“You think you’ve already won?...”

Darkness filled my mind as a voice spoke to me in my sleep

“You blind fool, your hatred is colder than a frost dragon’s breath. Your despair is darker than a corrupted shade.”

The voice sounded familiar, like I’ve been hearing it my whole life and it was a bit distorted but it also sounded like nothing I’ve ever heard before. As if a serpent could speak with the voice of a tiger, deep but cold and vicious it continued to speak.

“You may have gotten rid of our grip on your mind…But that will not stop us…We have merged into one…Your mind will someday falter…”

Flashes of the horrors I’ve seen throughout my life go by.

“You will see more death, you will see more destruction and you will feel more pain. You will lose those you hold dear, you will lose the attachments you have made but most of all you will yet again feel betrayed. You have lived through it all already and you still do not believe my words? I can feel it too you know…The seed of doubt within your heart…The speck of a flame that will burn you whole if it reaches your deepest despair and then blaze forth into your coldest hatred…You will burn like nothing has burned before…I will be there….W...a…i…t…i…n…g….”

“WAITING?!” I suddenly woke up sweating like a wet sponge, my fists are clenched and my teeth grinding on themselves. I suddenly hear a high pitched squeak coming from the door, a beastwoman was standing at the open door. “What is it? Why are you here?!” I shouted and she took a step back looking like she had seen a ghost and her mouse like ears down while her tail tried to hide on her back. She looked absolutely terrified and I felt like I was in the worst mood I’ve ever been in, then I noticed the reason she was so afraid. My aura was in complete chaos and was raging all over the place, a thin layer of purple mist like substance filled the room and was thicker the closer you got to me. My aura screamed killing intent and was engulfing the poor girl, I looked to the side and saw Saya sleeping soundlessly next to me so I was relieved contracted beings are unaffected by each other’s aura. I gripped my left shoulder with my right hand and clenched my palm to induce myself some pain, feeling any kind of pain helped me focus on myself and let me regain control of my aura and slightly my emotions. The mouse girl dropped to her knees and tears began leaking out of her eyes as if something was holding them back, she began to shake insanely fast while her tail whipped around “I…I…Si….Sir…I…”. “Calm down, I’m sorry about that…Bad dream.” I got off the bed and noticed all my gear was back in the box and it was closed while my belts were ready and full. I raised an eyebrow and looked back at the mouse girl “What are you doing here, and speak cohesively”. She quickly nodded “I..I was sent by…Reas…to pick you up for the scout…mission…you…you have twenty minutes to get ready…” she stopped crying and her shaking slowed down. “Fine, get out and close the door. I’ll get ready and meet you outside.” I sighed and looked at the time on my Iris, I had almost overslept and made a mental note to increase the loudness of its alarm to max. “O..Okay… ” she got up and turned to leave but suddenly turned back “Oh…and!” I had already taken off my coat and shirt, she turned pale and slightly red while quickly turning away and closing the door behind her.

I took off the rest of my clothes and spent as much time as I could in the shower,(”What the hell was that?...Was that just a dream?...No…I cannot take any chances. After this scout mission I’ll make sure…”). After showering and changing clothes I put on the belts and proceeded to waking up Saya. I shook her slightly and her eyes opened up “M..master?” she got up and wiped her eyes, “Told you not to call me that, just Matthew. Come on you wanted to come with me on the next mission, right?” her eyes lit up and she began flutter around me “Yes! Yes! Yes! Let’s go! Let’s go!” her excitement was obvious as she landed on my shoulder, “Alright but remember, don’t touch anything and never leave my side understand?” I began walking towards the door. “Aye aye sir!” she gave a salute as I opened the door, I walked out and saw the mouse girl to my left standing by the wall. “Let’s go…what’s your name again?” I looked at her and she looked away “M..Mika…Mikala Reshnar…” , “Let’s go then Mikala”. We walked towards the caravan bays, the ship was bustling with mercenaries going around left and right “What’s with everyone?” I looked around at every one passing me by although I did notice them trying to keep their distance from me. “I’m…surprised you didn’t wake up… A wyrm lunged at the sky whale and…Zeaxar...He ordered the elite squad out after it…You could hear his shouting from the other side of the ship…the wyrm didn’t damage the ship but for some reason he was very very mad…The elite squad incinerated the wyrm from the inside out…” she was trying to keep up with my pace, Saya was staring down at her tail with wide eyes. “Huh…” (“There’s no way that was a normal dream…”) we reached the door to bay 21 and I checked the time, two minutes were remaining so I just opened the sliding door and went inside.

“Alright everybody inside, mission is a go.” All the rangers were sitting idly on the seats in the corner of the room while the pilots were already inside the large ship including a third being the gunner. All the rangers got up and began entering the ship, Mikala side stepped me and followed them. “Matt! Saya-chan!” Ell walked up to me and began gently rubbing Saya’s head with her finger, Saya rocked back and forth with a smile. I sighed “Get in ranger…Oh right…I never asked…What happened to you back then? Back at the dungeon?...”, she looked up at me with a oblivious expression “What happened?” I stared at her “With the slimes?...” she tilted her head looking even more oblivious “Slimes?...” we stared at each other for a couple moments. “Ahh…Nevermind…Just…get inside” (“I’ll ask Leya later…”) I entered the ship and sat down, she followed in behind and did the same while everyone else buckled up and the ship’s engine turned on. “Mission is a go, good luck out there.” Reas’s voice came out from the docking bay’s loud speakers and the blast doors began to open, “You heard her, Go!” I shouted a bit so the pilots could hear me. The blast doors opened up completely and the ship began to move, “Teleportation engaging” I felt the air shift as the ship’s short teleportation module engaged and we zoomed forth and away from the sky whale. “Viewing screens coming up!” monitors came down from the roof and in front of each seat, from them everyone could see whatever the gunner and the seven cameras on each side of the ship could. We were still flying over desert when suddenly the rocks began to get thicker and thicker, strange trees could be seen sticking out here and there on top of larger rocks. “Well, this place ain’t all sand atleast!” the gunner sounded excited as he spoke, I switched the monitor to his view and saw what he was talking about. Off in the distance lay a vast and thick jungle, but the jungle was just as strange as the trees on top of the rocks as it had a reddish lustre and the trees themselves were dark red with pitch black crystals taller than the trees themselves. “Hover within a hundred meters from there, I’ll make sure there are no wyrms beneath this rocky area”.

I took off the belts and moved to the ship’s door, “Ready Saya?” I glanced at her who was on my shoulder and she nodded. I waited for the ship to stop and hover. I opened the door, looking down I could see the stone ground with little sand and took a deep breath. “Saya focused your mana on Wayne” Saya closed her eyes and began focusing her mana on me, “Wayne lend her your power” black and purple energy formed on my back as black bat like wings began to grow with purple pulsating veins. The wings grew to twice my size, “Here we go” I pushed off and out of the ship into the warm air. I plummeted down for a couple moments until I got used to moving the wings, Saya held on for dear life as I finally opened them up fully and began gliding down. I pitched forward and began descending faster but suddenly “Matthew get the hell out of there! NOW!” Reas’s voice rang in my ears but I was already landing on the ground, “What is it?! What happened?” I looked up at the ship and saw it plummeting down towards me “SHIT!” I flew at it in hopes of holding It up “The ship is empty! I repeat the ship is empty! Let go!” HQ could see everything the cameras could so they saw me flying at it, I released my aura on the ship to make sure and surely it was empty. I turned and got out of its way as it crashed down in front of me and into the ground, the ground cracked as the large mass of the ship hit it. “Reas what’s going on? Reas? Hello!?” Nobody answered, I landed on the ground next to the ship as the dust began to clear out. My eyes widened as I felt mana bending behind me, I jumped forward and turned as a humanoid shadow instantly disappeared. “Show yourself!” I summoned my Aethers and entered mist form, “Saya?” checking my shoulder I saw that Saya was also gone and I began to freak out. “Come out you bastard…” a purple aura formed around my eye sockets and both aethers formed their own aura, red for Ember and purple for Wayne.

I released my aura and sensed hundreds of signatures surrounding me “Wha…”, I also sensed Saya’s moving away fast with three others. “Now you’ve done it…” the killing intent in my voice was clear, I raised both aethers and their forms both shifted. In my hands now lay a red and white shotgun with a red crystal embedded in it and a black and purple small machine gun with two purple crystals on each side. “Show yourselves, or this will be a blood bathe…” I released the full force of my aura and felt multiple of the figures shift. Suddenly one of the figures appeared in my vision in an explosion of dark mist, she had dark red skin and long red hair while a long red tail whipped around her back with an arrowhead tip. “No weapons, no fight. We no hurt you, you no kill.” Her English wasn’t terrible but it bordered to it, she spoke of no aggression but her grin said otherwise. I raised Ember at her “Where are my people” my eyes flared a brighter purple as a drop of sweat fell down her cheek but she continued to grin, “Let me rephrase that, where did you take them. Tell me. Now!” Her grey eyes gleamed red as I felt a sharp pain hit the back of my neck. Something embedded itself in the nape of my neck, I was about to pull it out until my vision began to blur and my body became numb. I fell forward as both aethers returned into my gloves, I forced out some more words “If you hurt them…” before I passed out. When I came to the first thing I felt was the hard cold ground beneath me, (“Cold?...”) I opened my eyes to find out I was underground and surrounded by a large barrier. My eyes adjusted and I looked around the cave, on the outside of the barrier I could see obviously hand made structures on the wall of the huge cavern. I saw walls around me that had seating spots at the top, I figured I was inside some kind of coliseum and rose to my feet. Above the risen ground on top of the walls I could see thousands of red skinned figures shouting in a language I did not understand, a sort of podium stood to one side of the circular wall on a balcony with three large thrones to its left.

“Human, the Emperor greets you.” One of the beings stood behind the podium and apparently spoke to me, but I was too busy checking my body for injuries. I was mostly naked except for my pants and my Iris was also gone, they stripped my gloves away and took everything from my pockets. I looked up at the balcony and saw three figures in regal clothing, a male and two females. I recognised one of the females to the very left as the one I saw before I passed out, she was wearing a sort of red stone like crown and the two next to her wore larger versions of it. “If you wish to live” he coughed and a sound caught my attention behind me “You will fight”, I then quickly turned and saw that multiple gates lay on the walls around me. While the ground was a grey pavement the walls were dark red bricks with pitch black gates every couple meters, one of those gates was opening “Also, this barrier around the arena prevents any use of Qi. You cannot use “magic”.” I tried to pour mana or form my aura but I couldn’t feel any of it, my aura was completely gone and my mana felt drained but I was somehow still conscious and able to move normally. The gate stopped opening and I squinted my eyes looking into the darkness behind it, “Ggrrrrgrrrr” two low pitched growls exited the darkness as a fiery red beast leaped out and stared me down. The beast looked like a wolf but was larger than a Direwolf standing about three meters high, it had two heads and four tails while its fur was dark red on its back and blood red from its legs downward. It’s eyes gleamed red while flames escaped its mouths, It took a step forward and opened both its mouths while bending backwards as a ground rumbling howl exited its lunges. Six more howls joined in and three more of the beasts came out from behind it, “These are Hellhounds, you will be provided a weapon but of our choosing.” The one I assumed to be the announcer spoke again as a glint caught my attention from the corner of my eyes. A blade embedded itself into the ground next to my feet, I crouched down and grabbed the red hilted dagger.

The second I did all four hellhounds rushed forth and encircled me, I rose back to my feet and prepared myself. (“Hounds? They look more like wolves…and just like wolves…”) one of the beasts broke from the encirclement and leaped towards me, I ducked down under its jumping form and slashed upwards making a deep cut in its front legs. It crashed down behind me and rose back to its legs while growling in pain and stuttering forward, it looked back at me with hatred in its eyes. The crowd roared in excitement as I grinded my teeth (“They enjoy this!? They see this as entertainment?!”) “I’ll give you something to enjoy yourselves on…” I turned and threw the dagger with all my strength, it flew and embedded itself in the shoulder of what I presumed to be the Emperor. I then took a step forward and looked straight into each of the Hellhounds’s eyes while keeping a low growl “You like to watch combat? You enjoy to watch death? I will show you…Blood spill like you’ve never seen before. ” I put all my anger and frustration into my voice as I found out that my aura wasn’t depleted or gone but I simply had little control over it and little control meant zero restraints on it mirroring my emotions. I saw the announcer’s paling expression as the Emperor stood up and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder while the two women to his side ran to him to help, he looked at the announcer and made a gesture with his thumb slicing his chest. The crowd roared in anger as the hellhounds began to pick up on the situation and took steps backwards and towards their tunnel, “For your atrocious actions your sentence for stepping on our land has been increased to instant death! Release the manticore!” the crowd roared as another gate opened and the hellhounds took more steps back and towards their gate. “Haaahhhh….” A cold and dreadful breathing came out of the second gate and the hellhounds began booking it to theirs, three made it to the gate but the one that was further was crushed as a larger beast dashed out of the second gate at insane speed and lunged at the hellhound.

The Manticore was twice the size of the hellhounds with the body of a brown lion, wings of a dragon, tail of a scorpion and the face looking like a human with no lips and a furry red mane around its head. It had large chains on its wings and pitch black rings around its legs with blazing red runes etched on them, it began to devour the hellhound as I saw a larger ring around its neck. I thought it was eating the hellhound but suddenly it spat the flesh out and proceeded to tearing the body apart with its teeth and fangs, when the hellhound was no more than scattered flesh it stopped and turned to glare at me with its green reptilian eyes. It’s face wearing an expression of deep hatred while it growled coldly, it broke it’s gaze and looked up at the balcony. “You will eat once you’ve killed this pest! Go now!” The Emperor roared over the crowd at the beast, it hissed back at him and turned back to me. Now that I looked closer I noticed that the thing looked starved and tired, “So that is what the collar is for, it’s just like…” I put a hand around my neck as my expression darkened further. I had figured it out, these people…they enslaved this beast by using a key factor of life to blackmail it. “Manticore, you will be handsomely rewarded with some of these new specimens here.” The announcer gestured with his hand to the right where another gate began to open, a barrier blocked anything from entering as a couple figures walked out of the shadows and slammed on the barrier. “Leya?..Kesh?...Saya!...Everyone…” I was about to run towards them but the Manticore stepped in my path and shook its head, “You will go nowhere…Except the next life…” it spoke in a chilling yet dried up voice. “You…you speak?...” I was honestly surprised, monsters don’t usually speak unless they are comparable to dragons or are hybrids. “I know many languages two legged one, yours is not an exception as I have been kept caged up for decades. Your people have been here for a while…fighting…it took me only a couple days to learn yours.”.

It stared down at me for a couple moments then looked back up at the Emperor who was holding his shoulder and standing at the edge of the balcony with anger in his eyes, he made the same gesture he gave the announcer. “The order was given…I might enjoy this…Finally…A new specimen to taste…” excitement was obvious in its eyes and expression as it prepared to attack, I had almost forgotten this thing was more of a monster than a sentient being. The Manticore being able to speak and it’s intelligence along with its speed and strength, I was no match for it without my magic and would die if I had to fight it as such. I began to focus as hard as I could on my aura but nothing, I tried to focus on Ember and Wayne but neither answered. (“Is this?... The end?...”) dread filled my heart as the Manticore bent its legs and leaped forward at speed I could barely notice, its fangs bare and its claws swiping inwards towards my unmoving body. I tried to run, I bent backwards slightly to turn but it was too fast and it’s claws crashed on my position cutting the ground itself. It flung me sideways and into a wall as a cloud of dust followed in my wake, I felt the life quickly seeping out of me as my eyes forcefully closed and darkness took over. I saw nothing, I felt nothing and all I heard was the sound of crowds cheering but that also began to get quieter…and quieter…until I also…heard…nothing.

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Author: Just to show you I’m not completely evil…I wanted to end this chapter here but…to not get questions of if the story ends here or not…

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“What did I tell you?...”

“Shut up…”

“You’re done for, now…”

“Shut up…”

“It’s all over! Your body is broken! You are about to take your LAST BREATH!”

“Shut…up…”

“Hahah! I will finally be freed from your ignorant consciousness!”

“No…”

”Die! Die you fool!”

“No…I…”

”I will then haunt your spirit for eternity!”

“I…won’t…”

”If you only had listened to me! If you only had given up your body to me! I would have made sure our revenge was sweet!”

“No…I won’t die just yet…”

“Wha…”

Somehow, for some reason, I felt light. I FELT, I was able to feel my body again as I opened my eyes to see the Manticore moving towards me. “What in Ruuk are you?!...” It’s eyes lay open wide as it stared in astonishment while I pushed myself out of the crater I made in the wall, I looked down at my hands to see every rune I ever etched on my body glow dark purple. The runes began to shift and I felt mana flowing through my body once again, “Ember…Wayne…Quarter-Body merge…” my aura began to thicken around my arms “We’re here master…” Ember spoke in my mind as her power flowed out from outside the barrier and into my hands forming the aether shotgun and then flowed all over my arm covering it in white and red bionic looking armour. “We will not fail you again…” Wayne spoke next and did the same but forming a pistol with black and purple stone like armour, I looked up at the Manticore who wore a surprised expression while it licked its non-existing lips. I move my arms and raised both weapons to my shoulders, the armour didn’t feel there at all but it increased my grip on the weapons, the physical protection of my arms and the mana flow to the aethers. Red mana radiated while flowing through veins on the left white arm and purple mana pulsed while flowing through the cracks on my black arm, this was my strongest and most mana draining magic. “Do you feel it Emperor?...” I glared up at the balcony “My spirits hunger for your death…you defiled their contractor…You defiled my companions…You have hunted these beasts and enslaved them…I will teach you what it feels like to be the prey…I will be your hunter...You will learn to fear just how your slaves have” I clenched both weapons and purple mist flowed out of my body as the Manticore roared and leaped forward, I bent backwards and sideways at comparable speed while lowering Ember. The Manticore was on top of me as I fired multiple shots into its thick hide, it soared over and turned the second it landed behind me while hissing.

I spun around and began running to my left while lowered my right arm and firing Wayne as Ember rested in my left arm which was dragging behind me. The flurry of shots from the smg hit the beast all over giving it light scratches, it roared in annoyance and lunged forward while I leaped upwards ending up straight in front of its face. I raised Ember again and fired at its face, the pellets injured its eyes to the point of blinding it but only slightly damaged its head. I crashed into its face as I pushed over it with my legs and spun mid air, I fired Wayne all over its back as it flew forward and landed. I landed on my feet “Merge” I put the weapons together as they merged and formed a cannon on my right arm, the Manticore spun around and lunged at me again while I charged the cannon. It was too fast for me to charge up so I jumped upwards again, this time it was ready and it swiped at me with its claws as I blocked with both hands and the cannon. I was yet again sent spiralling into a wall this time making a larger crater, I pushed myself out of the wall while coughing up blood and grunting. I leaped out of the way as the Manticore came crashing into the wall making large cracks in it, It stumbled backwards while shaking its head and then turned to face me again while glaring at me with one eye. Static flowed around the cannon and my arms as I ran away from the Manticore and charged my weapon, it began to give chase and catches up to me almost immediately. It leaped and came crashing down onto me, its fangs bare to bite and swallow. I turned and ran the opposite way for a couple steps till I was directly under it. This all happened within mili-seconds and was a blur of movement, I raised the cannon and let it loose. A beam of black and white mana burst forth from the barrel and propelled the Manticore upwards and into the barrier’s ceiling, it hissed in surprise as it momentarily stayed stuck to the barrier as energy coursed through its body inducing pain.

“Un-Merge” I take a deep breath as the cannon turns into two pistols, I turn and put the pistols together and shoot. Blast after blast I propel myself upwards towards the Manticore ignoring the pain in my arms from the blasts, I bent my arms to where the next blast made me spin mid-air as I ascended towards the beast. ”Merge” Mid-air and mid spin the two pistols merged back together and into a cannon beginning to charge, the Manticore began to fall as I hit its fur and using my momentum rolled around its body and onto its back. I grabbed onto its fur and stopped my movement with a sharp pain in my arms, I quickly stood and using its back as a platform jumped towards the barrier’s roof. I raised the cannon that I put as much mana into as quickly as I could, I focused my mind on one word…”Pierce!” A thinner beam of dense mana shot from the cannon and into the barrier’s roof as I was quickly pushed back down into the Manticore’s head but kept my aim true. The barrier began to show cracks as everyone including the Emperor began to pale, “I!!” Another crack appeared”...WILL!!...NOT!!...” Multiple cracks began quickly forming” BE!!..HELD!!!” The Manticore crashed into the ground headfirst as my attack died down, I rose to my feet ontop of the Manticore’s head as the cannon turned back into pistols and I raised Wayne upwards towards all the cracks in the barrier. “No cage…Never again…” I shot a blast shot that ascended towards the barrier at great speed and crashed into it, it ate through the mana and shattered it. Particles of mana showered my body as I turned and began blasting with both pistols, I propelled myself up and towards the balcony as the Emperor stumbled backwards and onto the floor. With wide eyes and hatred in them I glared down at his pale and agitated expression after I landed on the balcony’s railing and stepped down onto the ground in front of him. Silence filled the coliseum as with every step I got closer to their ruler, “Now tell me…Why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand?”

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Author; … Remember to rate and maybe comment :D!

Edited by: Birse