Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 52-

Day: 27

Days Left: 5453

Lives Saved: 0

After breakfast, Corinna and Harmony began building the new fireplace with the bricks that Corinna had made the day before. Her mind still occupied with what had occurred yesterday, she worried that her current half-hearted state would dampen Harmony's energetic enthusiasm. However, the chimaera remained ever joyful, humming as she laid down the bricks as Corinna instructed.

With two people, the task was finished by the early afternoon. Corinna placed the last brick on the chimney and smoothed it down with mud as Harmony kept the ladder stable. Once they had a break and washed clean, Harmony suggested that they begin training and stepped outside onto the grassy sand.

Despite promising the young woman that she would teach her how to fight, Harmony had no idea what she was doing. All of her fighting ability relied on instinct. She did not know how she knew how to fight, she just did. There didn't seem to be any distinct technique or strategy, her body just moved by itself and deflected oncoming attacks. It acted on an innate knowledge of survival, even in her human form. Whilst transformed as a chimaera, her other senses were doubled, sight, smell, taste, and sound. When battling against another prisoner, Harmony would let her body react on instinct. If she thought too hard about it, she would lose. How could she possibly teach something that even she didn't fully understand herself?

Corinna positioned herself, a few metres away from the chimaera, with her spear in hand and the new red helmet on.

"Right..." Harmony clapped her hands together, hoping that she would think of something but then fell silent. She glanced back up at the young woman, who waited patiently for instructions, a fierce sense of determination in her eyes.

"Ready when you are," said Corinna with a slight smile.

"Yeah..." Harmony sighed, her face screwing up in mild frustration. "Um... let's start with..." Nothing came to mind. She attempted to remember back when she first arrived in The Eternal Abyss to figure out what a good beginner's starting point; however, she had never felt like a beginner in combat. Even in her human form, she seemed stronger, faster, and more agile than the average human. She always theorised it was in part due to her dancing ability. Being a professional dancer was her favourite and most plausible occupation that she could imagine. To begin with, she already had a decent set of muscles and stamina-

That was it. A starting point.

"As you know by now," Harmony began, her voice slightly quivering as she was still not used to the amount of authority and responsibility a teacher possessed. "You cannot die in The Eternal Abyss. The place keeps you alive, no matter what. All of your injuries and wounds will heal back faster, you'll even regrow limbs back eventually. You won't need to eat or drink, or sleep as much either."

Corinna nodded in understanding.

"Your stamina will be... greater here too. You can run for longer before you tire out. However, there is also a downside to this."

The young woman stood up straighter, attentive to the new information.

"The Eternal Abyss keeps you in the same condition as you were when you entered. Therefore, it is near impossible to obtain more muscle mass, or to improve your cardio."

"So, I won't get stronger?"

Harmony shook her head. "Any strength or cardio training is a complete waste of time." She examined the young woman's body. It seemed that she had a bit of muscle on her arms but not enough to suggest that she participated in any strength workouts. "What sort of exercise did you do before?"

Corinna paused in thought. "I would go running twice a week."

"What distance?"

"A mile or two."

The chimaera's mouth twitched. "That's not much."

"My aunt Bea had to jog regularly for her hip rehabilitation. She didn't want to run alone."

Biting her lip in guilt, Harmony nodded. "Was there anything else?"

Corinna shrugged. "I carried a load of heavy boxes on construction sites."

That would explain the slight muscles, Harmony thought. "So... since strength and cardio are pointless, what you have left is instincts and... strategy."

Grinning, Corinna said, "got it!"

"Both are important whether you are in your monster form or not."

"When will I get my mask? I'm sure it'll be a whole lot easier to fight if I can transform into a monster."

"Usually a month or two. You'll get yours soon, don't worry. When you do, it'll take a while to get used to your new body since you'll likely be a different size and shape. And you'll have to adjust your strategy accordingly. You might get claws and sharp teeth like me or you might be more unique like that clay golem."

"So I just need to build on the basics for now which can apply to any type of monster I can eventually transform into. Work on my natural instincts to defend myself and fight back."

"Uh, yeah..." Harmony nodded, pretending that was her plan all along. "So, in a fight, what should you... protect?"

Corinna named a list of organs and areas of the body that were vulnerable or were a guaranteed killing stroke, most of which Harmony was not aware of. At the moment, it seemed that Harmony had learned more from this training session than Corinna.

"Of course, since we are in The Eternal Abyss, you wouldn't die if you were hit in these areas," explained Corinna. "But I imagine you'll bleed out and go unconscious still, and be susceptible to another attack, or be eaten etcetera."

"That is correct," said Harmony. "But you've forgotten one thing." She pointed a talon to her head. "Your memories."

"Ah!" Corinna gasped, unable to believe that she forget something so important.

"That is the one thing that you can never gain back if it's damaged. So..." Harmony clapped her paws together. "I'm going to try and touch your helmet, and you have to stop me for as long as you can."

Corinna nodded.

"Think of it as a game of tag but the consequences being instead your entire personality and memories wiped away into nothingness until you're an empty shell of a human, waking up in a hell dimension, wondering why you deserved to be imprisoned in there."

Corinna nodded again in a more frightened and apprehensive manner.

Harmony instantly regretted her last words as it was clear that Corinna was now thinking about the glasses woman from yesterday. "Give a three-second countdown, and then we'll begin."

Breathing out slowly, the young woman readied herself in a defensive stance. "Three-" Corinna's body was propelled backwards as a blurred mass of black fur pinned her down to the ground. She struggled to speak at first as a jet of pain travelled up her spine, then managed to sputter, "I hadn't finished the countdown yet. That wasn't fair-"

"Nothing about the Eternal Abyss is fair," said the chimaera in a hushed growl. "You see an opportunity, you don't hesitate to take it, just like you did yesterday. Would you rather live with guilt or have everything that you are be wiped away?" Loosening her hold on the young woman, Harmony gently flicked Corinna's helmet with her finger. "Let's try that again. Maybe you'll last more than one second this time."

For the rest of the day, Corinna practised avoiding her helmet being hit whilst Harmony timed each attempt with a stopwatch. When the sky grew dark, they called it a night with Corinna struggling to breathe but still smiling, happy with her record of thirty seconds.