly, an inner light pulsing, and tiny, high-tier formulas etched themselves across the surface of those orbs—intricate, luminous sigils that drew themselves like constellations wheeling into place.

But what happened next was strange and swift. The Phragon’s eyes flew wider, the glow flaring, and its entire form gave a faint, visible tremble that shivered from its ear nubs down to the tip of its tail. It stumbled backward, a clumsy, almost imperceptible retreat, as though some immense presence had brushed against its senses.

And then, to Molly’s astonishment, the Phragon began to bow. Its head dipped low, the motion shaky and reverent, the long neck curving with a grace that seemed born of deep, instinctual awe.

Before the bow could complete, before Ted or Lilly could even begin to parse what was unfolding before their eyes, Molly moved. She returned the bow immediately, bending at the waist with a gratitude that was sincere and swift. Then she stepped forward, closing the distance, and wrapped her arms around the paralyzed Phragon’s large head. She drew it gently against her shoulder, her fingers smoothing over the cool, velvety surface, and she gave it a tender pat on the crown, a silent reassurance: it’s alright, I’m not an enemy, nothing bad will happen.

She felt the trembling gradually ease beneath her palms, the creature’s rigid muscles loosening with a shuddering exhale of mist.

“Wow,” Lilly breathed out, her voice tinged with delight. “I didn’t know Nom Nom had a polite side too.”