"Hey, you two elves.. Do you mind if I ask, how the hell am I supposed to do this while blindfolded like this? Finding my way through a maze that was carved into the grass with my spear is ridiculous.

Without stepping over the lines, and without relying on my sense of touch for guidance, what do you even want me to be doing here? If I can't see or feel my way around, how am I supposed to navigate this? By memory?"

From behind me, I heard the elves sigh, and Lucious patted me on the back as she replied, sounding somewhat amused by my distress from having been given an impossible task.

"Every race has their special traits, Arata. Though their capability in the bedroom is one thing werebeasts are known for, they're also well known for their keen senses. Fox tribes and wolf tribes especially so.

Use your ears to see the world. Though you may not be used to it, and it may be difficult to get used to doing it, you are fully capable of it, and are naturally almost as good at it as us elves."

I rolled my blindfolded eyes at her strange and hard to understand statement, but tried to do as she told, concentrating my focus on my hearing with as much intensity as I could manage.

"Alright, Arata, listen as clearly as you can. How many fingers am I holding up with my left, and how many with my right? Listen very carefully before answering, how many fingers am I holding up in each hand?"

"How the heck am I supposed to count how many fingers you're holding up, when I'm blindfolded like this? Besides, you're not even holding up your hands!"

I flicked my tails to the side in annoyance, as Lucious quietly laughed from behind me, sounding immensely amused by my irritation.

"Arata.. While he did say you're a cute airhead, I didn't think it would be this much. You should've noticed what you're doing already. Just try your best, and if you fail, I'll be fluffing your tails."

With an exasperated sigh, I rolled my eyes again and stepped forward. My ears twitching as I began trying to focus myself on the task at hand.

As I focused my mind to the limit, an oddly familiar feeling seemed to run up my tails and spine, and I gradually began to become vaguely aware of the environment around me, with a strange clarity in two opposite directions.

'It's a lot like when I was getting the MRI, but a lot less.. Lewd. Though.. I kinda think this isn't what she was wanting me to do, it doesn't feel like it's my ears that're letting me do this at all.

Regardless, this is just.. Amazing. It's almost as if I'm seeing with my eyes blindfolded. While everything gets blurry and vague if not in those two directions, this feels more like magic than that magic sight or whatever it was Raynolia showed me earlier!'

My excitement overflowing, I stepped forward into the maze that had been drawn into the ground. Using the strange and foreign view of the world through my tails to guide my step.

While I slowly navigated my way through the maze, the otherworldly feeling of sensing everything around me through my tails began to seem calming, and even natural.

As I began to revel in the strangely pleasant experience while I walked, Lucious spoke up, sounding somewhat surprised as she approached from behind.

"Arata! You've stepped over a line, so it's time to stop this try. But I'm honestly surprised, you were able to make your way through half of it without having seen it before. So, how was it? Exciting?"

Removing the blindfold as I replied, I turned to face her, blinking as I regained my normal vision, the strange form of perception from my tails seemingly overlapping with it.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm doing what you were saying to do, since it feels a lot more like I'm using my tails, but hell yeah!

I haven't been feeling this excited in years! Seeing the world through my tails is amazing and.. And.. I don't really have the words for this."

The elf nodded with a thoughtful expression, reaching out to take back the blindfold. As I handed it back to her, she commented with a shrug.

"While I did know that werebeasts and harpies are a lot more sensitive to the world's flow than elves, I didn't expect you'd be this sensitive to it.. You vixens are cheaters."

I tilted my head to the side, stretching out my tails as I gestured for Lucious to continue, feeling completely confused by her sudden statement.

"What? What do you mean, vixens are cheaters?"

My question prompted a giggle out of the dark skinned elf, only to have her sigh immediately after, seemingly annoyed.

"It took me three months of training to learn what took you ten seconds, and you're probably already far better at it than me. It's not fair that foxes and wolves get to have enviably fluffy tails and easily sense things through the flow.

Sure we elves are naturally capable of locating things by sound, like how werebeasts are naturally sensitive to the flow, but we don't get any fluffy tails. So let me play with those soft and fluffy tails of yours."

After a long moment of silence, I quietly turned around and sat down, offering her my tails while trying not to wonder about how the elf's incomprehensible train of thought worked.

"Okay, uhm, well, here they are, and uhh.. Please be gentle, and have fun fluffing up my tails I guess? Oh, and Lucious, do you mind explaining why you elves seem so interested in my tails and rear?"

As I finished speaking, I glanced over my shoulder, watching as Lucious happily gathered up my tails in a big hug. She rubbed her face against my tails, her expression one of pure bliss, her sheer enthusiasm leaving me feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

'I wonder, is this how Raynolia felt when my self control lost out to my lewd desires and I began rubbing my face up against him earlier? Would explain why he so happily postponed anything from happening..

Well, it doesn't feel bad, and a love of fluffy things, especially big fluffy tails is completely understandable, so I guess it should be fine.'

Closing my eyes as she continued happily continued playing with my tails, I spoke up, taking the opportunity to ask the joyful elven girl a few questions.

"So, uhm, Lucious.. Are there any specific things about how certain races get along, or significant culture differences I should be aware of?"

I turned my ears back towards her as she paused her tail fluffing for a brief moment. After a moment, Lucious quietly laughed and resumed playing with my tails as she replied.

"Hmm, other than how we elves and werebeasts often don't get along well with those prudish orcs who don't know how to appreciate good looks.. I guess you should be aware that titans often settle disputes a little bit unusually.

Titans have a tradition of settling any minor disputes with a battle of posing. Yes, as strange as it sounds, a duel to see who can pose better, is the traditional method in which titans solve arguments. If you do ever get in an argument with a titan, prepare yourself to do your best poses. Also, just call me Luci. It sounds cuter that way."

I glanced over my shoulder, unable to tell whether or not the dark skinned elf was serious, and shrugged, unable to read anything from her expression beyond the fact that she was enjoying my tails.

"..Okay then. Titans battle out arguments by posing.. I think I'll probably remember that, I guess. Anyways, Luci, what are the main differences between the different types of elves?"

"Fayrel elves have brown skin, white hair, and are often a little shorter than the other types of elves. In case you're wondering, I'm rather tall for a Fayrel elf.

Night elves have pale blue skin, black hair, and are usually taller than the other elves. Equally notable, is that on average, they're more busty than the other types of elves.

Dawn elves, like Raynolia, have whiter skin skin and blonde hair. Does that answer your question? ..And your tails are so fluffy, you have no idea how much I've been wanting to fluff someone's tail."

With a raised eyebrow, I once again glanced over my shoulder at the blissful elf, and plainly asked the question that her statement brought to my mind.

"..Just how much were you looking forward to playing with tails? While I agree that my tails are soft and fluffy, is getting to fluff my tails actually that special of an event for you?"

"Of course it is, I don't know what it's like in the outside, but here at the bottom of the Helvegen, the only things that can be really fluffed like this are the canine and feline types of werebeasts.

Sure harpies have pretty feathers and very nice rears, but they don't have fluffy tails like this. Fluffy tails are lovely. And they're just so nice to cuddle like this."

Unsure if I felt pity for the elf, amused by her response to my question, or both, I patted her shoulder with a tail, only to have it pulled to join the five others in her embrace.

While she gathered the remaining three of my tails into her embrace, I yawned as I stretched out my arms, and idly asked Lucious a question as it came to mind.

"By the way, Luci, I'm kinda curious, besides fluffing tails, what kinds of things do you elves do for fun around here? Is there a theatre? Reading books at a library, maybe?"

"Well, things we for fun? Making love, reading, and no, we don't have a theatre, but we do have plenty of games. Like Fartena for example, hunting is one more thing..

..Oh right. That reminds me. I really should apologize to you for what we did. When we stumbled on the place of your descent a few hours before you descended, we were rather drunk, and were having some fun..

And well, that's the reason why we had ropes and an elixir to recover spent bedroom vigor on hand. Though Raynolia does call it an aphrodisiac, like the harpies who make it call it. Anyway, that's kind of why you stepped into a trap with ropes that had been oiled with it.."

As I heard Lucious's statement, I nearly slapped her with a tail. While the final pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place within my mind, and an exasperating realization formed.

'What am I, the unlucky protagonist of a badly written lewd gag manga? It's sure starting to seem damn like it to me.. Or did all that happen because that AI wants to harass me for some strange reason? It's hard to tell if this is a crazy coincidence or what..'

I sighed, resisting the urge to throw down my headdress in frustration while the elf behind me continued indulging herself in my tails.

"Don't worry about it. Arata, a little bit of sexual tension isn't all that bad, it's awkward, sure, especially since you're in heat, but you'll get to used to it. So you don't need to feel embarrassed about rubbing your face into Raynolia's thighs while trying to get his pants off.

Anyways, if you're looking for something fun that doesn't involve getting intimate, a after I'm done fluffing your tails, how about we teach you how to play Fartena? I think you'll enjoy it, as Fartena is rather popular among outsiders from what I've heard."

With a glance over my shoulder, I shrugged and turned my ears back towards Lucious to listen closely, replying as I began to enjoy the feeling of having the elf stroking the lengths of my tails.

"Sure, I'm game. learning an elven game sounds pretty interesting to me. Although, you've gotten me all curious now, Luci. What type of game is Fartena? Like, a card game, a board game, or some other type of game?"

"Hmm, it's a little bit hard to explain it without you having seen it. But you'll have no difficulty learning it, since you'll understand it fairly quickly from seeing the game."

As she replied, I realized that I had begun wagging my tails, submerging the elf in the fluffy mass of my tails that she had been embracing. A moment later, Lucious resumed stroking them as she gathered them back together into a bundle.

"Calm down, girl. While Fartena is certainly a very fun game, and though an excited vixen is indeed cute, it's not like you're getting taken to bed, so you don't need to be getting that excited over Fartena."

I rolled my eyes and flicked my ears forward, pouting in response to her teasing as she merrily had her way with my tails.

As the long wait for the elf to satisfy herself came to an end, I stretched, savoring the feeling of stretching out both my tails and my legs.

"Well then, shall we go catch mon cheri, and introduce you to Fartena? It'll be a fun way for you to learn some more about this.. Huh? Arata, did you by any chance, hear the sound of a bell ringing?"

In response to her question, I turned an ear towards the elven village to listen as I began dusting off my rear, feeling somewhat curious as to why she'd ask.

"A bell? Bells.. Maybe? I'm not sure, I might have heard one.. Ah. Yep, it's faint, but there's bells ringing. Why do you ask, Luci? Is there a wedding going on?"

Contrary to my expectations, she groaned, her ears wagging up and down with annoyance as she flung her braided white hair over her shoulder.

"Merde! That's the guard's alarm, not a wedding! C'est la merde.. Grab your spear and prepare yourself for battle. For the guard to sound the alarm.. Well, it'll be far worse than facing Lausang Svanni at the very least."

As my memory of the wretched monstrosity that seemed as if it came straight out of a classical horror game resurfaced, I couldn't stop a shudder from running up my spine as I picked up my weapon off the ground.

"Worse than that thing? I have a hard time imagining it.. That.. Lausang Svanni? It was kinda, uhm, scary.. I guess.. And you're telling me we're going to be fighting much worse?"

Silence followed, and I felt at uneasy as Lucious entered the house. A minute later, she stepped out, carrying an axe by her hip, followed by Raynolia, who carried a large hammer on his back.

Without warning, Lucious tossed out a leather pouch. As I caught it, she spoke up with a grin, while gesturing with her hand for me to follow them.

"Don't worry about it, you're thinking about it the wrong way. While using krion to power our weapons is a bit costly, and fighting monsters may be scary, it's usually an easy to make a delicious profit."

After a moment of thought as I paced down the small hill alongside the elves, I sighed, and began to gather up my little courage while I bolstered my resolve for battle with thoughts of money.

'I guess.. It kinda works. Monsters do seem a little less scary when you're thinking of them as money.. But that thing was still fucking horrifying to see up close. The last thing that I need in my life is realistic eldritch horror monsters.'

Soon, I found myself uncomfortably squeezed between Raynolia and Lucious, and as we mixed into the noisy crowd that was forming, the ringing bells went silent as the sound of a horn pierced through the clamor.

A moment later, a blue skinned elven woman, who was carrying a horn, stepped up onto the small podium and blew it once again to catch the attention of the crowd, before loudly speaking.

"Silence! Silence! Tout le monde, écoutez attentivement! Le chef de la garde a une annonce très importante concernant le déclenchement de l'alarme!"

Within a few moments, the noise quieted down as a dawn elf stepped up, his hair blowing in the wind, a halberd in his hand, and he carried a charismatic air with him as he spoke.

"Nous avons confirmé que notre village aurait une confrontation inévitable avec le géant nommé Veina Iae. Comme la plupart d’entre vous le savent déjà, se battre contre elle est une tentative inutile.

Toute personne souhaitant partir peut le faire. Cependant, la garde restera et se battra, et nous demandons qui parmi vous a le courage de se battre contre Veina Iae?"

In response to his brief speech of which I only understood one word, I heard a mixture of murmuring and uproar as I looked questioningly at the only two elves that I knew.

"What he said, Arata, was that the behemoth, Veina Iae, is coming to attack our village, and he asked if there is anyone who has the courage to join the village guard in fighting against it."

While Lucious translated what the elf had said, I tilted my head and shrugged, unsure of how to react to the news. The next moment, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned an ear towards Raynolia as he began speaking.

"Veina Iae is famous. Not in a good way. Of the thirty two named behemoths, Veina Iae is renowned as the seventh most unpleasant to encounter. Us slaying it is out of the question, and the chances of our village being able to repel it are.. Pretty bad."

I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Raynolia, feeling somewhat confused by the unexpectedly dour statements from the usually cheerful elf.

"So if the odds for us to win against that thing are so poor, why is the guard asking for volunteers who will stand and fight against it? Is it about honor? Pride? Something along those lines?"

"Of course not, you airheaded vixen. Most of the people that will stay are those who can't simply pack up their things and leave. Luci and I have our vineyard and winery. Erik and Erin have their smithy.

And the main reason is that we'll feel a little bit less bad about having to rebuild everything. So we might as well gamble on the slim chance that we may get lucky and repel Veina Iae."

Speechless, I turned to look questioningly at Lucious, who simply shrugged and nodded. As the realization that the elves were preparing to fight it simply for the sake of having fought it set in, I sighed.

"Alright, so, it's kind of a pointless and impossible battle.. And well, you're pretty much the only people I kind of know on this side. So if you're going to be doing it, I might as well join you in the fight, right?"

In response to my question, the elves glanced at each other, before Lucious shrugged, smiled, and patted me on the shoulder. A moment later, Raynolia cleared his throat, before speaking quietly into my ear.

"Then, if that's your decision, we will be happy to have you with us. Anyways, since we know why they were sounding the alarm, let's head over to Erik and Erin's smithy.

It'll be a good place to hold up and prepare, battles that involve a Spire class behemoths are never short and sweet. And here's to the hope that when Veina Iae has its way with us, it'll be a quick and clean finish and not a long and messy one."

With a raised eyebrow, I turned to look at Raynolia again, unsure of whether he seriously meant what he said, or if he had simply used a bad choice of words to describe it.

"Did you really have to say it like that? You make it sound as if Veina Iae is some kind of horrible tentacle monster.. Oi, Raynolia, what's with that weird expression you're making?"

As the elves grabbed my hands and dragged me out of the dispersing crowd, Raynolia simply shook his head with a smile, his ears waggling up and down in what seemed to be great amusement as he quietly spoke.

"Well, you're not really wrong about that, but also not quite right. Veina Iae is certainly horrible. But I'm not sure whether or not you can call those tentacles, they're a lot different from the kind kraken type leviathans have.

Also, Arata, do the rumours that some outsiders have a unusual liking for monsters with tentacles have any truth to them? And is that why you asked?"

With a quiet cough as I nearly choked from surprise, I shook away his hand and took a step towards Lucious as I tried to maintain my self control. With a pout, I turned to glare at Raynolia, only to receive a shrug in response.

"Of course I don't have a fetish for tentacles! What, Raynolia, don't tell me that you think I'm some kind of weird girl that's actually got a thing for tentacle monsters?"

"Well, you're the kind of weird girl who'd stick around after that kind of first meeting. Having a preference for monsters with tentacles would probably be less weird. Probably.

I wouldn't be surprised if the first thing you did after that was give me a knee to the groin. I'd completely deserve it as well."

For a brief moment, I glanced down at his lower half, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his ear waggle. As I looked up, it quickly stopped, and he continued speaking.

"Anyways though, back to the important topic. Since the guard actually had the time to announce Veina Iae's coming before it made its presence known, it won't be arriving for at least a day.

Though, it does mean we'll be needing to move anything worth keeping that we can't fit in our cellar to the titan brothers' underground storage. The melding should allow it survive.. Unless Veina Iae steps on it. Then it's done for."

I flicked an ear towards Raynolia as he spoke, and I began to feel increasingly curious as we walked. After waiting a moment to see if Lucious had a reply, I gave voice to my curiosity.

"What exactly is Veina Iae, anyway? All I know so far is that it's big, bad, can step on things, and has tentacles. How would Veina Iae make its presence known? And why does it have a weird name like Veina Iae?"

As I finished asking my questions, Lucious replied. Giving my hand a slight tug as she spoke, the dark skinned elven girl pointed at the two buildings that resembled like a bell towers.

"Veina Iae is a Spire Class behemoth, the upper half of its body has the appearance of a lady, the bottom half is a six legged artillery fortress. If it was nearby, it'd have probably knocked down those watchtowers already.

While it is rampantly destructive, it's remarkably popular with male outsiders. Which is not really surprising, since it's got an inconveniently large bust, like yours, a pretty face, and doesn't wear clothes. The name Veina Iae, Wailing Bane, is because it's often seen crying."

I briefly looked down at my bust in response to the elf's comment, feeling somewhat unsure of whether or not I could agree or disagree with her statement about their size being inconvenient.

"They are pretty big.. But they're really not as heavy as they look. They're actually pretty light.. I guess they'd be a bit difficult to get clothes for. But that's about as far as the inconvenience would go, I think?"

Looking up, I found that Lucious was simply shaking her head, ears waggling, while Raynolia had a wry smile, while his ears were perked up with what seemed to be amusement.

"While it may not be much weight for a vixen who carries around all that tail fluff all the time, but doesn't having such large ones get pretty inconvenient? Like having them getting in the way when you're bending over, or blocking your line of sight?"

In response, I shrugged, somewhat unsure of how to reply to Lucious' question. Upon looking down again while we walked, I began to see her point about my bust blocking my view.

"Luci, you do have a pretty good point there. They do interfere with my field of vision a bit. But well, I think I like having them more than I like not having them? Besides, big ones like mine and Luci's are more fun to play with, right, Raynolia?"

As I finished with a quip, I heard Raynolia stumble, and couldn't keep in a small giggle as I turned to look at the fallen elf. I grinned sheepishly at Lucious as we crouched down to help Raynolia up.

"Didn't expect that it'd cause you to trip, sorry Raynolia.. As an apology, you can play with them, alright? ..Now that my mind is back in the gutter again, that reminds me, why were you fine with me getting intimate with Raynolia, Luci?"

My ears perked up with curiosity while Lucious helped Raynolia back to his feet, and as I stood back up, Lucious gave my rear a sudden hard slap.

"I offered to share because it's elven courtesy. There's three or four female elves for every male elf, so offering to share Raynolia with you for a night, a unaccompanied female, is naturally the polite thing to do."

Lucious' statement, which seemed as if it had more impact than her slap on my rump, left me unsure of how to even begin replying.

"Well, we're aware that things are quite different on the outside. But you'll get over the culture shock soon enough. By the way, Arata, your apology offer is accepted. I won't let you forget that you made it."

My ears flattened as I felt like slapping myself for having offered to let Raynolia have his way with my bust the spur of the moment.

'Arata, oh Arata.. Why're you such an idiot? Sure, you've become a foxgirl in heat. Sure, he's pretty good looking. Sure, he's pretty impressive down there.. ..Okay, it might not have been all that bad of an idea.

But I still need to exercise self control! Otherwise, at this rate, I really will become a hentai heroine. Rich, spoiled, no brains and easily addicted to getting lewded.. ..That sounds a little too close to home for comfort.'

With a flick of my tails, I shook my head, bringing the train of thought to an end. As I tried not to dwell on the troublesome mix of my stupidity and my lewd new body's desires, I asked the elves a question.

"Anyway, about that Veina Iae thing.. You said its lower half was an artillery fortress with six legs? Can I ask what you meant when you said artillery fortress?"

Lucious gave me a glanced with a raised eyebrow and chuckled, while Raynolia gave me a pat on the shoulder and replied in an amused tone of voice.

"Artillery fortress means artillery fortress, what else could it mean? It's one of the reasons Veina Iae is so troublesome, there's not one city in this world as well equipped for a ranged battle as Veina Iae, much less a little village like ours."

My head began to hurt as I tried and failed to imagine what the bizarre hybrid of a six legged fortress and a woman would look like. The next moment, Lucious cut off my imagination with a unusually serious tone of voice.

"By the way, Arata, the thing you need to watch out most for, is Veina Iae's Shards, not Veina Iae itself. If you get pinned by one of its Shards, you'll get eaten alive, or worse."

While I listened to her warning, I began to question the sanity of my decision to accompany the elves in the upcoming battle. As Lucious continued speaking, Raynolia gave me a reassuring pat on the back.

"On the bright side, that or worse usually doesn't happen. And, most types of Shards are not very intelligent, and that includes Veina Iae's. So you just need to make sure not to get pinned.

Also, Arata, we're going to have a lot of work to do after discussing a few things with the titans. Normally we wouldn't ask something like this of a guest, but could you help out with it?"

In response to her question, I stabbed the spearhead into the ground, put my hands on my hips, perked up my ears, and gave the elves a confident smile as I replied with my head held high.

"Of course! Though we had a rough first meeting and some very awkward and embarrassing things have happened between us, I'm a dependable girl that you elves can rely on in a time of need!"

While tearing the spear out of the ground, the elves' surprise towards my bold declaration left me with an immense satisfaction. As I slung my spear over my shoulder, I felt certain I wouldn't regret my decision.

I dropped myself onto the oversized couch with a groan, horribly regretting my decision. While grumbling to myself, I began massaging my sore shoulders. As Erin sat down next to where I had flopped over, he patted my head.

"While ye choice of wardrobe may be a wee bit questionable, ye're an obedient and hardworking lass. The majority of outsiders are ill behaved, so it's nicely refreshing to have met a lass like yerself.

Would ye like to join me for a bite to eat? Afraid I don't have much that'd be ready quick, so I can't treat ye to anything fancy, but a good sandwich never hurt anyone."

"Yes please. Also, it's not like I chose these clothes! I just kind of.. Woke up in them. While I admit they're surprisingly comfy, it's pretty damn embarrassing to be wearing something that offers so little protection down low.."

Glancing up with a pout as I realized how my reply sounded like a bad excuse, I saw that the titan was looking down at me with an amused smile. With a flick of my tails, I turned away from him grumpily as he began to chuckle.

"Don't worry, there's no problem in ye wanting to appeal to the males around here. But ye do gotta remember that not all the races approve of wearing risque clothes out in public. The orcs would toss people into a prison for it.

Would ye prefer pickles or no pickles in the sandwich? And ye don't have any problems with onions, right? Hard to remember which type of werebeast doesn't do well with what."

After a brief moment, I made my choice, and turned back around as I felt the titan get up off the couch. Looking up at the massive back, I replied quietly.

"No problems with onions here, and yes please. Pickles sound pretty nice. And I didn't know about some types of werebeasts having problems with onions, or other foodstuffs.. Now I'm starting to wonder if I can still eat chocolate.."

As I began muttering to myself after informing the titan of my desire to have some pickles, the titan walked out of the room with surprisingly quiet footsteps, while humming a tune.

'Being unable to indulge myself with chocolate would really suck. ..Not that it isn't always short in supply already. Hooray for some idiot having wrecked half the world.. Huh? That's strange soun-'

The next moment, I almost fell off the couch as the building suddenly shook, flinching in pain and fear as what sounded like a sudden crack of thunder hit me.

With aching and ringing ears in what seemed like a strange silence after the shock, I shakily stood up and began stumbling my way towards the nearest window.

As I reached the window, all I could see outside was what seemed to be a billowing cloud of dust, and the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat amidst the eerie silence that was looming over me.

"The fuck just happened.. Did a bomb go off or something? Nearly had a heart attack. I can barely even hear my own voice.. Does this world even have bombs?"

I trailed off as a faint blue light began to shine out from deep within the cloud of dust. Suddenly, I felt something land on my head and nearly jumped from being startled.

Spinning around, I found myself facing the surprisingly unperturbed titan, who was holding out a massive plate topped with a pile of sandwiches.

"Don't know if ye can still hear me with how loud the impact was, ye werebeasts are pretty sensitive, but the sandwiches are ready. And don't ye worry, once the light dims it'll be safe to approach the crystal.

With an impact that large, it probably won't become a Shard. So don't worry ye pretty little head yet, lassie. This is only the beginning.. On the bright side, we have sandwiches."

As the completely unassuring words fell on nearly deaf ears, I reflexively flinched again while reaching out to take the plate of sandwiches as I heard a second crack of thunder in the distance.

"..If you're trying to comfort me, thanks, I guess. And uhm, Erin, a while ago, while I was talking with the elves, they called Veina Iae an artillery fortress.. Is this what they meant?"

"Probably. A rough estimate by the harpies was that Veina Iae could launch her Fragments around thirty leagues at the farthest distance. But Fragments launched beyond a range of ten leagues usually break upon landing, which is why they're so loud."

With an uneasy glance up at the titan, I carried the plate of sandwiches that I had been given back to the couch, sitting down as I picked one up.

"I'm not sure how far thirty leagues is, but I'm guessing that's a pretty long distance? Also, thanks for the meal, Erin."

Taking a bite of the sandwich as I finished speaking, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the savory and mildly tangy flavor. While chewing, I gave the titan a thumbs up.

"Ye're quite welcome. And it is pretty far, aye. But unless we're real unlucky, ye don't need to worry about us getting hit by any of Veina Iae's Fragments. Ye can even bet yer rump on it if ye'd like-"

Erin's reply cut off as everything suddenly seemed to go dark and silent, almost as if someone had flipped a switch. After a long moment, the world seemed to brighten, and I realized that I was on floor, and my body was aching all over for some reason.

Puzzled, I sat up, and brought a hand up to my head, which almost felt as if it were ringing like a gong, while the world around me was strangely silent and blurry.

As I began to make sense of the strange situation, I vaguely felt something wet and pleasantly warm running down the side of my face.

"What on earth just happened.. Am I even saying anything? I can't even hear my own voice.. Or anything at all? Did I desync? Or is this some kind of a glitch?"