Plot:Dog Days

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This is a summary of "Dog Days"'s plot.

Zada

Heat dismissively pushes a woman on the floor: the leader of the rebellion against the Embryon, Zada of the Casuals tribe. Zada is shaken and afraid, unable to answer to the Embryon what her Atma is without Heat grabbing her. She says that her Atma is Arachne, a weak Common Atma, not known to do more than spit acidic threads or use paralyzing venom, which is grossly outmatched by the five High Atma of the Embryon. Zada begs not to be eaten, and tries to grab Serph's leg, but he steps back and Gale points a shotgun at her. Zada promises to become their ally if she isn't eaten.

Argilla does not believe that someone like Zada would lead the rebellion, which Serph agrees to, but Gale responds with data on Zada: she was a Normal-class soldier that belonged to the Casuals, and her battle performance is low. The Casuals were a small tribe under the Vanguards led by Kairos Miku, who died at Ground Zero as part of a platoon under Harley, and were supposed to be dissolved with Harley's death.

The Embryon were experiencing difficulties after acquiring the Svadhisthana territory given their low numbers, as they were unable to completely control the area. The Casuals and Zada were spotted in an underground shelter by their scouts, so they decided to act immediately to not attract the attention of the larger tribes. The other members were disarmed and imprisoned in a warehouse, and Argilla left them to be treated by Cielo. Cielo himself suddenly arrives the room, prompting everyone to point their weapons at him, though Cielo is only scolded for being careless. He points out that the Casuals are surprisingly cooperative, which he speculates is due to their leader being captured. Serph orders him to prepare for withdrawal.

Serph says that Zada should be imprisoned in isolation for security reasons, to which Heat says that he is being naive. Heat grabs Zada, proposing to eat her so she won't be a problem anymore, but Serph orders him to stop. After Gale confirms Serph's order, he pushes Zada towards Argilla. Serph leaves the room, entrusting Zada to Argilla.

Gale finds Serph in the hallway, and proposes that preventative measures should be put in place in case Heat rebels against the Embryon. Serph is uncomfortable with pushing Heat away, and reminds Gale that they are in no position to lose members as they are, ultimately conceding that Heat had a point. Gale leaves the decision to Serph, as he is the leader of the Embryon, and they leave Svadhisthana.

Bunker

Serph returns to Muladhara, staying alone in a rooftop bunker to handle the post-processing of the prisoners. Serph recalls the circumstances of Ground Zero, Harley's death, their first transformation into demons, and the hunger they almost succumbed to if not for Sera's blood. Sera suddenly appears in the bunker, despite Serph's orders, as she wanted to go for a walk, having been granted permission by Argilla. She gives Serph some food and water from the Casuals that Argilla collected. Serph, despite no longer needing traditional food, couldn't find it within himself to deny her offer, and allows Sera to eat some as well when she asks. However, Sera did not know how to properly eat the food, and required Serph's help to break the hard bar into small chunks to be eaten with water. Sera says that the food reminds her of toffee, which Serph does not know of. As Sera begins to explain what a toffee is, she trails off, realizing that her lost memories did not contain much useful information.

Serph suddenly feels pain and heat on his cheek. He pushes down Sera and extends his arm up, transforming it into Varuna's. He slashes across the top of the bunker, bisecting a spider-like creature on the roof. Argilla enters the bunker, hearing the commotion, and Serph leaves Sera to her as he approaches his kill. Cielo then appears from the sky, as Dyaus, to inform Serph that some Embryon members were attacked by Zada, taking control of them. Serph realizes that Zada's Arachne is in fact a Rare Atma, which gains unusual powers from feeding, and that her "subordinates" were likely only meant to be her food so she could eventually take over Muladhara and Svadhisthana in one move.

Serph decides to leave the rooftop to deal with the situation, leaving Argilla to evacuate Sera to the main base.

Battle

Serph jumps from the rooftop, transforming fully into Varuna. Serph is ambushed by a Common Atma, which he sends flying back, only to learn that it was one of the Embryon. A spider detaches from their neck to flee, but Serph kills it and heads into battle.

Serph finds Heat, as Agni, and Gale, as Vayu. Heat complains that Serph is late, while Gale reports the situation, saying that the guards that were watching Zada were taken over by control bits, though they managed to destroy the ones heading towards the main Embryon base. Zada, now transformed into a huge Arachne, orders her subordinates to kill the Embryon, shooting out white acidic string. Although Serph dodges, he is caught by one of the controlled members, which he punches away and destroys the spider controlling them. Heat, going through the same situation with Gale, decides to create a large fireball, which would kill everyone except the High Atma, though Serph and Gale intervene as they cannot afford to lose these members.

Cielo flies in, though he cannot land as he would be grabbed and held down by the controlled members. Serph then has the idea to use Cielo's thunder and Gale's wind to create an opportunity to attack Zada alongside Heat. Cielo is reluctant, as such an attack would require him to also hit his allies, but Serph asserts that they can take it. Cielo flies up, gathering lightning to rain down onto the battlefield, paralyzing everyone. Gale then summons a large gust of wind to blow away Zada's marionettes, opening her for an attack.

Serph tries to move for the finishing blow, but him and Heat were paralyzed, while Gale and Cielo were too exhausted. Heat then proposes to throw Serph, which he agrees to. Using his full power, Serph is thrown into the air by Heat. Serph then opens his blades and drills into Arachne's body, freezing her from the inside.

The Embryon revert to their human forms, while Serph frees himself from a frozen chunk of Zada's body and has to hold himself up on her large legs. Gale reports minimal losses and no damage to the Embryon's core members, declaring the battle to be over. Cielo hugs Serph, but they notice Zada's frozen body twitch. Heat burns her head, finally killing her, then scolds Serph for not listening to him and letting her live. He leaves, saying that the Junkyard is now an "eat or be eaten" world. Serph agrees that he was at fault for the incident, but not on his latter remark.

Cielo and Gale turn back into their demon forms to eat the dead enemy. Serph follows them, glad that Sera wouldn't have to witness them devouring.