《Let's Be Gods!》 Prologue ¡°As if the damn storm wasn¡¯t enough,¡± grumbled a redheaded woman. ¡°Now those rich idiots are screwing around up on the deck!¡± The woman rolled out of bed, steadying herself in the rolling cabin before looking decidedly green and holding her stomach. After a moment, she managed to stagger out of the door and along the corridor. As she progressed, she heard shrieks of excitement, and identified it as a woman she¡¯d met a few days previously. The woman was the very definition of a stereotypical blonde: good looks, no brains. Just seeing that vapid expression two minutes into their initial conversation had been enough to ensure the redhead did her best to avoid the woman like she was diseased. Making it up the stairs, she shoved open the door, only to have it blown back in her face, along with what felt to be half the ocean. Now thoroughly soaked and irritated, she took a look out the porthole to see why the sea was boarding the ship, only to realise the ship was caught a violent storm. Focused on her task of keeping her lunch down while managing forward motion, she hadn¡¯t realised before that the rocking of the ship was worse than usual. Either situation did its best to empty her out like a sick dog. After a minute of staring at the relentless rain, she noticed the screaming had yet to stop, and quickly came to the conclusion that something serious had happened. No matter how rich you were, messing around on the deck of a boat in a storm was idiocy of an unholy order. Hearing the screaming approaching, the redhead braced herself and threw open the door again, stumbling out onto the slick deck. The door was promptly slammed shut by a particularly violent roll of the deck. which also tossed the woman against the wall next to it. As she slid down to a sitting position, gasping for breath, she noticed the screamer rushing at her from her right. She would have rushed past completely, had the red not promptly stuck her leg out and tripped her. The screaming came to an immediate stop. After revelling in the relative silence for a moment, the woman poked the prone airhead with a foot. ¡°Can you tell me what the hell is going on?¡± The blonde stared back blankly, forcing a repeat of the question, at which point she then sat up and began talking incoherently. After ten minutes of straining to hear the blonde, hold down everything in her own gut, and occasionally making sure they weren¡¯t both washed overboard, the redhead finally managed to find out the situation. One of the young men on the large ship had decided to take a couple of girls in a quick helicopter jaunt to show off, and had gotten caught up on the outskirts of the then approaching storm. As he came in to land on the ship, the wind had suddenly dragged the helicopter across the deck into the bridge, sending the helicopter, captain and much of the capable crew up in flames. The quicker-thinking fat cats had grabbed the scant lifeboats and taken off, paying no mind to whether the boats were filled or not, and the only reason the flaming ship hadn¡¯t already sunk with everyone else was the remaining crew who had turned up and were attempting to save the ship. ¡°Well, looks like shit went sideways and bought an express ticket to Hell,¡± the red-haired woman muttered. As if trying to make up for the situation that it had caused, the rain poured down harder, but that only served to make the ship more difficult to salvage, making the deck treacherously slippery and spreading the burning fuel. Realising the inevitable end rushing up, she felt a bubble of anguish rise up, as well as disappointment for the life she was about to miss out on. Her thoughts started drifting towards certain people, and her eyes stung with tears for a moment. With a shake of her head, she suppressed her emotions and forced herself to her feet, deciding to have a good look at the object that had put her on this damned ship in the first place. ¡°I''m going to look for something,¡± she said shortly to the other woman. Walking back inside, she was trailed by the inquisitive sentences of the airhead, who apparently translated her words as ¡°looking for something to help¡±. The redhead made her way down to the lower levels, stopping in front of the vault door of the relatively small cargo hold. Focusing on the door, she tried to figure out how to get in with all her gear in her room. Just as she was deciding to go back and fetch it, twisting stomach or not, she noticed the heavy door wasn¡¯t actually closed. As the ship rolled, it swung back and forth a little. Grabbing the handle, the lithe redhead heaved and swung the door fully open. As she marched in, she vaguely heard the woman behind her saying something about not being in here, but decided it wasn¡¯t any comment of usefulness and kept moving. Looking around, she didn¡¯t immediately spot what she was looking for, and as she moved to keep exploring, she was nearly knocked over by a heavyset man who rushed around the corner of a crate with a locked metal box under his arm. As they collided, a hard sound rattled out from the box. The man gave her a look of disgust, before running out the door past the blonde. The offended woman nursed her vexation for a moment, before she decided tackling him wasn¡¯t worth the effort. What he was carrying wasn¡¯t large enough to be what she wanted to see, and she was reminded of her limited time by the ship''s groaning. After a quick search, she found the wooden crate she was looking for. She struggled to open it, ignoring the poking that started in her back. She staggered back, noting the increased groaning and muted booms while she nursed her sore hands. Her hands were maintained for delicate tasks, not clawing at wooden planks, and as such were soft and sensitive. Finally tired of the aggravation at her back, she whirled, ready to knock the incessant woman unconscious, only to see her holding out a crowbar with an aggrieved expression. The red haired woman felt embarrassment itching at the back of her mind, but decided to ignore it as she grabbed the crowbar from her and turned back to the crate. A minute later, various pieces of wooden planks and clumps of hay stuffing lay scattered around the crate. The redhead stood in front on the crate and looked down at the perfect piece of art that lay before her, as the world faded away. The crate held what appeared to be a gorgeous stain glass window, but a more discerning eye revealed the glass to be shaped diamonds in a myriad of colours, cleverly designed and carved to interlock and hold the window together in its frame. The redhead lost herself in the beauty of the design, determined to burn the image into her memory for the remaining moments of her life. She recalled what had caused her to chase after this for months; rumour was every diamond included in the work was a naturally formed one. While that itself may not drastically increase its value, in the current age of synthetic diamonds, the fact that so many natural diamonds of such a range of colours had been collected caused this to be elevated to the ranks of magnum opus, the masterpiece that the creator, if not his whole generation, dedicated a lifetime to. The three-foot-high window was a piece estimated to be worth tens of millions, and yet here it was, bound to sink to the bottom of the brine. The outside world resumed its existence with a sentence that floated into the redhead¡¯s mind. Not understanding, she processed it again. It was the tail end of one of the blonde¡¯s lengthy statements, a series of words demanding an answer; ¡°-but why is there a piece missing from the top?¡± The world disappeared again, oddly taking colour with it this time. The woman furiously scanned the window and spotted the flaw. The locking curves of the connecting diamonds were hidden from first glance by some small bits of stuffing, but once seen the gap screamed out at anyone who set eyes on it, destroying the harmony of the entire image. The redhead felt disorientation, and then confusion. Where was the missing piece? From the looks of it, the diamond that had been taken out would been the size of her palm, and most certainly the crowning piece of the whole window. The redhead cursed creatively in her head. Had the piece been stolen? Not on the ship, that was for sure, she''d had to break open the box herself. It couldn''t have been before docking either, the playboy owner would have checked and seen the missing piece. Her thoughts drifted to the rattling sound from the collision with the fat man. It couldn''t have been...could it? Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She whirled away from the wooden box, the beauty now utterly destroyed for her. Without its centrepiece, the window was nothing more than a collection of heavy expensive rocks. Cursing herself for not giving in to her initial whim, she began stalking away, before she was stopped by a confused voice. ¡°You¡¯re not taking anything?¡± She turned back to see the blonde staring at her, confusion evident on her face. The redhead was about to explain their deadly situation to the woman, in excruciatingly detailed words, but the creeping panic sneaking into the blonde¡¯s expression made the redhead realise she might as well play along with the woman¡¯s belief, if only to spare her own final moments from being further tortured by the airhead¡¯s piercing screams. She smiled reassuringly, but as she opened her mouth to speak was interrupted by rapid-fire thuds coming from the nearby wall. She turned in time to see the half the side of the room blast in at her. Despite her previous calm and determination to meet her fate head-on, she heard a scream claw its way out of her throat, and threw her arms up to protect herself from charging death. A moment passed, in which she fell over on her butt. After a few more moments, she opened her eyes and peered between her arms. Less than 2 inches away was a long jagged spear of metal; the redhead screamed again and scrambled backwards, before noticing it wasn''t moving. As her heart hammered away, she realised it was one of the support beams of the ship. "Hello," called a quiet voice. The redhead screamed for the third time and whirled, nearly stabbing herself on the beam as she lost her balance. A tan man standing about a metre away, smiling wryly as he clasped his hands behind his back. "Sorry, but I couldn''t think of any way to make myself known without scaring you. Figured we might as well get this show on the road." The redhead spent a few moments trying to get her brain to engage with the scene in front of her; not only was this man perfectly calm in this doomed situation, he was standing among the debris from the wall exploding and was not only uninjured, but not even dirty. She just stared blankly at him, unable to process her visual information. "Hello, anyone home? I don''t have all day ¨C actually, I suppose we do." Her mind picked up on the problem that seemed most easy to resolve, and her mouth followed numbly. "All day for what?" "THERE we go! Was beginning to think you might be mute, not a problem per se, but it''s always awkward when you''re not sure if the person is agreeing or not. Now, I''m here with an offer for you to live." "Live?" The redhead was still stunned; mental shock from nearly dying was a lot greater than she''d ever imagined. "Yes, live. As in, keep existing, enjoy being, continued occupation of your body, avoid Davy''s Locker, not die on this sinking ship. Any of the above." The man looked a little irritated to have to explain, but otherwise maintained his pose. Live. The redhead''s mind suddenly kicked back into gear; she had an out from this hellish trip. "How?! And wait, who are you?" "How? Well, you come with me, we leave, ship sinks, you not on it. As for my name, well, we can discuss that later. Are you willing to come?" The man resumed his smile, looking all the world like a friendly invite to hang out. Alarm bells started going off like crazy in the redhead''s mind. No one who was unwilling to give their name just offered something for free. Add in the fact that she had no idea how he arrived, suspicion began filling her mind. What did he want? Why her? Why not just grab everyone.... The redhead widened her eyes as she span around, searching for the blonde. Sure, the woman was annoying, but she didn''t want her dead. She spotted a splash of yellow buried under a large chunk of metal. She scrambled over, avoiding the sharper pieces of debris, and crouched near the blonde''s head. As she bent down, she saw the blood first, then the blonde''s face. She knew the glass-eyed stare well enough to realise when it was too late. Hopefully, the blonde had gone as soon as the wall hit her. "Thanks for the help," she whispered, and stood back up as the man made his way over to her. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to spot any suspicious off his face. "Why me?" She said in a flat voice. "What do you get from this?" The man stopped, then cracked a grin. "I need a thief. Hence, hiring you." The redhead''s eyes narrowed further. "And you somehow think I would be a good fit?" "Ah, don''t try to play the innocent here, we both know why you were on this ship." The man lifted one hand, showing a sheet of paper, and began reading off it. "Ms. Piper, age 35, born in Ireland, showed exceptional talent in grasping concepts all through elementary school, disappeared at age 10 when family¨C" "STOP! I get it, you checked me out. What''s the job then?" The hand was lowered, the smile resumed. "Unfortunately, I won''t be telling that. I need a thief, I can get you out of here. In exchange, you do a job for me. Those are the facts you get to work with, Ms. Piper." The redhead thought it over, while a small part of her brain idly noticed there weren''t any more reverberations through the ship. The whole thing was probably on its last legs, with nothing large left to break. "Fine! I accept. Not like I had much choice anyway," she grumbled. "Excellent!" The man''s face lit up, and he waved his hand again. That small part of the redhead''s brain also noticed the paper had gone missing, before it, along with the rest of her attention, was captured by the man-sized oval of light that sprang into being next to the man. "After you, madam," he indicated the shimmering light with a bow. "Oh no. No no no no no. No way that just happened. What the hell is that!" Piper felt her sanity slipping away; there had been way too much to handle in the last half hour. "I believe it would be easy to deduce. It''s a portal." The man was upright again. "A portal. As in, you walk through and poof, you''re somewhere else on the planet." "Yes, that is what a portal does. Now that that''s been established, can we continue?" "What? No! I''m not going anywhere until you explain how you just waved a hand and a portal showed up." The man began to show some impatience on his face. "Really? Here and now?" "Here and now." Piper sat down on the ground and crossed his arms, before standing up again as she noticed the blood on the floor. "Fine. Fast answer, I''m a god. We tend to do things like play with space as we like. Satisfied?" Her immediate response was to laugh at the delusional idiot, before realising that it made no difference. Even if he was a rich nutjob who''d manage to get portable portal tech, for all intents and purposes he was a god at the moment. A god who could get her out of here, whereafter she could probably give him the slip. Plus, she was wasting time. "Alright, if you''re a god," she said, playing along, "then why does a god need a thief?" "Obviously because I''m planning to rob another god. Do try to think. Why else would one need a thief?" The woman decided that at this point, she''d had enough crazy for the day. She stalked over to the portal, and after giving him a good glare, stepped through, her last sentence lingering behind her. "And just call me Piper." The man smiled, then turned back to face the beam that had nearly impaled the redhead. A body appeared among a glitter of lights, standing in front of beam with its arms in front of its face. The man raised his arm and snapped his fingers, and chaos broke loose. The beam flew forward and impaled the body, driving it back and pinning it to a crate. The ship groaned and buckled, and fires lit up and raged among the debris. The man turned, and walked through the portal, which spun and shrank down into nothing behind him, leaving behind a sinking ship, a crushed blonde and an impaled body with the features and cascading red hair of Ms. E. Piper. Chapter 1 – Not in Kansas ~Oh god~, were the only thoughts I managed, before I was violently sick all over the floor. I scrambled to the side before collapsing on all fours and ejecting what looked like everything consumed from the last two weeks; primarily water. I was sure I would be disgusted with myself later for staying there with my hands soaking in vomit, but for now I''d settle for having the world stop spinning like a top. After drowning the floor, followed by several dry heaves, I managed to get my body to obey me again. I sat back, then heard a squish behind me. I turned and saw the crazy tanned guy emerging from the portal, one foot solidly in my initial vomit. He gingerly picked up his foot and sighed. "Lovely," he muttered. The man''s eyes closed for a minute, and the vomit disappeared. I checked behind me, and sure enough, my newly created swamp was gone too. Unfortunately, my hands were still as disgusting as before. "Um, could you help me out here?" I waved my hands at him vaguely. He gave me a look of irritation, glanced at my hands and then moved to the large wooden desk that was occupying a large section of the room. I was about to ask again, since he was being kind of an ass just for someone being sick, when I realised my hands were clean, although they still felt as gross as before. That wasn''t confusing at all. I made a mental note to wash my hands as soon as possible, and walked over and collapsed into one of the chairs in front of the desk. Admittedly, whatever magic powers his tech was giving him, they were convenient as hell. I had a look around the room, taking in what appeared to be an office; large bookshelves, wooden desk, large personal chair sitting in front of a large window with sunlight streaming in. The door was behind me, but I wasn''t about to make my bid for freedom just yet. He did have the ability to instantly move through space, and I wanted him to be relaxed as possible when I actually took off. "Alright then, what''s this job you had to come all the way to fetch little old me for?" The man leaned back in his chair on the other side of the desk and looked me over before he started talking. "Basically, I need to steal a certain object from someone." ~Obviously~, I thought, but didn''t interrupt. "I would do it myself, but then he''d immediately figure it out. Hence the need for you." "Okay, going along with that, why me specifically? Much as I appreciate the compliment, there''s people out there better than me," I asked. Sure, there aren''t many, but there are some, and one or two of them actual steal things for other people, unlike me. "That''s because of the requirements. I need to you to steal from a god, that means you need to have some skill with divine power yourself. Otherwise you just get caught, which is pointless." Oh ho. This just got interesting. Crazy speak aside, it sounded like I was about to get my hands on whatever let him space hop. That was every thief''s dream; instant exit plan from any situation. New plan: get my hands on instant travel, THEN make for the hills. "And you''re just going to give me this...divine power?" I asked sceptically. "Well, in the long run it works out. I''ll be giving you stuff to do after this task, all of which you''ll need some level of power for," the tan man shrugged. "Um, thanks, but no thanks. I think we''ll just keep it to one job. Thanks for saving my life and all that." No need to be pretending to go along with a crazy any longer than necessary. The man glared at me. "I don''t think you understand. You don''t have a choice in this." ~And there''s the money-makes-you-obeyed attitude. Okay Pipes, just need to hang on long enough to get the teleporter thing and then you''re out of here.~ This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Some of my irritation must have shown on my face, because the man actually looked a little apologetic. "Ah, sorry. We''re getting off on the wrong foot here. Let me start over ¨C you can call me Janus. And although I didn''t mean to express it in such a negative tone, I''m afraid you really don''t have a choice about doing tasks for me or not." I looked at him with an eye-brow raised. "And how, exactly, do you plan to force me to work for you?" "Well, you don''t have any connections here, I imagine boredom itself would drive you to do something after a point. If you''re really determined to show me up, I suppose I could always put you back on the ship." I shuddered, recalling the jagged metal that nearly blew a hole through me. "I could always just disappear after pretending to go along," I commented. ~Idiot! Now he''s going to be on guard against that.~ Contrary to my expectation though, Janus burst out laughing. "Sorry, sorry, just that''s a hilarious concept." After getting himself under control, Janus looked at me seriously, although a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Let me explain the situation fully, alright?" I nodded. Learning more information never hurt, plus I was curious to find out just how I''d manage to make a fool of myself. ~He should be panicking, not laughing,~ I thought angrily. "Alright, firstly, the place I''m sending you to rob is guarded by divine power. If I want you to get in and out without triggering an alarm, or turning into a pile of dust, you need to learn how to detect and manipulate divine power yourself." Janus leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table. "Not something easily learnt, but I can spend some time training you. Now, as for the reason you were chosen. First of all, I needed a good thief. Secondly, it needed to be someone who would be capable of becoming a divinity ¨C a body with a lot of potential." ~Great. He picks his thieves by how they look. As if I didn''t have enough rich pervs staring at me this week.~ "Lastly, it needed to be someone whose disappearance wouldn''t cause an effect on the timeline. Hence my appearance at your destined death." "Excuse me? Destined death?" "Yep. You were supposed to die at that point in the timeline. Thus, taking you out of that plane of existence would have no further repercussions as you would no longer influence events." ~And we''ve entered full-blown crazy.~ "Okay then, where are we now?" I decided to take the conversation in a more useful direction. I also wanted to know what kind of range was on that portal device. "Ah, we''re at my home. City of Iburn." Janus stood up and opened the window, gesturing for me to come over. I walked over and looked out, seeing a strange vista spread out before me. We were somewhere along the side of a mountain, with buildings covering the landscape as far down as I could see. Given there was a balcony, I hopped through the window without thinking, leaning on the marble rail and looking around. The area wasn''t too steep, but enough that I could see large sections of the city. There didn''t seem to be much of a unified building scheme; one section was buildings of white and gold, another section containing large manors of brick and covered in vines. I looked up, questioning the sanity of the local residents, when I noticed something wrong with the sky. Seeing the moon during the day isn''t unheard of, I''d seen it plenty of times myself. In this sky however, there was three of them. Chapter 2 – No Going Back I stared blankly at the sky. Three moons? I blinked, looked down, and then looked up again, making sure I wasn''t drunk. That would explain a lot of my day. Unfortunately, since nothing else in my vision appeared in triples, I was forced to admit I was looking at three actual moons. "What the hell!?" I yelled out. Janus followed my gaze to the sky. "Oh, that would be strange to see, given Earth only has one moon." "Yes! One! Earth has exactly one moon, not three! Why am I seeing ¨C did you drug me or something?!" I was quickly becoming hysterical. Normally I''d be a lot more level-headed about this, but this day had been a constant of highly strung emotions, and seeing the impossible was quickly pushing me over the edge. "That''s what I''m telling you. You''re not on Earth any more. That''s why I had to get you at a point where you wouldn''t be missed when you left." Janus smirked at me. "That''s also why it was funny that you would suggest running away. Even if you managed to get away from Iburn, finding Earth by yourself would be impossible." Suddenly, Janus didn''t seem so crazy any more. Sure, the portal and the clean-up could be explained away by some tech and a healthy dose of insanity, but three moons was pretty solid proof that something wasn''t normal. ~Hold on. Who''s to say he isn''t just using something else to make you see what he wants you to see?~ Janus seemed to guess my thoughts as I stared at him, and spread his hands. "Look, if you keep doubting everything I say, neither of us is going to get anywhere any time soon. Accept that for now this is real and hear me out, okay?" I considered for a moment, torn between curiosity and suspicion, then nodded. After all, if he could make me see anything this realistic, then I was screwed anyway. Climbing back in the window, I took my previous seat, took a deep breath, then crossed my arms and scowled at Janus. He remained by the window, leaning against the wall as he resumed talking. "Despite how it looks, Iburn isn''t actually sitting on a planet. It''s a personal dimension I created. Do you know the multiverse theory?" I shook my head. It sounded familiar, but it was probably mentioned at a science gala I infiltrated or something. "In essence, every choice that a person makes results in two universes: one universe where you made the choice, and one where you didn''t. Given the number of people alive just on Earth, you can imagine how many universes have sprung up over time. However, the interference of a god can alter the universe''s design. Actions, such as saving a person who was supposed to die, mean that person can go on to make new choices, creating new universes, but erasing the ones that should have been there." Janus moved back to his chair. "This is another reason why you can''t go back to Earth, particularly if you do this job. You''ll rearrange reality, more so if you''re capable of wielding divine power." I took a second to absorb that information. "So you''re saying Earth is off-limits...forever?" Janus nodded. ~So I''m effectively dead to everyone back home. Laura''s gonna be heartbroken, and poor Beth. Sorry cutie, I won''t be making it to your birthday after all.~ "How did you find me? And how did you know I was going to die? I might have survived," I said to him. Despite the astronomically low chance of that, it was still a chance. "I told you the person I needed had pretty high requirements, right? Good thief, potential for divine body, won''t be missed from the timeline? Those criteria are satisfied maybe once every 50 or hundred years, and we certainly weren''t going to let a chance slip by. We did a search through time that covered the entire planet ¨C we essentially had to look through every human alive for centuries." Janus sighed, rubbing his temple with two fingers. "In the dimension we picked you up from, your death was a fact, you didn''t show up anywhere later. We even checked your body in a dimension that was different by one choice." "What if that one choice affected me?" I protested, determined to hang onto my sliver of hope. Janus sighed. "Trying to find a dimension that differs by one choice is a massive pain in the butt. The reality''s so similar it takes a huge amount of work to shift towards the one you''re looking for. Do you really think, with so much energy invested, we didn''t make sure it was one that wouldn''t affect the outcome?" I looked down at my lap. Now that I wasn''t so resigned to my death, it became a lot more difficult to keep my feelings bottled up. I''d managed to hold it down on the ship though, and I sure as hell wasn''t about to let Janus see me bawling. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Just as the silence was about to get awkward, Janus stood up. "You probably need some time to adjust," he said quickly. "After all, you did just go through a life-and-death experience, and I understand that this-" he indicated the room in general "can be a bit difficult to accept." ~Isn¡¯t that the understatement of the year.~ Janus moved to open the office door and leaned out. He started quietly speaking to someone, while I was caught up in the memory of a little girl running across a sandpit. I was startled out of my memory by a hand on my shoulder, and looked up to see a woman with platinum hair smiling down at me. Unlike Janus'' suspicious mouth, this smile was warm and reassuringly, almost motherly. "Hello. I¡¯m Elli," she said. "I''m told you might want a room? Would you like to come with me?" ~That''s a beautiful voice.~ I thought as I nodded. The woman extended a hand, which I took as I stood. Janus murmured something about details the next day, but I was wholly focused on the woman in front of me. She was ethereally perfect in body, exuding gracefulness and poise just by walking. She looked back at me as we walked along, and I was sucked into the perfection of her face, a staggering standard of beauty that would humble women around the world. Her expression only served to improve her looks; while a neutral expression might have made her face overwhelming and thus less attractive, her current look of warmth and open friendliness was quickly crafting her into the most desirable woman I¡¯d ever encountered. ~If I¡¯m not careful, I might even fall for this woman~ I suddenly thought. ~Could she be the goddess of beauty?~ The woman laughed merrily, while I looked at her, confused. Still smiling, she spoke up again. ¡°I appreciate the compliment, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to disappoint you on that front. A goddess of beauty radiates far more than I possibly could.¡± My eyes widened. Had she read my mind? After walking down a flight of stairs and a couple of corridors, we stopped in front of a pair of dark wood doors. The woman reached for the doorknob and opened the door to expose a luxurious room, worthy of any of the five-star hotels I had visited on Earth. I moved to enter, then stopped just inside the door, taking in the details. ¡°If you need anything tonight, just open the door and call me, and I¡¯ll hear you,¡± came Elli¡¯s warm tone. After a moment, she began to close the door. ¡°Why me?¡± I said in a small voice. I hadn¡¯t even fully meant to ask, the question slipping out of my lips. The door halted, and silence reigned for a few seconds. Elli¡¯s tone, when it came, had tones of sadness and apology. ¡°Because we need you.¡± I turned to look into the beautiful woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°We need you,¡± she repeated, ¡°and however much he might defend himself by saying he asked first, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we essentially kidnapped you. For that, I am truly sorry.¡± Elli¡¯s face turned remorseful, triggering a sudden need to comfort her in me. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine! You saved me from dying!¡± ¡°Sometimes, dying is the easier choice.¡± Elli¡¯s eyes flashed with a hint of sadness and pain, before her expression reset to a smile. ¡°But, you¡¯re here now, and like I said before, just call and I¡¯ll hear.¡± She pulled the door closed, and I faintly heard footsteps walking away. I sat down by the large armchair and tried to process the events from the day. As much as I¡¯d previously tried to live life to the fullest, without fear of death, when it actually came for me I was terrified and regretful. ~Maybe Elli was right. It would be easier to be dead than here, knowing it¡¯s possible to go back but not allowed.~ Moonlight streamed through the window, and I stared out to see the three moons. Before I realised, tears were making silent tracks down my face. ~I want more time.~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author''s Note: I had some difficulty writing this, due to the need for a good, quick introduction to the world (or universe, in this case), balanced with accurately and believably displaying how my MC feels. Feel free to leave any good (and friendly) thoughts on her interactions in the comments. :) Chapter 3 – Exit, Stage Right I woke up, confused by the strange bed. ~Was I on a job? Where am I?~ I thought as I focused on the dim surroundings. I stood and opened the curtain, and the spectacular view brought the events of the previous day crashing back into my mind. ~Right,~ I thought, my mood dampened. Turning away from the window, I spotted some fresh clothes lying over a chair. My natural wariness kicked in, and I hoped the clothes had been warped in rather than brought in mundanely. The thought of someone in the room while I slept was instinctively disturbing. After changing, I breathed a sigh of relief. While the clothes I''d had for schmoozing on the boat weren''t uncomfortable, they stank of sea salt from the chaos the day before, and I was glad not to have to wear them longer than I had to. What I had on now was a white t-shirt, maroon cargo pants and sneakers. I checked myself out in the mirror, noting with distaste I looked slightly like a woman trying to hold on to her youth with clothes too young for her. I made a mental note to ask Elli for different clothes. Given how well they fit, particularly the underwear, I refused to entertain the idea that the clothes might have come from Janus. Opening the door, I was greeted by the sight of Elli with her fist raised to knock on the door. She looked surprised for a moment, but the dazzling smile that followed blew me away. "I came to let you know breakfast was ready, if you''re interested in eating with me?" She asked. I nodded, speech unavailable as I struggled to reclaim my ability to think. She smiled again, thwarting all my efforts, then took me by the hand and let me to a cosy room with large windows. Sunlight was streaming in, illuminating a round table set for two people. We sat down and began eating, while Elli talked about various aspects of Iburn, like the culture and natural oddities. I occasionally made noises to mask the fact that I was doing my best not to just stare at her throughout the meal. Now that some of the shock had faded away and my mind was working more stably, it was actually harder to dismiss the woman''s stunning beauty. Halfway through the meal a thought made its way to the forefront of my mind. I looked around, then interrupted Elli. "Is Janus not planning to join us?" She blinked. "He''s actually working on a few things for you at the moment. You''ll be able to see him later, although I could take you there now if you really want to." "No rush!" No need to separate myself from Elli any sooner than I had to. We finished the meal and sat by the windows, sipping steaming cups of tea and looking at the city. "Why is the design of the city so...varied?" I asked, pausing to change my words to something more polite. Elli gave a thin smile. "Gods are, as a general rule, somewhat selfish. Iburn has gods from many different eras and planes, and no one can tell a god what his house should or shouldn¡¯t look like. Given that it''s more trouble than it''s worth to enforce a uniform city image, Janus just let them do as they will." I frowned. "Why are there so many gods here? Is this some kind of god trade city?" "There is a good deal of trade going on, but that''s more a by-product of the different gods already being here than their goal to come. The real reason''s a bit more complex, so I''ll have to let Janus deal with it." It sounded like she said his name with a slight questioning tone, but I decided I must have misheard. I turned back to look at the city. After a short silence, Elli put down her empty cup. "It looks like Janus is ready to meet you. Shall we?" I stood, and we exited the small room. * * * Back in Janus'' office, I stared at the tan man across the desk. He was holding a slim helmet in his hands. "This," he began grandly, "is your guaranteed pathway to divinity." He paused, clearly waiting for a reaction. I had one, only it ran in the direction of wondering once again if he was actually a god. After he saw I wasn''t about to drop in shock and awe, Janus coughed and continued. "In essence, I''ve loaded this helmet with a visual display to show you the essence of the world around you so you can see the effects of divine power and learn faster, along with assistive programs to help with any learning problems you may encounter. " ~That explains the goggles on the helmet.~ Now that I thought about it, the helmet looked similar to the ones worn in Star Wars. What were they called again? Insurgents? Revolutionaries? After recalling they destroyed some floating space ball, I stopped trying to remember. That was a childhood memory, and pushing too much reminded me of other things; wooden walls, marble floors, two male voices laughing outside. I tuned back into Radio Janus in time to hear "¨C put it on and we''ll start." He moved round the table and handed me the helmet. I looked at it for a second, then dumped it on my head and looked at Janus. I screamed. As soon as it came out, I hated myself. I had spent most of my life being a self-confident, unflappable diva who lived like the world was hers, and yet in two days I had screamed more than I had in years. If you didn''t count certain bedroom activities. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Despite that, the mirage that came into view slightly to Janus'' left was terrifying. I became a firm believer in Hell at that very moment, because this half-human creature could not have possibly come from anywhere else. It stood between Janus and his chair, putrid open wounds on its side and a spine curved in an impossible arch as it moved on all fours. It was easily as tall as Janus was, and the look on its ugly face vaguely matched Janus'' surprised one. "What¨C" he started, before a golden spear came flying through the wall and pinned the creature next to the window. He whirled and looked at the intruder, while I tossed the helmet away in the corner. Unfortunately, that didn''t help, as the creature was now visible to my eyes even without the helmet. While I adjusted to the fact that this hadn''t been Janus'' sick joke, the man under suspicion turned to face the door and took a combat stance. "Piper, behind the desk, now." That put me closer to the inhuman thing than I liked, but something was clearly wrong, and I trusted him enough to believe he''d keep me alive. As I slid behind the heavy table, the office door burst into splinters, revealing a burly giant of a man. "Your guard dog is loyal as ever, Gatekeeper." A mocking laugh followed. "As soon as she realised you were in danger, she didn''t hesitate to throw her spear." As he walked in, I went cold at the sight of his right hand. More precisely, what it was emerging from. Elli had been skewered through the stomach, the man''s arm buried up to the elbow in her body and emerging out the other side. Silver fluid dripped from around the wound and stained the man''s arm. Ignoring the damage, she was weakly attempting to batter at any part of the man she could reach, but the difference in sizes and the awkward position meant she couldn''t hit anywhere of note. "Ore." Janus growled. "I take it this abomination is your doing?" The light-skinned giant chuckled. "Oh yes. You wouldn''t believe what I had to do to foster that thing here. Your eagle eye on anything coming to this plane cost me years!" "What''s the plan here, Ore? You kill me and this plane disappears, along with everyone here. Surely you didn''t plan to rule over Iburn." "Oh, don''t be so small-minded! I''m well-aware Iburn will disappear, but I''m more than willing to give my life to restore Primus to its rightful place in the cosmos." Janus must have made an ugly expression, because the man laughed again. "Now, no more stalling, Gatekeeper. I know you''re trying to heal a wound from the Mindless." Janus shifted, and now that I looked I could see deep claw marks in his left shoulder. When had he been injured? Unlike Elli though, the blood leaking from his wounds was scarlet-gold. I idly wondered if gods could choose their blood colour. Ore threw out his arm, sending Elli flying off to the side, and charged at Janus. Blows were exchanged almost faster than I could follow, when Janus failed to block a side-swipe and took a hit to his injured shoulder. He staggered back two steps. Unexpectedly, Ore also leapt back, stretching his hand out at Janus, palm down. Ore clenched the hand into a fist, and a rainbow cage sprang into existence around Janus. He struggled against it as it compressed, then yelled, "Break!" The cage shattered, eerily quiet, and I let out a breath. I had no desire to be caught up in dimensional collapse so soon after avoiding death. I glanced over at Elli, who was leaning against the wall. She was still moving feebly, so she was alive, but there was no way I could get to her without involving myself in the fight. I blinked. My view had suddenly changed to a shifting tunnel, at the end of which I could see Janus holding a tower shield with one arm while pointing at me with the other arm. Looking around at the chaotic surroundings, I realised where I was when I felt pulling at my body and nausea rose up. ~Portal? Again? Really?~ I tried to struggle back to the office, but the pull was too strong for me, and I was resigned to watching Janus get battered by flashing lights and golden daggers. He made a coaxing motion to something out of sight, and the helmet flew into his hand. As soon as he wasn''t pointing at me, I began sliding with the pull, and I panicked a little. Janus looked at me, his mouth moving, then reached back and threw the helmet at me. I''d like to say I caught it gracefully, but it instead made impact under my breasts with all the speed and courtesy of a rocket. I cursed Janus eight different ways as my body picked up speed. I succumbed to my nausea just as the whirling lights disappeared and a night sky appeared, and I crashed into the ground at god-knows-what speed. My last image before I blacked out was the helmet crashing down some distance away. Chapter 4 – New World Groaning was the first thing I heard when I returned to the living. It took a second to realise it was coming from me. That thought was quickly followed by various body parts clamouring in agony, and I bit my lip to deal with the overwhelming pain. I attempted to sit up, and suddenly everything else went silent as pure, undiluted pain radiated from my chest. ~Feels like I broke a rib. You''d think, large as these things are, that would be the last area to receive damage. There''s plenty of padding there.~ I looked down at my breasts reproachfully. As I lay on my back, I tried to figure out what to do. I was in the middle of a forest, from the looks of it. Janus clearly hadn''t intended to send me here, his pointing stopping the portal''s pull was evidence of that. That meant I needed to find the helmet, as he apparently sent it to help. Second priority was finding food and water, since I had no idea how long I''d be without human contact, and then an overall priority of getting fixed up and generally making sure my rib didn''t end up poking too many important things. With that decided, I moved my head, attempting to look around for the helmet. When I finally spotted the thing, it was about a hundred metres away, a distance that in my current condition was about as easy as scaling a mountain. I glared at it, vaguely hoping some magic would bring it to me, before I began the long process of getting into a moving position. After five minutes of gingerly moving, I finally managed a crawling position that didn''t provoke my damage ribs. My ankle was giving me all kinds of hell, but in terms of importance I was just going to have to fight through the pain. After I managed to make it across the various knobbed roots and rotting branches, I collapsed inelegantly next to the helmet, grimacing as the rib made a firm reminder of its condition. I reached over and grabbed the helmet, sticking it on my head and lying flat on my back. As I looked through the display goggles, a message box appeared in my vision.
New user detected. Welcome to the DUI (Divine User Interface). Symbiotic connection available - will enable camouflage mode. Begin symbiosis? (Respond vocally)
~DUI~ I giggled, before saying, "No." No way I was about to begin a symbiotic connection with a damn helmet. The message box disappeared, to be replaced by another one.
Unknown dimensional location. New energy type detected. Initial analysis indicates non-harmful. No indicated interference with use of known energies. Begin full analysis?
That was sobering. If the helmet didn''t know where I was, there might be a good chance Janus had no idea either. All I could hope for at this point was that the helmet had some sort of tracking device. I told the helmet to begin analysis, knowledge never hurt, and waited for the next message box. This one informed me there was a message stored, which I promptly played. ¡°Sorry about this,¡± came Janus¡¯ voice. ¡°I can''t pull you back, natural formed rifts take ¨C oof! ¨C anyway, I''ll come get you, don''t use the helmet¡¯s distress beacon! Anyone on Iburn will be able to detect it!¡± The voice cut off, leaving me somewhat disappointed. I''d hoped for something more. I didn''t know what exactly, but I felt let down all the same. ~On the other hand, I''m no longer in a city that could possibly disappear from existence.~ I decided to focus on the positives I could think of. I was still alive, and Janus would come get me. ~If he survives.~ * * * Several hours later, I was beginning to doubt that he actually had. There hadn''t been a peep in the surroundings, other than a few distant animal calls, and the helmet hadn''t shown any new messages. As I had done all the mental games I could manage and was about to go crazy from lying around on an uncomfortable tree root, I decided to at least find some water. I was trying to determine a feasible way to do that, when I realised that the helmet might be able to give me a clue. ~Beats aimlessly wandering around the forest with my injuries.~ As it was, I considered it a miracle I hadn''t encountered any predators already, given I''d been lying around like a sacrificial sheep for the majority of the night. ¡°Helmet, how do I locate water?¡± I said tentatively. I didn''t really expect it to work, but it staved off the pain from moving for a few brief moments more.
Are you addressing the System?
¡°Yes,¡± I responded. I waited for a new message, but nothing came up. After a minute, I repeated my question, but there was still no response. Just as I decided the thing couldn''t help and was considering the best way to get upright, a new message jumped up, startling me. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
System has located multiple thermal bodies approximately 1.7km from your position. In conjunction with atmospheric reading, estimated to be source of water. Caution advised: Thermal scan indicates unknown life forms.
With this message, a orange 3-D arrow appeared near the top of my vision, pointing off to my left. ~2 kilometres, huh? I suppose I can manage that.~ As I made my slow progress towards the helmet''s target, I heard a distant roar coming from somewhere ahead, but other than the fact that it was in my current direction, I didn''t particularly distinguish it from the other forest noises. When I finally arrived, the sun now up over the horizon, I found the helmet had located a large pond, with a stream running gurgling in from one side and rushing out the other. There were no visible animals, so I scrambled towards the edge as quickly as I could and began scooping a few mouthfuls of water. After I managed to silence the growling stomach for the minute, I looked around the water''s edge more closely. The helmet had detected lots of animals here initially, and if that roar had scared them off I wanted to make sure its owner wasn''t here to eat me. After looking around a couple of times, I realised I could see the rear end of a deer emerging from some bushes. When it hadn''t so much as twitched for a couple of minutes, I decided to go over and investigate. I made my way around the water''s edge and found the reason for the deer''s stillness; it was very dead, prey to something that had taken a big bite out of it. I moved away a little and checked the surroundings again. Hopefully whatever had eaten this had had enough and decided to move on. My stomach gurgled. While I wasn''t squeamish about blood, a half savaged raw steak wasn''t exactly fine dining, but my body seemed to have no such reservations. I tried to look around to see if there were any vegetables around, my city girl eyes failed to spot anything I immediately recognised. ~Plus, I''ll need to keep my strength up with these wounds, I can''t exactly turn down free food.~ Suddenly recalling the helmet¡¯s thermal search, I checked and was told that there were no nearby creatures. Since it seemed the carcass had been abandoned, I picked up a sharpish stick and proceeded to poke and pull at the body. Some time later, I looked doubtfully at the chunk of meat I''d managed to pull from the deer. I''d noticed while mauling at the animal, but seeing a raw steak dripping purple blood was a strange sight, and one that drove home how serious my situation was. I wasn''t even sure if the deer was safe to eat. I was deciding whether to attempt to make a fire like I''d seen on TV or just risk the meat raw, when the helmet popped up with a new message.
World energy analysis complete. Ambient energy now viewable. Warning: approaching pattern of energy manipulation.
I thought over the words quickly. According to the helmet, something capable of using or twisting the energies in this world was coming at me. I decided forewarned was forearmed, and enabled the energy view. My vision immediately shifted to a myriad of different colours. Thankfully the air itself wasn''t intensely bright, although I couldn''t say the same for some of the trees. I had to squint to look at some sections of the forest. After I managed to change the helmet''s settings so I wasn''t blinded, I told the helmet to show me the object of the warning. A bold highlight showed up around a blob of colour up in the trees. It bounced from branch to branch quickly, and as it came closer I realised the blob was shaped like a big cat. I turned off the energy view, looking in the same direction, but all I saw were shaking branches. I cursed invisibility powers and tuned back into the energy vision. Given the speed of the animal and my own injuries, there was no way I could escape, which left me with the helmet as my only hope. I racked my brain to figure out how to use it, when I remembered the first message it had shown me when I put it on. ¡°System, symbiosis will give camouflage mode, correct?¡± I asked quickly. It confirmed, and I grinned. Two could play at the invisibility game. I gave the command to begin symbiosis, which prompted a message asking if I was sure. ¡°Of course, just hurry up!¡± I snarled, having noticed the cat-blob had now stopped and was looking at me from a few trees away. The helmet started a low hum, then my brain caught fire and I fell into blackness. Chapter 5 – New Gods Struggling out of unconsciousness again, my first thought was to swear extensively at the helmet''s system. I ended the mental rant with a grudging appreciation for whatever it did, since I was still alive to swear at it. Taking in my surroundings, I realised I was in a dimly-lit curved cave, lying on a simple bed with fur blankets. My vision was normal again, so I could see the shadow of a woman against the right wall ahead of me, although her actual body was out of sight around the corner. I got out of the bed and staggered as I abruptly lost balance. I threw out my hands to save myself from the fall, but ended up on the floor anyway. Only one of my arms had obeyed my command, so I looked to see what was wrong with the other one. Only to find it wasn''t there. My left arm was missing from about halfway between my shoulder and elbow, and flailing my other hand through the area confirmed that it wasn''t just invisible. "System!" I screeched. "What happened to my arm?!"
User''s limb was lost in confrontation with unidentified predator.
~The damn thing ate my arm? Confrontation? What the hell happened to camo mode?!~ I took a breath to calm myself. Hands are a thief''s life, and I had just been told I''d lost a crucial part of my arsenal. ~Janus better be able to fix this,~ I thought darkly. Hearing footsteps, I realised the woman''s shadow was approaching, with another shadow joining hers. A moment later, the owners of both shadows appeared around the curve of the cave. The man looked completely human; tall, pale skin, black hair, dressed casually in slacks, t-shirt and an open jacket. As he grew closer, I realised he was extremely good-looking, and for some reason my mind began to wonder what he was like in bed. That train of thought didn''t manage to get very far, arrested by the appearance of the woman. Starting from the top, she was normal. Blonde hair, green eyes, curved figure. She had a short tank top where the straps crossed over the opposite shoulder to the side they were attached to, forming a cross below her throat. However, from her waist down, it became quite clear she wasn''t a devoted member of the human race. Her lower half consisted of the muscles and scales of a large snake, seamlessly fused into her human torso. Having reached the foot of the bed, the woman smiled and began speaking. "You''re awake! You didn''t need very long to rest, considering you had an arm torn off by a kulgar and still defeated it. I hope you don''t mind we moved you here to heal up a bit." "Kulgar?" I asked, unfamiliar with the word. For some reason, a four-eyed sabertoothed panther sprang to mind. "The thing you fought with earlier," the man elaborated. ~Fight? I didn''t fight anything,~ I thought, confused. First the helmet, now these two were saying I had some kind of advanced sleep-walking? "Allow us to introduce ourselves," the man bowed. "I am Zohral, god of the Noc''lafar, and Anisibon here is, as you can probably guess, god of the lamias." ~Is there some kind of god radar focusing on me? Why are the first people I meet gods?~ "Hey, don''t use your race''s native name and then use the common one for mine, you make me sound so much less impressive than you," Anisibon pouted. "Maybe if lamias named themselves something that didn''t require advanced tongue mechanics, the rest of us would use the name more often," said Zohral, waving away her concerns. "And before we get distracted," he quickly stated, cutting off the lamia''s response, "may we inquire into the name of our wayward young friend?" "Pi-" I started, before a quick shock of pain stopped me. As I grabbed my head, a message box showed up, floating a little ahead of me.
Caution: world energy analysis indicates possible manipulations concurrent with known name magics. Advice: Present alternative alias.
~You better not have shocked me for that,~ I mentally threatened it, while trying to recall my fake covers from Earth. Thankfully, the gods seemed to have thought an injury had flared up, and Anisibon moved the side of the bed, putting a hand on my right leg. ¡°I''m¡­Olivia,¡± I said slowly, shaking away the last vestiges of the headache. I realised then that aside from that, my body didn''t hurt anywhere else at all. ¡°Who do I thank for healing me?¡± I asked, looking between the two. They looked at me confused, before the goddess said, ¡°You healed yourself. Any healing magic we attempted to use on you was deflected, which marks you as a very strange mortal.¡± Messages from the helmet agreed, telling me it had run healing and enhancement protocols. ¡°If you don''t mind,¡± Zohral tentatively began, ¡°would you mind telling us how you got here? Most empires set the Wild Lands as off limits, and any authorised people always come in groups.¡± I looked at them both, then decided to give a slightly changed account of the fight in Iburn and being swept away, making it appear that I had just happened to be nearby when the fight broke out. I didn''t mention the helmet or where I came from originally; no need to give too much information to people I just met. ¡°-then I ran into the kulgar and, yeah, well, here I am,¡± I finished, hiding the fact that I actually had no idea what had happened. ¡°How did you defeat it though? It looked like it was cooked from the inside out,¡± asked Zohral. I hesitated, silently cursing at him. Thankfully, Anisibon came to the rescue. ¡°Leave the girl alone Zohral. She would have already told us if she wanted to, don''t keep poking.¡± He raised his hands in surrender, and the lamia turned back to face me. ¡°You''re probably still tired, so I''ll give you a quick rundown of where you are and then let you rest, okay?¡± I nodded, and the goddess waved a table with steaming food into existence. I began munching on some bread, filling it with egg salad and bacon. Receiving a fish taste, I looked at the meat strips in surprise, but with no warnings from the helmet I decided to continue eating. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I don''t know how different the place is where you came from, so I''ll give you the big picture and work down. You''re on a planet called Homeppo, with three major continents, and a few island chains and subcontinents. There''s quite a few different races, but they tend to mix together, so you don''t really get high concentrations anywhere except where they started out. Aside from us, you''ve got lots of different gods, but only 15 major ones, who are in charge of Aspects.¡± As Anisibon sat next to me on the bed and talked, Zohral picked at some of the food on the table, nibbling at what looked like a pink grape. Somehow, even the way he ate was sexy. I cocked my head at Anisibon¡¯s last sentence. ¡°Aspects?¡± I queried. ¡°Parts of life that aren''t specific to a race or group, so things like magic, war, knowledge, love, and so on. The reason you''re out here in the middle of nowhere is because two of those gods redirected all rifts to non-populated places. They''re usually a lot more violent, yours opened and closed without a whisper.¡± ¡°They''re also the reason we''re out here, instead of watching our own people,¡± commented Zohral, a flash of distaste showing on his sculpted features. ¡°Anyway,¡± the lamia stressed, glaring at the other god, ¡°the specific area you came out in is known as the Wild Lands. Several thousand square kilometres of non-civilisation, a paradise for all the endangered and special creatures of the world. Thankfully, you''re near one of the borders, so you''ll be able to make it to a town a couple of days from here.¡± The goddess rose to her feet ¨C tail ¨C and moved towards Zohral, shooing him away. ¡°Now, we¡¯ll leave you to yourself. There''s clothes in the corner, since I''m guessing you don''t want to stick with those, and if you need anything else we''ll be outside.¡± As they moved out of the cave, I threw a glance to the left to see a few wooden chests and a full length mirror, which I was sure had not been there before. I turned back to see Anisibon hadn¡¯t left yet. We stared at each other, before she said, ¡°You didn¡¯t seem very surprised to meet gods. Is it a regular occurrence where you come from?¡± I gave a small smile. ¡°Let¡¯s just say you weren¡¯t my first.¡± She nodded and slid away, scales silent against the cave floor. I finished eating, sorting out my thoughts in the meantime. I now had some information on where I was, as well as basic theology, and a place where I could wait for Janus without losing any more arms. I briefly worried about Elli, hoping she was okay. I walked to the clothes chest, noting some dried blood and singed patches on my current outfit. I stripped down along the way, nearly tripping with the trousers, and stood in front of the mirror, planning to check myself for wounds. The young pale-skinned redhead that greeted my eyes had a disbelieving expression, her long wavy locks of hair reaching midway down her back. Her face showed none of the damage time worked on all people, with its smiling green eyes and tiny dimples; in fact, her body displayed the proud flawless skin of a girl entering college, defying the mere suggestion of a wrinkle. The toned body was more in line with my memory, sleek muscles covered with just enough fat to form perfect limbs. If not for the obvious product of years of physical maintenance and my undiminished bosom, I would have thought I was celebrating my twentieth birthday again. ~Just what did that machine do to me?~ I looked at myself blankly, taking in the sight. After a few minutes of indulging my narcissism ¨C the side profile was especially good ¨C I realised I couldn¡¯t see the helmet. Since I hadn''t taken it off, I scanned the room, and panicked slightly when I didn''t spot it. Had one of the gods stolen it without me noticing? ¡°System?¡± I ventured, hoping for a response.
Awaiting request¡­
I threw my head back to look in the mirror. Still no helmet in sight. However, unless I was delusional, I was actually wearing the helmet. I reached up, but both my hand and scalp confirmed that they were only touching each other. "Where''s the helmet?" I wondered aloud.
System has enabled camouflage mode. System apparatus is now non-distinguishable from user body.
It had to be kidding. Camouflage mode meant camouflage for the helmet? ~No wonder I¡¯m missing an arm, I basically set myself in front of the beast and rang the dinner bell.~ Thinking about it, I remembered that the animal itself was dead and I wasn¡¯t. What had happened when I lost consciousness? ¡°Helmet, can you tell me what happened after I gave the command for symbiosis?¡±
System formed complete bond, performing necessary physical repair. User body required enhancement before beginning stage two protocols. Low divines encountered were deemed to be safe in proximity. Time elapsed available for re-experience. Begin from user unconsciousness?
As curious as I was, I was getting cold standing around naked, so I ignored the question and began hunting through the clothes chests. I decided practical over fashion, and managed to find some good trousers after digging deep into the box. ~Don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s because she thinks I¡¯ll like them or she¡¯s a lamia, but there are a lot of dresses in here.~ When I was fully dressed ¨C frustration and anguish repeatedly part of the process as I adjusted to just one arm ¨C I gave the command to the helmet. My vision burst into a kaleidoscope of colour, then resolved itself into a slanted view from the floor of a forest. I flicked my eyes around, stopping at the sight of the four-eyed big cat staring down at me from a tree. Chapter 6 – Welcome to the Jungle Even from my viewpoint on the forest floor, I immediately recognised the beast as the one that came to mind when the gods had mentioned a kulgar. The feline animal leapt down, disappearing into a bush. Despite the weakness of my eyes, the helmet managed to compensate, showing the kulgar¡¯s outline as it stalked through the bushes. A line of text on the side of my vision caught my attention.
Symbiotic connection established. Cementing connection. Performing user diagnosis¡­..complete. Severe damage to user vessel. Initiating vessel repair.
Movement in the bushes caught my attention, and I saw the blurry outline crouching, as if to pounce at me. Attempts to move my body had no effect, sending my heartrate up in mild panic.
Energy manipulation detection. Threat determined. User unconscious, assuming physical control. Switching full repair to emergency care. Running battle simulation. Survival: 0%. Beginning basic vessel enhancement.
~Zero percent! I know it¡¯s a new world, but give me at least a little credit.~ As the moments dragged on, the dark-furred creature crept closer, seemingly ready to attack at any moment. The tension sky-rocketed, and even remembering that I wasn¡¯t actually here did little to decrease it.
Unacceptable threat proximity. Enhancement focus switched to legs, prepare for escape.
My body swung up into a squatting position, presumably under the orders of the helmet. At my back, I could feel the prickly bark of the tree behind me. The kulgar stopped approaching and began circling me. I guessed it must have been startled at the sudden movement, since I¡¯d been lying like a dead fish. At one point, it crossed an empty space, but I saw nothing other than the helmet¡¯s red outline.
Essential vessel repair complete. Survival¡­¡­12%
That¡¯s a lot better than before. The kulgar froze, about 6 metres to my right. In a fluid motion, it leapt at me, limbs stretched and invisible maw gaping. My legs bunched, and an instant before I became panther chow, my body pushed off and shot to the side.
Leg enhancement within acceptable levels.
I was surrounded by a flash of orange and red before my legs propelled me upwards into a tree. The animal watched me almost reproachfully, as if offended I hadn¡¯t been cooked where I stood.
Threat analysis: breath weapon, subtype ¨C fire. Survival¡­.7% Examining energy manipulation.
For a minute or two, predator and prey chased each other. My heart was in my throat as gouts of flame hit areas my body had been occupying only moments before. I was shooting forward from a perch on a branch when a stream of fire poured out in front of me, painting the trees ahead in flames. I slid to a halt, the helmet turning to retrace to my steps, only to face the four unblinking eyes of the kulgar.
Survival¡­.2.3% Unacceptable probability. Simulating alternative strategy¡­¡­. Acceptable method found, executing.
I felt my hand reach down and scoop up some of the forest floor, throwing the dirt, twigs and leaves in the outlined face of the creature. It was met with a torrent of orange light.
Fire system analysis complete. Proceeding to phase 2.
Dodging the outpour of flames, I rushed to the side of the kulgar, pouncing forward with a particularly intense push of my legs. As I moved, one leg twitched. I barely managed to avoid landing face first in the leafy floor.
User interference. Sedating. Determining maximum safe output. Executing attack.
As the predator began to turn to face me, I reached out my right hand, placing the palm against the fur. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I felt warmth on my palm, before fire erupted and poured over the animal. It roared, sending me flying sideways with a swat of its paw.
Opponent damage analysis: insignificant. User damage: left arm non-functional. Maximum output insufficient. Recalculating....
The kulgar was raging and roaring in front of me. From the looks of it, it was infuriated at my attack. ~It didn''t even do that much damage.~ As if hearing me, it shut its maw and rushed at me. My body swayed to the right, but my left arm still ended up in the creature¡¯s mouth, half crushed by the creature¡¯s powerful jaws.
Executing attack.
I glimpsed a blue light flash down my arm, charring black streaks down my arm. Moments later, the wild creature was roaring in pain, gouts of intense blue fire spurting from its maw. It pulled away, ripping my arm off as it retreated.
First aid required...wound closed. Maintaining attack.
The super-hot flames increased, broiling the unfortunate cat from the inside. As it gave out choked screams, I felt a twinge of sympathy. Eventually the kulgar collapsed, death rattle trickling out of its throat.
Scan indicates threat nullified. Located energy core.
I felt my body stomp over to the charred body. The helmet had me crouch in front of the animal''s head and reach my remaining arm down its throat. ~Ewwww~ After reaching around, pulling and clawing at various putrid organs, I felt my hand clasp tightly on something firm. My arm yanked out, and I was subject to the sight of a pulsing green crystalline heart.
Silicon based lifeform. Energy suitable for utilization. Extracting... Resuming full repair.
My body moved some distance away from the corpse. Finding two thick trees roots, I nested between them, vision fading into black. Five seconds later, my vision showed me the same scene. My body stood, and as it climbed the tree the helmet indicated that it was actually about fourteen hours later.
Repair: 84% Enhancement: 18% Approaching divine signature.
Staring down from a branch like a monkey, I saw Anisibon and Zohral walking through the trees. They looked up at me, and we engaged in a brief staring contest. After they spoke in a few languages I had no recognition of, Anisibon closed her eyes. There was a brush at my forehead, which prompted the helmet to begin messaging.
Physical modification deflected. Mental connection deflected. Mental message deciphered; offer of assistance. Divine deemed non-priority threat. Resuming vessel repair.
My body relaxed and lay on the branch. Zohral seemed surprised at my sloth impression, while Anisibon looked concerned. The male god gestured and my body floated out of the tree, and as I followed them my vision faded again, before displaying the brown walls of the cave again. The bed creaked as I sat heavily. A final summary told me that I had spent about eighteen hours recovering after the gods picked me up. I took a few more bites from the table as I considered my plans for the future. It was already my second day here, and Janus still hadn¡¯t made contact. Best to assume the worst, then be pleasantly surprised if he shows up. Anisibon had mentioned magic earlier, and it seemed like the helmet had determined how to channel some fire magic through me. I marvelled at the sheer outlandishness, before considering some plausible way to set myself up. I realised I needed some more information on the culture here, and walked out of the cave towards the gods. ------------------------------------------------------------- AN: As always, comment away :) I realise you may be drowning in boxes here, but it''s unlikely to happen again (if only cause I now hate adjusting them all) Chapter 7 - Eyebrows Are Not Flame-Retardant As I walked out into the sunlight, I came across the lamia goddess lying on a large rock, her eyes closed in bliss. Her long tail coiled around the area, emerald scales positioned to soak up as much sunlight as possible. Since the woman appeared to be sleeping, I moved quietly, trying to find Zohral. "How are you feeling?" I jumped. The lamia hadn''t moved, but green light danced in an open eye. Pouting internally at my prided stealth being useless, I walked over. "About as well as can be expected, I suppose," I said to her. She nodded, closing her eye again. She was relaxing face-down, bare back turned to the sun. As I sat down next to her, I asked about Zohral''s whereabouts. "He''s gone back. He hates when he''s used as an errand boy, so he always refuses to spend more time than necessary." "Who gets to use gods as errand ¨C oh, the major gods, right?" She nodded again. "It''s not as bad as it sounds, but it''s something of a sore subject for him. Given the population size of his species, he feels he''s worth more respect." "And you don''t?" She smiled sadly. "My people don''t breed very easily. I''d be lucky if there were even one million worldwide." Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, shirt popping into existence around her. "Have you decided what to do? I don''t know how likely it is that we can send you back; I¡¯ve never heard of other beings able to rip space, so we probably wouldn''t be find your world to send you back." That world''s probably turned into dust by now. "I was actually thinking about figuring out something to do here," I said tentatively, "Only, I don''t really know how to go about doing that." "What did you do before?" The question was accompanied by a twirl of her tail. "Ah, it was, um, specialized work, nothing I think would work here." Um? Where was my silver tongue? I normally had no trouble evading questions. The fight with the kulgar came back to mind. If I could consistently do magic¡­ A while later, I had found out that the world civilization here was quite similar to my home, although the basis of technology here was on magic, and not physical science. People who could use magic were common enough, with certain races finding a particular type easier to use, and there was a variety of jobs available for fire users. Anisibon had listed various opportunities, highlighting bodyguards as the perfect job. She seemed to think that because the helmet had killed the kulgar I was a trained fighter. I had a different job in mind from the list, one that would put me near high-rollers while still giving me good cover. It did, however, depend on how well I could use the magic. After talking a little more, I walked back into the cave, munching on a pear Anisibon had created for me. I needed to figure out how to use the flames. Sitting on the bed, I started questioning the helmet on the flames it had used during the fight. As I read its responses, I learned that the first flames it had used were the current maximum my arm was capable of channelling. The only reason it had been able to use the blue flames was because it had already decided to sacrifice my arm. If I wanted to use that level of power again, my body enhancement would need to complete, which would take months. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Months? You were already at 18% when the gods encountered us. Me," I corrected myself.
External energy source was converted for enhancement use. Enhancement schedule capable of reduction with additional energy source. Option: Enhancement focus on arm?
I thought it over. It would certainly help me with my goal, I imagined, and it wouldn''t hurt to have some extra firepower. My thoughts soured as I considered the possibility that the helmet might decide to sacrifice my other arm in some crisis. I chose the option, then put out my hand, palm up. "Fire," I commanded, and a tiny orange flame appeared. I blinked, caught between giddiness and disappointment. "That''s all?"
Energy manipulation entered as part of user training.
It took me some time to figure out how to adjust the size of the flame. Under vague instruction in the form of blue messages, I realised I could feel a faint connection to the fire. It was a similar sensation to having a feather barely brush against you, only somewhere in my head. However, any time I focused on that feeling, it disappeared. Frustrated, I ignored it. I stared at the candle flame hovering in my palm. ~It''s something like a gas cooker,~ I realised, ~where the helmet ignites it and I adjust the dials.~ Closing my eyes, I visualized a dial set to minimum. I slowly turned it up, feeling the feather brush a bit more firmly. When I could feel the heat on my face, I opened my eyes, finding a fire ball the size of a fist in front of me. My mind dissolved into excitement and happiness. The fireball''s immediate disappearance did nothing to dampen my feelings; I could do magic! I conjured up the fireball again, making it larger and smaller over and over. I was reminded I needed to move on to the next step of my plan when I nearly burnt my eyebrows off making the fire into a towering column. I moved away from the bed. I lifted up both arms before remembering my new lack of symmetry. Biting down the wave of resentment, I faced my palm towards the front, and began to practise. * * * "Sorry I can''t take you closer than this," said Anisibon. "Teleportation won''t work any further than this, and we''re not allowed to fly mortals around anymore." We were standing on the top of a hill. In the distance, I could vaguely make out a small town. Shifting the backpack to a more comfortable position, I smiled at the goddess. ¡°It¡¯s no problem, you¡¯ve done lots for me anyway,¡± I said. ¡°You said that that¡¯s the first defensive outpost?¡± She nodded, saying, ¡°Yes, as I told you, you probably won¡¯t find much to do there, but you¡¯ll be able to get to a proper city much more easily, and set yourself up with some basics.¡± After wishing me good luck, the goddess lifted into the air and flew off. I tracked her progress until she was out of sight. The way her tail slithered through the air reminded me of a painting I once stolen from a Chinese museum. Maybe the artwork hadn¡¯t been a complete flight of fancy after all. Chapter 8 The town was more military than I had expected. The defensive layout of the buildings made sense, given it was a frontier outpost, but I¡¯d been hoping for more of a mercenary atmosphere. My first few minutes in the town made me feel like I¡¯d walked into an army camp. I was surprised at the extensive use of wood as building material. Surely they had realised the possibility of concrete and such? I tapped on a nearby wall and blinked when a marble sensation came back. ~Huh. Magic wood.~ I didn¡¯t get good directions to the trade district until my third time asking. The first two would probably have been more dedicated to helping if I¡¯d shown some skin, but a poncho was hardly the most flattering attire. Whatever. It hid my arm, or lack thereof, in the folds and kept out the evening chill. It was unlikely there was anything interesting to steal here, and I wasn¡¯t exactly on the prowl for anyone. Seeing the shadows lengthening, I picked up the pace. I really needed to sell something before everyone packed up and went home. I¡¯d thought I could rely on seedier night transactions if I got in too late, but the rigid patrols and scattered uniforms were quickly chasing that hope from my mind. As I turned the corner, I saw a long well-kept street. About half of the many large doors were closed, with people cleaning up in front of a few more. I hurried down the road, but the store I needed was among the closed. I was about to walk back down to search again when I spotted a small open door. There was a blue crystal and grey ingot emblazoned on the door, shifting between a black outline and full colour. Inside, it was dim and cramped. Thankfully it seemed like the place I needed, with precious gems taking up a few shelves, while metals were piled behind the counter. When my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I saw the storekeeper snoozing in a corner. I rapped loudly on the counter. The short man¡¯s eyes snapped open. He focused on me, then shot out of his seat like he¡¯d been electrified. ¡°Hello! What can I do for you today?¡± He gave me a plastic smile as he rubbed his handed together. I shrugged the backpack of my shoulders, catching it with my hand as it swung round on my arm. I placed it on the counter and reached in after a brief fumble with the ties. I pulled out a couple of blue veined rocks, reached in again and took out a shimmering uncut ruby. As I dumped the bag on the floor, I looked at him and said, ¡°How much for these?¡± The plastic smile had become a bit more real after I took out my things. His eyes danced between the three stones. ¡°The ruby I can buy for 800 silverettes,¡± he said slowly, ¡°but this blueforge ore, I¡¯m afraid it isn¡¯t worth very much. At most 600 for the pair.¡± I snorted. I¡¯d met a lot of cheats in my life, but this man was treating me like an idiot. ¡°Like hell they¡¯re worth 600. Do you think I was born yesterday? I¡¯m offering you high quality blueforge ore, which comes without the astronomical transport and tax costs you¡¯d normally pay this far from the Blueforge.¡± ¡°High quality? At best I make a semi decent sword from this, and then who knows if it¡¯ll even sell well. Most people here already have their own weapons.¡± ¡°Hah! This is a frontier, weapons break all the time. I bet you¡¯ll have people kicking down the door to get at this.¡± ¡°Even if that could happen, I still need to consider the manufacturing costs and such to turn a profit. I can give you 1500, but not a coin more.¡± ¡°1500? They¡¯re worth twice that, and you¡¯d still make a profit.¡± After some more haggling, we finally settled on 2100 silverettes for the blueforge ore, giving me a total of 2900. Not a bad start for a new world. I sent a silent thanks to Anisibon. I hated owing favours, but the lamia goddess had been the most practical way to set myself up. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The storekeeper looked surprised when I asked for it in cash, then got a crafty look in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll count them!¡± I yelled as he moved to the back. It was an empty threat, but hopefully he didn¡¯t know that. I couldn¡¯t count out nearly three thousand pieces of metal, I¡¯d be here all night. If it wasn¡¯t for magic wallets I wouldn¡¯t even be able to carry it. He came back holding a small grey pouch. I tossed it in my bag and was about to leave when I noticed a small alert in the corner of my vision.
Nearby energy source.
I grew excited at the thought. Another item to accelerate my enhancement! Luckily I was facing away from the shrewd shopowner, so he didn¡¯t see my excitement flash across my face. I switched into energy vision and examined the shop. The brightest concentration of colour showed up underneath the counter; a glowing red beacon in my eyes. Nearby was a dimmer light that swirled with a variety of colours. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any magical stones, would you?¡± I asked offhandedly. No need to seem too interested. ¡°10,000 minimum,¡± he replied flatly. I nearly leapt over the table and strangled him. I might be new to this world, but if a couple of chunks of the most magically receptive ore was only worth two thousand-odd, there was no way a stone stuffed with some magic was even near ten thousand. ¡°Never mind then,¡± I shot at him, and stalked out of the place. A few hours later I was walking out of the hotel in muted grey clothing. If the little sneak was determined to be a bald-faced cheat, I had no qualms about relieving him of certain necessities. I retraced my steps to the trade district, stopping in an alley and climbing up the side of the building. My perch was a bit further from the target than I would have liked, but I had to accommodate a missing arm and so chose a building with lots of visible footholds. Thankfully my strength and gymnastic flexibility hadn¡¯t been reduced in my younger body. I¡¯d been worried that I¡¯d lost all my muscle memory, but the helmet hadn¡¯t gone so far as to actually reverse time, just rejuvenate my body. As I lounged on the roof of the building I scanned the small shop. There was a veneer of light over the whole building, but I wasn¡¯t experienced enough yet to determine what was a trap and what wasn¡¯t. As I pored over the building, I suddenly noticed a problem which set me to mental swearing. Since I was looking at pure magic, my vision wasn¡¯t stopped by things like walls; a perk I fully planned to exploit. In this case, it showed that all the pinpricks of light on the ground floor were about the same brightness. The one I¡¯d been aiming for had completely overshadowed the rest earlier, meaning it wasn¡¯t there now! ~Damn it! And I was looking forward to sticking it to the little¨C~ My thought cut off as I noted a four-man patrol turn the corner. One of them, of all things, was actually looking up. What kind of over-eager discipline was that? Disappointed and sullen, I slunk across the roof and returned to the hotel. The receptionist had been changed while I was out, and the new man stared irritatingly at my missing arm until I glared at him. After that he just snuck looks out of the corner of his eye until I made it to the stairs. My room was exactly how I left it, but out of habit I checked all my things. Out of further habit I then hid the most important things, leaving a few silverettes in the bigger bag. Finally, I flopped onto the bed and fell asleep. Chapter 9 The station was surprisingly busy the next morning. I had to weave through the crowds as I walked towards the platform. The sun was high enough to give some warmth, but hadn¡¯t completely burnt off the morning chill yet. I leaned against the wall as I waited. The clock across from me showed the combination of red and green which apparently meant I had about seven or eight minutes to go. I decided to pass the time by getting the helmet to display a normal clock in my vision. If I had to rely on a rainbow to tell time, I¡¯d never get anywhere. As I fiddled, an announcement for my train sounded out. I flexed and bounced away from the wall, but hung back to avoid the press of people scrambling to the marked line. I looked left and right, curious about how the train would arrive. There were no train tracks visible on either side. Energy vision gave me the same result. Seeing a few scattered people looking in the same direction, I followed their gaze. My eyes went wide. A behemoth of shining metal was descending from the skies, sleek and glamorous. As it pulled closer and the sun¡¯s reflection grew less, I realised the overall design looked like a futurists wet dream. I smiled ruefully at myself. Setting air alight and weaving it in rings provoked only excitement, but something that looked like it could plausibly come from home caused shock and awe? Minds were a funny thing. The doors slid open silently. I moved forward to follow the cram, when a burly form imperiously knocked me over. I struggled to catch myself but was falling to my left. As I looked up from a faceful of dust, I saw three men staring down at me. All three were human. ¡°Out of the way, woman,¡± said one, spitting the word out like it was the worst insult he could think of. ¡°How dare you block the Master!¡± said the one behind him. I was guessing he was your typical sycophant. The last man was slightly less tall than his flunkies. He looked at me with disdain, each and every one of his muscles managing to convey their superiority. ¡°Move bitch!¡± the first one snarled. Given his proximity, he was probably the one who bumped me. I dusted myself as I staggered to my feet. As I readjusting my clothing, the supposed master spoke for the first time. ¡°Leave her alone Michael. No need to bully a cripple.¡± I bit down on my retort to the semi-barbed comment. At least he had some measure of decency. ¡°We can¡¯t hold them to the same standards, so I will have to make do with an apology.¡± I take that back. He¡¯s an entitled prick. I stood and looked at the trio. ¡°Apologise!¡± barked Goon #1. I jumped and lost my balance, falling towards the goons¡¯ boss. My arm stretched out to catch myself. An iron grip snaked out and grabbed my forearm. I pulled at it frantically. ¡°Nice try, you thieving whore,¡± snarled the boss. He was entirely too close for comfort, nearly breathing down my mouth. ¡°You should have stayed at home on your knees with your mouth open, in a woman¡¯s proper place.¡± He twisted my arm and threw me to the side. I collapsed on the floor as the trio stalked off towards the train, leaving behind mocking laughter. When I was sure they had boarded, I sat up. My face was the very picture of smugness. ¡°I really must thank him for pulling me close like that. Why, I was simply breathless! And to donate to the handicapped as well,¡± I murmured, pulling a new pouch out of the folds of my top. My appreciation for the poncho jumped up a few points. The layers of clothing had hidden the movements of my hand when the man had pulled me close, turning a thwarted attempt into a sure thing. The whistle that rang out reminded me to rush for the doors. I sprinted, sliding in as the doors began closing. I found an unoccupied pair of seats as the train began pulling away. Streaks of scenery drifted past as I slouched down in the chair. The backpack was in my lap, hiding the pouch from view of any overly curious passer-by. The crossed spears symbol on the front might mean something, after all. I pulled open the neck of the pouch. The colours of magic sprang into sight as I looked in. I nearly went blind. The first item in the bag was an object of such blazing intensity you could probably use it as a lighthouse. I immediately sank back into normal vision, but the damage was done, and all I could do was try to blink away the massive eclipse in my vision. When I¡¯d recovered, I peered into the pouch again. There were remarkably few things inside; a large multi-faceted crystal, a shimmering purple card, train ticket and a few books. The ticket went up in a flash of smoke. No need to be holding on to that. I plucked the crystal from the bag. I was willing to bet good money that this was what blinded me, and grinned when the notification popped up. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Nearby energy source. Contact established. Absorb?
¡°Ooooh, definitely,¡± I purred. The magic I¡¯d wanted to steal yesterday was maybe a quarter of the brightness this was. If pricing was linear, I¡¯d stolen at least 40,000 silverettes from the sexist. Karma, you are indeed a bitch. Warmth flooded up my arm as the hard edges disintegrated into fine dust. I was informed that my enhancement was accelerated, which only left me grinning wider. Since I had no idea what the card was, and I hadn¡¯t learnt to read the continental letters here yet, I decided to leave the bag alone. I tucked it into my backpack and leaned back to watch the sea of white go by. * * * ¡°Through a rift, you say?¡± The wizened figure leaned forward in his chair. An exasperated sigh leaked out of the man opposite. ¡°Yes, and uninjured by the trip, as far as we could tell,¡± said Zohral. ¡°Interesting. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t stay longer.¡± ¡°Not interesting enough. Just talking to her was a huge strain, since we had to relay our concepts mentally. Her natural mental resilience was the highest I¡¯ve encountered in a mortal.¡± ¡°Which only serves to collaborate her story, if she didn¡¯t know any languages. I imagine Anisibon would probably have taught her by now, so we can¡¯t really scour her to see if she¡¯s just a wild child.¡± The younger god snorted. ¡°A wild child? A wild human child? Surviving until adulthood in the Wild Lands? Even if that were possible, she would have had the sense to avoid the kulgar.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen stranger things,¡± said the old god mysteriously. ¡°Something¡¯s intriguing about this one. Her mental resilience, for example. You say she treated you at the same level as Anisibon, but you were in relatively close proximity for hours beforehand. How were you able to communicate, yet your¡­passive charm had no visible effect? It¡¯s almost as if the mind adjusted strength selectively.¡± Zohral shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t really care. Maybe she¡¯s the type to be cold to her crushes. I¡¯m just glad I didn¡¯t have to kick off another hanger-on.¡± ¡°You are quite possibly the only god to complain about too much adoration.¡± A wry smile accompanied the statement. After a pause, he continued. ¡°Very well, you may go. I imagine I¡¯ll hear more details from Anisibon when she arrives.¡± Zohral bowed, disappearing out the door in a streak of light. The old man turned to the starry view of the window, sinking into thought. ¡°A stable rift, hmm?¡± * * * The darkness was warm. Air currents moved rhythmically, flowing back and forth around rocks that had long been worn smooth. In the distance, a chink of light struggled its way in, only to be crushed. The fresh air that accompanied it was more successful, dashing into the currents and rushing through the cave. It danced through the dark, needing no eyes for its path, and flew through an opening. For a moment, the currents stopped. When they picked up, they were back in rhythm, flowing towards the small gap in the earthen wall. They swam, paused to tumble turn, then sailed back, carrying a new breath of air with them. When this puff entered the ridged opening, the currents stopped completely. The darkness was frozen. The air swirled madly as a mass began to shift. They reverberated with the low pulse that rolled out from the dark bulk. They circled around it as it moved towards the wall, and joyfully followed when it burst through in a riotous explosion. The currents scattered, each strand of wind pulled by so many new companions. A few hugged the bulk as it joined them in the sky. Unlike the fickle winds, the mass moved with purpose. It picked up speed, and the winds pushed to help whichever urgency their new friend had. Speeding it straight to the edge of what the intelligent races called the Wild Lands.
AN: Literary challenge for all of you out there. However, it might slightly, minisculy spoil the mystery of the last section, so ignore if you enjoyed guessing what that''s all about. For the rest of you: Spoiler : Describe a growl from the point of view of air. "Low pulse" just didn''t capture it. How would air experience the act of a growl? Chapter 10 The sky-train ended up being more of a mundane experience than I expected from a magic flying vehicle. Then again, I''d been on a lot of planes, and the overall scenario was similar. I did enjoy seeing ¡°the Master¡± and his flunkies getting kicked off at the first stop. He made a grimace when he spotted my face in the window. I almost wished I had kept his ticket to burn it in his face. It took a few hours to get to the city of Lineria. I occupied myself by alternately practicing my fire control and trying to discover hidden functions in the helmet. I would have really appreciated a music setting. There didn''t appear to be any city maps for tourists in Lineria''s station. Was that not a thing here? I resorted to asking the ticket seller if they knew where I could find what I was looking for. The pointy-eared woman redirected me to a chunky terminal. Her face looked like I''d offered her dog shit with my question. ~Sorry I asked,~ I grumbled as I made my way over. The terminal had the appearance of a very retro computer. Apparently the magic version of computers were at the level of huge blocks. I was about to ask the kid messing around to let me on, when I realised a problem. I couldn''t read. How would I search for what I needed? I stared into space, then refocused on the kid. I smiled and reached into my pouch. Minutes later, I was strolling down the sunny street. The sights around me reinforced the concept of another world, as I was surrounded by fur, tails, scales, giants, pointed ears and skins in every colour of the rainbow. My mouth twitched. I was reminded of a mark who once tried to hide in a dress-up convention in San Diego. I was so captivated with taking in the details of the people around me that I nearly walked straight past my destination. After backtracking a few steps, I walked into the graceful three-storeyed building. The receptionist in the building crouched behind her desk, intense in her pursuit of reading. As I got closer, I noted the angular features and feathered arms. Unlike the few I¡¯d spotted outside, the wings appeared to be only half connected to her arms, with the two separating into individual limbs at her elbows. ¡°Hello!¡± she said cheerily. ¡°What can I do you for?¡± ¡°I was hoping to join up? Could you tell me how to apply?¡± My fidgeting was not entirely feigned. ¡°Ah, well, unfortunately we¡¯re not really looking for new talent right now. But if you want to leave your name and we¡¯ll get back to you?¡± The woman¡¯s smile was still in place, but I was expert enough in body language to know she had no intention of calling back. Since she wanted to be polite, I decided to go with the pleading, pitiful route. ¡°Can I at least show you what I can do? It¡¯ll be really quick. I won¡¯t make a mess either!¡± She looked at me for a moment. ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± An undercurrent of impatience lined her tone now. ~That won¡¯t last long.~ Ten seconds later, I was less smug and more worried that her eyes might actually fall out of her head. The girl was staring at the orange glow with the same expression as one who found the holy grail in a dump truck. She grabbed my hand and took off down a hallway. When we flew up some stairs I nearly ended up eating dirt, but lifetime coordination managed to save me. She burst into a room as wide as the building, panting slightly from her impromptu sprint. ¡°Thelyris, I believe you know that practice is never to be interrupted, which can only lead me to believe that an event on an apocalyptic level has occured. Pray tell, before we all cease to be.¡± The temperature was instantly freezing. It had nothing to do with the flames that winked out as we came in. My eyes landed on the eloquent speaker standing in the middle of the room. The tall man exuded a palpable air of sophication and authority. Soft scales decorated his arms below the rolled up sleeves, and his ruler straight back trailed down into a sweeping heavy tail. He faced away from the door, but his attention was undoubtably on us. ¡°Ah, sorry sir!¡± gasped out Thelyris. A red flush flowed into her face. ¡°I was just excited to show you, I completely forgot!¡±` ¡°Thelyris...¡± The atmosphere dropped another degree. I instinctively shivered. ¡°Right, sorry! Sir, you have to see what she¨C¡± I was grabbed, ¡°¨Ccan do! It¡¯s amazing!¡± The man finally turned. Dark hair framed a bespectacled face, which carried an expression of impatience and irritation. ¡°You know full well that I have no interest in recruiting every passerby that thinks they have skills to perform in my....crew....¡± His voice trailed off as he gawked at the unrestrained fire at my side. I simply smiled at him. After a moment he recalled himself, and looked me over critically. ¡°Take off the top,¡± he commanded. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°That formless rag you¡¯re wearing, take it off,¡± he said brusquely. I swallowed my urge to turn and leave, reminding myself this was the ideal setup. It took me a minute to struggle out of the bag and poncho. Standing in my form-fitting sundress, I was suddenly aware of the seven other women who had been in the room before I came in. Their gazes varied from curious to bored. ¡°Passable,¡± declared the lizardman. ¡°Show me again.¡± The flames ignited, and he nodded. ¡°You have a week to impress me. If you fail, don¡¯t even dream of darkening my doorstep, no matter what tricks you come up with. Thelyris, make arrangements for her. The rest of you, start from the top.¡± The girls drifted in position as I left. One cat-eared dancer nearly tripped as my flames held her eyes hostage. I smiled and looked down at my own handiwork. At my side, fire poured from the stump of my left arm. They spiralled together then flattened out, ending in five fiery digits. ¡°How do you manage to construct an arm out of fire!?¡± Thelyris asked me softly. ¡°Is it solid? Can you use it like a normal arm?¡± She reached out to hold it. Panicked, I immediately dispersed the flames before she burned herself. She looked at me sulkily. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just an image. It¡¯ll burn if it touches anything,¡± I shrugged apologetically. She pouted anyway as we made it to the counter. Her curiosity got the better of her a few seconds later. The questioning started up again as she dug through a drawer. ¡°Your control is amazing! I¡¯ve never seen someone hold fire in a static form like that. The best I¡¯d seen flow the fire through patterns.¡± I smiled wryly. In truth, I had no idea how to do it either. It was during my practice in the cave that I¡¯d discovered that as long as I manipulated the form and intensity myself, the helmet was willing to hold the magic for me. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Thelyris pulled out a measuring tape. Soon she had my measurements, and was staring at my bare left stump. I tried not to be too irritated. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I asked. She jumped, and waved her hands apologetically. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s just...I thought you¡¯d have a formula tattoo, since I didn¡¯t hear a chant when you did your magic.¡± ¡°Formula tattoo?¡± I cocked my head. ¡°You know, a magic circle tattooed in the skin so you don¡¯t have to chant the entire spell? Something like that fire arm has got to have a long incantation.¡± ~Uh-oh. This sounds like something super basic.~ Thankfully, the excited receptionist provided me with an out. ¡°Oh, no way! Do you recite it mentally? That¡¯s why your control¡¯s so good, if you¡¯re capable of controlling your mind through an entire chant!¡± I smiled and shrugged, as if she¡¯d seen through me. ~Got to remember that excuse for later.~ Nodding to herself, the harpy carried on. ¡°Okay, so I¡¯ll get you a practice uniform, I think we have an extra that¡¯ll fit you. I¡¯ll hand it to you tomorrow when you arrive. Where are you staying?¡± ¡°Actually, I was hoping you could point me in the direction of a hotel or something? I just arrived in Lineria today.¡± ¡°Really? Oh, then, you can stay with me?! That¡¯s perfect!¡± ¡°No, really, it¡¯s fine. I can find a place to stay myself.¡± ¡°No way! It¡¯s super expensive to stay in Lineria, you¡¯ll end up broke in a week.¡± The harpy crossed her arms and glared at me. It was the most intense expression I¡¯d seen on her plain face. She did have a point. I¡¯d normally have no issues with spending money, because I could always steal more, but I needed to learn more about this world before I could confidently go out robbing every Tom, Dick and Harry. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll stay with you then,¡± I said resignedly. ¡°But I¡¯d still like to explore the city a little.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± She glanced at the clock, then grabbed a single strapped bag. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early, but I can take my break now and show you around a bit.¡± As we explored the city, I looked around through my energy vision, tuning it down to the minimum. All of the building I saw were covering in varying intensities of green, along with focused sections of blue, red and purple. ~I¡¯d guess the green is some structural support magic? Although I¡¯ll need to test that before I try anything.~ We were walking back from an open air market when a sudden notification came up in my vision.
Incoming communication. Connecting¡­.
I turned to Thelyris hurriedly. ¡°I think I saw someone I know, can you stay here for one second?¡± Not giving her the chance to reply, I tossed my bag to her and dashed away, finding a small alley to duck into. A voice filtered into my head as I leaned against the wall. ¡°Hello? Piper, are you there? Hello?¡± ¡°Janus? Where the hell are you?¡± ¡°Still on Iburn. I¡¯m just checking to see if you got through alright. Are you somewhere safe?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in a city. Looks pretty similar to my own world.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good. Sit tight for a bit. It¡¯ll take a lot of energy to get you, if this connection is any indication, so I¡¯ll have to deal with Ore first.¡± ¡°That should be alright.¡± I paused. ¡°Is Elli¡­okay?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had a chance to look at her yet, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine,¡± came the casual response. ¡°What? It¡¯s been four DAYS! How could you not look at her!?¡± I was immediately incensed. ~What is this asshole? The woman got an arm through the stomach for you!~ There was a pregnant pause, then Janus¡¯ voice came with notes of surprise. ¡°Four days? Piper, it¡¯s barely been four minutes. Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Even this damn helmet you gave me says four days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange, the dilation shouldn¡¯t be that bad. Unless¡­.¡± I could almost hear his eyes widening. ¡°Dammit! Piper, I won¡¯t be able to come any time soon, but I¡¯ll send some help. It¡¯s going to take about 15-30 minutes, but with your skills you¡¯ll be able to last a few weeks, right?¡± ¡°What? Why would I need to wait a few weeks?¡± Now my anger was battling with confusion. ¡°I can¡¯t explain now, I need to go. Just hang in there for a couple of weeks, okay?¡± And with that hurried dismissal, the connection cut. The alley briefly experienced a violent rearrangement. As I walked out, I caught the eye of a terrified cat. ¡°Sorry,¡± I mumbled sheepishly. I quickly strode away from the evidence of my venting. In the time it took to make my way back to Thelyris, I went over the conversation again. Apparently time here was flowing faster than in Iburn. That meant even Janus¡¯ fastest response would likely be at least a few days. It didn¡¯t really change my plans though, since I¡¯d started out by assuming I¡¯d be stuck on this world forever. Thelyris was in a huff all the way back to the marble theatre building, but recovered her good humour as we stored things in the cold pantry and went around the living quarters. ¡°This is pretty big for just you,¡± I commented. ¡°Well, it was originally designed for the whole group, but most of them have their own places in the city, so they¡¯re not really interested.¡± The harpy removed her buried head from the cabinet it had been in. Accompanying it was a bucket, which she promptly filled with water. She marched over to one of the doors and rapidly spoke a few singsong words. The water in the bucket flew up and sprayed into the room she was facing. As I tried to peer around her, the water dashed back into the bucket, now a distinctively darker colour. ¡°There!¡± Thelyris proclaimed happily. She turned and jumped when she realised how close I was. ¡°I¡¯ve just dusted the room out. Feel free to make it completely your own, it hasn¡¯t been used in forever.¡± Following a few more organisational details, and a time to expect dinner, I was finally alone in my new room. I collapsed on the bed. Going over the day¡¯s events, I marvelled at how similar this world was to my own, while at the same time vastly different. I would unconsciously become settled at the information age culture, then see a floating vehicle rush down the street. From a professional view, this world would be more of a challenge. Not only would I have to learn magical security systems, but there were so many more obstacles to overcome in terms of logistics, alibis, the enhanced senses of live security......a wide grin spread itself over my face. This world was going to be so much fun. Chapter 11 A week later I collapsed on Thelyris¡¯ sofa. A moan of mingled pleasure and exhaustion leaked out of my mouth. I was getting on intimate terms with the pleasure of lying down when my winged host burst into the house. "Piper! Piperpiperpiper!" The energy in her voice indicated she''d found something interesting, to her at least. Over the last few days I''d learnt that Thelyris had only two mindsets; hyperactive and obsessive, or disinterested and dismissive. "Piper!" She screamed again as she leapt on top of me. I groaned at the additional pain. Reaching out a desperate hand to the other figure in the door, I managed to croak, "Save me..." "Okay Tiz, don''t kill the poor girl before you manage to tell her," said the woman, tail swishing as she walked over. Thelyris was pulled off in a tumble of feathers and cloth. As she popped up again, I glared at her. Unfortunately it didn''t seem to phase her in the least. "Piper, listen to me! It''s big news! Are you ready, Piper?" I was getting tired of my own name at this point. I''d forgotten about the helmet''s warning when she first asked and instinctively responded with my real name. It was telling of how off-pace I was with everything that I couldn''t even maintain the basics of a con. At least I stayed true to my backstory. "Okay Piper! Ready? Aristide made a decision! You''re in! Ouch!" Thelyris put a hand to her head and looked up at the catwoman next to her with an affronted look. "That hurt Hana!" "Well, you weren''t supposed to tell her the actual decision, were you?" The catwoman''s tail swept back behind her. "Well, the boss wants to see you, though I don''t know what he''s going to say now that birdbrain here spilt everything." She indicated the door with a jerk of her head. I was already sitting upright, my sore muscles forgotten. I scrambled for the door before realising I was still in my sweaty clothes. "Do I have time to clean up?" I asked, turning back to the other two. "Sure, he figured you''d need some time to move around after today''s workout." Hana replied. Thelyris'' head nodded next to her. I hurriedly stumbled to my room, stripped out of the practice gear and rushed into the rough stone bathroom. "Shower," I said, imagining high pressure warm water. I spent a few minutes enjoying the massage, giggling as I recalled Thelyris'' shocked face when I first told her I didn''t know the shower spell. It had taken five or six examples from Thelyris for the helmet to analyze and replicate this spell, but the flighty girl''s expressions over the learning period had definitely been worth it. I dressed and left the dorms with the others. Aristide had run me ragged this week, so knowing I''d managed to impress him gave me a glow of satisfaction. ~Though I suppose it was natural, since I''ve had practice. Speaking of, the man could give Lincoln a run for his money.~ Aristide was waiting for me in the hall I''d first encountered him in, talking to an elven dancer with rings of fire coiling around her arms. As they took notice of me, the woman''s attentive look became stone-faced, and the fire disappeared. "Ah, Piper. You were rather more expeditious than I expected. Were you in such eagerness to hear my decision?" A wry smile graced his scaled face. I displayed an expression of nervousness and embarrassment at his question. Of course I felt no such thing, but no need to seem overconfident. "Well, before that, I need to ask you something." His face turned serious. "Is the loss of your arm recent?" I nodded. "Ah, good to know. Your form is clearly attempting to balance according to the missing limb, but we can correct that since you only lost it recently." He smiled widely and clapped his hands together. "Congratulations Piper, you are now an official member of Aodhfionn. Welcome to the world of fire dancing." "Thank you!" I exclaimed, my portrayed excitement not entirely feigned. With this I had established a firm base for myself. Aristide nodded, and then turned back to the elf. Sensing the dismissal, I exited the room. "Adamaris really doesn''t like me, does she?" I whispered to Hana. "Ah, don''t take it personally. She''s always like that," said Hana, waving her hand. "Yeah, she was super rude to me, even though Aristide is my uncle!" chimed Thelyris. I blinked a few times at that revelation. The lizard and bird were related? ~I don''t even what to think about the genetics involved.~ My stomach growled. Hana giggled as she sent a sidelong glance at me. ¡°Feeling relieved?¡± I shrugged. ¡°After the workout I¡¯ve been through today, I think it would be more of a miracle if it wasn¡¯t making sounds.¡± The three of us made our way outside and walked down the street to the restaurant we had been eating at for the last few days. Hana had suggested it after I¡¯d discovered Thelyris could barely be trusted with a knife. How she hadn¡¯t lost her hands already was beyond me. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°By the way, how¡¯s the fire weaving coming along?¡± Hana asked. ¡°Oh, have you made any more cool tricks?¡± exclaimed Thelyris, spraying a mouthful of food in the process. ¡°Ew, Tiz! You¡¯re not a child, don¡¯t eat like one,¡± reprimanded Hana. Thelyris mumbled an apology and wiped up with a quick spell. Since there was no alert from the helmet, either it had already knew how to do it or it needed to see it again. ¡°I¡¯m getting there,¡± I smiled at Hana, ¡°I¡¯ve kinda got the idea for the basics, but I¡¯m still wrapping my head around the spell incantations. Thanks again for taking so much time to show me.¡± She waved away my thanks. ¡°Nah, it was fine. Plus it means more time to locate your mysterious spell tattoo.¡± Since I didn¡¯t know any of the words required to evoke magic, Hana was convinced that there was a fire spell tattoo somewhere on me, and spent half her time trying to view different parts of my body. Since it was a convenient alibi, and one that wasn¡¯t set in stone either, I¡¯d done my best to limit her efforts, and it had become something of a game between us. ¡°Still, I¡¯m glad Aristide assigned you to take care of me, and not Adamaris. I probably would have failed miserably,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll probably have to get her to train you, once you¡¯re better at this,¡± Hana replied. When I stared at her, she snorted at me, which was an interesting expression to see with her whiskers and ears. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Did you even notice the mana drain that third day? It¡¯s like you have limitless amounts of power to pour into spells. Any other one of us would have been gasping after a quarter of that. The boss will have Adamaris train you for sure.¡± Thelyris opened her mouth, closed it, swallowed, and tried again. ¡°Yup, Adamaris is amazing at fire magic. She¡¯s been with the boss since forever.¡± ¡°So she¡¯s the best one out of you guys?¡± I asked, waving the waiter over for dessert. ¡°I don¡¯t know...probably? You have to consider the amount of experience she has as well.¡± Hana¡¯s tone was evasive. The waiter was near, so I turned to face him just in time to see him trip spectacularly. The dishes he was supporting went flying, forcing Hana and I to twist away. As I looked around at the wreckage, I noticed Hana wincing as she sat down again. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°No, it just stings a little, I think one of the pieces grazed me,¡± she answered. ¡°Here, let me see,¡± and I picked up her foot. I couldn¡¯t really see, due to the dark color of her fur, so I ran my fingers along her leg. ¡°Here?¡± ¡°No, a bit to the left. Yeah, no, a bit down. There you go,¡± I couldn¡¯t see anything, and her fur didn¡¯t seem wet, so it seemed all right. I pressed a bit just to make sure it wasn¡¯t bleeding, and was surprised by a helmet message.
Unknown life essence detected. Category: carbon-based ML.
Lifeform model superior for goal. Extrapolating further model derivations...
Since the message didn¡¯t seem finished, I tried to make sense of what I¡¯d read. The first part must have been since I touched some of Hana¡¯s blood, but what was the goal? So far the helmet had seemed like the goal was to simply teach me magic, but why would it tell me Hana was more suited to it? Was it trying to annoy me? ¡°Are you falling in love with my fur now, or are you trying to see up my dress?¡± commented Hana. I shook myself out of my thoughts, realizing I¡¯d been squatting there holding her leg and staring. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, forcing a blush to my face. I needed to recover myself. ~There are too many unknowns here. Focus Piper. These people are cover, which means you need to keep your head in the game.~ I could practically see Lincoln¡¯s smug face. ¡°Should we go then?¡± asked Hana. I nodded and handed silvettes to Thelyris, who ran over to the counter. We made our way outside and bumped into a simply dressed boy, who immediately ran off. "What was with him?" Hana wondered. "He took one look at us and ran like his life depended on it." "No idea," I replied. "Maybe he was overwhelmed by our good looks?" Hana giggled. "Narcissism one, Piper zero."
AN: So some stuff came up irl that''s had me all over the place and uninspired storywise. Said stuff hasn''t gone away, but things are a little less chaotic now. Thanks and apologies to everyone following this story! Chapter 12 I blearily woke up amidst fur blankets and soft pillows. The delicious sensation of my bed pulled at my half-awake mind, but Thelyris was being unusually loud this morning. After a particularly loud crash, I decided to make sure she wasn''t about to burn the place down. To my surprise, I was greeted by the sight of Hana cooking in the kitchen. "Hey," I mumbled, wiping the sleep from my eyes. She spun to face me, an apology written across her face. "Sorry, I just wanted to surprise you....oh wow, that''s a new look." "Excuse me?" "Oh, no, just, you''re very...different. I''m just surprised, is all," she said quickly. I looked down at myself in my long pajamas. Pale feet, pale hand, missing arm. All accounted for. Was she that surprised about my morning look? Its not like I''d been using makeup this last week, and I was gorgeous no matter when it was anyway. I hovered between trying to go back to sleep and fully waking up. In the end, I decided on the couch. I could lie down and slowly wake up. I buried myself face-down in the couch. After a few moments, a warm blanket wrapped around me. "Thank you," I said to the couch. When I needed to breathe ¨C which came a lot sooner than expected due to the scent of sweat filling my nose ¨C I twisted my head and noted that the blanket was the same dark red fur one that had been in my room. It was still warm too. Wait. Dark red....fur? My closing eyelids snapped back open as I twisted to look at the fur. It began shrinking as I turned, and I pulled at it to examine it closer. The fur protested via a jolt in my lower back. ~What!?~ I stood up, fully awake now, and realised that the fur blanket was in fact, a thick furred tail. I stared at it for a moment, before a wave of irritation hit. Stomping off to the bathroom, I started swearing at Janus. ~First my arm, now this? What the hell is wrong with this helmet?! I can''t even sleep without something else happening to me.~ The view in the mirror revealed a furred body the same colour as my tail, with the fur fading as it reached the ends of my limbs. My ears were replaced by feline ears sitting on the top my head, and my previously green eyes had turned amber. I took a moment to breathe deeply. "System," I said carefully, "why has my body changed?"
Derived model capable of high energy compatibility. Deemed more suitable for host. Similarities with host original maintained for improved transition.
"That''s not what I want to know. Why do you do it without asking?!" I had to work to not shout at it. I hated people doing what they liked to me.
Host permissions irrelevant.
~. . . Are you shitting me?~ After I suppressed my anger, I realised I needed to explain my new form. Hana had already seen it, so it would only be a matter of time before everyone else found out as well. If I could even hide it. "Is there some way to hide this?" I asked. No response. Gritting my teeth, I tried again. "System, is there some way to hide the changes from my old body?"
Host fur capable of manipulation, extension and retraction. No known methods of physical disguise for additional features.
"And how exactly do I do that?" My self-restraint was running extremely thin at this point.
Unable to quantify explanation
"Are you SHITTING me?!"
Query unclear.
~Ooooooh I am going to kill Janus when I see him.~ * * * I was lying down in a forest a little ways outside of town, trying to organise my thoughts and feelings. Having so many changes sprung on me when I was already off-balance from this new world was wrecking my composure, and I needed that to carry out my plan. ~Always make sure you¡¯re the most knowledgable person in the room. Isn¡¯t that what you said, Lincoln? I doubt you expected me to ever be in a situation where I didn¡¯t even know common sense.~ I sighed at the remembrance of my mentor. Noticing my tail, I stopped it from waving for the fourth time. So far, that was about the extent of conscious control I had over it; for everything else the tail had a life of its own. Thankfully I¡¯d managed to deflect Hana¡¯s questions at breakfast, although why she¡¯d stayed over last night at all was a mystery to me. Thelyris didn¡¯t seem to care about my transformation, instead gushing about an animal discovery that had been in the news. The tail and fur were going to have to be explained at some point, though. I went over my ¡°background¡±, trying to figure out how to fit it in. ~So I was raised out in the middle of nowhere, by someone who taught me some fire control. That is also the reason I can¡¯t read and speak some sounds accented. I¡¯m here now because I loved the idea of fire dancing and want to get to know the world. Now, why would someone like that disguise their appearance? Better question, how did I disguise my appearance?~ I was lost in thought and barely registered my ears twitch at the increasing wind. I paid a lot more attention when I was accompanied by a thunderous crash nearby. My eyes snapped open, amber orbs searching for the cause. I didn¡¯t have to search far, as a serpentine neck reared up above the treeline, nostrils flaring as the massive beast sniffed the air. ~A dragon? Are you kidding?~ Seeing it turn away, I started moving away quietly. I wanted to be nowhere near that thing. Unfortunately, the dragon itself seemed to have other plans. Swinging its head back around, it started smashing its way towards me, leaping half the distance in one jump. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I gave up on stealth and went for a full sprint, exerting my legs to their maximum. I needed to get away as fast as possible. I immediately crashed into a tree. Shaking the stars away from my vision, I looked at the tree in confusion. How had I ended up crashing into it? I obviously aimed to run between the trees. Alertness overrode confusion as the ground shook again. I looked up to see the dragon at the same distance as before, and scrambled to my feet, only to trip as dizziness overwhelmed me. A crushing weight and thunder in my ears informed me that the dragon had caught up. I twisted underneath the paw pinning me down, trying to slip out as the jaws lowered towards me. ~Damn, game over so soon?~ I thought, ignoring the hot stinking breath. I¡¯d already panicked at my approaching death once, I would not be doing it again. ~I didn¡¯t even get to have a magical police chase.~ The jaws lowered until the huge maw was barely an arms length away, but to my surprise did not open. Instead I was treated to a humid blast of hot air as the creature snorted at me.
Wide spectrum mental communication.
I was assaulted by a wave of confusion, which was followed by an image of a red haired humanoid vulpine, light swirling around it, and an impression of an appetizing delicacy. Next my nose was flooded by a powerful musky scent, which was associated with a drool-worthy deliciousness. Lastly were impressions of almighty power and diminishment, after which the confusion hit again. My head now throbbing, I attempted to understand what was happening. The dragon was trying communicate? Then the image must have been me from its point of view. ~It wants to eat me, and I clearly appear delicious, so what is it confused about?~ ¡°Why are you confused?¡± I yelled at it. Not an easy task with a ten-ton dragon sitting on you. The image came back again, with a mental association to the scent. This scent was weaker though, and slightly different. I smelt similar to what it really wanted to eat? A lightbulb went off in my head. ¡°Hey, how about this? You don¡¯t eat me now and I¡¯ll find what you¡¯re looking for,¡± I pleaded. It was a hail mary, but I had nothing else to work with other than being eaten. A immense sense of pride hit me, along with a memory of tracking the scent over thousands of miles to reach here. Realising the dragon could easily find what it wanted, and it knew it, I sighed. The jaws parted and came closer, a huge glob of saliva falling on my face. There was a shattering sound, and the dragon roared as its head shot back. I turned my head to see five armoured men standing nearby, the two in the back with hands outstretched. A rush of air filled my lungs as the dragon moved to attack the newcomers. As I savoured not taking shallow breaths I took a look around. Armoured men were popping up from the trees in every direction, and I was smack in the middle of what looked like an impending warzone. I scrambled towards the encirclement, only to be blasted into a tree as the dragon¡¯s tail whipped around. I stumbled away, trying to get my bearings amidst the pain, only to have my head narrowly missed by a massive shard of ice. The ground shuddered and I realised I was back near the dragon¡¯s leg again. The pearly scales near its jaw were scarlet now, but there were ragged tears along its back and legs. I sprinted away, ears flat as I was deafened by the commotion. As I dashed past a few clanking knights, one of them stepped out in front of me, arms spread wide. I ducked under his arm, elbowing him in the side on reflex as I went. I wasn''t about to stop and play nice when there was a hungry dragon hunting me. Darting through the trees, I made a beeline straight back to the city. * * * ~Holy cow. That was a dragon.~ The reality of the situation caught up to me as I walked back into the theatre building. This latest escapade had really brought home the fact that I was in another world. I thought I''d adapted, given the variety of feathers, fur and scales I''d seen over the days, but all those were vaguely humanoid. If I squinted I could have pretended the whole city was in fancy dress. Not so much with the massive flying, fire-breathing beast. Thankfully there''d been no sign of pursuit once I''d made it clear of the forest, so I could only hope that the creature had been taking care of and wouldn''t be looking for me again. After taking a shower ¨C cleaning out the forest debris in my tail took up most of the time ¨C I sat down and went over tasks that needed to be done. I needed to learn more about magic basics, and since I couldn''t ask anyone here that left me with finding someone outside or learning to read and finding some books. Books seemed like the more reliable option, which meant I needed to do more experimental practice to keep up with the fire dancing training while I learnt to read. I also needed to find some way to explain my look, or demonstrate how it was hidden, so that people didn''t start poking holes in my cover story. Normally my cover story could withstand a missile, but this one was so flimsy I was worried it would blow away with the wind. All that on top of learning about security measures in this world and things of appreciable value so that I could go out plundering. A sigh leaked out. "Now now, no work, no play," Lincoln''s phantom voice echoed. Not that I ever actually saw my old mentor do any work, it all tended to suddenly show up done. "Fire," I muttered, and blue flame puffed into existence in my outstretched palm. Another sigh escaped. "System, why is the fire blue?" I asked tiredly.
Host body capable of greater energy circulation. Maximum output increased. Maximum volume of control increased.
"Can I change it back to red?" Somehow I didn''t imagine Aristide appreciating my new contribution to his artistic vision. I''d already learnt he was a man who lived for his art.
Flame colour within host control.
I focused on that mental tickle, throttling it slightly, and sure enough the flame changed to a flickering orange. Somewhat relieved, I bounced the flame on my palm, thinking. As my mind wandered, the flame drifted between blue and red, eventually circling my head like a police themed moon.