No one talked. Zeph didn’t leave her ring and Agni stayed by Kimberly’s side. Lop and Opal also stuck to each other, going everywhere together. I couldn’t take this. I needed answers. And above all, I needed strength to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“Zeph, please come out. I need to talk to you.” I whispered to the ring on my finger.

The ring gave a faint glow but Zeph didn’t come out. I placed my hand on the wound by my eyes that Zeph had given me when she healed my eyes. Although she was the loudest and most arrogant of the group, she was also the most affected one, to the point where she lost control of her element for a moment when we had returned.

I went to the room where Kimberly and Agni were and knocked on the door. They had stayed shut in ever since we returned, not coming out for anything. I was beginning to get worried for them.

“No. I won’t leave.” Kimberly’s voice could barely be heard.

“I’m not asking you to leave, I want to come in and talk.” I replied, putting a hand on the door.

After a few minutes of silence, the door opened slowly just a tiny bit. I saw Agni on the opening looking at the floor. He was visibly depressed, his eyes glued to the floor and his body lightly shaking. His red eyes and runny nose were clear indicators that he had just been crying.

“Can I come in?” I asked, giving a weak smile.

Agni didn’t reply but he fully opened the door and stepped aside. I walked in and he closed the door behind me. At that moment, a [Fireball] flew at me but it was slow enough for me to dodge.

“Why?! No! Die! Fuuuuck!” Kimberly suddenly exploded and began throwing [Fireballs] at me as her body burst into flames.

Her speech became incoherent and Agni ran to her, channeling the flames out of her body. It was then that I realized the burn marks all around the room, despite there being no burn smell. I couldn’t bare to see her in such a state and slowly, one step at a time, began walking up to her. With each step, the [Fireballs] became stronger.

“Get out Sam! You’re making it worse!” Agni shouted. “I... Leave!! Pl-Please...”

He began to cry and choking up. I ignored him and my body was becoming seriously wounded. I thought that if Kimberly vented her rage and despair onto me, it could make her feel better. Otherwise, I would leave like Agni wanted. When I came close enough, Kimberly punched me in the face with all her might. I fell on the floor without any resistance and she seized the opportunity to pounce on me. Agni tried to pull her off of me but Kimberly was too strong for him. As she was about to punch me again, I felt a cold drop hit my forehead.

Kimberly was crying and her screaming had turned into wailing. As if she had finally accepted reality, Kimberly laid her head on my chest and cried nonstop. Agni, who was still grabbing onto her, also began sobbing. I didn’t move and let them mourn until they fell asleep.

“Zeph. At least... Help them get to bed.” I quietly muttered.

Zeph finally appeared, but her appearance was different from usual. Her hair had become completely black, her eyes light green and her clothes had lost their color.

Without talking, Zeph picked up Agni and put him in bed, covering him gently with a blanket. I moved Kimberly aside so I could get up and also carried her to the same bed. Zeph didn’t take her eyes away from me, more specifically, the wound she gave me.

“Thank you.” I bowed to Zeph.

She walked up to me and lifted my head, her fingers passing by the wound. I gazed into her eyes, still empty, and opened my mouth.

“I-”

SMACK

Zeph slapped me before I could say anything. The slap didn’t hurt though and I felt my body recover instead. Zeph then disappeared again without a word. I placed my hand on my cheek and smiled bitterly. It was probably revenge for the slap I gave her.

“Idiot. I listened to you but you still refuse to listen to me. I’m a god and you’re a human. Worship me like your master. I...” Zeph’s voice trailed off and I couldn’t hear the rest of her mumbling.

I pondered on her words, trying to guess what she was trying to tell me. I knew that her arrogance was an attempt at lightening the mood. I couldn’t help but chuckle, not because it was funny but because it was something I would do myself. That made me understand Zeph a little bit more.

Hours later.

Time Limit: 3 hours

“Opal, we need to help with the portals. We can’t waste time mourning for someone we didn’t even know.” Lop said, looking outside and internally counting the remaining portals.

“I know, but seeing them like that is what hurts. Maybe leaving them and dealing with a portal ourselves would be better. That way they wouldn’t have to suffer like this anymore.” Opal replied.

The pair quickly made up their mind and left for a portal. I saw them leaving but didn’t gave the audacity to stop them. I stayed by the window and watched them run into the distance. At the moment, I suddenly fell unconscious.

When I came to, Kimberly and Agni were standing beside me. Judging by the look on their faces, something terrible must have happened. That was when I noticed a small window on the corner of my sight. Focusing on the window opened it and I was speechless by what was written on it.

[Invasion of Another World]

Status: Failed

Portals will no longer close when their leader is defeated.

The city is lost.

I couldn’t believe it. We failed? This worried me greatly, for two reasons. One, monsters much stronger than the Iron Jawed Tigers were bound to appear now. And two, I was unconscious for longer than I thought. Zeph didn’t react and Lop and Opal were nowhere to be seen.

Kimberly began talking to me but although I saw her lips move, no sound came out. I then turned to Agni, who wasn’t reacting to the lack of sound coming out of Kimberly. I was the one who had a problem. Distortion dominated my vision once again and I stared at the sky outside. Immediately a giant portal appeared where I was looking at.

“Sam! Don’t! Come back to us!” Kimberly panicked and shook me violently.

“He must be in a trance. It has to be an enemy!” Agni covered his hands in flames and kept a watchful eye in case a creature revealed itself.

The new portal began spiraling and monsters of all varieties vomited out. Unlike the small portals, which released mostly wild monsters and a very small number of intelligent ones, this one poured monsters that were obviously intelligent, from their clothes, their gaze and the way they organized themselves when they landed on the ground.

“Shit! I’m sorry about this Sam!” Kimberly knocked me out and the portal disappeared shortly after. “It really was true. He created the portal.”

“Don’t be fooled Miss!” Agni exclaimed. “The message we received might be a trap to kill one of our own. We can’t trust the messages of the game.”

Agni turned to Kimberly and pleaded with her to reevaluate her choice. Kimberly was hesitant, she didn’t want to kill her only true friend, but she didn’t want to risk dying either.

I finally woke up, but this time instead of waking up where I collapsed, I was in a completely different room. When I tried moving, I felt my limbs restricted. I looked down and saw that I was strapped to a metal chair. I was in an empty room, the windows were covered and the only light that existed came from under the door and the cracks between the window covers.

“Kimberly?! Agni?!” I shouted, looking around in hopes that they were just playing some twisted prank on me.

The unnatural aura in you is evolving.

The window quickly closed itself when I didn’t acknowledge it.

“Oi Kimberly! This isn’t funny!” I kept struggling, trying to free myself.

I didn’t have any skills that could free me, so I had to rely on my natural strength instead. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very strong to begin with. I began losing my mind, feeling betrayed and thinking that I was abandoned for a reason I couldn’t even fathom. My rage turned into despair which then turned into a feeling of loneliness.

Time flowed and I had lost track of how long I was trapped for. Just when I had pretty much lost all hope, the door opened and a silhouette was standing there. It was rather easy to see who it was, there was only one person with long pointy ears.

“Look at what happened to you. Do you know what you did?”

Zeph approached me, her appearance still the same as before. What changed was her gaze, now filled with a mixture of murderous intent and inner turmoil. Asking her about the situation was a guaranteed way to have my life ended, so I just looked at her silently.

“Keeping quiet now? I want to kill you so badly, you know that?” Zeph spoke, her voice as cold as ever. She came even closer, to the point of leaning and resting one hand on my shoulder. “The others told me you’re responsible for my mastery over my element constantly lowering. Can you believe it? A goddess losing control of her natural element? No....”

Her grip tightened and I felt an intense pain on my shoulder, like it could be crushed at any moment.

“I haven’t been losing control. You’ve been stealing it from me. And you even knew it.”

“...”

Too many things were happening at the same time, I couldn’t process all the information. First I’m knocked unconscious, then tied up by who I can only assume to have been Kimberly, and to top it off, Zeph found out about her mastery decreasing.

“I’m sorry. I was afraid.” I muttered, slowly lowering my head. “Although I wasn’t doing it consciously, I won’t say it wasn’t happening.”

Zeph’s eyes were trembling in anger, winds whipped up around us. She took a deep breath but the winds only became stronger.

“So you admit it. Kimberly doesn’t trust you anymore. She doesn’t even remember when she nearly killed you during her little fit. I’m glad though. Glad that you’re like this. You’ve got no choice but to listen to me now.” Zeph said with a sinister smile, her black hair rising with the wind and encircling us.

I stared at her feet, awaiting any punishment she deemed correct. She placed her hand on my chin and lifted my head. Her face was extremely close to mine, her eyes staring into mine.

“Sam. Did you know this? The reason a god is a Minor God, the lowest rank, is because they have been forgotten by their worshipers. And in realm of gods, Ring Gods, even the greatest ones, are treated as inferior. Now imagine being a Minor Ring God. The lowest of the low.” Zeph said as she distanced herself a small bit.

I wanted to respond but no matter what I said, it wouldn’t be the right thing. As I was about to say anything, a cold [Wind Blade] cut my cheek. It was a warning to stay silent, she wasn’t finished with what she wanted to say.

“So impatient. Wait for your turn. Have you ever thought as to why only Ring Gods and humans are participating in this horrible game? It’s so obvious. It’s in the name. Other gods are controlling all this. This is a game for them. They’re enjoying seeing us suffer like this.”

When I heard that, my eyes shone with the unnatural aura and Zeph sighed at seeing the aura. The winds disappeared and her hair lowered. Zeph looked sad and she bit her lower lip until it bled. I couldn’t imagine what was on her mind but I didn’t have to wait long to find out. Zeph turned around and walked back to the door.

“Sam. We’re leaving you behind.”