《Life In Purgatory》 Prelude-Purgatory... Prelude - Purgatory¡­ A conglomerate of memories floats beyond time and space muttering to itself. ¡°Oh no what just happened! Wait, where am I? Am I dreaming?¡± but the words fall silent. It tries to move, to speak, but it cannot. Its very being is nonexistent in this place. No sight, taste, touch, smell, or sound can be conceived by it. To it there is no light or dark, no white or black, not even a form of background. It is as if those concepts never existed. Not a single sense exists, not even the sense of time. For only its mind and soul remain of its previous body. It is stuck alone with nothing but degrading thoughts. ¡°The last thing I remember is¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Unable to even hold a thought the entity continues. ¡°What is my name again? Tom? Susan? Ice-cream? Wait Ice-cream isn¡¯t a name¡­ is it? Ice-cream is good right? No it¡¯s bad! Bad for you or bad tasting?¡± Unbeknownst to the lifeless existence of swirling thoughts and emotions a separate being watches it from another world. This being ponders about the dead human that has formed into a conglomerate of memories inside purgatory. ¡°Another earthling has died¡­ Hmmm maybe... just maybe this one will work. Either way I will force it upon him.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No I think ice cream dumped me once and that¡¯s why it¡¯s bad¡­ Yeah that sounds right! No no no that¡¯s not what I¡¯m supposed to be thinking about! I need to wake up from this dream to go do that thing I¡¯m late for!¡± The decades pass by, or do only a few seconds pass? To this grouping of thoughts and fading memories it does not matter. When the memories begin to finally fade into oblivion and dissolve into nothingness like the world around it something or someone rips it from this place to put it in a new world. ¡­. The fading set of memories is unleashed into a new body and a new world. ¡°Oh wait I can see darkness again! And some type of weight, where am I? Actually this doesn¡¯t feel right; it doesn¡¯t even feel human¡­ What am I?¡± For now this entity will remain clueless of its past its future, but slowly both sides will reveal themselves. Chapter 1-You have died Chapter 1-You Have Died My body feels foreign to me. I can¡¯t feel my hands or arms. Bubbles gurgle up from bellow popping near my head. I¡¯m floating inside of some thick slimy green liquid. A large tube is inside my throat and a mask covers my face. I can¡¯t breathe but I also don¡¯t feel the need to breathe. I try to reach out in front of me with my hand but instead I extend a strange brown lump. Did I lose my hand? While I question what is going on a red light flashes outside my spherical chamber and a noise like a truck backing up echoes in my ears. The chamber opens up and I collapse on the ground. I rip the mask off tearing the tube from my throat. Gasping for air I examine my body. I pull my hands near my face, but instead of hands the tips of brown feather covered wings appear in my vision. I look down at my naked slime covered body and my eyes widen in horror. My arms are replaced with the brown wings of a giant eagle. My feet are yellow talons with razor sharp white claws. Feathers protrude from my back. What on earth have I become? A high pitched voice comes from my left. ¡°Specimen number 35 of the gene splice experiment. Vitals check; heart beat normal, breathing normal, cognitive functions normal. Welcome to the world my friend¡± A man in a white trench coat and a silver clip board stands over me smiling. Large glasses frame his face and his silver hair stands straight. He lists off a variety of things but I do not understand a word he says. I stare blankly at the man speaking a foreign language. Why is he not freaked out by my strange appearance? Did he do this to me? A second man perfectly mirroring the first man¡¯s appearance stands on the other side of me saying. ¡°Let¡¯s see how he survives in the stadium, we haven¡¯t produced any flying type splicers in a while.¡± What language do these men speak, maybe if I try talking to them they will help me. I open my mouth to speak. ¡°Sqeuuuaaakkkk¡± What the hell was that? Why can¡¯t I talk, did I just make some type of bird noise? The first man rubs his chin as he speaks. ¡°Do we really want to kill him that quickly?¡± The second man puts his hands on his waist ¡°You always treat the test subjects too nicely, it¡¯s not like they have feelings or emotions!¡± The first man raises his shoulders in a matter of fact gesture then sighs ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, let¡¯s send him to the arena, should we give him a weapon?¡± The second man scoffs. ¡°And how will he hold this weapon? With his wings? No just toss him in there!¡± He then walks over to a large green button and slaps it with his clip board. ¡°Off you go!¡± My vision becomes fractured as images of a large metal disk fill my vision. My vision interchanges between the two men and the image of the metallic disk until I see only the new one. I have been teleported somewhere. I¡¯m in a glass tube with a metal floor. The room looks like a metal coliseum. A large crowd of people fill the stands cheering and clapping. Across the room a metallic man with glowing red eyes stands at the center. Several other glass containers with strange animal like creatures sit in each one. One of the creatures has the head of a rhino but the body of a large muscular man. Another one had the body of a giant spider, but where the eyes and head would be the upper portion of a human women exists. She looks like some type of spider centaur, while the man reminds me of a Minotaur. Am I also some kind of strange mutant? A large sound similar to a gunshot rings in my ears. The glass surrounding me and the other nine beings shatters and dissolves into the air before hitting the ground. A surge of energy fills the crowd and their cheers escalate. The strange metallic man charges directly at me. In a panic I jump into the air and flap my arms vigorously. I soar in the air, I¡¯m flying! I¡¯m actually flying! I yell with excitement! ¡°Sqeeeeeaaaakkk!¡± But my avoidance is short lived; the metallic man raises his fist in my direction. A sound like ratatatata comes from his arm. Bullets fly from his wrist cutting through my wings and abdominal. I fall from the sky into a heap on the ground with a loud thud. A metallic taste coats my tongue. Hot green liquid pores out of the fresh bullet wounds. Is that my blood? I feel weak, my vision is fading. The sound of clashing metal rings in my ears and then nothing but silence. ¡­ Ugh? The pain is gone! This place feels familiar. It¡¯s that same place of nonexistence! Is it some type of purgatory? Did I die? Or was that the second time I died? Nonsense! This is all just some giant hallucination or dream. No it felt way too real to be a dream, but this place well it feels exactly like a dream. I try to yell and scream but nothing comes out, I guess that makes since I don¡¯t have a body. Ugh I get this weird forgetful feeling; I think I¡¯m beginning to fade away¡­ ¡­ The darkness fades from my vision and in its place I am met with a strange screen, one that reminds me of some type of video game menu.
Status Window
Name:???Alignment:Death
Level:35Class:Undead Warrior
Race:UndeadGender:??
Titles
??
Fame:??Infamy:??
-
Health:2040 / 2040Health Regen:14.5 / Sec
Mana:400 / 400Mana Regen:0 / Sec
Stamina:!!! / 2305Stamina Regen:16.5 / Sec
-
Strenght:147Agility:75
Vitality:145
Intelligence:5Wisdom:0
Fortitude:48Luck:0
-
Attributes: Complete Obedience of summoner. Skills: Piecing Resistance, Unlimited Stamina, Auto Equip Gear Purgatory player Skills: Life Retention, Memory Retention.
I look down from the menu and see my own body. My skin, my muscle, all of it is gone. I still have a human body, but it is nothing but pale white bones. Metal and brown leather gauntlets cover my hands. A highly worn grey mantle with slivers of rusted iron hang from my shoulder blades covering my exposed ribcage. In my right hand is a short sword with the tip broken off and a few jagged pieces missing along the edge. My left hand holds a wooden shield with metal fittings and broken arrows protruding from its front face. A pressure builds around the outside of my head along with a cold hard iron like feeling I assume it¡¯s from some type of helmet. I appear to be some type of undead warrior. There are several similar looking creatures around me wearing armor that resembles mine. The Cobblestone ground matches the tall over bearing walls on all sides. Several yards in front of the group of skeletons a wooden door shakes as something bangs on it from the other side. I hear a raspy old voice yell ¡°Attack the soldier¡¯s don¡¯t let them pass!¡± It came from a dark robed figure that was behind me. His face is impossible to identify under the shadows of the black cloak. The figure is horribly hunched over and disfigured. A brown wooden and knotted staff is in his hand supporting his weight as he points in the direction of a wooden door with his pale wart covered hand. He had a menacing and over powering feel to him. Somehow I feel connected to him and his thoughts. I feel anger and fear radiating from him. He was commanding me and several tens of other undead warriors around me to attack whatever is behind the wooden door. After hearing his words I can feel strength I have never felt before radiate within and around me. It feels almost like the gushing of blood flowing in and out of my body. It is very subtle yet distinct. It is a feeling I have never felt before. I feel powerful, almost like I could do anything in this world. I feel extremely light and quick. My senses are on high alert. I can hear the sounds of clashing metal and stomping feet beyond the door. I stare at the status window in front of me. What do all of these things mean? It feels as though I am playing a video game yet it¡¯s too real for this to be some game. Is this some virtual reality or am I not truly dead and only being played with? If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The status window disappears from my sight with a ping noise. Simultaneously the wooden gate slams open and an avalanche of iron clad warriors march inside. The men in iron let out a battle cry and charge toward my group of skeleton warriors. ¡°Now, attack!¡± The old hooded man rasps out his command and my body moves automatically. I charge into one of the men opposing us with my shield and push him back. I slice down at him with my sword but he quickly parries it. ¡°Die you undead menace!¡± He shouts while throwing a counter attack. The tip of his sword slide through my bones and into my rib cage. For a moment I wince thinking I am about to die but I feel nothing more than a small pressure with his attack. I look him in the face and open my mouth to talk but only a strange rattling noise comes out ¡° rtttle ktttle rtttle!¡± It sounds like a mocking laugh or a crazed battle cry. More rattling goes off all around me from my fellow skeletons. The look on the man in front of me is one of fear, but determination. He pulls his sword out from my ribs and slashes at me from above. I pull my shield up to block the attack. The heavy impact rattles the bones of my body stunning me for a brief moment. The opponent¡¯s blade gets sent back up toward the sky, and after a moment of hesitation I swing my jagged blade toward him. The blade strikes his stomach and grazes past him. ¡°auughhhhaaagh¡± the man screams in pain even though the cut was shallow. He looks into the sockets of my skull and glares angrily at me. ¡°I¡¯m not done yet!¡± He lifts his sword again and charges. I step toward him while pushing his blade aside with my shield. His sword glances off the shield sending the blade into the ground making him stumble closer to me. Simultaneously I thrust my rusted sword at him piecing his ribs. I can feel his muscles and organs obstruct my blade. Blood seeps out and around my blade. He coughs up blood and groans for a moment then collapses on the ground. I rip the blade out of his body. This is the first time I have killed another person directly. A million thoughts enter my mind but I quickly brush them away. I don¡¯t have time I must prepare myself for the next attack *Ding*
250 XP gained
The message quickly fades away. I hear cries of pain mixed with rattling noises all around me. I search my surroundings and several other skeletons have killed their opponents, however several skeletons have also been slain as well. The fight continues as many soldiers and skeletons charge at each other. Before I can continue attacking an over whelming pressure comes over me and I turn toward the direction of the broken gate. I see three warriors that outshine the rest. The two in the front are both adorned in shiny silver armor that covered their entire bodies. While the one in back wears a dozen fabrics, almost like some type of priest. The one on the left side had his helmet open face; I could see his extremely confident smile. He held a golden spear that was at least 8 feet long. A golden serpent spirals around the staff. A trail of red fur attached at the end and at the point of contact of the bladed portion. The blade looking like that of a large falchion with white tribal symbols burned into the sides. His armor contains mostly white and silver leather. The vital organs and shoulders have heavy plate armor covering them. Small silver gauntlets cover his hands, and sharp looking metal boots go up to slightly below his knees. He holds is body sideways as to make less area for the enemy to attack, obviously a master fighter. He gave of the strength and speed of many men, while simultaneously being non-threatening. The man on the right being of a larger stature seems to be well over six feet tall. He is completely clad In heavy armor. He holds a large white great shield with a blue dragon carved into it. The eyes of the dragon made of some type of rainbow colored gym that I have never seen before. He had a large hand and a half knight¡¯s sword in the other hand embedded with several colors of gym and a golden handle. His armor consists of mainly heavy plates and chain mail covering his joints. His helmet had a blue trail of fur coming off the back that flapped in the wind. He gave off an aura of strength and valor, making any good man want to follow in his path. The third person being of smaller stature and standing behind the front two is covered in a brilliant multi layered white cloak with golden edges and hems. Each layer covering more and more until the entire body is covered from head to toe. A hood covers the person¡¯s head, but bleach blond hair, fair white skin and bright blue eyes shine from under the hood revealing a woman with great beauty. She had a silver chain wrapped around her neck. The chain holds a silver cross the size of a small book. Similar jeweler is around each of her wrists. She gives off a feeling of grace and wisdom unmatched by any other. These three warriors are of a much higher caliber then the rest of the men. They would be considered the heroes of any fairy tale book. The man on the right claps his sword against his shield and yells ¡°These monsters don¡¯t stand a chance, do you really think they will stop us?¡± Behind me I hear a strange chant coming from the old man. ¡°Dark lord of ice and death¡­¡± ¡°I guess we better not hold back if he¡¯s going to summon that thing.¡± The man with the spear looks in my direction. It looks as if he winks before giving off a small laugh. Fire engulfs his spear and hands and a golden light fills his eyes, he is about to attack. The woman in the back casts a bright white light from her hands temporally stunning and blinding me. Several seconds later when I snap out of being stunned and can see again the front row of skeletons has been mowed down with their bones scattered across the ground. The giant swordsman is steadily marching forward bashing skeletons with his shield and blocking any on coming attack. His sword slices through bones like butter. Charging forward like a tank, he is completely unfazed by the weak skeleton warriors grouping around him. The spearman is jumping around wildly stabbing all the skeletons with pinpoint accuracy, instantly having them fall apart. Fire reaps anything that gets near him, scorching the skeletons around him, but leaving the human soldiers unharmed. Any attacks that come his way are avoided and countered with either a pillar of fire or a flame engulfed spear completely over taking the skeletons defenses. The agile and fluid movements he makes are like that of a leaf drifting in the wind. The robed women in the back is casting white balls of light at any undead warriors that try to flank the other two instantly disintegrating them to nothing but ash. If a soldier falls back she rests her hand on them and they are bathed in a white light before rushing back into the fight. I charge at the shielded warrior and slash down at him with all my strength, he slices upwards at my wrist severing my hand and forcing my sword to drop to the ground. He kicks me in the rib cage causing me to fly back several feet and land on my back. I am stunned for a few second then begin to get back up to attack once again. When I am not even completely stabilized a light sliver of light with a golden rod behind it fills my vision and I feel hot metal piece my skull. Darkness fills my sight and a status window pops up. *Ding*
You have Died.
¡­ A familiar feeling envelops me. My body is missing and I am nothingness once again. I guess that window that popped up was telling the truth. I died again. I died really quickly; I didn¡¯t even get a chance to know what was going on. I was some type of weird skeleton. Will I be revived again now? Well anyways for now I am in that weird world that I came into the last time I died, what is this place? It has to be purgatory like I previously guessed. It¡¯s like some type of waiting room between deaths. I wonder if I will be resurrected again or if I¡¯ll be stuck here forever¡­ It¡¯s truly an empty world, nothing here but myself. I can¡¯t even tell how long I have been in this world. I don¡¯t want to be in this place, there is something wrong about this place. ¡­ I have been in purgatory for a much longer than the first two times around, I hope I get resurrected soon... What if I never get resurrected again? I don¡¯t want to be here anymore, I hate this place! I want to get out now! Someone please help me! [¡­pa¡­] Huh? What was that? I felt like I heard something in the back of my mind. [¡­d¡­] There it was again! What the hell was that? I thought I was alone in this purgatory. [..no¡­] No? Are they trying to communicate with me? Hey who the hell are you! What is this place? Help me! [¡­] Hello? [..] What was that noise? Was there ever really something there? What can I do to make it happen again? [¡­¡­..] Silence¡­ complete silence¡­ maybe I¡¯m going crazy. ¡­ Finally I¡¯m beginning to fade away once more. I hope I never come back to this place again. ¡­ *********************************************************************************************************** AN: I do look at comments in all chapters that are made even when they are an older one such as this one. So please do make comments about any chapter at any time. This is a work in progress so if you have any way I can fix something or make it better please do tell me. chapter 2-Pyromancer Chapter 2: Pyromancer ¡°Whaauuuhhh whaauuuuhhh¡± The tight pain in my chest it burns. Is this what breathing for the first time is like? God being reborn sucks! I never want to die again. And why am I crying so much. ¡°Aris look it¡¯s a boy!¡± At this loud noise ringing in my ear I finally open my eyes to see a giant head inches away from me. It¡¯s a man¡¯s head with red eyes and red-orange hair. His lips flap about and more ringing echoes in my ears. ¡°Honey what should we name him?¡± ¡°Shut up and give me my baby!¡± A different noise reaches my ears than the low pitched one form the man. Almost immediately after the noise stops coming from the other side I feel movement and an exchange of pressure on my body before my eyes begin resting on women¡¯s face. She has green eyes and red hair. She smiles at me so sweetly I almost think she will eat me. Does she think I am ice-cream? ¡°Deadra.¡± ¡°Aris what did you say?¡± ¡°I will name him Deadra Freyfire.¡± ¡°Deadra? Deadra Freyfire. I love it!¡± ¡°Hehe so Deadra what do you think?¡± The only word I can really pick up form these people is Deadra. Is that a name for something? Does it mean ice-cream? Do they think I am a Deadra? I am not a Deadra I must clear up this misconception! ¡°Guh! Guah googoo.¡± Dam my vocal cords don¡¯t work. ¡°Oh Feolra I think he likes it!¡± ¡­ Since that day I learned many things. Such as the language and that my new name is Deadra Freyfire. Right now I am sitting on the flat elevated rock we use as the kitchen table. This table is sounded by several chairs and is the same room as or living room and attached to the kitchen. Right now mother Aris is cooking lunch. ¡°HMMMM hm HMMM hMM HM¡± She love humming lullabies to me, and for some reason my three year old self really enjoys it! I think it has something to do with the chemicals of the brain but it seams although I retain memories I still have emotions and feeling equivalent to that of someone my age. I really dread going through puberty again. Now for my favorite part of this new world. ¡°Mommy make fire!¡± Without skipping a beat she leaves the boiling pot of stew behind and turns to me. Reaching her hand out in front of my face by a few feet she twists her palm upwards. The back of her hand glows red and an instant later a small bright orange flame with red tips ignite above her hand. The floating ball of fire swivels and turns stretching its little red limbs into the sky. The shadows of the flame dance and flicker around the brick structure of our humble home. The light illuminates my mother and I¡¯s olive skin and orange red hair. I giggle and clap with pleasure. ¡°Heheh my turn!¡± I stick my hand in the air and pull energy from my body into the focal point of my hand. The birth mark of our people in the shape of a single candle flame grows a dim red as the pour surges through my soul and into this world. Heat wells up inside of me and I become hotter and hotter until¡­ nothing. Absolutely nothing happens. Developing a pouting face I cross my tiny little arms in front of me angrily. Due to my sorrow the birth mark on my right hand glows a tinge of blue. Mother¡¯s hand glows a light yellow before patting my head gentle and smiling. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad Deadra, you can¡¯t use fire until after you go through the ceremony at the age of ten. The only thing you can do is keep your body warm and if you¡¯re really talented maybe even heat up objects around you. Now why don¡¯t you go play with your brother Bois?¡± Getting my almost hourly attempt to do magic I uncross my arms and scurry off the table to my small bedroom. After a few hours of running around and wrestling with my older brother bois Night fall descends and our families nightly ritual begins. Our father Feolra comes home with fresh meat and vegetables he caught and gathered from the hunting trip. Setting everything in the kitchen he kisses Aris. ¡°How is everything going at home today?¡± ¡°Great, why don¡¯t you gather the children and we can eat.¡± Father rushes over to us and jokingly chases us about the house making silly noises and growls. Bois takes off without warning while laughing ¡°Deadra run!¡± I do as he commands and we separate in opposite directions. Using a small trick I picked up over time I manually heat up the muscles in my legs to help me move ever so slightly faster. It is kind of a cheat way of skipping the warm up before a work out. Moments later we are all sitting at the table eating the stew mother cooked after she got home from work. Mother glances over at Bois. ¡°So do you remember anything I taught you in class today?¡± With a mouth full of delicious beef stew Bois reassures her with a ¡°Hmmm¡± sound. ¡°Oh and what do you remember?¡± ¡°Some reading stuff and things about Xeodra!¡± ¡°Now please tell us a bit more, and how about tonight you try reading your little brother a bed time story?¡± Putting his finger to his lips in thought he makes a small humming noise. His mark glows purple before dropping his hand and shaking his head. ¡°Ok! Xeodra was a great hero that help founded our civilization and fought some really big monster!¡± Obviously my brother summarized quite a lot. Normally my parents read to use every night and I usually crawl on their laps to read along. It didn¡¯t take me long to teach my self to read, and when father is out hunting and mother is teaching all the kids in the village I am at home reading every book I can get my hands on. Witch only consist of some geography, a few encyclopedias of monsters, and a collection of short stories on Xeodra the legendary hero who could move mountain and fly in the air. He could summon other worldly monsters and had the power of the gods. He was basically an indestructible being who saved many small towns and eventually saved the whole world from some evil god or something. I think it is all just made up or over exaggerated but there is no proof for either side since history gets easily lost or exaggerated in this world. Laughing at my brother¡¯s small summery Aris looks at Feolra next. ¡°So what monster did you collect for tomorrow¡¯s dinner?¡± ¡°Oh it was quite good! Today we caught a pack of quad-wolves...¡± Our dinner continued on like this as father told the story of his great adventures outside the city walls. After dinner mother brings Bois and I to the river on the side of the village. The river separates the village from the forest of red trees. On the other three sides of our small village are ten foot tall stone and brick walls that separate us from the Great Plains to the south and the mountain range to the north. However since we live in the mountains it all just looks like giant hills in every direction. Mother washes me up in the river always heating the water before pouring it on me. Bois is old enough to clean himself so he plays around on the shallow part of the river. Even though our species of Pyromancer are natural swimmers with are light and agile bodies he still stays away from the center. This river is huge! It¡¯s almost thirty feet across and Suzaku knows how deep it is. On the way home I look over my mother¡¯s shoulder toward the village. There are many houses made of red and brown rock melded together most likely by our races strong fire magic. The windows seem to be home made and remind me of a dyed glass. The houses all vary greatly in shape and structure but mostly stay about the same size. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. She puts me and Bois to bed praying to our god Suzaku. ¡°We thank you for the gifts you gave us. May the fire in our souls forever burn thangs to your blessing.¡± Kissing each of us on our birth marks, which are symbols of Suzaku she leaves the room blowing out the candle and leaving us in the dark. Brother quickly falls asleep on the top bunk above me. Before I sleep I heat up the blankets around me making them feel like they came out of the drier from my previous world. Wrapped up in the freshly warm blankets I quickly fade into dream land. ¡°Bois! Deadra! Wake up and eat breakfast!¡± Bois hops off the top bunk and lightly lands on the ground while I race in front of him out of bed. He quickly over takes me and reaches the kitchen table before me. ¡°Slow down you two!¡± Mother attempts to scorn us but I¡¯m not falling for it through her giant smile and slightly yellow glowing hand. We have thinly sliced quad-wolf meat sizzling on our places like bacon. The scent of smoked meat wafts into my nose. ¡°Alright Bois lets go to class now. Deadra be a good boy and don¡¯t leave the house.¡± Aris kisses my forehead as she takes Bois by the hand and leaves the house. Now I am all alone and stuck in the house. I begin my regiment of training. Since I am still to young to begin anything to hard I simply do as many sit ups and pushups as I can while forcibly heating up the muscles I use with my infantile fire magic. Or better called heat magic since I can¡¯t produce a flame yet. After that I climb any and everything in the house. I also lug around the monstrously sized books around. Ok they are normal sized books but I am three years old! I rinse and repeat everything until I am dead tired and then begin some meditation. I climb up on one of our stone chairs and cross my legs placing my hands in my lap and close my eyes. No one else in this world seems to meditate; I guess it is something from my previous life. While I meditate I try to pull heat and energy from the world around me and individually heat up each of my muscles, bones, tendons, and skin. Slowly rolling the heat within my body around and increasing it slightly. Each day I notice I can control it better and heat myself more and more. My goal right now is to create fire before I take the ceremonial test. Just think what my parents faces would be like if I could do that! Bois would be so proud of me to! And when I am old enough to run around the village and meet other kids I could show off or somehow become their leader! ¡°Crunch¡± The sound of footsteps slip through the front door distracting me from my meditation. ¡°Mom, Bois your home!¡± Mother and Bois walk in the door, but unusually don¡¯t close it behind them like usual. Another little boy my brothers age appears behind Bois, and shortly thereafter a women holding a small baby with blonde hair. Mother bends down looking at me and in a cutesy voice says ¡°Deadra, we brought you a friend to play with today, their name is Lucarus¡± she smiles and points at the boy in the other woman¡¯s arms. He looks to be about the same age as me. ¡°Lucarus, go play with Deadra.¡± The woman then sets her child down and he runs toward me. She then starts an idle conversation with my mother Aris. The blond boy looks up at me with his blue eyes. He looks like he is about to speak but I make a movement to jump from the chair first. ¡°Hello, my name is Deadra Freyfire, I am three years old. What about you?¡± I hold out my hand to give him a hand shake but he looks unsure of what to do. ¡°I... am Lucarus Fulbreath. Ummm I also three!¡± He holds old three fingers with a toothy smile. He has light orange almost blonde short messy hair. Half his teeth are missing and he has snot running down his nose. ¡°Hmmm¡± I don¡¯t have any friends outside of my family. This could be a good opportunity. I always wanted to have a childhood friend. Alright it¡¯s decided. ¡°That¡¯s so cool! Do you want to be friends? We could play lots of games!¡± The boy looks at me with a startled look then a light shines in his eyes. His birthmark begins to glow yellow. ¡°Yeah!¡± this is the only word that comes from his mouth. Over the next few years I shall train, I mean play with my new minion, I mean friend Lucarus! Yes this will be great! Lucarus shoves his finger up his nose and pulls a large brown nugget from it. Eyeballing the nugget he makes a snap decision. Opening his tiny mouth wide he inserts the disastrous object into an irretrievable place. ¡°Hey you know eating your boogiers will give you bad karma!¡± ¡°What¡¯s kama?¡± ¡°When you do something bad you get bad karma, when you do something good you get good karma.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Deciding I really needed to hammer this in thought of a plan. ¡°Ugh yeah really!¡± I slowly walked over to the book shelf as Lucarus followed me. ¡°And I bet since you ate that just now you will have bad karma, In fact.¡± I position him in front of the bookshelf. ¡°Something bad might happen to you soon.¡± Looking up I see the vicariously sitting book that I barely placed on the shelf earlier. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure but if you gather up to much bad karma bad things will happen like¡± I shrug my shoulders ¡°something falling form the sky and hitting you on the head.¡± I place my hand on the bookshelf forcing all my weight on it in as unnoticeable fashion as I could. ¡°I don¡¯t be-Ouch!¡± after a moment of shaking my self the book dislodges and lands squarely on his head. This monstrously large for a three year old book causes a slight bump to form and tears to swell in his eyes. ¡°Huff, sniffle¡­ How do fix Kama?¡± ¡°Well since something bad already happened its already fixed, but If you want to negate future bad karma you need to get good karma!¡± ¡°How I get good kama!¡± ¡°You do something good or nice for someone, Like go complement our parents or even me, or if you want a lot of good karma you need to train really hard and get strong!¡± Balling his fists up in front of him and shaking his head he makes a hmph noise. ¡°How I know what good o bad Kama?¡± ¡°First of all it¡¯s called Karma, secondly I will tell you anytime something is good or bad Karma, I am not the one making these rules so never get mad at me, I am a simple messenger from Suzaku who is here to help you learn properly and avoid receiving bad karma.¡± From that day fourth Lucarus would mysteriously get hit or in trouble whenever he did something I deemed as ¡®bad karma¡¯ invoking. However whenever he did something like training or that made me happy in some way he would mysteriously find small treats or other positive things from the world around him when I said something gave him good karma. And that is the story of how I turned an innocent little boy into a training maniac who fears all Karma related things. Chapter 3- Birthday Chapter 3 ¨C Birthday! ¡°Happy birthday Deadra!¡± My mother wakes my brother and I up while opening the door to our room. My brother excitedly jumps out of bed, he lives on the top bunk of the bunk bed our father made for us. My brother pokes his head out from the side of my bed and my mother comes closer to the bed. ¡°Happy fifth birthday brother! You¡¯re old enough to go to school with me now!¡± He smiles happily wile giggling with excitement. My mother Aris puts her hand on my head as I begin to sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and your brother Bois go to the river and wash up while your father and I set up breakfast.¡± This is a strange request, mother never allows us to go to the river without her, maybe it is because Bois is almost old enough to venture outside the village, and he will be turning ten years old soon. The river is not very dangerous nor is it very far away, but does this mean I can finally leave the house without Aris or Feolra? Mother smiles and leaves the room and my brother grabs my hand and drags me out of bed. I dress into my usual outfit. Hardened brown leather boots, black loose fitting leggings made of something similar to cotton. A greyish brown shirt that fits around me perfectly, not to tight or to loose. All of these clothes are hand-me-downs from my brother Bois. He has clothes that are identical but slightly bigger and taller. We rush out of the house and go to the river. When we arrive I do not bother taking off my clothes. ¡°Wait don¡¯t jump in the river with your clothes on brother, we won¡¯t be able to dry them until we get back home!¡± he was already striping when he said this. I turn to Bois and hold out my hand, ¡°brother can you keep a secret?¡± he nods his head slightly and his birth mark begins to faintly glow white. Could white be the color of curiosity? Or maybe it means he is lying or nervous? I do not know but then I continue with my speech. ¡°Watch this very carefully.¡± I stick my hand in front of his face with my palm toward the sky, my fingers slightly curved inwards. A small flame the size and shape of one from a lighter ignites in my hand. The especially small and timid fire flickers a few short moments before extinguishing completely. After five years of living in this world and pushing myself far above and beyond that of someone my own age, I did the impossible. I created fire no matter how small; I still created fire before I had the ceremony of Suzaku. Either due to my unusual meditating methods or my hourly outbursts of trying to make flames, I final broke through and did what my parents said was impossible! Bois¡¯ mark glows yellow with excitement as he opens his mouth with aww. ¡°How¡­ How is that possible?¡± ¡°I have been practicing since I was younger while everyone was away from home! But remember not to tell anyone I can do this. Lucarus only knows I can dry clothes and boil water, he does not know I can make fire yet. Otherwise no one knows of my abilities.¡± I smile happily with my ability to impress my older brother. ¡°Ok, I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone, but only if you start teaching me how to do it also! I can¡¯t let you be ahead of me!¡± He then rushes over to me and tackles me into the water. My head sinks down below the rushing current for only a moment as I roll on top of him. Quickly he pushes me of with his arms as he springs up off the ground. Our hands interlock as we collide once again face to face. Over powering me by both size and strength he pushes me down and dives on top of me holding my hand s against the river bank. ¡°Ok, ok I surrender! I¡¯ll teach you after school gets out. But we need to do it somewhere no one will see us!¡± Getting off me and brushing his dripping wet clothes off he says ¡°I¡¯m still your big bro so its only natural I would be stronger.¡± Smilling he reaches a hand out to help me up. After we get out of the water I dry my clothes by heating my body from head to toe and then having it radiate out onto the clothing. I then put heat into my hand and begin drying my brother¡¯s clothes. While drying his clothes I ask ¡°are mom and dad making a surprise party like they did for your birthday?¡± His face distorts into one of shock and his mark begins to glow light blue. Dark blue means sorrow, so what does light blue mean? Worry perhaps? He then tries to gather his words and covers his mark with his hand mumbling for a moment then looking me in the eyes. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m smarter than I look, you can¡¯t hide stuff from me that easily, I knew you rushed out to fast, plus you have been trying to keep me at the river as long as you can.¡± We stand in silence for a moment. ¡°So is it safe to go back now?¡± Lightly punching me in the shoulder he says ¡°haha, yeah we can go back, just don¡¯t tell anyone I ruined the surprise!¡± We then walk back home side by side happily talking with idle chit chat. Today I feel closer to my brother. I¡¯m sure we will be even closer in the future. When we get back home the house is oddly quite for this time of day, and I know exactly why. They want to surprise me with a party. I open the door and walk in first with brother slightly behind me. Every one pops out and yells ¡°happy birthday!¡± The people in the house are not just father and mother to my surprise. Lucarus and his family are also there. Everyone is in the dining room staring at me with excitement; everyone¡¯s hands are glowing different shades of yellow showing their joy and excitement for me becoming old enough to go to school. On the table sits several plates of food and a few boxes with unknown contents. ¡°Thank you everyone! This is so awesome!¡± I shout out in excitement. My face almost hurts from the giant grin splitting it from ear to ear. I could almost cry from joy. After a few moments we settle down and sit down at the table. The breakfast is a bountiful feast. We have large brown fried eggs, meat that would be similar to steak from my previous world. Several different colored vegetables from the field, including my favorite from this world called camdue. Camdue tastes sweet like a caramelized onion, but with less spice, and looks kind of like a large yellow squash. On the side are big loafs of bread, that resemble some type of croissant in texture and flavor. I happily scarf down the meal with my friends and family. The adults have a strange silver liquid that they are drinking, and will not allow any of children to try it. I assume it is like the alcohol we have from my previous world but for now I cannot make an accurate guess. After every one is finished eating my father begins to speak. ¡°Son, you are becoming older every day and soon you will become a man before my very eyes! I still remember when you could barely even crawl, haha. You were very cute. But now you are finally old enough to leave the house so I will bestow you with a gift from your mother and I.¡± He then grabs the largest box and hands it to me. I open it up without hesitation. Inside I find a silver medallion of the phoenix god Suzaku. It matches the one my brother got for his birthday. It has a large clear glass fire covering the Phoenix to resemble our family name of Freyfire, which means invisible fire. It is attached to a silver chain and able to be worn around the neck. My Dad exclaims ¡°with this anyone in the village will know you are in our family, and will be friendly to you. Of course the guards will not let you leave to the forest until you are older and pass you pyromancy test, but that is for a later day.¡± My brother then grabs another box and hands it to me ¡°This is from me¡± He watches me diligently while I rip open this box as well. Inside is a pair of brown gloves that match my leather boots. They seem to have very good grip and are highly flexible, but provide almost no protection. These will be very nice for climbing. ¡°Thank you very much Bois!¡± Then the smallest and last box is picked up by my friend Lucarus who hands it to me. ¡°My family helped me make this, it should prove very helpful to you in the future when you can do pyromancy but right now it will only be a nice toy.¡± He obviously is trying to gain some form of good Karma from all this. I don¡¯t know why but some evil and cruel person got this whole good and bad Karma thing brainwashed into this poor little boy. I open it up and inside is a clear glass orb with a red rock in the shape of a flame inside of it. ¡°Thank you so much! I am sure my parents will teach me how to use it when I come of age¡± I smile innocently keeping the fact that I will teach myself how to use it properly hidden. The festivities die down after a while longer and everyone goes their separate ways. Father goes to work, while mother and brother go to school. Lucarus stays with me but his family goes off to where ever they go during the day. From today on I am aloud to wonder around the village, and I can even bring Lucarus with me if I keep watch over him. I take a deep breath as I open the front door. I step outside and look around excited to start a new adventure. I begin to take my first step when suddenly a crash of lightning falls from the sky and rain begins to pour down from the heavens. I guess I will have to wait tell tomorrow for my adventure to begin. That is better because it will be the weekend and brother can also accompany us. Today will just be Lucarus and I trying to figure out the magical orb his family gave me. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Hey Lucarus I guess we can¡¯t go outside¡­ Did you do something bad again? It must be Karma!¡± Looking down and slightly fidgeting Lucarus says ¡°I ate desert yesterday without asking.¡± ¡°Sigh, I guess we will just play inside today. To make up for your bad karma why don¡¯t you meditate and focus on your strength while I figure out how all my presents work?¡± Lucarus gives a slight nod before sitting down cross-legged and placing his hands in his lap. Pulling out the small orb Lucarus gave me I first try to pour energy into it. I continuously try to heat it up but it stays the same temperature. Then I put even more energy into it until I would be at the point of making a flame. I do this for as long as I can before exhausting all my energy. Examining the orb I notice no differences. When I did this to the air in my palm, a fire would be ignited. If I did this same thing to an object that is semi-flammable it would ignite completely and continue to burn on its own. Even if I did this to non-flammable objects like rocks or dirt they would heat up drastically and sometimes even glow. I could do it to a piece of ice and completely thaw it out in seconds. But this large marble shaped object had absolutely no reaction when I put in all of my strength in it. ¡°Lucarus do you know how this thing works?¡± I get no reaction from his as he is deep in meditation. I swear sometimes he trains harder than I do. If I didn¡¯t have a few year head start he might be beating me. Well since he is distracted any ways might as make him usefull. I walk over to him and put my hand on his chest. I pull the heat from his body to reenergize my own. I keep pulling until I feel the heat between us equalize and can no longer pull. I feel slightly reenergized and can feel power inside my body again. His power level would probably be about one fifth that of mine currently. I wonder how that compares to other kids our age. After taking his strength I smile and rub his head ¡°I didn¡¯t think that would work! Is it because you¡¯r meditating? Or because you just didn¡¯t try to prevent it?¡± This time instead of putting energy directly into the ball I create a flame below it. I feel around the ball but once again I feel no difference from it and decide to just give up. I place it in one of the claws of the phoenix medallion, and it fits perfectly, almost like they were built for each other. The medallion looks as though it can hold three of these marbles. One in each claw and one in its beak. ¡°So I can¡¯t figure out how this thing works yet but one day I will. I¡¯m not giving up yet we just need to gather our energy, do you know of any way to get energy back quicker than just sitting around?¡± Lucarus continues to meditate completely ignoring me. Or by meditating is he telling me that that is the fastest way to gain energy? Besides eating, absorbing heat from other sources or actually sleeping it is the fastest way I have ever found. Following Lucarus¡¯s lead I begin to meditate as well. I can feel the heat recirculate through my body as it enters my every pore. Energy excites my muscles and deep within me a ball of purified heat begins to gather. If I was stronger this would become condensed flames or maybe even plasma. After some time I hear snoring coming from Lucarus and decide to play a prank on him. I softly drag him over to below the table then go to the kitchen to grab a bucket. I step outside into the rain with the bucket over my head and walk around a bit doing lunges¡­ yeah I know but training can come at any opportunity! And I always wanted to become some super strong material artist or something so why not! Any ways I go back inside when the bucket is full and vicariously set it on the edge of the table. Walking across the room I lean against the wall and shout ¡°Lucarus!¡± before watching the madness ensue. Lucarus shoots up and hits his head on the table. ¡°Ouch!¡± rubbing his head and crawling out from the table he nudges the bucket tipping over onto his head. ¡°Oh no Buddy what happened?¡± I run over to him and take the bucket off his head. ¡°Sniff gulp, I fell asleep in my training so karma took revenge! I¡¯m sorry Suzaku. I will train more diligently form now on!¡± ¡°Hmmm well to make up for it lets both try to figure out how this thing works.¡± I put my hand on his shoulder and give him a big grin. Dam am I evil. If karma is real I will forever be tormented. Something real bad like eternally being reborn will happen to me¡­ oh wait¡­ Stifling his sniffling he nods. ¡°Hmm¡± First lets try an experiment to see if I can hold more energy than my total amount. ¡°lucarus pour your energy into me ok?¡± I grab Lucarus¡¯ hand and try to take his energy but nothing flows out. ¡°Ok that¡¯s not working just put all your energy into the ball then¡± He does at I say. He even makes funny faces wrinkling his eyebrows and popping his eyes out every which way. ¡°You tried your best so don¡¯t worry about it, I am not mad at you¡± The sad look on his face is wiped away ¡°Really? That¡¯s good I was worried!¡± ¡°Haha good karma for you!¡± ¡°Alright lets try something different¡± I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I gather my power all into the palms of my hand while being careful not to let any of it slip out or into the ball. I feel a great pressure appear around the palms of my hands, almost as if the power wants to escape and be pulled out. The longer I hold it there the more violently it reacts. I wait for a few seconds then with one fluid motion I release all the built up tension. I feel nothing but my energy being violently drained. Even more energy than I built up is ripped from my body. I feel light headed and start to sweat. There is no heating of the ball or any other noticeable effects that I could feel. This ended with failure once again. ¡°Wow I think it worked!¡± Lucarus shouts, ¡°It light up for a brief moment. Although it was only just a very small portion but the fire inside seamed to glow a little.¡± I open my eyes to see Lucarus smiling at me with his eyes closed. It is the same goofy smile he always gives when he is learning a new skill or is being praised by me. He is missing half his teeth, but I guess I am also. I begin to open my mouth to tell him how stupid he is because I did not see any light but then I realize, my eyes were closed, so I was unable to see anything. ¡°Did that really happen?¡± ¡°Of course! I would never lie to you, I don¡¯t want to gain any bad karma. Karma always comes back to bite me very quickly.¡± The last sentence almost being mumbled, but he got his point across either way. I was very excited to learn how to make this ball work. I just needed a higher rate of energy to be put into it. Now all I need to do is find a way to gain power faster, but how would I do something like that? A few hours later the rain stops and I bring Lucarus to his home calling it a day. Somehow I never noticed but he is actually my next door neighbor¡­ no wonder his family comes over all the time. After that I go home and do my usual pyromancer techniques before going to bed, today was a long day, but it was very exciting and fun. I wake up in the morning before my brother does and sit up. As always I begin my morning regimen of exhausting my strength then meditating before breakfast. I hold my palm out and ignite the tiny candle sized flame. Dancing a few millimeters above my hand as per usual I feel the drain on my body, but something is off. The drain feels less tiring. Also the flame its lasting longer than just a brief moment. One two seconds later it extinguishes. No way. Did I get this much stronger from using that tiny little orb? I begin to think of ways to experiment but then I remember that today I can visit the village with Lucarus! Jumping out of bed and grabbing my medallion and unusual flame marble I rush to go to the Fulbreath house hold. Today a new adventure awaits me, I wonder what the village is like. My world is finally going to expand¡­ Chapter 4-Aarushi Chapter 4- Aarushi It has been several weeks since my birthday, and Lucarus has also turned 5. My family went over to his place to celebrate and made him a similar orb as to the one his family made me. Today we plan to go to our usual spot in town to play around. I get to his house and knock on the door. It swings open moments later and his mother comes from behind it. ¡°Oh Deadra, how are you today little guy?¡± She bends over to get a closer look at me while patting my head. ¡°I¡¯m great! Is Lucarus home I wanted to play!¡± ¡°Yes of course, he is in his room getting ready why don¡¯t you come inside and wait.¡± She opens the door more and motions me inside. I sit at the table for a little bit and rest my chin on my hands. I feel the rough texture of the gloves my brother gave me on my cheeks. They give me a large advantage in climbing. For some odd reason they do not affect my ability to use pyromancer, and feel almost like a part of my body. ¡°Hey Deadra, I¡¯m ready to go!¡± Lucarus chipperly walks up behind me. ¡°Let¡¯s head out.¡± I jump of my chair and we both rush out side. The village is not very big, but we still have lots to explore. The river goes across the outside edge of town, and is a natural land mark for one sides of the town. It¡¯s wide and deep enough that we do not have to worry about any animals crossing it. In fact it reminds me of the Mississippi river from my first life just a little smaller. A forest covers the other three sides and has a large man made rock wall to keep animals out. The guards protect the two northern and southern gates. I¡¯m not sure if they are there to keep animals out or keep us in. Either way they do their job well. The northern forest is hilly and eventually leads to a large mountain range, while the southern one would be more flat, almost like a plain. The town has very few trees in it, I am not sure if it is a natural clearing or not. But in the center of town is a very large red leafless tree. It is larger than any tree near the village, and is the only one that doesn¡¯t have leaves. It towers over all the houses around it many times over, and even is several times higher than our town walls. The branches stretch out and upward for several meters dancing in the sun light like a flame in the sky. Increasing in size and density as you travel higher and higher, gives it an almost mushroom cloud feel to it. This tree is called the phoenix tree. Lucarus and I climb this tree almost every day. It has become our usual spot. While walking toward the tree Lucarus begins to talk. ¡°Mom said that this tree is special to our village.¡± I look over to him and ask ¡°Oh how so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s said to be a fallen feather from Suzaku. It is able to give life and warmth to pyromancers, and is the reason we founded our village here.¡± Lucarus sounds as if he is reading off a script as he continues. ¡°This is one of the medium sized ones, and in bigger villages people can find even larger ones!¡± ¡°That makes sense to me, I mean I always feel stronger around it and when I want to regain my strength, it seems to have a near infinite supply.¡± When I use all my strength on something I can immediately rejuvenate myself from this tree, I guess I never thought about it much. Also ever since the day I got this orb, I have never been able increase my total power by more than ten percent per a day. A few moments later I notice someone standing next to the tree staring up at it vigorously. The person runs up to it and tries to do some type of jumping bear hug against the trunk of it. They hold onto it for a few moments then fall back onto the ground. ¡°Hey what are you doing to the phoenix tree?¡± I shout at them in confusion. The person turns to my shouting and holding their hands out towards me in a stay away motion. ¡°No, No I didn¡¯t do anything the tree!¡± The person looks around nervously. I can tell they are about the same age as Lucarus and I. She has long slightly wavy crimson hair, fair white skin and a small button nose. She kind of looks like a doll. ¡°Then what were you doing? Why were you attacking the phoenix tree?¡± I continue to attack her with questions. Lucarus snaps one in as well. ¡°This is our sacred tree, you need to be nicer to it or you will receive bad karma!¡± The girl puts her head down in a defeated manner ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just wanted to climb it. Dad said it would be good for me.¡± I walk past the girl ignoring her then reach up toward one of the branches. ¡°Watch me.¡± I jump up and grab a low hanging branch. I put my foot on the tree trunk and push myself up onto the branch I grabbed. I reach for another branch while standing on the first to balance myself out. I repeat the action a few more times until I¡¯m almost fifteen feet in the air. I prop myself up in a seated position and look down at the Lucarus and the Girl below. ¡°Do you see how to do it now?¡± I pause for a moment then shout. ¡°Come up here and join me! It¡¯s an amazing view!¡± Lucarus springs into action ¡°Ok!¡± Following a similar pattern of movements Lucarus slowly reaches me, taking about twice as long as it took me to reach this branch. I look down at the girl as she looks up at me. ¡°Hey girl, are you coming?¡± Her eyes light up and the flame on her hand glows a bright yellow. She silently nods her head and reaches for the first branch. Grabbing onto it she kick he feat toward the tree trunk. Instead of being projected upward she is flung backwards and violently kicks in every direction. Flailing around for a few moments the girl exhausts herself and drops into a heap under the branch. I issue a short command ¡°Use the tree¡¯s base to push off and up with your foot! Don¡¯t just kick it!¡± Looking up at me with new found energy she nods once more and tries again, this time she follows my advice and gets on top of the branch. Siting on the branch like a cat she teeters from side to side for a moment before reaching out to grab the net branch. She once again starts flailing around with her legs while trying to pull herself up ¡°Use your legs to push off of something you idiot!¡± She stops moving and kicks at the tree pushing herself over the branch again. She sits up and is only about nine feet below us now. Lucarus and I look at each other with our somewhat toothless smiles then beam down at her and each wave. ¡°Good job!¡± Lucarus chimes in ¡°Yeah keep it up!¡± The girl looks up and using both her hands to wave back at us ¡°hehe, Thank y... aahhhha¡± She loses her balance from not holding on to the tree and starts to fall to the ground head first. Stupid girl. She landed on her head. I yell at Lucarus while fumbling down the tree, ¡°Get down from the tree and find an adult. This is an emergency! Hurry!¡± I get to the ground in record time with Lucarus following shortly after. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be back!¡± Lucarus runs to the nearest house to get help. I go over to the girl and start to analyze the situation. She is lying flat on her back and not moving. What should I do? I get down on my knees next to her and start to feel around her head to check for bleeding. I don''t feel anything unusual. I stare at her for a moment then begin to talk ¡°Stupid girl, why did you let go of the branch?¡± I bend my head down a bit and close my eyes trying to think of what to do. A moment later a dull thud is heard and I feel a pain on my nose. I grab at my nose and open my eyes to see the girl sitting up. She clutches at her forehead and asks. ¡°Ouch what happened?¡± She looks in my direction. ¡°You fell off the tree! You should never stop holding onto something when you¡¯re climbing!¡± My mark begins to glow red with anger. ¡°Don¡¯t be such an idiot you scared me half to death!¡± She tilts her head sideways and her mark begins to glow bright purple. ¡°Ummmmm oh ok! Thanks for all your help! My name is Aarushi.¡± She smiles innocently. If it wasn¡¯t for the glowing purple I would have thought she was just playing innocently, but she seems like a total air head. How annoying. ¡°Yeah whatever, my name is Deadra, are you hurt at all?¡± ¡°Nope I¡¯m fine!¡± She is still holding her forehead and smiling. Stupid, I know your lying. ¡°Don¡¯t lie or you will receive bad karma, in fact you probably fell from the tree because of some previous lie.¡± Might as well teach her a lesson since she seams fine. ¡°WHAAAT! Really? I didn¡¯t know that! Well¡­¡±she begins to pout slightly ¡°I guess my head hurts a little bit.¡± She pouts a little more than looks back up at me. ¡°What¡¯s karma?¡± Before I can reply I am interrupted by a gentle voice from behind. ¡°Hey kids are you ok?¡± I turn around and see Lucarus following behind an older women who comes over and sits down next to us. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I am perfectly fine, but this girl Aarushi fell and hit her head¡± I smugly cross my arms and smile proudly reporting the situation. ¡°Then why is your nose bleeding?¡± I look down at my hands that were covering my nose and see a pool of blood gathered inside of them ¡°Ummm well you see¡­¡± The women cuts me off ¡°don¡¯t worry, Ill bandage you both up, follow me.¡± She smiles and takes both Aarushi¡¯s hand and my own. The woman takes us to her house and looks every one over. She helps put bandages on Aarushi¡¯s head and gives me something to plug my nose. "You kids should be more careful. I don''t know how you hurt you nose or head from falling, but don''t do what ever you did again." Lucarus begins to explain the situation. "We were climbing the Phoenix tree when this girl fell off and onto her head." The old women looks at each of us inquisitively. "That doesn''t explain the injuries. Our people are really resistant to fall damage. We are very light weight due to our almost hollow bones and minimal organ system. Unless you fell from the top of the tree without hitting a branch to slow you down someone from out tribe wouldn''t get seriously hurt. At most a sprained ankle or some minor bruises. But that shouldn''t be a problem, especially to you kids. Children are so resilient!" Curiously I ask her a question. "So your not mad that we climbed the tree?" "Hehe, of course not. I used to do the same thing in my youth. I already told you that it would be hard to hurt your self from falling, and if your worried for the tree then don''t be. That tree is really strong. I have seen soldiers using it as target practice before just to ruin their weapons without leaving a scratch on the dam thing." After a few more minutes of talking she lets the three of us leave. I turn around to the other kids ¡°So got any plans of what to do now?¡± Aarushi raises her hand and shouts ¡°Lets climb the tree some more.¡± ¡°No, you will just fail again, and who was asking you anything? I was talking to Lucarus!¡± I turn and look over to my friend. ¡°So what do you want to do?¡± Shrugging his shoulders he says ¡°I don¡¯t know you always make the plans.¡± ¡°So can I decide what ever? Does that mean I¡¯m the boss?¡± I raise an eyebrow expectantly at Lucarus. ¡°Haha, yeah of course you are!¡± ¡°Mister boss man bring me with you!¡± Aarushi chimes in with an eager voice. ¡°Ugh fine whatever, let¡¯s all go to the river then I¡¯ll show you something cool.¡± We get to the river and I pick up a flat smooth rock. It looks similar to an arrow head in shape. ¡°You both need to find rocks that look like this.¡± I hold the rock up between my thumb and index finger to let them both see it. ¡°Then you throw it like this.¡± I face the river and pull back my arm. I keep the rock level to my shoulder and swing my arm forward while flicking my wrist at the last second. The rock skips across the water¡¯s surface three times then sinks on the fourth strike. Several waves of circles sprout from the places the rocks hit creating a ripple effect. Lucarus crosses his arms and looks at me with a matter of fact face. He nods his head and says ¡°That¡¯s boss Deadra for you.¡± He then smiles and runs off to find rocks. ¡°Wow that¡¯s so cool! Teach me teach me!¡± ¡°I will but first go grab some rocks.¡± A few minutes later the two come back with several dozen rocks. ¡°Ok first I want you two to try it yourself.¡± Lucarus tries to mimic what I do exactly and gets the rock to bounce off the water one time. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to use your wrist.¡± He tries again and makes it bounce twice. He is a pretty fast learner. Aarushi simply throws the rock without any technique and the rock plummets into the water without a single skip. Aarushi turns around and sticks out her tongue. ¡°I forgot to do the wrist didn¡¯t I?¡± I shake my head ¡°No you did everything wrong. Keep your arm level with your shoulder¡± I demonstrate again and make four bounces in the water. ¡°Here try again.¡± I hand her another rock. She looks down and pouts for a second, then takes the rock from my hand and tries again. She once again throws the rock wildly completely ignoring my advice. ¡°Did it look better that time¡± she turns around puts her finger to her lip and tips her head to the side looking at me for confirmation. I slap my hand to my face and mutter ¡°This is going to be a long day.¡± ¡­ The next day Lucarus and I are walking to the phoenix tree when in the distance we see a figure leaning next to the tree. ¡°I hope that isn¡¯t the girl we saw yesterday.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t Like her either Deadra?¡± I nod my head ¡°Good, I was worried you were going to be her friend. Girls are gross!¡± Sometimes I forget we are still only five years old, but I would agree she was very annoying. ¡°Listen to this, if it is the girl all we have to do is climb the tree and she won¡¯t be able to follow us, you think you can do that?¡± I look over to Lucarus. ¡°Sounds like a good plan to me.¡± He smiles back at me. ¡°Alright¡± I pump my fist then start running ¡°last one to the top of the tree is a rotten egg!¡± ¡°Hey wait that¡¯s cheating!¡± He starts running behind me both of us laughing. As I near the tree I can see the figure is the girl from yesterday and begin to quicken my pace. I jump up and grab one of the branches. With the momentum of the running jump and a whole lot more luck I twirl into the air, flip over the branch and land on top of it without having to touch anything else. I pause for a moment from the surprise of my own acrobatic capabilities. The girl standing beneath me looks up with her eyes bulging from surprise. Her mark glows a bright yellow. ¡°Wow that¡¯s so amazing! Teach me that!¡± I turn my head and see Lucarus following shortly after. He climbs the branch in the normal non acrobatic fashion but with more haste then usual. We continue to ignore the girl and climb the tree. I use slightly more finesse in my climbing then I usually do, I feel almost like a monkey jumping from branch to branch. When I get to the top I look out across the village and over the walls. Mountains ripping out from the ground covered in green and brown spots. Forest plains as far as the eye can see on the other three sides. A black and grey spot catches my eye in the distance; it must be some type of cave or tunnel. I must go there when I am older. Lucarus completely out of breath and a few branches below me pants ¡°ugh ugh¡­ I didn¡¯t know you could do something like that!¡± In my head I think ¡®hell I didn¡¯t know I could do it either¡¯ but I know not to show such weakness in front of him. ¡°There are a lot of things I can do that you don¡¯t know, and as time passes you will learn to do these things as well. But that is only if you stick by my side.¡± I stare into the beautiful horizon, never giving Lucarus a moment of my sight. ¡°I¡¯ll stay by your side forever Deadra, I always look up to you!¡± We stand on our individual branches for a couple of moments in silence. Then as if nails on the chalk board a voice destroys our peaceful moment. ¡°Hey guys wait for me I can¡¯t climb like that!¡± I look down and see her trying to climb the lower most branch. Today I will not help her. She needs to learn on her own. Several minutes pass and the girl below is still struggling to climb the first branch, she should give up soon. I turn my attention back to my friend ¡°So Lucarus want me to teach you something cool?¡± He looks over at me with a serious face and nods his head and gives me a huge grin. ¡°Yeah!¡± Hmmm I honestly don''t know why I have been hiding this for so long any ways. I might as well show him and see how he reacts. Depending on what he does maybe I can start showing other people. I hold out my palm and gather energy into the palm of my hand, a moment later an orange and red light flickers into existence. The twin tales on top of the fire wrap and unwrap themselves making an eternal dance of flame. The warm glow wraps around our faces as we stare at the palm of my hand. I can feel the power of the tree being soaked up by one of my hands and traveling across my body to the other hand. ¡°So what do you think of learning how to wield the power of fire my friend.¡± Chapter 5-The Test Chapter 5) The Test Lucarus and I are siting near the top of the tree. I hold a small sliver of fire in my hand and hold it in front of Lucarus. ¡°Remember pull the warmth from your whole body into on spot on your palm and then force it out. Try to make it sharp and concise.¡± Nodding his head Lucarus concentrates on his palm. Blood vessels in his head begin to pop as his head transforms into a tomato. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to breath dumbo.¡± A release of heated air rushes out of his mouth and then cold air is sucked into his nostrils like a vacuum. A few deep breaths later he sighs ¡°Huuugh I ran out of energy again. I can¡¯t do this, not until I go through the ceremony!¡± ¡°Yes you can! Just don¡¯t forget to continuously absorb energy from the phoenix tree. How do you think I have been holding this tiny little flame lite for nearly half an hour? Right now with out the try my max time for such a small frame isn¡¯t even a minute!¡± Aarushi Yells up from the ground level. ¡°Hey guys! Come down and play with me!¡± Aarushi still comes to the tree every day trying to climb up to us. She is probably the most persistent and stupid girl I have ever met! I don¡¯t know if she is trying to hang out with us or if she wants to learn to climb the dam tree but for the past two weeks I see her trying every day. She starts climbing before Lucarus and I even get to the tree and she keeps going after we leave. Some days she successfully climbs up to us and try¡¯s talking to us but we just climb down and go elsewhere. Poor girl, sometimes I feel bad for her. Ignoring the girl as we usually do I continue to explain how to produce a flame. ¡°First you need to get better at feeling the energy inside yourself and pushing it out wards all at once, once you can do this we will focus back down to trying to put it in a single spot.¡± I then demonstrate unleashing all of my energy by making a flash of hot air puff out from every part of my body, instantly heating the surrounding area. ¡°Ok I¡¯ll try again!¡± Lucarus obediently follows my directions. He takes a deep breath and push his strength outwards. Instead of having it release in one large flash it more escapes his body slowly over time. ¡°You need to learn to be more explosive, you¡¯re to calm and relaxed.¡± I begin refilling my power reserves while talking. ¡°Build the tension in your body and release it violently all at once. Think of it as pulling back a bow string, letting the string gather power and then letting the sting go to send the arrow flying.¡± Lucarus nods his head and tries to do it again; he builds his energy up and releases it, still not doing what I asked but with visible improvement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you should just build up your power reserves then try again later, don¡¯t give up!¡± He nods his head with agreement and pumps his fist in the air. ¡°I won¡¯t give up for as long as you believe in me boss!¡± I laugh and pat him on the back ¡°Good! Now let¡¯s go to the river I have something I must watch.¡± Lucarus and I begin to climb down the tree, when we get to the bottom Aarushi Speaks up ¡°Where are you guys going? We aren¡¯t done playing yet!¡± Did she think we were playing with her this whole time? ¡°My brother has his pyromancer test today. We wanted to see what it was.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s the thing where people get there powers from right? Does that mean you already passed your test boss?¡± ¡°No I haven¡¯t done anything like that.¡± ¡°Then how come you can make fire? I thought it was impossible to do that without the test?¡± ¡°What would you know about the test?¡± ¡°A lot! My dad is the chief of the village and is the only one who has the power to give people the test!¡± I stop walking and motion for her to keep going. ¡°First you have to be given a seed from the phoenix tree.¡± ¡°But the tree doesn¡¯t bare any fruit?¡± Lucarus buts in asking the same thing I was going to. ¡°That¡¯s cuz this tree is still a baby! Only the giant ones can bear fruit, our tree still has many years to grow.¡± Aarushi makes exaggerated movements while waving her arms to show the size of the tree. ¡°Once the phoenix tree is over 1000 years old it will begin to bear fruit. The legend says that there are five great Phoenix trees that bear fruit in this day and age. They were all planted by the great hero Xeodra.¡± That name sounds familiar, where have I heard it before? Oh yeah my parents read me stories about him as a child all the time. He saved the world from some really evil creature and brought piece across the world. He had the ability to bend wind, fire, Lightning and many other mysterious powers that have never been seen before. No other person in the world has been able to manipulate any power that is not of their tribe. This means I will only be able to bend fire. I wonder how he did something like that. ¡°What else can you tell me?¡± Aarushi puts her finger to her lip and tilts her head sideways while her hand radiates a purple light. This is the posture she makes when thinking. ¡°ummm when you finish the test you gain large amounts of power and then you can start learning to use fire! Oh after the test finishes you can take the challenge.¡± Lucarus butts in ¡°The challenge is what says whether or not you can leave the village right? And you can take it as a group if you want to. The problem with taking it as a group though is that you can only leave with that group.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all go to my brother¡¯s test, I want to see what happens.¡± We arrive at the east side of town with the rest of the village to watch my brother¡¯s test. Aarushi points at a man in a red robe standing facing the group and shouts ¡°That¡¯s my dad Kanuk the village chief!¡± the man turns from the group and walks to Bois and two other boys. ¡°Looks like we missed the opening speech.¡± ¡°Yeah I think your Right Deadra¡± Lucarus agrees with me immediately. We all go silent and watch the ceremony. Bois and the two other boys and a girl are siting with their legs under them in an almost bowing state with their hands out in front of them. Kanuk places a small red seed in Bois¡¯s hand then Kanuk places his hand on Bois¡¯s shoulder and whispers something in his ear. Kanuk repeats the action thrice more with each child. Kanuk then turns around once more and with a confident and powerful voice announces ¡°We shall now commence with the test. Each of these young children will be given a choice to plant the seed within their bodies or plant it in the forest across the river.¡± With those words I look across the river and see several hundred red trees sprouting from the ground like wild fire dancing in the underbrush of an unmanned forest. It is a sea of red flames that goes up and down the river as far as the eye can see. Hundreds of people must have planted the seeds over there instead of taking the test. What type of coward would do that? Why would anyone wish to not take the test? And planting the seed across the river sounds dangerous; I don¡¯t think very many ten year olds could swim across the river and back. Sure they might have the energy to get to the other side but I doubt they could survive the journey back. Kanuk paces back and forth in front of the village with his hands folded behind his back as he continues his speech ¡°You all know the dangers of taking the poison phoenix seed into your body, so I ask for you to not dishonor those who choose to surrender themselves from the pyromancer life.¡± Does he mean that we can¡¯t be pyromancers any more if we don¡¯t eat the seed? I¡¯m sure there is other ways to gain the power. Also why do they need to go to the other side of the river to do that? Kanuk stops pacing and holds his hands in the air. ¡°Suzaku, guide these children in their test!¡± He lowers his hands and closes his eyes. The children behind him all stand in unison and give each other nervous looks. One of the boys nods his head at Bois. Bois then scans the crowd and looks at me and mouths the words ¡°Good bye.¡± His eyes shine as he holds back the tears, everyone¡¯s marks glow dark green. Bois and the three children turn around and dive into the river. For several seconds nothing is heard and nothing is seen but the ripples of the children jumping into the river. With a plop a head pops from the water as one of the boys struggles to swim across. Two more heads pop up, it¡¯s the other boy and the girl. I wait a few more seconds and don¡¯t see my brothers head pop out the water. Fear and pain strike me. I look around at all of the adults but no one is moving to help them. I even see my parents holding each other¡¯s hands and staring at the river. An ominous blue color fills the crowd of people as a mix of sorrow and worry spreads. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. After a few seconds the head of my brother Bois finally pops out of the water as he struggles to cross the rest of the river. After a minute or two the four kids finally reach the other side. I breathe out a sigh of relief. I look around to have conformation of my relief but every one continues with the tense atmosphere. I look over to the other side. The kids are standing in a circle. My brother throws his hands in the air and walks away from the group. A few moments later the girl follows behind him and grabs his hand. She looks to be pleading with him but to no prevail. The two walk away and out of sight hand in hand. I think to myself ¡®why is my brother being such a coward? What is the worst thing that could happen?¡¯ The other two boys once again face each other. They each nod and eat their respective seeds. A few seconds later they fall to the ground and begin to roll around. Screams of pain and agony fill the air. Fire begins to encircle the two and cover the area around them. The fire reaches out lashing at the phoenix sprout lings and other plants. A red and orange sea covers twenty feet in every direction of the two boys. Flames billow into the sky kissing the top of the taller tree trunks. The figures of the boys slowly turn black and are enveloped by flame. This scene plays out for several minutes before the flames die down and smoke covers the area. As the smoke clears the figure of one of the boys stands and looks across the river at us. He looks down at his own hand and then a large ball of fire and billowing smoke forms around it. He throws the ball toward the river. It dissolves into the air about twenty feet from him. He has become a pyromancer in a matter of minutes, but at what cost. The boy turns around to where his fellow tester was and drops to his knees. A new phoenix tree sapling stands in the spot the boy is kneeling at. Those trees by the river side were not planted. Those trees are the graves stones of people who failed the test. The sea of red flame trees filling the other side of the river are a memorial to the hundreds of people who have failed the test before. I drop to my knees my eyes wide open. What kind of world have I been reborn into! No wonder my brother and that girl decided not to take the test. Based on what I just saw the survival rate is only fifty percent! Maybe even less! Tears begin to well up inside my eyes. Why can¡¯t they just not take the test? Why can¡¯t we just live happily in peace with out it? I feel a pressure on my shoulder and I turn around to see my father Feolra resting his hand on my shoulder. My mother kneels down next to me and embraces me into a hug. ¡°I¡¯m sure your brother will be fine out there, he is not alone.¡± I look up at her confused. What does she mean he will be fine? Of course he will be he didn¡¯t take the dam seed. Feolra tightens his grip slightly and chokes out ¡°Why didn¡¯t he take the seed, now we will never be able to see him again.¡± I look up and him and ask ¡°what do you mean?¡± He looks at me and drops to one knee. ¡°Son, the risk of death is high when taking the phoenix seed, but if you do not take it then you may never return to the village. Your brother chose life in the forest over taking the test given by Suzaku. Even though he choose a different path I do not want you to look down on him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why do we have to choose between something like that?¡± ¡°If you do not eat the seed then Suzaku puts a great curse on you. He first takes your power and strength away from you. Then he unleashes misfortune upon you. Our race cannot activate their pyromancer abilities if we do not eat the seed, but this is not why we choose to eat it. We eat it because we must. If one does not then their body will begin to rot and they will become ill. This illness does not affect you until puberty. But it is highly contagious and will spread through the inter town killing every adult in a matter of weeks. The only way to prevent this is to either banish yourself from the village or to eat the seed and prevent the disease.¡± A tear slides down my father¡¯s face as he looks across the river. ¡°Bois chose to stay alive in the forest rather than risk dying and coming back, it was his decision and we must respect it.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that shortly after we turn 10 years old we get this disease that can kill the entire village, and the only way to prevent it is eating the seed from the phoenix tree? But if you choose not to do this you can still live for several more years in isolation?¡± I look back and forth between mother and father and they both nod their heads. I guess the villagers are not cruel, this world is the cruel one. This also means my brother was a coward. "What if someone could develop their powers without taking Suzaku''s test?" The gloom in my parents eyes strengthens slightly. My father sighs and says "Firstly that is very unlikley. Even if some one succeeds in doing so it doesn''t matter. When the time comes all your magic is slowly drained and you lose any abilities you had, even the ones to control your own body heat. Having an abundance of magic does nothing to help against the disease. Our ancestors have tried everything but the only cure is the seed of death." "How do you know Suzaku set this curse and it..." I am cut off by my father. "We know it is true because Suzaku used to walk among us. He used to allow us to have our powers activate at birth without the seeds just like all the other races. But one day he became angry. He started killing all of his disciples before turning to the sky. As he flew into the air as a giant flaming phoenix he dropped five trees of death before disappearing. The older generation began to die off slowly after that. They had time to write their tale but that is all. The years after that are unknown. We don''t know when or how our ancestors learned of this method, but by the time they learned of it most of our people had died. We went from a once flourishing tribe that covered the entire continent to a now small and scattered tribe." I lift my hand up timidly. I spark a small flame inside of it for a split second. A small gasp escapes both my parents lips. The light of excitement in their eyes is drowned by the previous depression of losing Bois. "So this won''t help me with avoiding the test?" My mother falls to her knees and wraps her arms around my father and me. I can hear a slight sobbing next to my ear. Silently my father shakes his head. After a moment he speaks. "Lets go home for now." My parents sit me down and explain that what I can do is not unusual, just very rare. They tell the children it is impossible so they don''t get depressed when they fail. Something like this hasn''t happened for several generations. They say that after I take Suzaku''s test I will gain great strength. I can bring pride and honor to our clan if I work hard. They also warn me that this will have no effect on surviving the test. No one knows why some survive and others die. Honestly I don''t think Suzaku is real. Maybe it is just some convenient lie to make everything easier to understand. Either way I want to end these sets of tests. I know I can''t do it now but maybe in the future. If he is fake and this is all just a disease then I can try to find a better cure. But to do that I need to explore the world and understand it better. If he is real then I just need to become stronger, fly into the sky and kill him. Dam. I have my work cut out for me. For now I should just enjoy life. After Suzaku''s test i can start planning my future. Chapter 6-Cecelia Chapter 6-Cecelie It¡¯s been several weeks since my brother¡¯s test. Today is the first day of school for Lucarus and I. Lucarus and I are walking to school together since we live next door, my mother went early to set up the lesson. ¡°Deadra check out what I accomplished last night!¡± He puts his hands in front of his chest with the palms facing each other. A strained face replaces Lucarus¡¯s normal calm fa?ade and the muscles in his arms begin to tighten as blood flows through them. A small light and sparks begin to emit from his palms, moments later a flame about the size of a penny appears between his hands for a second then fades away. Lucarus breathes out a large sigh. ¡°haha good job, keep working on it and in a one day you might be able to do the same things I can.¡± I hold my left hand out in front of me with the palm facing the sky and unleash my power. An orange flame mirroring the image of a large candle stick flame flickers into existence. I push it to the base of my thumb then have a second flame of equal size appear in the center of my palm. I move this one next to my pinky and form a third flame. Explaining to Lucarus I say. ¡°Making the three flames separate and manipulating them takes more effort and concentration then making one larger flame, but the same amount of energy reserves. Moving them around is even harder.¡± I make an equilateral triangle on my hand with the three flames then begin to spin them around in a circle about the center of my palm. Extinguishing the first set of flames I hold my right hand up and point my finger out away from Lucarus and myself. ¡°Another skill is changing the flames shape.¡± I push energy out from my finger and ignite the air. The flame comes out with a slight blue tint and extends in a long and skinny straight line going about five inches past the tip of my finger. I hold this for as long as I can before my energy fails me. A high pitched voice from a short distance away shouts ¡°When are you going to start teaching me how to make fire! Teach me teach me!¡± Aarushi comes running from behind and rams herself between Lucarus and I. She glances between the two of us then looks at me and tilts her head ¡°Well?¡± After seeing Suzaku¡¯s test I began teaching Aarushi. My thoughts for doing so are that I may need her in the future if I¡¯m going to be fighting a god. Her father is also a powerful figure so being her friend could prove beneficial. ¡°I say this every time, first you need to increase your energy reserves and your control of heat. I have given you plenty of exercises to work on such as drying clothes or boiling water.¡± I grab the ball Lucarus gave me from the phoenix medallion and hold it up. ¡°A quicker way to improve strength is to pour energy into something like this.¡± Aarushi turns her head sideways again ¡°Isn¡¯t that made to store heat energy? My dad has lots of those at home. They are made from the phoenix tree, that¡¯s what the little red thing inside is.¡± Lucarus and I stare at her in amazement. How can she be so dumb and knowledgeable at the same time? ¡°Aarushi how come you know so many random things?¡± Lucarus crosses his arms, probably jealous with all the attention I¡¯m giving to Aarushi, but he dare not interrupt, he fears bad karma too much. Aarushi smiles and puts her arms around Lucarus and I, Lucarus cringes with the idea of a girl touching him. ¡°My dad is the village chief, which means when I get older I will become the village priestess! This village is originally run by the priestess. My mother was the priestess but she died giving birth to me so my dad took up the seat of power. When I become older I will become the leader of this village so my dad is always teaching me the traditions and history I need to learn.¡± She then let¡¯s go of us and runs up ahead. She does a small twirl with her arms out like a ballerina. ¡°I¡¯m like a princess!¡± As she says this she squeezes her face with her hands and raises one leg in front of her. I slap my hand to my face. She ruined the moment with that last line. ¡°Yeah whatever. We need to hurry or we will be late to our first day of school.¡± We arrive at school and my mother welcomes all the students who come in. There are about eight kids in the class of the same age as me. After a few minutes my mother walks and begins the lesson. ¡°I want you to break up into two groups of four and all sit down together.¡± Aarushi, Lucarus, and I sit at one of the tables forming the beginning of a group. A minute later a shy dirty blonde girl with short hair walks over to our table and meekly asks. ¡°ca..can I sit here?¡± I put on a big smile and begin to open my mouth when Aarushi interrupts me ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m Aarushi, let¡¯s be friends!¡± I glare over at Aarushi then gather my composure. ¡°Yes please do. I am Deadra, This is my friend Lucarus.¡± I motion my hand to Lucarus. Lucarus rubs the back of his head and gives a big cheeky smile. ¡°Hi.¡± The girl stares at us momentarily then begins to say something but instead blinks a few times. ¡°If you want to then please sit down.¡± I say this to hopefully get her to stop staring at us. The girl then silently walks up and jumps onto the chair then hides her eyes in her hair while looking at the ground. A few moments pass before Aarushi and I speak simultaneously. ¡°Can I ask you what your name is?¡± ¡°Who are you? Let¡¯s be friends!¡± I then look over to Aarushi angrily once again, honestly this girl is insufferable. She looks up at us and says ¡°I¡¯m Cecelia.¡± While I butt heads with Aarushi who doesn¡¯t realize I¡¯m mad at her, Lucarus takes the initiative. ¡°Glad to meet you!¡± Before any more can be said Aris clears her throat. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see everyone getting along, now let¡¯s begin with today¡¯s lessons.¡± The next few months go by smoothly. Aarushi learned to boil water and dry clothes, and now she is working on improving her energy capacity. Lucarus finally learned to sustain an actual flame in his hand. I am now training him to manipulate the size and heat of the flame before I move on any further. I have also slowly improved myself. Mainly I can hold the fire for slightly longer or make it slightly bigger, but I did learn one new trick. I can envelop my gloves with flames. I believe if I get more experience doing this I could one day envelope a full weapon such as a dagger or a sword. My only concern would be with our fourth group member Cecelia. Cecelia still has not opened up to us yet. We all talk and hang out before or after school but she sits silently in her seat, sometimes listening to the things we say sometimes day dreaming in her own little world. She participates very little in class assignments that involve group work. I know she isn¡¯t stupid because besides me and Lucarus she gets the highest grade on individual assignments in the class. Speaking of which, Aarushi consecutively has the worst grade in class. Mother Aris has taken Cecelia to a different area and tried talking to her about being more social but she always bashfully says ¡®ok¡¯ or quietly says ¡®I¡¯ll try¡¯, but she doesn¡¯t seem to improve. The three of us always try to get her to talk or be a part of the conversation, but she never says more than a few words. My guess is she either doesn¡¯t know much about the subject or she doesn¡¯t care much about it. Or maybe she doesn¡¯t feel comfortable around us? Even though she is very quiet and does not talk much she is always very polite. She always says please and thank you when being asked for something. She listens intently when someone talks to her. Maybe she is just a really shy person. She may grow out of this one day. After all we are only six years old right now. One very ordinary day after school the four of us go by the river to skip rock, or more accurately Lucarus, Aarushi and I skip rocks while Cecelia watches. ¡°Hey Cecelia you sure you don¡¯t want to try skipping rocks? It¡¯s a lot of fun!¡± Lucarus tries to hand her a rock ¡°haha you don¡¯t need to worry about being bad, no one could be worse than Aarushi was when she first started. It took her almost two weeks to just be able to skip it once!¡± I give Cecelia a warm smile. I definitely prefer Cecelia¡¯s company over Aarushi¡¯s. ¡°No thank you.¡± She turns her head to the side looking away from us blushing slightly. Aarushi jumps into the conversation ¡°Hey I was awesome when I first started! I was practically born to throw these rocks!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I turn around and look at her ¡°Oh just like you were born to climb trees or born to use fire like Lucarus and I?¡± Maybe I am going overboard being mean with her but really her only talent is raw undying determination with everything she does. She may not be graceful or much of a natural but she has improved a lot in everything she tries. In fact she can almost keep up with Lucarus with climbing trees, and she can skip rocks better than me now too. Very seriously and with a smile Aarushi says ¡°I¡¯m very glad you noticed my talents!¡± Suddenly behind me I hear something unexpected and almost hurt my neck turning around too quickly. Cecelia asked ¡°You guys can use fire already? Can you please show me?¡± and for the first time I see Cecelia¡¯s mark glow a color other than light blue. Her mark slightly glowed whitish yellow meaning she was excited or happy with a mix of anticipation. Lucarus responds first by holding his hand out and making a small flame in his palms for a few seconds. He then calmly walks over to Cecelia turns around and smiles at us. I follow behind him igniting both of my gloves completely and making a small trail of flames extend from each finger by about an inch and a half. My hands look like that of a cat¡¯s claw but the fur and nails are replaced by flames. As Lucarus and I display our magic Cecelia¡¯s eyes widen and shine. Her hand glows brighter and a smile comes across her face. ¡°When did you guys eat the phoenix seed? Aren¡¯t you the same age as me?¡± I shake my head dissipating the flames around my hands. ¡°We have never done such thing.¡± Her mouth gapes open and then her hands start to shake. ¡°Are you serious?!? That¡¯s just like the great hero Xeodra! He was rumored to be able to use fire and other abilities without eating that nations death seed. He used fire freely from birth, and accomplished so many great things! Have you guys heard much about Xeodra? He was such an amazing person!¡± She continues to raise her voice from a small whisper to practically shouting while beginning to mover her arms around. ¡°He could harness water to make steam for camouflage, or ice for shelter. He could use flames equal to any Pyromancer known. He manipulated air to allow himself to travel quickly or jump from place to place in combat. They say his strength was equal to tens of men.¡± At this point Lucarus, Aarushi and I are all staring in complete awe at what we are seeing. Cecelia has never said more than two or three words in a sentence, and now she is going off with the ferocity of two or three Aarushi¡¯s. I begin to put my hand up to calm her but she pays no mind to the gesture, completely throwing her previous manners she held for several months out the window. ¡°He went around saving towns from great evils, destroying huge monsters and even taking out armies single handed. He was the one man who created all the great death trees to save our world from the uprising epidemics that hit each clan. That includes our own pyromancer clan. He planted five large phoenix trees, one of the smaller ones is the center of this very village!¡± not even taking a breath she continues to lash out random facts about Xeodra. I reach out and grab her shoulders firmly, I bring my face close to hers and stare her in the eyes. I then calmly say ¡°Get a hold of yourself Cecelia, you can take you time and talk about Xeodra all you want but do please remember your manners and let us put in some input.¡± She looks me in the eyes and nods. I can feel a new fire of determination in her and let her go. ¡°haha I¡¯m really glad we finally got you to talk¡± I give her a brief smile then turn around to the others and motion them over. For the rest of the day we talk about different things but Cecelia somehow always brought it back to pyromancy magic or Xeodra in some way. Over the next few weeks Cecelia is still as quite as ever at school but after school when we meet up she perks up slightly and will have input on the conversation. She is still very shy but she is definitely opening up to us more bit by bit. She even asked me to start training her in using pyromancy, in fact she is a very diligent and bright student, she learns much faster than either of my other two students. After a few more weeks the four of us became friends. I didn¡¯t even realize when it was happening but I am glad it did. One day while we were at lunch break Cecelia pulls a rather large box out of her pack. Everyone at our table anxiously stares at it. Something I forgot to mention about school is everyone has to bring their own food, and well Cecelia always bring the most delicious looking food. The smell alone makes me jealous. The reason we all look so anxious is that we hope she may share with us. Cecelia takes a deep breath in and then lets it out she glances at us and begins to blush a little from the combined weight of our stares. ¡°I umm I usually cook my own food, but I told my mom about my new friends and she said it would be good if I tried making food for you guys too. So I ummm if you want you can¡­¡± Aarushi interrupts her mid conversation. ¡°Yessss! You¡¯re going to share that with us right? I¡¯m so excited!¡± she then reaches toward the large box with drool practically coming off her mouth. I swat at Aarushi¡¯s hand and give her a stern look. ¡°If you¡¯re too hasty you will build bad Karma!¡± Lucarus being calm mind about everything except for karma begins to wriggle around uneasily. I apologize to Cecelia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Aarushi she has no manners. Please keep going.¡± Cecelia clasps her hand around her mouth and holds back a small giggle. ¡°You are all so silly, please have some¡­ I¡¯m sorry for being so shy.¡± She then opens the box to unveil a large pizza looking dish. With the technology this world has, something like this would take a lot of effort and time. ¡°I worked hard so please enjoy it.¡± Aarushi Sticks her tongue out at me and then dives toward the box and begins pulling pieces onto her plate. Lucarus looks over to me checking for confirmation and I nod giving him the go ahead. He then reaches over and secures a few pieces for himself. I also grab a few slices and place them in front of me. Aarushi and Lucarus are already happily chowing down. I look over at Cecelia and she seems to be staring in my direction waiting for me to eat. I guess she wants to make sure we like it before she starts eating it herself. I take a bite and unintentionally make a small sound of satisfaction with the first bight. It almost melts in my mouth. I can¡¯t believe Cecelia can make something as delicious as this. ¡°Oh my Suzaku, this is amazing, I absolutely love it!¡± at these words Cecelia lights up, both her face and mark glow in bliss. Aarushi moans ¡°it¡¯s sooooo gooooood!!¡± Lucarus knowing better than talk with his mouth full nods in agreement and gives a thumbs up. Cecelia gives another smile and then begins to eat her portion as well. After that day Cecelia would bring us all food every couple of days. I don¡¯t know how but she makes the best food I have ever tried in this world. A few more years pass peacefully like this the four of us becoming closer as friends and slowly developing our skills. We all got stronger at using fire, the strength ratio went me at the lead with Lucarus and Cecelia tied in second, and Aarushi falling dead last. Physical strength would go to Aarushi and Lucarus tied in first, me slightly behind them both and Cecelia a bit behind me. I had the most agility and acrobatic skills out of the four of us with Cecelia below me, Lucarus below her, and Aarushi being way below everyone else. If we were to make a battle team, Aarushi would be our tank, Lucarus would be the attacker, Cecelia being a rear guard and my self being the leader both attacking and issuing commands. I think we will make a great team in the future. The time for Suzaku¡¯s test approaches us. The other team of four has their test two weeks before we have ours. Fear and excitement fill me and my team. Tomorrow things in the village will change forever. Our fellow classmates will both become far stronger and begin combat training, or they will die¡­ my team will follow shortly after, let¡¯s pray for the best. Chapter 7-Last Two Weeks Chapter 7-Last Two Weeks My breathing his heavy and my head is spinning. The voices around me can barely be heard. I look around me and all of the villagers surround Cecelia, Aarushi, Lucarus and I. We are kneeling down sitting on our feat. Aarushi¡¯s father Kanuk, the village elder stands before us wearing his red ceremonial robes. I am very anxious and do not know what to do, nor what to think. A million emotions are going through my head, I¡¯m sure everyone feels the same way but not for the same reasons. I look over at Cecelia to my left and she winks at me giving off a smile. What could have changed her so much? Why did she trick me like that right before the test? I close my eyes and take a deep breath in to remember what has happened these past two weeks. I never expected any of these things to happen. ¡­ My fingertips rest against the hard brown dirt bellow me. My legs are in a half squat. My body forms the shape of an Olympic athlete about to sprint a 100 meter dash. Cecelia is to my left while Lucarus is on my right. A bead of sweet rolls over my brow and trickles down my face. Adrenaline fills my veins as my eyes focus in on the large read tree extending its branches like wild fire into the sky. I take a deep breath through my nose and exhale like I¡¯m blowing out a candle. My mark glows white through my brown leather gloves, the only memento of my late brother. The white glow shows the deep concentration and determination that I hold for this upcoming event. Aarushi angrily bites at the inside of her cheek while standing a short distance away with her arms crossed over her chest. With a large sigh she announces ¡°UUUGGHH, I don¡¯t know why you guys won¡¯t let me be a part of the race. I am a faster runner than any of you!¡± I think inside my head ¡®that may or may not be true but your climbing would definitely make you fall dead last. Also she lost the game of rock-paper-scissors. ¡¯ Aarushi scoffs then steps forward while raising one hand ¡°Ready¡­ Set¡­GO!¡± she jumps in the air throwing her hand down toward the ground. My muscles explode with strength as I propel myself forward. I pump my arms while driving my legs forward. With my power I Circulate the heat in my body to forcibly make myself stronger and faster. Lucarus and I are neck and neck a few feet in front of Cecelia when we reach the giant phoenix tree. I jump up directly at the base of the tree kicking off of it like some type of spring board while reaching toward a branch several feet higher than the ones Lucarus and Cecelia Jump at. I barely catch the branch and allow my momentum to swing my feet under and eventually over the tree branch. As my body begins to flip over and my head faces the ground I release my grip from the branch and begin to fly higher into the tree. I do a single back flip to get my feet back under me while landing perfectly on another branch higher in the tree. I do not take the time to look below me knowing the others would shortly be on my tail. I run at a branch slightly above me and use it as some type of monkey bar flinging myself up and forward from branch to branch reaching higher and higher but never quite landing solidly. Doing flips and cart wheels to build more momentum and reach higher branches. Sometimes I use my legs to catch onto a branch above me when I¡¯m stuck in mid flip. After a few more moments I have my head pop out of the clearing of branches and reach the highest point. I quietly tell myself ¡°Wow, I really did it.¡± Looking down I see Cecelia got a small lead on Lucarus but they were still three or four jumps below me. I guess I didn¡¯t need to rush so much. While waiting for the others to catch up I look into the distance at my favorite spot. A red, yellow and green canvas is painted outside of the village. Several small blue rivers weave through the mountains joining together into one large dark blue body plowing through the southern plain. My favorite spot however is a black and grey blotch, the cave that I set my eyes on several years ago. Once I finish the Challenge with my friends I would like to go to that place. While deep in thought Cecelia lands next to me on the branch. Panting and out of breath she puts her hands on her knees and looks up at me ¡°Dam I guess you win!¡± She has gained a lot of confidence over these past four years and now feels like a regular girl. She will laugh and play with us, and talk with us for hours about random things. She still doesn¡¯t talk too much with people outside of our group but she won¡¯t hide herself when being confronted either. ¡°I was really hoping I would win, the prize is just too awesome to give up!¡± Lucarus lands on our branch much less winded then Cecelia. ¡°Dam right, I wanted to be in charge for once, is there anything we can beat Deadra in?¡± ¡°I could win if we ever competed in cooking!¡± Cecelia smiles softly while rubbing her hands together and standing up straight. ¡°Haha, you guys wouldn¡¯t know what to do if I ever let you be the boss. So what undying command should I give out?¡± Whenever we have a competition, the winner can issue one command to each loser, No complaining and no disobeying. Sometimes I would purposely lose, or play a game like rock skipping or rock-paper-scissors to let the others win. However today I had a purpose to win, I already knew what I needed to make everyone do. ¡°Let¡¯s go back down to see Aarushi.¡± Everyone quickly descends. ¡°My command will be the same to all of you. You must decide. Will you take the test in two weeks or will you be a coward and run away. I will give each of you twenty four hours to decide. Meet here tomorrow at the same time. Whatever choice you make must be followed through.¡± I finish my speech then glance at each person¡¯s face. Aarushi stares straight forward unwavering from her spot, her eyes say she has already decided a long time ago. Lucarus looks directly at me trying to conceal a smile. Cecelia avoids my eyes and casts her own toward the ground, her hand covers her mark and her shoulders slouch slightly. They all have different feelings about what the test is. Lucarus speaks up first. ¡°Although I already decided a while ago, I¡¯ll wait tell tomorrow to tell you. I just hope everyone else makes the same decision as me.¡± Aarushi tilts her head slightly then straightens up. While putting her hand on her chest she smugly says. ¡°My answer should be obvious; I am going to be the future priestess after all.¡± She then turns around and walks back home. Lucarus makes a small laugh. ¡°I guess there is no point in staying here and talking. See you later!¡± he starts walking away then turns his head around and waves goodbye. ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys at the river before the other groups test!¡± Only Cecelia and I remain in the shadow of the giant red tree. I place my hand on her shoulder and her head darts up looking at me. I see her eyes glisten slightly as she wipes her face. ¡°I .. I should go to¡­¡± I put a small pressure in my hand and look her in the eyes. ¡°If you need someone to talk to I¡¯m always here for you, your one of my good friends.¡± A mix of emotions rushes over Cecelia. She looks down at the ground once more. ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ could you meet me here later tonight I need some time to think.¡± ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll see you shortly after sun set.¡± I let go of her shoulder and give her a light smile. About an hour later I go to the river bank to see the ceremony once again. Kanuk goes through his normal speech and the four children go across the river. I have witnessed many tests since my brothers, some go without a single person dying, others go without a single person surviving, and everything in-between. They always go in groups of four; it is a tradition to do so. Every time I see another tree grow on the river side my anger for Suzaku grows stronger. My determination to kill him is now iron clad and unwavering. If he is real I will kill him. If it is all just a disease, I will cure it. Either way this disease I personally named Suzaku will end. Only half of the group decides to take the test while the others flee into the forest. Both of the test takers survive and swim back to this side. There is no point in asking them what happened or asking for any advice, they will say the same thing as everyone else. ¡°Wait for your turn, it¡¯s different for everyone. Just know once the roots begin to form its game over.¡± If roots begin to leave your legs or hands you can¡¯t go back, no one has survived once even a single root breaks the skin. The roots are the sign of death. Some people see visions, others just burn with rage and pain. The one thing that everyone shares is the possibility of death and an unmeasurable amount of pain. I squeeze my fists tightly together and walk away from the rest of the people. ¡°I better go find something to release the anger on.¡± I decide to jog around the village a few times before going back home and reading some more books. Night falls before I realize it. ¡°Mom, dad I¡¯m heading out!¡± I head for the phoenix tree. Cecelia is sitting on one of the lower branches when I arrive. I walk up below her. ¡°Hey how are you feeling?¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.She looks down and me for a few moments ¡°Catch me!¡± for moment I don¡¯t understand what she means and become confused but then she jumps off the branch in my direction. Not having time to think I reach out to catch her but half fail. She lands in my arms but I end up falling down myself. I¡¯m lying on my back as she sits on top of my stomach. ¡°Haha thanks for catching me!¡± She gets off of me and stands up with a small umph sound. Still lying on the ground I ask ¡°Why did you do that? Normally you jump down on your own!¡± She steps back and looks away hiding her hand behind her back. ¡°Ummm listen I heard that the more you can control heat within your body the more likely you have to survive. You need to be able to suppress the heat with in and release it at will also¡­ or something like that.¡± I thought who lived and who died was random? Does she know something I don''t or is someone just trying to give her false hope? Either way it won''t hurt to help lift her spirits and play along. ¡°Well that¡¯s good, were all pretty good at that, especially you. You are probably the best at manipulating fire besides myself in our group.¡± I kick my legs into the air and launch myself back onto my feet with ease. ¡°So you have nothing to worry about.¡± She looks at me uneasy ¡°Yeah I know but¡­ can you show me how you build your fire up again?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you also do the same thing?¡± ¡°Well¡­yeah but I am having trouble and I just want to see you do it again, you know the one where you need to pour it into the fire container.¡± She points at the small clear orb with a chunk of phoenix tree sitting inside of it resting in the mouth of my Freyfire family medallion. ¡°Oh yeah sure, and when I finish I¡¯ll let you borrow it and try for yourself!¡± I give her a quick smile before beginning. I put the container into my hand and close my eyes. I begin to store up all my energy into the palms of my hands. I compress the power into small points continuously accumulating it and folding it in on itself. Silently in my head I think of how much easier and how much more power I will have in just a short two weeks. I continue to build the energy while pulling heat into my hands. Then something strange happens. A rush of hot air blows over my face, was it a gust from the plains? No, I can¡¯t get distracted I need to do this perfectly for Cecelia. One more puff of hot air covers my face for a second but I ignore it and concentrate the power into my hands. A few moments later I let the built up power explode into the orb. I feel the orb absorbing everything from me. I open my eyes to see the orb leaving a faint glow then dissipating away. I look up toward Cecelia but she isn¡¯t there, I look all around me but she seems to have gone. What happened to her? I look around for a while but eventually give up figuring she went home to sleep. I decide to do the same. The next day at noon I go to the phoenix tree to get everyone¡¯s decisions. Lucarus is the first one there. He is leaning against the tree with one foot resting on the tree behind him, his arms are crossed. ¡°Hey have you decided what your choice is?¡± Lucarus looks at me and says ¡°I want to wait tell everyone else shows up. I assume you already decide as well?¡± I nod in agreement. ¡°You should have ordered us to do something else, what your really should have done is ordered Cecelia to make us tasty food every day for a week!¡± Lucarus starts rubbing hands together while licking his lips. Honestly all he ever thinks about is beating me in a competition or eating her food. Well that and karma. ¡°Haha I¡¯ll make sure to do that next time, but I¡¯ll also command that she isn¡¯t allowed to give you any.¡± I wink at him with a cheeky smile. ¡°Hey that¡¯s not fair! If you do that you will be getting bad karma I¡¯m sure of it!¡± he jokingly hits me on the shoulder. ¡°Hey now break it up you two, if anyone is going to punch Deadra it¡¯s me!¡± Aarushi puts her thumb to her chest proudly as her and Cecelia walk up to us. ¡°You couldn¡¯t hit the broad side of a barn.¡± Aarushi tilts her head and blankly stares at me for a few moments then Lucarus buts in and asks ¡°What¡¯s a barn?¡± I raise my shoulders while facing my palms to the sky ¡°I don¡¯t know I was just making up random stuff.¡± This is bad! I accidently brought up something from my past life. I need to find a distraction. I know, I look over at Cecelia and ask ¡°never mind that, what happened to you last night, I was showing you how to shift energy around and you just disappeared?¡± She looks over to Aarushi nervously. ¡°I ummm I forgot something at home and had to run off! Sorry I didn¡¯t say anything¡­¡± she looks at the ground ringing her hands in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re acting kind of strange today, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Aarushi jumps in front of me in a panic and yells ¡°you idiot! Its cuz¡± Cecelia grabs her shoulder. ¡°ugh oh umm its cuz she is worried about the exam of course.¡± Aarushi then turns around to Cecelia ¡°Come on lets go talk somewhere else.¡± ¡°Wait what about the decision everyone had to make?¡± I can¡¯t let them escape just like that. Lucarus steps in front of me ¡°You guys can leave, he never said we had to share what our choice was, he just said we had to decide and then meet up here. Maybe we should all go and prepare ourselves properly. I¡¯m going home too.¡± He then walks off in the other direction. When did he become so cunning? I need to start being more specific about what I say. After that everyone left and I decide to just climb around on the tree. I can¡¯t wait to be able to leave the village and climb from tree to tree swinging around in the free and open air. After that I didn¡¯t see any one else in the group until the day of the test. I sit in my house at the table getting ready for the test. When I stand up about to leave I hear a knocking at my door. When I open it I see Cecelia slouching her shoulders and staring at the ground with her hands hidden behind her back. ¡°Ummm sorry to bother you but¡­ can I see the way you control energy again real fast before the test?¡± I raise one of my eyebrows for a moment then shrug it off. ¡°Yeah let¡¯s go sit down.¡± We go over to the table and sit down. Cecelia takes the seat next to me and turns in my direction. ¡°Make sure you face this way so I can see everything properly!¡± ¡°Okay¡± I turn her way and pull out the small orb. ¡°Watch carefully ok?¡± She nods her head. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I begin to pile the energy into my hands like I usually do when suddenly a weird sensation comes over me. I feel a rush of hot air go over my face oddly similar to the one I felt two weeks ago. I decide to ignore it again and concentrate on my hands, but a moment later I drop the ball. I feel a light but soft pressure on my lips. It last for a second before I come to my senses and open my eyes. Cecelia has her lips pressed against mine and her eyes closed. Her eyes open slightly to reveal a bright green color, her blond hair glides down covering one of them slightly. When she sees my eyes are open her eyelids shoot open and she releases the lock on my lips. She backs up her entire body and she stares at me for a moment or two then begins to stand up trying to run away. I gently grab her arm to stop her. She completely freezes in fear not knowing what to do. I stand up next to her and give her a brief smile. I then circle my arms around her and embrace her in a hug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I leave those words hanging in the air for a few moments deciding what to say next. I never knew she felt this way, I¡¯m sorry because of that. Or am I sorry because I don¡¯t see her that way? What are my feelings for Cecelia? Maybe in a few more years when she gets older I might be able to see her that way but not now, not yet. I release her from my grip and look her in the eyes. I gently press my lips against her cheek. I walk out the door in silence leaving Cecelia standing alone in my house. After I take two steps out of the house I hear a loud noise from both sides of me. Aarushi jumps onto my right side And Lucarus jabs my left arm. ¡°What happened, did she do it? Are you guys dating now?¡± Lucarus has a giant grin on his face as he continues to jab at my arm. Aarushi shouts ¡°of course they are! We worked so hard for this plan! She couldn¡¯t have chickened out a second time!¡± she squeezes the life out of my arm and rubs her crimson hair on my shoulder laughing. I push Aarushi off of me and start walking at a faster pace. I say nothing. Lucarus confusingly speaks up ¡°Hey wait up what happened.¡± ¡°Let him go, he¡­ he made his choice.¡± Cecelia steps out from my house meekly saying those words. I continue in silence toward the river back, my head spinning with thoughts, I don¡¯t know what I want but all I know is that the test is coming, whether I want it to or not. Chapter 8 Suzakus test Chapter 8-Suzaku¡¯s test I arrive at the edge of the river and observe my surroundings. Most of the town is already gathered ready to watch who survives. Kanuk is dressed in his Red ceremonial robe. He comes up to me and asks. ¡°Are you guys ready to begin?¡± I turn around and see Cecelia, Aarushi, and Lucarus standing behind me. I didn¡¯t realize they followed so close behind me, I guess I was lost in thought. I wonder what they think of me now. I didn¡¯t know Lucarus and Aarushi were both in on the plan to set me up with Cecelia. How long have they been planning that for? Do they all hate me now? Aarushi Silently nods her head and sits down by the river. She sits on her feet in a kneeling position. She faces away from the river and begins scanning everyone who has come to watch. I also nod my head and take a seat to the left of Aarushi in the same manner as her. Cecelia takes a deep breath. ¡°Yeah I have done everything I need to.¡± She then takes a seat to my left. Lucarus glares at me for a second then goes over and sits next to Aarushi. For me the atmosphere is highly uncomfortable. I have a million things racing through my head. Will I survive Suzaku¡¯s test? Why did Cecelia do that? Why did she kiss me? Will everyone else be able to survive the test, or will they even attempt it in the first place? They never gave me their answers. I have so many questions and no answers. I look over at Cecelia and realize she had been staring at me this whole time. She puts a smile on her face and gives me a quick wink. Why did she do that? Did she not realize I dumped her, or does this mean she forgives me? Why did she have to do something like this in the first place? She is way too young to be thinking about stuff like that, she is only ten years old! Wait does she even know what a kiss means? I guess we have never had sexual education at school yet, and in this world my parents haven¡¯t told me about anything like that either¡­ maybe her parents have talked to her already. I guess I should sit her down and have a proper conversation after we finish the test. But what will I tell her? I can¡¯t say she is too young for me because we are the same age, and well I can¡¯t lie to her either. But if I tell the truth she won¡¯t believe that I was reborn into this world with memories of past lives. My continuous flow of thoughts are stopped when Kanuk puts his hand on my shoulder and places the phoenix seed in my hand. He whispers ¡°I wish you the best of luck, try to make the energy flow like this.¡± He pulls some heat energy from my shoulder then pushes it back into me. He then walks away and goes to Cecelia next. I didn¡¯t even realize he had begun his speech. I have been in my own world. I need to start paying attention. I take a deep breath and look into the crowd. I see my mother and father watching me. They are holding hands while both of their marks glow a dark purple. This is a mix of fear and depression. I lip the words ¡°I love you!¡± and a small smile crosses each of their faces. I see a single tear drips down my mother¡¯s face. I will survive this, I must survive this. Kanuk finishes his last words and gives his prayer for us. The four of us stand up in unison and look over at each other. Lucarus puts on a face I have never seen him use before. I wonder what he must be thinking. Aarushi has a blissful look of determination, no fear in her eyes. She seems pretty confident. I look to the other side and catch Cecelia¡¯s eyes. They do not hold fear nor determination, just a deep pit of sorrow. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t return your feelings yet. Maybe in a few more years when you¡¯re older I can. We all turn around and face the river. Each of us take a few steps into the shallow bank until we reach the part that drops into a deep white rushing river. I take a deep breath and dive in head first leaving the others behind. I kick my legs and pull with my arms going deeper into the river my head still under water. The rushing current continuously drags me down stream. The cold currents constantly lash at my skin. The frigid water saps the energy and heat from my body, I do not feel cold but I can feel a constant release of fire burning inside me. If I did not have this power warming me, my hands and feet would begin to feel numb. Silence envelops me, the water blocks out all noise. If I didn¡¯t have to fight for my life to keep from floating away, this would be extremely peaceful. Pressure begins to fill my chest as I use up the last bits of air in my lungs. My head pops out of the river and I gasp for air filling my lungs. Water clashes on the surface and slaps me in the face. This feels like being in the ocean from my first world, just without the salt. I swim free style to the other side and crawl onto the land. Resting on my hands and knees I pant uncontrollably. Several seconds go by like this before Lucarus and Aarushi crawl onto the bank next to me. I regain my composure and stand up. ¡°That river is a lot bigger than it looks.¡± Aarushi looks up and smiles ¡°I like the challenge!¡± Lucarus keeps his head down and continues to pant. ¡°No kidding¡­ I almost thought I would die... I don¡¯t know if I could have brought myself to jump in if I didn¡¯t see you do it first.¡± He lifts one of his hands and gives me a thumbs up still keeping his head facing the ground. A few seconds later Cecelia reaches the bank and I walk over to her. I grab her hand and pull her onto shore ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Cecelia takes a few more deep breaths and then looks at me with a smile. ¡°Thank you very much, maybe on the way back we you could just drag me the whole way?¡± ¡°haha I don¡¯t know if I have the strength but I will do my best.¡± I pat her on the shoulder and start to turn toward the forest. Cecelia grabs my leg and says ¡°Wait help me up.¡± I grab her hand and do as she says. I hear a slight bit of giggling coming from Aarushi¡¯s direction. I point at a small clearing. ¡°Come on everyone lets gather in a circle over there.¡± We all gather into a circle and stand in silence for a few short moments. Lucarus asks the group ¡°does everyone still have their seeds?¡± I nod my head and look toward the girls. Aarushi pumps he fist in the air with a smug look on her face. Cecelia nods her head while ringing the bottom of her shirt nervously. I clear my throat and announce. ¡°I will be taking mine, you all of a choice to make, I will not judge you for running away.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.Lucarus punches me in the shoulder ¡°You know I will follow you anywhere, plus I was planning on taking the seed from the beginning.¡± He puts his hand behind his head and gives the cheeky smile of his like he always does. His two front teeth are missing. He is truly my best friend in this world, I¡¯m glad he will take the test with me. Aarushi puts her fingers to her lips and tilts her head. ¡°Why would you need to say something like that, we wouldn¡¯t run away, this is something we have wanted to do for a long time!¡± she then removes her finger and slightly dabs my nose with it. What was that? I have never had her do something like that before. She then looks to Lucarus. ¡°And you, I remember seeing you pace back and forth freaking out about it a few days ago, you were totally reconsidering it!¡± Lucarus pulls his fist up in front of him ¡°If you weren¡¯t a girl I would totally hit you right now, way to ruin the moment!¡± ¡°Your ruined it by being to cheesy!¡± Aarushi sticks her tongue out and pulls down on the skin below her right eye. ¡°LLLUUUUGGGHHH¡± Cecelia giggles with her hand over her mouth. ¡°I love you guys so much, let¡¯s do this together!¡± I hold my seed out in front of me ¡°Everyone put your hands in like this¡± the group does as I say. ¡°On three we give a cry to victory then take our seeds. One! Two! Three!¡± Everyone in unison shouts ¡°Victory!¡± and then pulls their hands to their mouths and swallows their respective seeds. I¡¯m glad no one was mad at me in the end. A smile forms across my face. All the energy that I lost from the river is replenished in an instant, and then even more forces its way into me. All this power gushing inside of me, it¡¯s like a dream. All the time I spent trying to build up power over time feels wasted as an unbelievable amount fills me. All my senses are heightened and a tingling sensation covers my body. My adrenaline begins to pump and sweet covers my body. I feel like I can do anything in this world and nothing can stop me! This feeling however slowly begins to be replaced. Fear and anxiety over take my mind; a burning sensation begins to cover my skin. Red flames engulf my vision and the sound of the river is masked by my own screams of pain. The heat of the flames over take me, enveloping me in pain. My skin begins to melt away. My blood feels like it is boiling. Every inch of my body screams in pain and I fall to the ground. I am being burned alive, but this is not the worst part of the pain. Inside my stomach I can feel the roots dig into me. The seed is clawing its way out of my body ripping holes inside of me. I can feel it wiggle through my stomach to my arms and legs. I can feel a root rip open my skin and dig into the earth and then my mind goes blank. ¡­ All the pain fades from my body, the noise, the fear, everything. I feel a familiar feeling once more, I am in purgatory. Dam it! I wasn¡¯t supposed to die. I knew as soon as the roots began to expand it was the end but I still held hope. Why does this have to happen, I was building friendships and gaining strength. Why did I have to die! [Pain] Hugh? It¡¯s that voice again, It sounded almost muffled¡­ [Die] I¡¯m already dead, why did it tell me to die? [Nonsense] Is this voice talking to me? Does it even know I am here? What is going on I don¡¯t understand! [Dream] This doesn¡¯t make sense. I don¡¯t understand. What do those four words have in common? Pain, Die, Nonsense, and Dream¡­ What does it all mean? What is this place? Who are you!? ¡­ No answer¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait to be resected¡­ ¡­ I am beginning to fade now¡­ ¡­ Images pass by my vision. A large muscular man with great orange and red feathers coming from his back and a large bird skull resting on his head stands in front of me. His face is shrouded in darkens. He wields a large double edge blade almost six feet long. Black bandages are wrapped around his arms and legs, a pelt of feathers around his waist. A scar the shape of a campfire covers his chest, several cuts and bruises cover his body. Blood drips from his blade. He raises his sword and begins to strike it at me but a flash of grey fills my eyes and the clashing of metal echoes through the dark room. Darkness fills my vision, soon replaced with fire. Pain coming from my hands and legs shoot through my body like dozens of needles poking out of my skin and muscles. Heat radiates around me. The flames begin to dissipate. I look down at the burnt ground around me. My arms and legs are stuck to the ground by red roots protruding from my body. I pull at my arm and the roots tug back. I force my arm away from the ground and the roots pull out of me. Blood gushes from where the roots once sat. I rip out the rest of the roots and stand up. I look in front of me and see Lucarus and Aarushi staring in my direction with fear and confusion. Somehow I survived the phoenix seed. What were those images? Why did I end up in purgatory again? I flex my hands and put a small portion of power into it. Smoke begins to funnel out of my hand. Flames extend from my palm shaping itself to my command. An orange ball of flames the size of my head forms in my hand. I have never been able to produce such a large flame with such little effort. I have grown, I am strong now. I look around trying to find Cecelia. I look at Aarushi and Lucarus ¡°Where is Cecelia?¡± They both look down at a tree directly in front of me. ¡°No, NOOO! You¡¯re lying! She didn¡¯t die! She couldn¡¯t die!¡± I drop to the ground at the base of the new sapling and begin to cry. She was my friend. I never got a chance to talk to her about what happened. We never got to go into the forest together. Why does this dam world have to be so cruel! Fury and rage fill my body and mind as I let my powers explode wildly. Flames shoot from every part of my body. Cries of pain and agony slip from my mouth as tear drops evaporate before fully forming. Lucarus gulps and walks toward me. ¡°How are you still alive? You were turning into a tree. We thought you both died¡­¡± A sorrowful and quivering voice replaces his usually charming one. I continue to cry ignoring his question. Lucarus and Aarushi kneel down next to me and wrap their arms around me. Both of them begin to cry along with me. Today we gained great strength but at what cost. Chapter 9-The Forest Challange Chapter 9 ¨C The Forest Challenge Three weeks passed since Suzaku¡¯s test. Due to injuries from the roots developing through my body I have been bed ridden the entire time. For parts of it I was alone with nothing but my thoughts; the thoughts of Cecelia dying, thoughts of her kissing me prior to the test, and thoughts of purgatory. These poisonous ideas cloud my mind, torturing me day and night. I may have gone mad if it wasn¡¯t for Lucarus and Aarushi coming to my bed side every day. Lucarus would come in and talk about the future. He would idolize the many adventures and dangers we will soon encounter inside the forest. The free and open land lay in front of us, trees as far as the eye can see with nothing holding us back to run, climb and jump. Exaggerating the ease to which we strike down monsters with our new found power. He wishes for us to become an unstoppable force that could change the world. He has big dreams for us; wanting us to become heroes that go around saving people all across the land. I laugh and joke with him, I know these things are impossible but for some reason he looks up to me and truly believes we can change the world. His unending hopes make me almost want to hope for the same things. Aarushi comes and visits me with completely random ideas or strange items. One time she brought a mouse she found in her house over to show me how ¡®cute¡¯ she thought it was. While displaying the small rodent to me she accidently dropped it on my face causing me to freak out and fall off the bed. It reopened a few of my wounds, and I still see the dam thing scurry around at night. I know she means well but she is the biggest idiot I know. With this in mind I still consider her my best friend after Lucarus. During this time I realized that I had more goals than just fixing the Suzaku problem. I want to become strong to protect my friends. I want to fall in love. I want to live this life to the fullest and become the best I can. But even saying this one day if I get the chance I will find a way to stop people from having to use the Death seed. Since the test I have learned two things. The first is why people do no learn how to use fire before the test; the second is a new collection of abilities. Comparing the amount of power I had prior to what I have now would be like comparing a cup of water to an entire lake. Supposedly everyone in my race has this kind of power after the test. This means I am not special and the last ten years of pyromancy was completely wasted. The set of new skills I hold will be displayed during the challenge to leave the village. Aarushi explained the Challenge to Lucarus and me while I was in bed. It is three parts. The first is an exam on the monsters outside the village. This includes strengths, weakness, and general knowledge of beasts. We learned all of these things in school so everyone should pass. The second part is a test of practical abilities. The practical abilities that are tested are climbing, pyromancer capabilities, and survival techniques such as cooking and gathering. The final part of the test is combat. You can have all the knowledge in the world but without actual defensive capabilities you would die in the wild. Aarushi also explained a few minor details. If one fails to do the exam by themselves they can partner up and do it with other people. Once you pass the exam you can take anyone of age with you into the forest, meaning not everyone in your party needs to pass the exam to leave the village. Today I am fully healed and will take the challenge. But first I¡¯m going to grab breakfast. As I leave I hear a squeal from the kitchen. Aris runs up to me ¡°You¡¯re finally better!¡± She rushes over to me and wraps her arms around me. ¡°I was so worried!¡± I hug her back. ¡°I thought if you survived the test there was nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°Heavens no, I was always told that if roots begins to form anywhere on your body it means certain death. I still don¡¯t know how you¡¯re alive now.¡± She releases me from her grip. ¡°I guess you can¡¯t believe everything your told.¡± I nod my head ¡°Haha well that¡¯s obvious, they said it¡¯s impossible to use fire before you receive the seed, but the truth is it¡¯s just extremely hard.¡± Aris gives me a smile and says "haha I guess that''s true." ¡°I was able to make a small flame in my hand and a few other tricks before I was even old enough to take the test.¡± My mother crosses her arms ¡°And maybe that is why you survived. Or maybe it was just random luck. I know before you have said Cecelia was able to make fire, but...¡± Aris trails off for a moment before going back into the kitchen. After breakfast I head over to the giant red tree where the test should begin. Lucarus and Aarushi are already there along with one of the town guards. The town guard sees me and waves me over ¡°We all seem to be gathered here now. I assume you three will be doing the challenge together?¡± Aarushi nods her head immediately shouting. ¡°Definitely!¡± Lucarus also nods and says. ¡°Of course.¡± I cross my arms before speaking. ¡°Actually I will be taking mine alone, I wish to test my skills, and I wish to be able to leave town alone as well.¡± I look over to Lucarus and Aarushi to see their surprised expressions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry if I pass I can take you with me even if you fail. If all of us fail we can just take it again together.¡± The guard lets out a small laugh. ¡°I like the way you think kid, but don¡¯t be too cocky until you actually take the challenge.¡± I look at him in the eyes and say without hesitation. ¡°I will not fail!¡± Aarushi rushes up behind me yelling ¡°I¡¯m going to pass too!¡± Lucarus steps up next to me and sheepishly speaks. ¡°Me too¡­ I¡¯ll try my best.¡± We separate and take our tests. I go first. The oral portion is easy. The first question asks us to describe a quadwolf. A quadwolf is similar to a wolf from my world, except it has four eyes. Two on the front like normal wolves for hunting smaller prey, and two on the side of its head to be able to pick up on any larger predators. This is similar to a combination of rabbit eyes and wolf eyes. They need this because monsters in this world can become much stronger and bigger than in my world. Their weakness is attacks from above. The questions and answers continued like this. After thirty minutes I finished and continue on to the second phase. The guard commandingly yells ¡°Climb up this tree as fast as you can!¡± I do as he says and wait at the top. ¡°Ok get down here! That was pretty fast for your age, your quit agile. But you¡¯re still not perfect so keep practicing! Anyways next I want you to show me your fire.¡± I give off a slight smile, if I am going to impress him with anything it will be this. I bring my hands up to my chest and take a deep breath. I begin to pour energy into them, but before I ignite the air the guard holds his hand out and yells. ¡°Wait, I know you haven¡¯t had much practice with fire since you just gained the ability a few weeks ago so why do you start step by step by putting energy into the small orb you have around your neck.¡± I pull a page out of Aarushi¡¯s book and tilt my head in confusion. This guy is looking down on me! But whatever I should just follow what he says and complete the test. I grab the orb Lucarus gave me for my birthday form my necklace and put it into my hand. This is going to be easy now that I have so much extra energy. While cradling the ball I gather energy in to my hands. I pull heat from the pit of my stomach. I push it all out in a continuously flow like a water fall. The red piece of wood inside of the clear glass glows brightly and radiates with heat. This is expected, but then suddenly something happens. The ball expands and the red wood inside begins to dance and grow like an actual fire. Extending its roots through the expanding glass, glowing with a warm amber light, and moving in an unpredictable and flickering manner gives it the feeling of a real fire. After about ten seconds I expend almost half my energy and the orb is the size of a large watermelon. I never expected something like this to happen. The guard rubs his chin while saying ¡°hmmm seems you¡¯re the explosive type, you will have a lot of trouble controlling the fire and making it do small and fine gestures. Also harming your friends in the future is very possible; it¡¯s a good choice you decided to take the challenge alone.¡± I raise one eye brow then rebuttal, ¡°What are you talking about, I purposely made my energy escape quickly.¡± I raise my hand with each of my fingers spread apart then pour a small porting of energy into each one. The tips of my fingers look as if they have been replaced by lighters as a small flame pours out of each tip. Exaggerating each movement I slowly curl my fingers slightly bringing the small flames into one larger one. With the larger flame I drop it over my arm and let the it engulf my hand and arm, slowly trickling over my skin. The bright orange fire molds perfectly to my hand and fore arm creating a glove of fire. I look back at the guard who has lowered his hand from his chin and stares in my direction. ¡°I can keep going if you would like.¡± The guard puts his hand back on his chin and looks into the distance. ¡°People your age shouldn¡¯t have that much control over fire, nor should they be able to switch from such extremes. How much of your energy did you place into the orb?¡± I quickly answer his question hoping for more information to come. ¡°I put about half of it in there.¡± ¡°That makes it impossible to be one of Xeodra¡¯s decedents; otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have so little energy.¡± ¡°How much energy would be normal for my age? And is there a way to increase my maximum energy?¡± ¡°You have a normal amount for your age. One of Xeodra¡¯s decedents could have up to ten times that right now. The only way to increase it more is to use it every day. Most warriors in their mid-twenties would have thirty to forty times that energy, so you¡¯re still an infant. There are rumors that some people build it up to several hundred times more than what you have now, but those people are usually leaders or heroes. Xeodra was said to have an unlimited amount of energy from when he was only a child, maybe that¡¯s why he could control more than just one clan¡¯s power.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. My mouth drops open. I will need to work myself to the limit every day if I want to become as powerful as a worrier let alone some type of hero. I¡¯m sorry Cecelia, I won¡¯t be able to become the man you look up to. A sad face forms on my face and dark green light slightly dissipates from my hand. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to kill Suzaku either, but I can still protect my friends. ¡°Hey, hey now don¡¯t get down, your just a kid you got plenty of time to get stronger!¡± he walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder, and continues talking. ¡°The amount of energy is not everything in this world, the way you use it and the techniques you acquire are just as important. You have a good head on your shoulders, if you keep working on both fire and agility, plus gain a little fighting experience you could really become something! Maybe in a few years you can actually go and try the arena!¡± I perk up slightly with that last bit. An arena sounds fun. I should ask more about that. ¡°What¡¯s the arena?¡± ¡°Haha well it¡¯s about six months south of here. It is in the town of Twin Trees. People from all over this region go to it. The town is home of two great death trees, one of them is a phoenix tree and the other is the mocking tree.¡± So many questions come to mind and all I want to do is ask everything at once but I need to use restraint. ¡°Haha let me explain further you look confused. The town is called Twin Trees because of its two death trees. Dozens of great death trees cover the world, but there are only five great phoenix trees, and our phoenix tree would not be counted among them until it bares fruit. The mocking tree belongs to the wind god of mocking, Loki. He is a god of wind and pranks. His descendants are blessed with mirage magic and the ability to control wind. The most prominent of which is the wind magic while the other just helps them do simple tricks such as minor illusions. Several other gods exist in this world each giving their decedents different powers.¡± He takes his hand of my shoulder and continues talking ¡°Let¡¯s finish your exam. We have a few more things to do before the final part.¡± The rest of the second part goes smoothly as I display my abilities to survive in the wild. Things like finding plants to eat or getting clean drinking water is what it mainly consists of. After about an hour the battle portion is about to begin. ¡°Alright I want you to refill your energy by absorbing heat from this tree, once your done come to me.¡± I refill my energy quickly. ¡°Ok I¡¯m ready!¡± ¡°Wow that was pretty fast, you are good at manipulating energy from object to object. Any ways follow me to the gate at the north side.¡± We walk to the north side and he gives a motion to one of the other guards. The other guard goes behind the wall for a few seconds then pulls a Quadwolf on a leash to his side. ¡°This is a Quadwolf as you know. They are semi-fire-retardant. You must find a way to defend yourself from this creature and escape from it. You can do this in any way you choose fit. If you believe you¡¯re in danger I will come in and help, but this will end the test in failure. When you¡¯re ready we will release it.¡± Looking at the wolf up close I was wrong about it being similar to earths wolves. Its fangs are much larger and died black. The skin is black with reddish fur protruding from it. The eyes glow yellow with red veins pulsing through them. The beast¡¯s breathing and growling is loud and sporadic. The claws on its frying pan sized paws measure several inches. This creature is much lager then me. Actually it¡¯s even slightly bigger than a full grown man. I gulp down saliva built up in my throat as a cold sweet builds on my brow. I nod my head and prepare to fight. The second guard drops the chain wrapped around its neck and it charges in my direction. I raise my hands and shoot a fire several feet in front of me in a continuous spray. Completely ignoring my flame thrower the wolf Jumps through the fire and slashes at my hands with its claws. From the force of its giant paws my hands get knocked to the side as the wolf comes in with its savage black jaws. I fall the ground raising one foot at the wolf¡¯s stomach. The weight of the wolf completely takes me by surprise and my leg crumbles beneath it. Placing both my arms in a cross formation at its neck I stop the bight from reaching my face. Frozen in fear I take a snapshot of the situation. My heart pumps to the beat of a drum solo. Sweat covers my body from head to toe sapping the heat from me. My legs entangled with the wolf¡¯s hind legs as his front legs rest a few inches from my ears. His red fur grazes my skin and I begin to bleed. I realize then that the red on his fur is from blood. I need to break through his iron like defense if I want to get him off of me. I should also aim for a weak spot. His eyes, I will push a powerful attack into his eyes. While keeping his jaws away from my face I begin to pour energy into my palms. Warm drool drips onto me, my gag reflex reacts and I swallow to keep from heaving. I take a large breath and shoot fire from my elbows to project my arms forward and push the wolf up a short distance. I close my eyes and slam his head between my palms and release all of the power I have into his head. A large bang resonates through the village and echoes back off the walls. I sit silently in fear with my eyes closed for several seconds. A slight chill comes over me. I open my eyes not to see the wolf destroyed in my hands but to see nothing but my hands covered in a black thick residue. I lower my hands and push myself into a seated position. Myself and the area round me are both covered in the same black liquid. Scanning my environment I see the wolf motionlessly sitting several feet away. Or I should say the lower half of the wolf. The shoulders up are nowhere to be seen. I look over to the guards for answers. The closer guard runs up to me ¡°Are you ok?¡± he kneels down next to me and grabs my hands. I nod slowly after mentally checking my body. ¡°Good, I really wasn¡¯t expecting something like that. With your climbing skills I figured you would run and climb up something, or maybe distract it with fire first but never did I imagine you killing it. First it would have never jumped through someone¡¯s flames like that. Somehow it was agitated by something or someone. Are you sure you¡¯re ok? That was a really high level move you did in the end.¡± I raise one of my eyebrows and cough out. ¡°What are you talking about, didn¡¯t you kill it?¡± He shakes his head before saying ¡°I didn¡¯t lift a finger that was all you. The move you did was a double explosion blast. It¡¯s a move that requires lots of energy to be released in a very short period of time, I didn¡¯t learn to do that tell I was about 19. Also an explosion blast shouldn¡¯t be possible with your little amount of energy; I can only do four or five. In fact you should have been knocked out by using so much energy so quickly, how do you feel?¡± I look up at him and honestly say. ¡°I¡¯m dead tired. I need an easier way to kill those guys¡­ and a nap.¡± ¡°Haha very good, I¡¯ll bring you home to rest now. Oh and one more thing you passed the challenge to enter the forest!¡± I get home and fall asleep immediately. I dream of going to the forest and finding a cave. Inside is a fire. I walk up to the fire then hear someone cry out ¡°Deadra what are you doing here? Get away from this place!¡± I turn around and see a figure shrouded in darkness. It cries out ¡°Deadra¡­ Deadra¡­ DEADRA!!¡± I wake with a start Aarushi placing her mouth almost in my ear, Lucarus standing a few feet back leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. ¡°Oh you¡¯re finally awake!¡± Aarushi pats me on the head then does a quick three sixty and shouts ¡°Guess who passed the challenge exam?¡± ¡°You did right?¡± ¡°Yup!¡± Aarushi squeezes her cheeks together in bliss. Lucarus puts his hand on her shoulder and sighs. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to Deadra. If you keep it up you will get bad karma. We passed, but only because they let us do it together. Let me explain what happened.¡± The results were not very surprising. Lucarus aced the first two parts but failed the third. Aarushi accomplished the exact opposite. If they go together or with me they can leave the village, I on the other hand can come and go as I please. Lucarus finishes his story with ¡°I hesitated too much with the third one and was over taken when I was trying to climb a wall. He grabbed the back of me and pulled me back down. Luckily at that point the Guard came and helped.¡± Aarushi buts her head in and exclaims. ¡°I kicked the wolf¡¯s butt left and right! I ended up scaring it away after clawing and biting at it for a while!¡± she smiles happily, then looks over at me and turns her head sideways. Placing one finger on her lips she asks ¡°How did you do?¡± I decide to be blunt and straight forward. ¡°I completely destroyed the first two tests, but the third gave me some trouble. The wolf was outraged for some reason and went berserk so I was forced to blow the upper half of its body off.¡± I jump out of bed and stretch my arms and legs. ¡°Hey do you guys want to go to the river to wash off?¡± Lucarus and Aarushi both stare at me without making a sound¡­ maybe I shouldn¡¯t have been so blunt. Either way tomorrow we will be going to the forest. Chapter 10-Monkeying Around Chapter 10 - Monkeying Around Deep inside the mountain forest I sit perched on top of a tree branch with my three best friends. I look to my left toward an orange-blonde short messy haired teenager with light speckles of freckles on his face. His teeth now perfectly straight and white he gives me a friendly smile before concentrating back toward the ground below where the enemy stands unaware of our presence. To my right is Aarushi with her thick brown fur and golden eyes. Her tail flails in the air with excitement of the hunt. I look down to see Aarushi standing before the Quadwolf we are about to kill. Her smooth crimson hair flowing behind her like a lion¡¯s mane perfectly opposes the dark red iron like fur matted over the wolf¡¯s black body. Her porcelain white shin and sturdy build opposes the deep black wolf¡¯s foreboding girth. She holds a face and posture of a determination and confidence, while the wolf holds intent of gnarled murder. I look back to my right then back at the ground. I shout out of shock ¡°What the!¡± Silently in my head I think ¡°why is Aarushi on the ground in front of the wolf, she is supposed to be to my right. No more importantly why is there a dam monkey next to me.¡± The monkey mimics Aarushi¡¯s normal pose and turns its head with a finger on its lips. Lucarus grabs my shoulder and whispers ¡°Hey the wolf noticed us, should we attack now? Or do you want Aarushi to handle it?¡± I look down to the wolf who is staring at us with its front eyes while keeping one of its side eyes on Aarushi. I command. ¡°Attack formation 3, goooo!¡± Then I plunge from my perch towards the wolf. Midair I pull a rock sharpened into a small dagger from its leather case at my side. At the same time Aarushi kicks up a cloud of dirt and shoots a stream of smoke and fire out of her hand to blind the wolf momentarily. I Stab at its neck but miss due to his jerking motions from the surprise attack from Aarushi. However I manage to land on his back and wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his midsection. The momentum from the drop rolls both of us over onto our backs. Moments later I feel the pulse of Lucarus landing on top of the pile of fur and limbs I made. A trickle of blood falling from the wolf¡¯s head and its sudden stillness explains what happened. A red flash emits from where Lucarus had struck his blade as he ignites his blade to finish the wolf off. I let go of the wolf and stand up when a barrage of shouts and screams sound from the tree tops. The monkey from earlier is clapping its hands and feet while dangling from the branch with its tail. ¡°Whoooo haaa wooo hahahaha mua!¡± The monkey calms down and gives a thumbs up before swinging away from branch to branch. Aarushi looks at me and turns her head sideways, her long hair falls over her shoulder as she asks ¡°What on earth was that thing, I have never seen something like that before!¡± I explain to the group what I know. ¡°It¡¯s called a monkey. They don¡¯t mean any harm; mainly they are just tricksters and like to play games. However they shouldn¡¯t be around this region of the forest. They usually live south of here near the water tribes¡± Lucarus Perks up his ears. ¡°Hey lets grab the body and go back to the village I think I hear something big coming. It is either more wolves or maybe a bear I can¡¯t tell.¡± Aarushi and I grab the bear and Lucarus climbs a tree. We walk back in silence. It has been over five years since we have passed the challenge exam. When we passed the challenge exam, we were told of the forest layout. About a mile in every direction from the walls we will only meet small animals like rabbits. This is where we had our hunting ground for about a year as we trained in pyromancy and hunting. After that we had our range grow to ten miles in every direction so that we could hunt wolves and other medium sized animals such as deer. We have been avoiding bears and rock golems that appear near the outer limits of our range. Bears will come to see any commotion or to the smell of blood. Rock golems are easier to ovoid but are much more dangerous. They lay motionless on the ground until something disturbs them. So far we have not had a problem with them. We have only met bears while we are caring other prey back to the town and have never had a chance to attack them. Tomorrow we plan to change that. We have wanted to go to the town of Twin Trees for a while. However to do this we must kill a bear to be considered adults and leave the town. I get out of my day dream as we get back to the village, one of the guards greets us ¡°Good day everyone, looks like you caught a big one today, you keep getting quicker each time too, but who is your friend?¡± I respond ¡°Tomorrow the catch will be bigger than ever! And what do you mean friend?¡± Almost in response to the question I hear a ¡°muah ha!¡± behind me. I turn around to see the golden eyed monkey smiling and walking behind me holding the tail of the slain wolf. Lucarus hops down from the tree. ¡°He started doing that about a mile back but I didn¡¯t bother saying anything, he looked like he wasn¡¯t going to hurt anything.¡± The monkey slams his chest with a small thud and nods his head as if he was agreeing with Lucarus. Aarushi drops the wolf and runs toward the monkey with open arms. ¡°You¡¯re so cute!!!! Give me a hug mister monkey!¡± The monkey jumps from its spot and runs behind me. The monkey wraps his hands around my arm and peaks out from behind me like it¡¯s looking out from behind a corner. His tail comes up and rests on my hip. He makes a small whine then sticks its tongue out at Aarushi. Aarushi stops running and hangs her head in defeat; a similar whimper to the monkeys was made from her direction. ¡°Fine I won¡¯t give you a hug¡­ stupid monkey.¡± I make a deep sigh before talking. ¡°Monkey why are you using me as a shield from Aarushi?¡± I peel the tail off my hip and turn around. The monkey stands up straight and raises his arms. ¡°muah Muaah!¡± He then gives me a large hug, and pats my back. He steps back a few feet then climbs back into the forest leaving without another word. I simply stare in shock not knowing what to do. Lucarus gives a small chuckle. While walking past me he pats me on the shoulder. ¡°Looks like you have a new admirer.¡± Aarushi crosses her arms while muttering under her breath. ¡°Why did he get a hug? Stupid monkey.¡± ¡­ The next day Lucarus and I are waiting by the gate outside the town checking our supplies. I list off a mental check list to Lucarus. ¡°Water bag, check.¡± The water bag was made from the stomach of a wolf a few years back. I used fire to burn the edges together into a nice round shape then made a small melted rock cork for opening and closing. ¡°Rock knife, check.¡± I have two Rock knives; I made them myself one day while waiting for prey. Shortly after Lucarus copied me and made a larger one for himself. ¡°Gloves and boots, check. Alright looks like all we need is Aarushi!¡± Lucarus perks his ears for a moment then says ¡°I think our friend is back.¡± I look around for a moment and see the monkey in a nearby tree. ¡°Dam what does that monkey want this time?¡± ¡°Oh come on he isn¡¯t that bad. Hey monkey I brought you something.¡± Lucarus pulls some berries from his pocket. ¡°Come over here if you want them.¡± The monkey jumps down and walks over on the knuckles of his four limbs. He reaches out and grabs the berries from Lucarus and makes a small nodding motion and a satisfied grunt. ¡°Good monkey, now why do you keep following us?¡± The monkey looks side to side and walks over to me. He stands up like a person and then points at me. ¡°Whauu hahaaa.¡± I raise one of my eyebrows with a puzzled look. ¡°Does the monkey understand English? More importantly why are you pointing at me?¡± The monkey gives a motion that says ¡®follow me¡¯. ¡°Why should I trust a monkey like you?¡± The monkey crosses his arms and pouts. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought!¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°It¡¯s the monkey! Come here monkey give me a hug!¡± Aarushi comes running from the village gate. The monkey goes wide eyed and drops the uneaten berries and rushes into a tree! ¡°No wait monkey I love you! Don¡¯t leave me alone with these turds!¡± Aarushi hangs her head in depression as the monkey disappears. She turns toward our direction with her finger on her lip and tilts her head. Slightly pouting, giving off her cutest face she asks. ¡°You guys love me right?¡± I walk up to her and flick her in her forehead, if she didn¡¯t call us turds I might have said yes. She is rather cute when she gives us that face though. ¡°You idiot, did you think we wouldn¡¯t notice you calling us turds?¡± Lucarus gives a small chuckle crossing his arms. Aarushi slams her hands to her sides and turns red slightly. ¡°You idiot!¡± Lucarus chips in. ¡°Stop flirting you two we need to go catch us a bear!¡± I begin to speak ¡°Flirting wha..¡± But I am cut off by Aarushi. ¡°Ok!¡± ¡­ The three of us are about fifteen miles from town standing on the tree tops staring down at a giant brown ball of fur scurrying around in the underbrush. A giant ten foot tall brown bear walks on all four below us. I silently nod at Aarushi, our plan already set. She jumps down from above in front of the bare and ignites a spray of fire into its face. The flame gushes out causing the bare to stop in its tracks and stand on its hind legs. I jump down onto its back stabbing my daggers at its shoulders. ¡°Roooooaaawwwwrrrr¡± The bear cries out in pain as the daggers piece its thick hide. It shakes its body and starts flailing its thick grizzled arms around trying to knock me off. This is useless as Lucarus sneaks up behind it and cuts at the back of its hind legs. A snapping sound is made as Lucarus¡¯s red hot blade slices through the Achilles tendons. In coordination Aarushi stops her barrage of flame and charges at the bare throwing flame behind her to accelerate her tackle. She strikes its soft under belly with her shoulder at full speed. As the bare begins to tumble backwards I unleash a large explosion inside the bear at the tips of each blade. I get flung off as the twin explosions launch the blades out of the bear. The three of us circle around the bear as it wriggles around. Lucarus asks ¡°Did we do it?¡± I silently walk up to the bears head raising one of my daggers. ¡°Let¡¯s put it out of its misery.¡± To increase its piercing power I ignite my rock blade, it gives a red amber glow. I stab the glowing blade into the temple of the beast and twist it hard. A searing noise comes from the beasts head as it becomes motionless. I remove my dagger and wipe the blood from it. ¡°Double tap!¡± We start to grab the bear when we hear a blast of lightning shake the forest around us. ¡°Dam, I guess we should find shelter first.¡± That¡¯s when a rustling in the trees is made and a furry brown head pops out. ¡°whuuuaaaa whuaaa.¡± The monkey sticks its paws out and makes a small house shape above its head. He then points behind us. He jumps down and waves us to follow while heading in the direction he indicated earlier. I guess he will bring us to shelter. Maybe the monkey isn¡¯t so bad to be around. ¡­ We arrive at a cave that feels oddly familiar. My vision blurs into black momentarily and I see the same cave with a fire inside, I vaguely remember having a dream like this a while back. What happened during that dream? The monkey begins to gather wood and helps us place the bear inside the cave. He is rather capable. I wonder if he was raised or trained by somebody. I help him start the fire with my fire magic and he claps his hands in excitement. A few minutes later the pitter patter of rain drops echoes within the cave. We settled down just in time to keep from getting wet. This is good because Pyromancers are weak in the rain or wet environments. I sit down and the monkey sits next to me. ¡°Why do you like me so much monkey?¡± He points at me then at his chest then puts his arms together and rocks them together. I ask the monkey. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± The monkey shakes his head and motions me to forget it. He sits back down staring at the fire with his golden eyes. Aarushi slowly scoots toward the monkey as the monkey scoots toward me. After a few moments she lounges at the monkey trying to give it a hug. The monkey climbs up my body and onto my head. She fails and only grabs the monkey¡¯s tail. Aarushi cries at the monkey. ¡°No monkey come back here! I just want to love you!¡± Lucarus begins to roll on the ground laughing at the scene develop. The monkey dances on top of my head screeching from Aarushi grabbing his tail. I grab at his feet and legs trying to pull him off but he is a master of avoiding me. I finally give up and decide to attack Aarushi. I swat at her hands but she just strengthens her grip causing the monkey to screech louder. That¡¯s when I get a devilish idea. I wrap my hands around Aarushi and tickle her armpits relentlessly. She immediately drops the monkey¡¯s tail and starts to flail around laughing uncontrollably. I do not stop as punishment for her actions. She wiggles around and giggles for a several seconds before crying out. ¡°No! hahaha no hehe please stop!¡± I rasp back at her. ¡°Only if you promise to stop attacking the monkey!¡± the monkey cheers me on jumping up and down hollering. Lucarus still rolling on the other side of the cave laughing uncontrollably adds to the noise. Tears form in her eyes as she holds on for a few more seconds before finally giving up. ¡°Ok, I quite I won¡¯t touch the monkey!¡± I stop tickling her after a few more seconds and let her body fall still. Her upper half rests on top of my lap while her legs rest against the cave wall. Her limbs are sprawled about. She is practically hanging upside down as she pouts with her green puppy dog eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did that!¡± Lucarus sits up and wipes a tear from his eye. ¡°Aarushi I didn¡¯t know you were so ticklish.¡± Pointing his finger at Aarushi¡¯s exposed belly he says. ¡°Oh and also you might want to pull your shirt down.¡± Aarushi looks down at her stomach and squeals in embarrassment. She scrambles to her feet kicking and punching frantically. She fixes her clothes and turns away from us covering her body with her arms. She walks a little ways away and without looking in our direction she bashfully asks. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t see anything did you?¡± I jokingly say ¡°I think I saw basically everything.¡± I then give off a hoarse whistle through my fingers. The monkey mimics my actions and whistles several times over. Aarushi turns bright red and scurries deeper into the cave ¡°You jerk!¡± she shouts as her figure fades into the darkness. ¡°That was really funny! I never knew she was so ticklish, in fact I would have thought in these 15 years she would have overcome that by now.¡± Lucarus loses part of his smile. ¡°But you know in a few minutes you should probably apologize to her.¡± The monkey nods his head in agreement. I take a deep breath while sitting back next to the fire. ¡°She can¡¯t be that mad at me, she is always playing around like that.¡± Kicking a little dirt around with his feat Lucarus thinks for a second before speaking. ¡°You know she is a girl right? You can¡¯t treat her like you treat me.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying I should tickle you instead of her?¡± I raise my hands in a threatening fashion and begin to inch toward him. Putting his hands up in defense and getting a worried look on his face Lucarus claims. ¡°No, no don¡¯t tickle me!¡± Before I have time to even respond or get any closer to Lucarus a scream from within the cave steals my attention. I look deeper into the cave. Nothing but darkness and the glow of the fire behind me can be seen. An ominousness feeling comes over me. ¡°Did, you hear that? I think it¡¯s Aarushi! Let¡¯s go check on her!¡± I unsheathe my daggers and rush toward the source of the scream. Chapter 11-Whats to Come Chapter 11- What¡¯s To Come The darkness of the cave is lightly illuminated orange by the fire burning in my hand. Running at full speed with a cold sweet going down my back I scream for Aarushi. ¡°Heyyyy Aarushi, where are you! What happened?¡± My voice echoes deeper into the cave with no reply. ¡°Aarushi!¡± As I dive deeper into the cave the smell of death and rotting flesh collides into me. Seconds later I descend upon the scene. Aarushi shakes in fear, her face as pale the moon in the sky, her arms are across her chest, and her eyes closed tightly as she mutters under her breath over and over. ¡°It¡¯s not real, it¡¯s not real.¡± Two skeletons holding hands lay against the cave wall forever together in death. The skeletons were most likely children from our clan who decided to flee from the test. Perhaps one of them could be my brother. I shudder silently as the thought passes my mind. I wrap my arms around Aarushi¡¯s shoulders and embrace her with a hug. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I have you, everything will be alright. The skeletons won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Aarushi push me off slightly and looks me in the eyes. ¡°No you don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m not scared of the skeletons¡± her voice begins to shake. ¡°But the dagger.¡± I give her a puzzled look but all she does is point behind me at a silver dagger stabbed into the ground at one of the skeleton¡¯s feet. Turning around I begin to reach for the dagger but before I reach it a screech fills the room. ¡°Hhrrrrreeeeiiiiiaaaaaahhhhh¡± I turn toward the screech to be disappointed. The monkey has both its arms raised and is hopping around franticly ready to fight. Lucarus is standing behind the monkey with is usual calm facade. ¡°What happened here? Why did Aarushi scream?¡± He puts a hand on the monkey and it quickly calms down. ¡°She said it was because of this dagger.¡± I reach out and grab it and a freezing chill rushes up my spine as my fingers wrap around the handle. I feel the sensation of pins pricking my hand and strings pulling my arm toward the dagger. Darkness fills my vision and my body goes numb, as if I lost consciousness. Three images flash in my vision. The first one is of me holding an older version of Aarushi in my arms while sitting on the ground. She is wearing a beautiful white gown with silver Jewels embroiled around the neck and on the chest in a circular design. Red stains covering her body. My face is hidden in my hair as I look down upon her. A dark and sad emotion comes from the image. The second image displays a hooded figure with scythes protruding from the arms of his dark grey cloak. The scythes forcibly hold me in place. One scythe pulling at the inside of my cheek and the other one wrapped around the back of my neck. A glare of death and revenge fill my eyes as I stare at the figure in the grey cloak. The third Image is of an old man with blond-orange hair kneeling in front of two grave stones crying into his hands. The names on the stones are not visible but the thing that catches my eye is an amulet with a phoenix wrapped in glass fire. The amulet is my own. A woman¡¯s voice more beautiful than a chorus of song birds fills my ears blocking out all other noises and filling me with hope. ¡°Take this dagger and become stronger if you wish to prevent these things from coming.¡± And then silence. The cave reappears in my vision and I feel as though my body is rejuvenated. Power and strength rush in to me from the dagger. I pull it from the ground and examine it while shuffling it from hand to hand. The dagger shines in my hands. I can feel unbelievable power emitting from it. The blade is light and sharp. Strange black symbols adorn its silver blade. The sleek blade measures sixteen inches and the handle another eight. A small jagged tip protrudes from the base of the hilt. The handle is embedded with shiny amber colored gemstones. Deadra is carved into the side of the sheath. It almost seems to form to my hand as if it was made for me. It feels as if it¡¯s an extinction of my body. Still holding the dagger I turn around and ask. ¡°What did you see when you touched the dagger?¡± Still shaken Aarushi mutters ¡°I saw your death¡­¡± ¡°Did you see any other images or hear anything?¡± She shakes her head. Strange we seem to have seen different things then each other. I turn to Lucarus and instruct him to touch the dagger as well. After touching it he replies ¡°I don¡¯t see or hear anything. I do feel a power radiating from the blade though.¡± Putting my hand on her shoulder I say ¡°you should not trust what the blade shows you, but if you do, it said that if we get stronger we can prevent those things from happening.¡± Lucarus walks to the other side of Aarushi and puts his hand on her other shoulder. ¡°Destiny wanted you to find this dagger. It wants you to prevent this tragedy from happening. This is not something you should be afraid of but something which you should draw strength from.¡± Lucarus lets go of her shoulder. Aarushi makes a small nod and some blood returns to her face. Lucarus turns around and walks toward the exit. ¡°Deadra, you should keep that dagger, I believe it will be useful.¡± Looking at the back of my friend I realize something. He is no longer the child I first met. He is growing older. One day he will become a true man. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s all become stronger, let¡¯s go to the town of Twin Trees!¡± ¡­ When we arrive within view of the city gates the monkey taps my shoulder. He points at his chest with his forefinger, then with his thumb points at his back. He makes a small house over his head with his hands. I think he is saying he must go back home. I ask ¡°Will we be seeing each other again?¡± He nods his head with a large grin on his face and then rushes off into the forest. We all wave good bye. Lucarus, Aarushi and I continue into the village each carrying the bear. Today we will be known as adults and can leave the village, get married, and drink alcohol! Tonight there will be a celebration thrown in our honor. Fifteen years in this world, and now I will be considered an adult. A large hole dug out near the phoenix tree in the middle of town is filled with burning wood and hot coals. The bear lies inside of the whole roasting in preparation for the feast. I have never had bear meat before but in this world I hear it is sweet and juicy. It is a great delicacy. Torches set ablaze circle the tree and make paths around the village. The stars in the night sky shine brightly. The two moons in our sky over lap slightly. The smaller and closer moon is a dim orange color with no marks on the surface. The lager one that sits partially behind the first is identical to the moon from my first world. Everyone is gathered around the fire pit playing and laughing. Several people drink including Lucarus, Aarushi and I. Lucarus holds his glass up at Aarushi and I ¡°Cheers to becoming adults!¡± The three of us clank our drinks together. The aroma of cherries floats off the cup. I take a large gulp of the silver liquid in my cup. It tastes similar to sweetened potato vodka but feels dry like a wine. As the liquid trickles down my throat warmth fills my chest. The burn is soothing and smooth. I continue lifting the bottom of the cup further into the air, taking a few more gulps finishing the drink. Lucarus wipes his mouth with his sleeve. ¡°That¡¯s some gooood stuff right there! But I don¡¯t feel any different yet.¡± Aarushi lets out a burp and yells. ¡°I want more!¡± she walks back to the large barrel of liquor filling her cup. I turn to Lucarus and ask ¡°Lucarus we are finally Adults! We are free to do anything we want now. Do you have any plans for the future?¡± He nods his head ¡°Yes I want to get stronger. To do so I need to travel away from the village. I don¡¯t know where to go yet but I would like it if you would come along.¡± I give him a smile and say ¡°Haha that¡¯s perfect. We should go to the town of Twin Trees six moths south of here. They have an arena that we could fight in to become stronger. I¡¯m sure it has lots of other things there also. I was hoping you would want to go with me.¡± ¡°That sounds like a good idea to me. Would Aarushi also fit in to these plans?¡± he points behind me as Aarushi stumbles back over to us drinking more liquor. ¡°Hey guys I brought you more to drink!¡± She hands us each a large cup and smiles. I see her cup is equally full. Tonight will be interesting. ¡°What were you talking about?¡± Lucarus looks my way. His face asks what to say. I nod giving him the answer to his question. With a smile Lucarus says ¡°We want to go to the town of Twin Trees and become gladiators. We were also wondering if you would like to join us.¡± Aarushi puts her finger to her lips and tilts her head toward her shoulder. ¡°Hmmmm¡± she flips her head to the other shoulder and sighs once more. ¡°My dad says I should travel the world for a few years before coming back and becoming the village priestess. Sooooo yeah!¡± I raise my glass once more before saying ¡°To friend ship, becoming adults, and adventure!¡± Our cups clash together with a clunk as everyone cheers. I slosh a few more gulps into my mouth. ¡°Do you guys want to make things more interesting?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Lucarus nods his head and says ¡°I was just thinking the same thing, shall we make the usual bet?¡± he gives a maniacal smile as he says the last bit. The winner of these bets can make the losers do anything they want. Aarushi jumps in the air ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s do it! First one to finish their drink wins!¡± immediately after saying this she tips the cup to her mouth. I shout ¡°That¡¯s cheating!¡± then tilt my own cup backwards. Moments later Aarushi is declared the winner. She pumps her fist in the air jumping up and down ¡°haha you guys lost! Now you have to do whatever I say!¡± Lucarus stares at his cup for a moment before saying ¡°Yeah yeah whatever, what do you want us to do?¡± Aarushi puts her finger to her mouth for a moment before answering ¡°Let me think about it for a while. For now let¡¯s grab more to drink!¡± she raps her arms around Lucarus and I skipping toward the barrel. Pulling from the memories I had before being reborn I say ¡°We should slow down a bit, it¡¯s a marathon not a race Aarushi.¡± Lucarus responds ¡°let¡¯s enjoy the night Deadra. Let¡¯s just have fun and not worry about tomorrow!¡± Aarushi continues to drag us toward the barrel when she adds ¡°Yeah let¡¯s go crazy!¡± I decide to take their advice and let loose. The smell of the bear wafts into my nose. While rubbing my belly I say ¡°ok fine but let¡¯s go eat I¡¯m starving!¡± We each fill our cups again then go to a large table of brown rock where the feast is set up at. After we finish eating and have another glass or two we each climb up into the phoenix tree. Aarushi sits in the middle everyone swinging her legs. ¡°Do you guys remember how we first met?¡± We both nod our heads, Lucarus giggles a little before saying ¡°Haha you fell out of the tree because you forgot to hold onto it.¡± She smiles then grabs one of his hands then reaches and grabs mine. ¡°That¡¯s true, Hic, but now I have you guys to catch me. She then leans back forcing us to pull her back up. ¡°hehehe see, you guys won¡¯t let me fall!¡± she smiles then gives each of us a kiss on the cheek. Aarushi is beginning to grow up as well. She still acts and jokes around like she did as a child but physically she is growing up. I didn¡¯t realize tell now but she is becoming very beautiful. With his free hand Lucarus pats his cheek where he was kissed by Aarushi. Blushing slightly he mumbles ¡°Wow, haha you wouldn¡¯t want to do that again now would you?¡± Aarushi laughs, ¡°Maybe if you win the next dare!¡± she winks at him with her tongue sticking out to the side. ¡°Oh that reminds me I still have to give you guys my commands!¡± She squeezes our hands tighter while she giggles to herself. ¡°Let¡¯s see now what do I want you guys to do? Oh I know, you guys have to spend the night with me under the stars!¡± She then let¡¯s go of our hands and drops down from the tree. ¡°Let¡¯s go set up by the fire pit! It looks like everyone is gone!¡± Lucarus looks over to me. ¡°Oooh, I have never spent the night with a girl before, what do you think might happen?¡± I laugh for a moment then shake my head. ¡°Nothing will happen just because we are all spending the night together, in fact we will be doing that a lot on our way to the town of Twin Trees! But if you want things to get interesting we should play truth or dare!¡± Since were all rather drunk at this point the game should be rather interesting. We all sit in a circle and begin playing truth and dare. Aarushi announces ¡°Since Deadra brought it up lets have him go first! So Deadra truth or dare?¡± I look her in the eyes and say one word ¡°Dare!¡± She turns to Lucarus and raises an eyebrow. ¡°So what should we make him do?¡± Lucarus thinks for a minute then an idea pops in his head ¡°You have to dive into the river!¡± I stand up and clap my hands together ¡°Ok let¡¯s do this!¡± I drunkenly run toward the river. When I get there I don¡¯t bother taking my clothes off and just dive in head first. The cold water feels refreshing against my skin. I can hear the laughing and cheers of Aarushi and Lucarus behind me as my head pops out of the water. I splash some water at them ¡°You guys want to come in?¡± Lucarus shakes his head ¡°Not a chance! But now Aarushi it¡¯s your turn, truth or dare?¡± ¡°Since I don¡¯t want to get wet how about truth.¡± She nods her head with a small smile. I get out of the water and emit heat from my body to dry the clothes while walking back to the others. ¡°Ok, why don¡¯t we ask her if she likes anyone in the village?¡± Lucarus nods ¡°Ok, who do you like in the village?¡± Aarushi raises her hands. In a sweeping motion she brings them down while announcing ¡°I like everyone in the village, I am going to be the priestess after all!¡± She squeezes her cheeks together and winks. Lucarus shakes his head ¡°No not like that! I meant who do you like like. I¡¯m talking about the way Cecelia liked Deadra!¡± She giggles and covers her mouth. ¡°Well¡­ that would be one of you!¡± She faces away from us and puts her arms behind her back. ¡°Now Lucarus truth or dare?¡± Lucarus waves his arms in front of him. ¡°Hey no that¡¯s not fair. You didn¡¯t specify who you liked!¡± I interrupt saying ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it so much, she will tell us when she is ready.¡± I didn¡¯t know she liked one of us. This could be bad for the relationship of the group. I can already tell Lucarus likes Aarushi, if they start dating I would become a third wheel. If she likes me it wouldn¡¯t be any better. But at the time I am not thinking about any of this because I¡¯m drunk. Spinning back toward us Aarushi adds ¡°hehe, who do you Like Lucarus?¡± Lucarus wraps his arms across his chest. ¡°I pick dare, I ain¡¯t telling you until you tell me who you like!¡± I declare ¡°Ok I dare you to smack Aarushi¡¯s butt!¡± Aarushi turns to me and throws her arms to her sides. She squeals ¡°No he can¡¯t do that! I¡­ I don¡¯t want my butt touched.¡± Blood rushes to her face. I try to stifle my laughter with a large grin. Aarushi slouches a little before saying ¡°Well I mean¡­ I guess if you really reeeaally want to I don¡¯t mind¡­¡± Lucarus looks over at me and smiles. I give him a quick wink. Trying to act cool he says ¡°Alright I guess If I have to.¡± Shrugging his shoulders he walks over to Aarushi and takes a large gulp. He raises his hand then a few seconds later he lowers it again. ¡°ugh I¡­ I can¡¯t do it¡­¡± I burst out laughing ¡°Hahaha I knew you would chicken out!¡± Lucarus retorts ¡°I would like to see you do it then!¡± I run over to Aarushi and do the dirty dead. As my hand makes impact Aarushi makes a loud squeak. She starts hitting my softly with her hands while screaming. ¡° Ouch that hurt! I can¡¯t believe you did that! You jerk I hate you!¡± her hand glows a mix of red and yellow, more yellow then red. I guess she isn¡¯t to mad. ¡°Now you have to kiss me to make it better!¡± ¡°Haha I¡¯m not going to kiss your ass!¡± I start trying to grab her hands to make her stop hitting me. She grabs my hands back and looks me in the eyes. ¡°I never said you had to kiss my butt!¡± she stares at me with her green doughy eyes ¡°You just ummm¡± Her eyes look at my lips. She starts leaning in closer to my face. I know exactly what she wants, and the liquor inside of me urges me to kiss her. I have memories from a past life of kissing and I know how to do it, and I know her so well so this should be easy, but, it¡¯s not. My heart pounds against my chest threatening to break out from my ribs. Why am I so nervous to kiss Aarushi? I decide I should do it and find out my true feelings. I close my eyes and lean in. The smell of honey emits from her. Her hands are ruff but warm inside mine. I can feel her face inching toward me. Our noses lightly brush before I tilt my head. ¡°Hey guys what about me!¡± Lucarus interrupts Aarushi and I before our lips make contact. The moment is ruined. Aarushi drops my hands and turns around ¡°This is what you get!¡± she then runs over and tackles him to the ground, I hop on top of both of them and we wrestle around. The three of us end up in a big mess all our legs and arms are intertwined. After a few minutes we separate and lay on the ground looking up at the stars. Sounds of rushing water fill the air. The forest scent fills my nostrils as I take a deep breath. It¡¯s a peaceful night. Aarushi on my left takes my hand. In return I squeeze her hand softly. I grab on to Lucarus¡¯s hand to my right. ¡°Looks like we will be sleeping like this for the next few months. I can¡¯t wait to go to the town Twin Trees¡± Lucarus Replies while dozing off ¡°I can¡¯t wait either, it¡¯s an adventure I have always waited for.¡± Aarushi asks ¡°Are we going to leave in the morning?¡± I nod my head silently then close my eyes. Aarushi Yawns and roles closer to me. ¡°I¡¯m excited too, Yaaaawwwwn, I love you guys.¡± Her grip on my hand loosens as she drifts off. Chapter 12-Start of an adventure Chapter 12-Start of an Adventure I wake up from the sun shining in my eyes as it rises from the east. White fluffy clouds dispersed through the blue sky. Lying on the cold hard dirt wasn¡¯t as bad as I thought. I am neither sore nor tired. Because of our natural ability to regulate our body temperature we don¡¯t need blankets. However I feel warmth on both sides of me. Lucarus is curled in a ball to my right with his back against me. He is snoring loudly. Aarushi somehow snuggled her head onto my chest and wrapped my arm around her during the night. She sleeps silently. Her beautiful sleeping face tempts me stay like this all day, but I must get ready to leave. I take my arm off of Aarushi and start to sit up. Aarushi wakes up and lifts her head. She turns her face to me while rubbing sleep from her eyes. With a small yawn she speaks. ¡°Yaawn this is a good dream.¡± Our faces already only a few inches from each other she leans in to kiss me. The kiss is awkward at best. She half kisses my mouth half kisses my cheek. She holds it for about two seconds then pulls her head back. ¡°That felt kind of real.¡± She blankly stares at me for a moment then her eyes slowly widen as her face becomes covered in shock. She sits up and away from me and screams. ¡°What are you doing sleeping here like this?¡± I pat the side of my mouth where she kissed me thinking of what to say but am luckily saved by Lucarus. He gets out of his ball and sits up rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Why are you screaming? Don¡¯t you remember last night you made us sleep with you under the stars?¡± She looks back and forth between Lucarus and I and begins to blush. ¡°I¡­ No I don¡¯t remember last night I just¡­ What did you see just now?¡± Confused by the question Lucarus continues to scratch his head. ¡°What would I have seen?¡± I add in ¡°Yeah I didn¡¯t see anything either, I was still sleeping tell you screamed.¡± I give her a quick wink. Her cheeks become slightly less red and she gives a sigh of relief. ¡°Whooo, that¡¯s good. I thought you saw me kiss Deadra.¡± She gives a smile and wipes more sleep out of her eyes. I cover my face with one hand in defeat after hearing her. I can¡¯t believe she is such an air head! Lucarus jumps up from the ground and grabs me by the shoulders. ¡°What! She kissed you! Like on the cheek again or was it the lips this time? Dam it why do you always get the ladies!¡± Aarushi drops her hand and gets wide eyes again as she realizes her mistake. I shake my head and try to explain. ¡°She was half asleep. She muttered something about dreaming, I think she thought it was a dream. ¡° Lucarus looks up at Aarushi and asks ¡°Do you usually dream about doing that with Deadra?¡± Aarushi not knowing what to say stutters. ¡°I umm.. I ugh umm I just¡­. Well sometimes¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± She is wringing her hands together. Her mark is glowing pink, I assume it means embarrassment. Feeling bad for her I interrupt. ¡°So we should all split up and meet at the south gate in an hour. You should both gather some extra clothes and supplies. Make sure to say your good byes to your family we will be gone for many months possibly years.¡± I grab Lucarus¡¯s shoulder. ¡°And you my friend, I will find you a girl when we get to the next city, I promise!¡± Lucarus nods silently then says ¡°Thanks, I guess it¡¯s about time I try to find someone huh.¡± He then walks away slightly disappointed. ¡°So Aarushi, would you like to talk at all?¡± She walks over to me and gets her face close to mine. ¡°Please don¡¯t hate me.¡± She then steps forward and slams her head into my shoulder. ¡°I know you were really mad at Cecelia when she kissed you¡­ I¡¯m sorry I thought I was dreaming.¡± I wrap my arms around her and rub her back. ¡°I¡¯m not mad, for a girl your age things like this go through your head, I understand. I went through the same things. Even Lucarus is also thinking the same things. I just think you¡¯re not old enough yet to do this kind of stuff. I hope you¡¯re not mad at me or anything. Maybe when you get older we could date.¡± She is already fifteen years old but I still don¡¯t feel comfortable dating someone so much younger than me even if in this world I am also fifteen. She pulls her head back and tilts it to the side. She puts a finger to her lips. ¡°Uuumm aren¡¯t you only a few weeks older than me? Why are you talking like your so much older?¡± Should I tell her I¡¯m a reincarnated human? This was my third world I was reincarnated in? Would she believe me if I told her? I don¡¯t think now is the right time but I also can¡¯t lie to her. I clear my throat and then begin to explain. ¡°Well I have my reasons for that, but it¡¯s not important. Just for now I don¡¯t think we should date, it would be bad if Lucarus got jealous.¡± Aarushi puffs her cheeks out angrily. ¡°When did I ever ask you to go out with me?¡± a frown forms across her face. ¡°It was just an accident¡­ don¡¯t think so highly of yourself!¡± she pushes me off her and marches off a few feet then half turns around and shyly mutters ¡°but if you change your mind I wouldn¡¯t be mad.¡± She then walks back to her house. I go back to my house to say my farewells to my family as well. When I get home I see my mother and dad eating in the dining room. My mother gets up and rushes over to give me a hug. ¡°Deadra! Good morning, where did you end up last night?¡± I hug her back ¡°Good morning mom, Good morning dad. Aarushi had me sleep with her under the stars.¡± My mother eyes me up and down momentarily. ¡°Oh does this mean I might be having a grandchild soon?¡± She nudges me with her elbow laughing. My father chuckles then says ¡°haha my little boy is all grown up now huh? That Aarushi girl is a looker, good for you Deadra.¡± Shaking off their accusations I tell them what happened. ¡°Lucarus was their too. We just played around and watched the stars nothing like that happened. But I do have some news I would like to share. Can we all sit down?¡± I motion mother to come to the table and sit down. I sit across the rock table from my parents. I then make my announcement. ¡°Lucarus, Aarushi and I will all be going to the town of Twin Trees to gain knowledge and strength. We plan to enter the arena and become gladiators.¡± My dad gets up from the table and goes to his room without saying a word. My mother puts her hand on me and gives me a light smile. ¡°You know it will take about six months to travel there right? Why don¡¯t you just travel to one of the closer towns?¡± ¡°Do any of the closer towns have Arena¡¯s?¡± ¡°No¡­ Do you even have the things you need to travel?¡± I nod my head and reply. ¡°We have daggers to protect ourselves and water bags we can fill at the river. We are all prepared for this. The others are saying their goodbyes a well.¡± My father returns from his room with a small brown leather bag and sets it on the table. ¡°This is a loan. it should tide you over until you start making money from the arena. Use it to get food and buy lodging in an inn. If you follow the river you should be able to make it to Twin Trees in about six months. Make sure to come back to us one day.¡± He puts his hand on my shoulder ¡°Remember we both love you and to take care. Also make sure to bring back a wife!¡± I nod my head and grab the bag. There are about twenty silver coins inside. I look up and give my dad a big smile. ¡°Thank you, both of you Thank you!¡± My dad takes his hand off me and asks. ¡°Do you know how money works yet? Ten coppers go into one silver and ten silver go into one gold. A piece of bread would be about one copper and a room at an inn will be anywhere from one silver to several gold depending on what place you stay at.¡± I nod my head in confirmation. ¡±Thank you dad¡± I stand up and look back and forth between father and mother. ¡°I love you guys!¡± I then give them both a hug and head out to the southern gate. Lucarus and Aarushi are already at the front gate talking with the guards when I show up Aarushi sees me first and runs toward me with a diving hug. ¡°You¡¯re late silly!¡± crashing into me I have to take a back step as her momentum hits me. Lucarus comes up and hits me on the back above my home made wolf pelt back pack. ¡°Come on let¡¯s get going.¡± I let off a small laugh and pull him into Aarushi¡¯s hug. ¡°Get over here!¡± The three of us laughing is how our journey begins. I hope that is the same way it will end. I need to get stronger to prevent the things I saw from the dagger. As we take a few steps out of the gate I look back at the village. I have spent the last fifteen years here. This is my home. I hope to come back here one day. ¡­ Night falls and we set up camp a couple yards from the river in a mall clearing. Soft beach like dirt covers the ground from floods in years past. We gather some wood and start a small fire. The fire is simple to start with our abilities. We do not use it for warmth like most would think but instead for cooking and something to look at as we rest. A rabbit is cooking next to the fire on a stick protruding from the ground. The three of us are sitting on the sand around the fire. Aarushi stands up and says. ¡°ummm I need to go ummm do something don¡¯t follow me.¡± She then scurries off into the woods. Lucarus sits across the fire from me staring into the flames. The bright orange fire reflects in his reddish brown eyes dancing through the night. ¡°Hey Deadra can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Yeah of course.¡± ¡°Why did you use me as an excuse not to date Aarushi? She really likes you, and well I think you guys should date.¡± I look up from the fire at him. His face is serious. ¡°So it seems she told you? I¡¯m sorry I used you as an excuse. I have my reasons for not dating her, I just can¡¯t tell you right now.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What is it that you can¡¯t tell your best friend?¡± he crosses his arm and breaths out a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s complicated. I promise you I will tell you one day, it¡¯s just hard to explain and I need to find the right words. Also I have been thinking about it and well I still don¡¯t know how I feel.¡± ¡°hmmph, well make sure to talk to Aarushi again, I know she seems happy but you know she doesn¡¯t like to show her sadness.¡± After that we silently stare at the fire for a little while before Aarushi shows up again. ¡°Wow why is it so quite! We should be more happy!¡± Lucarus stands up and announces ¡°I¡¯m going to take a piss.¡± Then he walks off into the forest. I pat the dirt next to me commanding Aarushi to sit down. ¡°Hey come over and sit.¡± She follows my directions and sits next to me. She wraps her arms around her legs tucking them into her chest. She says ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I stay silent for a moment thinking. This morning I was in shock and couldn¡¯t think clearly but now I have had the day to think. I do like her but I still have all these memories from a life I can barely remember. I can almost remember being in love from a past life. In fact I don¡¯t even know how old I am mentally. I could have been anywhere from a teenage to over one hundred when I died the first time. She might be way too young for me. But in this life time I am the same age as her. My emotions are all mixed up. I feel as though I am going through puberty all over again. Oh yeah I am going through puberty all over again. Even if I have past knowledge I still have emotions and feelings of a sixteen year old. I still do things on impulse with out thinking. All the experience in the world can be for not when you''re emotionally unstable. Maybe if I move things slowly it could work out. Also Lucarus doesn¡¯t seem to mind. I open my mouth to talk but before I say a word Aarushi makes a small sniffle. I glance over at her and a tear drips from her chin. I grab her hand and stroke the top of it with my thumb. The words almost come out without thinking. Her crying face makes me want to protect her and love her. Seeing her like this makes me realize how I truly feel. ¡°So what would you say if I changed my mind from this morning?¡± Aarushi grabs onto my hand then with her other hand she wipes her eyes. She sniffles once more then leans her head on my shoulder and says. ¡°Jerk.¡± I give off a slight chuckle. We sit in silence for a few moments then hear a cry from a distance away. ¡°Deadra, Aarushi get ready a bear found me! I¡¯m coming your way!¡± Aarushi and I shoot up from the ground and turn towards Lucarus¡¯s cries for help. I pull the silver dagger from its sheath. Seconds later I hear rustling from the trees then a bush shaking. Lucarus bursts from the bush yelling ¡°Attack it now!¡± I launch a smoldering ball of fire at the green bush. The bush ignites immediately sending smoke into the air. The bear charges out of the flaming bush with an ear splitting roar. It runs toward us as it prepares to lunge at Lucarus. I send another ball of fire at it. The bear swats at the ball knocking it to the ground with ease. It stands on its hind legs in front of me. It brings down its giant brown paws with all of its weight at my head. I roll to the side under his belly while slicing at its hind leg. The blade slides through its iron like hide and monstrous muscles with ease. After I finish my roll I stand up once more and slice at its stomach. The dagger cuts through him like butter. The resistance from the light weight blade is practically nothing. The bear retreats back a few steps in pain while roaring at us. I do not step off but instead continue my charge. I ignite the blade with fire. It feels as if it was made to handle fire and somehow amplifies the strength I put into it. He slashes at me with his paws but I side step and slit through his arms. The wound is amplified due to the flames engulfing the blade. I place my hand on its shoulder and set off an explosion. The blast jolts the bear to the side and he tumbles to the ground. I unleash flames from my back while kicking of the ground accelerating me toward the fallen bear. I stab the dagger into his exposed under belly. Wrenching it inside of his stomach I unleash an explosion at the dagger¡¯s tip. The bear¡¯s stomach expands and then shrinks as a large bang is heard. Smoke pours out of his mouth as his head drops to the side. I pull my dagger from him and turn to the others. ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± Lucarus nods his head. ¡°You just took a bear out by yourself! That¡¯s amazing! When did you get so strong?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No it¡¯s the knife. It cut through him so easily and is extremely light. It is almost as if it was made for me. I would have failed if I still used the rock daggers we made.¡± ¡°Either way it¡¯s still amazing! And doesn¡¯t the dagger actually have your name on it?¡± ¡°Well yeah it does. I was wondering about that as well.¡± The dagger had Deadra carved into the case before I even picked it up. I shuffle it through my hands. The blade is still clean; not a drop of blood is on it. What are the mysteries behind this blade? Who made it, and why is my name on it? Aarushi walks over to the bear and pokes its face. ¡°Can I eat this? Lucarus can you help me cook it?¡± Lucarus walks up and pulls out his rock dagger. ¡°Yeah let¡¯s clean it up and pack as much as we can into our bags as well. Bear meet is more delicious and higher protein then the rabbit.¡± After we finish cooking and eat the bear I rub my belly with contentment while leaning back onto a rock I brought over. ¡°That was amazing Lucarus, when did you become such a good cook?¡± Lucarus cast his eyes down at the fire looking past it, almost like looking into the past itself. ¡°Shortly after Suzaku¡¯s test I started to cook since Cecelia wasn¡¯t there anymore. I know it won¡¯t be as good as hers but when I cook I remember the good times with her.¡± The crackling of the fire covers the silence. Nobody says anything else for several minutes. Aarushi stands up and announces. ¡°I am going to bed now, ummm Deadra if you want you can well ugh ju ugh never mind! Good night guys! See you in the morning!¡± Lucarus looks in my direction and raises one eyebrow. ¡°What was that about?¡± I give off a small smile. ¡°I decided to go out with her. Before you brought the bear over.¡± Lucarus opens his eyes wide then looks over to Aarushi who made a small bed of leaves and is lying down. ¡°So does that mean you two will start working on making a baby? Actually do you know how to make a baby? My parents told me about it a few years ago. You just¡­¡± I cut him off ¡°Please don¡¯t say any more! I know how to do that, and no we are not going to do that! We are practically still children ourselves!¡± Lucarus rolls his eyes before saying. ¡°Hmph, well personally I would be begging for a chance to do something like that with her. I don¡¯t get you sometimes, it¡¯s almost like you¡¯re an old man¡± I give off a small smile and laugh. If only you knew how true that might be. An agitated voice from behind me interjects into the conversation. ¡°You guys know I can hear everything you¡¯re saying right?¡± Lucarus gives a worried expression ¡°oh crap! Sorry Aarushi¡­ ummm can we forget I said any of that?¡± She sits up and makes a diabolical laugh. ¡°Buahaha you mean the fact that you would beg to sleep with me? Oh I don¡¯t think I can forget something like that.¡± She gives a small wink then lays back down. Giving off my own smirk I say ¡°haha, don¡¯t worry man I will find you a girl when we get to the town.¡± I stand up and pat him on the shoulder. ¡°I am going to bed now to.¡± I turn around and start walking toward Aarushi ¡°Hey Aarushi can I join you, your bed looks comfy!¡± A small squeak comes from Aarushi and she covers her mouth. Fighting with in herself she says. ¡°No! errr I mean umm I don¡¯t care.¡± I walk over and lay behind her wrapping my arm around her. I could really get used to having someone to sleep next to, it will make the nights less lonely. Sleep over takes me quickly as my consciousness fades away. The next day I wake up with Aarushi still in my arms. Her cute face lies on my chest. The smell of honey drifts up from her head. Her crimson hair covers her eyes and button nose. Her hair half matted to her face half scattered in every direction. I give a small laugh shaking my chest and accidentally jolting her awake. She sleepily rubs her eyes and looks at me as she raises her head. I give her a sweet smile and kiss her lips. They taste like a mix of honey and the bear meat from last night. She freezes in place unsure of what to do as her cheeks begin to turn red. ¡­ Six month months pass. Running into several more wolves and bears barely slows our traveling speed. Every night Aarushi sleeps close to me, but nothing more happens. Our team work, fighting and survival skills grow exponentially without the comfort and safety of our home. Finally we arrive at the town of Twin Trees. A large red tree is tangled with an equally large white tree. Big red fruits shaped like fire grow from the branches. The white tree produces white cloud like flowers. Both trees tower hundreds of feet into the air. A small black bush is growing around the two trees with black round fruit growing from it. Buildings bigger than any others I have seen in this world surround the trees. A white coliseum is on the opposite edge of the town from us. Chapter 13-Secrets Chapter 13-Secrets We enter the large metal gates of Twin Trees. The cobble stone road is surrounded by wooden stands of different shapes and sizes. Vendors are yelling out prices while holding their products trying to sell their wares. The products range from fish, fruit, and weapons to many more small trinkets and foods. The people walking up and down the streets vary just as much as the stories. Some people look similar to my race with a fire colored hair and olive to pale skin, while others look completely different. People with blue or pink hair walk casually down the streets. Others are tall and lanky or short and robust. Some wear brown leather and cotton like we do, but others wear metal or grass clothing. People riding large rainbow colored birds dart through the crowds. I can tell this is one of the large trading capitals of the continent. Lucarus freezes at the entrance for a moment before speaking. ¡±Wow, this place is so crowded and huge! Are they having some kind of festival at the entrance?¡± Aarushi Dashes forward excitedly trying to drag me along by the hand. ¡°Why are there so many people?¡± I shake my head before answering them. ¡°This is just what big cities are like. No one will attack or hurt you, but they may try to make you buy something. If someone strange talks to you just keep walking and you will be fine.¡± Aarushi points at one of the giant rainbow birds with a saddle that is tied up next to a building. ¡°Ok mister know it all what is that?¡± I shrug my shoulders and announce. ¡°I don¡¯t have a clue. If you really want to know ask one of the locals.¡± Stopping them from asking any more questions I continue. ¡°I am going to find an inn for the night then I will be heading to the arena to check it out.¡± I point at a building in the distance. It has a large brown dome that reminds me of a football stadium in both size and shape. I assume it is the arena. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to follow me then go explore and meet me at the large domed building in a couple of hours.¡± Aarushi tightens her grip on my hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t leave you behind, either one of you can stay with me if you would like.¡± Lucarus takes a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m going to explore by myself for a little while.¡± He nudges me in the side and winks. ¡°I¡¯m sure you two would like to be alone also.¡± I give him a light glare before say ¡°Hey now! What are you talking about?¡± I look at Aarushi and see that her head is tilted sideways while staring at one of the rainbow birds. Good it looks like she didn¡¯t hear him. Lucarus laughs a little bit then disappears into the crowd. I decide to explore some myself. Still holding onto Aarushi she pulls me away from the gate and onto the stone path. Images of a robust and smoggy city with giant metal towers return from a distant past as I walk through the city. If my foggy memories are right I think in a fist life I lived in New York. After a several minutes of searching and asking people on the street we locate an inn. It costs two silver coins a night for each room. If Lucarus and I share a room Aarushi can get her own room so the total cost will only be four silvers a night. The security is non-existent but the windows and doors lock. I step up toward the counter and voice my request. ¡°I would like two rooms please, one that can fit two people.¡± The inn keeper looks through a small book then shakes her head. ¡°We have two singles available but no doubles.¡± I look over to Aarushi for a moment. She has a large smile on her face and a strange twinkle in her eyes. I ask ¡°what do you think?¡± She looks at me expectantly. ¡°It sounds perfect!¡± ¡°Of course you would think so. You get a room and a bed to yourself, but I have to share with Lucarus.¡± Aarushi shakes her head. ¡°No Lucarus gets a room to himself.¡± She sticks her tongue out in a matter of fact way. I understand the strange twinkle in her eye now. Nothing good can come of this but I guess I can¡¯t do anything about this. I reach into the brown bag my dad got me and hand over four silver coins. In return I receive two black keys. One of them has the shape of a flame engraved in it and the other has a crescent moon. The inn keeper points toward upstairs and announces ¡°Your rooms will have the same shape symbol on it as your key does.¡± Aarushi and I go to the room with a fire symbol and enter. A single window looking into the streets from the second floor sits opposite from the door. A bed with green sheets is in the corner. A small bucket with water and a rag is on the floor at the foot of the bed. A plain small desk and chair also sits in the room. The stale smell of aged wood and dust encompasses me as I enter the room. The wooden floor creaks as I step on it. I drop my unneeded gear on the floor and stretch my arms releasing a groan. Aarushi does the same. I see her glancing at me and then back at the bed. The wheels in her head turning. She tilts her head sideways for a moment before making a strange blushing face. Ever since we started dating she has been doing strange things like this. I¡¯m not sure if I want to know what¡¯s going through her head when she does this. I slap he shoulder and give her a grin. ¡°Come on lets go explore the town!¡± She shakes the idea out of her head then nods at me with a small humph noise. I feel bad for her since I keep avoiding anything past kissing. Because of my more experience mind I still think of her as the little girl I met ten years ago. Aarushi and I walk hand in hand through the city aimlessly. Pointing and laughing at all the strange buildings and people. Sometimes we get angry looks other times we are completely ignored. We are nobodies in this city. It¡¯s nothing like our home town where everyone waves at us as we pass. I didn¡¯t realize how much I had adapted to living in a small town. After about an hour of exploring the town a familiar noise reignites from the roof tops. ¡°Whooaaah hoo hooo whaaa!¡± The golden eyed monkey from the forest taunts us from above. People take notice and point while muttering to themselves. He is dancing and pointing at Aarushi and I. He mocks us by hollering while slapping his butt. Aarushi¡¯s grip on my hand tightens. ¡°Come down here you stupid monkey!¡± I simply chuckle at the two of them. The monkey jumps from the roof in front of us. Aarushi lets go of my hand and dives at the monkey screaming. ¡°I just want to love you!¡± The monkey jumps ten feet into the air emitting a strange wind as he does so. Aarushi falls flat on her face while the monkey laughs at her. Aarushi stands up and brushes herself off then chases after the monkey. Ignoring the people around her she charges blindly. They both turn the corner before I realize what¡¯s happening. If I let Aarushi out of my sight she might get lost forever. I sprint toward their direction as fast as I can hoping to catch up to them but am pushed back as I turn the corner. I rub my head while looking up at what hit me. Lucarus sits in front of me rubbing his head as well. A girl about fifteen years of age with blue wavy hair down to her shoulders and sharp pointed ears covers her mouth in shock after Lucarus and I collide. After a second of shock she says. ¡°Are you ok Lucarus?¡± Lucarus looks up to her with a cheeky smile that exemplifies his pearly whites. ¡°Yeah this is nothing! I have to be able to take some hits if I am going to become a gladiator.¡± He stands up then holds his hand out to me ¡°sir let me¡­ oh wait Deadra what are you doing here?¡± I grab his hand and pull myself up. ¡°I was just walking with Aarushi when that one monkey we saw distracted us. She went and chased after¡­ oh shit, did you see her run past you?¡± They both shake their heads. Lucarus explains. ¡°We were kind of in our own little world, kind of the reason we didn¡¯t see you.¡± I cross my arms and think for a moment. ¡°Do you think she will be able to find the coliseum arena? Also who is this girl?¡± Lucarus shakes his head while grinning. He jokingly says ¡°She is lost forever to the streets of this city. I¡¯m sorry but she will be dead by nightfall.¡± He then puts his arm on the blue haired girls back and announces. ¡°This is Rhea. She is a year older then us and a hydromancer from the water tribe. He sister Mica told her to show me around the city.¡± The girl waves and gives me a polite smile. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Deadra, Lucarus has told me a lot about you. I hope you don¡¯t mind if I steal him for a while longer. I will bring him back to the arena when were done with our tour.¡± I nod and let them pass. Hmm I wonder if that could be considered a date? Maybe I don¡¯t need to set him up with anyone? Any ways now I should search for Aarushi. I start to look around thinking of where to go when I see Aarushi cradling the golden eyed monkey in her arms. She pets it with one hand while walking aimlessly. I call out to here and she escapes her aimless wondering. ¡°Look I caught the monkey!¡± she runs up next to me. In disbelief that she caught the monkey I ask ¡°How did you find the monkey?¡± Aarushi replies. ¡°A beautiful woman with blue hair just reached out and the monkey came to her. She whispered something into its ear then the monkey simply walked over to me and jumped in my arms.¡± The monkey reaches out toward me and grabs my hand. What could that woman have said to make him not be scared of Aarushi? And why does he seem so attached to me? ¡°Did anything else happen?¡± Aarushi tilts he head for a moment before continuing. ¡°She said that we should go to the arena because there is something important there.¡± The monkey nods with agreement. Aarushi makes baby faces at the monkey while saying. ¡°You¡¯re such a good monkey aren¡¯t you?¡± The monkey nods his head once more. She then sets the monkey down and says. ¡°Ok monkey bring us to the arena!¡± The monkey gives a big humph noise then climbs up a building. He looks around for a moment then jumps back down. He gestures at us to follow him then scurries off. We follow after him and after a few minutes arrive at the large domed building. He takes the most direct route weaving through the back streets and alley ways avoiding large crowds. I cross my arms and in amazement announce. ¡°Well I¡¯ll be dammed. I didn¡¯t think the monkey would know how to get here so quickly.¡± Aarushi widens her eyes and opens her mouth in amazement. ¡°It¡¯s so big! Is this the arena? Are we going to fight here?¡± I nod my head. ¡°Yeah this place is going to be where we work from now on!¡± We enter the main hall. Large marble sculptures of great warriors tower over us on each side. Golden plates with information are displayed below each warrior. Roman pillars hold the ceiling up. I walk up to one of the front desks. The building is strangely empty. The receptionist speaks ¡°What can I help you with?¡± ¡°We would like to sign up to fight.¡± The receptionist lowers her glasses and looks at each of us. ¡°Can I please get your names?¡± ¡°I am Deadra and this is Aarushi. We are pyromancers from a small town north of here.¡± The receptionist thinks for a moment then pulls a book out. She clears her throat before speaking. ¡°I will need to sign Aarushi up to be a gladiator but Deadra Freyfire is already signed up for a fight in ten minutes. Is that you?¡± I look at Aarushi with a confused face. She shrugs her shoulders. I ask ¡°Yeah that¡¯s me but I have never signed up before. What happened?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You have been challenged by another fighter. Would you like to hear what the fighter¡¯s conditions are?¡± Aarushi and I both nod our heads ¡°The winner is decided by the usual arena rules. You must either kill, knockout, or make your opponent surrender. Instead of betting money the opponent has decided to bet information. The loser must reveal their true identity to whoever the winner chooses.¡± What does this mean? Does someone know that I have been resurrected? Do they know who I am? How would they have known I would be here at this time? What is going on? Aarushi bumps me out of thought as she grabs my shoulder. I looking over at her, I see her face is filled with worry. ¡°What does the person mean when they say reveal your true Identity? Does this have something to do with the secret of yours?¡± I put my hand over Aarushi¡¯s. I need to know who this person is. Are they the one in the grey cloak that I saw in the daggers vision? Do they kill Aarushi and I? I need to gain as much information as I can. ¡°I don¡¯t know but I think I should accept their challenge. I need to find out who this person is, and figure out how dangerous they are.¡± She gives me a complex face before nodding. ¡°You go ahead to the fight. I¡¯ll be there to watch you after I register myself.¡± A large muscular man with a scar across his face standing near the wall motions for me to follow him. I give Aarushi a hug and do as he tells me. We silently walk down a corridor light by fire. Several wooden doors appear on both side of the corridor, but we simply ignore them and continue onward. We come to a small black gate that leads into the main chamber of the arena. The bald man with a scar commands in a deep voice. ¡°Stay here until the gate open. When it does go inside.¡± He then walks away back from where he came. After about ten minutes the gate opens up and I walk inside of it. I am greeted with sounds of applause from people in stands elevated above the ground as I walk in. The roof is open to the clear blue sky above. A single woman stands in the center of the stadium. She has the same pointed ears and blue hair as Rhea did. She looks to be around 19 years old. Her eyes are bright green. Her elegant features are exemplified by the way she carries herself. She looks like a wingless angel. Two silver short blades dangle behind her at her waist. They remind me of the dagger I have at my side. When she sees me she gives off a beautiful smile. While patting her own weapons she says. ¡°Nice dagger you have there.¡± I look down to my side. The silver dagger on my waist gleams in the sunlight. ¡°Are you the one who challenged me?¡± She nods her head. ¡°You can use all your strength but you will still lose. When I win you must tell Lucarus and Aarushi who you really are.¡± She then points toward the crowd. I follow her finger and see Aarushi and Lucarus sitting with Rhea. They are watching this fight. This means I cannot lose. I can¡¯t tell them where I have come from yet. And more importantly I need to find out who this woman is. Still smiling she continues speaking. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those things, they are not important. I have been sent by a mutual friend.¡± I scoff at her and respond. ¡°What friend would that be?¡± A devilish smile covers her face as the bell for the match starts. In a flash of speed she disappears and reappears standing next to me leaning her lips near my ear. It appears as if she teleported. She whispers one word into my ear that sends chills down my spine. ¡°Purgatory.¡± Not only the word terrifies me, but the language she uses to speak it. A language I have not heard in many years, English. I fumble back a few steps before she continuing to speak in English. ¡°There are forces outside your control in this world. You are not the only one going through this. This is not a game.¡± Completely shocked by her words I pull my dagger out. ¡°What do you know? Tell me everything!¡± My body becomes engulfed in flame as I charge at her. She jumps into the air and pushed down on my shoulders with her boots. I trip and roll onto the ground releasing the protective flames from around me. I take a deep breath. I need to focus if I¡¯m going to beat her. While I continue to gather myself she charges at me. I thrust the dagger in front of me to block to no avail. She drops to the ground and slide kicks my feet out from under me. I fall toward the ground but catch myself with my open hand. Not even one moment later my hand is kicked out from under me forcing me to land on my face. Before the rest of my body has time to fall a sharp pain is injected between my ribs as I am flung across the arena. I skid several feet over the dirt. Looking toward the girl she is still standing calmly with her hands at her side. She broke through my defenses without using any magic or pulling out her weapons. I was using both and still got knocked down. I stand up and reignite my body and sword. My flame cloak burns hot and close to my flesh. It follows my movements and extends my reach while protecting me on all sides. If I keep this heat up there is no way she can get close to me since she is not from the fire tribe. I charge in keeping my composure and flame cloak up. Raising my left hand and create a continuous flow of fire several feet in front of me. She runs to the right side but I follow her with my hand. My arms cross over my body to try to engulf her with fire. For a moment it looks like the flame is catching up to her but then she fades away and reappears to the left of me. I¡¯m tangled up while putting all my fight to the right when somehow the opponent got to the left. I don¡¯t understand how she did this. But I don¡¯t need to worry my cloak of fire should protect me from whatever her attack may be. She kicks her leg into my side but it is weakened by the flames wrapped around my body. Even saying this however pain still shoots though my entire body. I do not get sent flying this time but instead drop the ground. The flames around me die out and I drop my dagger. A flash fills my vision and I am sent flying backwards with a kick to the face. She slowly walks over to me with a smile on her face. ¡°I broke your ribs with my first kick to them. That assured my victory and will allow me to beat you without using magic or my weapons. I can beat you with nothing but my feat. I would tell you to give up but I know you won¡¯t. You never give up.¡± My vision is blurry from the last kick she gave me but I can see her figure approaching me so I raise my hand to engulf her with flames. She appears right in front of me and kicks my hand to the side as fire begins to escape from it. She then kicks at my ribs once more causing pain to erupt through me. My vision begins to fade as I lose consciousness from the over whelming pain. ¡­ Dreams ,illusions, and memories flash through my mind. I see tall sky metal buildings around me. Its New York. The last few hours of my first life play before me reminding me of who I was before all this. Before I was ever brought into purgatory. Slowly I remember bits and pieces of my life, but I wish I didn''t. It was nothing good. I was a pathetic person who never fell in love, never had real friends and never accomplished anything. I drowned my sorrows with booze and women like some disgusting perverted pig. It makes me wonder why I was chosen to be reincarnated and not just left to fade away. Slowly it all slips away but the memories stay. ... I wake up inside of an old wooden building with a single window. The light of dusk seeps through the open window. The sheets are green and a desk sits on the other wall. It appears I am at the inn. Aarushi grabs onto me from the side of the bed. ¡°Gosh you made us all so worried!¡± I look to my side to see Aarushi Lucarus and Rhea sitting on chairs next to the bed. I guess they brought me back here after I lost the match. ¡°What happened after I lost?¡± The blue haired girl Rhea explains. ¡°My sister Mica went a little over board when she was facing you in the match. I ended up having to heal you and Aarushi and Lucarus brought you back here. Luckily I have a room down the hall and was able to guide everyone here after Aarushi showed me the keys.¡± So Rhea is the younger sister of the person who knew about purgatory. I have lots of questions I need to ask her. ¡°Where did your sister go? I need to get answers from her!¡± Rhea shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know where Mica went. She just disappeared after you lost. Kind of the reason I had to heal you instead of her. We were in too much of a rush to heal you and lost track of her. Oh but before the match started she gave me a message to give you.¡± Rhea pulls a piece of paper out from her sleeve and hands it to me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it says because it¡¯s in a different language but she said you would understand.¡± I take the paper and open it up. The words are written in English from the world I originally came from. This means Mica is also resurrected from earth. Earlier before the match started she said there were more people from purgatory. Does this mean she is also from purgatory? I won¡¯t get any answers staring at this paper. The paper reads ¡°Deadra, make sure to keep fighting and getting stronger. You lost the fight so now you have to tell your friends and my sister everything you know. Also while you¡¯re at it can you take care of my sister Rhea for a little while too? I have something important and dangerous to do! Thanks from Mica!¡± After reading the paper I look up at everyone. They are anxiously waiting for what the paper says. Reluctant to tell them the truth I start with the fact of watching Rhea. ¡°First it says she wants us to take care of Rhea for now until she returns.¡± Lucarus gets a big smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will take care of her! Does it say anything else?¡± Rhea nods her head. ¡°That sounds like her, she has been trying to get rid of me for some time now. But why would she write that in another language?¡± Lucarus scratches his chin. ¡°More importantly when did you learn to read something like that?¡± Standing up Aarushi pipes in. ¡°Yeah I think you need to fess up! No more secrets, tell us everything you know!¡± I know Mica set all of this up, forcing me to tell my friends the truth. But in reality I have always been wanting to tell them. I always wanted to get closer to them and stop hiding my past. I guess I can¡¯t hold back now. I motion Aarushi to sit back down before taking deep breath in and telling them everything. ¡­ The sun finished setting and the sky becomes dark when I finish my tale. Rhea having the least impact by the story tries to summarize what I said to her. ¡°You have been reborn into this world, you believe Mica and possibly several other people have also been reborn into this world, and the thing that connects you guys is purgatory. Is that right?¡± I nod my head and scan the other people¡¯s reactions. Lucarus has his hands buried in his face so I can¡¯t read what he is thinking. Aarushi has her head tilted sideways like she always does when she becomes confused. Rhea simply scratches her chin while thinking about what I said. How will every one react? Will they still be my friends? Will Lucarus still be willing to fight by my side? Will Aarushi still love me? Or will both of them simply cast me aside for lying for so long? It feels like we sit in silence for almost an eternity. Side story-Dying memories AN: This side story happened before the prelude and before He died the first time. It gives a glimpse into who he was before he died, and was what my original prelude was before I started making changes. However it wasn''t very interesting so I scrapped it until now. This section is what he dreamed about during "Chapter 13-Secrets" and what he explains to everyone at the end of "Chapter 13-Secrets" and in the beginning of "Chapter 14-Trials". So when I say he explains everything just imagine he recites this and "Chapter 1-You Have Died" as well. Feel free to skip this side story as it is not important to the story. I will have other sides stories starting in volume 2 (after chapter 22) but they will also not be necessary to the story, but will be either funny, or explain the world or the magic system more. I am editing this chapter slightly To help everything flow better. He will now remember this information through a dream he has after he was knocked out during "Chapter 13-Secrets". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After passing out from the fight with Mica I had a dream. However it was different from other dreams. it was memories from a past life, my very first life before I started reincarnating. I remember it going a such: My friend Paul and I walk down the busy streets of New York City to find something to do. Hundreds of people crowd the streets, blindly heading toward their predetermined destination, distracted by their own little worlds. Such boring and mundane lives these people hold. Wanting to get off the streets and find something fun to do I ask Paul ¡°Hey you got any cash for tonight? Or do I need to find a way to pay for drinks again?¡± Paul doesn¡¯t even look my way ¡°You idiot, you should know the answer to that. I get the girls and you get the money, that¡¯s how we always operate.¡± Rolling my eyes I begin to fall behind Paul by several strides. I don¡¯t like doing this but at this point in life I don¡¯t have much of a choice. The mistakes I have made can¡¯t be fixed. I don¡¯t necessarily want to change where I am at or who I am but if I had a second chance I would take it without hesitation. Quickening his pace Paul begins to pull ahead then stops and turns around while motioning for me to catch up. ¡°Come on hurry your ass up we don¡¯t have all night!¡± The distance between Paul and I rapidly increases, forcing me to pick up my speed. I go into a slow jog and run into three people, an older business man, a punk looking college student and some pretentious looking women on the way to catch up to him. ¡°Sorry ¡± is the phrase that leave my lips while patting the shoulder of each person as I bump into. Avoiding bumping into people in these crowded streets is easy but it¡¯s not strange when strangers collide or bump shoulders. ¡°So did you get anything good with that little jog of yours?¡± Paul gives me a short wink and slows down as we cross the street. ¡°Hmmm let¡¯s see the old man had forty dollars, the lady had sixty and the kid had about twenty five.¡± I search the wallets of the people I ¡®accidentally¡¯ bumped into. ¡°Oh shit the old man had a platinum card! Looks like were hitting the bars tonight!¡± ¡°No way let me see that.¡± Paul reaches out to grab the card but I pull it away. I like Paul but I sure as hell don¡¯t trust him. ¡°You don¡¯t get to see anything tell you do your part of the deal, we can split the cash half and half tell then.¡± Of course I would give him half the cash, half the cash I said they actually had. The old man actually had over two hundred dollars in cash. I hand Paul sixty dollars with a fake smile on my face. ¡°What about the extra five?¡± Paul looks my way with a worried look. Being concerned over every penny sounds exactly like him. ¡°Fine you cheapskate, but I get to hold on to the card tonight.¡± A little while later we arrive at a random bar in the middle of the city. I walk up to the bar and call for the bartender ¡°Hey, I want to open up a tab for my friend Eric and I.¡± Obviously I use a fake name for my friend when we¡¯re out at night. I have a fake name as well. We have to do this since half our actions would be frowned upon by the local NYPD. ¡°Oh thanks buddy¡± Paul comes over wrapping his arm around me with a big grin. That shit eating grin of his means he found some ¡®prey¡¯ for us to go over and hit on. The bar tender walks over to us, she is a pretty twenty something burnet. ¡°What can I do for you mister...¡± she scans the card I handed her searching for the name. Interrupting her I proudly say ¡°Howard, but just call me James¡± continuing with a smile and a quick wink. My false persona will be that of the old man tonight, in the back of my head I thank him for his kind donation toward our drunken shenanigans. ¡°Of course mister Howard, so what can I get for the two of you tonight?¡± completely dismissing my friendly remarks, ouch seams she is all business. ¡°Two glasses of Bowmore, on the rocks.¡± Being a man of high class I enjoy a nice scotch every once in a while. Paul pipes in pointing at a table in the distance with three girls sitting around it ¡°Also send a few drinks over to that table.¡± He pauses for a moment to add his own dramatic effect before continuing ¡°From us.¡± The bartender silently scoffs at us and brings us our order, along with sending one of the other employees over to the ladies table. ¡°Now we just sit and wait for the magic to work.¡± Paul sits down next to me at the bar. ¡°You sure we don¡¯t need to set out a few more traps, I see some easy picking over by the pool tables.¡± I have been doing this thing for years now. When Paul and I first met I had to teach the kid how to talk to a woman. Probably my only redeeming quality is training people to become what I want. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Paul puts his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes. ¡°Look your job is the money, so let me do mine.¡± Paul puts more pressure on my shoulder than what is necessary to get his point across, but I guess that is just his anger issues. He used to go to anger management, but well I talked him out of that to make him be my wingman. Why should I work on picking up a girl when I can make someone else do it for me? ¡°Haha man calm down man, I won¡¯t steal your thunder.¡± I need to keep on his good side, he is far larger than I am and if he wanted to he could probably kill me. ¡°You¡¯re the man when it comes to getting the ladies, ain¡¯t nobody got shit on you!¡± I then put on another fake smile, my special talent. Immediately relaxing Paul takes his hand off me and takes a large gulp of his drink ¡°Yeah, thanks I just lost control for a second.¡± Paul¡¯s face lights up for a second then he leans in ¡°check it out the girls want us to come see them¡± I turn around and see them looking our way with smiles and giggles. ¡°You know a magician¡¯s best alley is a drunk audience. Better order some more drinks.¡± Although are skills aren¡¯t truly magical, they do have some pretty magical responses. After grabbing a few more drinks to bring with us we wonder over to the table of three women. They are all probably around my age of 24 years old. There all pretty good looking, but more importantly they look morally casual to put it nicely. One of the girls squeals with excitement. ¡°OOOOh another strawberry daiquiri!¡± ¡°Of course, these babies will keep coming all night via my friend James here.¡± Paul smoothly sets me up to succeed. I knew there was a reason I kept this guy around. ¡°It isn¡¯t even worth mentioning, I make plenty at the small company I own.¡± With that the girls glance at each other with a bit of excitement. ¡°What company do you own?¡± one of the girls asks curiously. Not having done any research, or really even thinking about this at all I have no time to think, luckily thinking on my feet is basically what I was born to do. Going into something like this with a game plan makes life too easy. I need the challenge of thinking on my feet and taking the twists and turns as they come. ¡°It¡¯s a small online company that sells several different products ranging from plush toys all the way to inexpensive and efficient home appliances. It¡¯s a business that is oriented toward families. But what I¡¯m most proud of is our philanthropy and donations. Twenty percent of our income goes to different charities including make-a-wish.¡± I hope to distract them with that last bit. Paul butting in with a perfect add on says ¡°I am the co-executive, and recently we started donating to nine lives rescue.¡± Almost shedding a fake tear before continuing Paul says ¡°It¡¯s really amazing to see all of those rescued kittens, and it truly hits home when I don¡¯t have some way to help out.¡± With this the night continues for a while, making lie after lie slowly pulling the strings on the three girls hearts and emotions, just a regular night for Paul and I. A few hours later we all gather into cabs. I take two girls in my cab and Paul takes the third in a separate one. We begin driving to a high class hotel that James Howard will kindly pay for. One of the girls sticks her head out the window ¡°I¡¯m on top of the world!¡± The other girl sloppily climbs over me to try to get to the window also ¡°let me see let me seeeee!¡± The cab driver being worried turns around and says ¡°sit back down and get in the back in the cab please.¡± In my drunken state I grab ahold of his face and mush him forward while saying ¡°shut up you stupid cab driver, nobody is getting hurt so leave us alone grumpy old fart.¡± With that the driver looks back at the road and keeps driving. His driving become more aggressive the louder we get. One of the girls grabs ahold of the drivers head from behind and in a very loud whisper says ¡°Calm down we will be fine. Oh hey want to play a game?¡± she then covers the drivers eyes with her hands and begins to giggles. The other girl begins to yell happily laughing at the frustration of the driver. ¡°Haha old man worries to much!¡± Not really thinking of the situation I laugh along with her while throwing my arm around each girl. ¡°Yeah old man, chill out why don¡¯t you?¡± I couldn¡¯t have a care in the world. My ideology is that life is just a game so why not play around with others. The old man tries to peal the women¡¯s hands off his eyes but fails so he slams on his breaks instead. He then whips around and yells ¡°If you guys don¡¯t sit down and shut up I¡¯ll kick you out of the cab without a second thought.¡± He stares angrily at us for a few moments until we nod and sit down quietly. Without thinking the driver slams the gas pedal to the ground igniting the engine. The wheels peel out slightly as he accelerates forward. The next instant a loud truck horn blares from the left. Turning to see the origin of the noise my jaw drops as my eyes shoot open. A large truck speeding through the light rams the side of the cab. Metal scraping against metal echoes through my ears as the paint peels from each vehicle. Due to the lack of using our seat belts the three of us flail around the inside of the cab. We all get flung to one side as the yellow slams into a street lamp on the side walk. At this moment I lose my consciousness for a few seconds. I wake in a daze. I am lying on my side in a warm crimson liquid. I can¡¯t tell if it is my blood or someone else¡¯s. I can¡¯t see anything since my head is being crushed between two hard objects, my face flat against the ground. I can feel sharp pain radiating from my back as something trickles down into my hair. A larger pressure builds in my chest and breathing becomes harder and harder. Slowly I begin to fade away again. Chapter 14-Trials Chapter 14- Trials After finishing my tale everyone is silent. The light from the moon outside casts dark shadows into the room. The wind rattles the old wood. I sit in fear of what everyone will think of me. I tell them about the dream I just had and everything it implies. That I was twenty four years old when I died in a car accident. In the back of a car I had my arms wrapped around two women that I was planning on sleeping with before it happened and we all died. So I guess I was some kind of playboy in the past. Being a playboy and also the age gap is probably a huge reason I have subconsciously been rejecting Aarushi. I explained all my memories form before this world to them Like the two worlds I went to after I was resurrected. I explained how my first goal in this world was to find a cure for the pyromancers and if not Kill the god of fire Suzaku. I explained how over time I became attached to them and became their friends. I told them the truth of what I saw when I touched the dagger. How I am afraid of Aarushi dying and of the man in the grey hood. I laid all of my cards on the table. Lucarus stands from his chair knocking it to the ground after a minute of silence. The wooden chair thuds against the ground. He stomps toward the door without a word. I reach out to stop him but my voice gets stuck in my throat. A small whimper comes out instead. As Lucarus leaves the room he slams the door shut sending a gust of wind into the room. Rhea stands and puts her hand on my shoulder. ¡°I need to go on a walk and think about some things. I don¡¯t know you very well yet but I do know my sister. I can¡¯t believe she never told me these things before. I will tell you what I think in the morning and we can try to discover more about this purgatory.¡± She then leaves in a quite manner. At least I will still have her. Maybe she can convince Lucarus to forgive me. He really seems to like her. I glance over to Aarushi who still has her head tilted sideways. She puts her finger on her lips and makes a small noise. ¡°mmmm¡± she holds this pose for a second then tilts her head to the other side flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. She removes her finger and looks me in the eyes. In a very serious tone she says. ¡°Pervert!¡± Then crosses her arms and looks away. I sit back slightly in surprise by her response. ¡°What?¡± She holds her angry posture and repeats ¡°Pervert!¡± ¡°Why pervert? I don¡¯t understand, aren¡¯t there a lot of other reasons to be mad at me?¡± ¡°Well didn¡¯t you die going home with two girls? You¡¯re a pervert! And on top of that your what almost forty years old now?¡± she uncrosses her arms and points at her chest. ¡°You know I am only about to turn 16 years old, why didn¡¯t you tell me this beforehand!¡± Almost more surprised that Aarushi could approximate twenty four and fifteen together than anything I stutter on what to say next. ¡°Yeah I guess you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Aarushi drops her hand and blinks at me a few times. ¡°No! You¡¯re supposed to argue back! Tell me that the reason you couldn¡¯t date me is because you thought I was too young. The reason you denied Cecelia was because she was too young! Tell me that you¡¯re not really a pervert and that all you want in this world is true love!¡± She angrily swings her arms around as she says all of this. I sit and think for a moment. In this world I have never been thinking perversely like I did in my past life. I was too distracted by the magic and the people. But I can¡¯t deny that I wasn¡¯t a pervert sixteen years ago. I also can¡¯t fix the age gap either. I really don¡¯t know how to handle a situation like this. Physically we are perfect for each other, and even emotionally we work out great, but mentally I am much older than her. If only she would have just stayed a friend and never would have proclaimed her feelings for me. I look up and smile. ¡°I guess you took the words from my mouth. There was nothing wrong with you but your age. I used to be a pervert but in this life I believe I have stayed away from such thoughts. I am truly a different person than from my past life. Even though I hid such a large part of myself I want you to realize I am still me, I am still Deadra.¡± Aarushi makes a loud humph noise and slouches back in her seat. She stares at me for a moment looking me up and down. ¡°When?¡± Not sure what she means I ask her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Uggghhh, when will I be old enough for you to stop thinking of me as a child?¡± She looks down shyly while blushing slightly before continuing. ¡°When will you be able to date me for real?¡± ¡°I ugh well I mean dating is a lot more complicated than that.¡± I pause for a moment still not sure what to say. I care for her as a child hood friend, and I do find her very attractive. She scrunches her face. ¡°Tell me when!¡± Not sure what to do I say the first thing that comes to mind. ¡°Ugh eighteen. In my world eighteen is when one becomes an adult.¡± Uncrunching her face she puts a beautiful smile on. ¡°Well then I guess I better keep you on a leash tell then.¡± She leans her face close to me. Putting one hand on her hip and pointing a finger at me with the other she exclaims. ¡°Promise me now that when I turn eighteen you will bring me on a date! And make sure you use all your knowledge, not just what you know in this world!¡± Calming down slightly she pokes my nose lightly. ¡°If you promise that I will forgive you.¡± A wave of relief rushes over me. I am truly happy she will forgive me. And when she turns eighteen I¡¯m sure she will be amazingly beautiful. ¡°I would love to take you on a date! I promise.¡± I place my hands behind me on the bed and lean back. Now I just need to fix things with Lucarus. Aarushi sits down on the bed and stretches her arms in the air. ¡°(yaaawwwn) All that story telling has made me tired, let¡¯s go to bed.¡± She wraps her arm around me and kisses me on the cheek. She then slides her hand down my arm and onto the bed. She crawls behind me and lays her head down on the pillow. ¡°I never said we could break up tell then either so don¡¯t go around with other girls.¡± I guess this means we will be taking things slow tell she is older? I don¡¯t really know what she is thinking anymore, she is truly growing up. I will just be happy she forgave me for now. ¡­ Morning comes and Aarushi is till lying next to me in bed. I decide to get up early to see if I can find Lucarus. I slowly slide out of the green sheets but am stopped when Aarushi¡¯s hand grabs my wrist. Her eyes are still closed. She mutters. ¡°Monkey¡­ got you.¡± I peel her hand from her wrist. Traversing the field of landmine like squeaky wood proves a difficult task. An explosion of creaking erupts from the floor boards every step I take. When I reach the silver door knob I turn around to see Aarushi still motionless. I creek the door open slightly and shuffle my way through. When I knock on Lucarus¡¯s room next door I hear a light moan. ¡±Lucarus are you in there? I want to talk please. ¡± A few seconds later I hear a person make an embarrassed squeak then lots of shuffling behind the door. I hear a low soft rumble then in response a higher pitched one. After some low and high mumbling noises resonate back and forth I hear Lucarus speak through the door. ¡°Hey Deadra¡­ Ummm can you give me a minute? I¡¯ll meet you down stairs at the inn¡¯s dining room.¡± ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll meet you there.¡± Having an idea about what is taking him so long I decide to stop by my room first. I open the door and pick Aarushi up in my arms. As my arms scoop under her I get a whiff of honey, Aarushi¡¯s natural sent. She is lighter than she looks, probably because the pyromancer race is naturally light and agile. ¡°Aarushi lets go eat breakfast.¡± She slowly opens her eyes as I carry her in my arms. Rubbing sleep from her eye she responds. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± ¡°I am taking you to breakfast.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s sweat!¡± she smiles and wraps her arms around my neck. She whispers in my ear. ¡°Thanks! But why are you carrying me?¡± Half way down the stairs is when I realize that I don¡¯t know why I decided to carry her. I shrug my shoulders and continue carrying her to the table. I set her down in a seat then grab one next to her. ¡°Lucarus and Rhea should be joining us soon. Also don¡¯t ask why I carried you here I don¡¯t really know myself.¡± Aarushi still half asleep slops her head onto my shoulder. ¡°Ok monkey wake me when they get here.¡± Is all she dreams about that strange monkey? After a little bit Lucarus shows up with an uneasy look on his face. He sits down across the table from me. ¡°Hey Deadra, how did you sleep?¡± I look up at him and give him a small wink. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bring your bed mate with you, I am sure Rhea is hungry too.¡± The blood rushes from his face and is eyes shoot open. ¡°No it¡¯s not what you think. We didn¡¯t. Ummm we were just talking last night and then fell asleep.¡± I give him a reassuring smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I am not judging. She is a very beautiful girl. Also I believe you, I am sure you were just talking. But can I ask if you like her?¡± He sheepishly nods his head. ¡°I do like her. When I stormed off last night she found me about ten minutes later walking around in the street. She brought me back to my room and we talked about you for a few minutes. We talked about her sister after that. Eventually we both stopped being upset and somehow got on a tangent about random things and eventually fell asleep talking. When I heard you knock and saw her still in the bed we kind of freaked out not knowing what happened.¡± By the end of his story he is rubbing the back of his head with a giant cheeky smile. Not wanting to ruin the moment I stay silent for a moment and let him bask in the thought before asking. ¡°So are you still mad at me? Do you have any questions for me?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± he stops rubbing the back of his head and lowers his hand. ¡°Oh yeah, don¡¯t worry about it. I was more shocked than anything. I guess I was upset that you took so long to tell me and felt lied to but now after looking at it from your point of view I understand. We wouldn¡¯t have believed you if you didn¡¯t have such weird circumstances happen first, and you were probably afraid of what we would think. So just forget about everything and let¡¯s be friends again.¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to be so mature about this. I am glad I picked him as my friend so long ago. ¡°So when Rhea gets here lets order some breakfast!¡± Lucarus points at Aarushi¡¯s face. ¡°Haha, but first you might want to clean the drool off your shirt.¡± I look down and see Aarushi drooling all over my shirt. Crap. I shake her off and wipe my shirt. ¡­ It¡¯s been three days since I told everyone the truth and everything is settling down nicely. The four of us have decided to enter the arena as a team and fight monsters for now. Rhea seems to know a lot about monsters and the arena and told us everything we needed to know. Every six months is a tournament for individual fighters and for teams. These events call fighters from all over the world to come and fight at varying levels. There are beginner levels all the way to master levels. Anyone can participate in the beginner level but to go to a stronger rank you must prove your strength in the arena. Tournaments are the way to make the most money with hundreds of gold pieces being given to the top three places at just beginner levels. Rhea says until our team work gets better we should only do the individual tournaments. But the next one is six months away and we will run out of money before then. A second method of gaining money from the coliseum is through fighting monsters. We found a bulletin of how each monster pays out. * Each point will reward you with a gold coin for victory and a silver coin for failure or draw. Upon death you will not receive any reward. Wolves are one point each. Bears are five points each. Shieks are ten points each. Small rock golems are twenty five points each. Wyverns are thirty points each. Trolls are fifty points each. Medium rock Golems are fifty points each. Small dragons are one hundred points each. * We are also told that sometimes special creatures will be displayed and will often be worth extra gold. With more gold we can by new items and equipment. Excluding my long dagger and everything Rhea owns our equipment is pitiful. Aarushi has dagger edged gauntlets made of rock and wolf claws on each hand and a pair of heavy boots. Her armor mostly consists of brown leather and wolf hides. On her shoulders she has rock shoulder gear for tackling. Lucarus has a two handed rock sword. He wears light leather and rock wrist guards. His fur boots and jacket are from the first bear I killed on the way to Twin Trees. My gear is similar to Lucarus¡¯s except I have the silver dagger I found inside the cave and five smaller rock daggers weighted for throwing. Rhea has a mithral chain mail shirt and skirt with a ruby of elemental protection in the chest. She has diamond encrusted silk gloves. Her boots are high quality leather with cotton souls for comfort. She has mithral arm and leg bracers with designs carved into them similar to my dagger. She has a small silver canister at her waist with a symbol for water. This canister can store several dozen gallons of water. Her combined armor guards against all elements to a certain degree along with physical attacks greatly. The only thing we need to worry about is large heavy impact attacks that hit her. Her gloves increase her ability to heal and give an added bonus to water creation. The gloves improve upon her natural talents as a hydromancer. Her only down side is she can¡¯t heal herself, and she is bad at fighting since Mica did all of the fighting for her. Aarushi poking and prodding Rhea asks. ¡°Why do you have such impressive gear?¡± Rhea lets out a small giggle while covering her mouth. ¡°Hehe, my sister made it for me. I never really thought about why she was so talented in everything she does but if her being reincarnated is true then I guess she was a blacksmith in a past life.¡± She points at the dagger I have in my waist. ¡°Also I think that dagger is one she made as well.¡± I glance over my dagger for a moment. The items she developed are truly amazing. How many life times has she lived to develop something like this? Was she the person who gave me the warnings? What kind of girl is Mica? Lucarus pats me on the back to break me from thought. ¡°Hey come on our match is about to start.¡± As he says this the black gates creak open for our impending battle. We walk through the gates to see a small crowd on the bleachers cheering. From what I can hear they are hoping for our deaths from the onslaught of enemies. We chose to do the multiple enemies package. This entails that we will fight several waves of monsters until we either give up, we die, or they run out of monsters. Every five waves we survive we are rewarded extra gold. Since this is our first time fighting the crowd does not know our strength and they have only come to see our deaths. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. We take our positions. Aarushi and I are at the front with Lucarus a few paces behind us to cover our backs and protect Rhea. Aarushi and I are the attackers and tanks. I have better skill and speed but Aarushi is far more fierce and ruthless. Lucarus is the eyes and ears and will warn us of any incoming attacks. Rhea is our healer with minimal fighting capability but because of her armor she could probably take more hits than any of us. A woman in a white gown and bright pink hair standing on a podium above the crowd begins to announce what is happening. ¡°Today we have a small fry beginner group with three Pyromancers from the fire tribe and one hydromancer from the water tribe. They call themselves The Eternal Flame.¡± We were thinking of calling ourselves team purgatory but did not want to attract any more attention from strong people like Mica. ¡°Today they will be facing several waves of monsters; to start off we will send out the wolves!¡± A large bronze bell rings out as the woman raises her hands. A black gate twenty paces in front of our formation opens up. Eight pairs of yellow eyes glowing in the darkness creeps out into the sunlight to reveal four large black and red four eyed wolves. Staggering themselves slightly they crawl out the door. Showing no fear and having plenty of experience with wolves Aarushi and I charge into attack. Since we have a healer with us we can afford to be more risky. We each engulf our bodies in flames creating a protective armor around ourselves before splitting up. I attack the two on the right and Aarushi takes the two on the left. I charge my left hand with a bomb. I pour power into the silver blade in my right and hand as it glows red like hot iron. I reach with in two paces of the wolves before they each dart in opposite directions around me. The wolf on my left lunges at me going in to bite my neck with its razor sharp black claws. I pivot my feet and back step to avoid its swipe while placing my left hand on its head. An explosion echoes from my hand and the wolf¡¯s head caves in. The second wolf already started its attack before I killed the first. Unable to back step again I kick off the ground barely avoiding his black jagged teeth as he nips at my legs. With the momentum from the kick I go into a side flip over the second wolfs head. I stab my scolding hot blade into his snout mid arc. Finishing my flip I drag the blade across his skull killing him in a single blow. I can hear people yelling in the background. I safely land at the same time the two wolves hit the ground. I turn over to Aarushi to see she has one of the wolves heads clamped down beneath her rock claw like weapons. She is burning the life from him with her iron like grip. The other wolf is staggering from a punch she threw earlier but is about to quickly retaliate. With her unaware of the second wolves recovery and concentrating on killing the one in her grasp she will get injured. I rush over to her side shooting flames behind me to accelerate my pace. I jump into the air toward the wolf like a cat pouncing on its pray. I position the blade between the wolf and I as I crash down onto its back. He slumps onto his belly with his legs spread eagle. I pull the blade from his back and thrust it in once more to prevent it from unneeded suffering. I stand up and wipe dirt from my knees while checking my surroundings. Aarushi has finished her wolf off as it lies on the ground. She is giving a smile of bliss that she only gives off while fighting. Lucarus stands next to me with a serious face. It seems he was prepared to kill the wolf and protect Aarushi. But he is also still analyzing the surroundings; he is the eyes and ears of our team after all. Rhea stands in the back holding a glowing orb of blue water the size of a baseball in her hand. She smiles and yells. ¡°Does anyone need healing?¡± We all shake our heads and return to our original positions. The announcer bellows the results. ¡°Wow in a split second the man with a silver dagger takes out two wolves then in another instance kills a third. The red haired beauty stuns two wolves before crushing one of their heads between her flaming claws. All of them ready to kill more at a moment¡¯s notice. I think we under estimated this new team. The legends of pyromancers being one of the most powerful races may be displayed today. But will they be able to survive the next wave?¡± The crowd roars at her announcement. Men in black and white stripped outfits that remind me of referees run onto the field and remove the corpses. The black metal gates rise across the stadium once more. ¡°The next challenge is two grizzly bears, a far more challenging opponent than a pack of wolves.¡± Just as the announcer says two large brown bears come out of the gate each towering over ten feet. I take a deep breath and yell. ¡°I will get the one on the right, everyone else focus on the other one.¡± I make my charge against my opponent. He decides to stay on all fours and gallop my way. When we each get within two paces of each other we react explosively like a match dropped on gasoline. I blow a large flame from my left hand into his eyes to blind him while he lunges at me with his frying pan sized paws and thick jagged claws. With a second flame from my foot I spring myself nearly six feet off the ground above the bear. Floating in the air above the smoke and fire for a second I can see the bare swipe his other paw into the now empty space I once was. To accelerate my decent I shoot a blast of hot air and smoke behind me and lunge with the blade below my head with both hands. I fall into his back like a javelin into the ground. As the blade enters his flesh I hear a light snapping and cracking. Sending a wave of energy into the blade makes and explosion at its tip shooting me and the blade back in the air. The bear cries out in pain as I fly back into the air. He tries to stand on his hind legs and reach me but instead collapses. I fall to the ground with a thud while bending my legs as I absorb the impact. I check on the others and see Aarushi using a flame thrower at the bears face while Lucarus has snuck up behind it. I assume he will slice the bears ankles and they will expose it¡¯s under belly again. Rhea stands back a ways prepared to heal anyone who gets injured. I decide to let them take their bear on and refocus on mine. He gives me a death stare as I approach his head. Using one paw to push himself up and forward he swings the other at me. I side step the attack slightly ducking. As the bear falls into me I jab the blade into its neck ending its life. I take a sigh of relief before looking back over to my comrades. The bear lies on its back motionlessly. Aarushi is sitting on the ground next to the bear with a blissful smile. Lucarus is hunched over with his blade in its rib cage. Rhea is still holding her glowing ball of water not sure what to do. Either she is useless or just waiting for someone to heal. No she gives us confidence to move forward knowing we can be healed. This rids us of hesitation. In the past we were always much more cautious and worried of injury. Without a healer a small injury could put you out of business for weeks impeding your ability to become stronger. This slowed us down in the past and made us hesitant, but now we can display our full strength without fear. With her on our team we could become stronger exponentially faster than before. In a world without medical science healers are truly an amazing thing for any life style. The announcer chimes in. ¡°Wow another amazing match by team Eternal Flames. How far will these beginners move into the multi wave matches!?¡± Once again the referee looking people pull away the traces of battle. The gates rattles open and one set of blue eyes looks out from it. ¡°The next opponent is a single black shiek. This bird is known for its speed and agility. Will the change in opponent confuse the combatants?¡± A black bird with blue eyes steps out bobbing its head with each step. It looks like a black rooster from a distance, but is actually eight feet tall with large talons the size of small daggers. Its beak is larger and harder, made to crack open rocks to help it tunnel. When it sees us it makes a war cry. ¡°hhhhiiiieeeeeek.¡± It swipes its legs into the ground once before sprinting at us with frightening speed. Its target is my head. Unable to dodge the attack I squat down and wave large flames from my hands. I rush my arms from my side up toward the sky. A large flame like a shield of fire emits stoping the bird and forcing it to jump into the air and flap its wings. Taking advantage of the moment I jump into the air after it shooting fire out of my feet to fling myself higher. I grab onto its right leg and immediately start to charge a bomb into my palm. Before I can gather enough energy the shiek slams its beak into my arm. The sound of shattering bone echoes in my ear as pain resonates from my arm. As my grip is forced open from pain I emit a small blast of energy and fire into its leg. I fall to the ground with a thud and curl into a ball around my arm. Lucarus jumps over me to create a barrier between the shiek and I. Rhea slides in next to me and pours water onto my arm. The pain leaves my body as a slight ecstasy replaces it. The water glows white and cools my burning arm. I stare in amazement for a few moments at the wound. The black and purple bruise fades away. Rhea yells. ¡°This will take a minute so you guys need to keep it away.¡± Aarushi yells back. ¡°I think we can take it, Deadra injured its leg. Also were stronger then you think!¡± I look up from my arm to watch the fight. The shiek has all of its weight on its uninjured leg. Even so it still moves swiftly forward. Aarushi charges in retaliation. She throws two balls of fire the size of basket balls at the Shiek. It is forced to slow down and dodge each one properly. With the birds lowered momentum they collide and come to a standstill. While holding it with one hand Aarushi punches at its neck with fire embroiled rock claws with the other hand. After three hits the bird flares its wings out with an ear splitting screech and bashes its head into Aarushi. She falls back several steps. The bird extends its injured leg out parallel to its body and begins to spin like a top. Wind gusts around it like a tornado as it slowly comes closer toward us. Lucarus commands. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it! Try throwing compressed fire at it!¡± He and Aarushi each gather flames into their hands and launch a few flaming balls into the tornado. The flames are mostly extinguished before they hit the bird, but they still hit their mark and I can see the bird begin to slow down. ¡°Keep it up, don¡¯t stop!¡± They each throw several more balls of billowing flame until the bird stops spinning. The shiek stumbles a few steps closer then lets out one last shriek before collapsing next to me. The announcer yells once more. ¡°The Eternal Flame has passed the third round!¡± Rhea pats me on the head and stands up. I look at my arm and realize it is fully healed. ¡°But will they be able to take on the next round. The next round has taken out many teams before. It is well known as the marathon round with twelve wolves and one bear!¡± The shiek is quickly removed as the metal gate is open once more. If what she says is true we will be over whelmed in a few seconds. I gulp down my fear and grab two of my rock daggers. I have an idea of something I want to try. The creatures stagger out of the gate closely packed together. I pour an eighth of my remaining energy into each of the rock daggers. I hope this works. I throw one charged dagger between three wolves on the end and the other in the center of the group between two wolves and the bear. An explosion three feet in diameter emanates from each dagger. The shock wave can be felt several yards away, all the wolves stagger slightly while some fall down. The three wolves directly in the blast radius whale and get flung away. The bear staggers away from the explosion falling on a wolf next to him. Five wolves were killed with that one attack while the bear was greatly injured. We only have seven more wolves and a bear to handle. I shout to the group ¡°attack while their stunned!¡± Lucarus, Aarushi and I all charge at the wolves. We cover the area in flames with our combined attack limiting visibility. Each of us takes a wolf out quickly before having any retaliation. Ignoring the wolf stuck below the bear we each need to only take one more out. Running through the flames I slide kick toward the wolf in my cross hairs. The wolf confused by all that is going on jumps backwards. I push off the ground throwing myself into the air above the wolf. Landing in front of the wolf I wrench my dagger at its face. I scratch its muzzle and one of its eyes as it whines from the pain. Continuing my momentum from the slash I spin around and back hand the wolf with my open hand. Stepping forward with the spin I reach closer to the wolf and end it with one more slash. Not having time to check my comrades I run toward the downed bear. Seeing it regain its bearings along with the injured wolf below it I grab another rock dagger. Heating it up to improve its cutting ability I launch it at the wolf¡¯s head killing him instantly. I jump at the bear with my silver dagger above my head but am swatted away. While I still fly backwards Lucarus sprinting from the other side of the bear slashes at its neck. Aarushi coming from behind me blasts a barrage of fire balls into the bears face. Lucarus strikes once more at the back of its head then jumps back. It slumps to the ground. All of us heavily breathing gather around Rhea to have her heal our injuries. My stomach was cut slightly from the bear swiping me away. Aarushi had some claw marks on her arms. Lucarus had a scratch on his shoulder. I am truly thankful to Rhea and her ability to heal people. The water tribe may be weak fighters but they have amazing abilities. The announcer screams out with excitement. ¡°Woooow never have I seen such an explosive and fiery match before! I have no idea what the red haired boy threw to cause such an explosion but if it wasn¡¯t for that they may have been over whelmed by the wolves. The combined attacks from the pyromancers has caused the very arena floor to be scorched. This team is amazing! Pyromancers are a very strong race. For a first time team to get this far is unheard of!¡± Louder than ever before the crowd bellows with excitement. I guess after this we might build a name for ourselves. ¡°I do like this explosive group but I don¡¯t think they have the strength to kill the next opponent. It is an elimination bonus round. The stakes are now increased. For reaching it this far they will receive a ten percent increase to their total winning if they can win the match. The monster they must take on now is a rock golem!¡± The crowd goes silent except for a few people whispering. The gates reopen and the rock Golem steps out. Never have I been so afraid for my life. Suggestions and Questions(Possible spoilers) I will not be making very many authors notes until later in the story but with any and all chapters I read EVERY comment and will reply to any of the ones that have a confused reader or any random questions. Also I appreciate when people say thanks for the chapter and such, but will not respond to that alone, but do keep it coming :) ******** Go wild and talk about the story, Ask questions about it and make crazy speculations about the future. Make suggestions to me to make the story better. I will be here to clarify anything that is hard to understand or confuses people. If enough people become confused about a subject I will directly fix it in the Novel it''s self, So even if something was already clarified go a head and let me know it confused you before you came here. If you want to know Something that is not posted yet then I will not post it here if it would at all spoil something in the future and instead will PM you about it, Unless its a really big spoiler. Any ways have fun! This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ******** PS I am looking for an editor if any one is interested in receiving chapters early and just helping me out.
Chapter 15-Rock Golem Chapter 15- Rock Golem The rock golem towers twelve feet in height. Its black iron body blocks both physical and elemental attacks. Weighing over a ton, this monster is an immovable object standing in our path. Layers of rock converge at each point of its body strengthening and condensing each other. The only weak point is its core that is hidden deep within the many layers of rock wrapping around it. As it takes a step out of the gates a deep whaling thud echoes into the stadium. Each slow and heavy step shakes me to the core with fear. I strengthen my grip on the silver dagger in my hand. A cold sweat slowly creeps over my body. I don¡¯t know if we can defeat something like this. I look over to Aarushi who is standing firmly in place. No fear is seen in her eyes. I cannot see her mark through the heavy rock gauntlets she wears. Lucarus takes a step back and nervously checks his surroundings. As our eyes meet I see a mix of negative emotions. His mark is covered by wolf fur gloves. Rhea standing in the very back simply stares toward the beast looming in the distance. All of us are still tired and breathing hard from the previous fights. I contemplate throwing in the towel when Rhea yells words of motivation. ¡°Don¡¯t give up, that creep is slow and stupid. If we can find a way to crack it open and destroy the core we win!¡± My spirts feel slightly refreshed knowing that she still has belief in us. The ground shakes once more as the golem steps closer to us. The shadow of the golem seems to block out the sun as it gets closer. The beast moves slowly giving us time to avoid its attack but one wrong step would mean death. It raises the mass of rock that would be considered as its right fist, over its head. The beast strikes in Aarushi¡¯s direction. She darts toward me to avoid the attack. As the fist hits the ground, the ground indents slightly as a shock wave radiates outward. The air around the attack fills with dirt and debris. The golem becomes motionless for several seconds as the air clears. When he picks up his massive fist he leaves a crater three feet in diameter in the ground. Aarushi would be dead now if she tried to block the golems attack. I try to calm myself by breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. We need to end this quickly. I rush up toward its leg. One of the massive arms swings behind me. The air pressure from the arm pushes me forward tripping me. I fall to the ground and slide several feet. I roll over and see a giant black rock above me. I blast a ball of hot air out of my side while raking my arms into the ground pulling myself out of the rocks path. I miss death by a hairs width. Even so the blast from the impact behind me launches me several feet away from the golem. Like a cat I regain my bearings midair and flip into a crouched position on my hands and feet as I land. Trying once more I charge toward the golem. Lucarus charges with me. As we near the gigantic beast he swings one of his limbs at us again. This time I am prepared. I dodge the limb and strike it with my silver knife to add to the momentum of the wind current. Lucarus does a diving roll to get far enough away and avoids the blast of air. As I get flung to center of the beast I ignite my blade and using the combined momentum from my own strength and his own wind pressure moving me forward I strike at its mid-section. Chipping away several small pebbles from the massive body proves the strength of its defenses. Lucarus rolls out of his dive and stabs at the same portion I did. Even fewer chips fly off but Lucarus and I continuously strike at it hoping to make a dent. After a few seconds of striking the beast begins its movement to retaliate. We jump back and run from the spot. The beast slams its fists into the damaged midsections making more rocks fall down. A grin unconsciously forms on my face. If we keep carving away at the same spot we will eventually reach the core. We might be able to do this! ¡°Everyone attack the same spot!¡± I lunch one of my explosive daggers at the spot we earlier damaged once again releasing an eighth of my power into it. I will have slightly less than half my remaining power after this. A large explosive power forces the golem back a step and makes him crouch to the ground. ¡°Attack now!¡± Aarushi runs in and slams down with all her force. She can also use explosions, but they are not as strong or precise as mine. She unleashes a barrage of several explosive punches into the spot that the golem was damaged. Dropping her guard she putts everything she has into attacking. The golem begins to crumble around her as she attacks without mercy. A glowing red light slowly shines from under the many layers of rock falling from the golem. This light is coming from the golem¡¯s core. Before Aarushi can land a strike at the core the golem slams a fist into her sending her flying across the arena into a wall. The impact of her body sends cracks across the wall and floor. Almost instinctively I cry out. ¡°Aarushi!¡± Ash and dirt fill the air around the cracked wall making Aarushi invisible. Staring at the horror of where she landed I start to run toward her. Rhea calls to me from behind. ¡°Focus on the golem, I¡¯ll do everything I can to heal her!¡± I stop in my tracks putting my trust in Rhea. If Aarushi survived the impact then there is still hope for her to be healed. As long as she was able to avoid hitting her head she may have survived. I pray for the best silently in my head. Turning back to the golem I see it standing back up. The glowing red light has vanished and rocks that were crumbled are now reusable and float back into place. Dam this thing can heal its self. If we are going to beat it then we have to do it in one big attack. ¡°Lucarus don¡¯t let it hit you but distract it while I build up power. If we don¡¯t open its shell of rock in one strike we won¡¯t be able to win. When I give you the signal I want you to unleash all of your power and strength into one blow at the same place that I attack.¡± Without making any signs of confirmation Lucarus begins to attack the golem. Knowing the dagger in my hand can increase my power I begin to dump all the remaining power I have into it. I don¡¯t know how much it can strengthen my powers but if it could at least double it then I can expose the core and have Lucarus finish him off. I must clear my mind and porject all my strength into explosive power. I cannot watch over Lucarus or Aarushi. I must let them handle themselves for the first time if I want to be able to kill this beast. I put both my hand around the handle of the silver blade. The three red rubies burning with power glow like ambers in a fire as I build the power inside of them. The white tribal symbols on the blade begin to charge with energy and shine like a bright orange streak of lightning. The silver metal hardens and becomes heavier as I saturate the sixteen inch blade with all my power, emotions, and hope. When the strength inside my body dwindles down to almost nothing I stop. I need to still have enough power in me to jump onto its back. With a weakened and raspy voice I cry out ¡°Lucarus now!¡± I look up from the blade to see Lucarus has turned the golem around leaving its back facing me. Now all I need to do is plunge this into its back and let Lucarus finish it off. I start running at it. With every gasp of air passing through my dry throat the taste of blood fills my mouth. Every step shoots pain into my body as my muscles cry. The blood in my body lacking power scrapes across my veins. Memories of roots breaking out of me come to surface. I brush the pain away and concentrate on the task in front of me. I jump onto the black golem¡¯s wide back. It feels like climbing a mountain. The smell of sulfur and ash leaks from his body. When I reach its center I wrench the blade into a crevice and release the power stored in the sword. A blinding white flash fills my vision. The sword is ejected from the rocky surface and drags me across the sky with it. I sail through the air for several seconds before slamming into a wall. My eyes too heavy to keep open close as I fade away. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡­ I wake up in the familiar inn with the green sheets. My shirt and pants have been removed leaving only my underwear. Aarushi lies next to me with her head on my bare chest with an unusual smile on her face. She looks as if she has taken no damage. The healing magic in this world is truly on another level. I put my hand on her shoulder. She shoots her head into the air as she looks up at me. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake! Lucarus and Rhea said they wouldn¡¯t tell me what happened until you woke up! And since Rhea has no abilities to heal fatigue or energy loss I had to wait for so long!¡± I think for a moment before speaking. ¡°If Rhea didn¡¯t do any healing then why are my clothes missing?¡± Aarushi looks down at my chest then back at me. She begins to Blush to the extreme of her whole head looking like a tomato. I raise my eye brow. ¡°Why are you turning red? Did you not notice or something?¡± She shakes her head and mumbles something inaudible. Then looks back at me and squeaks, ¡°Pervert!¡± while covering her mouth with her hands. She stands up and runs toward the door but stops and looks me over once more before rushing out the door. What was her problem? I decide to dismiss it as her hitting her head when she got flung into the wall. I put my clothes back on and head downstairs to grab some food. I see everyone at a table and decide to sit down next to Lucarus. ¡°So can you guys explain what happened to Aarushi and I now?¡± Lucarus puts a huge grin on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll let Rhea tell her part first.¡± Rhea shrugs her shoulders and blatantly states. ¡°I went and healed Aarushi, she was near death but I managed somehow. Ok your turn.¡± Lucarus gives a sour face before continuing. ¡°Well I¡¯ll start back a little for Aarushi. You got flung into a wall and passed out after revealing the weak point to us. That¡¯s when Deadra told me to distract it. I bravely followed his orders and dove head first into the blazing fire of battle. Heroically diving and dodging the golem for almost a minute I realize I can guide its back toward Deadra.¡± Rhea interrupts with a cough into her closed hand. ¡°Ahem, stop lying you were running around like a chicken with its head cut off.¡± Lucarus crosses his arms and leans back. ¡°Fine your right, I don¡¯t want to lie and get bad karma. I was scared shitless and just kind of ran around aimlessly. When Deadra gave me the signal I was completely out of breath and didn¡¯t really know what to do. I realized you we on the other side of it and figured your explosion would knock it on its belly and decided I would back up so it doesn¡¯t fall on me. I was planning to run up and stab its core after it collapsed but well.¡± Lucarus rubs the back of his head and gives off an extremely cheeky smile. ¡°You completely eradicated the golem so I didn¡¯t have to do a single thing. Not only did you break its shell open and destroy its core you also evaporated most of the rocks it used for its whole body.¡± Aarushi tilts her head and places her finger on her lips. With her most adorable puppy dog eyes she says. ¡°You did all that for me.¡± Although that isn¡¯t entirely true I don¡¯t want to crush her feelings so I give her a big nod. I have trouble believing what happened. I did not have enough power to do something like that. How strong is this dagger? Also where is my dagger? Rhea noticing my confused look and explains. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for the dagger we decided to have it appraised. Somehow after you unleashed the attack it grew in length and more symbols appeared on it. Now it more closely resembles a short sword.¡± She stands up and pushes her chair in. ¡°If you want I can bring you to the shop, and while we¡¯re at it everyone should buy some more equipment with all the gold we gained.¡± We all go to the shop and I receive my weapon back. The shop keeper explains the rarity of the item to us. ¡°The rubies in the base are fire multipliers. Since they are high quality ones your sword can make any fire attack become thirty two times stronger. The symbols on the blade allow one to store energy and power into the blade and also act as a recoil reduction. They prevent the user from injuring themselves from using to strong of an attack and also weakening any push back from explosions caused by the weapon. The silver is made from a rare metal that becomes stronger and sharper as power is inserted into the rubies or it is heated up. It also has a small coating of magic on it that prevents wear and tear so you never have to clean or sharpen it. By my estimate the sword would be worth about ten thousand gold coins.¡± I almost drop the sword after hearing the shop owner explain everything to me. The sword is completely over powered. I can¡¯t believe Mica was able to make something like this. Just what other abilities does she have? How many life times has she perfected her skills? Did she learn these skills from the first two worlds that I died instantly in? Are all the people from purgatory as over powered as she is? Not only can she kick my butt without any magic or weapons but she can also build such fine weaponry. We thank the shop keeper and buy a few small items. We all decide to keep fighting in the arena, but will avoid the golem for the time being. Over the next six months while waiting for the tournament to happen we all become stronger. Our power level and quantity increased much faster than usual due to excessive fighting and the healing abilities of Rhea. Our gear also increased greatly from makeshift rock weapons to iron. Although iron is the lowest level it is still vastly improved. Aarushi has replaced her rock fists with proper weapons. She wears heave metal gloves and metal braces that extend to her elbows. A small three inch knife protrudes from around her pinky out and back toward her wrist. This increases the strength of her hammer blows and catches enemies that only barely dodge her regular punch. The knuckles have one inch razor studs to add piecing power to her punches. Her boots have also been reinforced with some iron; making them heavier and stronger. Lucarus switched to higher quality leather armor that is both stronger and lighter weight. His rock sword has been replaced with a double edge iron blade that is about four and a half feet long. Leather is wrapped around the handle to improve grip and striking speed. A small red jewel is placed in the blade that amplifies fire strength by fifty percent. I also improve the leather armor I own. I get put metal panels on the back of my gloves to help me guard against small attacks. I have a similar gem sewn into the palm of my left glove. This will double the power of fire attacks in my left hand. I still keep the same silver sword. Rhea does not change any of her equipment since it is better than anything this store has to offer and instead saves her money. After fighting several more wolves, bears, and Shieks through six months the time of the tournament finally approaches. We will be competing separately in the tournament. What kind of opponents will we encounter? Will we end up having to fight each other or will we be eliminated before getting the chance? Chapter 16-beginners tournament Chapter16- Beginner¡¯s Tournament Lucarus, Aarushi and I are competing in the beginners¡¯ tournament. Rhea is on standby to heal any injuries we may get. The three of us are waiting with Rhea beneath the coliseum for our names to be called. We are in a small room light by torch light. The walls and floor are made of yellow bricks and the floor is covered in sand. The room smells of blood and sweat. Three wooden planks held against the wall by black chains adorn each wall. Although these are often used as beds for the injured we are currently using them as benches. Aarushi has a devilish smile on her lips as she looks into my direction. ¡°Hey do you guys want to make the usual bet? Whoever wins the tournament wins the bet too.¡± A devilish smile also comes across Lucarus¡¯s face as he glances over to Rhea. ¡°Does that mean we can give Rhea an order if we win?¡± I say ¡°Only if we make a way for her to win also.¡± ¡°How about if none of you win then it counts as me winning? Also what is this usual bet?¡± Aarushi jumps from her wooden bench. ¡°Well, the winner gets to make the losers do anything they want. And the losers can¡¯t complain or avoid doing the will of the winner!¡± Aarushi rubs her hands together diabolically. Rhea gives a small nod then raises her eye brow while smiling. ¡°Oh and what is it you plan to make everyone do?¡± Aarushi puts one hand on her hip and shakes a finger with the other. ¡°That¡¯s a secret!¡± ¡°I doubt she even knows what she wants to make any one do yet.¡± Lucarus leans back on the bench causing the wood to creak and the chains to rattle. Aarushi throws her arms down angrily while shouting. ¡°I know what I¡¯m going to do to Deadra!¡± silence fills the room momentarily as Aarushi realizes what she said. A squeak comes from her mouth as she raises her hands waving them defensively. ¡°I mean what I will make him do to me. No, no I meant make him do. Yeah just what I¡¯ll make him do. I won¡¯t even be involved at all!¡± She looks around the room hoping we fell for her ploy. Before anyone has time to either ignore or make fun of her statement a knocking comes from the door. ¡°Aarushi you¡¯re up to fight. Come to the south gate now.¡± Aarushi¡¯s eyes shine with excitement not attempting to hide her love of fighting. She pumps her fist in the air and heads toward the door. Before reaching it she stops and tilts her head to the side. Making a slight moan she turns around and asks. ¡°Which way is the south gate?¡± The lot of us break into laughter for a few seconds. Rhea stands up and puts her hand on Aarushi¡¯s shoulder and announces. ¡°I¡¯ll guide you there.¡± After the door shuts behind the girls Lucarus shuffles toward me and nudges me in the ribs with his elbow. ¡°So you and Aarushi have been getting along well these past few months, anything happen?¡± Elbowing him back I ask. ¡°What about you and Rhea?¡± ¡°Hey now I asked you first!¡± ¡°Ugh fine. We haven¡¯t really done much. I mean we cuddle every night and kiss sometimes but otherwise nothing much.¡± Lucarus raises both eyebrows and falls back a little in shock. ¡°She won¡¯t let you¡­ you know do more? It¡¯s been over a year since you started dating!¡± Shaking my head I explain further. ¡°It¡¯s not her it¡¯s me. I really think I love her, and well in my first life I would only ever do those things with people I didn¡¯t care about. So it¡¯s different with her. I want to take care of her and make her happy.¡± ¡°No way! Thats how I feel about Rhea! I just want to protect her!¡± Lucarus rubs the back of his head giving off his usual cheeky smile accented by his freckles. After a second Lucarus¡¯s face becomes serious as he continues. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid to tell her how I feel. You¡¯re lucky Aarushi is the one who admitted her feelings to you.¡± ¡°haha do you not remember what happened? She didn¡¯t admit anything, she just slipped up and kissed me one day. She didn¡¯t mean to let me know she liked me at all, but now that I know she has been¡­ well let¡¯s say frisky.¡± A curious look falls across Lucarus. Putting a fist to his mouth and clearing his throat he says ¡°harrumph, please do continue, frisky you say do elaborate harrumph.¡± The door swings open as Rhea steps through the door. ¡°Oh sorry am I interrupting something?¡± I smile slightly knowing she was listening to our conversation. I wonder if she heard how Lucarus feels for her. I do know she is jealous of his reaction toward Aarushi. Lucarus straightens his back and defensively says. ¡°Oh, hey, no we weren¡¯t doing anything right Deadra?¡± Knowing how to lie like an expert I could easily bale Lucarus out of this situation, but what fun is that? Instead I decide to dig him into a deeper whole ¡°You¡¯re fine, you didn¡¯t interrupt anything. Lucarus just wanted me to talk about the time Aarushi started striping to seduce me. I was about to go into graphic detail on the subject knowing how it would make him feel.¡± Rhea being almost a year older then us is already seventeen, but even so she is inexperienced in the ways of love. She blushes and turns her face to the ground. ¡°Oh well I umm I ¡®m sorry.¡± Glancing toward Lucarus she says ¡°I didn¡¯t know you liked girls like her.¡± ¡°No I like girls like you I promise!¡± After Lucarus¡¯s pseudo-confession I decide I need to leave. Without a word I sneak out of the room. I decide to walk over to the south entrance and meet with Aarushi after her match ends. On the way to the gate I see a confused and lost Aarushi. ¡°What are you doing here, what happened to your match?¡± ¡°Oh Deadra!¡± Aarushi runs up wrapping her arms around me. Her usual scent of honey is mixed with sweat. ¡°I won my match!¡± ¡°Already? That was really fast!¡± ¡°Well it seems with the amount of fighting we did during these six months we got stronger!¡± A large man with a scar on his face walks up behind Aarushi. With a deep and monotone voice he says ¡°Are you Deadra? It¡¯s time for your match. Follow me.¡± I kiss Aarushi on the lips, they taste like salt. ¡°I need to go, tell the others my match is starting.¡± As I walk into the arena the echoes of cheering great me. The stands are almost half full, a vast improvement from six months ago. My opponent slowly steps out at the same time. He has a wooden shield and a metal spear. His long black hair creeps out from the edges of his iron helmet. He looks to be sixteen or seventeen years old. A white scar covers his left eye. A women standing on a raised platform raises her hands and the crowd goes silent. ¡°In the south corner we have Deadra the Pyromancer. For the last six months his team Eternal Flame has been killing monsters in the arena making a huge name for themselves. With their current reputation they could advance to the next level of tournament but because of their lack of fighting humans have decided to stay in the beginners.¡± Pointing toward my opponent she continues. ¡°In the northern corner we have Skulio a young man from the skyless tribe. He has not competed in the arena before but has been trained in the northern mountains surviving in the wild.¡± The woman bounces up and down. ¡°Who will win? Let the match begin!¡± The brass bell rings out and the crowd goes wild. I pump heat into my sword sharpening the blade with power. Skulio brings his back foot in then shoots his front foot forward. Repeating his steady motion he shuffles closer like a well-oiled machine. Not wanting to wait I launch myself into a sprint. As Skulio and I reach two paces from each other we initiate our attacks. He thrusts his spear at my chest. I juke it with a spin, barely missing it by an inch. With the combined momentum of my forward rush and spinning juke I attack with a back slash. The sword collides with his shield. Tearing apart the shield and splintering into a million pieces. My sword gashes his arm open as it breaks through his wooden defenses. From my left hand I release an explosive blast of fire and smoke at his face to cover my retreat. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. As I back step several times I keep my defenses up preparing for a counter attack. I continuously scan the smoke and everything around it watching for the slightest movement. The smoke clears to reveal empty space. Looking left and right I don¡¯t see Skullio so I check behind me; nothing. Where could he have gone? ¡°Wow a two strike victory for Deadra!¡± Skullio lies on his back completely knocked out. The crowd yells out my name. Astonished by my quick victory I ignore the crowd and go back to the room in silence. Why was the opponent so weak? Should we have tried to take on a harder level of tournament? We only took the lowest level of class because we have never had experience fighting other people. At this rate instead of doing to beginner¡¯s class we should have done the intermediate class. One day I would like to go past advanced level and expert level and compete in the master level or dragon level competitions. As I reach for the door knob the door swings open with Lucarus running out the door. ¡°I¡¯m going to go look for them.¡± He shouts behind him. His face flushed with red he spots me. ¡°Oh Deadra, ugh where have you been?¡± ¡°I just finished my match. Didn¡¯t Aarushi tell you?¡± ¡°What do you mean? I haven¡¯t seen Aarushi since she left for her match.¡± I set my hand over my face. ¡°Uuughh. She got lost again didn¡¯t she? Well whatever she can take care of herself. More importantly why is your face red?¡± His face grows redder as I mention his complexion. He puts his hand on the back of his head, but instead of his giving a cheeky smile and puffing his chest he slouches in place. ¡°Rhea mmbl I are mmmble out.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aarushi pops up from behind me. She never has very good timing. Lucarus shoots his gaze behind me. Aarushi and the man with the scar on his face stand behind me. The man using his deep voice says ¡°Lucarus it is your turn to fight. Follow me.¡± Lucarus does as he is told. ¡°Thanks mister for bringing me back to my friends!¡± she waves as Lucarus and the man walk down the corridor. ¡°What was wrong with Lucarus?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°He said something about himself and Rhea. Maybe she said something to him? Either way lets go inside the room.¡± When we get inside we see Rhea lying on her belly kicking her feet in the air behind her butt. While humming a tune she bobs her head. Her eyes are closed so she does not notice us enter the room. Aarushi says ¡°Hey what are you doing? You look the way I do when¡­ ugh never mind what are you doing?¡± Freaking out when she notices us Rhea rolls off the bench. ¡°Whaa! How long have you been watching me?¡± Sticking my hand out to help her up I say ¡°We just got here so don¡¯t worry. More importantly why are you so happy?¡± Rhea pulls herself up and sits back on the bench. ¡°Well Lucarus just¡­¡± she grabs the hems of her skirt. ¡°AAAAhhhhh. He asked me out!¡± Aarushi claps her hands excitedly while jumping up and down. ¡°Yeahya!¡± ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t dig him in that deep of a hole.¡± Aarushi and Rhea tilt their heads in unison. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Haha don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m happy for you!¡± I walk over and sit in the corner crossing my arms and let the girls continue to giggle and gossip. After a few more minutes Lucarus comes back to the room. He easily defeated his opponent as well. As he walks into the room he awkwardly sits across from Rhea. Aarushi runs away from the two to give them space and slides in next to me. She lays her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes. I decide to take a nap as well, but first I ask a simple question. ¡°What is a person from the skyless tribe?¡± Rhea being highly educated by her sister says ¡°They are none mancers. They have no magic abilities because they have forsaken their gods a long time ago. Or that¡¯s what most people believe.¡± ¡°What do you mean most people believe? What do you believe?¡± ¡°Oh I don¡¯t know. I just feel sorry for them and don¡¯t believe it is their fault they don¡¯t have power. I don¡¯t think they deserve anything that is happening to them.¡± ¡°I used to not have power when I was in my old world; it¡¯s not bad at all. So don¡¯t worry about them and worry about yourself more.¡± Curiosity no longer biting at me I drift off to sleep. The next match will be a ways off. I wake with a start being shaken by Aarushi. A red gash drips blood from under her eye. Dirt covers her face. ¡°Deadra wake up it¡¯s your turn to fight!¡± I reach out and cup her face. ¡°You¡¯re so dirty¡­ you kind of smell too.¡± Aarushi scrunches her face before slapping my cheek. ¡°Stupid! Just leave!¡± I give her a big smile and kiss her on the forehead as I leave. ¡°Wish me luck everyone.¡± The fight takes longer than the first but I still have no problems. Lucarus, Aarushi and I each have three more fights. Between each one Rhea heals and cleans us with her water magic. The tournament was rather easy, next time we need to go to the intermediate level. Rhea Lucarus and I are sitting in our little waiting room when I say. ¡°So Rhea I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be winning the bet. Maybe next time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, I already got what I wanted.¡± She glances at Lucarus as she says this. These kids are falling in love so quickly. They only met six months ago. But I guess I am a kid now too so I can¡¯t complain. ¡°Lucarus do you have any plans if you win?¡± ¡°Not really. What I did have planned wouldn¡¯t matter anymore. What about you Deadra?¡± ¡°haha I say we all have to celebrate with drinks!¡± Aarushi bursts into the room. ¡°I won! Now I¡¯m in the finals! Next I get to fight one of you guys!¡± I say ¡°Which one of us would you prefer to fight?¡± Lucarus steps up before Aarushi can speak. ¡°If I beat Deadra I would let Aarushi win. I wouldn¡¯t be able to attack her seriously.¡± Aarushi asks. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you be able to attack me?¡± Lucarus says ¡°Because you¡¯re a girl!¡± Aarushi crunches her face and hits him in the back of the head. Ouch that must have hurt; she still had her metal gauntlets on. Lucarus grabs the back of his head. ¡°Ouch why did you do that?¡± ¡°Idiot! Just because I¡¯m a girl doesn¡¯t mean anything. I could still kick your ass!¡± ¡°Maybe I should let Lucarus win so Aarushi can kick your ass herself.¡± Lucarus still rubbing his head says. ¡°Hey you think you can beat me? Why do either of you think you can win?¡± A knock on the door interrupts us. ¡°Deadra, and Lucarus it is your turn to battle.¡± I stand from my seat hold my fist out in front of me. ¡°Let¡¯s settle this in the arena. Aarushi, Rhea why don¡¯t you guys come to watch?¡± Lucarus gives me a grin while placing his fist against mine. No more words are needed to be said. The four of us leave for the arena as our fight is about to begin. Side Story-Adventures of Skulio Part 1 Side story-Adventures of Skulio part 1 The town of Twin Tree! A world of possibilities! I can become anything I want, I am finally free. All those years of hard work and effort have finally sent me here. I will never allow myself to fall into that situation again. Instead I will become strong! I will be invincible and never be suppressed like that again! Thinking aloud I say ¡°How should I become stronger?¡± A burly fellow eating a miniature shiek leg puts his greasy hand on my shoulder and says ¡°You want to get strong boy? Go to the arena!¡± he points the drumstick toward a large domed building in the distance. ¡°Ugh thanks sir.¡± Scooting away from the gross man I dash off toward my new destination. Entering between the giant white pillars I notice statues and placks all over the walls. This places seems to be pretty famous. I bet people from all over the continent come here to do battle. I continue to admire the different placks and other shiny things such as weapons and shields that hang above them. ¡°Hey kid are you going to just stand at the entrance and stare at stuff or are you going to come in?¡± A busty women sitting by a pile of parchments calls out to me. ¡°Oh sorry.¡± I rush iover to her and say. ¡°I want to fight her please sign me up.¡± ¡°Hmp. Ok we have a beginners tournament today if you want do that or I¡­¡± ¡°Yes let¡¯s do the tournament!¡± The women glares angrily at me from behind her glasses. ¡°Very well do you have a weapon or armor?¡± I shake my head with concern. ¡°Fine follow that man and he will get you situated. But before you go what¡¯s your name and race?¡± ¡°Skulio and I¡¯m a skyless¡± The women looks stunned for a moment before shrugging it off. ¡°Alright then. Looks like your first oppent will be a Pyromancer so good luck!¡± she then shoos me off toward a large man with a scar on his face. I follow the man while thinking about the match. This is going to be bad! I am definitely going to die. Why did I have to face a Pyromancer? They are one of the top fighting races in the world! They are terifingly fast and agile. I hear they can run as fast as a quad wolf. They can climb trees like a monkey. But even scarier is their offensive power. Just saying they have fire is not enough. They have lots of fire! Some of the rarer ones can even make explosions! I mean how do you defend against that? They are the fast and one of the hardest hitting races ever! The only weakness they have is well their whole body. They are very fragile and light. If you get them in a grappling match their bodies are weak. If you hit them with blunt objects they will break. The problem is there too dam fast and agile to be hit! And if they do get hit most of the time it is just a glancing blow that only leaves a scratch. At least I am not getting some weird mixed bread. I shudder to think what a Dark walker and a Pyromancer would be. I know they would be pretty dumb and probably some type of terrifying explosive tank. Something like charge in head first and just blow everything up but never really get hurt. Or just smash everything and tear it apart while engulfed in avail of fire. But they would be really pretty. Something likes green eyes and deep red hair. In fact they would look a lot like that girl walking next the hydromancer. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.As the two girls walk past I get a piece of their conversation. ¡°Rhea don¡¯t worry I bet he will ask you soon.¡± ¡°haha thanks Aarushi.¡± Aarushi and Rhea huh? They were so pretty! I wonder if they will think I¡¯m cool after seeing me fight? ¡°here is the armory hurry and grab something.¡± ¡°Yes sure!¡± I run inside and look around. I should get shield to defend my self and something long to keep the dam Pyromancer away from me. ¡°lets see.¡± In the end I am rushed out and only have time to grab a wooden shield and metal spear. But it¡¯s not like they had anything really nice in there any ways. Alright good luck to me! Arriving in the arena I walk out inside of a crowd cheering like crazy. Wow they really love me already. That¡¯s crazy! A very stunning women in a white dress stands above us on some type of stage and begins to announce our fight. ¡°In the south corner we have Deadra the Pyromancer. For the last six months his team Eternal Flame has been killing monsters in the arena making a huge name for themselves. With their current reputation they could advance to the next level of tournament but because of their lack of fighting humans have decided to stay in the beginners.¡± Oh wow this guy sounds scary. I better be careful. Oh I know! I¡¯ll keep my shield up and just inch forward until I can attack with my spear! Then I¡¯ll just play it by ear. Pointing toward me she continues. ¡°In the northern corner we have Skulio a young man from the skyless tribe. He has not competed in the arena before but has been trained in the northern mountains surviving in the wild.¡± I never trained in the mountains. Why is she making stuff up? Maybe she is making his stuff up as well! ¡°Who will win? Let the match begin!¡± Following my brilliantly laid out plan I inch forward keeping my eyes locked on this Deadra person. He looks to be eyeing me up and down. I guess he isn¡¯t that great either, how could he be this cautious about a skyless tribesmen like me? As he gets within reach of my spear I lunge out toward him but somehow he spins lie a tornado completely avoiding my attack. The next thing that happens is I feel a rush of pain in my arm as wood flies in every direction before a huge flash of light and pressure hits me in the face. ¡­ I wake up in the infirmary with some bandages all over my face and arm. ¡°Ugh what happened?¡± A scrawny girl with green hair who is obviously from the skyless tribe walks up to me. The shackles on her legs crackle as she walks over to me. ¡°You lost big time. I don¡¯t think fighting is your thing. How about we set you up in espionage instead?¡± ¡°Espionage for what?¡± The girl leans in closely to me whispering in my ear¡­ Chapter 17-Lucarus and Aarushi Chapter 17- Lucarus and Aarushi Lucarus and I stand in the middle of the arena ten paces from each other. We know each other¡¯s strengths and weaknesses perfectly. We can both bend fire. Each of us is fast and agile. I am stronger and have more abilities with fire such as explosions. He has unhuman hearing and reflexes from all the many pranks I pulled on him over the years. Each of us are determined to beat the other and prove our strength. He is my best friend. I love him as such. He is one of the driving forces in this life time that keeps me motivated and happy. He would be the first person that I can truly call friend. When we were younger his naive innocence changed me in to who I am now. Because of my great respect for him I can¡¯t go easy. I must fight with my all. The female announcer riles the crowd. ¡°Today we will see the members of Eternal Flame fight. Each member is an amazing warrior. They have fought side by side for over six months. Each one has saved the other countless times but now their swords will be aimed at each other. Lucarus vs Deadra, who will become the victory?¡± The brass bell rings out as she lowers her hand to start the fight. The instant the bell rings out I reach for an explosive dagger and fill it with power. Lucarus sends a whirl of flames around himself onto the ground. Smoke rises in the air and I lose sight of him. Hoping I may get lucky I throw the dagger enriched with power into the center of the smoke as I prepare another. Earlier in the tournament I took a person out with a single dagger at the start of the match. As the dagger hits the ground it explodes with a diameter of three feet and clears the smoke near the ground. Lucarus is no longer in the smoke. He emerges from ten feet in the air out of the smoke diving at me with his blade. I throw the second charged dagger. He shoots flames to his side barely dodging the blade and completely avoiding the explosion. Since he has seen my skills so often, he knows not to block my daggers. He lands next to me due to being forced off course. As he lands he tucks and rolls behind me. I slash in his direction wile spinning around and begin to charge an explosion into my open hand. He blocks the attack with his blade and pushes it back slightly. Not wanting to hurt him directly I release the bomb from my hand not at him but into our colliding swords. Grunting as he flies back several feet he lands on his back. I charge at him while he is undefended. As if he is break dancing he spins his legs in the air and helicopters back into a standing position. As he lands down onto the ground from his acrobatic move while I thrust my blade toward his stomach. He slices at my blade forcing it to slide past him. The blade nicks the side of his stomach. His leather armor splits open and red drips down from his side. With a roar he ignites his blade with fire to try and repulse my own. I feel strength build in my blade as the fire in his own shrinks. Lucarus says ¡°What is this? Your dam sword is stealing my fire!¡± he pushes my sword away while back stepping. ¡°Damn! I didn¡¯t think I would need to pull my trump card so early.¡± He puts his sword back into its holster. ¡°Oh you have a trump card? What move could you pull that I haven¡¯t already seen?¡± He ignites his hands and arms, something him and I have been able to do for a long time. He replies ¡°This one!¡± The fire ignited over his arms grows and pulls off of his body forming a second pair of arms. Continually compressing they become solid. A blazing red set of arms with claws the size of my midsection erect from Lucarus¡¯s shoulders. Flame spreads over his body making him look like a four armed demon. With his face shrouded with flame Lucarus announces ¡°I call this my unleashed form. It¡¯s something I hid from you hoping to one day use it to beat you in a fight. Hehe your not the only one with secrets. Now if you¡¯re a man stop cheating and using that over powered sword, I put mine away.¡± The feeling of an excited smile resonates from behind the fires. It is true that this blade gives me a large advantage. It can make my flame power ignite thirty two times stronger. And as we just learned it can absorb my opponent¡¯s flames as well. Respecting Lucarus¡¯s wishes I toss the blade into the ground. Cracking my neck from side to side the blood boils inside me. I shouldn¡¯t hold back any more either. If I don¡¯t give it my all I will lose. Guess I better use my secret technique as well. ¡°Lucarus, you are my best friend, I will not insult you by holding back. This will end with the next attack.¡± The heat from my body dissipates and I become cold. My eyes glaze over and my vision blurs. I gather microscopic pockets of energy all over my body. Each one takes less than a moment to develop and almost zero energy. However all the pockets combined take a large toll on my body. It drains any remaining energy I have but can also be used when I have little to no energy. This technique was developed when my power was almost completely drained. I discovered it when I killed the rock golem but didn¡¯t realize it at the time. At the time my body should not have been able to move, for I had drained every spec of energy I had into the blade, but somehow I pushed forward. By draining the heat from my body and using it to propel my muscles forward I explode each muscle into reacting beyond their limits. Over the past six months I further developed it to allow myself to move faster and hit harder. I gained strength beyond that of a human, but I lose all my pyromancer abilities while I use it. Eventually I improved it to heighten my reaction time at the cost of my eyesight. I can barely see the world around me but what I do see moves at the pace of a snail. This skill takes every ounce of concentration, and can only be done by someone who has mastered every type of control, both fluid motion like Lucarus and explosive power like Aarushi. If I make a small mistake I will tear my body apart. This is the first time I will use this technique over my entire body and senses all at once. I have no idea what the outcome will be. Lucarus pushes off the ground toward me like a bullet being released from a gun. All four of his arms come to grab at me. To the crowd it ends in a flash, however not for me. Lucarus inches at me midair like molasses slowly moving downhill. I can¡¯t make out the details of his body and only see red blurs. I run past him while wrenching my foot into his side. The moment my foot makes contact intense heat and pain envelop it. I can feel his side collapse bellow the force along with my own foot breaking. The fire covering his body burns me even though I only touched him for a split second. I use the spot my foot hit as a step to propel myself upward. Using the momentum I land a second kick to the back of his head. In a fluid motion I drop a knee on the spine of his back as I land on top of him. Kicking off his back I land behind him. My body explodes in pain. Using this skill for almost a full second drains me of energy and strength. My most powerful skill, but at what cost? Through sheer will power I force myself to continue to stand as I hear Lucarus hit the ground. Both my feet are broken and my legs have minor burns. If I fall down I will not be able to get back up. I can¡¯t move an inch from this spot. To someone watching from the outside they would have only seen Lucarus jump at me and then nothing. I would have simply vanished. Lucarus would suddenly slam into the ground completely unconscious. His ribs broken, his back bruised, and a giant lump on the back of his head would have come from no were. And in the same instant of me vanishing and Lucarus taking damage I would appear standing completely motionless behind him. The arena is silent. Everyone stares in aww at what just happened. The fight that was displayed is not of beginners, yet this is the beginner¡¯s tournament. No one in the audience can understand what happened. For several seconds not a soul moves. Breaking the silence and slowly picking up her enthusiasm the Announcer says ¡°I uh I think Deadra is the winner! In a flash he somehow destroyed Lucarus who is now down for the count. Deadra is the winner!¡± The crowd cheers uncontrollably. After being realized as the winner I allow myself to give into my pain and drop to the ground. Everything goes black as I become unconscious. As the world comes back to me I slowly open my eyes and sit up in place. I am in a room similar to the one my friends and I have been waiting in. A man in a black and white suit similar to a referee stands by the door. The man says ¡°You¡¯re finally awake! It¡¯s been fifteen minutes since the match. We have you all healed so you can now fight in the finally. Are you ready to fight?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. I still have no energy in my body. Sitting up is a struggle. I know that it would take several hours and a good nights sleep to restore my energy fully. In this world magic comes from every part of your body. As you use magic it equally wears down every part of your body. It physically exhausts you. Right now I am in no condition to fight, but Aarushi would be very mad at me if she won by forfeit so I must push myself for her. I nod my head silently. The man guides me from the room back to the arena. I walk out of the gate to see Aarushi standing in the middle of the arena with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. As I approach her she says ¡°You idiot! You really put a number on Lucarus and yourself what were you thinking?¡± I bow my head slightly. ¡°He was taking the fight seriously so I didn¡¯t want to insult him by going easy. I also might have lost if I didn¡¯t push myself that hard.¡± She flips her hair and scoffs. ¡°Humph, well whatever just don¡¯t use this as an excuse when I kick your butt! And don¡¯t forget what happens when I win!¡± As she thinks about winning she struggles to hide a smile on her face. ¡°Oh and what will you have me do if you win?¡± Aarushi blushes slightly and throws her arms at her sides. ¡°This is not the right place to talk about that!¡± Knowing she is thinking something perverted I smile slightly. Before I can tease her further the bell rings out and the match begins. I think I love Aarushi. She is always making me smile and laugh. She is always there for me. Her silly and cute mannerisms fill me with joy. She is honest with everything she does. Sometimes too honest that she becomes blunt. She loves fighting more than anything else. Her face always is filled with joy and bliss as her fists collide with her target. If I want to connect with her more I clash in combat with her. Aarushi is a straightforward aggressive tank when it comes to fighting. She is stronger and more relentless than me. She is amazing at fighting monsters or people who do not expect her to charge in without mercy. But her strength is also her weakness. She never needs to defend because her opponents usually get decimated with her literal explosive punches. This means her defense should be completely worthless. Even though I am in a weakened state I should be able to juke her attack and spin around behind her. Then I can hit her in the back of the head with my sword and nock her out. Just as I though Aarushi charges directly at me without any thought. She throws a punch toward my face and I weave to the left. A rush of heat and air hit the side of my head as an explosion emits from Aarushi¡¯s fist. I side step to the left as a second aims for my stomach. I am standing next to her now and she throws another punch but I push it to the right and spin myself to the left slowly moving behind her. As I finish the spin I slash with the blunt end of my sword at the back of her head. This is it. This is where I will win since Aarushi has no defense. Without even looking she dodges the strike by squatting down two feet. Surprised by her dodging my attack my sword swings over her head and pulls me forward leaving me open to be counter-attacked. In her squatted position she turns toward me while rising. She launches a fast and strong uppercut at my chin. Unable to avoid the attack with normal means I force my muscles with explosions. Using my secret technique on only a few muscles does not take as large of a toll on me and can be used with little to no power. I barely miss her punch and have the tip of my nose clipped by her fist. The explosion from her fist sends my head reeling back and forces me to the ground. A large grunt escapes me as my head and back impact the ground. The shock to my head rattles my brain and leaves me unable to think. When I come back to my senses Aarushi¡¯s fist is approaching my head. Not having time to move my whole body I strain my neck as far to the side as I can. The explosion shatters the ground and my ear drum alike. Aarushi falls on top of me pinning my arms to my sides with her legs. Her fist rests in a hole to the right of my head. A bead of sweat drips off her button nose landing on my ear. Her chest rises up and down as she breathes heavily. Her crimson hair tied back hangs over her shoulder. Her green eyes meet my crimson ones. Her lips move to say something but I can¡¯t hear her due to the ringing in my ear. ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear out of my right ear.¡± With the hand not stuck in the ground she shifts her hair behind her. Leaning over she puts her lips to my ear. ¡°Are you ok? You¡¯re being slower than usual.¡± I hadn¡¯t realized that I slowed down so much. My secret technique must only be used as a last resort. I reply ¡°I don¡¯t have any energy left from Lucarus¡¯s fight. The move I used to finish him off ripped all my remaining power from me.¡± ¡°You should give up, I don¡¯t want to needlessly hurt you.¡± Aarushi kisses my cheek before she sits back up. She places a hand above my head and leans forward for support while ripping her fist from the ground. As she stands up she claps her hands together rubbing off the dust. ¡°So what¡¯s your choice?¡± she asks. ¡°I give up, you win!¡± honestly I don¡¯t know if I have the strength to even stand right now. Aarushi pumps her fist in the air and screams ¡°Yessss! I win!¡± She spins while pumping her fists in the air. After a few moments of celebrating she comes back over to me and reaches out a hand. The announcer begins to announce the results and the crowd goes wild. I grab her hand and she pulls me up. I wrap my arm around her and let her support my weight. ¡°Thanks Aarushi, you¡¯re really amazing.¡± ¡°No don¡¯t thank me, you¡¯re going to have to make this up to me.¡± She turns her head at me and sticks her tongue out and pulls down on one of her eyes. ¡°Haha you really make the cutest faces don¡¯t you?¡± Aarushi stops with her face and instead tilts her head. Although I was being sarcastic about her previous face this one is very cute. Her green eyes become slightly doey-eyed. Her small lips open slightly in confusion. ¡°You think that face is cute? Wait that means you think I¡¯m cute!¡± As she says this a feel a slight skip in her step. ¡°Of course I think you cute, especially when you get that look of confusion!¡± She tilts her head and gives me the very look I mentioned. ¡°What look of confusion?¡± ¡°The one you just gave, you know when you tilt your head and think for a second before talking.¡± Tilting her head again she thinks about what to say. ¡°I don¡¯t tilt my head nor give off a weird face, what are you talking about?¡± Raising my eyebrows in confusion I ask ¡°Really?¡± She nods her head and with a chipper voice says ¡°Yup!¡± She really is an air head, but she is my air head. Not really sure how to respond to her stupidity I ask ¡°So when will you tell us what we have to do?¡± ¡°Well since you gave up you owe me so I¡¯m making you do two things! The first one I¡¯ll tell everyone when we get back to the others.¡± After that we stay silent tell we get back to Lucarus and Rhea in our small waiting room. Rhea heals me but I am still exhausted. Before we are able to get our money for winning Lucarus has a match with the person Aarushi beat to decide who gets third. He wins easily once again. Aarushi received five hundred gold pieces I receive two hundred and fifty and Lucarus got one hundred. After we receive our gold we all go out to a nice restaurant. While eating the dinner Aarushi orders four large mugs of mead. She places each one in front of us and raises her own mug in the air. ¡°Since I won I declare that everyone must drink and celebrate with me tonight! No holding back I¡¯ll pay so everyone bottoms up!¡± I grab my mug and clash it against hers sloshing foam from the mug. ¡°To our first tournament!¡± everyone raises their glasses. We haven¡¯t drunk like this since we were in our home village. I wonder what tonight will have to bring? Chapter 18-mistakes Chapter 18 ¨C Mistakes Cold iron chains constrain my wrists behind my back. The chains are reinforced to prevent anyone from breaking them. I have been stripped of all my belongings and in their place a white cloth covers my naked body. Bruises cover my arms and legs. Dried blood is caked on my forehead. My sight is stolen from the bag over my head. I sit cross legged inside a wooden carriage that jumps up and down with each bump in the road. How did I get in this situation? Just yesterday I was drinking in the bars with all my friends. ¡­ The previous night The crisp night air kisses my cheeks as I stumble out of the bar. The streets are light by torches bolted to walls. Lucarus following behind me slaps my back and says. ¡°(Hick), we need to go to the inn!¡± He points his finger directly into a wall. ¡°It¡¯s this way!¡± Aarushi slips between us shaking her head. ¡°No you idiot it¡¯s this way!¡± she points straight into the air at the large white moon. I say ¡°Haha you guys are way to drunk!¡± From behind us Rhea giggles. ¡°Hehe, Deadra you drank too! Hehe, you might be more drunk then them! But I guess I can¡¯t talk.¡± I spin around on the spot. Glaring at Rhea I ask ¡°Well which one of us are you going to listen to?¡± Lucarus puffs his chest out. He brings both his hands to his chest thrusting his thumbs toward him. Puckering his lips he tries to wink. ¡°Come on Rhea. You know I¡¯m the one who is right.¡± Aarushi leans forward exposing her cleavage. She places one finger on her lips and tilts her head. Fluttering her eyes she attempts to seduce Rhea. ¡°Don¡¯t you think I know the right way to the inn?¡± I shake my head and cross my arms. I will not lower myself to begging. Rhea hammers her fist into her palm with a humph. ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys I have an idea! You three just need to play rock-paper-scissors to see who is right.¡± The three of us huddle in a circle and prepare for the epic three way battle. Shouting ¡°Rock! Paper! Scissors!¡± I unleash a rock, as does Lucarus. Aarushi¡¯s flat hand envelopes my balled up fist. ¡°Damn it Aarushi won!¡± Aarushi jumps up in victory raising her arms above her head. ¡°Haha I win!¡± She spins around in place then trips over her own feet. Falling toward me she reaches out. I reach out to catch her in response. I grab hold of her as she slams into my chest. Aarushi lifts her head from my chest and gives me a Devilish smile. ¡°Thanks for catching me, but you know if you want to touch me there you could have just asked.¡± I raise my eye brow before saying ¡°Touch you¡­¡± My speech trails off as I squeeze my hand. A soft but slightly firm object fills my palm. ¡°I ugh I mean I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I¡¯m sorry!¡± Aarushi licks the corner of her lip. ¡°Why are you still groping it then? Is it you have finally decided to take me to bed?¡± I swallow the saliva in the back of my throat. I take a few seconds to think. How should I handle this situation? Am I finally ready to do something like this or is it only the alcohol? I love Aarushi and I don¡¯t want to move too quickly. But for the past six months she has been giving me very obvious hints to take it to the next level. Should I really make her wait for another year or so years when she turns eighteen? She has matured a lot since we made that deal. ¡°How long are you going to keep foundling Aarushi?¡± Lucarus gives me a sour look. ¡°Can¡¯t you two wait tell we get back to the inn?¡± Realizing I haven¡¯t removed my hand I jerk it away from Aarushi. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m very drunk. I wasn¡¯t thinking straight.¡± I look down at the ground. I need to calm down before I do something I regret. ¡°Please don¡¯t be mad at me.¡± Aarushi shakes her head. She holds one finger up in front of my face. ¡°Just answer me one question.¡± She looks down at her chest. ¡°Did you like them?¡± The alcohol in her system prevents her usual bashful self from surfacing. Being honest I say ¡°Well yeah, your ummm how should I say this? Well endowed.¡± ¡°Really! That¡¯s awesome!¡± With a wink she says ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the inn!¡± She grabs my hand and pulls me in a random direction running down the street. While being dragged along I say ¡°Wait what? What do you mean? Do you know where you¡¯re going?¡± Damn it why does she have to be such a pervert. She always pounces at the slightest provocation, but if I start anything she shy¡¯s away and becomes embarrassed. I don¡¯t understand how she can be so innocent yet perverted at the same time. ¡°Lucarus come on lets follow them!¡± Rhea grabs Lucarus¡¯s hand and runs after Aarushi and me. After half an hour of running we come to a dark street. The buildings are worn and some have cracks in them. Trash covers the street. A man sleeps on the ground leaning against a wall. We continue to follow the street further. Scantily clad women line the streets. They stand half way in their respective door ways. Each one motion with their fingers at Lucarus and I to follow them inside. A few even motion toward Aarushi and Rhea. I notice a man hand some gold over to one of the women before the two close the door behind them. ¡°I think we accidently made a wrong turned and ended up near the brothels.¡± Aarushi lets go of my hand and throws her arms down to each side. She stomps the ground. ¡°Damn it. I really wanted to go to the inn!¡± A loud squawk resonates from behind us. We turn to see two Shieks pulling a carriage. Because of the dark we can¡¯t see what is on the carriage, but can still tell it is of someone rich. I man dressed in a white tunic and gold jewelry steps out of the carriage. He clears his throat as he walks down the street examining each girl closely. Aarushi tilts her head and asks ¡°Who is that guy?¡± Rhea responds. ¡°He is the son of this town¡¯s king, prince Bowen.¡± Lucarus says ¡°Wow Rhea you¡¯re really smart, how do you know so much?¡± ¡°My sister Mica taught me a lot of things. And I have been doing my own research while you all train.¡± She bows her head slightly. ¡°I wonder what she is doing now?¡± Bowen stumbles over toward us. He reeks of the smell of wine. Although our group is drunk we are not nearly as bad as him. He points his chubby finger at Aarushi. ¡°You, how much?¡± Aarushi looks over at me with a look of confusion. I shrug my shoulders confused as well. Bowen continues as he walks closer to Aarushi. ¡°How much?¡± he grabs her shoulder. ¡°Come on you pretty little thing, don¡¯t be bashful!¡± Aarushi shrinks her posture and looks down to the ground. She has no Idea how to react. Bowen grabs her chin and pulls her face upward. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, come give me a kiss.¡± He leans in toward Aarushi¡¯s mouth forcing her head in place. Red hot anger begins build inside of me. I tighten my fists. She shakes her head and pushes him away. She yells ¡°No stop!¡± ¡°Oh right I have to pay you first. Guards grab five gold pieces.¡± One of the men standing outside the carriage walks to his side and hands him some gold pieces. Bowen throws the gold at Aarushi¡¯s feet. He yells ¡°Pick it up!¡± Aarushi continues to stand silently not sure what to do. Due to her lack of reactiveness Bowen slaps her butt. My hand begins to shake as my knuckles turn white from the tension built in my fist. The mark on my hand glows a dark red. Aarushi squeaks while moving both her hands onto her back side. Red circles form under her eyes. ¡°What are you doing! Don¡¯t touch me you pervert!¡± Bowen ignores her and reaches out to grab her breasts. I can see the fear build in Aarushi¡¯s eyes. She has no idea what to do. Something inside me snaps. How dare he touch the person I love? My mind goes blank as I fill my body with power. Millions of tiny explosions ignite my muscles into action. Without even realizing it my body moves on its own. In a single instant everything ends. Aarushi screams covering her mouth. Red speckles cover her face. Her eyes bulge wide as she stares ine awe. ¡°Deadra¡­.¡± Lucarus shouts out to me. ¡°What did you do?¡± Hot fresh blood slides down my right arm. Bowen coughs up a trickle of blood as the light in his eyes fade. My hand throbs with pain. During my fit of rage I used my special technique over my whole body and pieced elbow deep through his ribs with my fist. His body hits the ground with a thud as I wrench my arm from his ribcage. I look at my arm. My right hand is horribly disfigured, each of my fingers points in a different direction. My wrist no longer supports the weight of my hand. Blood is painted on me from fingertip to elbow. What did I do? I fall to my knees and bury my face into my non-broken hand. My breathing becomes sporadic. My chest heaves up and down as I choke down air. Pain builds in my chest and face as I hold back tears. I cough up a few words. ¡°What have I done?¡± I killed a man. I killed a man with my own hands. Pain and fear engulfs me as the world around me melts away. My mind goes blank. Darkness shrouds my vision. The yelling and screaming around me is blocked out by a buzzing in my ears. The taste of blood fills the back of my throat as my mouth goes dry. The metallic smell of iron clogs my nose. Everything except the throbbing pain in my hand goes numb. My body is exhausted and I can¡¯t do anything but bury my face deeper into my hand. A soothing sensation on my right hand snaps me out of my head. I turn to see Rhea¡¯s blue hair hanging down next to me. Tears flow down her face. She mutters to herself while sniffling. ¡°(Hick), this is what that man meant when he said ¡®Forgive the man who murders and heal his wounds.¡¯ (hick)¡± Looking at her face washed with tears I say ¡°Are you afraid?¡± she nods her head and continues to heal me. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The joints in my fingers realign themselves as the sockets re-connect. The bones in my fingers grind as they shift under my skin back to their rightful place. The pain slowly dissipates and after several seconds my hand is completely healed. ¡°What did he do? Is he a part of the dark clan?¡± The guards that were back at the carriage finally realize what happened. ¡°He has to be a part of the dark clan with that speed and strength. Capture him!¡± Before the guards reach me Rhea steals the short sword from my waist. The three guards surround me. One of them throws Rhea off of me. Another one wraps a chain around my neck and arms. I have no strength to fight them as they bound me up and force my face into the ground. After wrapping my hands in chain behind my back they drag me toward the carriage. As my face skids across the ground I stare at my friends. Aarushi still covers her mouth with her hands completely in shock. Rhea is sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her body shaking. Lucarus stares blankly at me unmoved from his original position. As I reach the carriage the guards lift me off the ground. ¡°Throw him in the back, you stay with him and make sure he doesn¡¯t try to escape. Don¡¯t be afraid to ruff him up.¡± Aarushi reaches out one of her hands as she mouths the word ¡°Deadra.¡± The guards throw me into carriage and I hit my head against the floor. My vision goes black as I pass out. ¡­ I am woken up by a guard kicking at my back digging his boots into my arms. He shouts ¡°You piece of trash! Get up!¡± He pulls me up by my bound arms and drags me out of the carriage. A large white building adorned with white towers and golden domes is before me. Lushes flowers line the path to the main entrance. Astonishing marble statues are light by torch fire. Beautiful archways and columns line the outside perimeter. This is a castle of someone powerful and wealthy. The guards with large iron spears walk on either side of me. A third one sticks me in the back breaking my skin with his spear to usher me toward the castle. Halfway to the castle he strikes my side hard enough to bruise my ribs. I fall onto my face unable to catch myself with my hands bound behind me. The guard says ¡°get your ass of the ground and go that way!¡± he points toward a small building a distance away from the palace. I use the top of my head to push my mid-section up then push off to get back to standing. He kicks the back of my knees making me buckle under my weight. ¡°Stupid shit, you still have too much strength.¡± One of the guards standing next to me says ¡°Maybe we should beat him some more?¡± he then kicks me across the face with the bottom of his metal boot. My head flings into the ground and my cheek skids across the dirt road. One of the guards spits on me. ¡°This guy is worse then the scum on the bottom of my shoe.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry he will probably be executed after the king wakes up.¡± One of the guards wraps a chain around my neck and pulls me back into a standing position. ¡°Or maybe he will become a slave. The people from the dark clan are great at being slaves because of how resilient and strong they are.¡± He drags me closer to the small building. As we approach the building the smell of shit and piss hits me. The building is actually a large prison cell. They open the creaking gate and throw me inside. I land into a puddle of mud splashing what I hope is water onto the other prisoners. I silently roll out of the mud and lean myself against a jagged stone wall. The guard shouts as he slams the door shut ¡°Stay in there you vile dark walker!¡± Looking around the cell I am disgusted. Chains hang from the ceiling. The walls are made of stacked rocks melded together. Black mud and dirt covers the ground. The air is suffocating. This place is not suitable for life let alone human life. There are several dozen other people in here with me, each is shackled and clothed in rags. After several minutes of silence an old man with long grey hair and wrinkles covering his face says in a tired voice ¡°What are you in for brother?¡± In a weak voice I say ¡°I killed the prince.¡± Chains rattle though out the prison. Everyone stares at me in silence for several seconds. A little boy says ¡°Did you really?¡± I silently nod in response. The old man responds with one word. ¡°Thank you.¡± Surprise over comes me. ¡°What do you mean? Why would you thank me?¡± ¡°We are prisoners of this kingdom. The prince would often abuse and beat us. He would constantly whip us for the most minor mistakes, and sometimes do it for no reason at all. He would rape our women. The eldest prince was a corrupt man, you did something good.¡± ¡°Why are you being enslaved?¡± I never even realized slavery existed in this world. How blind have I been to the suffering of this world? I have turned a blind eye to everything and only focused on my own friends and family. The old man clears his throat in preparation to explain. ¡°We are a part of the skyless tribe. Our tribe has been enslaved for thousands of years ever since the fall of the gods.¡± They are the people who have no magical powers! I interrupt him and say ¡°What do you mean fall of the gods?¡± He does not get upset with my interruption and continues. ¡°The fall of the gods happened thousands of years ago. Many do not believe that the gods died and that our tribe merely abandoned our god, but that is not true. One day the god Suzaku began to turn evil and kill thousands of people to steal their strength. His greed drove him crazy and he started to try to kill the other gods and absorb their power. He nearly exterminated his own subordinates of the fire tribe. If he was not stopped by the great hero Xeodra all the whole world would have been engulfed in his greed.¡± ¡°So then why do your people not have power?¡± ¡°The same reason the fire tribe can only unleash their power through eating the seeds of death. He successfully killed our god and absorbed her power.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you eat the seeds of death as well then?¡± ¡°There are no trees for the people of the skyless tribe. But we also do not hold the same curse the people of the other tribes do. Have you heard of this curse young Dark tribesman?¡± ¡°Yes I have, I am a pyromancer.¡± The man¡¯s eyes shine. ¡°You¡¯re a part of the fire tribe? They are one of the strongest fighters besides the Dark tribesman. If the guards believe your apart of the Dark tribe you may still be able to escape!¡± ¡°Really? How would we do that?¡± ¡°Since you killed the prince they will try to execute you. That is when you will escape. Dark Walkers cannot hold or use magic, but in return their body is much stronger and more resilient than a normal person. Some of the strongest Dark Walkers are able to withstand most physical attacks and can only be hurt with very powerful magic or strong elemental attacks. This means they will most likely try to burn you at the stake since very few other methods can kill a dark walker permanently. You will be able to flee in the smoke and fire of the situation.¡± ¡°Really? But why would you tell me this? How does this help you at all?¡± ¡°I am grateful to you that you killed the prince. Our lives will now forever be easier.¡± That¡¯s not acceptable; I want to help these people. I want to free them from their restraints. ¡°No! That¡¯s not good enough. I will come back for you. I will set you all free!¡± The little boy from earlier scurries toward me and asks ¡°Will you really do this mister?¡± The old man shuffles in place. His chains rattle. ¡°Why would you help us? We have never done anything for you. ¡±Why would I help them? I¡¯m not really sure myself. I just can¡¯t sit back and watch these people be slaves. They are malnourished and weak. They wear nothing but rags and chains. They are forced to sleep on the cold hard ground. If I was not a pyromancer and couldn¡¯t control the heat in my body I would be freezing in this cold jail cell. No human deserves to live like this. ¡°I¡¯ll save you because it is the right things to do. I don¡¯t know where we will go but I must free you! Also it won¡¯t be much of a bother since I will already be wanted by this cities government.¡± I give off a sheepish smile. ¡°Now excuse me I need to sleep and regain my energy.¡± ¡­ When morning comes the guards beat me some more and strip me of my clothes. They throw rags on me instead. I am brought to a large room with white marble floor. The walls are covers in paintings and sculptures sit in front of each supporting pillar. Three large stained glass windows sit behind an iron throne. A man with a golden jewel encrusted crown sits in the thrown. Dozens of guards stand at each side of him along two at each door. I am forced to my knees before the king. The man stands up and thrusts his golden staff toward me. In a commanding and proud voice he says ¡°Is this the Dark Walker who killed my son?¡± One of the guards behind me nods his head. The king strikes me across the face forcing my face into the ground. His hits are weak, they are nothing compared to what Aarushi can do. The king commands ¡°Send a notice to everyone in the town. This boy will be killed at dawn by fire.¡± He turns around fluttering his white cape behind him. ¡°Now get this scum out of my site.¡± The next instant a bag is placed over my head and I am pulled away. ¡­ Dawn comes around and I am put into the carriage that will bring me to my death. Chapter 19-Escape Chapter 19 ¨C Escape Unable to see due to a rotten smelling sack over my head I must rely on my other senses. The thumping of the carriage stops and loud footsteps clank outside. The chain around my neck suddenly tightens pulling me backwards, dragging me out of the carriage and onto the hard cold ground. The chains bounding my hands prevent me from catching myself and I land on my shoulder and head. I hear a man voice say ¡°Get off your ass and keep moving.¡± The chains rattle as I am lifted onto my feet by soldiers tugging at my neck. I hear another voice angrily yell ¡°get a move on Dark Walker.¡± A sharp pain resonates from my back pushing me forward. As I blindly follow the direction from the physical sensations and the men yelling I stub my big toe on something that makes a thud sound. As my foot hits the object the sound of tumbling wood appears before me. ¡°Step up!¡± The chain pulls upward at my neck slightly grazing my chin and another sharp pain stings at my lower back. I raise my bare foot and step onto what feels like moistened branches and bark as the smell of gasoline enters my nose. I take a few more blind steps forward before running my shoulder into a large wooden pillar. The pillar and stage below me rattle from the impact of my collision. The people escorting me command ¡°Don¡¯t move a muscle!¡± I stand silently as they flip me around and press my back against the pillar. The chain around my neck is wrapped around me and the pillar several times. The chains are locked in place with a mechanical clanking noise. ¡°Won¡¯t these chains melt and let him escape with all the fire?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry he will be long dead by then. The only people who could survive this would be pyromancers. This magicless Dark Walker will surely die.¡± The strange smelling sack is ripped from my head. As my vision slowly returns to me I examine my surroundings. A large group of people several paces from the gasoline soaked executioners stage display mixed reactions. Some have anger in their eyes and shake their fists. Others display smiles of excitement and jitter around endlessly. A few of the older members of the crowd have looks of dread and morn scarring their aged faces. A mother stares blankly in my direction almost as if looking through me into the past as her child cries on the hem of her apron. More people slowly gather as the sun begins to set. The stage is set at the top of a large hill that overlooks the town. Outside the city walls I can see everything. The area around the white palace is beautifully decorated with trees and large well-made buildings. They all have plenty of space between each building and give off the feeling of nobility. The area is tightly packed with shops, stands and people. The sparkling of weapons, jewels and gold being exchanged can be seen from here. The well paved bustling road that connects the arena and noble quarters to the entrance with the two Great Trees completely opposes the rest of the city. As you would delve deeper into the town, the decaying of the slums increases. The roads become smaller as the buildings stack on top of each other. Destruction and trash litters both rooftop and alleyways alike. The people in the slums are being ignored as the nobles become wealthier. I only visited that area for a short period before killing the prince, but I could tell that the people need help. As I scan the area further my sight is caught on three figures wrapped in cloth. They hide their faces but display weapons and armor. The woman with crimson hair has two iron spiked gauntlets. The man with orange blonde hair has a large two handed double edge blade on his back. The woman with blue hair has a set of armor and weapons that would catch anyone¡¯s eye because of the extremely amazing quality. Why are they here? I need to warn them not to interfere. If they become fugitives also I would regret it with all my heart. How can I tell them not to act without pointing them out to the guards? Pushing through the crowd my friends inch closer to my stand of execution. At this rate it will be too late and my plans may become ruined. A million ideas rush through my head as fear over comes me. Miraculously I am saved by the very people detaining me. The guard asks ¡°Do you have any last words before you die you filthy Dark Walker?¡± I nod my head and silently think for a moment. I need to find the perfect set of words to prevent my friends from being revealed but also making sure they understand my message. Each one of them would need a different message to understand what I want to say. Or maybe I only need to inform one of them and they will stop the others? Oh, I know what to say. I raise my voice to a shout and say ¡°Eternal flame!¡± saying our teams name will get their attention. ¡°That is what I will become; I will be burned in this flame.¡± But I must also cover it with other words as to not attract the guard¡¯s attention. Lucarus is bright enough he should understand. Rhea is also very cunning and will realize as well. ¡°I do not need you pity or your help. I will come back to life reborn in the place where all was revealed.¡± Inside the inn I told them my secrets about how I have been resurrected. This should tell them to wait for me there. ¡°If your feelings are strong then you will find me there before the sun rises!¡± Lucarus and Rhea have stopped walking forward but Aarushi keeps moving forward. ¡°If you understand then stop and do not follow me, merely wait.¡± Dam it I don¡¯t know how to make her stop without revealing her. Maybe if I call out for help to Lucarus. ¡°If only someone could stop this stupid love I have I could be forgiven.¡± Lucarus acknowledges my statement and stops Aarushi in the neck of time. ¡°What the hell are you going on about?¡± ¡°I think he has gone mad, let¡¯s just burn him already.¡± The two guards questioning my words decide to ignore them. Each guard is holding a burning torch. They nod at each other before tossing them into the gasoline soaked wood pile under me. The fire instantly ignites. It leaps over ten feet into the air. The flames surrounding me blocking my vision of the world, but also shroud me from the worlds gaze. If I was not in the body of a pyromancer, or I did not taken the seed of death those many years ago then I would surely not survive this ordeal. The flames lick every part of my body, bathing me in a red and orange heat. The wood under me quickly turns into black ash from the intense heat. Smoke billows into the air drifting into the golden light of the setting sun. The cloth around me becomes cinders in an instant. The black chains bounding me to the post turn red hot. This reminds me of the time I was nearly burned alive while taking the seed of death. If I could survive that then I can survive this. I know no normal person could silently withstand this torture. I can¡¯t allow them to grow suspicious. I pretend to cry out in pain. ¡°Uaaahaaahhhhh!¡± Throwing my body around to further sell the act allows me to work on escaping. I absorb the heat from the inferno and use it to power my own strength. I amplify the heat around my hands and wrists causing the chains bounding them to become soft, almost melting them. Continuing to absorb the endless amount of flames I pour power into my muscles. I scream out to the world as my muscles react violently. ¡°Sssshhhhuuaaagh!¡± Microscopic explosions force them into motion. With the weakened metal and the explosive power of my secret technique I rip free from the chains grip around my wrists. One set of bindings down. I become silent as breathing becomes harder. The billows of smoke both protect me from view but also cut off my supply of air. I do the same action to rip open the chain around my neck and wrapping me to the post. It takes several minutes to fully free myself however the wood still burns strong shooting fire and smoke into the sky. I am still protected from the eyes of all the people watching. At this point in time everyone who believes me to be a Dark Walker would presume me dead. The guards should no longer be watching me carefully. The people who came to see a death should be mesmerized by the bright rich flames and black towering smoke. I try to take a deep breath of relief but instead cough at the smoke. The inferno around me is eating all the oxygen replacing it with ash and embers. My head becomes light as the world around me begins to spin. If I do not escape soon I will suffocate. I climb onto the pillar in the center. I raise my hands above me gathering all the energy in my body directly into them. I absorb all the heat around me that I can hold, filling me to the brim with power. I prepare myself for the largest attack I can muster. At the same time I build up physical power in all the muscles in my lower body. The wind pushes the smoke slightly away from the village and above the forest. I aim my body in that direction. Simultaneously I force my leg muscles to launch me into the air while throwing my arms down and releasing an explosion. I exhaust nearly all the strength I can muster in a single blast. The nimble and agile body I have easily gets launched into the air. I can easily survive a fall twice that as a normal human because of the light weight build this body has. However I must still be careful if I wish to come out unscathed. I travel nearly seventy feet into the air with the smoke before reaching the pinnacle of my trajectory. As I sail through the smoke I absorb as much heat energy as I can in preparation for my decent. Plummeting to the ground I spread my naked body to take advantage of air resistance, slowing my fall. It only takes a few short seconds before I near the ground. As I near the ground I shoot a pillar of flames toward it exhausting the rest of my energy reserves. Landing on my feet I tuck and roll to absorb as much of the impact as I can. Lying motionlessly on the ground with my eyes closed I listen to my surroundings. All I hear is the crackling of the fire burning in the distance. The guards and all the people failed to notice my escape. I take a deep breath of fresh air through my nose. The earthy smell of grass and trees embrace me. The pain saturating my brain fades and slowly I am lulled to sleep by my exhaustion. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡­ I wake with a fright. Darkness and silence surround me. A small chill comes over my bare back. Due to my lack of energy my body fails to warm me and instead focuses on revitalizing my strength. This is the first time I have felt cold in this world. I sit up holding my body up with my hands as I scan my surroundings. A set of shining golden eyes peer at me from beyond the darkness. I have no weapons or energy, I can¡¯t survive an attack from even a wolf right now. I do not know what this creature is but I pray they will not attack me. I stare back into the disk shaped eyes. Sweat drips down from my brow as we silently exchange looks. If I make a single action the predator will leap at me killing me in an instant. The eyes shut closed for an instant before tilting to the side. The beast lets out a cry ¡°Whoooo! Whooo!¡± The sound of wings and feathers whirling around originates from the direction of the animal as the set of eyes ascend into the night sky. As the owl flies past one of the moons his outline is revealed. ¡°Oh thank god! For a second I thought I was dead.¡± I need to get back to the inn and find my friends. I can¡¯t allow them to worry about me any longer than they already have. I am the one who promised to meet them at the inn and forced them to wait for me. I push myself up and onto my feet. Pain shoots through my right leg as I drop down to my knee. I clutch at my ankle feeling around. No bumps or blood can be found. I believe I merely sprained it. I stand once again ignoring the pain resonating through me and slowly limp back toward the town. As I reach the city walls I place my hand upon them. ¡°I can¡¯t be seen walking through the gates. I need to climb up this.¡± The walls only rise about twelve feet in the air. Under normal circumstances I could easily run up the wall and vault over it in just a second or two, but with my ankle and lack of energy I don¡¯t know what to do. I step back a few steps. I charge at the wall jumping as high as I can off my left foot. As my right foot strikes the wall for the first time I lose my concentration from the pain. My body is flung into the wall face planting into it. I flop back onto the ground with a quite thud as the air escapes my lips. As I stare up toward the top of the wall I think silently. If I had power left, I could shoot myself over the wall with an explosion. Or I could force the muscles in my legs to launch myself over it with ease. In my weakened and beaten body I have no way to climb this wall right now. I slump my head against the dirt in defeat. No I can still do this. I must get there now. I pull myself back up and turn toward the wall. I step back once more and take a deep breath. Talking to myself I say ¡°I must push myself to the limit, I must ignore the pain. This is nothing. I have gone through far worse. Heck I have even died before, a wall and a sprained ankle should be nothing!¡± I rush at the wall once more. Launching myself with my right foot this time pain seizes me but I brush it off as my left foot makes contact with the wall. I take two more steps up the wall pushing myself higher each time. I reach out with my arms and grasp the brim of the wall with my fingertips. My hands turn white as I force them to hold onto the walls edge. I pull myself up and over with a grunt. Rolling onto the edge of the wall I sigh. "I did it." I roll onto my side to look at the cityscape. The inn we stayed in is on the outskirts of the slums. Right now the only thing between me and the inn is several blocks of broken buildings and trash. The people here will not care nor notice the presence of someone limping past them. I scoot of the wall into the city. As I land on my feet I crumble to the ground. I pull myself up using the side of a building. A black cat scurries past me as I limp through the slums. I lean one hand against the wall while holding my side with the other. The combined beatings form the guards and the abuse from the falls I have taken along with exhausting my energy is beginning to take a toll on me. Aches and pains spring from parts of my body I didn''t know I had. Each corner I round a new sight reveals itself. A mother and father with their child sleeping together in an alley way with garbage as a blanket. The streets are bustling with rats and other small rodents. People completely ignore my presence believing I am part of the slums. Prostitutes display themselves from doorways. Last time when I was here with armor and a dazzling blade they would usher me toward them, but now they ignore me completely. The blood stains on the ground where I killed the prince still reside, now dried to the ground. I continue the limp from building to building slowly guiding my way toward the inn. How did I never notice the corruption in this world? I was far too focused on my own needs and desires. I have been fixated on becoming stronger for strengths sake. I wanted to kill Suzaku, but I know that is a fool¡¯s errand after hearing he died by the hands of Xeodra. I wanted to protect the ones I love and prevent them from dying. I don¡¯t even know if the images that stupid dagger gave me are true. Either way I have become strong. I can¡¯t use this strength for selfish reasons any longer. I need to keep my promise to the old man who gave me hope. I must free the slaves from the palace, and while I am at it I should bring wealth to the slums. I do not want to be a hero, but I can¡¯t stand by and watch these people suffer. Seeing them suffer before my very eyes is a sobering experience. I finally reach the inn. Because of my current appearance I decide I should not walk through the entrance and instead sneak into the window. Aarushi should be asleep so I must be quite. I go around back to find my window on the second floor is slightly open. I climb the wall and grab onto the bottom edge of the wooden window sill. The window creeks loudly as I pry it open further. I silently pull myself up and lift one leg into the window. I scoot inside slowly and get my other leg inside. I inch my lower half toward the ground inside the room. As I land on the old wooden floor a combination of a thud from the impact and loud creaking from the floor boards echoes through the room. I cringe slightly from the pain in my ankle but more so from the noise that could awaken Aarushi. I stand motionlessly for several seconds. I move to shut the window as I hear the howling wind against the outside wall and feel its freezing grip creep in from the window. I examine the room to find it void of life. My silver sword lies on the desk, Rhea must have placed it there after she ripped it from my leather waistband. As I reach for the blade the door swings open. Without looking into the room Lucarus motions someone to enter the room and says ¡°Look Aarushi, Rhea and I are just as worried about him but for now you should go to bed.¡± He glances in the room and sees me holding the dagger completely nude. He stares at me momentarily then gives a slight nod before shutting the door. From behind the door I hear him say ¡°Aarushi there is a surprise in your room for you. I¡¯m going to give you a few minutes then I¡¯m sending Rhea to your room.¡± ¡°Why would Rhea need to come to my room? Didn¡¯t she already go to her room to sleep?¡± ¡°You will understand when you see your surprise. Now hurry before it gets ruined.¡± How would me getting home safely be ruined by time? Wait why didn¡¯t he give me time to put clothes on? No way! The surprise is Aarushi seeing me in the nude! When I realize what he meant it was too late and the door violently swung open revealing my naked body to Aarushi. Aarushi stares at me for a moment before realizing what is going on. Her face slowly reveals happiness and surprise. ¡°Deadra¡­You¡¯re back!¡± she rushes over and embraces me with her arms. I can feel her soft cheek brush against my bare chest. Her crimson read hair tickles my nose as it follows after her. Her usual smell of honey wafts upward. Her rough leather armor brushes against my stomach. The warm iron gauntlets press against my back as she squeezes me with her body. I return the hug wrapping my arms around her and setting my face on top of her head. ¡°I missed you Aarushi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re safe! Are you injured? Let me look you over.¡± she releases the hug keeping her hands around my waist. She eyes me up and down for a moment. Her eyes become wide and she tilts her head sideways as her vision reaches my family jewels. This is the first time she has seen me naked, what could be going through her head? Her head continues to tilt and she becomes motionless while tightening the grip on my waist. I shuffle in place and start to cover myself with my hands. ¡°Aarushi ummm can you stop staring?¡± ¡°I ugh staring at what¡± I can hear her take a large gulp as she straightens her head and turns red before continuing. ¡°I ugh were you naked when we hugged?¡± I nod my head awkwardly. She lets go of me and wraps her arms around her chest while swaying back and forth. ¡°I... I mean you just came back, and I was so worried. For you to propose such a thing at this time I just don¡¯t know how to react.¡± ¡°And what exactly is it I am proposing?¡± Still not taking her eyes off of me she says ¡°Well you know¡­¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t know, my clothes burned in the fire and I just got back and haven¡¯t had time to change.¡± She nods her head and says ¡°Ok I am ready, you can take me!¡± she puts the back of her hand on her forehead and flings her head back while swooning. She dramatically falls into my arms with a devilish grin on her face and her eyes closed. ¡°Aarushi are you listening to me?¡± ¡°Yes I love you to Deadra!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time so please be gentle.¡± ¡°No I said I need to change, also Rhea and Lucarus will be back any minute now.¡± ¡°Mmmm Deadra¡± Realizing she is lost in her own world I decide to drop her and gather up my spare clothing. As I finish putting my pants on Aarushi springs up from the floor into a seated position. She looks around the room confused. ¡°Uugh Deadra? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Are you ready to listen to me now?¡± She nods her head apologetically. ¡°The four of us are going to raid the palace.¡± Chapter 20-The Plan Chapter 20- The Plan Aarushi turns her head and asks ¡°We¡¯re doing what?¡± ¡°Are you still not listening? We¡¯re going to raid the Palace!¡± The door opens behind me as I shout my ambitions. Rhea giggles and says ¡°You¡¯re going to raid the palace? Now why would someone like Deadra want to do something like that?¡± ¡°Do you know about the slaves? Or the issues in the slums?¡± In a matter of fact way Rhea says ¡°Of course I do, I just didn¡¯t think you were aware of anyone other than yourself.¡± She pulls water from the container at her waist and begins to have it flow over my body healing me as it passes over my wounds. Although it hurts to admit it she is right that I have been selfish and only focused on myself and friends. ¡°You¡¯re right, but today was a sobering experience and I wish to change.¡± ¡°Oh so becoming a murderer is a sobering experience?¡± ¡°I¡­ I, that was an accident, when he attacked Aarushi I was overcome with anger and I just don¡¯t know what happened!¡± Rhea scoffs as she turns to leave the room. ¡°That is still no excuse.¡± She walks toward the door and without looking back she says ¡°But even though you went over bored I am still willing to work with you if it is to save other people, but I will no longer help you be selfish.¡± She leaves Aarushi and I alone. Through all of the excitement of finding the slaves and wanting to improve the slums I completely forgot my sins. Just last night I killed someone. With my own hands I killed someone. As the memory of the blood dripping off my hand comes back to me I fall to the ground burying my face in my hands. My breathing becomes sporadic as I hold back the tears. What have I become? Aarushi sits down next to me while rubbing my back with her hand trying to sooth my pain. ¡°Deadra¡­ A lot has happened and we haven¡¯t had time to talk, but I just want you to know a few things first. I know you killed the prince trying to protect me and I want to thank you. He was a pig and after you were taken away the people around us explained his other crimes. He deserved death.¡± Hearing someone so close to me say that what I did was justified helps sooth my tormented heart. ¡°I also want you to know that I love you and I would follow you to the end of the world.¡± She pauses for a moment before continuing, ¡°If you ever need anything.¡± She puts extra emphasis on the next part while nudging me with her elbow ¡°and I mean anything (ahem) ANYTHING¡± once again becoming serious she continues ¡°Then just ask and I will be there for you!¡± Taking her advice and knowing she truly means it I pull her into me wrapping my arms around her. She makes a small squeak from my sudden action. I truly needed to hear her words. Having her here to support me is more than I could ever ask for. Without her being my support I would surely crumble. I spend the next several minutes holding her trying to hold back my tears, but eventually I break and release everything as she pats my back. Releasing my fears, pains and sorrows I sob into her chest. This lasts a while before we stay up all night talking about small meaningless things. Eventually we both drift to sleep staring into each other¡¯s eyes. Her beautiful bright green eyes will forever be burned into my heart. That night was the first night I finally opened up my heart and completely let someone in. I shared my feelings with her about everything. I shared my feeling on purgatory, on this world, The few memories I have of my first world, on my actions, and even on how I feel about her. She shared everything she had as well. She is the first person I have truly loved both in this world or any of the other ones. When I wake up in the morning our fingers are still intertwined. Her sleeping face sits inches from my own. Her crimson hair frames her flawless fair skin. Her adorable button nose makes me want to kiss it. Her tender soft lips bring a smile to my face. I can¡¯t control myself any longer and attack her with a kiss. It wakes her up but instead of getting angry she smiles and kisses me back. She says ¡°I love you Deadra¡± With a smile before closing her eyes once again. Surprisingly she does not try to force me to go further. Usually when I kiss her she always pulls me forward as I pull backwards. Were her outbursts of desire actually just cries for me to open up to her? Was she trying to get closer to me emotionally through a physical manner? ¡°Hey Aarushi umm why aren¡¯t you¡­ you know doing your usual thing?¡± She releases my hand and wraps her fingers behind my head. She inches toward me pulling her lips less than an inch from my own. She holds this position without moving. Her enticing sent envelopes me. The lack of pressure of a kiss pulls at me like invisible strings. My heart nearly wants to skip a beat as it begs to push forward. Being unable to resist I move the last inch pressing my lips against hers. She pulls back while opening her eyes. ¡°Hehe, I felt so much closer to you now than ever before, and I love being next to you holding your hand. I don¡¯t need sex if I can just have you by my side, your vary presence brings me happiness.¡± She gives a devilish smile while licking her lips ¡°I also realized that the harder I push the more you resist, but if I sit and wait you start becoming more ummm¡­ aggressive!¡± She gives me a seductive wink with the last word. Is that actually true? I guess a minute ago I did admit to myself that I pull away as she pushes. That¡¯s not fair to her; I know what I must do. ¡°Hey Aarushi, do you want to go on a date a little earlier than I promised?¡± Her eyes sparkle and her face glows with excitement. She vigorously nods her head. ¡°Yes, yes A million times yes!¡± A smile spreads across my face as I say ¡°Ok we shall go on a date the day before the raid, but first I need to prepare!¡± She gives me a reassured head nod before saying ¡°We need to get Lucarus and Rhea on board first right!¡± ¡°Haha correct, we also need to do some training.¡± After talking with Aarushi more we find Rhea and Lucarus eating breakfast. When everyone finishes eating I pull Lucarus to the side. ¡°Hey we need to talk.¡± ¡°About what?¡± My head jolts back from the shock of his question. ¡°What I did to the prince for a start.¡± He crosses his arms and shakes his head. ¡°No we don¡¯t. I would have thought you would know me better by now. I love Aarushi, just as I love you. I was seconds away from killing him myself. Now what¡¯s the next subject?¡± That was surprisingly easier than expected. I guess him and I truly think alike. Maybe he will also believe in rescuing the slaves. ¡°I want to attack the palace and save the slaves from their imprisonment. Will you help me?¡± Lucarus rubs his chin for a few moments thinking. He then blatantly says ¡°No¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help you, but you can help me! Rhea and I already have some plans, and if you and Aarushi join we may very well succeed. We will need your strength.¡± ¡°Wait what? How long have you been planning this?¡± ¡°Rhea has actually been planning this all along since before we met her. Just about three months ago did I learn of her plan and start helping her out. That¡¯s when she taught me ways of the water tribe which allowed me to create my unleashed form.¡± ¡°Well if you could I would really like to help with your plans, I am sure Aarushi will also join me if I explain the situation. Could Rhea also teach me water tribe skills?¡± Lucarus has truly been growing up quickly. He is starting to make his own decisions and becoming his own person. He may be becoming more mature than me. ¡°I don¡¯t think Rhea could help you, but if you train with me for a few weeks with your advanced skills of fire manipulation I am sure you can learn it. You should tell Rhea about the news and learn of the plan. Our training will start in an hour and every day after that it will be early in the morning, and then we fight in the arena against monsters to sharpen what we learned, no more hiding our skills from each other we must consolidate our knowledge.¡± I nod my head with a humph then go over to Rhea. ¡°Let me in on the plans. Aarushi and I want to help. What do you want us to do?¡± ¡°Just get stronger for now, in one month we will make our move, I will let everyone know then.¡± ¡­ After that Aarushi, Lucarus and I train every morning and fight in the arena individually against monsters or against each other after lunch every day. The morning is the three of us exchanging skills. Lucarus shares the idea of morphing fire into a more physical state of being. I explain my method for strengthening my body and pushing myself past the limit. Aarushi doesn¡¯t have a special technique to share and merely tries to learn ours or help us with our own training. Lucarus can¡¯t use my technique very well because he is unable to create explosions. He fails to force his muscles to move stronger or faster however he does learn to increase his perception skills. He learns to slow down the world around him within his own mind without losing his vision, and also increases his hearing. He adds his own power to this and created a new skill to allow him to feel the things his flames touch. This allows him to know when someone is trying to penetrate his fire armor or to make a circle of fire around him and react to anything that comes in contact with the circle. Aarushi is unable to learn any of Lucarus¡¯s power but excels at the physical sides of mine. She can not only increase her strength and speed but was able to learn how to strengthen the durability of her arms so she doesn¡¯t break them while using super human strength. She can¡¯t strengthen more than just one of her fists and arms at one time, and if she uses her full strength with my special technique consecutively she will still damage herself to the point of being unable to fight. Instead she adapted her explosive punch in conjunction with her new skill to lower her chance of injury and increase her attack power and speed. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I was able to learn most of Lucarus¡¯s move. I can now shape fire and condense it enough to form a solid shape. I am unable to make it into an extra set of arms, but I did learn to create a smoldering hot armor and a few other new skills. I can now make grenades without needing the daggers, and I can activate them any time I want instead of only on impact. I can also use it to extend a hand out from my own to grab objects, or extend it from my blade doubling or tripling the sword size at will. The length of time I can use my self-destructive skill has increased tenfold since Lucarus helped me learn better and less draining ways to implement my power. At the end of the month each of us can destroy a rock golem individually with ease. Aarushi simply launches herself with super human speed into its stomach while unleashing a barrage of explosive punches until she digs straight through the beast. Lucarus gracefully dances around the beast as he leaks fire into the cracks. He snakes his flames through the weak point of the golem then crushes him from the inside out. I merely summon power through my sword and around it then with my special technique I speed past the golem while slicing him directly in half. The three of us grow ever stronger in our own ways. The plan is two parts. The king and the second prince plan to have a party to have the second prince ascend to the thrown in his elder brother¡¯s stead. The first is to sneak in to the party having Rhea and Aarushi dress as suitors for the second prince. Lucarus and I will be able to bring our weapons into the palace because we will be their body guards; a normal occurrence for nobility. Once the festivities pick up we can execute the second phase. We will sneak away from the party and release the prisoners and slaves. Since the king does not want them near his guests he keeps them all locked away during events such as this. The day Aarushi and I go on our date I wake up early and bring her breakfast in bed. ¡°Aarushi wake up I have a surprise.¡± I place a large plate of steaming bear meat with a side of Shiek eggs. The delicious smell that fills the room reminds me of ham and eggs. She stretches her arms as she sits up from bed. ¡°(yaaawwwn) Oh my that smells so good! Is it for me?¡± I sit next to her and set it on my lap. I scoop up some of the eggs with a spoon and blow on it softly. ¡°Here open your mouth I¡¯m going to feed you.¡± She opens her tiny mouth wide while saying ¡°Aaaaahhhh¡± I decide to tease her and make train noises as I put it in her mouth. ¡°Chooo Chooo!¡± With a full mouth she asks ¡°what were those strange noises you made? It was like choo choo or something!¡± ¡°Oh yeah I forgot we don¡¯t have trains here. It¡¯s something parents do to their kids to make them eat their food.¡± ¡°Hey stop treating me like a kid! I thought we were going to have a date today.¡± ¡°But I love teasing you!¡± I then slide my hand onto her inner thigh while putting my mouth to her ear. I whisper ¡°But if you would rather I can tease you in other ways.¡± Her face turns bright red and she squirms around in place. ¡°(gulp) hehe ugh yes yes teasing is nice, you can do it as much as you like.¡± I take another spoon full and raise it in front of her. ¡°Ok good! Now here comes the train! Choo Choo!¡± She makes a sour face while pouting but gives in and accepts the food. Later that day we walk around hand in hand around the town. ¡°Aarushi If you see anything you like let me know so I can buy it for you. Do you have any clue of something you might want?¡± Aarushi tilts her head and places a finger on her lips with a hmm. ¡°Oh I want a dress! Rhea says dresses are girly and will make you see me in a new light! Also we kind of need one for tomorrow night¡¯s event.¡± ¡°Alright let¡¯s look around.¡± We search around for almost two hours. Aarushi tries on many different dresses, all exemplifying her already astonishing figure and assets. In the end she finds a dress as she describes is perfect. For some reason it gives me a feeling of Deja vu. It is a beautiful white gown with silver Jewels embroiled around the neck and on the chest in a circular design. It is slim fitting and flows down to her ankles. Being strapless is shows of her slender yet firm shoulders. I can¡¯t remember why the dress looks so familiar. Perhaps it resembles a wedding dress I saw once in my past life. When night falls we find ourselves outside the large twin trees near the entrance. A group of people with make shift instruments play songs. Several other people dance and sing along. One couple dressed in light armor that I have seen at the arena before were particularly good. They were doing something similar to the tango. I grab Aarushi¡¯s hand and drag her into the crowd with me. I don¡¯t know why but the moves come naturally to me, Like I used to dance in a past life. Actually that is probably true now that I think about it. I wrap one hand around her waist and begin doing the tango myself. Guiding Aarushi with my hands she slowly learns as well. Her movements are awkward and forced in the beginning. At first she drags her feet and steps on me several times, but due to her excellent reflexes from hundreds of fights she quickly picks up on the moves. Eventually we look like experts dancing the night away. The two of us get caught up in our own world as we dance for several songs. I hold her body tight feeling her sway from side to side, perfectly matching my movement. Blocking out the outside world we stare longingly into each other¡¯s eyes. The music seems to go in one ear and out the other as the only thing I hear is my heart banging to the beat of happiness. I feel like a teenager again. Oh wait I am! Eventually we get tired and stop. Rejoining the real world we realize the crowd has been watching us in amazement. When we stop I give a slight bow while Aarushi simply tilts her head in confusion. The couple with armor on comes up to us. The man asks ¡°Will the two of you be going to the celebration tomorrow? It would be an honor to see you there. If you need I can prepare an invitation.¡± I put my hand up and shake my head. ¡°No thank you we already have our invitations.¡± After that Aarushi and I both scurry off back towards the inn. When we reach the room I take my armor off, leaving nothing but my under shirt and pants. ¡°So Aarushi is there any last things you wish to do today?¡± She rubs her hands together behind her back while thrusting her chest upward. She avoids eye contact with me by looking toward the corner of the ceiling apposing me. Bouncing from her heals to her toes I can tell how nervous she feels. ¡°I don¡¯t know, is there anything you want to do?¡± I see she wants to play it cool. She also might be afraid if she pushes to hard I¡¯ll pull away again. Well tonight I plan to change that. ¡°Well should I be blunt?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Without saying another word I simply drop the remaining clothes I wear. She covers her mouth with a squeak. She whips her eyes away from the corner toward my direction. Her cheeks turn red as her eyes become wide. Reaching toward the strap holding her clothes together I stop to catch her when suddenly she drops to the ground. She lies in my arms with her eyes closed and a perverted smile across her mouth. ¡°Aarushi? What are you doing?¡± she does not respond. ¡°Hey are you awake?¡± a shake her slightly and she lifts her head with a start. ¡°Wow! I just had the craziest yet best dream ever!¡± ¡°Oh and what was it?¡± ¡°Well you see¡± she looks over to me as she begins to talk. ¡°Oh god did I faint! Wait does this mean it¡¯s real?¡± I give her a gentle smile as I kiss her lips. They taste sweeter than anything I have ever had. ¡­ Aarushi was hyper and girly all day after our little escapade. Several times she would drag Rhea away to tell her everything. I¡¯m glad I made her happy. Lucarus slaps me on the back and says ¡°You seem real happy today.¡± He nudges me on the side ¡°Did something happen last night?¡± ¡°Can you really tell that easily?¡± ¡°Both you and Aarushi have been frolicking around like crazy!¡± I point a finger at myself ¡°Me too?¡± He nods his head with a matter of fact face. I guess she made me very happy as well. ¡°Well let¡¯s just say we took it to the next level.¡± ¡°Holy shiek no way! It took you two long enough!¡± he slaps me on the back once more. ¡°Rhea and I started doing that almost immediately after we started dating!¡± In surprise I almost shout ¡°You two already had sex?¡± Covering my mouth Lucarus whispers ¡°Sshhh. Don¡¯t say it so loud!¡± I nod my head and make a zipping motion over my mouth while walking toward the two girls. They are beautifully dressed in preparation for tonight Rhea gathers us together. ¡°Alright everyone, tonight is very dangerous and we may not all escape without injury. It is vital we focus on the mission. This means you two love birds need to hold it together.¡± Rhea gives a stern look toward the two of us. Lucarus giggles at our prosecution. ¡°Does everyone remember our plan?¡± ¡°¡±¡±Yes!¡±¡±¡± The four of us head toward the palace gates. Today we will be changing history for every. Chapter 21-The Mission Chapter 21-The Mission The night sky is littered with shining stars like jewels covering a fine and endless black fabric. The smaller orange moon resides in the exact center of the larger white moon covering up all but the edges. The aroma of food and wine comes from the palace even from beyond the walls. The palace is well light and can be seen from several city blocks away. Large crowds of nobles gather. Many people coming from far away arrive on Shiek drawn carriages. Each person has their own set of guards and even maids or butlers working for them. None are obviously flaunting any slaves. However this does not mean they do not have slaves, just like the king. Aarushi and I walk through the luxurious palace gates with her arm in mine. I wear my usual leather armor with glamourous silver ruby encrusted sword at my side. Aarushi wears the elegant white tight fitting dress I bought her yesterday on our date. She looks absolutely stunning. Rhea applied make up to both Aarushi and herself. Aarushi¡¯s hair has been curled and her nails where done. Aarushi was beautiful without the makeup but when I see it for the first time I lose my breath. As we pass the gate one of the guards says ¡°That¡¯s a really nice sword he has, but his armor is shit.¡± ¡°Forget that, look at the woman he is guarding, she is so pretty!¡± the two guards continue talking as we walk past. I notice all the light near the prison cells are out. The whole area around the dungeon is darkened out making it impossible to tell if there is even a building there. To not draw attention to that area several statues and hedges have been placed in front of the darkness. All the precautions the king set up to prevent people from noticing his slaves will help us free them even easier. It also proves even in this world slavery is socially unacceptable. Lucarus and Rhea walk in behind us shortly after. We must pretend not to know each other. Rhea is going to try to distract the second prince and the king while the three of us help the slaves escape. However if that fails Aarushi will try to distract them as a plan b. As we get to the palace entrance we are stopped and one of the guards asks ¡°Hey you two!¡± he comes up to us and examines us closely. ¡°You look familiar, where do I know you from?¡± Crap does he recognize me from when I was captured? Is my cover blown? Maybe I should never have come. ¡°Oh I know your Deadra from the team eternal flame! Your team has been doing really well! When do you plan to try to take on the wyverns, or maybe even a troll?¡± Relief floods over me. ¡°We might be doing that soon.¡± ¡°Haha I understand I would be scared too. Is this why you decided to do an escort mission tonight? Need extra gold for new equipment or something? You know if you want I can talk to the king and get you a position on his royal guard. You will get new weapons and armor along with a steady intake of gold.¡± I shake my head and say ¡°No I am sorry the arena is my true calling. I am merely doing a favor for a friend right now. Here is my ladies invitation.¡± I pull a royal degree from my pouch and pass it over to him. He scans it over before giving it back and waiving us through. The guards at the door pull their spears back opening a path for us to move through. ¡°Have a good evening my lady. Deadra come see me if you ever change your mind.¡± I nod my head and wave at him as I enter the building Aarushi tightens her grip on my arm and says ¡°You¡¯re not really thinking of taking his offer are you?¡± ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s called acting Aarushi. If we don¡¯t want to get caught we must act.¡± ¡°Oh, ok good!¡± We enter the dining hall and sit near the exit in case we get the chance to escape. Lucarus and Rhea sit on the opposite end near another exit. The king stands up with his second son standing next to him at the head of the largest table. He taps his glass with his knife receiving everyone in the hall¡¯s attention. In a loud and controlling voice he says ¡°Today we celebrate my second son Thelan for turning 15 years old. He will be the one to take my place on the thrown due to the misfortune that stole Bowen¡¯s life from us. Tonight Thelan will be allowed to take a woman as one of his wives. I know many of you have come in anticipation for this and I wish you all the best of luck. May the festivities begin!¡± The people sitting at the tables all cheer as food strolls out from the kitchen. There are several servings of bear, rabbit, shiek and many more types of meets all scattered about the table. Several types of fruits and vegetables are presented as well. Bread and pasta alike are served along with countless types of sauces. Whine and whiskey are both available for us to drink, it is far more delicious than the home made silver liquor my village makes. Multiple times I am forced to slap Aarushi¡¯s hand from refilling her goblet with more wine. Candles are light every few feet on the tables. A couple next to us sloppily eats their food. Reaching over other guests and taking things off the serving plate with their hands. I can¡¯t say Aarushi is much better. She may look like a princess today but her manners say otherwise. ¡°(Burrp) Deadra this stuff is so good! Why can¡¯t we eat like this all the time!¡± A man dressed in a something reminding me of a brown over coat and beret sitting across from me looks up from his meal and says ¡°Wait your Deidra? The one from the arena? I saw your fight with the monsters. After that day I have seen all of you and your team¡¯s fights.¡± Aarushi puts her hand on my shoulder and says ¡°Why are you so popular? Why doesn¡¯t anyone recognize me?¡± I start to talk but am interrupted from the man across from me. ¡°Deadra what are you doing in a place like this? Where are Lucarus and Aarushi?¡± Not sure what to say I sit in silence. I don¡¯t want to ruin our disguise. Aarushi raises her fist in a heroic way and says ¡°I am Aarushi! And we are here on a secret mission!¡± I slap the palm of my hand to my face at Aarushi¡¯s ignorance. ¡°You¡¯re Aarushi the leader of the Eternal Flame? The crimson haired goddess of the arena! I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t recognize you in your current state.¡± He bows his head in apology. ¡°What is your secret mission? Do you plan to assassinate the corrupted king?¡± I immediately cover Aarushi¡¯s mouth to prevent her from talking before saying ¡°We are just trying to get closer to the king in hopes of gaining a higher position. Aarushi hopes to marry the prince and I want to join his royal guard.¡± Aarushi licks my hand in an attempt to have me remove it but I stay firm in my stance. The man crosses his arms with an angry look on his face. ¡°Damn. I had wished you guys were smarter than that. This king is a tyrant who deserves nothing but the chopping block. Everyone in our house celebrated that night.¡± Still holding Aarushi¡¯s mouth in fear of her revealing I killed the prince I say ¡°Why are you here now if you hate the king?¡± The man gives off a strange look of astonishment. ¡°You don¡¯t know? This whole city is in economic collapse because of the king¡¯s high taxes. I guess a gladiator like you wouldn¡¯t know since he gives them special treatment. Everyone even the nobles such as myself are having trouble scraping by for food. My self alone with many of my friend¡¯s give what we can to the poorer residents of this city and because of that I came here for the free food. You will find many of the others here have the same motivation.¡± I glance around at everyone else. They are completely ignoring our conversation and are focusing on eating. More people than just the couple with rude manners are crazily trying to get as much as they can. Several people are packing meat and bread into any container that they can. Not only are the slums dying in this city but all the residents outside of the arena. ¡°So you say everyone here hates the king? Do you know how trust worthy the people around us are? What is your opinion on slaves?¡± I finally release my hands from Aarushi. Saliva drips from my hand along with a smeared red lip shaped imprint. I wipe my hand on my leather leg armor and look at Aarushi. She presents her best puppy dog eyes before saying ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± Both the man and I ignore her. In reply to my questions he says ¡°Not everyone does but I know several people who do. They are also very trustworthy people. I frown upon the idea of slaves. I hear rumors that the king owns his own slaves and it eats me up inside.¡± I scratch my chin for a moment with a slight humming noise resonating from my mouth. Looking around I notice every door is covered by guards. Our plan will only work if no one notices us release the prisoners. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the details but would you like to help me?¡± He nods his head. ¡°Alright I want you to make a distraction for the guards.¡± ¡°We should wait tell we go to the ball room. While we are traveling there the guards around us will be less.¡± He pauses for a moment. ¡°I could start a quarrel with some of the other guests and then you can escape.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I nod my head in agreement. After that her whispers to each person to his side and they continue it down the line. I am not sure how trust worthy this man is but he can¡¯t ruin any plans since he does not know what we are doing. Worst case scenario is that he will not cause a distraction and we will have to find another way. After this we eat our meal in silence. I stuff as much food into my bag as I can, it will be given to the slaves. The king once again rises. Ringing of metal against glass silences the people in the massive dining hall. ¡°We have all eaten our fill and the food is no longer hot. Let us now start the festivities. Every one let us move to the ball room!¡± A set of guards open the door leading to the ball room. As everyone stands up to go I wrap my arm around Aarushi¡¯s arm and guide her over to Rhea and Lucarus. As I set off the man I was talking to grabs my shoulder. He says ¡°I don¡¯t know how you escaped from the fire on the day you were put up for execution, but thank you for everything you have done.¡± When did he recognize me? Did he witness the execution? No I don¡¯t have time to worry about this, I need to focus on the mission. I brush his arm off and give him a nod. He nods back before disappearing into the crowd. I keep moving as well. I finally catch up To Lucarus and Rhea in the hall way. I do not look at Lucarus or Rhea but begin talking to them. ¡°If a ruckus happens in the hall way we need to all make our move then. It will be the best time to strike.¡± Lucarus says ¡°What do you have planned?¡± ¡°Just watch and see. Follow my lead and keep your head down.¡± We anxiously walk through the large corridors with the mass of people on all sides of us. As we near the ball room shouting from every direction fills the hall. ¡°Im going to kill you!¡± sounds from in front of us. ¡°Stop that man he stole my money¡± resonates from the back. ¡°Guards help, I need help¡± Screaming and yelling continues as everyone scatters around in the chaos. The guards run in every direction trying to calm the people down. Small riots wash over the crowd around us. I yank Aarushi with me as I charge out of the crowd. I dart toward the exit while keeping my head down. With all the ambient noise there is no need to stay quiet, we only need to be fast. After we escape the corridor we find ourselves outside the palace shrouded in the darkness near the slave¡¯s cells. I turn around to check on everyone. ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Aarushi tightens her grip around my arm and takes a deep breath. ¡°Yeah I think I¡¯m ok. This dress is a bit hard to move in though so I don¡¯t think I can help fight much.¡± Lucarus nods his head and says ¡°I¡¯m as ready as I¡¯ll every be.¡± Rhea nods her head ¡°Yeah I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°I am here to help too.¡± Everyone¡¯s vision shoots toward the voice. The man I was talking to at dinner stands in the back of our group waving slightly. I walk up to him angrily and grab the collar of his brown over coat. I pull his face toward my own and angrily say ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He starts to perspire from his forehead. ¡°You only told me to make a distraction, but I figured you could use my help. I stole some keys off a guard. Here have them.¡± He hands me a ring of black keys. I release his coat and say ¡°Just don¡¯t get in the way. This is an important and very sensitive job.¡± ¡°Thank you. My name is Alexia, allow me to be of service to you.¡± We continue toward the prison cells hiding behind the hedges and statues. We are lucky and come across no resistance or guards on our walk across the garden. When we get ten paces from the cell we hide behind a lion statue looking toward the cell. The same rank smell from last time I was here emits from the cells. Several dozen men women and children in iron shackles sit within the dungeon. The look of defeat and dread covers each of their faces. The old man I talked to in my last visit is nowhere to be seen. A single guard stands at attention outside the door. Aarushi whispers ¡°What do we do now? We need to get past him.¡± Rhea says ¡°I¡¯m not sure. We need to find a way to knock him out without alerting any of the other guards, but we also need to make sure he doesn¡¯t wake up during the night and alert any one either.¡± In my mind one idea flashes through my head. We could kill him. It would be nothing for me to shoot myself over there and completely take him out in a flash. It would be quick and easy. I have killed once before what is one more life? No I can¡¯t allow myself to turn into a murderer. It might be one death now but it could amplify to several more in the future. Why would I even let myself think such a disgusting thought? Alexia says ¡°Why don¡¯t you just knock him out then tie him up with one of the prisoner¡¯s shackles and take him with us?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good Idea. I will knock him out using my special technique.¡± I stand up and move out from behind the statue. Before the guard even notices my presence I vanish from the spot and reappear with the back of my blade ramming the back of his head. He falls to the ground in an instant. I place fingers on his neck to check his pulse. Aloud I say ¡°Good¡± he is still breathing and his pulse is normal. I take the keys from my bag and unlock the prison door. The others in my group come to the door and guard the entrance. I step inside and hand the set of keys to the first person that walks up to me. She is a petit woman with brown matted hair. Her hands are thin and dry. She wears nothing but tattered brown and black rags. Her collar bone protrudes out from her sunken chest. She coughs up a small sentence ¡°(cough cough) you really came back for us.¡± She smiles and begins unlocking her shackles. From the entrance of the door Lucarus throws me another set of keys and says ¡°I got them off this guy, it will help speed it up.¡± He then pulls his bag off and tosses it to me. ¡°I also filled this with food from the banquet.¡± I hand the bag Lucarus gave me to her after she unlocks the chains binding her. ¡°Share this with everyone and help everyone unlock there shackles. I have more food inside my bag as well¡± she nods her head and does as I said after shoving a piece of bread in her mouth. I go around unlocking each person¡¯s chains with the help of the brown haired woman. I hand each one of them my bag and let them grab whatever food they desire. As the food is presented to them their faces brighten up slightly and the glossy look in their eyes fades away. These people have been living without hope for so long. Something inside my chest grows warm as I help each one of them. Is this the feeling you get when you help someone? I feel really good right now. It feels as if a weight in my chest has been lifted. Maybe I should stop being such a selfish person and begin helping people more. After we get these people to safety I will discuss this with the others. I think I want to become a hero. I want to help this town. Maybe I could become like Robin Hood from my first world; stealing from the rich king and giving to the poor people of this town. Haha yeah like that will happen. After all the food was distributed and everyone is free of their restraints I ask the woman that I first unlocked ¡°Where is the old man from last time?¡± She looks down at the ground in silence. ¡°I understand, say no more.¡± It¡¯s sad I wasn¡¯t able to save these people in time. I wish I could have given him the joy of fresh air and freedom one last time before he died. We don¡¯t have any time to greave, we need to keep going. I walk to the door and shouting behind me I say ¡°Everyone stay quiet and follow us, you are not free yet. We still need to escape from this palace and the city.¡± We can¡¯t go out the front gate so instead we will scale the walls behind this cell. Since they are not as agile as our race is I doubt they can climb it like the three of us can. Actually I am not sure if Rhea can even climb the walls. Either way it doesn¡¯t matter we have a plan. Lucarus will sit on the top and help pull them up as I push from below. On the other side Aarushi will be there to catch them. We exit the cell and walk behind it. I look up at the twelve foot tall wall. Lucarus and Aarushi run up it with ease. Now that I am in full health I can do the same. While on the wall Aarushi points to the other side and says ¡°Hey isn¡¯t that the monkey from earlier?¡± Lucarus replies ¡°Hey I think you¡¯re right! What is he doing here?¡± The next instant the wall to our right explodes as a person flies out from it. Their body flies through the crowd of slaves. Impacting into the outside of the cell wall it falls apart on top of them. Mica the blue haired woman stands up from the rubble practically unscathed, both her blades are out and she has the look of fear and anger embroiled on her face. A man in a grey hood and an imposing aura steps out from the broken wall holding two large scythes. What the hell is happening? Chapter 22-Inconceivable Despair Chapter 22- Inconceivable Despair Mica stands out of the rubble glaring at the man in the gray hood. Power like that I have never felt radiates from her. Her strength over-flows into me. A warm and happy feeling fills me as I look at her. For some reason nostalgia overcomes me. She stands like a goddess of beauty and strength. She holds her two silver swords in a reverse grip so the blade crosses over her arm and past her elbow. She is franticly breathing. Sweat stains form around her neck and back. Blood drips from the top of her head down the side of her face. Spitting blood from her mouth as she steps out of the rubble she wipes her mouth. She crouches slightly and crosses the blades in front of her again. ¡°Why are you trying to drag the people of this world into our fight?¡± The man in the grey hood, I know this man. He is from the image the sword showed me; the image of him holding the scythe in my mouth before I die. It strongly impacted me, but I was never expecting him to be so intimidating. He wields two large identical scythes. The blades ark nearly five feet from the top of the black handle. Skulls rest where the blade attaches. The long black handles are at least six feet long and have silver carvings on them. A long silver chain attaches the scythes at the bottom of the handles. Wearing a dark grey cloak and hood that covers his entire body he becomes more than a man. The hood has a jagged tip that drapes down over the darkness where his face should reside almost like a mask. Any places the cloak would normally reveal such as his face or hands are magically shrouded in darkness. Black straps are bolted on each shoulder and crisscross around his waist before wrapping around behind him and back to his shoulders. He reminds me of death incarnate. A chilling and dark aura resonates from him. Catching sight of him causes the blood to drain from my limbs and my body to go numb. I am paralyzed in fear by his presence. It feels as if ice creeps out from him. Emptiness exists in the space where he stands. A void of existence pulling in everything around it and sucking in heat and life exist where he stands. The stench of blood and death pour from his body. I would not be surprised if the very blood in his veins came from the river sticks of hell. Power beyond my belief resides within him like a dark tower looking over the city of death. This presence is suffocating. Weight builds up on top of my body from the sheer existence of his power raining down on me. I feel as if I will die from him merely standing around me for much longer. His existence is a poison on this earth. Raising one of the scythes to his side he slashes across his body in midair. Mica brings her twin silver swords in front of her face guarding her body. A flash of hot air radiates from the blade. A white streak sores through the air directed towards Mica. All the people standing between Mica and the mysterious man are mowed down and blood splatters from their bodies. A metallic clanking resonates from Mica¡¯s blades as they make contact with the white streak. She is pushed back a few inches and several are killed from a single wave of this mans scythe. Unleashing several more strikes the space between Mica and the mysterious hooded man are filled with flashes of white light and streaks of blood being flung into the air. A cold furry bellows from each of his strikes. He is ruthless in his attacks. Mica is falling back unable to withstand the onslaught. The slaves scatter running in fear. Rhea and I stand motionlessly next to the wall as Aarushi and Lucarus stand atop of it. None of us say a word or move a finger. I am completely frozen in fear. We simply watch the onslaught no sure what to do. Aarushi breaks the silence on our side. ¡°Why are you all just standing around? We need to save Rhea¡¯s sister!¡± She jumps from the wall while mounting her gauntlets. I hear a familiar voice echo inside of my head. ¡°Don¡¯t go near that man!¡± it is the same voice that resonated from the sword long ago. How can this man be so dangerous? It doesn¡¯t matter if I die, as long as I keep my friends alive. If I die I will simply be revived again. My friends on the other hand will die forever. I need to prevent Aarushi and the others from dying. I can¡¯t let them get closed to this man. Hoping to demotivate Aarushi I say ¡°What can we do against someone like that? We should run away!¡± ¡°He is just a person. If we all gang up we can beat him! He is still human.¡± She charges toward the man in the grey hood while using fire to ignite her muscles into moving faster. All I want to do is run away. But If I do that Aarushi might die. If she dies then I have no reason left to live. I don''t care if it is all just my hormonal emotions flaring up I can''t just stand and watch. Dam it Aarushi, I guess there is nothing I can do but help fight also. I charge in after her catching up with my superior speed. I use a combination of partial muscle explosion in my legs to speed up my charge and fire enveloping over and around the blade to increase my striking power. Aarushi and I fight head to head attacking the over-powered being set before us. As Mica attacks his front Aarushi and I continue our assault from behind him. He is surrounded by three high level opponents. I swipe downward with my flame covered blade as hard and fast as I can between the back of his shoulder blade and spine. Aarushi unleashes an explosion into his kidney quickly followed by a second punch to his lower back. With her arms crossed Mica slices outward cutting at both sides of his ribs. The hooded man easily interrupts all of our attacks. Without taking his eyes off of mica he twists one of the giant scythes over his head and down his back into my blade forcing it to fall off track and cut nothing but air near the outside of his shoulder. Quickly weaving to one side he avoids Aarushi¡¯s first punch. Her second punch is forced to a stop by the chain that somehow entangled itself around her wrist. During the process of interrupting both Aarushi and my attacks he was able to back step far enough away from Mica to barely avoid her double sided attack at his ribs. Her blades slice open a small slit in his cloak, but he receives no visible damage. I am off balance with my sword flying toward the ground next to my opponent from being deflected. Aarushi is fumbling forward from her highly aggressive attacks not making any kind of impact. Mica¡¯s blades swivel in their spots and turn upwards slashing toward the sky while she steps forward. Her blades look like leaves dancing in the wind unfazed by whether or not they make contact with their opponent. The cold and terrifying man continues to launch himself backward further avoiding Mica¡¯s attacks. His back rams into the back of my shoulder. The force from his iron like body hurls me into the ground. Due to the large torque on my shoulder I am spun across the ground like a grinder against metal. Abrasions creep over my body as the dirt tears into me and shreds through my armor. Aarushi flails into the ground like a rag doll but is quickly yanked back into the air by the chain tugging on her wrist. Loud popping noises resonated from her shoulder and elbow as her arm is disfigured. My face scrapes against the dirt and I am unable to see what is happening for only a brief moment. Without even looking he completely decimated the two of us even while we used my secret technique to heighten our strength and speed to unimaginable limits. All I could do is slow my perception of the situation and watch the horrors unfold before me when my face was not mashed against the ground from my excessive twirling. As my line of sight is able to see everything again a tinkle of hope fills me. Mica unleashed floods of water from a container resting on her lower back. Her many water tentacles made her look like an octopus. All the tentacles moved in unison along with the rest of her. One stream of water wrapped around Aarushi glowing blue to show it¡¯s healing properties. Another broke off from her body toward me. The last two struck at the shoulders of the dark man like spears. In the same motion Mica ducked while swiping one blade at his knees and the second blade at the chains binding Aarushi. My face is once again slammed into the ground blocking my vision from the fighting seen. I am unable to slow the unending spin. Instead I turn my head to be able to see what happens next faster. The two pillars of water viscously shooting at his shoulders are nowhere to be seen. In their place sits unmoving ice. The water wrapped around Aarushi¡¯s body is exploding off of her like steam, becoming completely useless. The sword Mica slashed at his knees now rests beneath his foot as her grip on it weakens. The chain wrapped around Aarushi¡¯s arm is cut but not before it is too late. The spiked chain sawed through her wrist cutting her hand off completely. Aarushi still flies away from mica at the same speed as the man does from the momentum of earlier movements. The scythe on Aarushi¡¯s side spins about his hand. The blade arcs down behind his back. At the same time the other blade glows white as it slashed down from above toward Mica. The water Mica sent toward me slows the spin as I am once again rotated always from the fight. I can feel a slight sensation of hot pain pulled away from me and replaced with a cool relaxed sensation. The water stops me before I am returned to looking at the fight. As quickly as I can I push myself up to look toward the others. The first thing I see is Mica. She has both her blades covering her body. She had been pushed back almost five yards. Blood slides down her face and into her eyes. Her shoulder is gashed open as blood seeps into her clothes. Panting heavily with sorrow in her eyes she takes a single step back. As I continue to turn I follow Mica¡¯s line of sight upward above the man who reminds me of death. What I see hollows out my mind. A dead Aarushi is being held in place above the man like a living sculpture. Her image forever carved into my mind. The two half crescent double moons outline her body as they set in the background. Aarushi has her chest puffed out and her head drawn backwards. Both her arms dangle below her. The arm with the missing hand resides closer to me. I can see the cracked bones of her forearms jaggedly cut and protruding from her severed flesh. Her legs swing in the wind. Her crimson hair blends in with the rest of her body as it is draped downward over the handle of the menacing scythe. Piercing through the bottom of her ribcage the thick blade of the scythe is the only thing keeping her from falling. It juts out from her body on both sides. The tip of the blade projecting toward the dark sky is coated in red as liquid drips from it. It slowly deepens itself into her as she slides downward. Blood gushes out from her stomach with every inch it sinks deeper. The voice resonating inside my head blares louder than ever. ¡°Deadra run now! I barley have the strength left to protect you. This man will kill you without mercy if he finds out you¡¯re a player! He doesn¡¯t know who you are and will still let you escape if you run!¡± Aarushi is flung past me into a wall next to Rhea. She makes no motion to absorb the impact, nor any other reaction to being thrown. The wall cracks as her body impacts into it. My mind goes blank as all the thoughts seep out of me. What the hell kind of monster am I facing? We are nothing but ants to this cold hearted killer. No something more important is going on! Shaking out of my dazed state I realize Aarushi¡¯s situation and run toward her while yelling ¡°Rhea heal Aarushi now!¡± Rhea is already acting before my command even reaches her. She dumps several gallons of glowing blue water onto Aarushi healing her as fast as she can. Water rushes in and out of the gaping hole in Aarushi abdomen. The water becomes stained red as it sloshes all over her body aggressively fixated on her injuries. I scoop Aarushi into my arms staring at her motionless face. She isn¡¯t breathing. I place my head on her chest while a mix of water and blood splash my face. Her heart is not beating. I set her down in a panic. Cupping my hands on her chest I pulse up and down trying to force her heart to restart. I count to ten then open her mouth while holding her nose. I breathe two heavy breaths into her before pumping on her chest again. The sound of clashing metal can be heard around us giving the sign that Mica is fighting the grey hooded figure once again. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.After a minute of panicked CPR Rhea grabs my shoulder and looks me in the eyes. She shakes her head and says ¡°It¡¯s too late Deadra, she lost too much blood.¡± ¡°No! I can still do this!¡± I pump harder and harder into Aarushi as hot tears drip from my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not too late! It can¡¯t be.¡± Slowly my head droops down as I stop trying to resuscitate Aarushi. I scoop Aarushi up onto my lap with my blood stained hands. I bring my head close to hers. My tears drip down onto her face. I finally remember where this dress was from. The white dress stained with her blood. The dagger from the cave warned me of this yet there was nothing I could do to stop it. I am pathetic. Aarushi¡¯s lifeless body rests in my arms. Her fair skin is even whiter than ever. The look of bliss she wears while fighting still resides on her face. The usual light in her green eyes is long since faded. The love of my life is dead. The first person I was ever able to open up to was killed. I failed to protect my most precious person. I kiss her lips one last time as tears fall from my face. The metallic taste of blood comes from her closed smiling lips. Her peaceful smell of honey is blanked by blood and sweat. I clench my fists together as I lift my head. A rage boils inside me as I set Aarushi back down into the puddle of blood. The mark on my hand glows a brighter red than ever before. The red color matches both Aarushi¡¯s hair and the blood soaked into her dress. I pick up my blade and turn toward the ongoing fight between Mica and the man I am about to kill. I don¡¯t care if I become a murderer I must avenge Aarushi¡¯s death. I concentrate all of my power within myself. Focusing on both increasing my speed and strength to surpass human capabilities I build pockets of explosive power into my muscles. Time slows to a crawl as I increase my perception. With the raw anger swelling inside of me new power arises as I pour energy into the tip of my blade. The blade ignites ablaze. Due to its innate ability to amplify my power by thirty two times the flame towers six feet and is hotter and more solid than ever before. The vary sword grows and becomes stronger due to the sheer amount of power I put into it. Every ounce of power and strength I hold is going to go into this attack. But that is still not enough. I even pull at my own life force. I feel the seed implanted in my stomach tear me apart as I sacrifice my entire being for power. Both my life and all my power go into increasing my strength and speed. This will be the final attack that will destroy both myself and the murderer of Aarushi. I spring myself forward at speeds I never thought possible. I am unable to keep up with my own speed. In less than an instant I am next to both Mica and the mysterious man. I slash toward him from behind as Mica attacks from the front. The man somehow notices my attack and while simultaneously attacking Mica he lunges forward. How can he move so quickly? How can he read my moves? I am moving too fast for the naked eye to even see me yet he can notice my attack without looking. Even with his unbelievable reflexes and speed I am able to strike him with my tower of flames. The solid flames cut clean through his body and the lengthened silver blade slices through his back. Unable to control the momentum of my swing the blade slams into the ground. On impact with the ground I can feel my arms bend in the wrong direction as the bones in my forearms shatter. The ground explodes as a crater forms around us. The fire around the blade dissipates as the blade evaporates into nothing ness. The only reason I still live is because the blade absorbed most of the recoil, yet I still shattered my arms. I drop to my knees completely sapped of energy and life. The pain from my shattered bones is nothing compared to the pain I feel from all the energy being reaped from my body in less than a second. Fumbling forward slightly from my attack he continues focusing on Mica. As I fall to the ground drained of energy and twiddled with pain the man gets a clean hit on Mica forcing her to fall back. I look up from my knees at the man¡¯s back. The cut in his back is shallow. I don¡¯t know how it didn¡¯t cut him in half. Mica jumps backward several feet. Several more wounds cover her body from the onslaught of attacks that happened while I was trying to save Aarushi. Breathing hard she says ¡°You better run away now that your injured." Completely ignoring her he turns toward me. He puts one of the scythes around my neck and inserts the other into my mouth. The cold shadows emanating from his hood give me the feeling of staring into death. I stare back up at him from my knees. Anger and hatred fill my eyes. I can¡¯t die yet, not until I kill this man. I don¡¯t care if I die then since Aarushi is no longer alive in this world. I can just be resurrected once again. The voice that came from the back of my head echoes once more. ¡°Deadra, if he kills you, then you will never come back to life. Why are you such an idiot? Why didn¡¯t you run away when I told you?¡± What does the voice mean I won¡¯t be resurrected? How can he be someone who can kill me permanently? Who is this man? Fuck him; I am the one who is going to kill him! I glare upward into his cloak and see two glowing almost white eyes. They are filled with nothing but detest. What does this man know that I don¡¯t? A flash of death comes over his eyes. This is the moment when I die. I have no strength to move let alone prevent my own death. In his head he has already pulled the metaphorical trigger to the gun against my head. I can feel the blade begin to slide through my neck breaking open the skin on my neck. The next instant the pain of his blade against my throat vanishes. An explosion of fire and smoke cover the area as I am lifted off the ground. I am set down next to Mica by the man who saved me. He wears a torn red skin tight under armor type cloth with white sewing. It has a texture that looks metallic and bumps that make it look like a circuit board. The armor seams to crawl across his skin as the stiches sow themselves. A tattered hood rests over half his face while the other half is gashed open from a fresh wound still dripping blood. Finely crafted mithral plates adorn the high-tech under armor along his entire body. They are light weight and sturdy yet several dents and scratches cover nearly all of them. His messy white hair shoots in every direction. The high quality brown leather boots with metal tipped toes compliment his shiny mithral shin guards. All the mithral plates on him have intricate designs carved into them as well as an array of fine jewels. A sword nearly identical to the one I destroyed but slightly longer is firmly in his grip. White bandages cover his body lining the inside of his outfit. It is delicately wrapped around his hands and knuckles. The bandages around his hands and neck are bloodied to the point of being black. Before my vary eyes his armor slowly repairs itself. A strong power resides inside of him. The blazing fire that is his strength seems to flow endlessly outward. It feels as though an ocean of fire blazes in front of my eyes. I would flea in a heartbeat from someone with this much power if they had not just saved me. Familiar warmth resonates from him. His very presence brings me reassurance. He radiates with both power and a heroic feeling like that of the sun. The feeling around him completely opposes the feeling of the grey hooded man. They are like two sides of a magnet. Complete opposites that simultaneously push and pull at each other. Standing between The hooded man and Mica he says ¡°Mica, are you ok?¡± Barely able to stand Mica says ¡°Yeah I ¡®m fine.¡± ¡°Do you remember what I said?¡± Mica shyly nods her head. ¡°Do it before it¡¯s too late. I will hold Lucifer off.¡± Not sure if I am going crazy from the being half dead or reality is truly warping but I see the unbelievable. My savior splits into three identical men. A split second later all three figures vanish from my sight and a shock wave blasts me in the face as a magnitude of explosions erupt from where I almost died. Mica kneels down in front of me and puts one of her hands on my shoulders while blocking the fight scene from view. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have no time to explain.¡± She brings her face closer to mine. Her beautiful blue eyes shine as they moisten with tears being held back. Her speech becomes slower as she emphasizes everything. ¡°Never forget what has happened in this life. Remember your name Deadra. Remember everything!¡± She leans in further and places her lips against mine. The voice from before echoes in my head and says ¡°Deadra remember me¡­ Mica.¡± Warm liquid runs onto my nose as a tear drops from her eye. As she pulls away she looks down at her hands and says ¡°I¡®m sorry.¡± Why did she kiss me? Why does she keep telling me these things? What does she have to apologize to me for? I look down to meet what her eyes are looking at and realize the answer to my questions. Her blade is inserted into my stomach. She kissed me to distract me from the pain. She told me those things so I can bring them with me to the next world. She apologized because she did not want to kill me. Blood seeps out of my stomach as she wrenches the blade from my gut. My body slowly becomes cold as I lose more and more blood. My vision fades as my head becomes lighter. Falling down to the side the last image I see is Mica joining the fight. My mind goes blank as I am pulled from this world into purgatory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First don''t hate on me about Aarushi until you read the next chapter. Secondly That chapter will be out asap(Like five minutes if you some how read the hole thing in a split second right when I posted it.) Thirdly(I know that''s completely wrong but it rhymes!) This is the end of volume one and the next chapter shall start volume two. In volume one there were three arcs. The bird man arc. the Skeleton arc. and the Pyromancy arc. How many arcs will volume 2 have? what will Deadra become? Who is Mica? Who are those two overly powerful beings? What is a "Player"? Why can that grey hooded man named Lucifer able to permanently kill Deadra and end the cycle of rebirth(or so the voice says)? Will Rhea and Lucarus survive? What other races exist in the world of Pyromancy? Find out in... Not volume two... Not volume 3... but eventually(Ok some questions will be answered earlier but some later. Also I do know which Volume everything is explained in, I just don''t want to ruin it.). Yes this is a long long ride we are strapped in for. Fourthly Here is a short story that is NOT real and does NOT pertain to the actual story in any shape or form and should be completely disregarded. *** The golden Eyed monkey watches the desolate scene as Mica finally kills Deadra. He rubs his hands together happily as his plan comes to fruition. He is the destroyer of fates. The master mind who set this all in motion. Did he not bring Deadra and the group to the cave to find that magical Dagger? He knew what images would appear because he put them there. He knew how it would change Aarushi''s life. Yes his ultimate goal was Aarushi. that girl who only saw him as a loveable fluff ball. "I will not only kill her but destroy her future and breeak the fate that ties her and her lover Deaadra. Before I brought them to that cave they would have lived a long and happy life. They would have survived past this day and happily gotten married, had children and died of old age. Of course they would have saved the slaves, but at a later time. Why? They would not have been driven to become stronger as much. they would have taken much longer to get to the town of Twin Trees without the Dagger, and never have met Rhea. They never would have met Mica. Deadra would still tell his secret, but at a later time. He still would have killed the prince, but would have sustained more injuries. He would not ever have gone to that ball on that night. He would never have gotten that deadly dress. Thats right. The evil that killed Aarushi and Deadra was truely the Monkey. He set it all into motion with his fate defying abilities. He destroys realities with his minor changes in the world. He is a god of his own world! *** Ignore everything between the "***" it is just a small fan fiction of my own design. Alright begin the hate mail :( Chapter 23-Frozen Land Chapter 23- Frozen Land The darkness of purgatory surrounds me, enveloping me in nothingness. My pain and anger is partially washed out of me. I am left with nothing but questions. Why did Mica kill me? Why was she able to communicate without speaking? Just what is Mica? Who were those two mysterious men? Are Rhea and Lucarus going to be killed also? Did some of the slaves escape safely? Why did Aarushi have to die? [Pain] Pain isn¡¯t a damn game¡­ the pain of Aarushi¡­ it still hurts¡­ Why wasn¡¯t I strong enough to protect her? [Hugh? It¡¯s that voice again, It sounded almost muffled¡­] Wait is there someone else here? [Die] What? No fuck you! [I¡¯m already dead, why did it tell me to die?] [Nothing] [Is this voice talking to me? Does it even know I am here? What is going on I don¡¯t understand!] [Dream] Those voices¡­ both of them are¡­ mine¡­ I remember last time I was stuck in purgatory, when I came so close to dying during Suzaku¡¯s test. There has never been any one else here¡­ it has always been me, and only me. Maybe I am going crazy and just hearing voices of the past. Maybe somehow all of it is connected. What is purgatory? Why is all of this happening to me? ¡­ I can feel myself begin to fade¡­ I am being reborn. [Deadra] Wait no that was Aarushi¡¯s voice¡­ ¡­ I violently rip into the consciousness of my new body while trying to pull myself into purgatory, mentally reaching toward Aarushi¡¯s voice. To no prevail I am reborn and purgatory is nothing but a faded memory. Why did I hear her voice at the last instant calling my name? Was it my longing to be with her? Is it my own ego trying to replace the emptiness in my heart? I have no way of finding out nor do I have the time, I must focus on my new life since there is no going back. This body is blind and weak. The world is muted due to my small ears. Smell is practically non-existent. The only thing I can do is taste the supple milk from my mother¡¯s teat and feel around my surroundings. Several small warm and fuzzy creatures are contently rolling around me. I presume they are my siblings. I have trouble telling time for I am usually sleeping or drinking milk with very little other activity. I can cry and whine but due to my deafness I am unable to know what I sound like. ¡­ Today I was able to open my eyes and my hearing is beginning to develop. Although my vision is clouded and I can mostly only pick up colors I believe I am starting to learn what creature I am. My fur is grey. I have small paws with tinny little claws. At the end of my snout is a wet black nose. My tail stays curled against my body. I am some type of wolf pup. ¡­ I have been gaining weight rapidly. Pains come from my mouth as my teeth break through the gums. My mother still provides me with milk but now father has begun bringing meat back to the din. My mother will eat some of it before regurgitating it to allow my siblings and I to eat. My siblings and I eat several times a day. Standing and walking around for the first time I explore our din. We live in the side of a mountain in a cave. The entrance is a three foot tall circle that expands into a small room as you go deeper. Grass and straw cover the floor in the back for my siblings and me to rest and play. Due to my continuously improving vision the darkness of the cave does not bother me. My siblings often cuddle for warmth to stay alive. For some reason I do not feel the need to do so because I do not get cold like they do, however this does not prevent me from cuddling with the adorable baby wolves. Rubbing my face against the soft fur of my ken and rolling around in a flood of cuteness fills me with joy and happiness. Living with these adorable creatures helps quell the anger I felt from the last few moments of my last life. Growling, Squealing and Whining resonate though the cave as my brothers, sisters and I try out our vocal cords. As I attempt to howl a high pitch squeak rings from my throat. I can¡¯t wait tell I am old enough to howl at the moon. ¡­ ¡°Rur¡± I release a small baby growl. I pounce at the side of one of my sisters and nibble on her ear. She rolls over kicking and scratching at me as small cute roars echo from her mouth. One of my brothers pounces on top of me pushing me off my sister and nibbling at the side of my neck. A moment later another sibling nocks him off me as we continue to play and wrestle with each other. One of my sisters beckons me to chase her so I do. We get to the edge of the cave before we stop. She makes a small whining and hurries back inside away from the bright white scenery. I follow behind her in pursuit tackling her deeper into the cave. ¡­ A wolf¡¯s senses are completely different than that of humans. Raw meat tastes as good as my favorite dishes from any of my precious lives yet any vegetation tastes bland and unnatural. My hearing is improving at an alarming rate. I can start to hear birds cawing in the sky. When my dad leaves to go hunt I can hear his footsteps in the snow if I concentrate. New and unusual smells fill my snout every day. I am starting to differentiate each of my siblings by not only the way they act and look but also their smell. ¡­ My head and feet are becoming disproportionately large compared to my body. Actually I have noticed that my paws are slightly larger than that of the rest of my ken and I am gaining weight at a slightly faster pace. My tail moves around uncontrollably showing my emotions. When I am happy it will wag vigorously in the air. When I am scared it hides between my hind legs. As I get older and stronger I become more adventurous as do my siblings. Following our parents on a hunt proves to be entertaining and educational. I learned through example of how to hunt, and about the animals of this world. This winter wonderland has a variety of creatures similar to that of earth. The two I have been able to examine the closes would be what I call a viper rabbit and a reindeer. The viper rabbit looks exactly like a normal rabbit. Beady red eyes that stick out from its head watching for prey. White or grey fur and long thin ears help camouflage it in the underbrush and snow. The only difference is their saliva. Viper rabbits have acidic spit, and any organic material that they bite melts into nutrients in a matter of seconds. I learned this one day by playing with one of the dead rabbit my dad caught for me. The reindeer looks like your typical deer with giant antlers. However they are less timid and can use magical. Usually a deer would bolt at any sound made within earshot, but not reindeer. Using their magic to turn invisible they go to inspect the noise. I have learned if you watch the snow they still leave tracks allowing you to know their movements. There are a variety of birds and smaller animals as well, but they are not worth the hunt. On the other hand some creatures are bigger and stronger than us wolves so we always avoid them with our heightened senses. I have not gotten a chance to learn about these creatures yet, but maybe one day when I am stronger I will face one. The techniques for killing in a wolf¡¯s body are pretty simple. All I need to do is run up to my prey without them knowing and then lunge at their vitals. Usually father with snap his jaws closed on the prey¡¯s neck then jerk his head snapping the spinal cord, or ripping open an artery. At four months old my father decided it was time to take my siblings and me out of the cave to hunt with him. This time we are going to learn to catch our own prey. For my species this seems to be normal. My mother will also follow and help us hunt. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The reason we must learn so young is because of what we are. We are white winter wolves. A proud and noble beast. Our speed and strength are outstanding. As I step out of the cave I look up at the snowcapped pine trees. The stars twinkle between the needles of each tree. The snow radiates a small light from the bright white moon. The moon is similar to the one from my first world; however it is about twice the size. The smell of frozen water mixed with pine fills my snout. A small breeze shakes snow from a nearby tree having it land with a slush. As I release a deep breathe a cloud of white precipitation forms in front of me. My mother notices my hesitation and rubs her snout against my face. She takes a few steps forward and ushers me to move forward with her head. I take a step into the cold wet snow with my paw. A wolf print becomes indented in snow. The cold does not bother me in this new body. My mother gives me a pleased look and takes off in a run. After a while my family comes across a small bundle of viper rabbits in the distance. My father and mother look in our direction. They want one of us to attack the group and capture a rabbit. I step up first out of all my siblings. I crouch down lowering my head and slowly approach the rabbits. I try to be as quite as I can but still keep a steady pace. When I am within lunging distance of the rabbits they notice my presence and scatter in every direction. I pounce on top of the nearest rabbit putting my paws on both sides of it stopping its movement. I can hear the pattering of its tiny heart beating fast enough for it to leap from the rabbit¡¯s chest. My jaw wraps around its neck. Warm metallic and salty liquid bursts out and into my mouth as the rabbit squirms in my grasp. I jerk my head and hear a snap as the rabbit becomes motionless and the rapid pattering stops. I carry it back to my family in my mouth. My father and mother both come up and lick my ears. They do not try to take the rabbit but instead ushers everyone to continue moving to find their own prey. After several hours all my siblings eventually catch something however some of them required help from our parents. We get home to the cave when the sun begins to rise. After this I will be able to hunt for my own food. ¡­ I go hunting more often than any of my other siblings. I eat nearly twice as much as them and am growing at a frightening pace. I am already the same size as father while everyone else is about half his size. I wish my family could communicate and tell me why this is happening. The thing I miss the most other than the people I loved would be the ability to have a conversation. I long to hear someone talk to me or to be able to talk to someone else. The most I can do is howl at the moon. Rabbits are no longer enough for me; they are merely a tasty snack as I hunt for my next prey. I have started taking down reindeer single handed. Normally it takes two or three wolves to best these creatures, not because they are stronger than us, but because they outwit us. A deer is large enough to feed three wolves, but for me I can eat it all alone. ¡­ It has been over a year since I was reborn. Our family has left then den and gone back to the pack. I decided to take my own path and become a lone wolf. Not only was my family sad with this decision but the rest of the pack was as well. If my assumptions are right I was a rare wolf that should have been placed as the leader. I am the alpha wolf. I don¡¯t know how often a rare species like me is evolved but I could tell that the other wolves respected me. Before I left the pack the men would often bring me food or follow me on my hunts. The females would often crowd around me. They rub their faces against my own and often cuddle with me as I slept. I believe they wished for me to fornicate with them but I never felt the urge to do so. Because I knew I would not be able to be a good leader and I would not help them reproduce I left to go live on my own. One day everyone was sleeping I traveled far away for many miles escaping from the group. Because I am faster and stronger than them I easily out run the pack. I was able to run for an entire day and night without stopping. Several times I would cross rivers and streams to hide my tracks and sent. I know they are better off without me, but I still feel bad for abandoning them. I do not wish to be tied down by those responsibilities. I want to be free and do as I please. In this world I will carve my own fate. ¡­ Wondering the mountain side aimlessly and alone starts to hurt me deep inside. Even though the wolf pack could not communicate with words or have any intelligent conversations and ideas, they would still provide companionship. They gave me someone to react to and play with. They gave me warmth at night and provided something to bounce my emotions off of. Now all I have left are my own thoughts. I often think of my memories of Aarushi. The times we laughed and played as kids. I remember all the strange accidents that happened to us such as her kissing me half asleep and then freaking out. The time I accidently groped her but instead of getting mad she egged me on to keep going. When I realized I was truly in love with her and we stayed up talking all night hits home really hard. I remember the bad times as well. The time my brother died. The test that Killed Cecelia. When I blacked out and murdered the prince of Twin Trees my whole world changed. The hardest memory of all though would be when she died in my arms. As I think about it tears fall down my face getting encrusted in my fur and whiskers. I wonder aimlessly in this world trying to find purpose. I kill and hunt as I please, but I never stop moving forward. I move west continuously. I don¡¯t know if anything exists that way and I don¡¯t care. I just want to keep moving forward, and never look back again. ¡­ One day while I was drinking water from the river the smell of smoke wafts toward me. The smoke reminds me of a campfire that I would often make in my last world. Due to my highly sensitive nose I am able to detect the direction it¡¯s coming from as easily as a person would detect the direction of noise. Hoping a forest fire didn¡¯t break out I follow the scent rushing over to the location. As I get closer to the origin of the smoke new smells begin to envelop me. The syrup from pine trees and freshly cut wood mix together. I smell cotton and fresh linen being washed. Food simmering in a pot almost being ready to eat causes me to drool. Why do I smell so many familiar things? The Forest pine trees begin to dwindle in number as I gallop through the snow. When I reach a large clearing I find the answer to my question. A small village lies before my eyes. This town is the answer to my loneliness I know it. Now all I need to do is find a way to integrate myself in without causing alarm. I stare up at the rising moon, the night is still young. With my deep and booming voice I release the loudest howl I can muster crying into the night sky. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will now slow down a bit on the posing since I have caught up to and passed what I had post on Fiction press. The rest is still unedited and I will be making changes to the future. for the next few weeks the speed will be at slowest one chapter every three days. but could be as fast as a chapter or two a day. I depends on RL and how inspired I am/ how the small details flow together to keep inconsistency low. any ways welcome ot volume 2, ark 1, chapter 1/ chapter 23 Chapter 24-The Girl Called Alice Chapter 24 - The Girl Called Alice The village that drew me to it with its multiplicity of smells has kept my thoughts busy for the past few weeks distracting me from my previous sadness. However I dare not enter it for fear of being hunted. Several trees are cleared out around and inside the village. There are no walls or gates protecting it, only a small sign with some writing at one side. A small trail from the south goes through the town leading deep into the mountain. There are only a dozen or so houses and a few other small buildings such as a bar or bath house. The houses remind me of log cabins. Smoke floats out from the chimney. A yellow glow emits from the windows at night. Snow from the previous night rests on top of the roof melting away during the day. Anytime a person leaves a house they use a torch to guide themselves in the darkness. Because of my eyes I can see without one. I come near the village when my hunt goes rather quickly. I like to watch the people move around and talk to each other. Because of my extremely sensitive ears I can hear everything they say from the safety of the forest but I do not understand the language yet. Sometimes when I watch the villagers they will glance over in my direction as if they can sense my presence. They have never tried to find or search for me though. Most villagers have predetermined jobs such as cutting down trees or farming. The man that cuts wood for the village interests me the most. He has a large scruffy black beard and short black hair. His grizzled muscles are covered in scars. He wears the brown fur of a bear. He always seems jolly and is very friendly to the other villagers. The rest of the village loves him. He has a small child who will often follows him when he goes to work. I understand her interest in his work because of how impressive his skills are. He can slice a tree down in a single swing. I do not understand how he does it but he will hold the axe in front of his face with his eyes closed concentrating for a few moments. Preparing his swing he sets the axe at the tree to measure where he wants to hit. Then he unleashes a smooth cut through the tree with a single swipe. I find myself coming closer and closer to him as he works every day to get a better look. Often when he finishes cutting trees he will train his body through meditation and some type of yoga. He does lots of humming and moaning while channeling his breathing. His daughter tries to mimic him as he does this. His knowledge of training is vast leading me to believe he must have been some great warrior before having the little girl. For some reason the mother never leaves the home, in fact I have never seen her. Today I am lying about twenty paces from the lumberjack man as he is chopping wood. His daughter is playing in the forest running around aimlessly. I am mesmerized by the strength and skill of the man. He easily cuts through the trees as if they were nothing but air. My attention shoots behind me as something skids over my tail. Shooting up from my comfortable lying position I turn around to see the little girl fall flat on her face in the snow. She must not have seen me in the snow due to my white fur. She pushes herself up with her arms and looks over at me. Our eyes lock. She looks to be about eight or nine years old. Her large confused sky blue eyes pierce into me. A strand of blonde hair dangles out from her black fur hood. Her cheeks are red and puffy from the cold. A bit of snot leaks from her tiny nose. Her lips are open slightly as she scans my face waiting for a reaction. A strange feeling emits from her gaze. She simply stares at me from under her hood. She does not show fear or worry as a giant wolf looks down on her no more than two feet away. I stay completely motionless not wanting to scare her and have her father kill me. She stands up continuing to stare at me. She opens her mouth slowly and says something but I do not understand their language yet. Reaching out one of her hands she inches toward me. Why does she not fear me? I am more than three times her size. If I wanted to I could easily eat her in just a few seconds. Are the people of this world not scared of wolves? Do all the people in this world hold strength like the man chopping down trees? Or is she simply too young to understand that wolves are terrifying beasts? I brush these thoughts aside and focus on the situation at hand. As her hand gets closer I tilt my head down and press my ear against it. I take a step forward and let her pet my head. She makes the noise hugh as a smile wraps across her face. Her other hand reaches out and grabs my ears. The motion of her rubbing my head feels good. It feels so good I begin to make a strange noise that sounds like a mix between a grunt and a cat purring. I step closer to her and nuzzle my nose against her neck. At first she flinches away as my cold wet nose touches her but then she presses her head against mine and begins to scratch my neck. She smells like a fire wood and lilies. After a minute or two of her petting me I hear heavy footsteps coming up from behind me. I shoot my ears into the air. Spinning around I back step behind the girl. Her father approaches with his axe over his shoulder. A look of caution fills his eyes. He yells some commands at his daughter and she runs toward him. He squats down and catches her in his arms then sets her on his shoulder. In a threatening voice he speaks toward me, but it slowly turns into a calmer nicer tone. He turns around and walks back toward the village. The little girl turns my way and waves goodbye to me with a big smile. After they get back into their home I leave into the forest. I travel toward my make shift home. A few days ago I built a new home for myself. Failing to find a cave large enough I make a new type of home. I found a giant tree and burrowed under its roots. Over a few days I decorated the inside with soft grass and leaves. I even attempted to skin a deer and place it inside, but due to my lack of thumbs and weapons it turned into a pile of fur so I skinned several rabbits and built a luxurious bed of fluff and warmth. I put sticks in the ground outside the entrance and slowly build it up. I rolled several rocks around the base forming a pathway to the entrance and building a small wall around the tree. Eventually it looked more like a fort made by a child then something a wolf would call home. It is spacious and warm under the giant tree. The sticks and rocks act as a guard against animals and wind. ¡­ I avoid the village for several days after the girl found me but without it I get bored. Loneliness strikes me as I crave more attention. Eventually I break and go back to the village. I keep my distance for a few more days slowly inching closer and closer each day but still staying within the forest. One day I decide to be bold and alert them of my presence. I howl into the sky. It is a call from a solitude lone wolf crying for companionship. Several villagers turn toward me. I stand between two tall snow covered pine trees. My tail wags from the excitement of them giving me attention causing some snow to fall from the trees. The villagers talk to one another and some of them point at me. I can hear every word they make but still fail to understand them. I wish to get closer to them and learn their language but I fear they will not accept me. Some of the villagers look scared others look confident but a hint of curiosity is in all their eyes. For now this is enough to quell my hunger for attention and friendship. The bearded man stands outside his house with his daughter pulling on his leg. His arms are crossed and he bears a look of frustration. She is shouting something at her father trying to make him move. Kneeling down on one knew the man puts his hand on her head. With a serious tone and expression he tries to explain something to her. The only piece of information I understand from his words is the girl¡¯s name. Alice. Her name is Alice. After a few more moments I run back into the forest. The next day I do the same thing and everyone repeats yesterday¡¯s actions but slightly less fear appears in their faces. Alice once again begs her father to let her come to me but he still says no. Pouting with her arms crossed and stomping her foot to the ground every time she is turned down. I repeat this action every day for ten days. Each time I make sure it is during the day to prevent waking any one up. On the tenth day people simply glance my way then continue with their business. Alice and her father do not leave their house this time. Feeling of defeat comes over me. I need to find a way to attract them more. Since they no longer seem to be bothered by my howling maybe they won¡¯t be afraid if I come closer to the village. The worst thing that can happen is they kill me and I will just be resurrected again. I decide to continue my advance toward integrating into the village. I walk out of the tree line and into the open space between the forest and the village. Keeping my ears open and sniffing my surroundings I keep on high alert. After I get half way between the tree line and the village I sit down. A few villagers notice my presence and stop to see what I¡¯m doing but no one approaches me. When the time comes for the bearded man to cut wood his daughter follows with him holding his hand. When she sees me her eyes light up and she pulls her dad toward me. Not budging from his intended course he doesn¡¯t let his daughter over power him. He calmly picks her up and places her on his shoulder. He never gets closer than ten feet of me as he passes. Alice cries and yells reaching out to me. Why is this little girl not afraid of me? The other children hug onto their parents when they first saw me, but she decided to pet me. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I continue to come to the spot between the forest and the village but I stop announcing my presence. One day I try to enter the village but am shooed off by a group of people. They did not seem too violent but more protective of their kids and homes than anything. I continue doing this for a few weeks slowly testing the boundary of where they will allow me to sit. Listening to the villagers speak and watching their actions every day helps me learn more about their culture. Slowly I learn their language. ¡­ One night while I was watching the village a window from Alice¡¯s house pops open. I see a leg poke out the window and then another. Slowly Alice slides out the window. She looks around then starts running toward my direction. When she gets close I stand up excited to see her. She makes a small squeak and jumps in place. I forgot she can¡¯t see in the dark like I do. After she calms down she holds out her hand. Without even sniffing her I go up and lick her hand. The residue of her dinner still remains. A mix of herbs and spices cover the taste of cooked viper rabbit. She gives me a large grin and pets my head. I step closer to her and put my head on her shoulder. She wraps her arms around the scruff of my neck embracing my head. She seems just as happy to see me as I am to receive the attention. After she pets me for several minutes I lie back down. Rolling over I present my belly to her and she scratches is generously. I now sympathize with dogs kicking their legs in ecstasy as someone pets them. Eventually she sits down next me and leans against my stomach. She holds nine fingers up and says ¡°My name is Alice and I¡¯m nine years old.¡± After that I have trouble understanding everything she says but I get the gist of it. Using me like some kind of vocal diary she lists off everything she did that day. Flailing her arms around as she speaks and giggling randomly as she pats my side. She tells me her feelings and emotions. She opens up to me as if we are lost friends reconnecting after a long separation. She is extremely animated making faces and exaggerating everything so I can understand her better. Her method of communications helps me understand what she says while also teaching me their language more. I enjoy all of the attention and being pet feels orgasmic. Somehow her touch is unusually warm. As she brushes her hands through my fur my skin heats up. Memories of wrapping myself in a blanket fresh from the drier flood into me with her every touch. After about a few hours she stands up to leave. ¡°Goodbye mister wolf. I have to go to bed now. I will try to come out again tomorrow!¡± I lick her face a few times to say thank-you. Her skin is both sweet and salty. She giggles as I lick her. She pats my head and I stop. ¡°Hehe good wolf!¡± She scurries off back to her house. She grabs at the window seal and easily pulls herself back into the house. I decide to head back to my home as well. Ever since I started watching the village I adjusted my sleep schedule to match the humans. Now I sleep at night and wake in the morning. I don¡¯t usually need more than a few hours of sleep before feeling completely energized. The amount of food I eat is still astronomical as I continue to grow bigger. If I had to guess I would be near two hundred pounds already. The weight would be all muscle and bone, barely any fat exists on this body. Somehow alpha wolves are naturally powerful. ¡­ Over the next year she visits me almost every night. Sometimes it is for a several hours sometimes it¡¯s only a few minutes. On a rare occasion she falls asleep on top of me. Other times she will be extremely active and run around. We will wrestle and play. It¡¯s not as rough or aggressive as I did with my siblings, but she is surprisingly agile for her age. On multiple occasions I allow her to ride on top of me as I run through the forest. She is extremely light and doesn¡¯t impede my motion in any way. I have thought of showing her my fort but since it is so far away I decide against it. The forest can be dangerous at night and I don¡¯t wish to be responsible for her. One day she comes out of her window and runs up to me. The smell of cooked meat drifts off of her. ¡°Mr. wolf today was my tenth birthday so my dad made lots of rabbit! I wanted to bring you some.¡± She tosses a small piece of meat in my direction. I catch the piece in the air with a loud humph noise. The meat is more succulent than what I am used to. The perfect blend of spices are cooked into the rabbit meat making it ten times better than the raw rabbit I usually eat. ¡°Oh Mr. Wolf is hungry? If you want more you need to do a trick! Sit Mr. Wolf.¡± I sit down without hesitation. The girl lowers her hands and nods her head in satisfaction. She thinks for a moment then looks at me with a grin. ¡°Wow I didn¡¯t think you would know how to do tricks! Did someone teach you in the past?¡± I want to shake my head no but then she would become more confused about my intelligence instead I only bark ¡°woof!¡± ¡°Shoooosh! Here is your meat Mr. Wolf, but don¡¯t bark or I will get in trouble.¡± She throws me another piece. ¡°What other tricks do you know? How about Lay down!¡± I slide my paws through the snow as I lower my bellow to the ground. I rest my head on my paws giving off a slight whine in attempt to add to my cuteness. ¡°Good job! Here is some more meat.¡± She holds her hand out. I lick up the pieces of meat and any sauces remaining on her hand. She leaves her hand reached out and says ¡°Do you know how to shake hands?¡± In response I place my paw into her hand. My paw greatly outsizes her hand. Her hand is small and fragile looking. My paws are big and strong. They have bits of dirt and snow in the pads and minor scratches from running or digging. Her hands are smooth and soft. ¡°Wow!¡± she moves my paw up and down vigorously. Handing me another piece of meat she gives me a sad look. ¡°I¡¯m all out now Mr. Wolf. Maybe tomorrow I can bring more.¡± She flashes me a smile then runs back to her home. ... The next day as Alice sits on her father¡¯s shoulder while passing me on the way to the forest. Alice shouts toward me ¡°Mr. Wolf Sit!¡± I sit on the spot. Her father slows his pace. ¡°Ok now lay down!¡± I do as she says as her father comes to a complete stop. ¡°Now roll over!¡± Hey now you never taught me that, what do you expect me to do? Whatever her dad seems impressed so far. I should continue following orders. Maybe he will stop hating me. I roll over in the snow covering my snout with snow causing me to sneeze and shake my head. Her father says ¡°When did you teach him something like this?¡± Alice rubs her hands together awkwardly and looks at the ground. ¡°Did you teach it to him at night when you sneak out?¡± Alice darts her head upwards. ¡°When did you find out?¡± ¡°I have known since the very first day. Your old man can use the ability of Sai. It¡¯s the ability to sense life around you.¡± ¡°Wow that¡¯s so cool! Will you teach me something like that?¡± ¡°Of course I will, but first you need to master your Dei wielding abilities.¡± Alice gives a weird look into the distance then she nods her head. ¡°So you¡¯re not mad are you?¡± he shakes his head ¡°Then can I keep Mr. Wolf as a pet?¡± ¡°Hmmph fine but he is your responsibility. You must take care of him.¡± ¡°Hehe come follow us Mr. wolf!¡± After that I follow closely behind them as they go to do their normal affairs. I stay out of the way from their usual affairs but I do inspect everything they do closer than ever before. The big man does his usual training of meditation. He seams to never do any body strengthening exercises, other than chopping down trees and a hauling them back to the village. Alice watches diligently and tries to meditate as well. She doesn''t seem to know how to do it properly. After a while she gets bored and runs off to play, or entices me to play with her instead. During one of the breaks the grizzly man pats me on the head and says ¡°You¡¯re a curious wolf aren¡¯t you. I wonder why you¡¯re so big. More importantly why are you so friendly?¡± I look around my surroundings not sure how to respond to him. Eventually I decide to sit down in place and wag my tail. I need to learn how to communicate my intentions to these people. ¡°Haha good dog, is your name really Mr. Wolf?¡± I shake my head back and forth. ¡°Oh do you know how to answer yes or no questions?¡± Sticking my tongue out I nod my head vigorously. My tail rapidly picks up speed. Perhaps this man is smart enough to fix the communication barrier for me. He places his chin in his hand thinking for a moment. While raising his eyebrows he says ¡°hmmm¡­ interesting¡± As night falls they head back to their home. I follow behind them but stop when they get to the door. As they open the door Alice looks back at me. Ushering me in with her hand she says ¡°Come on Mr. Wolf!¡± It only took a year, but I have successfully incorporated myself into the village. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AN I have good news!(Or bad depending on who you are) there will be NO bestiality in the novel so don''t even think about it! Chapter 25-Fenrir Chapter 25- Fenrir Chewing on a reindeer bone I clean my teeth of leftover meet. I lay in the snow outside Alice¡¯s house as the morning sun rises over the snow covered mountains. I seem to have locked myself out. Continuing to chew on my bone I wait. After a few minutes a rustling noise leaks out of the house. I perk up my ears and listen. I can hear little feet pitter and patter across the wooden floor. A high pitched sniffle and Alice saying ¡°Mr. Wolf¡± follows shortly their after. I bark once to alert her of my position. The door flings open moments later and an excited Alice screams with joy. ¡°Mr. Wolf I thought you ran away! Hurry and come inside for breakfast!¡± I pick up my chewing bone and follow her to the kitchen table. Alice kicks her legs as she sits in a chair at the table. She had quickly finished her meal hoping to be able to play before her father¡¯s morning training she so loved to watch. I lie next to her chewing on the bone of a reindeer. Small tasks such as chewing bones or digging holes are often enough to entertain me in this world. Alice¡¯s father known as Beowulf sits at the wooden table eating his morning porridge. ¡°Dad, can Mr. Wolf and I go out and play?¡± ¡°You know his name isn¡¯t Mr. Wolf right? I asked him yesterday and he told me he didn¡¯t like it. Why don¡¯t you think of a different name for him?¡± Alice gives me a wink and says ¡°Ok how about fluffy!¡± I immediately shoot up from my bone and make a low whining noise while staring at Beowulf. ¡°I don¡¯t think he likes that either. What do you think of Fenrir?¡± Alice puffs out her cheeks making a sour face. ¡°Why would we call him that?¡± ¡°Let me tell you a story.¡± Beowulf sets down his spoon and leans in toward Alice. Lowering his voice to dramatize the story he says ¡°A long time ago the gods gave birth to a wolf. He grew at a terrifying speed so they were forced to lock him up to prevent him from wreaking havoc on the world. However this wolf was strong enough to escape their grasps twice over. The wolf was known to be both cunning and strong. His name was Fenrir. I believe since this wolf here is so large and cunning Fenrir would be a fitting name. What do you two think?¡± I would like it if they could call me Deadra for I want to claim that name as my own through each world, but I have no way of communicating that. I do like Fenrir a lot better than Fluffy though. With that in mind Fenrir is just fine with me. Wagging my tail I bark in conformation of the name. Alice thinks for a moment with a hum while putting her finger to her mouth. ¡°(hmmm) I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I rest one paw on her leg and give her the biggest puppy dog eyes I can muster. With a small whine I try to convey my feelings about the names. Beowulf bellows out with a laugh ¡°Haha, I think he really likes it!¡± ¡°Well I had another name in mind, but since he likes Fenrir so much I guess that will do.¡± She gives me a smile that looks as if she has won some type of debate. Raising one of his eyebrows he says ¡°Oh, and what name did you have in mind besides Fluffy?¡± Alice stops kicking her legs while looking towards the ground with a serious face. Her eyes show a glint of despair for a brief moment before shrugging it off and saying ¡°It¡¯s not important. I don¡¯t want to think about sad things.¡± Beowulf drops his head a few inches and with a sad voice says ¡°You¡¯re right. We need to move on from that.¡± I want to ask them what happened and why they are sad. I want to know what tragic event sprung this depressing atmosphere. What type of tragedy could cause both father and daughter to hang their heads with the mere mentioning of it? Even if curiosity would overcome me I would have no way to ask the question. The only thing I can do is sooth their pain. Pushing myself up on her lap I lick Alice¡¯s ear. My massive tongue being many times larger than her ear coats the entire side of her head in saliva. My saliva goes into her shoulder length blonde hair like gel stiffening it into a spiked position. Half her hair stands on end while the other half rests flat against her face. Alice laughs from being tickled by my soft wet tongue. Beowulf looks up from his hunched poster to see why she giggles. A booming laugh escapes from him as he spots her unusual hair style. I think that will help lighten the mood a bit. ¡°(Hahaha) Fenrir! You¡¯re a good boy aren¡¯t you?¡± he pats the top of my head with his calloused hands. ¡°Now if I remember correctly you two wanted to go out and play. Right?¡± Alice jumps out of her chair shouting ¡°Yes we do!¡± ¡°Alright go then, just be back before noon, I have a surprise for you.¡± As we leave the house Alice rubs the scruff on my neck. ¡°So what should we do Fenrir?¡± Since they already accepted me into their home why don¡¯t I show her mine? I tap the back of her neck with my nose then flick my head toward my back. I repeat this once more. ¡°Do you want me to ride you?¡± I nod my head with a humph. ¡°Ok!¡± I am currently taller than her when I am standing on all four legs. If she was a less agile child I would have to lie down to let her get on top of me, but Alice just uses my fur as hand and foot holds. She nimbly climbs onto my back. I wonder if the people of this world are extremely light and agile like the pyromancers of the last world. That can¡¯t be true because Beowulf is basically like a tank. After she finishes mounting me she wraps her hands around my neck and yells ¡°Ok go!¡± In an explosion of snow I jet off toward the forest. I jump over rocks and weave through trees. The wind flows through my white fur. Alice¡¯s blond hair blows in the wind behind us. As we rush past a group of viper rabbits they scatter in every direction. The trees shake as birds fly away dropping snow from their branches. This snow covered land has an abundance of freedom and natural life. When we reach my make shift fort I slow my pace to allow Alice to admire it from afar. ¡°Wow what¡¯s that?¡± Staying silent I continue to stride closer to the giant tree surrounded with rocks and sticks. Alice jumps down from my back and walks over to the outer rock wall. She caresses one of the rocks as she says ¡°Who made this? It looks like something I would make¡­ given enough time.¡± I energetically spin around in circles barking as I chase my tail. After several spin I sit down and bow my head. ¡°Do you know who made it?¡± Dam I thought if I made enough of a commotion she would realize it was me. I growl for a split second out of spite. Not sure how to get my point across I walk into the entrance. Turning around I bark and flick my head toward the hole. ¡°Is the answer inside? Ok I¡¯ll follow you!¡± she follows closely behind me as I go into my lovely burrow. She follows so close my tail hits her in the face forcing her to pull on it. I make a yelp as she does. ¡°Oh sorry, I didn¡¯t realize it was so sensitive! Hehe¡± she gives off a devilish smile. Dozens of shredded furs and pelts lay across the ground on top of dried grass. The floor is soft like a bed. The walls are dirt carved out by wolf claws. A small pile of meet resides in the corner keeping fresh from the cold air. I lie down in the center of my dwelling and roll around in the plethora of furs. Alice giggles then jumps into the pile rolling around with me. She starts pulling at my hair so I lick and play scratch at her with my claws retracted. We only calm down after several minutes of wrestling around and playing. Due to her small stature and being so young she becomes completely warn out. ¡°It¡¯s so soft in here!¡± she leans up against one of the walls completely out of breath. She puts her hands against the wall sliding her fingers between my claw marks. ¡°Hey Fenrir¡­ did you make this place?¡± I wag my tail unconsciously from the happiness of her finally understanding my accomplishment. I bark once and lick her face to confirm her question. ¡°So does that mean your last master helped build the wall around the tree?¡± I shake my head with a small growl spraying spit into the air. Alice continues to trace the marks on the walls as she speaks ¡°Hmmm¡­ do you want to know why Beowulf is so sad sometimes?¡± I turn my head sideways but stay silent. ¡°The women he loved and the mother of his child died giving birth¡­ The pain still hurts him sometimes but not as bad as it used to. In these past ten years he has been diligently taking care of me. He tells me stories of her all the time. She was kind and giving. She saved him from a dark path and brought him happiness. He often says I look like her. He wants to keep me safe and protect me so he has raised me to become strong. He has taught me many things about life and loss thereof.¡± She takes a deep sigh before continuing. ¡°If you understand what it is like to lose a loved one then you will understand his sorrow.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. All too well do I know what it is like to have death steal the one you love away. Images of Aarushi flash through my mind. A small moan permeates from my lips as I slouch to the ground. ¡°I feel bad for him too. I know exactly what it¡¯s like to lose someone you love.¡± A quite grunt of confusion escapes me. She sounded as though her mother is not the one she misses or the one she loved. Actually what happened to her usual child like behavior? She never acts like this? I want to ask her so many questions. What is the name that made you sad yet you wished to give me? Who is the person you loved and lost if not your mother? ¡°I can explain further another time but for now we should head back to father.¡± After we exit my home she sluggishly climbs onto my back. Still full of energy I run back to the usual spot for her father¡¯s training. Her father is already there meditating. ¡°You two are late.¡± Looking ashamed as she hops of my back she sheepishly says ¡°Sorry dad Fenrir showed me his home in the woods.¡± Perking up in a single instant she swings her arms around while shouting ¡°It was so cool! He built a stone wall and sticks were coming from the ground. He even made a bed inside of it under a giant tree!¡± Unphased by her words he says ¡°Of course he did honey. Now today will be your first day of official training with me. Let me teach you how to meditate.¡± ¡°Really!¡± ¡°haha of course! Now come and sit with your legs crossed as I sometimes do.¡± Alice drops to her butt on the spot and crosses her legs. She looks up to her father with anticipation. ¡°Ok now what?¡± ¡°Patience, let me explain. First fix your positioning.¡± Alice tightens her crossed legs and sets her wrists on her knees with her palms toward the sky. Closing her eyes she takes a deep breath. She reminds me of a Buddhist monk. Sighing deeply before talking Beowulf begins his long winded explanation. ¡°Dei is the living essence of this world. Every living creature has Die running through its veins. Without Dei we would all be dead. A long time ago humans discovered how to manipulate Dei in several different ways. The first and foremost is simple Dei gathering and releasing within your core. Once one masters this they can strengthen their Dei reserves and use stronger forms of it. There are five known branches of Dei. They are Sei Rei Nei Hei and Qei. Sei is the Dei of sight. It allows one to sense the Dei around you and read the flow of it in the world and people. Rei is the Dei of recovery. It can help you heal your body and mind faster through the consumption of Dei. This form of Dei can also be extended outside the body to help heal others, but only slightly.¡± Alice releases a small grunt paying attention with all her little might. Beowulf putting his hand on her shoulder says ¡°we will talk about the rest later, for now let us focus on gathering Dei. The most import one is learning to control Dei.¡± Siting in the most formal position I can I listen to every word her says. He may be teaching Alice, but I plan to also learn from him whether he knows it or not. ¡°Now I want you to breathe in deeply to the pit of your stomach and try to feel the Dei within you. Absorb Dei in the air through your lungs. Concentrate on the power that you feel around you and try to bring it within yourself. You will begin to feel more strength build within yourself. When this happens try to capture the feeling and learn what it feels like. When you finish that we can move onto the next step, Dei wielding. Let me demonstrate while you try to breath in Dei.¡± I take several deep breathes trying to feel the Dei around me. At first I assume it to be exactly like the magic from the pyromancer world but I find that to be a foolish idea. Following his words that the energy is in the pit of my stomach I focus there. As I do this Beowulf continues his demonstration. He stands up from his cross-legged seated position. Walking to a tree he says ¡°Never over use directly controlling and releasing Dei. Over consuming Dei will poison you. Over releasing it will sap the life from your body. Always know your restraints before trying something new.¡± He places his palm on the tree. He makes a quick shout to the air while releasing Dei directly at the tree. The tree explodes where his palm rests. An entire six inch section of tree is eradicated. Splinters fly in every direction as it slowly tumbles to the ground. He didn¡¯t have to do anything but simply release the Dei from his body to knock over a full grown tree. Beowulf rubs his belly as it growls. ¡°It may be powerful but it takes a toll on our body. It steals the very life energy you have, thus you must replenish it via food water and air. Now concentrate on breathing and collecting Dei. Excuse me as I go replenish my energy.¡± He leaves back to his home. I close my eyes and concentrate on my core. I already know that using magic here is different than the previous world because I have tried to use fire many times but failed. What is it that I could do to find the answer faster? We both sit in silence for a long time when Alice breaks my concentration along with the silence as she says ¡°Do you want a hint?¡± Opening my eyes I nod my head. ¡°Imagine the air as being saturated with Dei. Imagine that every time you breathe in some of it absorbs into you and when you breathe out your only releasing air without Dei. Imagine the Dei as being little particles that you can actually feel or touch. The stronger you imagine this the more Dei you can absorb.¡± I do as she says and few breathes later I can feel a slight strength build up within my body. My tail begins to wag. How did she know that I was trying to learn from Beowulf also? Alice puts her hand on my back as she sits down next to me. ¡°Fenrir¡­ did you know I actually mastered how to gather and use Dei a few years ago? I tried learning to use it myself a long time ago while watching father. The only reason I haven¡¯t shown my father is because I¡¯m afraid of what he will think. I am afraid he will get mad that I experimented with it before he thought I was ready. There is a reason he waited tell now to teach me, and that is so I don¡¯t hurt myself. But since I didn¡¯t hurt myself I should be fine right?¡± I nod my head while wagging my tail. She makes a large sigh and says ¡°I am also scared he will look at me differently if he learns I can use it. What if he stops loving me as his daughter? What if he thinks I am some kind of monster? He has said before that people don¡¯t usually master Dei control until they are in their teenage years, and others never learn to use it.¡± She stands up and walks toward the tree that her father dropped to the ground. She places her hand on the trunk. Without making a noise she destroys part of the tree with an explosion much smaller than yet equally as impressive as her father¡¯s. ¡°I know I haven¡¯t mastered it yet, but what do you think of me?¡± I stare at her without a noise thinking within my own head. How can a girl her age be able to do something like that? Who is this girl? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AN: So the results are in. I will not make any poles and will transition from world to world as I please. with that said I hope in the future people will tell me when a story starts to get old. Also If any one want''s to help and edit my work please PM me and we can work out a deal where you will receive the works before everyone else does. Chapter 26-Yeti Chapter 26-Yeti Alice throws a forward punch toward Beowulf. Blocking it with one arm, Beowulf brushes the attack away. Ruthlessly Alice unleashes a six hit flurry of punches each aiming at a different body parts. Beowulf counters each one effortlessly without moving his feet from where they originally stood. Alice pulls back and yells ¡°Try this one old man!¡± She rushes at him like a mad boar. Alice spears her shoulder into his gut with all her might. Her shoulder rests on his stomach for a few seconds before she stumbles back holding her shoulder in pain. ¡°Ouch that hurt!¡± ¡°haha maybe next time you won¡¯t just ram your shoulder into me!¡± Alice squats to the ground grumbling with anger. Digging into the snow Alice shouts ¡°I have one more trick up my sleeve!¡± Alice throws dirt toward Beowulf causing a cloud of dust and making her invisible to him. Alice launches herself off the ground into the air. At the height of her trajectory she begins to spin forward head over heal. As her heal strikes into where Beowulf once stood a burst of air shoots through the area clearing the dirt. Beowulf is squatting with one arm flexed above his head and the other flexed around his abdominal. He is covering himself from attack that come from both above and below, almost as if he knew what Alice was going to do. Not giving Alice time to recover from her attack Beowulf grabs her leg as she still floats in the air. He pulls her toward his stomach and gets her in a bear hug from behind. Her legs and arms are trapped under his massive strength. Alice struggles to escape wiggling her body around and smashing the back of her head into Beowulf¡¯s chest. After a few moments of struggling she drops her head in front of her and mumbles ¡°I give up.¡± Beowulf releases her from his grasp laughing. ¡°haha maybe next year on your seventeenth birthday you can challenge me again! Who know, one day you might actually beat me!¡± Alice is not a weak fighter; in fact in this small mountain village she is only second to Beowulf. ¡°But before that happens you need to get better at wielding Hei and Sei. You may have a very large amount Dei and capacity to wield it, but your skills are unpolished.¡± Ignoring the last bit of Beowulf¡¯s statement she swings her arms around excitedly ¡°I just need more Dei that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°hmph and that will come in time, while you wait you should continue to practice the Dei of hardening Hei and the Dei of quickness Qei.¡± Alice walks over to me and pats me on the head with a smile. We are the same height when I sit down and she stands next to me. This is due to a combination of me being very large for my species and her being very small for her age. ¡°But Fenrir has way more Dei than I do, and he doesn¡¯t know how to use any of the five branches of Dei.¡± Beowulf crosses his arms and sighs ¡°Yes but he is also just a wolf, it is amazing that he can even store the amount of Dei he does let alone use it. Now stop comparing yourself to a wolf for goodness sakes, you¡¯re my daughter!¡± Alice rolls her eyes while continuing to pet my head. ¡°Come now Alice do some meditation while I set up something for your party.¡± Alice gives me a kiss on the nose before sitting down in a meditative state. Beowulf heads toward the village to gather the towns folk and make preparations for her party. Under normal circumstances Alice cooks for the family because Beowulf does not know how, but today since it is her sixteenth birthday she will only need to meditate before she has the rest of the day off. This is my chance to go and get her birthday present that I have been scouting out. I run into the forest toward my destination several miles away. ¡­ Fresh crisp air bites at the tips of my whiskers. I breathe in deeply filling my humongous lungs with the arctic mountain air. The air is thin and wet due to the extremely high altitude. Breathing out I launch a cloud of snow into the air in front of where I lie down. The snow drifts forward shortly before dropping down into the ravine. At the bottom of the ravine sleeps my future prey. Burrowed under the snow is a yeti. They are extremely rare and powerful creatures, but their fur is very valuable. It is immune to all cold and water based attacks and environments. The fur is pierce and strike resistant and creates very strong light weight armor. The fur can be compared to Dei enriched items made by a master craftsman. The price of a yeti¡¯s fur is equal to that of a fine set of armor. This rare fur is the reason I wish to fight it. They are a monster that naturally circulates Dei though there bodies making them freakishly strong. That is why their fur is so tough. They look like large white apes, except they have a second pair of arms. My mind wonders for a moment about the comparisons of this world and my last one. The Magic is the biggest difference. In the last world magic came from the body. It derived from every atom in my body working together. As my body grew bigger and stronger so did my ability to use fire. On the other hand as my magic increased I noticed I would become stronger and faster as well. Each atom in my body had its own bit of power, and when they combined and I would pull bits of energy from each cell I could produce magic or fire. As I used more and more magic I would slowly become physically exhausted like I had been running in a marathon. To use magic I would sacrifice some of the energy in my cells. Because of this my explosive muscle technique was possible, because I would literally sacrifice entire chunks of cells in my body to increase my strength or my speed temporarily. I was literally burning away my body for power. My technique was just taking normal use of power to a sacrificial extreme. In this new world the power radiates out from the world. It flows in and out of all living creatures. Living beings are saturated with this power called Dei, but can¡¯t use the Dei that is a part of their bodies. Instead they have a large Dei core at the pit of their stomach. This core can absorb Dei from the food people eat, or from the air they breathe in. The Dei that is saturated in the body must constantly be replaced with new Dei as it is used up. The Dei core has veins called Dei channels that spread out from it through the entire body. Humans have learned how to manipulate these channels inside the body. The different forms of manipulation they have learned are called Rei, Hei, Qei, Sei, and Nei. Manipulating the Dei in these ways allows it to circulate back to the core keeping you from losing to much Dei. Pushing out Dei directly does make the power of explosions and other things happen but you will permanently lose that part of the Dei. Instead of becoming physically tired from the over use of magic in this world a person will simply become hungry and crave food and also need to breathe in more oxygen. This only happens at minor expenders of Dei, in a more extreme case you will simply die. The Dei core inside of you is the very thing that separates you from being dead or alive. It is your very life. If one has a Dei core then they are alive, if they do not then they are simply dead matter. My attention snaps back to the world as I hear bustling inside the snow below. I see a tan fist surrounded with white fur pop up from a mound of snow at the bottom of the cliff. This is my time to attack. I swiftly pick my body off the ground and prepare myself. I pour the energy from my Dei core into every bone in my body and the tendons connecting my muscles. I strengthen these parts with Dei to harden them and stabilize myself. This is known as Hei. I engulf as much air into myself as I can before pouncing off the cliff side and challenging such a powerful beast for the first time as a wolf. Plummeting to the ground I further examine the situation. The yeti has fully emerged from the snow but luckily does not notice my presence. Rocketing directly toward it I extend my Dei hardened claws. The snow and the yeti¡¯s body will both cushion my fall, and hopefully the impact from my hardened claws will kill him instantly allowing me to skip the fighting sequence. Rapidly I impact with my prey slashing my claws into its hunched back. My front claws pierce through its fur and slice at its upper back. A moment later my hind legs impact its lower back but are unable to piece his fur fully. Crying out in pain the yeti shakes his entire body trying to unlatch me from him. Using my claws imbedded into his muscles like hands griping onto him prevents me from falling off. He reaches toward me with his right arm but I bite at his fingers. The skin on his hands is much softer than the fur coating the rest of his body allowing me to rip at the flesh. Failing to rip me off with one arm he attempts using the other three. This time he reaches two arms below me and the other one above me. I bite at the higher arm and kick the lower ones. His upper arm retreats immediately due to my giant razor sharp teeth that extend several inches. Kicking at his lower arms proves to be mostly futile since I am unable to see them well. One of his arms gets kicked back but the other one manages to grab ahold of my tail. I howl out in shock as he yanks me down with his unbelievable power ripping my claws out from his back. With the same fluid motion of pulling me down he continues the swing of his arm forward launching me toward a wall. Unable to control my flailing body in midair I prepare to hit the wall. I pull the Dei I was storing in my claws and move it into every bone in my body. As I collide with the wall cracks shoot out in every direction as a wolf shaped crater indents into the cliff side. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I can feel slight bruising in my back as I fall to the ground from the crater, had I not strengthened my bones I am sure several of them would have shattered. The creatures in this world are devastatingly powerful. I look up at the yeti and we lock eyes from ten paces away. He is nearly nine feet tall when standing slouched over on his hind legs. In comparison to my seven foot long body, he is only slightly larger. The biggest advantage he has is the extra set of limbs. But due to my previous attack I have the advantage. His two upper hands are both damaged with lumps of flesh carved out, and the upper parts of his shoulders are severely gouged. Blood streams from both his back and hands all over his beautiful silver fur, negating any camouflage he once had. Letting out a war cry the yeti charges toward me. In retaliation I release my own war cry while pouring Dei into my muscles to heighten my speed three fold. This would be called Qei. I focus mainly on the muscles in my legs and jaw to quicken their speed and attack power. Pouring the last bit of extra Dei from my core into my claws and teeth I am fully prepared for the final confrontation. The yeti slaps his upper arms together above his head preparing a hammer strike and pulls his lower arms back to thrust them forward in an open palm strike. With unexpected speed I weave past the yeti through his legs right at the moment of his hammer strike slamming into the ground and palm strike barely missing me. Snow shoots out of the ground as his hammer strike hits, and due to barely dodging I feel a few hairs being plucked from my tail. As I speed past his ankles I take a large bite from his right Achilles tendon. Due to his strong fur being thinner around the bottom of his legs and my Dei techniques I am able to cleanly rip his tendon right off his leg. The taste buds of a wolf are strange. Fresh, warm , raw blood and meat are amazing to me. The pure ecstasy of both disabling my prey and the taste of their flesh is indescribable to humans. I swallow the tendon. The enjoyment of striking the last blow reenergizes me. Turning around to look at the injured yeti as it screams in pain I come across another more terrifying sight. The combined yelling of myself and the yeti has caused an avalanche in the distance that is nearly caught up to both the yeti and I. Because of our constant noises neither of us was able to hear it before it was too late. If I had noticed it earlier I could have climbed up the ravine to safety. For now I do not know what to do, but I do know I should no longer worry about the yeti. Instead I split from the scene and sprint with all my speed down the slope. I can hear the snow behind me enveloping everything in its path. The destructive force of Mother Nature can never be beaten, not even by the powers of the unbelievable monsters in this world. An unstoppable force with no obstacles in its way lunges forward. The snow is like a wave of death hurdling down the mountain killing all in its path. I know that the impact of the built up snow would kill me even if I use Dei to build up the strength in my body. Perhaps if I had ten or twenty more years to train I could withstand such a force, but not in my current state. Clearing all other thoughts on my mind I focus purely on increasing my speed. I pump more Dei from my core then I would normally allow myself. I can feel the very strength and hunger in my stomach drain out of me as I move Dei to the muscles of my legs. The speed of a wolf is already amazing, but with enough Dei to make my speed become ten times faster than normal, the very world around me begins to blur. I cannot see what is in front of me and blindly charge forward hoping to escape the horrible snow behind me. Is this the last moments of my life in this world? Will I be leaving Alice and Beowulf behind? Will I be force back into purgatory once more? As these thoughts pass through my head I notice something. The sounds of avalanche behind me have lessened. I slow my pace while pouring the Dei back into my core to both conserve energy and prevent myself form passing out. I turn around to see the avalanche still coming, but it is very far in the distance. If I didn¡¯t have the superior sight and hearing of a wolf I wouldn¡¯t be able to notice the avalanche at all. I can¡¯t believe I was able to move as quickly as I did! My speed is terrifying. I can¡¯t even control it yet. I do not know if it is because of my mastery of Dei or because of the creature I am, but I am extremely thankful. Having acquired more time I decide to climb up the side of the ravine to avoid the avalanche. I perch myself at the top and stare down to examine the sight. The valance passes by me taking everything with it. After a minute of watching the snow flow like a river it stops and something catches my eye. A tan pair of hands sticks out from the center of the snow. I rush over to it and pull the yeti out. I check his heart beat with my ear to his chest. He appears to be dead. I slump him over my back after a minute of fumbling him around. I race of towards the direction of the village with Alice¡¯s birthday present on my back. ¡­ I arrive at the village to see everyone gathered around Alice¡¯s home. I go to the front of the house and am greeted by Beowulf. ¡°Fenrir! I see you brought back a marvelous gift for Alice. She will love it! I will make sure she knows it is from you!¡± I bark happily and wag my tail. Then I look around for Alice but do not hear or see her. ¡°Looking for Alice? She is in the forest somewhere. Why don¡¯t you go grab her, the party is almost ready and we just need her now.¡± I nod my head and shoot toward the forest. For some reason in the back of my head I get an ominous feeling. Something bad is about to happen. After I get away from the village I pick up on Alice¡¯s sent. She is back at my old make shift home. When I get near it I can hear her humming to herself from inside. I crawl into the building to see Alice lying on her back with her eyes closed. I sneak up to her and lick her face. Alice shoots up with a thumping heart. ¡°Holy crap Fenrir you scared me!¡± I bark back happily. Even now as a wolf I still love to tease and mess with my friends. ¡°You¡¯re a really special wolf aren¡¯t you?¡± Alice strokes my fur. ¡°I haven¡¯t been here in such a long time. You and I never sit and talk like we used to before we took you in. I feel like all we have been doing is training. What I really want to do is go on an adventure, but I can¡¯t do that until I beat Beowulf in a fight or he dies.¡± Alice looks down sadly. ¡°I really hope I beat him in a fight soon!¡± I give her a bark of encouragement. I know that one day her and I can explore more of this world. Just not now, we still need to get stronger. Thinking the conversation is done I start to usher her toward the exit but she waves her hand in front of her face. ¡°Hold on a second, I want to talk a little more, I have something I need to tell you!¡± Alice shuffles her hands around ¡°I¡­ Well I have lived¡­¡± Alice is suddenly cut off when the tree around us shakes and the earth moves beneath our feet. A terrifyingly loud roar echoes through the hole from high in the sky. Alice and I rush outside to see what is happening. A giant read blur soars above the tree tops. As it rushes past us the wind from its wings throws everything around. I am forced to dig my claws into the ground so I am not blown away and Alice clings onto me. Several smaller trees fall over as he rushes past us. Another booming roar emits from the red blur and shakes the ground beneath us. I cringe in pain as the over baring noise rattles my eardrums. After the blur passes Alice and I look at each other completely awe struck. Alice jumps onto my back and yells ¡°I don¡¯t know what that was but it¡¯s headed toward the village! We need to hurry!¡± Following her command I rush toward the village. Halfway to the village the smell of smoke and burning meat fills my nose as fear rises up in me. I hope everyone is ok. What on earth was that creature? ¡­ When we finally get to the forest clearing and within view of the village we see the village as it normally is. Only one thing has changed. Everyone is missing. The normal sounds of people running about has stopped. Their voices have quitted. The only one who still stands in the village is Beowulf. Alice jumps off my back while asking ¡°where is everyone?¡± ¡°They are leaving the village heading south. I am going to stay behind to try to stop¡­ or at least slow down the beast. I heard its cry¡¯s and I knew exactly what it was.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The bane of man. The death of kingdoms. The destroyer of nations. It is a dragon.¡± Beowulf¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°It is hear! You must leave now!¡± Beowulf throws Alice back on my back. Without looking I run south with all my strength as the deadly roar of the dragon echoes behind us. I run for not only my life but Alice¡¯s. Chapter 27-Dragon Chapter 27- Dragon I run at full speed away from the heat of the battle as Alice tugs at my fur trying to force me to turn around. We are already back in the forest and far away from the village. Behind me I can hear the battle start. The dragon breathes in heavily before unleashing a scorching barrage of flames. I not only hear the very earth burn up and the life sizzle out of everything green but the heat radiates through the trees hitting my back as I flee away. Beowulf¡¯s war cry¡¯s echo out as the heat dies down reassuring me of his survival. ¡°Fenrir you need to turn around! We can¡¯t leave Beowulf behind! We can¡¯t let him die!¡± literally screaming and kicking my sides Alice puts up a fight, but I am far too determined to keep her alive to give into her whining. I must not let her die. Everyone I ever care about die¡¯s around me as I am forced to move on to the next world as if nothing happened. I can¡¯t allow a repeat of what happened with Aarushi. I must make sure Alice survives. ¡°Fenrir put me down! You can run but I don¡¯t want to!¡± I don¡¯t care what you want! You are not like me. If you die you die for good. Calming down and resting her head on my back I can hear small sniffles as tears mesh into my fur. ¡°I can¡¯t lose someone else I care about Fenrir.¡± As Alice cries into my back I catch up to the other villagers. I approach one of the one¡¯s I recognize and pat my nose against the back of their hand. When they see Alice they gather more villagers to help her off of me. ¡°Alice you need to stay here with us, we are headed south.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your father; he is stronger than you think.¡± As the villagers calm Alice down I give a small bark to catch her attention. I glare into her eyes trying to translate my intentions to her. After another moment I bolt back toward the dragon. Alice screams out ¡°Please make sure to come back alive! Do whatever you have to too survive!¡± I can almost feel her reaching her arm out towards me as I run back to help Beowulf. ¡­ I don¡¯t know how I can fight this dragon, but I can¡¯t leave Beowulf behind. I know my species does not have any type of resistance to fire, only cold. If I am caught in the dragon¡¯s breath I will be burned to a crisp in a matter of seconds. If he catches me in his claws then I might be able to withstand the pressure from him crushing me with Dei or I might just die in an instant. If he catches me with any part of his body without me fully activating my entire Dei I will die. The only thing I know Dei will not help me with is the dragon¡¯s fire breath. Basically if I am hit once then I will die, unless somehow I get lucky. As I arrive near the village I look around at the destruction. All the snow has melted away into nothing, not even a puddle. Several buildings have been knocked down and destroyed, and even more were on fire. Most of the trees surrounding the village were ablaze while the ones not on fire had fallen over into the snow. The ground in several places had been torn up and split open. The very earth would be scared from this fight. The only thing I do not see is the dragon or Beowulf. Had he already won? Or did he lose and the dragon flew off? Where could they be? These questions are all answered in one instant as Beowulf plummets from the sky like some Greek god descending from the heavens. His fist slams into the ground splashing rock and dirt everywhere. He is covered in golden armor from head to toe. Imbedded in the ground with his fist is a giant golden shield with a dragon¡¯s body carved into it. His other hand wields a six foot long glowing blue double edged sword. Under the armor is his normal set of clothes. In a single motion Beowulf stands from his crouched position wrenching his shield above his head. Red flames pour from the sky onto him. The shield repels the flames like a rock in a stream of water. They part on each side of him arcing around in every direction. The earth below him turns black but Beowulf still stands strong. The dragon lands with a thud putting Beowulf between it and myself. As I stand frozen to the spot my blue eyes widen in fear. His head alone is the size of my entire body. The jet black claws could spear through me. His iron hard Die infused scales seem to be impenetrable. The red scales shine in the light like a crimson armor. His wings stretching outward block the sun out. Spikes protrude from his back. His tail flails around behind him knocking over trees like toothpicks. His orange eyes with a vertical black slant in them seem to pierce the soul of anyone who sees him. I become entranced by the presence of this great creature. The shouting of Beowulf breaks me from my stare. ¡°Fenrir, it¡¯s good to see you! I am not as strong as I once was and need someone¡¯s help to slay this beast!¡± Looking over Beowulf I see blood dripping from his brow. His usual clothes are charred black, and the upper portion of his shirt is ripped off. How has he been able to still stand? ¡°On the left flank of the beast I have been able to chip a few of his scales off. I only need to land one final blow there and I should pierce his heart.¡± The dragon swipes his tail over where Beowulf stood, but his reflexes are even superior to my own and he is able to dodge the dragons attack. Continuing with what he said as he runs toward the dragon he shouts ¡°Fenrir, I need you to distract the beast while I gather up more Dei.¡± Instead of attacking he slides under the dragon into a pile of snow as the dragon jumps into the air to prevent him from touching his weakened spot. As the dragon flaps its massive red wings and rises into the air he shoots an orange flame from his mouth at the pile of snow he was standing on. It all melts away to reveal Beowulf raising his shield to guard against the flame attack. I do as he says and attempt to distract the dragon. I howl at it from a distance and charge toward where it decided to land. The beast notices me in an instant and swats at me with his claws. He is incredibly fast for his size and I am forced to use everything I have to maneuver around the claw. I dodge it by sever feet but am still pushed back from the wind pressure he created. The ground where his claws passed over rip open and tear apart. If he simply grazes me I will die! He attacks with his other claw a second later giving me almost no time to react. This time he slams his palm into the ground, indenting the ground and causing a huge shock wave in every direction. I am flung further back into a building. Before I make impact I coat my entire body with Dei allowing me to be injury free even though I break through the burning log wall of the house. Not wanting him to take his focus off of me I burst out from the hole in the wall and howl once more. He is already building up his breath when I emerge from the building. Like a flame thrower on steroids the dragon blows fire several feet tall directly at me. I am completely covered in fire from head to tail. I can feel the flames scorching my fur and burning the earth around me. The ground turns black as it turns to ash. All my surroundings combust into flames as my vision fades. I feel no pain due to the adrenalin running through my body. I don¡¯t know what it feels like to burn because in the last world I would never feel pain from fire. And now I will not find out because I can feel myself fading away, I can feel the very breath being stolen from my body as the heat envelopes me from the outside. I simply close my eyes and wait for it to end. As the flames from the dragon diminish I stand completely still focusing my vision. I am alive? In fact I am completely unharmed by the flames? The only reason I felt like I was fading was the lack of oxygen I was breathing. How can this be? What kind of being am I? Stolen story; please report. I look around to see Beowulf in a meditative state past the tree line. His eyes are closed so he cannot see the battle between the dragon and I, and he has no Idea that I just survived the flames or that I even got touched by them. Either way I need to let him gather his Dei and keep the dragon distracted. The dragon leaves his mouth open for a second after releasing the last bit of his fire. I don¡¯t have time to react to it this time, but next time he breathes fire I shall strike the inside of his mouth. But tell then I will attack the place where his scales are chipped off. I charge toward the dragon¡¯s weak point with determination. The dragon sees I am still alive and bites down at my body. I quickly dodge away from his monumental teeth toward his injured side. Powering all my strength into the attack I slice into his flesh. It merely grazes him leaving a few small claw marks. He makes a quick grunt before jumping into the air while blowing down flames onto me. The flames have little effect on me. The biggest problem they make is the heat blurring my vision and absorbing the oxygen in the air. Somehow I am resistant to fire. If the beast was not in the air I would charge in to attack his weak spot once more, although the fire does not hurt me, I will stay away from his sharp teeth. After raining down flames for almost a solid minute the dragon lands in front of me. A deep voice pierces into my mind. ¡°Little one, I do not know how you keep dodging my attacks, or how you survived my flames, but why do you attack me? We are one and the same. We are both born from this world. Your kind usually hates humans just as much as mine.¡± In my own head I think aloud ¡°Did the dragon just talk to me?¡± ¡°Of course I can, I am one of the all-powerful beings of this world. I know you are a lowly creature but you should instinctively know to avoid me. Why do you fight me now?¡± ¡°Humph it is to protect the ones I love. I can¡¯t let you kill these people any longer.¡± ¡°haha like you have the power to hurt me! Your last attack barely tickled. This time I will make sure you have no way of escaping!¡± The dragon charges at me for the first time. He slashes both claws down on top of where I stand but I dodge backwards. While I still float in the air the dragon tears dirt from the earth and flings it at me. The boulder like clumps of ground hit me sending me further into the air and blocking my vision of the dragon. The next instant the rocks shatter into a million pieces sending me flying further and faster in the air. I am flying far above the town unable to control my body. I can see the dragon down below preparing a large breath of fire aimed at where I am going to land. As I rapidly descend I see a flash of gold inter the corner of my vision before the flames blind me and I hit the ground with a hard thud. I am unable to move. My breath was stolen from me as I slammed into the ground and the fire is eating any air that I try to grasp. I can¡¯t breathe. I can¡¯t move. All I can do is sit and wait for the dam flames to end and for my lungs to finally fill with fresh air. My vision turns white from lack of oxygen, but I am unable to move. I simply lay there for several seconds until the flames dissipate. Pulling in air I lay motionless. After few deep breaths I look up, my vision still blurred. As my vision finally comes back to me I see the dragon¡¯s body fall to the ground. Beowulf stands with half his body facing away from me inside the dragons mouth. The glowing blue blade is piercing out of the dragon¡¯s skull. Beowulf lowers his head and mutters ¡°Dam, I was too late to save Fenrir.¡± He collapses to the ground. I rush over to see him and am horrified when I reach his body. He did not have half his body facing away from me, half his body was missing. The only reason he can still live now is because of the round shield he had covering half his body. The other half is missing, and where it would normally be connect is charred black preventing him from bleeding out. As I approach him I lick the non-burnt portion of his face. With what is left of his mouth he forces a small smile. ¡°Fenrir¡­ you survived¡­ thank goodness¡­¡± with his only remaining arm he points at the blue sword. ¡°Please give that to my daughter for me¡­ it is the lunar blade¡­ I love both of you.¡± The last breath of Beowulf leaks out of him as he passes on. I grimace at the loss of someone I cared about so much and a single tear falls from my eye onto his face. In my mind I say ¡°thank you for everything.¡± I climb into the dead dragon¡¯s mouth and grip the giant blue blade¡¯s handle with my teeth. I slowly pull it out of the dragon¡¯s skull as I back out of his mouth. The sword is much heavier than I predicted. I can¡¯t hold it up right and am forced to drag is along the ground as I walk. It is nearly six feet long. I can feel an energy radiate from within the very metal. The great sword also holds a white spherical crystal at the base of the blade. I flip it around once in my jaw as I swipe it against the ground. This blade is amazing! Not in the mood to play around I simply turn from the spot and rush forward with the blade in my mouth toward the villagers. The smell of smoke blocks out my ability to smell Alice and forces me to locate them by guessing their location. After I am an hour away from the village I can begin to hear footsteps in the distance and sprint in that direction. When I get to the noise I find the village people. As I search though the villagers who are now used to my presence after many years living in the village one of them speaks up and says ¡°Alice is over in the front.¡± He points toward the direction that everyone is walking. I walk toward the front until I find Alice. When I spot her I nudge her lower back with my head. She turns around and with a big smile that fades away slowly when she sees the sword. She stops walking and falls to her knees. ¡°Fenrir¡­ Does this mean Beowulf is dead?¡± I set the sword down and nod my head. She grabs a hold of my head and starts to cry. ¡°Why does everyone around me end up dying?!¡± I lick her face a few times trying to brush away her salty tears. After several minutes she pulls back and looks me in the eyes. With one hand she shakes a pointing finger at me. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare die from anything but old age, got it?¡± I give a loud bark as conformation. This is one promise I intend to keep. One of the villagers intrudes and says ¡°I don¡¯t mean to interrupt, but is the dragon dead? Can we go back home?¡± I nod my head. He shouts the news to everyone else who then slowly turns around and head back toward the village. Everyone else starts to go back home except for one person. An elderly woman turns to Alice and says ¡°Are you coming back to the village?¡± Wiping away her tears Alice shakes her head. ¡°I have nothing there for me. Instead I plan to travel the world.¡± She looks up at me from her kneeling position and says ¡°will you come with me?¡± Without responding I lower my head under her armpit to pick her off the ground. Raising her off the ground I lower myself and display myself in a fashion similar to a hoarse. She understands what I am saying and picks up the blade before jumping on my back. With a constrained voice mixed between sorrow and excitement Alice points her finger toward the south while yelling. ¡°Forward to a new adventure Fenrir!¡± Chapter 28- Adapting Chapter 28- Adapting Running endlessly down the snow pact mountain with Alice and the Lunar Blade on my back slowly whittles away at my strength. Each time I step my feet press deep into the snow, forcing me to pull my legs high with each passing moment. The blizzard snow around us blurs my vision. Alice tightly grips my back with her arms and legs rapped around me. The muscles in my legs and back begin to ache and creak with every movement. Night has long since passed as the crescent moon is high in the sky. I continue to search for shelter so that Alice can sleep and I can rest my legs for a little while. I have been in nonstop motion since training the previous morning. I went from fighting the yeti, to running for my life from an avalanche. Then I carried the massive yeti for a few hours back home to be forcibly launched into another life or death battle against a dragon. To finish the day off I have been carrying the skinny but toned fifteen year old Alice and the giant six foot blue Lunar Blade for several non-stop hours. Even though this body can withstand not sleeping for a few days, pushing myself to the limits for almost twenty straight hours has finally taken a toll. I can feel every muscle in my body. The bruise from breaking though the wall when I was launched by the dragon hurts every time Alice bounces on top of it. However even with all of this I shall not show any weakness, I will become the rock in Alice¡¯s life to prevent her from being further burdened from the death of her father. I want to slow down from my steady and fast pace but I can¡¯t show weakness. As these thoughts pass through my mind Alice¡¯s grip on my fur begins to loosen and I can feel her slipping. I slow my pace and eventually come to a stop. Alice seams to not notice at all or even attempt to remove herself from my back. I try to turn my head back to look at her but as I do this she falls to the ground. I panic for a moment before realizing she is merely sleeping. Unable to find shelter I quickly dig a hole into the snow and place Alice within it. I wrap myself around her in attempt to keep her warm. With exhaustion catching up to me I close my eyes and fade into a deep slumber. ¡­ I awake with a heavy weight all over my body. I raise my head shaking off the snow that enveloped me. Barely poking my head out of the foot of snow that wrapped around us I look around. The glorious rays of sunshine cover my face warming my furry face. Taking a deep breath in I can smell running water in the distance. I should take Alice to this spot when she wakes. I push off the ground in an attempt to stand up but am stop by a squeak from below ¡°No don¡¯t leave!¡± I look down to see Alice smiling brightly at me with her arms wrapped around me as far around me as she could make them. ¡°Even though I am dressed up like this I would still get cold at night if it wasn¡¯t for you¡­ thank you Fenrir, I don¡¯t think we have cuddled up like that for a few years!¡± As she finishes speaking she rubs her rosy cheeks against the fur on my chest. I lick the top of her forehead knocking off her grey fur Russian hat revealing her golden blonde hair that now sways down to the middle of her back. She giggles as she looks up at me with a brimming smile. ¡°Ok fine let¡¯s go!¡± she grabs her hat as she stands up and brushes the snow off almost every part of her body. Feeling fully rejuvenated I usher her onto my back along with the Lunar blade. It takes only a few minutes to reach the source of water. As we approach it Alice shouts in excitement ¡°Water!¡± and jumps off me to rush over for a drink. The river has the top half frozen over, but I found a small water fall that still has water flowing out form below some ice. It looks like a giant frozen sink. Cold water shouts out of a spout of ice and falls into a small frozen drain before continuing under the frozen barrier. ¡°So where should we go to Fenrir?¡± I make a slight groan showing my confusion as well. ¡°Well before the dragon was defeated everyone said we should head south toward the great planes. It is supposed to be warmer there and also several larger villages exist. In fact if we travel far enough south to out of the forest we can find Beowulf¡¯s child hood home! Let¡¯s go there!¡± I nod my head in agreement. After getting some more water I try to have Alice wait where she is while I search for food. But in the end she doesn¡¯t understand and comes along with me. I get very lucky and find a reindeer in just a matter of minutes. With my collection of new skills I am able to kill it without it having a chance to fight back, even with Alice slowing me down. Alice doesn¡¯t slow me down because she is dumb, or a bad fighter, but because she is a terrible hunter. After I kill the beast I rip it into separate pieces and hand one to Alice. She waves her hands in front of her. ¡°I can¡¯t eat raw meat like you can, we need to find a way to cook it! I know I was never a great hunter, but I used to go camping a lot before you met me. Let me look around for something to make a fire!¡± After a few minutes she makes a fire from some broken tree branches and twigs by grinding some rocks together to make sparks. When I moved in with Alice and Beowulf she would always make the most succulent food. I always thought Beowulf cooked but in reality he would burn anything he touched. I wonder where Alice learned to cook? In fact she had a lot of mysterious skills that I have no idea where she learned them, such as sowing. No one else in the village knew how to sow, but she would be the girl who would patch up or fix any fabric. For a while I thought it might be from her mother but she died giving birth to Alice. Alice was a very mysterious girl who would have childlike emotions and curiosity about the world, but also would act far to mature for her age at times. After we both had our fill of food Alice climbed back on top of me and I ran further down the mountains. After a few hours of silently running Alice began to talk to me. ¡°We haven¡¯t talked just you and me in years¡­It¡¯s just you and I now isn¡¯t it?¡± I continued to stay silent and run as fast as I can. ¡°I know you have your own secrets, and I really wish you could tell them to me¡­Maybe one day I will tell you all of mine as well?¡± I make a slightly confused grunt. What kind of secrets could she have? I met her when she was still a small child, and even now she only barely turned fifteen. ¡°haha so your curious about my secret? Trust me its bigger than anything you have ever heard before! But I won¡¯t tell you until you show me one of your secrets. No wolf should be as smart or strong as you. Just admit it, in reality you¡¯re a human! You can totally transform from human to wolf! That¡¯s how you were able to make that fort when I was younger, or why you can understand our language! So if you¡¯re secretly some type of transformer just tell me, or show me! Because if that¡¯s true then my secret is so much bigger!¡± I make a disgruntled snort to let her know how wrong she is. I can¡¯t escape the body of a wolf, and I don¡¯t know if your secret could ever beat mine. My secret transcends worlds. It is something that goes across dimensions. It is something I could bring to my grave and then have it still hold meaning and reason to keep thereafter. Any secret you possess will fail for the need of secrecy at the coming of your death. ¡°Don¡¯t use that tone with me! You can¡¯t judge my secret until you know it! Also you just proved to me that you have your own secret, so I won¡¯t be telling you anything!¡± I make a slight whining noise in my own misconduct. Dam, I think I messed up on finding her secret out. Honestly I would tell her mine if I had a way to do so, but the only way I would know of to tell her is by writing it down, and I have no idea how to write in this world¡¯s language. ¡°Ok fine, if you at least show me a new part of yourself or something then I will tell you my secret, but until then I will not tell you anything!¡± After that she only talks about random things, and sometimes there are long periods of silence. ¡­ Several months pass of us traveling south. Each passing day the weather becomes warmer and the snow fall weaker. Eventually we stop seeing snow all together. Alice slowly lost more and more clothes eventually only keeping her long pants, fur boots, and a light white t-shirt. She got rid of her mittens, Jacket and coat, top layer of pants and also her fur hat. Every few days I would bring her to a river to wash herself and clothes while I would go hunting. The forest is still thick even though the ground has begun to level out. We have finally gotten to the forest planes and out of the mountains. Even the wild life has changed. Creatures here have far less fur and more reptilian species are being found. We find what looked like some type of mixed creature. It had a large shell on its back that is lopsided and dented from several attackers. Two large dagger shaped spikes protrude out of its skull toward the sky. It has a long neck covered by hard leathery skin. Its hooves were big and heavy. The creature is covered in green and black leather skin. Its tail is of equal length and girth of its neck. The thing stands ten feet tall and probably twenty feet long. It is massive enough to feed us for a few days, and the hard shell would be a useful sled to carry things behind me. Alice and I surround the creature ready to take its life. I stand in front of it and she stands behind it. I charge in first and scratch at its face but it quickly blocks my attack with its horns. The horns on its head are able to easily withstand the strike of my Hei hardened claws. Alice comes from behind and slashes the back of its ankles with the giant Lunar Blade that easily cuts through its flesh. The beast completely ignores the gash in the back of its leg and instead strikes at Alice with its tale while pushing me away from it with its horns. It lets out an earth shattering, but low bellow that forces me to cover my ears in pain. I look over to Alice to see that she had dropped her sword and is covering her ears also. The beast start stomping the ground as hard as it can shaking the earth around us while continuing to release its tremendously loud cry. It lashes out further by thrashing its head and tail around preventing us from continuing to attack it. After a few moments it calms down and I unleash another attack scratching out a large claw strike directly under its right horn and over its eye. Three gashes are cut open, two over its right eye and one slightly under its right eye. I bring in my other claw to strike lower at its neck but am stopped early as something bashes against my ribcage. From the unexpectedness of the attack I failed to put Hei into my body. I fly into a nearby pine tree breaking it in half and ripping it out from the ground. As I impact the tree my ribs scream out in pain. Standing up I fall back down from the pain of my broken ribs. Looking over to the turtle like creature I see my attacker. A guy holding a large wooden bat with a rock tied to the end stares angrily at Alice who is on her knees with a katana at her neck. The women holding the katana says ¡°Why are you attacking the behemoth?¡± ¡°Why are you stopping us? What¡¯s a behemoth?¡± While patting the turtle like creature the guy with the giant club says ¡°This thing is the behemoth, and he is our village¡¯s sacred beast.¡± Alice thinks for a second before speaking. ¡°If we promise to stop attacking the behemoth will you let us go?¡± The two glance into each other¡¯s eyes. The man makes a slight grunt before saying ¡°She is just a kid.¡± ¡°Normally we would kill any who attack the sacred beast, but we can forgive you this once since you didn¡¯t know. However I must let the chief know of this and he will figure out a punishment instead.¡± The girl removes the katana from next to Alice¡¯s neck and nods her head before putting her blade away. Her eyes continuously scan Alice and I. Even with her weapon put away she doesn¡¯t drop her guard. ¡°What brings you and this alpha wolf down from the north?¡± Standing up and brushing herself off Alice replies. ¡°The wolf is named Fenrir, he is my best friend. And our village was attacked and destroyed by a dragon so we decided to go on an adventure instead. We have been hunting for food every day, and when we saw this creature we had hoped he could feed us for a few days.¡± Following in suit with the other girl Alice examines the two people. ¡°Who are you?¡± The guy says ¡°We are village scouts also known as guards. We protect the village from intruders. We were on patrol when we heard the behemoth cry out for help and rushed over to save it.¡± Alice thinks for a moment before saying ¡°Could we visit your village?¡± The girl looks over to the guy. He shakes his head before saying ¡°You can, in fact you must to meet the chief. But your pet can¡¯t.¡± His voice is filled with distain. ¡°What! Why can¡¯t I take Fenrir?¡± An angry scowl covers her face. ¡°Is there any way I can bring him into the village with me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not up to us. Talk to the chief.¡± Both the guy and the girl start to walk away. The girl wielding the katana turns her head back toward us and says ¡°You can follow us back to the village now.¡± Alice picks up her blade and I pick up my body but fall back down in pain. She rushes over to me and says ¡°Fenrir are you ok?¡± I can¡¯t let her become angry at these people, I need to let her get to the village. I nod my head and force my way through the pain back into a standing position. I slowly follow behind the two strangers. We follow them for about an hour before they tell Alice that she must leave me behind. She gives me a hug and tells me she will be back as soon as she can. I decide to rest and curl up by a tree and fall asleep. When I wake up it is already morning again. Somehow I slept throughout the night. I look around and see nothing of Alice. How would she still be at the village after all this time? Did the village chief do something to her? No I can only believe she is ok. Due to my broken ribs I decide to not go hunting or do much of anything else, instead I focus on my Qei abilities. I try to pour it into my broken ribs to see if I can quicken the effect of healing, but I do not know if this is effective or not. After a few hours of experimenting with Dei through my Qei and Hei abilities Alice finally arrives again. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for making you wait so long, but I had to do a lot of things first. If you want to enter the village you must be wearing this chain.¡± She places the chain around my neck, and instantly I can feel the strength of the Dei within it. There is no way I can bite though this chain, it is truly a leash that will restrain me. ¡°I¡¯ll explain on the way, let¡¯s go!¡± We start to head toward the village as she holds the other end of the chain wrapped around my neck. This feels like a master walking their dog, only I am a wolf several hundred pounds heavier than any dog. ¡°Fenrir, you must be a good boy while we stay in this village. Most of the residents are regular people like the ones from our last village, except this is more of a traveling spot for adventures due to the rare monsters in the forest. They tend to avoid our area because of the cold weather, but not this place. Several very powerful people reside here. I met the village chief and he lent me money to be able to buy this chain and a few nights at an inn. He is holding onto the sword until I can pay him back along with interest for attacking the Behemoth. I am currently working as a wench in one of the taverns.¡± The forest begins to clear slowly as we near the village. ¡°Once your fully healed and I pay off my debt we will leave this village and continue south in attempt to reach a larger safer town.¡± I guess she didn¡¯t except my bluff of being ok. The village is finally in sight. It is much larger than the one we used to live in. There are dozens of houses and a few larger buildings, possibly some type of bar or convenient store. The buildings are made of a combination of wood and metal spokes. As we approach the village the man from yesterday and some other guardsman are in front of the village gates. The man from yesterday approaches us to inspect the chain around my neck. He tightens it to an uncomfortable grip around my neck, but I can still breathe normally. Alice then guides me through the village gates. The village is surrounded by large Iron fences, similar to a thousand poles extending from the ground welded together by an iron strip near the top and the bottom. The tips of the long poles are filled down to a point to prevent one from climbing over it. The gate we enter from has two doors that lock at the center via a chain similar to my own. Alice walks me past one of the larger round buildings with several metal spokes similar to a bike rack in front of it. ¡°This is where I will be working from now on.¡± She then continues down the street another block and points at a tall building with several floors. ¡°I will be living here for the next few days as well¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to get you a room so you can just live on my floor is that ok?¡± Normally I would sleep in the dining room or kitchen, or sometimes outside in the forest. I have never actually slept in the same area as Alice unless it was outside and she needed to cuddle for warmth. But I don¡¯t mind sleeping on the floor of her room at all, especially since I am injured. I give of a nod and sigh of acceptance. ¡°Good! I am going to go to work now, would you like to join me?¡± I bark and wag my tail in conformation. ¡°Alright!¡± When we arrive at the Tavern we go through the entrance when someone shouts ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bring that monster in here!¡± Alice puts on a pouting face and says ¡°But boss!¡± A short man with large forearms pops up from behind the bar and waddles over toward us. His outfit is that of a sailor and he reminds me of a short and stout version of pop-eye. ¡°No monsters aloud in this place! Just tie him to the Dei poles outside. No one will be able to steal him nor will he be able to break free and run away. Don¡¯t you worry your pretty little head.¡± Crossing her arms Alice continues to pout but walks me out of the building. ¡°I know you will be really bored out here but please be a good boy. Don¡¯t harass any one and I will be back as soon as I can.¡± She ties my chain around the bike rack like pole. Standing up she kisses me on the head and says ¡°I love you Fenrir, take care!¡± I slouch down into a lying position and begin to do my make shift Dei healing on my ribs hoping for some type of results. People walk in and out of the tavern all day. Some people ignore me completely others give me a spectrum of reactions. The people going in are mostly afraid of me or curious but still keep their distance. The drunk people leaving try to interact with me in different ways ranging from scooting toward me slowly all the way to falling face first into my fur. Surprisingly these are the less annoying reactions. Every once in a while I see someone giving me the stink eye and giving off some killing intent. They say things like ¡®dirty beast¡¯ ¡®stupid animal lovers¡¯ or ¡®wish they would just die¡¯. Some even spit in my direction, but no one goes up and attacks me directly. Some of the people truly hate and are disgusted by me and the thought of who every my owner is. These feelings are not shared by everyone, nor are they even shared by the majority, but the people who do hold these feelings hold on to them strongly. A horrible piercing feeling of being watched over takes me as the sun goes down. A few hours after night falls and all the people from the tavern are long since gone Alice and her boss leave the tavern. Her boss, The pop-eye like character, addresses Alice without looking in her direction. ¡°Now you just lock the tavern and go home. Tomorrow I expect you to close up shop by yourself. I do hate these late night shifts.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°And if anything goes missing or is broken on your watch, then I will deduct it form your pay.¡± ¡°Yes sir¡± ¡°Hmph, very well I will be leaving now.¡± He walks down the street as Alice locks the tavern. Alice walks over to me while asking in a happy yet exhausted voice. ¡°How was your day Fenrir?¡± I bark excitedly at her. I want to get away from this dam bar and into the safety of our inn room. I show impatience in my eyes as I usher to move forward with my nose. She bends down and gives me a gentle hug while rubbing her face on my head. ¡°Calm down boy. Why are you in such a rush to get to our room?¡± A deep voice from the alleyway next to the tavern shouts out. ¡°This your wolf little lady?¡± A man steps out from the darkness of the alley and onto the street followed by three other men. The front man looks to be the leader. He has slash marks on his face like that of a wolf attack. His skin is dark brown from being out in the sun for a very long time. He wears several types of leathers and scales from what I assume to be animals he has slain. He has metal rivets on his black gloves. Metal chains dangle off his arms and shoulders. Somehow when he walks the chains do not make any noise as they clank together. The other three people behind him wear similar attire, all their hair is dyed black except the man in front who is bald. Alice stands up and backs away slightly. ¡°Yeah he is mine, and what does it matter to you?¡± The three men in back chuckle while the man in front tightens his fist. ¡°We don¡¯t take kindly to monster fuckers around here.¡± ¡°What!? I don¡¯t¡­ no gross!¡± ¡°Stop your acting! Randy, take care of the wolf. Everyone else help me get her!¡± The man in the back pulls a medium sized dagger from his sleeve and rushes over to me in a blink of an eye. I put Hei throughout my body to protect myself. He stabs my front foot into the ground while simultaneously kicking me in the broken part of my ribs. The Hei I had built up in my body was useless compared to the amount this man had. He puts his lips close to mine and in a raspy voice he says ¡°why don¡¯t we watch your master suffer a little before I kill you?¡± I try to bite his face but in response he plunges the dagger deeper into my paw and puts more Hei and pressure into my ribs with his foot. My teeth will never be able to reach him. I look over to see the other three have already surrounded the unarmed Alice. One of them has two small one handed axes, and the other has a sword and shield. The leader is still weaponless, but a horrible aura stronger than the others surrounds him. The axe man slashes in an x formation at Alice and she dodges it by using her Sei ability. She is very good at reading opponents movement with her Sei ability, but with three people on one she will not be able to hold out forever. If only she still had her sword. After dodging the double axe attack the man with the sword and shield stabs toward her. Without looking she avoids the attack by twirling the other way but is then broadsided by the man¡¯s shield. As Alice runs into it she loses her balance but keeps her momentum of avoiding the sword attack. The axe man switches his movements and slashes horizontally with both axes. This forces Alice to drop to the ground to avoid the attack. The sword guy stabs the sword at Alice¡¯s midsection but she rolls out of the way. She barely escapes the two men¡¯s attacks and has no way to counter, so instead she continues to roll away. She is suddenly stopped by the leader¡¯s foot. Where did he come from? His Dei was so strong but it suddenly vanished. Alice wasn¡¯t able to notice him move at all with her Sei ability. Alice stuck under the leaders foot is unable to move. The leader launches a punch into her face, blood spills out from her mouth and nose. ¡°You¡¯re a fast one aren¡¯t you? Your Hei ability is pretty good too. Most people would have passed out with that punch, but not you. That¡¯s really unlucky because now you will have to suffer more. Hahahah¡± He kicks her out of the street deep into the dark alleyway and further away from me. I struggle more to escape my bindings, but any time I move the pressure on my ribs is strengthened and the dagger gouged deeper into my paw. If only I was stronger. If only I had trained more in this world, or if I still had my powers of fire from my previous life. Anger boils inside of me as I howl into the night form both pain and rage. Due to the darkness of the alleyway if I didn¡¯t have wolf eyes I would not be able to see what happens next. Alice tries to stand up but the leader lands another punch into her face. ¡°Hold her down boys.¡± The two lackeys do as he commands and old her arms and legs down. ¡°Hey throw me your dagger!¡± The dagger holding my paw down is ripped out and tossed over toward the leader. Alice screams ¡°What are you going to do to me!¡± ¡°Shut her up!¡± One of the men holding her down shoves a dirty cloth into her mouth while continuing to constrain her arms and legs. The leader gives a disgusting laugh. Bending over he glides the dagger around the inside of her thighs making slits in her cotton pants slowly getting higher on her thigh. Laughing again he slides the tip of the dagger under the bottom of her shirt and circles her belly button. He slashes it upward tearing her shirt half way up revealing her abdomen. A heat boils inside of me as I am filled with rage. A heat that feels both uncontrollable, and familiar. Breaking through the pane I jump up from the spot and snap my teeth closed on the ankle of the man pinning me down. I pour every last bit of Dei into my teeth using the Hei techniques before clenching harder and ripping open the man¡¯s flesh. The bone on his lower calf, ankle and upper heel are all scraped clean of everything but blood. He drops to the ground in pain. Lunging toward the other three attackers I am yanked back by the chain around my neck. One of the men holding Alice down shouts ¡°Oh shit he took out Randy!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry he has no way to break that chain.¡± The leader refocuses on Alice. I use all my strength to bite down on the chains, but the only thing that happens is a crack in my teeth. Dam it! He is right, I can¡¯t break these chains. Instead I pull as hard as I can toward the three men. No longer howling or growling, I am simply gasping and wheezing trying to put in all the energy I have into reaching them. The chain tugs around my throat tightening it¡¯s self as I pull. The harder I pull the stronger it chokes me. The man continues to ignore my struggle and goes back to mentally and physically torturing Alice with the blade. He places it once more on her belly and traces it upwards as a red line forms behind it. He inches it up at a torturous pace, slower and slower as he gets closer to revealing more skin. She tries to screem through the cloth stuffed in her mouth but fails. As the blade reaches slightly under her breast I can see a trickle of blood drip down from her. That is when I snap. I can no longer control myself. Red fills my vision as I recklessly pull at the chain choking myself further. I snarl and cough continuously. With every fiber of my being I attempt to push myself forward. I try to stretch my very essence outwards. I don¡¯t care if I die, as long as I can stop what is happening right now. Sparks begin to erupt from my mouth. Grinding my teeth together I spit up more and more sparks from my pure unsaturated anger. ¡°Cut her up good boss!¡± I won¡¯t let that happen, I won¡¯t let them hurt her any more. All the rage in my body is vanquished as I experience a moment of clairvoyance. My mind goes blank as something finally clicks. A small almost non-existent voice echoes in the back of my mind. ¡°ta¡­ Pow¡­kill¡­¡± Tiny black flames erupt from every one of my pores slowly melting away at the chain around my neck. A giant bolt of bright red fire explodes outward from my mouth as I give a howl of death. ******************************************** AN. So What does everyone think of this arc? keep it going for a while or move on to then next one? I know it is a bit weird that he is not human/humanoid and that''s why I ask. Also I wonder what people would think if he was ever reborn as a girl. Would that be to unusual or would it be interesting to see how he exists as a girl? I think it would be funny to have him experience all the different types of hormones through puberty, but I am scared it would turn people off from the novel because of a gender bender type thing, and I also don''t think I would give justice to the mind of a women. SO if I ever did make him a girl I would need all the female readers to help me out and make her/him feel more realistic. any way posts your thoughts here or on the Spoiler thread. Chapter 29-Fire Chapter 29- Fire I can feel the fire blazing with in me once more. Every part of my body is heated with energy. The familiar red flames within my soul can now freely be used once more. It feels as though this life and all my past lives fully combine into one entity. The only strange and unfamiliar part of this transformation is the black flames. They are so small and diligently spread across my body that they almost look grey as they mix with my white fur. The energy that comes off of them eats away at the chain around my neck. They are not hot, yet they burn. The energy in my body more than doubles from anything I had in this world or any other. My injuries begin to fade away. They do not heal. They simply stop existing as if they never actually happened. The chain slides off my neck and with a thud hits the ground. The black flames automatically cover my paw as I reach out to slice up the man who was once holding me down. They move without my command and almost read my movements before I even move. My blackened claw digs into his flesh like tofu. I rip open his stomach in a single strike. His squeals of pain gather the attention of the people torturing Alice. Their boss doesn¡¯t even look back as his subordinate¡¯s cries for help ¡°Ignore that idiot.¡± This guy is too heartless. He doesn¡¯t care about his own men. I will have no regret killing this scum. One of the men holding Alice down points in my direction ¡°Bu.. Boss the wolf broke his chain!¡± The leader turns to look in my direction and begins to speak. ¡°That¡¯s impo¡­¡± However it was already too late for him. While they were talking I was building up the power in the back of my throat for an explosive ball of fire. A watermelon sized ball of compacted red and orange flame erupts from my mouth. It smashes into the Leaders face as he is in the middle of the speaking. As it partially engulfs his head I release the energy forcing it to blow him further into the alley and hit his two subordinates into the walls. I shoot forward at speeds faster than I have ever done before. As I fly down the dark alley way I jump over Alice. In midair I spread my claws out in both directions scratching at both walls at my sides. Sparks fly out from my claws as I scratch the metallic walls of the buildings. As I glide over Alice my paws impact the two people who had been forced against the wall from the previous explosion. One Paw slams into the head of the man on my left smashing his skull open. The other paw rams into the neck decapitating the man on my right in a single slice. I land between Alice and the man I blew away with my fire bomb. I can hear him groaning as he prepares to sit up. I can still see the gloss of disorientation in his eyes. I can visualize the stars circling his head. Dam he is way too strong if he can survive an explosion to the face. However I am much stronger than him with these black flames. Not wasting a single moment of this miraculous transformation I shoot out toward him the instant I notice he is alive. I slam a paw down on each of his shoulders and dig my claws into him. The black flames do not move away from my body or interact with him in any way other than devouring any part of him that touches the darkness. Dei builds up in my teeth and jaw as red and yellow flames burst from my mouth like foam from a rabid dog. I clutch down on his trachea and jerk my head to side. A snapping sound signifies his broken neck. The burning smell tells me the flesh on his neck is melting. Since the flames on my body appeared it had been less then fifteen seconds. My speed and strength were so terrifying! The black flames on my body dissipate without warning and the strength in my body drops to a pitiful amount. My muscles ache and my mind goes numb. I want to drop right here and now and sleep for days. Sadly I don¡¯t have that luxury. I need to clean this mess up and bring Alice back to the hotel. I spit a flame out over the leader disposing of his body. I use the bare minimum amount of flames to disfigure his body and hide his injuries. As I do this I hear Alice spit out the gag as she sits up. She stays silent for a few moments while covering her half exposed body with her arms. She looks at me with her body shaking. Is she afraid of me? No. Her eyes show something else. They hold an emotion that I can¡¯t read. The only thing I can tell is that it is not fear. I slowly walk up to her. She doesn¡¯t attempt to stop my motion or impede me in any way. When I get within arm¡¯s length of her she reaches her hand out to touch my ear. She scratches it softly and mutters. ¡°So this is your secret.¡± She stays silent for a few more seconds before removing her hand. I finally nod my head once in confirmation. This is one of my secrets. A secret I didn¡¯t even know about. ¡°Ehem, Well anyways why don¡¯t you finish cleaning up so we can go home. It has been a long day.¡± She slowly gets up keeping one arm around her stomach holding her shirt closed. The tone of her voice is mysterious and fluctuating with a dozen different emotions. She walks out of the alley slowly as I do my best to burn the last three bodies. As I burn the three men I noticed they all have the same tattoo on their right hands. It is a spiral of one red snake and one black snake rising into the sky. Their heads rest on a white cloud and their eyes have red and black x¡¯s covering them. Thinking back their leader had a similar tattoo. After finishing the last body off I exit the alley way. Using a mix of all my senses I scan the area to see if any one saw us. I doubt any one did. Most people were asleep by now. The only reason Alice and I are here now is because she had to close up. We walk back to the hotel room in silence. I follow Alice inside and we climb up the wooden stairs to the second floor. Our room is at the end of the hall on the left. The room is small and the only thing in it is a bed, a night stand and a small closet. A circular carpet woven from wool is in the middle of the room. Alice falls into the bed with her torn up clothes and blood splattered body. I curl up in a ball on the carpet and quickly drift into a deep slumber. That night I have dreams of the good times with Aarushi and the others from my past life. The good dreams bring me happiness for a while before they turn into more graphic nightmares. I witness Aarushi¡¯s death, the man with the two scythes continuously attacks me over and over again killing me each time just for me to be brought back and killed again. I try to use fire and even Dei but nothing comes out. I fight back with all my strength but am to powerless to do anything. In the end I am killed again and end up in a dream version of purgatory. This time however I am not alone in Purgatory. A disembodied voice whispers in the back of my mind. It repeats the word death over and over again and mumbles other things I don¡¯t understand. Somehow he speaks a combination of the languages I have learned from each world thus far and a few I don¡¯t recognize. The voice sounds familiar somehow. It sounds similar to the time when I became enveloped in black flames. It is like a million people whispering in my ear simultaneously. When the voice stops I feel my self being reborn as I wake up from the dream. ¡­ I wake up with Alice on top of me hugging my head. I look up at her to see she has cleaned herself up and acquired new clothes. Half her face is still swollen from being punched, but her beautiful smile still shines through being exemplified by her sky blue eyes and golden hair. ¡°Fenrir, thank you so much for saving me!¡± She kisses the tip of my cold wet nose. ¡°You revealed you¡¯re secret to save me didn¡¯t you?¡± I simply stare reactionless at her continuing to exam her injuries. I can still smell blood on her, most likely from her abdomen and chest being cut open. She slides off me and walks over to the bed. Alice bends over and pulls a silver bucket out from under the bed along with a small box. The bucket is filled with water and has a grey wash cloth hanging on the side. She dips the wash claw into the water and rings it out once. Grabbing my paw with her delicate hands she cleans the blood off my fur and claws. In silence she cleans my blood stained fur. After she finishes cleaning me she goes back onto the bed. Rubbing her chin with her hand she finally speaks. ¡°Strange. Your wounds are gone. Sometimes I really wish you could speak.¡± I let out a single bark. ¡°No I mean really speak! Like talk my language! Ugh whatever. You revealed some of your secret so I guess it¡¯s time for me to reveal my own. A deal is a deal.¡± I shake my head telling her she owes me nothing. ¡°No Fenrir, let me at least tell you more about myself.¡± She takes a deep breath before continuing. ¡°First off, you may have noticed that I am an extremely quick learner, and I know some skills that are abnormal for my age or that I never should have gotten a chance to learn. That¡¯s because I learned them before you ever met me.¡± Alice looks up toward the ceiling for a moment, then back at me. She shakes her head vigorously. ¡°No this isn¡¯t how I want to start the story!¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Alice jumps off the bed and lays her head on my shoulder while stroking my front leg. ¡°Before you met me I was in love with a man. He was kind, strong, and also kind of rich hehe. He loved me too! After knowing each other for some time and well doing adult things we got married!¡± Alice rolls off me onto the floor with her arms wrapped around herself. A devilish smile forms around her face. This is ruined by a sad face moments later. ¡°But shortly thereafter he came down with a sickness and died. Without him I know longer had any one or knew what to do with my life and resorted to¡­ well the next thing that happened is Beowulf came into my life.¡± Married! I met her when she was less than ten years old! And what on her would she know about adult stuff! She is only now sixteen! ¡°Hehe you look so confused! Just wait a little more.¡± She pats the top of my head. ¡°I have lived for far longer than just sixteen years. In reality I would be about thirty seven years old right now¡­ or at least mentally. This is not the first life I lived.¡± I release a short gasp and shoot my head closer to her. She is exactly like me! Or I think she is¡­ I need her to continue her story. ¡°hehe are you interested now?¡± I nod my head excitedly. ¡°Ok! I was actually born in another world, a world with magic! One where people could bend fire, water, wind, and several other elements such as electricity. There were people who were also immune to magic and were extremely hardy against other attacks as well called the dark clan.¡± This place sounds a lot like the world of Pyromancy. Was she born from that world? ¡°However I was not born from these wondrous clans, I was born in the skyless tribe. A tribe of completely normal humans. We had no special powers or really any great strength. We were often taken as slaves or simply killed for peoples¡¯ entertainment. Shortly after my husband died our village was attacked and I was enslaved by the prince of a certain village called Twin Trees.¡± Twin Trees! She was one of the slaves I freed! Or failed to free due to that maniac with the scythes¡­ just thinking of him and his power brings chills to my spine. It also reminds me of my love for Aarushi¡­ it took me many years in this world before I stopped thinking of her constantly, and even to this day her memory still saddens me. ¡°No don¡¯t be so sad for me Fenrir¡­ I am very happy in this world! You have been my best friend both in this world and the last. I love you very much!¡± She cradles my head in her arms. ¡°I love you boy.¡± I nuzzle my head into her shoulder and give her a sorrowful moan. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the story has a hero! One day a strange yet powerful boy was captured for killing the prince. He was put up for execution, but somehow survived and a little over a month later he set me and all my family and friends free!¡± A small tear rushes down her cheek. ¡°The hero Deadra did everything in his power to save us with his band of heroes, but some horrible accident happened and an evil man came from nowhere killing most of the people I was enslaved with.¡± I lick away the tear that falls down her face. ¡°That¡¯s when everything went black. I woke up in an unfamiliar and dark place¡­¡± She must be talking about purgatory. That place is almost impossible to describe. ¡°It happened to be a cave out in the forest. Deadra¡¯s friends Lucarus and Rhea had brought us to safety!¡± She gives an awkward half smile before continuing. ¡°But Deadra and his love died in the battle against the monster of a man.¡± She survived? I thought all the slaves would have been killed in that battle. Was she lucky or did Mica find some way to protect or heal them in the end? No wait, do I like or hate Mica? ¡°After that I lived my life as a free girl for a few months before dying from a disease I had gotten from being enslaved. The next thing I knew I was being reborn as the girl named Alice. I decided to throw away my first name and my new identity in both this world and the ones to come will be Alice!¡± She thumps her chest in excitement. I give her a few small barks as a make shift applause. After that we talked for some time before it became late and she had to get ready for work. Alice gets off me and stretches her arms in the air. ¡°Ugh time to get dressed for work.¡± As she reaches for the bottom of her shirt I turn away and start walking for the door. ¡°Wait Fenrir where are you going?¡± I make a slight moan. I am leaving you to change. Don¡¯t you want privacy? I turn my head to try to convey my meaning but a fabric lands on top of my head. It smells like Lilies. It smells like Alice. I shake my head dropping the fabric to see a topless Alice. Bandages cover her stomach up to directly below her exposed breasts. I immediately make a yelping noise as I drop to the ground and cover my eyes with my paws. ¡°hehe are you shy Fenrir? Why on earth would a wolf be embarrassed to see a person naked? Aren¡¯t you ALWAYS naked?¡± I simply moan out in confusion not removing my paws. Don¡¯t you have some modesty women? I mean I am a wolf but still... Well I guess she doesn¡¯t know I used to be a man. I guess changing in front of an animal isn¡¯t that weird is it? Well whatever I still want to give her privacy. Any ways I already got enough eye candy today with that short display. No don¡¯t think like that! She is like my little sister! I will simply never remove my paws form my eyes again. I feel a tugging on my front paws as Alice¡¯s voice fills my ears. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be so silly Fenrir. Come one now I am already dress. Just give me a good bye kiss!¡± At that instant a knocking comes from the door. ¡°Ugh who is it?¡± A young boy¡¯s voice comes from the other side of the door. ¡°I am a messenger. Mr. Ruthford, the owner of tavern Blood Moon sent me.¡± Alice stops tugging my paws. She shouts to the boy. ¡°Hold on a moment I am getting changed.¡± I hear rustling in the room as Alice speaks to herself in a quitter tone. ¡°I wonder what the boss wants.¡± Alice you lied to me! You said you were dressed already! I fear she loves to mess with me too much. Is this what my friends felt like when I messed with them? No I was sly, she is just unorthodox! I¡¯ll just keep telling myself this as I keep my eyes closed. I hear the door creak open and Alice¡¯s cute voice from behind me. ¡°Ok I¡¯m dressed. Boy what is it the boss needs?¡± ¡°He says that work is canceled today because of a recent attack from what the guards believe is a Wyvern. The attack happened in the alley way next to his tavern. The Blood Moon will be closed until it is all cleaned up. Most likely it will reopen tomorrow and you should plan for work. If it is still not opened by then I will inform you again at this time.¡± ¡°Very well if there is nothing else then you may leave.¡± I hear the door close once more and Alice walk to the other side of the room. ¡°Ok Fenrir I promise I have all my clothes on this time! So open your eyes and let¡¯s keep talking. I don¡¯t have to go to work anymore!¡± Not wanting to fall for any unusual ploys I keep my eyes closed and my paws clenched on my face. ¡°Oh do you find me ugly? You don¡¯t want to even look at me anymore?¡± With a sigh I open my eyes and look at her. Alice is fully dressed, but for some reason I accidently release a small breath of disappointment. With that small grunt Alice¡¯s ears perk up and a devilish smile crosses her face ¡°haha you¡¯re such a pervert. What was that disappointed grunt?¡± Alice gives me a cute wink before running up and giving me a big hug. ¡°I never knew Mr. Wolf was such a pervert.¡± The devilish look on her face reminds of one that Aarushi would often make when she was teasing me, only Alice wore it in a more mature way. After that she continues to talk to me normally into the night. The only difference is she continually reminds me that I am a perverted wolf. I didn¡¯t mean to make that noise! Since when is she so focused on messing with me? Does this have something to do with last night? I must note that never once has she mentioned anything that happened except when she used it to lead into her own past. I really can¡¯t read her emotionally any more like I used to be able to. After the death of Beowulf she would often talk about it and sometimes even cry on my shoulders as I continued down the mountain. This time something is different with her. It feels as though she is masking her emotions. Chapter 30-Helix Exacutioner Chapter 30 ¨C Helix Executioner The fresh forest air fills my sinuses as a breeze sweeps across my glossy white fur. The cool shade of the willow tree protects me from the heat of the sun as I lazily lay down outside of the village. Chewing on the burnt remains of my prey I ignore the small and sporadic flames lingering in the clearing next to me. A peaceful day of hunting unintelligent creatures for food has been normal recently. I never waste any part of a my prey. Because of my animalistic mind I even play with their bones when I finish eating. I clean my teeth with the flame incrusted rib bones. I sharpen my teeth with the thigh bones. I eat the highly nutritious and delicious bone marrow. Although I am top dog of this area because of my flames I still avoid any animals that show intelligence beyond hunting or scavenging. A prime example of the creatures I avoid hunting is the behemoth. A small rustling from behind perks my ears. I look back to see my new friend. He still has those three scratches on his face but holds no more resentment after I apologized with some food. ¡°Vrrrroooo(Did you see the Helix Executioners recently?)¡± ¡°errrr(No what did they do now?)¡± ¡°Vrump Vrump(They have been much more active recently. I think they¡¯re planning something.)¡± ¡°Ruff hoowww(Did you follow them? What do you think they¡¯re planning?)¡± ¡°Vrooooooorrrooooorroooooo(No I am to slow to follow them. I was hoping you could do that. I also think we should tell the humans in the village. Maybe you can inform your master as well.)¡± ¡°Grrr ruff Grrrr ruuur(She is not my master! We are equals! But yeah Ill tail the next one that leaves the village then inform Alice.)¡± Something I never realized until I tried communicating with the behemoth but more intelligent creatures such as me or dragons can communicate with other intelligent creatures naturally. Although the dragon could speak telepathically, if he knew I was intelligent enough he could have even spoken to me through grunts and roars. This is something I found out when I tried to apologize to the behemoth. When I gave him the food he made a noise and I subconsciously knew it was a thank you, and I spoke back. After that it quickly escalated and we were both surprised we could understand each other. He even told me some humans in this world such as beast tamers can understand animal¡¯s language just like we can understand the human language. I knew this could benefit Alice and me greatly, if only I knew how to teach her or tell her to find out by herself. Following the Behemoth¡¯s directions I go to a trail that sits a little ways outside of town. The Behemoth said that they travel along this path most often. I station myself on top of a tree and wait. Keeping most of my attention on the path below I go into a half meditation. I regulate and practice my Dei techniques along with making fire inside my belly. I experiment in combining the two powers but fail to do so. I try to search within me for the black flames but always come up empty. It is as if they are gone and forever used up or they were never apart of my power to begin with. I also try to fuse my present and past lives powers into one again but am held back by something. I can feel that part of my ability actually exists but I have no way to reach it. Two men wearing hoods over their faces walk below me. I can see the tip of one red and one black snake tail escape one of the men¡¯s sleeves. It¡¯s the Helix Executioners! They are a radical group against intelligent monsters and human monster relationships. They kill any monster tamers they come across or anyone who supports them. They intentionally kill non-threatening monsters such as the Behemoths and even monster that help the environment. They are wasteful in their ways and burn and destroy any monsters they come across for nothing but pleaser. They are also the same organization who attacked Alice and me. I trail behind them staying behind trees and far enough where they can¡¯t hear me but my superior senses can hear them. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we still haven¡¯t found anything about the third squad. We haven¡¯t heard form then in over three months now.¡± ¡°How did they disappear when they are so close to one of the bases? I mean they were located in one of the bigger towns in this region.¡± ¡°Do you think they got taken down by that girl and wolf they said they would take out?¡± ¡°How could they? The girl was just some teenager and, although the wolf was an Alpha, the leader should have been able take them both down even without the help of his squad. I think it has something to do with the Wyvern attack. I bet the smell of their blood attracted the Wyverns and his squad was taken out.¡± ¡°So you think the girl and the wolf still died either way?¡± ¡°Hell yeah their dead. Have you seen any wolves around the town?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know it just seems to strange to me.¡± ¡°Well what are we supposed to do? We never got a description on the girl so we can¡¯t investigate on that front and the wolf has not been seen. We also failed to arrive at the village by the time the bodies were cleaned up. Even if we did show up in time several of the bodies could have been taken away by the wyverns before anyone else even found the crime scene. I am telling you they have to be dead.¡± ¡°What if we find another Alpha?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t prove anything unless the Alpha is with a girl. Even if that happens it could just be a coincidence. I am telling you just drop it. We have more important things to worry about. Remember to focus on the plan. It won¡¯t be much longer before we can take down the chief and take over that dam village.¡± ¡°Yeah I guess. But first we need to find the chief. He doesn¡¯t appear to be in the chiefs home any more. I think he is on to us.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Stop your worrying. Let¡¯s hurry and report what we have found.¡± I continue to listen to them but they are mostly quite or talk about nonsensical things. After The attack on Alice and me things changed. She stopped being affectionate with me in public. She also never took me to work again and instead let me wonder the forest freely. We would meet up every few days and talk but it was always outside the village. I followed their trail for the rest of the day until they set up camp for the night. They never noticed me once. It took three days at their slow pace to finally reach what looked like a hole in the ground dug out to be some type of underground cave. A pile of rocks surrounded it and the entrance was disguised by vines that coated all the rocks. The vines draped down over the five foot tall hole that went down at a steep angle into the earth. I contemplated entering for a while after they went inside. Without the black fire I am not confident in my ability to survive. I have no idea how many people they have or how strong they are. I also don¡¯t know if there are any traps. After a few minutes of watching I decide to head back to the village. It only takes me half a day to return. Night has already fallen as the nearly full moon is high in the sky. Standing in the usual spot for Alice to meet me I make the loudest howl I can. She should be off work soon. Shortly after I release my howl the familiar scent of lilies reach me. ¡°Fenrir! I haven¡¯t seen you for almost a week!¡± Alice rushes up to me and attacks me with a bear hug and several kisses on the top of my head. ¡°Where have you been mister? I tried to contact you last night.¡± My tail uncontrollably wags as Alice embraces me and speaks with a worried tone. Atleast when we are alone she still acts mostly normal. When she finishes her barrage of kisses I give her a big wet dog kiss back. Alice wipes the slobber off her face and repeats her question. ¡°But seriously Fenrir where did you go? You never miss it when I call you. Is something wrong?¡± I nod my head for a moment then motion for her to jump on my back. She does as I say and I dart into the forest toward the hidden hide out. After half an hour of travel Alice becomes curious. ¡°Fenrir how much further are we going? If a person was walking this we would already be half a day away from the village.¡± Dam it Alice you know I can¡¯t answer such complex questions! I only know how to show emotions and nod yes or no! Even if you could read doggy sign language I am busy running. Oh well I might as well try. ¡°Ruufff Ruugh!(It is about half a day¡¯s travel for me. This would be about three days for normal people.)¡± ¡°Really it¡¯s going to take that long!¡± ¡°Ugh?(You can understand me!)¡± ¡°haha you should see your face Fenrir.¡± ¡°Rufff rooo Rough ruff!(This is great I have so much I want to say to you! As soon as I bring you to the Helix¡¯s hide out and back to the village I want to talk about so much!)¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Alice laughs uncontrollably on top of my back. After she finishes her laughing fit she wipes a tear away. ¡°Haha Fenrir I can¡¯t believe you fell for it. I actually have no idea what you¡¯re saying. I am sorry, but maybe one day. The village chief says he could teach me but¡­ well that would take a lot longer. We would be forced to stay at this village for a few years and I know we both wanted explore the world.¡± In response to her I make a meaningless but emotional moan. I guess for now the only person I can talk to is the behemoth. In response she scratches me behind the ear. ¡°I¡¯m sorry big guy.¡± After that we run in silence but Alice continues to pet me for most of the trip. When we arrive within view of the vine covered rock pile I stop and lower myself so Alice can jump off easier. She jumps off and steps in front of me examining the rock pile. In a voice louder than I wish she would use Alice says ¡°Is this what you wanted to show me?¡± I tap her shoulder to make her turn around. As she turns her face toward me I softly plant my paw on her mouth. Sadly since my paw almost the size of a frying pan it covers her whole face. I really wish I could just reproduce the noise of shushing someone. Alice pulls the giant paw off her face to reveal a slightly grumpy face. Now whispering she says. ¡°Did you want me to more quiet?¡± I nod my head in conformation then move on ahead of her. I need to show her what is inside so she can understand the big picture. ¡°What is so important about these rocks? It¡¯s almost morning Fenrir this better be good!¡± I stay silent and poke my head into the vines covering the invisible hole. I already enveloped my entire body in Dei and have a large concentration of fire prepared to explode from every part of my body. I don¡¯t see or hear anything so I bring the rest of my body inside. After I take a few steps inside a slight tugging sensation comes from my front most paw. I hear something begin to move to my left and turn my head toward it. The tip of a large battle axe is falling toward my head. In the second of fear I release the explosive power and a bright flash of light fills the surroundings as everything including the battle axe gets pushed away from me. Rocks fall off the walls and roll down the tunnel. Deeper with in the hole I hear a few surprised voices and footsteps begin rushing toward me. Before anything around me has time to settle I dart back out of the man-made cave. Alice had already jumped back away from the cave and had her eyes set on the cave entrance when I released my full body explosion. As I get next to Alice and turn around four people with leather armor and a variety of weapons all come out. On each of their left hands is the familiar tattoo of the Helix Executioners. Alice¡¯s eyes go wide and she mouths the word helix. I shoot a river of flames toward the four people to hold them off as Alice comes too. Snapping out of her short trance she jumps on my back and yells a command. ¡°Run Fenrir! Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± I zip into the woods running as quickly as I can back to the village. Even if the group of people follow us at full speed they will still take at least a day and a half to get to the village. With my haste we begin to near the village after just three hours. However before we can reach the village I hear a familiar loud and booming cry. ¡°Vrrrrrooooooo!(Heeeeellllp!)¡± The Behemoth is in danger! I change my course and rush toward the behemoth. In just a few moments I reach my friend and Alice jumps off of me. Three people with the vile Helix tattoos surround him. A fourth person is lying on the ground next to a smashed tree. I charge in with my claws a blaze and a fire shooting from my mouth. The flame from my mouth hits one of the people making him confused and panicked. A different person is caught in my lunge and I begin savagely clawing at her tearing her apart. The third person shouts. ¡°Holy shit where did that thing come from!¡± He jumps back and brings his guard back up. The man who was hit by flames drops to the floor rolling around and patting himself. My surprise attack was able to take one of them out. ¡°Vrrooo Roar!(Thank you wolf. I will take this one you take the one rolling on the floor.)¡± I do as the behemoth says and attack the man still on fire. I pour more flames on him as I lunge at him with my claws. I can¡¯t get a clean attack on him with my claws but with the accumulation of fire I still end his life quickly. I turn back to see the remaining man get his head crushed by the behemoths massive and heavy foot. Alice stands a little ways in front of the Behemoth with her foot in the air. She must have snuck up behind the man and kicked him down in front of the behemoth. Clapping resonates from within the forest as a woman with a katana on her back walks out from some tree. She is the same woman who attacked Alice and me before we came to the town. ¡°Wow you guys sure have changed.¡± ¡°Vroooo.(They helped save me.)¡± ¡°Hmph of course they did.¡± She gives a slight bow to the behemoth then turns and points at Alice. ¡°You woman come over here.¡± Alice begins to tell the woman what I showed her and everything that happened while the behemoth and I have our own conversation. ¡°Roof! (So I found their base and showed it to Alice.)¡± ¡°Vrooo?(Really how far away is it?)¡± ¡°Hoowwl ruff! (For humans it is about three days away. But we must be careful. They spotted us and might be on their way here.)¡± ¡°Vrooooo.(Thank you for this information wolf. I will make sure the chief receives this.)¡± ¡°Ugh?(You know I have a name right?)¡± ¡°Vrooo(Yes I believe the girl Alice calls you Fenrir right?)¡± ¡°Woof(Ummm well actually I have a different name. I am Deadra, what is your name?)¡± ¡°Vroooo(Names are a human concept. I have no name. Simply call me as I am a Behemoth.)¡± ¡°Ruff(But what if I come across another Behemoth?)¡± ¡°Vroooo(Although that is unlikely you can give me a name if you wish.)¡± ¡°Rooo Ruff!(Ok how about I call you Scar because umm well the scar I gave you¡­)¡± ¡°Vrooo(Very well I am fine with that.)¡± Off on the side Alice and the woman finish their conversation. ¡°This is interesting news. We must tell the chief, please follow me.¡± The girl starts to walk away with Alice but Scar stops them. ¡°Vroooo(Litel bring this wolf called Fenrir with you. The chief wants to talk with him.¡± ¡°You mean this wolf is smart enough to communicate just like you?¡± Scar simply stares at her without repeating himself. ¡°Fine I will do as you say holy one.¡± She pulls a chain out from behind her and walks toward my direction. ¡°Vroooo(He does not need that. Allow him to move freely.)¡± ¡°Uhh oh yes of course your holiness.¡± She puts the chain away and begins walking toward the town. ¡°All right follow me you two.¡± Alice steps next to me while staring at the back of Litel. ¡°Hey do you know how to speak with the monsters?¡± Litel gives a passive answer. ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Can you teach me?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Can you translate something Fenrir says while we walk back?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Can you do anything nice!¡± Silence. The woman completely blows Alice off and continues on the path to the village. Entering the village is easier with Litel guiding us. The guards don¡¯t give us any trouble but still glance at me with worry in their eyes. As we arrive in the center of town we come across a small humble home. It looks exactly like the other ones around it. Literally nothing sets it apart. It is made of mostly stone with bits of metal spokes sticking out from random places. There is a small wooden door and window covered in a wooden panel. There is no front or back yard as it is directly attached to the road. Litel goes to the wooden door and knocks three times. ------------------------------------------------------------- AN: So I hope I am not ruining it by adding in the random pieces that I did add. Also I do have an explanation planned for the next chapter as to how and why this communication is possible but I am not sure how to implement it without dragging out a long and boring explanation. Also do people think I had to much dialogue or was it an ok amount? Chapter 31-The Chief Chapter 31-The Job An old but strong voice comes from within the residence. ¡°Litel bring everyone inside.¡± It seems his Sei abilities are good enough to know who we are. As Litel inters the building she crosses her right arm across her chest and bows her head slightly. ¡°Chief.¡± The chief gives her a light nod and she leans against the wall beside the entrance with her arms crossed allowing us to pass into his home. Alice sits down on a small couch across from who I assume to be the chief as I sit down next to Alice on the floor. The chief has white hair around the edges of his otherwise bald head. Wrinkles cover his face and hands. His deep green eyes are sunken into head behind the folds of skin. Small brown liver spots form in several places on his skin. He reminds me of some aged monk. He has an earthen smell to him. His finger tips of each hand are pressed up against each other as he examines us. He takes a deep breath in before speaking. ¡°Fenrir I have wanted to meet you. I know that a few months ago we didn¡¯t have a Wyvern attack.¡± ¡°Rrriirr(But they were¡­)¡± The chief cuts me off with a movement of his hand. ¡°You do not need to explain it to me. I know who they were. I assume they attacked you and Alice first and you were merely protecting yourself. Why I wanted to meet you is because of your abilities.¡± ¡°Ruff(Oh yeah chief? What about them?)¡± The chief gives a genuine smile. ¡°Haha please call me Seoul. How is it that a creature such as your self has such strong Dei? And how do you create fire?¡± Alice butts in at this point with an excited voice. ¡°Chief Seoul you can talk to Fenrir right? Can you tell me what he is saying?¡± ¡°Haha of course I can, Fenrir before you answer my previous questions do you have anything you wish to tell the young miss Alice?¡± Is now finally my chance to tell Alice everything? No I don¡¯t have the time and I don¡¯t want this old man Seoul or Litel to learn about my secrets. I guess all I can do is try to comfort some of her worries. ¡°Roof roof Ruff Howl grrrrr Ruff!(Firstly Alice you must know I love you as a little sister. Second I will let you choose between going on an adventure or learning to speak my language. I am fine with either choice because they are both beneficial. I will always protect you and I will never harm you. I don¡¯t know why you have been acting distant these past few months but I hope it is not because of my¡­ transformation¡­ oh yeah one last thing I am not a pervert!)¡± ¡°hmmmm¡± Seoul rubs his chin momentarily while thinking. ¡°He says he is not a pervert.¡± There is complete silence for a moment before a stifled laugh comes out of Litel. ¡°he¡­ ahem. Excuse me.¡± She straightens her back and throws her arms to her sides while trying to retain the laughter building up. I can almost see the gears turning in Alice¡¯s head as she tries to process the information. After a moment she burst out with a loud voice. ¡°Seriously! That¡¯s all he said with all those barks and grunts! Dam it Fenrir you¡¯re such a pervert!¡± She crosser her arms and looks in the opposite direction of me. A small smile forms across the chief¡¯s face.. ¡°I am only jesting. He says he loves you as a little sister and that he will always protect you no matter what the threat is. He gives the choice of staying and learning beast language to you as he doesn¡¯t mind staying around the village. He also wants you to explain why you have been being more distant with him recently and is afraid it is because of something he did. The pervert part was really just a last minute addition.¡± Alice sets her fist in her hand in understanding with a large O on her face. ¡°Hehe well I love you too Fenrir.¡± She pets the back of my head as she continues. ¡°I still need to think more about when we will leave this village but thanks for giving me the ok. The reason I have been acting strange is nothing to do with you. I always knew you were special although I was surprised and shocked I was not scared. I was scared that men like them would appear again. I was afraid of what they might do if you weren¡¯t around so I pushed you away so they wouldn¡¯t know who I was. I did a lot of research on their group after that day¡­¡± ¡°Actually Alice Fenrir should already know about them from the Behemoth outside the village.¡± ¡°urh(Have you talked to Scar?)¡± I tilt my head to the side in confusion. ¡°Yes Fenrir I have. He and I have a spirt contract. Although he will live far longer then I he has given me a temporary contract that allows us to communicate over a long distance. He has agreed that if we protect him while he is still a baby then he will protect our village when he is older.¡± Scar is still a baby? He is already twice my size and I am several hundred pounds. How big is that guy going to get? Also where on earth are his parents if they are so big? ¡°Now we are getting off subject. Fenrir please explain were your powers come from.¡± I think I will give him a half truth on this one. I must leave out my rebirth but I can tell the rest of it. ¡°Ruff roof. (I don¡¯t know where the fire comes from. It just happened one day and everything clicked. The Dei in my body is accumulated just as humans do it through meditation and naturally. Perhaps I am just some mutant?¡±) The chief ponders my words for a while soaking in everything I said. ¡°Do you know how us humans can understand monsters such as yourself?¡± Both Alice and I shake our heads in unison. ¡°Why don¡¯t you make a guess.¡± Alice makes her guess before I do. ¡°Do you listen to the sounds they make and translate them into words?¡± The chief shakes his head in silence then glances in my direction. ¡°Ruff ruff!(Do you read our body motions? Or maybe some type of smell?¡± The elder once again shakes his head. ¡°More intelligent beasts can use Dei. Through the need to communicate more complicated idea¡¯s the beast learn to use Dei to communicate. Some will do this subconsciously such as Fenrir and the Behemoth. Beast tamers can do this consciously. When you bark and whine you emit a small amount of Dei that is unnoticeable without mastery of Sei. This Dei comes in waves and patters that can be directly taken into the brain and interpreted into one¡¯s native language. This method allows people to communicate even if they don¡¯t speak the same language. It does not carry any tone or emotions however, and these must be interpreted by your voice and body motion.¡± ¡°Ruff!(So what happens when, hypothetically, a higher being like a dragon directly puts words in your head?)¡± ¡°He skips the stage of it going through the air and takes away the variable of you actually noticing and interpreting the Dei. In a way he is directly influencing your brain with Dei. But when one would receive information that way it is the same as a beast tamer receiving information from the Dei fluctuations in the air.¡± Alice puts her hands on her cheeks while resting her elbows on her knees. ¡°So what does that have to do with Fenrir¡¯s power?¡± ¡°haha. In a way it has nothing, while in a different way it is the exact same thing. Is Fenrir sending the Dei out on his own accord? Just as he can speak with me he creates fire. It is like breathing. Do you consciously pull down on your diagram when you breathe? Do you mentally force the muscles to contract?¡± Alice and I both shake our heads once again. ¡°Ughh. I was afraid that Fenrir would not know how his powers work either. As you said earlier you may be a mutant. The saturation of Dei increases slightly each year. The grater saturation can cause mutants. It also helps humans become stronger from generation to generation but it also awakens ancient magical beasts as well. An example is only a few years ago did the Behemoth awakening from an almost fossilized state.¡± Curious about magical beasts Alice asks ¡°Does the Behemoth have any inborn abilities like Fenrir?¡± ¡°In truth I don¡¯t know. Neither does he. All he knows is that he is still growing and will continue to do so for a very long time. He doesn¡¯t know why or how he can speak to us either. I still remember when he was excited the first time he communicated with Fenrir. It was the first time he talked to anyone other than me or one of my ten Royal guards.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The chief shifts his gaze toward the door. His eyes seem to be looking past it for a brief moment when a knock suddenly rings out. ¡°Rou please come in.¡± The door opens to reveal a tall and wide young man with black hair. Under his leather armor his large muscles peek out. Veins slither up his arm from his hands to underneath his sleeveless leather armor. A large stick with a head sized rock on the end lays in a holster on his back. It is the same man who broke my ribs a few months back. Rou crosses one arm across his chest and bows his head slightly ¡°Chief.¡± The chief gives him a silent nod. Rou relaxes himself a bit and squats near the ground next to Litel¡¯s side. The chief focuses his attention back on Alice and me. ¡°Speaking of the Royal guard these are two of the ten. I believe you are both acquainted with them already. As you both remember you attacked the Behemoth when you first saw him, a crime punishable by death, but with your young age and naivety we gave you a chance to repent. This was already all explained to Alice but she is not allowed to have her Moon blade back until she finishes paying for her crime. This could take several years if she only works as a bar wench, so I would like to give the two of you an opportunity.¡± He pauses and stares at the two of us in silence trying to gauge our reactions. Alice is obviously over joyed at this news. The life of a bar wench is a difficult one, especially for someone as beautiful as Alice. I can only shiver at the number of times she would complain to me about people slapping her butt or trying to convince her to go home with them. Although we talked rarely in these few months she would complain constantly when we did. I don¡¯t know how good Seoul is at reading a wolf¡¯s facial expressions but I know I am displaying a mixture of worry and excitement. Seoul gives a light smile at our joint reactions. ¡°I will be honest, this is a very dangerous job, and in truth I only feel safe in asking Fenrir to accomplish it.¡± Alice ruffles her eyebrows before attempting to speak to only be cut off by a swift movement of Seoul¡¯s arm. ¡°I know how strong you are Alice, and if you are allowed to use your father¡¯s sword you can easily hold your own against a few of those men. But in comparison to my royal guard you are still only a child. And my royal guard compared to the abilities Fenrir used on that night.¡± The chief has a slight glint of fear coat his eyes. ¡°The power that Fenrir displayed is unlike any I have ever seen. When that night happened I felt a terrifying fluctuation in the Dei across my field of Sei that covers the town. I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but I feel he would be unstoppable when using it.¡± ¡°Ruff Ruff!(But I don¡¯t know how that power works. I can only use the fire freely.)¡± ¡°What did Fenrir just say?¡± The chief frowns slightly while rubbing the bridge of his nose. ¡°He says he doesn¡¯t know how to use that power again. Fenrir you can use fire freely though right? Have you noticed that no matter how much a creature or person tries to block your flames with Dei of any kind it simply eats away at it? Fire can break the strongest of defenses. Even if you come across an enemy that far outstrips you or one of my royal guard the fire can still injure and possibly kill them. Fire is one of many reasons why dragons are on top of the food chain.¡± Alice glances between the two of us as we all contemplate what has been said. ¡°Seoul what is it that you want Fenrir to do any ways? Only after we know all this will we decide on who will and won¡¯t go.¡± The chief gives a quite sigh. ¡°You have two options that I present you. I can knock a full year off your sentence of labor if Fenrir simply guides Rou and Litel to the hide out of the Helix Executioners. The second option is that I can complete your five year sentence now if Fenrir also helps clear the hide out of every one of those despicable cultists. Either way I wish for you to stay¡­¡± Alice stands up and slams he hands on the table in the center of the room. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you or anyone else says. I am staying with Fenrir no matter what! Whichever choice he makes I am going too. He is all I have left and I can¡¯t risk losing him.¡± I know how stubborn Alice can be sometimes. Ever since her father died she is adamant on doing things her way. For the past 3 months I thought she hated me and was slowly pushing me away, but in reality she has persistently been trying to protect us both. If I decide to take this mission there is nothing I can do to stop her. The best I can do is making sure she is safe. ¡°Ruff grrrr ruff! (I will go to the hide out, but only on one condition. You must allow Alice to have her father¡¯s sword during the trip so she can protect herself. There is no convincing her to not come; when she makes up her mind she can¡¯t be stopped.)¡± The chief nodding his head replies. ¡°That can be arranged. So does this mean you will help destroy the hide out or you will only guide them there?¡± Alice clenches her fist in front of her face before I can make my reply. ¡°Hell yeah we are!¡± I turn my head sideways and paw at the side of Alice¡¯s lap. ¡°Errr? (What? I was going to just bring them then then leave. I don¡¯t want to put you in danger.)¡± Alice not quite understanding me gives me a smile and pats me on the head before looking at the chief for help. ¡°He says he only wishes to show us the location then leave the rest to us.¡± Alice crunches her face before shaking her head. ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. If you really want to keep me safe then we need to get rid of the problem. If that means killing them or putting them in jail then we have to help. Don¡¯t you remember what they did to me? What they wanted to do to me.¡± I place my head on her lap and moan. I know she is right. If they aren¡¯t taken care of then she could be ambushed again if they learn who she is or if they learn of our relationship. The chief gives a smile and I think I hear him murmur something about youth. ¡°Very well Alice I will give you your sword back. You will have the rest of the day to re-familiarize yourself with it. Tomorrow at sunrise you two along with Litel and Rou will meet at the east gate.¡± Alice nods her head with excitement. Rou stands from his seated position to grab the sword form a different room. ¡°Ruff Ruff Ruff! (Why are you only sending two people with us? Don¡¯t you have hundreds of guards? Or what about the ten elites of yours called the royal guard?)¡± The chief shakes his head in concern. ¡°This is the most I can send. I already have several of my guards out on other missions, and the rest are needed to protect the village from both beasts and bandit groups such as the Helix Executioners. We also don¡¯t have time to wait for back up because we don¡¯t know when they will move to a new hide out, especially after being discovered by you and Alice.¡± At this point Rou has appeared holding the giant blue blade. Alice jumps from her seat and pulls it from his grip. Her eyes shine with a beat of excitement and a bit of memories from the past. ¡°Fenrir come on lets go hunting!¡± Not having any further questions I look at the chief. He nods his head once giving us the ok to leave. Litel opens and closes the heavy wooden door for us. After we get a little distance away I can hear a small coughing fit escape from the Chief¡¯s home. _____________________________________________________________________________ Sorry for the long wait. I had a lot of things happening in RL. I also struggled with this chapter because of all the dialogue. The next chapter will be out much quicker then this one (Probably a few days) and will also have a lot less dialogue. As I said in the announcement chapters will be more random and spread out. I will be more often posting on Sundays then any other day of the week so I would advice checking on Sundays or Monday for updates. Chapter 32-The Attack Chapter 32- The Attack Waiting outside the east gate on the branch of a high tree with my eyes closed I can feel the first few rays of light from the rising sun gloss over my white fur. A few minutes later the familiar sent of lilies drifts into my snout. Opening my eyes I notice that Litel and Rou are already at the gates waiting. Litel has a scowl on her face and her arms crossed. In a squatting position Rou is digging at the ground with one finger. I can see Alice pop up from the gate as she appears behind the other two. Alice looks so small with the giant sword on her back. The blue metal blade and handle are taller than her. With her petite figure and short stature she doesn¡¯t match the massively thick and long blade at all. The blue handle sticks out from above her blonde hair like the ear of a bunny. Litel uncrosses her arms as she walks forward without looking at Alice. ¡°Your late, girl.¡± Alice scrunches her face and throws her arms to the side. ¡°I am right on time! The sun only now just rose!¡± Rou looks back at Litel then at Alice. ¡°Alice don¡¯t worry she just believes that if you¡¯re not five minutes early you¡¯re late.¡± At this point I jump down from my perch. Rou and Litel make no reaction to my movement. Most likely they knew where I was the moment they arrived. On the other hand Alice forgets her anger and rushes up to jump on my back. Even with the giant blade on her back she is still as agile as ever as she slides on top of me while wrapper her arms around my neck in embrace. I begin to make a motion to Rou and Litel to follow me by swinging my head to one side when Rou gives me a wide grin. ¡°You can just talk to us, you don¡¯t need to make those silly and extravagant body motions.¡± Freezing up for a moment due to my forgetfulness I eventually make a nod before speaking. ¡°Errr(But then Alice will be felt left out.)¡± Before Rou can say anything else Litel shouts from a short distance ahead of us. ¡°Shut up, stop wasting time, and show us the way already.¡± Rou stops his smile and puts a calm and emotionless face. ¡°I was only trying to build a temporary emotional bond to develop the team work. But since that is ruined hurry and move along.¡± I glance back at Alice with a concerned look. She shrugs her shoulders in confusion. I guess neither of them is very good with people. I mean the first time we met they did try to kill us, but also in a way kept us alive. I really have no idea how to view these two. I rush into the forest toward our destination. Due to their speed being slower than mine we will take longer than a single day, but since they¡¯re advanced soldiers they won¡¯t take the full three days either. At most we will only need to take a single night to rest on the way. After dawn arrives I can feel the pace of Rou and Litel slowing down. I can also begin to feel Alice on my back beginning to feel jittery. She often does a half-meditation while she rides on top of me to help improve her strength, a strange perseverance that probably comes from being reborn, but after a while she becomes restless. At this point I decide to stop. Litel and Rou stop on both side of me. Litel gives a glance at Rou before speaking. ¡°How much farther do we have?¡± ¡°Rough!(We are half way there.)¡± Litel closes her eyes and concentrates for a few moments before a small smirk crosses her face. ¡°Very well let¡¯s rest here. Alice you have been worthless so far so you should patrol the perimeter for monsters and people. Rou and I will set up camp here.¡± Alice chooses to ignore half of Litel¡¯s comment and jumps off my back. ¡°Hump, come on Fenrir lets go hunting.¡± Litel steps in front of me. ¡°No we need to Fenrir for something at camp. You go on by yourself.¡± Alice gives and evil glare at Litel. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare think of petting him. He doesn¡¯t like meanies like you.¡± Alice angrily trots off into the distance before disappearing into the forest. After a few more seconds of silence Rou gives a meaningful look at Litel before they both nod their heads. Rou jumps into a nearby tree in pursuit of Alice. I make a low pitch whining noise in complaint. ¡°Rouuugh(what are you two planning?)¡± Litel puts a happier but still kind of angry looking expression on. ¡°We simply wish to test her strength. Rou will examine her fighting style so he can best decide her position in the formation. I scanned the area for hostiles and only found a few sporadic wild creatures. I don¡¯t sense any one from the Helix Executioners so you have nothing to worry about.¡± At this she reaches out to touch my fur. I back off a bit to show I don¡¯t want her to pet me. ¡°Ahh, I am sorry.¡± She grabs her own hand and looks down sadly. After that the two of us set up camp. It is very simply with a small fire made by me and a few cotton blankets set out as beds. For some reason Litel demanded that I receive a few extra cotton blankets for myself. A strange light of respect similar to how she looked at the chief or the Behemoth fills her gaze when she looks at me. For some reason she tries to hide her feelings around Alice and even Rou but allows herself more ease around me. Is it because I am an animal? Litel and I are both meditating by the camp fire as the sun is setting. It has been about an hour since Alice went hunting. She doesn¡¯t have very good tracking skills like I do so it could take a while longer. Litel shoots her eyes open and looks at me with concern. ¡°Which direction is the hide out from here?¡± I point my snout south east and Litel¡¯s eyes show a hint of concern. ¡°We need to hurry a large group of people are heading this way from there. Alice and Rou are about half way from us and that group traveling. Rou doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed them.¡± I motion for her to jump on my back so we can travel faster. ¡°Rough (I am much faster than you so jump on.)¡± Litel freezes up for the first time since I have met her. She is about to mumble something when I growl out angrily. ¡°Grrrr(Hurry or I will leave you behind!)¡± A smile flashes on her face for an instant before she makes a resolute nod and jumps on my back. I can hear her heart beat begin to increase as soon as her hand comes in contact with my fur. I also hear her mumble lightly ¡°So soft.¡± She grips the fur on both of my shoulders and lightly tugs in the direction I should turn. We rush toward the others as fast as we can. My speed is triple that of what we had when traveling all together. After a few minutes of running Rou descends from a tree in front of me. ¡°Litel what¡¯s the problem? Why did you call me through Dei?¡± Litel must have sent him some type of message through Dei. She must not be strong enough to communicate anything specific and can only send something that alerts Rou to find us. ¡°Spread your Sei out. We need to set up an ambush.¡± Rou closes his eyes and concentrates momentarily. His eyes shoot open and he nods his head in understanding. ¡°Alice is just up ahead. You two circle behind with your superior speed while Alice and I set up a distraction from the front.¡± Litel ushers me in the correct direction with her hands and I dash off following her command. As I sprint away I hear Rou begin to speak to Alice but can¡¯t make out his words. Litel is crouched next to me and slightly in front as we sneak up behind a group of rough looking people. They are all wearing a variety of gnarly brown leather and metal chains. About fifteen men and ten women trudge forward in the dark forest. Their weapons range from small black daggers to large wooden clubs wrapped in rusty chains. They reek of both animal and human blood alike. The people who do not have their wrists covered the symbol of Helix Executioners is visible. We slowly stalk them waiting for Alice and Rou to begin attacking from the front to strengthen our pincer attack. I have no idea how powerful Rou and Litel truly are except for the moments they caught us off guard when we first fought. I know Alice and I can¡¯t handle this many people so I hope that they are strong enough to carry us. I know I could eradicate all of them if I could find out how to use those black flames again, but I don¡¯t know how to use them. I also don¡¯t know how powerful I am with just my normal flames since I haven¡¯t had any big fights since gaining my fire. Suddenly I notice a shadowy figure with a giant hammer shaped weapon descending from the trees directly on one of the leading most people. A large explosion of dust and dirt echoes out in every direction and several people in the blast radius are flung backwards. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! I hear a woman from the center of the group yell out ¡°Ambush from the trees!¡± The group of people begins to surround the explosion sight while the rest look toward the trees to prepare for the next attack. The ones who were blasted away still struggle to stand but keep their attention upwards. A small black figure shoot out form bushes near the dust cloud slicing at two people that have their backs turned to the figure with a giant sword. They fall down silently as a gust of wind erupts from the center of the explosion and Rou shoots into the middle of the crowd into another leather clad person. The thud of club against club booms out form the impact as Rou is blocked. The person who blocks him is pushed back several feet as Rou erupts with another set of forceful attacks. Alice continues her assault and locks her sword with someone wielding two broad swords. Litel shoots out with lightning speed keeping herself low while she slices away at the people looking in the tree or toward Rou and Alice. She easily takes down seven people before her momentum is blocked and she becomes surrounded. I notice Rou is leaving Alice behind and is charging in to help Litel out. Both Rou and Litel are surrounded but neither holds fear in their faces. Alice is not yet surrounded but I can see fear creeping on her face. Before I charge in I shoot a triple barrage of explosive fire balls toward the group. The first explodes in between two people surrounding Litel. This hopefully killed or injured them but definitely stunned them greatly. The second kills an unaware person that stands between Alice and me. The third eradicated the head of a man who was about to attack Alice from behind. Before the three explosive fire balls hit their targets I am already speeding into the group of people. By the time the third explosion rings out I have already started to launch a fifteen foot long pillar of fire from my jaws igniting any person that comes near me and several that are attacking toward the others. In just a few seconds I have already come within twenty feet of Alice¡¯s previous location and am burning the people who are chasing her retreating body. Besides the explosive fire balls that take up a lot of my strength my flames are not killing them right away. Mostly they are distracting them, forcing them to panic or drop their weapons, so the others in my group can cut or crush them to death with their weapons. After I sweep through the group, besides my allies, everyone and everything is on fire. After the fire balls hit their targets Alice was the first one to retreat outside the swarm of people. Rou and Litel learned to retreat after I was spraying flames in every direction from me. Screams of pain are pouring out from all around me. I am the only thing not affected within the ring of fire I created. I quickly rip apart anyone within the ring of fire who is rolling on the ground. Alice, Rou and Litel take care of any one who escapes my inferno zone of death. After the flames burn themselves out and create an isolated circle of ash and bones do I final calm down. As soon as I release the tension from my shoulder I hear a faint whisper from deep within my soul. ¡°More¡­ kill¡­¡± It is the same voice form the black flames incident. It sounds as though a thousand men, women, and children whisper in unison. Even the few screams of pain that just moments ago resounded begin to mix into the chorus of voices. Fear begins to envelope me. What is that voice? Is it my own madness calling out to me? I feel a warm and familiar hand along with the smell of salt and lilies as Alice knocks me out of my stupor. ¡°Oh man that was crazy! Your flames are getting stronger and hotter every time I see you!¡± I lick a bit of the salty sweet off of her face as she giggles from my soft pink tong tickling her before I look over to Rou and Litel. A look of admiration fills Litel¡¯s eyes before it is washed away with her usually angry scowl and crossed arms. ¡°If I knew your flames were like this I would have advised we started with you just burning everything around them while the rest of us took out any one who ran out.¡± Rou nods his head while poking some of the burnt remains with his weapon. ¡°Next time I say we let Fenrir take the lead. He may not be able to kill people right away with their Hei, but the fear and pain that he causes would allow the rest of us to clear through them like grass.¡± I look back at Alice and give her another lick. She smiles and silently hugs me as well. Death is way too common in this world. None of them seam fazed by this whole event. I know these people are bad but still. They were human. I don¡¯t understand why these people feel nothing. Hell I don¡¯t even feel anything. Is it because I am a wolf? Is it because I have personally experienced death? Or is it because I have killed before? I still remember the first time I killed a man. I nearly blacked out from shock. Am I getting used to the death or is it simply because I am not human right now that I don¡¯t care? How many lives have Rou and Litel taken before we met them? Why is Alice not freaking out? Did the death of her father break her or something? Or has she always only cared of those around her like I did in my life as a Pyromancer? I guess one of the biggest reasons no one here is freaking out is because we have all prepared ourselves for this. We weren¡¯t just thrown in to the moment like I was my first kill. We knew yesterday that today would be a life or death event. We have always known this was a kill or be killed world and didn¡¯t live ignorant lives like I did back in my previous life. We knew we might need to kill. Either way I can feel each person I kill is affecting my soul. The first one nearly tore me apart inside but the second wasn¡¯t as bad. These ones barely got a reaction from me. What will I become if I continue a path like this? Alice grabs the sides of my face and looks into my eyes. ¡°I know this is hard Fenrir. I don¡¯t like killing either. But we need to keep it together and protect each other.¡± As I look into Alice¡¯s eyes I notice her holding back tears. It hurts me to see her sad but I am happy to know both of us still feel the weight of killing, even if that weight seems to lighten with each subsequent death. As the sun is barely rising we continue our journey to the enemy base. The large group they sent out will help weaken their base and leave it a little less defended. This will help us achieve our goal. I am still worried about Alice fighting people but as long as I have these flames I think everything will work out just fine. There are a few people wondering outside the mossy rock pile on patrol. They seem to be randomly scattered about to prevent people from discovering the entrance. I guess Alice and I really caused a commotion with these guys. Due to their distance from one another Litel is able to silently take the patrolling Helix Executioners out without alerting anyone. Rou is an expert hunter and has amazing trap detection abilities so he moves in front with Litel slightly behind to silently dispatch any one we see as we descend into the hole. With my excellent hearing and being the fastest I stay in the rear to guard everyone. After we descend about one hundred feet a strange smell fills my nostrils. This smell brings back memories from a past life; my first life. The image of me standing outside of a car flashes in my mind. I have a pump stuffed into the back end of my car filling the tank with gas. The smell closely resembles gasoline. Maybe it is some type of unrefined oil? I make a quiet and low pitched wining noise at once with realization. Every one stops in their tracks and look back at me. ¡°Errr(I think I have some bad news. Do any of you smell something strange in the air?)¡± Litel and Rou shake their heads in unison. After Litel whispers something in Alice¡¯s ear she also shakes her head. Rou whispers back ¡°Whatever it is it shouldn¡¯t be poisonous if they were able to walk around in it. However none of us have a nose like you, maybe we can smell it if we go down a little deeper.¡± A bad premonition overtakes me as we continue deeper into the dark cave. --------------------------------------------------------------------- AN The next chapter should be out around Sunday night or Monday morning (north american time zone). Chapter 33-The Cave Chapter 33 ¨C The Cave The light from the entrance slowly faded away as darkness expanded in front of us. The ground is constantly moving downwards at an increasing slope. The stench of gasoline did not increase nor decrease, but only staid stagnant in the air. It felt as though it was seeping out from the walls. We slowly move forward at almost a crawls pace. I noticed that the only time we stopped is when I talked and when Rou deactivated the trap near the entrance. This means we haven¡¯t come across any more traps other than the first one, but we have also only traveled about one hundred and fifty feet so far. We also haven¡¯t come across any guards. We need to stay vigilant. So far we have not seen any one within this cave. The first time Alice and I visited the cave the people who chased after us were a lot closer to the entrance. They couldn¡¯t have been more than fifty feet from the entrance. Have the Helix Executioners already moved on to a new cave? That can¡¯t be right; otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have left all the guards wondering around on the outside. Maybe those people were already on their way out when I showed up, or maybe they had just returned? The ever expanding darkness did not impede us. Alice, Rou, and Litel all have a grasp on Sei abilities and can ¡®see¡¯ through the Dei. I am a creature of the night so my eyes are able to adjust to almost complete darkness. When the cave begins to become even to dark for my eyes to see light a small green shimmer appears in the distance. This light causes Rou to pause for a moment. We all stay motionless and silent waiting for his command. In a hushed tone quitter than before Rou explains his findings. ¡°The light seems to be coming from a moon stone. These stone absorbs Dei and glows in the dark. I believe these stones used to litter the walls from the very beginning of the tunnel because there are indentations for where the stones would fit perfectly. Most likely this cave was built before the executioners found it, and they decided to claim it as their own. With their renovations the entrance became much darker and the trap was placed at the entrance.¡± Litel nods once before stating her own assumptions. ¡°The vines outside seem to be their naturally. This allows us to conclude that this cave was dug out dozens of years ago if not more. We didn¡¯t start having problems with these people until just a few years ago. This means this cave was originally used for something else.¡± Silence once again surrounds us before we continued our slow pace down the dark rocky corridor. As we near the light more lights that are evenly distributed appear behind the original. Two black figures are leaning against the wall under the first light. The soft echo of their voices begins to bounce into our ears as we get within fifty feet of them. A young woman¡¯s voice is the first one to be heard. ¡°I really hate guard duty in this spot.¡± The second voice is a ragged middle aged man. ¡°I know what you mean, the darkness really creeps me out. Why do they even put us here when no one can find the entrance any ways?¡± ¡°hehe I would have agreed with you up till a few days ago when some wolf and a woman beast tamer stumbled upon it. Luckily I don¡¯t think they knew what it was.¡± ¡°Speaking of things someone might not understand; what one earth is all that black liquid?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the stuff in the wooden barrels?¡± ¡°hmm¡± At this point the four of us have already gotten close enough to prepare to attack. Litel ushers me forward and points at me then the man who is closest to us. ¡°I have no idea. I have tried testing it out. It is slightly poisonous, but only to people and creatures who don¡¯t have Dei methods. It also doesn¡¯t mix with normal water, but otherwise I couldn¡¯t find anything strange about it beside the smell and color. Honestly I think it is just a pointless material.¡± Litel has her blade at her side prepared to strike the woman and silence her the instance I get to the man. ¡°Sigh. I wish we could find some use for it. There is just so much of that shit. In the very least could we move it form the cave so it stinks less?¡± ¡°Do you want to carry the several hundred giant barrels all the way out of the cave? Hell you would need to then carry each one about a day or two away from here so we don¡¯t make our hide out stick out.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s what I thought!¡± At this instance I have already creeped up close enough to the distracted man. Before he can respond to her statement I lung at him from behind and end his life. I have one of my claws cover his mouth while the other slices at his throat. My jaws clamp down at the back of his head. From the girls perspective it looks almost as if a giant white bear just hugged his head. When the girl tries to shout for reinforcements nothing but blood escapes her mouth. Litel has already stabbed her katana through her neck piercing the throat and windpipe. The only noise that is made is the thudding of the two bodies on the ground and the noise of me swallowing some blood. Without making a noise or even motioning Rou and Litel are already back in formation and moving forward. Alice and I soon follow their lead. The path from this point forward is well lit with greenish blue light. The moon stones are placed on each wall every ten feet. I didn¡¯t notice tell now but the cave also expanded slightly from the entrance and is now supported by wooden frames. The frames are mostly rotten and some have already fallen apart. They look to be very old structures to keep the cave from collapsing. Because of the light and extra moving room our pace is able to increase slightly but we still stay on full alert. After another ten minutes of snail like walking the slope evens out and flattens. About fifty feet in front of us a giant opening forms into a round room. From the room in front of us I can hear lots of movement and people talking. The strength of the putrid smell strengthens to an almost tangible amount. With the rise of the stench Rou Litel and Alice begin to finally notice it. At this point Litel goes on ahead to scope out the room while we retreat a few dozen yards to prevent being detected. Once Litel comes back she gives us a report. ¡°There are over fifty people within that room. I found no exits going up but found several wells that are dried out. Hundreds of wooden almost rotted barrels are filled with black liquid. The liquid smells just like what wafted towards us when we neared the room.¡± At this point I decide to interrupt her with a quite whimper. ¡°errr(I think that liquid is highly flammable.¡± Rou whispers what I said to Alice and everyone is silent for a moment. Alice breaks the silence with a whisper. ¡°Could we just Have Fenrir set the liquid off and kill them all that way?¡± Rou nods his head. ¡°I think that would work. If it really is flammable then it could improve his strength, but I have never heard of a liquid that can burn. From what I know all liquids put fire out.¡± Litel asks me with curiosity. ¡°How is it you know this liquid is flammable?¡± ¡°grrrr eerrrrr¡­ roof ruff!(I am not certain but I know of a similar substance. If this has the same explosive power then we could easily kill them all¡­ however we would all die as well. If there is as much as you say this entire cave could become an explosion. Not only would the flames kill us but the pressures caused by the change in heat and a loss of air. I don¡¯t even think someone like me who is resistant to flames could survive.)¡± Rou has a look of realization. ¡°Does this mean you can¡¯t use your flames at all down here?¡± I simply nod my head in reply. Every shows a grave expression. I don¡¯t know how we could fight more than fifty of these people without my flames. Alice, slightly confused due to not understanding me, asks ¡°Why can¡¯t Fenrir use his flames?¡± ¡°Remember the barrels I told you about? Well Fenrir says the liquid inside is highly flammable. It is so flammable that not even Fenrir could survive the flames.¡± Rou shakes his head in worry. ¡°Basically he can¡¯t use any fire without setting them off. This means we won¡¯t be able to defeat all of them without casualties on our own front.¡± Alice pouts for a bit before making an O with her mouth. ¡°What if we ignited them from outside the cave? Wouldn¡¯t that take them all out?¡± Rou shakes his head again ¡°How could we¡­¡± I cut him off at this point. ¡°Grrrrr(If we can get ahold of one of the barrels we can spread the liquid on the floor all the way from here to the entrance.)¡± Rou once again shakes his head. ¡°There is no way they won¡¯t notice us stealing one of those barrels. They are literally right next to them.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Ruff!(It doesn¡¯t matter if they notice. Due to the slope they won¡¯t be able to climb up very quickly with the liquid on the floor. All I need to do is get one of the barrels and puncture it with my teeth. Then I can just run up to the top with it pouring behind me.)¡± The entire time I spoke Litel was translating in Alice¡¯s ear. ¡°No! I won¡¯t let you run off by yourself. If you do this you need to take me with you. I can help hold the barrel behind you so that you don¡¯t slip on the stuff inside while you run to the top.¡± She does have a good point. If I carried the barrel with anything other than my mouth I won¡¯t be able to run fast enough, but if I carry it with my mouth my legs would get covered by the liquid causing me to slip and possibly fall. I also understand her concern. She gets reincarnated when she dies so death isn¡¯t as scary, however it still sucks. She doesn¡¯t know or think I get reincarnated so she is more worried about my life then her own. I also can¡¯t tell her right now because I don¡¯t know or trust these people. This secret is fine to tell people when I know them and befriend them, but telling random strangers could be fatal in more ways than one, especially with my inexperienced with this world¡¯s magic. Not bothering talking since Alice doesn¡¯t understand I simply nod my head. Wanting to show my appreciation, but also knowing that doggie smiles can look aggressive, I lick Alice¡¯s face. Litel informs us more specifically what the layout of the room looks like. She describes where the closest people are and also where the closest set of barrels is. We set up a game plan and a few back up strategies. Luckily during our little conversation no one inside the cave tries to leave or even looks down this hall. Litel and Rou head on out of the cave system first to make sure the path is still clear and because they would only get in the way. Alice jumps on my back and prepares her sword. With a silent count of three we charge out of the moon stone lite hallway and into the soon to not be so metaphorical fires. Neither of us makes any form of war cry but the rushing air around me and Alice announces our presence well enough. The dozen or so people closest to us turn our way in confusion. We get halfway to our first target before the people even begin to react properly. They scramble onto their feet and feel around for their weapons. Others simply jump up without a weapon and start screaming things out to gather the attention of other people. A few of the younger looking people who may be newer initiates run in the opposite direction of us. Before any one even reached us with any type of attack I run by the first barrel. Alice attempts to stab at the target but fails by slicing the side of it open instead. Black sludge erupts from the gaping hole spraying behind me and onto several people who are beginning to chase us. The same black liquid oozes on the ground making a medium sized puddle that continues to grow from the large barrel. I am actually impressed she managed to hit anything her first try with me running as fast as I am. I don¡¯t know why but we never once practiced fighting in this kind of situation, we always separated from one another and fought like that. The next barrel is so close to the first Alice doesn¡¯t have time to try to stab at it. Before we have time to turn and dart toward the third barrel on our agenda the people closest to us begin to attack. I do my best to dodge and weave around them while Alice tries to block any thing that comes to close to us. With me running around from barrel to barrel like a chicken with his head cut off and Alice striking them all like crazy the room quickly begins to fill with gasoline. The oil on the ground makes everything slippery and the people around us begin to slip and fall. People attempting to block me are easily avoided or even forcefully rammed out of the way. I even begin to slide as if on a skating rink any time I try to turn. The size of these barrels is only slightly larger than what a fifty five gallon drum would be, however the amount of liquid that spurts out of each barrel is far more than what should be physically containable within the size of these barrels. It is as if the barrels have a larger inside then they do outside. Hundreds of gallons of liquid pour out of each and every barrel, and if it was not for the slow but constant draining of the oil back into the wells that are drilled out around the room, the oil would have begun pooling up. My fur looks as though it is dyed black with a glossy fluid. I fear for Alice when we leave the area. I will need to make sure she is as far away from the fire as possible. After almost a minute of deadly slip and slide Alice successfully stabs a barrel through and pulls it into the air. She dangles the barrel behind me while shouting for me to retreat. The hole she made only allows a small amount of oil to flow out and will hopefully flow out until we get to the top. I immediately retreat from whence I came as Alice controls the amount of liquid gushing out from the barrel attached to her great sword. I wasn¡¯t thinking straight when we set this plan up, but now that I know these things are somehow overly filled we may actually have a chance to bring it to the top. The distance we need to travel could never be covered with only fifty or sixty gallons of gasoline, but the amount that resides in these barrels far exceeds common sense. For some reason they¡¯re not even very heavy, and could almost be compared to an empty wooden barrel. As I charge up the cave I hear angry yells and surprised yips echoing from behind. The oil seems to be making them slip, or at the very least it is slowing them down. With my speed we have nothing to worry about as long as Litel and Rou keep their end clear of enemies. As the moon stones disappear and a fall into darkness the small light form the entrance shines through. I slow down a bit with the quiet and far away yell from behind keeping me alert. When I burst out of the entrance Alice drops the barrel and let it roll back into the cave and down the slope. Oil is still generously gushing out of it. Rou and Litel notice our arrival. As already planned Rou grabs Alice and they all run off into the distance, in the opposite direction of the hole. They would be several dozen meters away from the hole far above where it descends into the earth. They moved behind the entrance because I told them the fire could blow out from the hole for hundreds of feet. I am not sure how accurate this information is but I have fragments of memory of seeing something like this. When I feel comfortable with the distance that my allies have run away to I pour out a pillar of flames from my mouth into the mouth of the cave. Before I have time to react my entire body becomes an inferno as my fur become ablaze from the burning oil. Without even waiting a moment the fire begins to work on its own and rushes down into the earth. A large boom and a small shake in the earth is set off when the flames reach the barrel tumbling downwards. The quickly changing temperature make the cave whistle with an ear piercing screech. The screeching noise doesn¡¯t stop or slow down as the flames around my body begin to subside. When the flames on my body fade away I rush over to join Alice and company. With my newly clean fur I grind my side up against allice to clean her off. She understands my intentions and rubs her arms and legs against my back and side. Before I have time to fully clean Alice off something unusual starts. A rumbling sound begins to surround us. The screeching from the cave continues strongly. A low crackling sound from deep within the earth echoes out in every direction. The very earth around us begins to crack and crumble. We try to run further away from the area but more chaos develops around us. A giant pillar of fire shoots out from the cave sending the rock pile around it flying in every direction. Several of the rocks fly in the direction of our group cutting our retreat from the area off. We are forced to concentrate on blocking and dodging the rocks while simultaneously watching the ground so we don¡¯t trip over the uneven ground. The ground is caving in in several places while other spots have the earth jutting out at extreme speeds. Trees in the vicinity fall in every direction. I have trouble keeping track of everything but I force myself to concentrate on what¡¯s important. I keep as close to Alice as I can as the waves of earth spread out faster than we can run. In only a few short moments after the unpredicted destruction occurs I feel the earth falling out from under my feat. I have nothing to grab onto except for Alice. I wrap myself around her and convert my entire Dei into Hei to protect my body as I fall into an abyss.