Everything ached; his back and head, most of all. Slowly, he opened his eyes and it took him a moment to realize that he was alone under the rubble. His heart skipped a beat and he pushed himself upright, the stones that had been on top of him fell down around him. Beneath him, he saw no indication of his Father having ever existed. A soft, warbling whine formed in his throat before the scent of dust and decay caused him to sneeze.

As he used the remains of the wall to balance himself and pull himself to his feet, he touched the back of his head where he felt dried blood. Around him, the town had been destroyed. Buildings were simply knocked over and the few that remained stood as half caved in skeletons. The few trees that still stood had their leaves and bark stripped away; most had simply fallen over or were completely gone. Above him, the sky had turned grey from clouds and he couldn’t tell if it was later in the day or if the clouds were simply that thick.

Joseph stepped over the wall, stumbling a bit as he did so; the quiet whine he made turned into a soft whimper. Bit by bit, he checked the square, hoping to find other survivors. He found none. Then again, they’d been out in the open…Yet, Father and him had been behind the wall. He lightly tugged on his hair and stepped into the remains of the leatherer’s shop. For a long few minutes, he stared at the shadow on the wall of the man, holding his arms up defensively. Once more, he didn’t find a body. They were simply gone.

He slowly made his way towards the town center, his steps unbalanced as he tried to push through his pain and dizziness. Likely, a rock had hit him in the head and knocked him out. He supposed that he could be lucky that it didn’t kill him, but Joseph didn’t know if the alternative was any better. After all, everything he knew had simply ceased to be.

Every now and then, he swore he saw light blue figures out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head to look, he saw nothing. Joseph chose to assume his head injury had something to do with it. He paused to touch the remains of a tree; the shockwave had stripped it of leaves, bark, and limbs, leaving it twisted and bent over. The tree crumbled into dust at his touch, causing him to sneeze.

The epicenter of the blast had left the town almost unrecognizable. Where houses once stood, laid dirt and bits of rubble. However, in the center of it all floated a light blue ball. It shimmered a myriad of colors and he couldn’t help but stare as he slowly stumbled towards it, captivated by the strange beauty of it. The ever-pervasive hunger surged up and he knew that he needed to touch the ball, somehow, but the sound of a horse whinnying snapped him back to the present. A small group of soldiers approached, led by a man on horseback.

Kebin halted the soldiers and stared at the lone man for a moment. The wide stance to his feet, slightly hunched posture, and glow to his eyes suggested that he was little more than a ghoul. He must have been on the outskirts of the town after the spell went off: close enough for his soul to be removed, but far enough away that his body survived. “It’s nothing more than a ghoul. Just kill the bastard while I gather the magic.”

Joseph blinked a few times at this. He had no idea what a ghoul might be, but the man on the horse seemed to know what’d happened. Slowly, he stumbled to the side a bit so that he could get a better look without being blinded by the floating orb. “You did this?” His voice came out hoarse from how dry his throat felt. “Why?”

Ghouls didn’t speak. In fact, they rarely made noises at all. They were mindless things that couldn’t feel pain. So, when the ghoul spoke, this got his attention…And the man’s eyes had stopped glowing, except…They were reflective? This certainly interested Kebin, since it suggested the man wasn’t human and a potential reason on why he had survived. Very few races were capable of surviving soul magic and almost none of them appeared human…Unless he’d just stumbled in after the fact. It had been a few hours, after all. “I did, and the reason really doesn’t matter.”

“Sir?” One of the soldiers spoke up, unsure of what to do since the man in question wasn’t a ghoul.

“Just kill him.”

Joseph took a step back as the soldiers advanced on him and glanced towards the unknown man as he walked towards the glowing ball. His instincts had never steered him wrong and currently, they insisted that he more or less tackle…Whatever the hell the ball was. Honestly, he really didn’t have many options. There were too many soldiers for him to handle, he was injured, and he doubted he could run. So, he lunged for the glowing ball.

“…Or he could do that.” Kebin noted before making an expression of indifference. “Well, it’ll kill him, too.”

It felt cold and the coldness seeped into his bones, oozing through every part of him, threatening to consume every bit of him, like a starving beast. Joseph’s hunger, however, was far greater. He didn’t know how or why, but he felt the deep hunger within him finally be satisfied. The aches and pain and fatigue faded away, leaving him with a singular emotion: anger.

He found himself on his hands and knees, his head bowed as he struggled to catch his breath. A low growl that rumbled in his chest finally came out as a snarl, the sound seemed impossible for a human to make. Joseph pushed himself back up to his feet, and while he still felt unsteady, he briefly delighted in the startled looks on the faces of the soldiers.

Kebin remained silent for a long minute as he processed what he’d just seen. “That…Was not supposed to happen.” He gestured at the man. “What are you waiting for? Kill him! I want that damned magic back!”

Joseph had limited experience with swords, nothing more than occasionally swinging sticks around with the other children. Still, he knew enough to know that being hit by one would be pretty bad. He kept stepping back from the swings and searched for an opening. Then again, someone with no sword experience couldn’t really hope to stand up against a trained swordsman. Only through sheer dumb luck did he managed to avoid a thrust and tackle the soldier where he began ruthlessly punching him.

Unfortunately, Joseph momentarily forgot about the other five soldiers. When he sat up, the sword that was suddenly shoved through his back caused him to scream in pain. A foot slammed into his back and kicked him forward as the sword’s owner yanked the weapon out of him. He laid there, bleeding out on the dead soldier beneath him and yet…The pain faded and his breathing improved. Then, it was as if he’d never been injured.

After a moment longer, he climbed back up to his feet. “I’m not done yet, fucker.”

The soldiers froze and the one who’d attacked him turned around to face him again. Joseph tackled him and snapped his jaws down on the man’s throat. He lacked the bone crushing strength and sharp teeth of his other form, but his current teeth were still sharper than a human’s. Besides, he wasn’t after bone. He jerked his head back, ripping away flesh and the soldier’s trachea. Spitting out the gore, he curled his lips back and snarled before plucking up the man’s short sword. Two down. Four left. The odds were a hell of a lot better.

However, his bravado was a bit short lived when all four soldiers rushed him. Initially, Joseph held his ground against them but they quickly put him on the defensive. He stumbled over something and landed on his ass; he couldn’t do this on his own, he needed help.

Something let out an ungodly shriek before twisted and deformed…Things appeared. Several of the ghostly things grabbed the soldiers and dragged the men to the ground. The soldiers screamed as they withered away and fell apart into dust. Joseph looked up at the creatures fearfully, swearing some of them looked like the townsfolk. He felt certain they’d attack him, but instead, they stood there passively.

Kebin slowly clapped. “I have no idea how you did it, but that was a remarkable show. Frankly, I think I’m more interested in you instead of the magic you somehow absorbed. That was pure, concentrated soul magic and…Boop! Not a problem. Whereas if I were to have done the same?” He laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t be standing here. Now, mind telling me what you are?”

He climbed to his feet and carefully moved past the creatures. “The man who’s going to kill you.”

“Ah, bravado! Either you’re stupidly confident or you don’t know. I’m going to guess both.” Kebin clasped his hands behind his back, then he nodded towards the creatures. “You don’t even know what those are, do you?”

Joseph glanced over his shoulder before looking back to the man. “No, I don’t. What are they?”

“Very dangerous things. A bit mindless, but still dangerous. They might be content standing around you right now, but once they get hungry? Well, ever fed starving hogs? Isn’t pretty.”

“Liar.” A voice hissed into Joseph’s ear.

While he didn’t know what the creatures were, he had very little reason to trust the other man. “Maybe, but they sure as hell don’t seem to like you…And I kinda agree with them on that idea.”

“Perhaps so. But I have something you don’t.”

“Which is?” Joseph tensed as the man slowly sauntered towards him; the creatures suddenly snarled and recoiled when he held up a hand. Any attempt on their part to go past a certain point saw them bouncing off of some invisible barrier.

“Information. I have a very good idea of what you are. Come with me and I can…Remove these pesky simpletons and…Well, show you what you are.”

The promise of information was very tempting, but the word ‘simpletons’ caused his mind to grind to a halt. Were those creatures the townsfolk? That’d mean… “You destroyed the town, though. That doesn’t give me much reason to trust you.”

Kebin stopped in front of the man and peered up at him, but still remained out of reach. Cat’s eyes, or in this case, dragon’s eyes. Likely a young one who hadn’t quite fully come into his abilities, still highly dangerous…If the dead soldiers were any indication. It also explained why he’d survived the soul magic and been able to absorb, or rather, consume it. Removing the souls would be impossible, but he’d found a far greater prize. “Well, that’s war, unfortunately. I was under orders.”

“You destroyed the town and killed everyone.”

“Perhaps so…But tell me, young man, were you really welcome? You were ostracized, weren’t you? Seen as something different to be ridiculed and mocked?” The first question had been a careful probe, and the dragon’s faintly pained expression caused Kebin to prod further. It’d be easier to convince him to follow along than force him. Either way, a very powerful weapon stood in front of him.

“I…Yes. They did.” Joseph had taken note of how the creatures couldn’t approach them after the other man had raised his hand. “They always stared when I came to town and I hated it. Why? What’s your point?”

“Then why are you so bothered? They treated you like trash, the superstitious idiots. They couldn’t see what you could do, your power…And you said it yourself: you hated it, hated them.” He stepped closer and hid a smile at how the young man’s shoulders seemed to sag.

Joseph subtly tightened his grip on the sword he still held in his hand. It rested against his leg as he listened to the man’s attempt to sway him. The problem with this notion? He’d already made up his mind ages ago. “Yes…I hated them…But I hate you even more.”

Kebin screamed when the dragon suddenly lashed out with the sword and cut his hand off. He tucked his arm against him and stumbled backwards as the magical ward faltered. As the ghosts lunged for him, he raised his other hand to bring up the ward again.

Joseph lunged forward and swung the sword again. While he didn’t manage to take off the hand, he did hit the elbow and render the limb mostly useless. “These are the people who lived here, aren’t they?”

Rather than answering, Kebin stumbled backwards, but tripped over the corpse of one of the soldiers. He stared up at the sword suddenly pointed at his face and flinched at the growl from the other man.

“Answer me.” Joseph’s voice came out as more of a snarl than anything else.

“Yes! Yes, they are! Why do you care? You said it yourself, you hated them!”

He looked behind him at the creatures. More of them had appeared, some wearing clothes that he recognized. Looking back to the man on the ground, he spoke softly. “Because I was here with my Father.”

“So, you’re going to kill me and throw away knowing who…What you are, because of one person?!”

Joseph shook his head. “I’m not going to kill you.” He tossed the sword onto the ground and took a few steps back; the other man looked relieved…Till Joseph tilted his head towards the ghosts. “They are.”

The ghosts wailed and descended upon Kebin, where they latched onto him. Within seconds, the man had been reduced to dust. Joseph, meanwhile, trudged to the remains of a house and sat down against what little remained of the foundation. The sun had long since set and the only light came from the ghosts who simply stared at him.

He sat there and quietly reviewed the events of the day. The town of Murval simply didn’t exist anymore and those who’d called it home were dead. His Father, was dead, and Joseph had nothing now. Today had been planned as the start of some plucky adventure into the wild blue yonder. Looking at the broken remains of the town made him feel naïve for even thinking such a thing. Finally, he rested his elbows on his knees, buried his face in his hands, and cried.

When he finally felt hollow inside, he raised his head and found the ghosts in front of him. Some stood, some sat down, others almost seemed to huddle in groups as if they were frightened. Among the groups were smaller ghosts. Children. A ghost drifted through the crowd, holding something. Upon reaching him, it held out the satchel. With a shaking hand, he took it. “You’re not mindless…Are you?”

“No.” The distorted voice rasped.

Joseph looked away and sucked in a shaky breath before looking back to the ghosts. “I…What happened? Why are you like that?”

“We’re bound to you, until we’re consumed.” The ghost paused before it spat out the next sentence. “We obey you.”

“No. No. There has to be some way to release you. I-I don’t want that. I mean, yes, I hated you guys, but I just wanted to leave. I didn’t want you to die or be turned into…” He helplessly gestured at the ghosts in front of him.

“You can’t. It’s part of the magic. It would have happened regardless of who took the magic.”

“How do you even know this?”

“Kebin. The wizard. We took his knowledge.”

“So, you can tell me what I am?” He sat up a bit straighter, but then slouched back down when the ghost shook its head.

“He told you everything. He wanted to trick you. Lure you. Use you.”

“Why?”

“We’re not sure. A weapon, we think. You’re young and supposedly haven’t come into your abilities. He thought something might happen due to consuming the magic.”

Joseph rubbed his head. “What do you mean ‘consume’, I ate it?”

“Yes. You apparently can eat magic.”

“I guess that’s why I survived being stabbed.” He looked down at his chest where his blood mingled with the soldier’s whose throat he ripped out and stained his shirt. Absently, he rubbed where he’d been stabbed. “…Still hurt, though.”

Finally, he sighed. “Is…My Father with you?”

The ghost bowed its head before stepping back into the group and being replaced by a different ghost. It looked just as twisted as the others, but wore clothes that made Joseph’s heart skip a beat. “I’m here.”

He shakily reached out and touched his father, but recoiled at the cold that made his fingers go numb. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re not to blame. Perhaps I should have listened to you and hurried. I suppose to put a positive spin on things, I can travel with you. Well, at least until…”

“Until I ‘consume’ you.” He looked down at his hands, horrified by the thought.

“You need to leave. If someone investigates, they can’t find you here. Go back to the cabin, clean yourself up, rest, and go north.”

“To Kovis?” When his father’s ghost nodded, Joseph sighed and nodded, too. Getting up to his feet, he briefly frowned at the ghosts. “Are you going to be following me like that, or…?”

Abruptly, the ghosts vanished, leaving him the sole living thing in the destroyed town. He stood there for a moment before slinging the satchel over his shoulder and starting back home. The destruction didn’t extend more than a few hundred feet past the town, but the normal nighttime wildlife seemed absent. Joseph wondered if they had all fled.

The sounds of wildlife gradually returned the closer he got to the cabin, and by the time he reached it, the nighttime insects were nearly deafening. After dropping the satchel on the table, he lit a fire in the fireplace and a few candles for light. Without his Father puttering around the cabin, it felt empty. He always knew he’d outlive the older man, that was just how things went…But he also always assumed he’d have a body to bury.

With the fire happily crackling, he went to get himself cleaned up…As well as pick the bits of flesh stuck between his teeth. Ripping the man’s throat out had been crude, gory, but surprisingly effective. Sighing, he rubbed at the spot where the sword had erupted. It didn’t hurt as badly as earlier and he didn’t have a scar, but logic told him that he should be dead. People just didn’t survive being ran through with a sword unless a healer happened to be nearby. Yet…Somehow, he had.

After fixing himself something to eat, he sat down at the table and poked at his food before he started slowing eating. While not exactly physically tired, he still felt drained…Emotionally, perhaps. Afterall, he’d lost everyone he’d ever known in one fell swoop. It didn’t really matter if he liked them or not. He just had a hard time mentally grasping the idea.

Still, the deep-seated hunger he’d felt for nearly a year had finally gone away. Softly, he snorted and flicked at a feather on the table. “…Magic eater, huh?”

He still didn’t know what to think about the things he’d learned. Honestly, he just wished the entire day hadn’t happened. In a way, he almost blamed himself. Afterall, his desire to explore the world had prompted their trek to Murval to get supplies. On the other hand, neither of them knew what’d happen. Joseph suddenly snarled and slapped the empty bowl off the table where it clattered off somewhere on the other side of the kitchen. Sighing, he rubbed his face as he tried to rationalize everything. When he dropped his hands, a twisted ghost sat in front of him.

“You always did have a temper. Just don’t let it consume you.”

“Maybe I want to.” He replied, bitterly as he stood to fetch the bowl he’d knocked away. “Maybe I want to kill every last one of them. That man…He said he was just following orders. It means someone told him to do that.”

“And many men have gone to their deaths while seeking revenge. I…” Stefan sighed softly. “I know your angry, gods I can feel it. We all can. We’re a part of you…Somehow. But…we’re angry too. Whatever Kebin did, it changed all of us. We want revenge just as much as you.”

“Then why try to talk me out of it?”

“Self-preservation. If you die, so do we. We’re going to die as we’re consumed, but we want to cling to this fucking god forsaken world as long as we can.”

Joseph’s eyes widened a bit at his father’s words. Never had he heard the man speak with such anger and malice, let alone curse. The ghost in front of him bowed his head in apology.

“I’m…Sorry. As I said. We’re angry. Kebin felt that you hadn’t fully come into your strength, which means you’re probably still growing, in some fashion. For all intents and purposes, you’re a grown man by human standards…But I’m not entirely sure the same holds true by dragon standards. My entire point is this: Wait. Get some experience under your belt. Learn to fight. Discover what you can do. Then…” Stefan shrugged slightly. “I don’t know, eat people?”

He scoffed and then laughed. “Are you seriously saying you’re okay with the idea of me eating someone?”

“...Joseph, you ripped a man’s throat out with your teeth, tonight. You’re…Not human. You were never human. You’re a predator and you’ve always been one and I’ve seen it for years. I tried to foster the human side of you, so you could survive in society. But I neglected to teach you about your other half, because I didn’t know how. I think you’ve done a good job as it is, but you need to continue to learn.” Stefan tried to pick up the feather on the table but sighed when his hand passed through it. “All I can do now is give you advice, at least until…”

“So…I’m an angry dragon with…How many of you are there?”

“About 60.”

“Angry dragon with 60 pissed off ghosts following him around. Huh.” He leaned back in his chair. “So…Where do you go when I can’t see you?”

“We’re invisible.”

“…Neat. Is there a distance on how far away from me you can get?”

“Aubin mentioned it being about the size of the town, if you were at the town center.”

Joseph crossed his arms as he considered this information. “Murval is going to get checked out, eventually. Don’t know if it’ll be locals or if it’ll be soldiers. Would I be right in thinking that if it’s soldiers, they might want to poke around in the local area?” When his father nodded, he continued. “Which means someone might point them this way. Can…They just look out for anyone who might be coming up to the cabin?”

“You mean posting guards?” When Joseph nodded, Stefan smiled. “Done. If anyone is seen, I’ll let you know. You should get some sleep.”

He nodded, but sighed. “Just…Don’t know how I’ll be able to sleep. I just…Keep hearing the screams. Did…It hurt?”

“I…Yes, but only for a short moment. I felt cold, mostly. Joseph, don’t blame yourself for any of this. It was going to happen regardless of us being there…And to be honest, I’d planned on going into town, anyway. I think it would have been worse on you had you stayed here.”

He could definitely agree with that idea. Finally, he got up to his feet and tossed another log into the fireplace before he shuffled to his room. The cabin still felt too quiet, even with the faint noise of the fireplace. Then again, he supposed that he’d just have to get used to it.