I wiggled my way into Elliot's coat pocket just before the bus's doors shut behind him. He handed his ticket to Calico Desert off to Pam and took his seat at the front of the bus, turning towards the center aisle and looking away from the window as if he did not wish to meet the eyes of any who may be walking near the road.

"I don't think I've driven you up this way yet. What's new?"

Pam shifted the bus into gear and started towards her destination, her eyes fixed on the road. Elliot shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat before answering.

"A bit of sightseeing, my inquisitive neighbor, to serve as inspiration. I find myself distraught, abandoned by the muses, desperately yearning for new afflatus to channel into a truly transformative work."

Pam frowned, pressing the gas pedal a bit further.

"...right, well, good luck with your uh…flatulence..?"

"Thank you, my most gracious Guide to Sights Unknown. My Charon, who ferries me across this blistering pavement Styx towards what I believe may be an everflowing impetus for creation."

". . . we're here."

"Time passes as swiftly as the arrows shot by mighty Aethna in your presence my friend, I shall wait breathlessly for another chance to converse with you again."

"..."

"Adieu."

Elliot stepped from the bus into the sweltering heat of the desert. I pulled the pocket closed over me, sinking into its cool darkness. I did not look out again until I heard a bell chime.

"Sandy! Coral-crowned queen of this oasis. How have you been?"

"Mr. Qi already let me know you were coming. You can head right on by, sugar."

"I cannot thank you enough, my decorous hostess, for the chance to pass through your sparkling abode here in lovely Calico."

Sandy picked up her phone and held it to her ear, twisting the cord around her finger as she spoke.

"What's that, sugar? You need me to list my whole inventory? Well, anything for a paying customer. I'll just read it to you."

She winked and grinned at Elliot, waving him on with the back of her hand.

"It might take a minute to get through it all, you ready?"

Elliot smiled and bowed to her before heading towards the casino. I looked back at her as we retreated. She craned her neck after us and, when she was satisfied Elliot was far enough gone, she put her phone back on the receiver and started filing her nails.

The temperature inside the casino was lower by at least ten degrees. Elliot shrank into his coat as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. Galaxy print wallpaper met with black carpet, its pattern seeming to fluoresce in the soft glow of the bulbs on the ceiling. A familiar blue form stood facing the wall in the back, staring into the wallpaper as if staring into the fabric of the universe itself. Energy bled from him in thick, cold waves. I gagged, smothered beneath the force of his magic. I quickly sank my own tendrils into Elliot, merging sensations with him so that he could breathe for me. Elliot approached carefully, his hands clasped behind him.

"Mr. Qi, may I presume?"

The man didn't answer at first. His energy prodded mine, testing my edges until my whole shape had been outlined. I felt, rather than heard, his voice reverberate through my own mind.

Magnus? To what do I owe the pleasure?

Research, of course. I had no idea where Elliot was heading when I decided to follow the boy.

You must have had an inkling.

…I could, perhaps, have guessed.

I'll let it slide once, but I expect you to get an invitation before entering my home.

Of course, my apologies.

His energy tightened around me, and I felt my form crushed into a smaller shape. If I had bones, they would have snapped.

Just this once, Magnus. Remember that.

He withdrew from me, chuckling as he turned to face his visitor.

"Elliot. Welcome, how are you liking my casino?"

"The celestial theme of your decor is truly breathtaking. You have an eye for design."

"I'm glad to hear that you like it."

"I do…"

Elliot coughed, his weight shifting from foot to foot. He began again.

"And from what I've read, you have talents other than just interior design…"

Mr. Qi laughed, a sharp smile splitting his face.

"You read my letter, right? So you must know what I need from you for this conversation to continue."

Elliot reached into his pockets and produced a solar essence and a void essence, cradling one in each palm. He held them out to the blue man, his hands shaking. Qi's grin widened, exposing too many teeth that were all far too sharp for a human being's mouth. He plucked them from Elliot's hands, holding them together between his two fingers. Elliot's gaze was locked on Qi's glasses. His thoughts were loud in my head.

I can see his skin behind them, so why can't I see his eyes? It's just blackness. Like a black hole, like an infinite void, like the feeling of falling in a dream…endless.

Qi held his stare, opened his mouth, and swallowed both essences together. Neither one of them consciously moved, but the space between them vanished.

Did I approach him? My body feels…strange…

Their lips me, and Elliot's eyes fluttered shut. When he opened them again, the world had dropped away. He and Qi floated together in a pitch black sky, burning starlight stretching out infinitely around him on all sides. He reeled back, dropping to the soft ground beneath him.

Blue?

He looked around again. The floor had been replaced by Mr. Qi's giant blue hand. Elliot found that he was now sprawled across its palm. He followed its arm with his eyes, up to the overwhelmingly huge form of Mr. Qi. Qi's voice whispered from a dozen directions around Elliot, softly layering over itself as it hissed in his ear.

"Is this what you wanted, my patron?"

"Y-yes. Though I must confess…I did believe the stories had been exaggerated."

Elliot shivered as Qi's laugh rolled over him. His skin prickled, goosebumps raising along his arms and chest. The blackness of the sky took solid form in the shape of writhing tentacles, solidifying as they stretched towards Elliot from the void beyond. Blue caps covered the tips of the tentacles, the same glowing blue as Qi's skin.

"There has been no exaggeration, I assure you."

The tentacles began to creep into Elliot's clothing. One tentacle slunk up Elliot's leg beneath his pants while another popped two buttons apart on his shirt and pushed its way between them. They felt cold, but not unpleasantly so.

Like stepping into the shade after a sweltering summer day. Or like a drop of ice cold water that I've drunk from too greedily, spilling out of the cup and down my throat until it hits-hey!

The tentacle tensed and enlarged, splitting the seams on Elliot's pant leg.

"I could remove these troublesome garments for you, if you wish. There's no need for such-ah~!"

The tentacle in his shirt wrapped around him and squeezed, forcing the air from his lungs abruptly. Its tip squirmed against his chest as it inched its way along his body. The other tentacle's tip nudged its way under his boxers and started prodding him.

Qi said, "It's quite taken care of, I do not need your assistance."

The tentacles tensed again, splitting more seams as they wriggled forwards. A dozen smaller, thinner tentacles solidified and began ripping the clothing from Elliot, tangling into it and shredding it to pieces as the thicker two held him in place. They fell severed into Qi's palm as their task was completed, twisting into strange shapes around the clothing they had stolen before melting into a pool of shimmering black ooze. Elliot felt himself lifted into the air by the tentacle around his chest, brought to eye level with the towering form of Mr. Qi.

"Relax~."

Elliot's body drooped as Qi's command washed over him, repeated over and over again by the chorus of whispers that rang around him from every side. The tentacle that held him aloft curled over his throat, its moist flesh sticking to his hair. It turned him sideways as Qi's huge hand rose beneath him. He was dropped against the side of Qi's outstretched finger. His arms and legs hung limply down over the appendage as Qi's lower tentacle pressed into him, stretching him open as it inched its way deeper. He gasped as it slid into his hole, a strangled groan escaping his lips. The upper tentacle continued wrapping around him, pulling his hair along with it as it pushed into his mouth. He choked, his tongue pressing against the tentacle in an attempt to block its entry.

"Relax, Elliot."

His body went limp again. The tentacle pushed past his tongue, its tip wriggling against the back of his throat. The lower tentacle began to shiver and writhe, causing Elliot's body to shake beneath it as it pushed further into him. He tensed against it, compressing the firm flesh inside of him as he fought to regain control. It rolled his body from side to side, grinding his hardening erection against Mr. Qi's finger.

"I said…"

Mr Qi's tentacles paused their onslaught.

"Relax."

Both tentacles expanded, filling the space within the man. Elliot choked, thick strands of drool trailing down around the tentacle in his mouth. He swallowed, groaning as the tentacle began to slide around his tongue. The one in his ass started pumping in and out of him, its tip too expanded to slip out without extreme effort. Elliot moaned as he was thrust forwards by the tentacle. His cock throbbed beneath him as it was rolled against Qi's flesh, already leaking salty precum.

"Now, dear patron. How do we feel about those stories?"

Elliot arched his back as the tentacle pushed into him again, knocking against a sensitive spot inside him. A tear rolled down his cheek as the thing in his mouth moved again, choking his moans into silence. It withdrew, strands of saliva trailing between itself and the man's lips. He swallowed several times as the thing behind him thrust into him before he craned his neck up towards Mr Qi's face and answered.

"This is better than anything I've read, by far."

Qi. smirked, a chuckle reverberating out through the cosmos. The tentacle pressed against his lips again, its tip barely pushing into Elliot's mouth. He swirled his tongue around it, savoring the alien taste as the thing in his ass jolted him forwards again. It turned him, rolling him onto his back. Qi's giant blue finger came down towards him, his fingertip half the size of Elliot's whole body. Qi rested it between Elliot's legs, holding it gently against his struggling form. The ceaseless motion of the tentacles forced him to grind against it, rocking him forwards and back with every thrust.

"Just let go, mortal. You're in my realm now. Allow me control."

Elliot moaned, goosebumps returning to his arms as the whispering chorus ghosted over him. He nodded his head weakly, his eyes fluttering closed as his body gave itself over to the man. The tentacle in Elliot's mouth began to pulse. It thickened, shivered, and stilled before splurting thick fluid down Elliot's throat. Elliot swallowed, licking the tentacle clean as it withdrew from his mouth. A trail of glowing blue fluid stretched between them. The tentacle dropped into Qi's palm, dissolving into ink.

"I control all things here. It is by my hand that you feel pleasure…or pain."

Elliot coughed and wretched up a solar essence. It plummeted down into the ether below. He pushed his hips up against Qi's finger, a squeal escaping his lips as the tentacle inside of him pinned him there. The hand beneath him retreated, leaving only the tentacle inside of him and the finger above him. Elliot's cock rubbed against the lines in Qi's skin. He groaned as he ground himself harshly against the ridges that swirled over Qi's in slowly shifting patterns. Elliot's head dropped back. His pulse raced as he frantically stared at the void beneath him, the cosmic blackness sucking all warmth from him as he attempted to grasp Qi's finger with his arms and legs.

"Every single physical part of you belongs to me while you're here, understand? It's mine."

The tentacle pinched him against Qi's fingertip, rubbing itself inside of him as it pulsed and shivered. Elliot felt it tapping on the sweet spot inside of him, and his own orgasm began to overtake him. Fear and pleasure intertwined, rocketing him towards his own release. His mouth fell open as the thing ejaculated inside of him, splurts of blue ooze filling every space inside of him. He felt himself shaking as he came.

"Everything except your mortal mind is mine. So let's see how much it can take."

The tentacle inside him dropped away, sated. A void essence pushed itself out of him, jagged edges scraping his skin as it departed. It fell into the sky, disappearing into the blackness almost instantly. Elliot's arms and legs grasped Qi's fingertip desperately as it began to dissolve. Elliot screamed a loud, blood curdling scream as he plummeted through the ether, a stream of white trailing up between his legs. He fell for seconds, hours, days…? Time hung meaningless around him as he dropped like a meteor, his body burning and raw as he hurtled towards his demise. Every prayer he had ever known passed his lips, directed towards Yoba, towards Qi, towards the universe itself. Earth grew larger beneath him. The atmosphere was on fire.

No, it's me. I'm burning. My flesh is…

He looked down at his hand, now engulfed in flames. A bone snapped off in the wind and flew behind him. He looked through the holes between his finger bones and saw himself crashing towards the desert sand.

I've always heard that it's not the fall that you should be afraid of…

He spread his limbs wide and relaxed.

It's the sudden stop at the end.

He closed his eyes, opened them, and blinked. Qi stood across from him, solar and void essences pinched between his fingers. He tucked them into his pocket and smiled. Elliot looked down at himself.

Still in one piece?

He examined his hand.

No burns? In fact, I think I used to have a scar here. It's gone now.

"Do you have other business with me, my loyal patron? If not, feel free to enjoy the casino at your leisure."

Elliot shook his head, his mouth too dry to speak.

"And do be sure to get an invitation before you return."

Elliot nodded, running his hand through his hair as he fought to regain composure.

My hair used to be thinner here, I know it. And this suit. It fits perfectly. The shirt was too loose before.

"T-Thank you. I'm not much of a gambler, though."

"Really? Fascinating. You strike me as a man that likes to tempt fate."

"Not at all. In fact, I believe I'll be going. Thank you again, Mr. Qi. I have much to write about."

Qi nodded, turning back towards the wall. I waited to retreat from Elliot until he had stepped back into the sunlight, unwilling to feel Qi's energy over me again any time soon.