Chapter 2: Augustus

Chirp Chirp~

"Azu?!"

The sudden sound of his name pierced the stillness, jolting Azu awake. He blinked, eyes fluttering open to see Elisha discarding a towel after wiping her wet hands. She rushed toward him, scooping him up into her arms.

Mother?

His gaze drifted to the broken vase on the floor. A spark of intelligence flickered in his lizardly eyes.

Broken? Oh, I must have broken it again. Let me fix it.

Forgetting his initial task, pooping, he immediately cast his spell the moment Elisha set him down. [Reverse]. All the while Elisha watched, her mouth agape, as a faint violet-blue light surrounded him, concentrating at the tip of his index finger. The pieces of the vase floated, reassembling themselves seamlessly.

He stared at Elisha, waiting expectantly for a treat as she stared back at him, astonished.

...

Chirp Chirp~

Broken? How is it broken again? Is the vase too clumsy?

[Reverse]

...

Chirp Chirp~

Azu’s eyes shot up again, noticing the broken vase. Feeling Elisha’s grasp once more, he frowned in his lizard language.

Why did Mother hit me? He frowned, glaring at the vase. All because of this stupid thing. Can’t even stay together.

As she left the room, he displayed his intelligence by running toward the vase, executing his perfect revenge plan. He extended his mouth and grabbed one of the pieces with his teeth. I’ll end you for good!

A few seconds later, as Elisha walked out of the kitchen, she almost dropped the broomstick, seeing the lizard dancing funnily.

Then she realised… he was choking.

"Azu! Azu!" Those were the last words he heard before he descended into slumber.

...

Chirp Chirp~

"Azu?!"

Something is wrong.

By the fourth regression, he realised that something was wrong.

He was almost sure that he was fixing the vase again and again, but it would end up breaking. The painful burning sensation of each time he died was now engraved in the cell-to-cell of his body.

Will mother now lift me up?

It was more a question, but when she did, his doubts seemed to confirm—the events were repeating.

He had been just a little lizard until now, with little understanding. All he did was 'mother' this, 'mother' that, but for the first time, he realised that something was wrong.

[Your understanding of the situation has increased.]

Just then, he heard a voice in his head, his eyes glowing faintly. He couldn’t remember how the voice sounded—did it belong to a male, female, or whom? But by the lingering feeling, he could tell it was similar to his mother’s warmth.

Deaths?

His understanding had increased, and he could now frame the events better—I was killed… by mother?

Except for the one time when he suicided by choking on a shard of the vase while taking his so-called revenge, he recalled how he was butchered by his mother.

For the first time, a tiny amount of fear and resentment sprouted in his heart as he questioned—Why?

He stared directly into her eyes, or at least he tried, as he meant to ask, Why did you kill me, Mother?

His question was left hanging as he was put down on the ground before Elisha went back into the kitchen to bring something to clean up the mess.

Azu, this time, didn’t dare to use the ‘Reverse’ spell that he had been using so far. Instead, he lay back and waited for Elisha, who soon popped up, cleaned the place, and continued her cooking for the evening.

I didn’t die.

I-

Chirp Chirp~

The continuous chirping of the bird snapped him from his thoughts.

He swiftly turned his head toward the bird, scanning its features.

Majestic golden feathers, with a sharp, pointy, and sturdy beak that had enough power to crack open even the strongest nuts. Sharp claws that could leave imprints forever and could tear flesh with just a thought. Clever, cunning, and brave, the predator of all insects, he was… a Parrot.

Chirp Chirp, Ch-

“Ugh, I’m tired.” Strands of hair that seemed like a mohawk descended down his face, over his beak. He used his wings as makeshift hands and twirled it back in a kind of fashion.

“Chirping day in and out, I can’t believe I, the great Augustus the third, king of seven skies and fourteen trees, am doing this nonsense.”

Augustus picked up a worm using his wing and placed it between his beak. He then proceeded to suck the life out of it, as if he were enjoying a fine cigar.

He further went ahead and swallowed it whole—the worm protested for its rights as it didn’t go unmolested.

He then turned his chubby head toward the little lizard whom he had been eyeing for quite some time now. "Whatchu looking at?"

Azu continued to stare at him, comparing him to a hooligan as he picked up another worm. Quickly noticing Azu’s predatory gaze, Augustus displayed his maturity akin to that of a five-year-old human girl by sticking his tongue out. "Sucks to be you."

With as much innocence as possible, Azu, with a baby face, asked, “Can I get some?”

But to Augustus, the third, it sounded as if his tenth girlfriend [sidechick] had asked him for his share of food after she had specifically denied it just because she wanted to eat some nuts and green leaves [salad of the animal kingdom].

However, as much of a cold-hearted hooligan as he was, he had a soft side for others, but not for Azu. He could share his worms happily with everyone, but not with Azu!

He could still remember the day, the memory still feeling physical—when Elisha had brought him in injured to heal his wounds, this dimwit of a lizard was dancing happily. To Elisha, it seemed as if friendship had been formed between the two, but behold, who was he? Augustus the third, emperor of the skies. He could easily understand the slow lizard’s idiotic language.

‘How dare he think of me as—Ugh, it’s so infuriating! May he be damned thrice!’

‘What does he think, I’m some chicken or turkey, that I’ll be cooked when I’m injured?’

He rubbed his ‘slightly’ overgrown belly, an understatement.

“Just wait till this king regains his former glory, kahahaha—I shall use 107 ways to cook you, brat—”

Creak~

At that moment, the king felt true fear…

Like a machine that hadn’t been oiled for a long time, he sluggishly yet swiftly moved his head, startled by the noise.

Yet when his eyes fell on the lizard barely hanging at the edge of the cage, with one of his limbs sticking inside, all while the king was engrossed in his majestic vision, this lizard dared to bring his stupidity in his vicinity. He couldn’t help but wish that the sky would crack open and swallow him whole—oh wait, he was locked up in a cage.

“Today this king shall bestow his verdict—Execution!” Augustus shouted in a fit of rage and embarrassment. “Face the wrath of this god!”

Swiftly, he moved towards Azu, screaming at the top of his lungs, “Special move, Heavenly Tribulations, Final Judgement!” He moved his head sluggishly to and fro, pecking at Azu, or at least he tried to—every peck of his took 3-4 business days.

A few pecks landed, injuring Azu. His scales were not sturdy enough to deflect the attacks. He bled, just a little bit. The pain was nothing compared to the burning sensations before death, but he didn’t take it lying down.

He started dodging initially, but then wagged his tail and moved his claws erratically. While this attack didn’t exactly reach Augustus, it did cause a tiny little accident—opening the cage, that is.

Clang-

“Eh?” Augustus paused when he heard the sound of a lock falling to the ground.

The gate had opened, if only a little bit. Elisha hadn’t locked the cage and had merely placed it—the king had been deceived today.

Now, he found the gate as a door that would set him free! Azu stood close to it but it didn’t matter. Augustus first ran, and then jumped out of the cage, finally flapping his wings to lift his heavy body.

He felt free as he passed through the open window and continued to fly.

‘The beautiful evening sky, oh how much I’ve missed you.’ Drops of tears formed in his eyes as he looked at the free sky.

He wanted to soar higher and touch the clouds, just like the eagles did, but he felt restricted.

Huff Huff—

‘It can’t be…,’ he couldn’t even look down due to his bulged-out belly. He was extremely obese.

‘Ugh, my diet has ruined me. I—I can’t continue.’ He looked left and right, turning his head sluggishly.

To his left, he spotted a tree with a beautiful branch. On it was a beautiful nest.

‘There—I can—’

But on it, there was a not-so-beautiful serpent gobbling up some eggs.

‘Fuck—’ He turned right, this time noticing another branch. On it was a beautiful nest.

‘Yes, this could work—’ In the nest sat a female crow.

She spotted Augustus flying towards her. In an instant, she glared at him and moved her wings swiftly, then posed them in front of her neck and moved them across—as if giving a warning: If you dare set your wings here, you will be killed instantly.

Augustus was extremely tired, his expression didn’t look so good. He turned the other way, now frantically looking for a place to rest.

‘Where do I go… Where do I go…’

“Where do I go?!”

Then a friendly, squeaky, and innocent voice came to the rescue, “There.”

A not-so-long but amphibian-like tail pointed toward a large barren rock with a few bushes around it.

“Yes!” Augustus instantly headed there, descending like a falling meteor, but just before he could touch the ground, realization struck him, “Who just said that?”

“…”