Julie flew back and hit a tree, slumping toward the ground she looked up to see Yoshiro smile calmly. "Come on Jules, if you want to get stronger you have to do better than that." He taunted and Julie smirked and launched herself forward. Yoshiro extended his spear forward and waited for my charge.

As we were about to meet, he thrust his spear forward and Julie narrowly dodged to the side. Suddenly with a press of a button, two parts of the shaft on his spear extended out, creating a pick-like weapon, catching Julie off guard, she was hit in the stomach, losing her breath as the sides opened up and Yoshiro charged, pinning her against the tree.

(Something like this)

"Jules Jules Jules, how did you like my surprise? Custom built of course" Yoshiro smiled, Julie noticed the string running along the edge of the metal, and Yoshiro noticed.

"This string is here for a reason you see" He chuckles to himself and he draws the string back and inserts a dart. "You can use anything, from arrows, needles, darts, rocks, you name it" After that, he took out the dart and pressed the button again, the sides of the pick retracted into the spear.

Yoshiro walks away saying "Lucky I didn't sharpen the pick or else it could have been an axe"

Julie simmers in anger and she punches the tree that she was recently pinned against.

"Ugh, why can't I be stronger, true Yoshi's a genius but I should be able to win at least one match right" Julie mutters to herself and in the distance a voice calls to her "Dream on."

Julie screams out in rage and after a few hours of chasing Yoshiro around, she calmed down. "Where... *huff* ... *huff* is that *huff* *huff.... bastard" Julie panted, she looked around to see herself in a grotto of tree though the remnants of houses could be seen. The smell of something burning was smelt and Julie got her sword out.

"Nice, nice kuhu, an elemental golem village in such great conditions kuhu" a blazing person was elated, seriously the person was on fire and he didn't mind.

"What are you doing here kuhu" the person asked and he turns around to face Julie.

The being that turned around had the body of a wood, two eyes of burning coal, no visible mouth his body showed no clothing but any important parts were covered in flames.

"Let me ask the questions, what are you doing here?" Julie retorted and the person shakes his head. "Me kuhu?, I am Roa and I search for the origins of this world, you know of the gods and how they bless us" Roa declared.

"I do know of them, my....... family used to pray for Cortesa the Goddess of Harvests to bless the crops for a good harvest." Julie paused before replying.

"Then you must wonder, who created the gods kuhu, We know that there are minor and major gods and goddesses but ask us this kuhu, who created them kuhu , why were they created kuhu. Ancient records of times past old has told us that a one true god existed, it is a being that controlled the planets, the moons of the universe kuhu." Roa spoke

"But why are you trying to find out about their existence? What good will it serve you" Julie argued. Roa held up his hand and looked at Julie, "Because they are the ones who gave life to us kuhu, we exist today because they are the ones who allow us to live, surely you must have heard about the four Beasts of Calamities the beasts who try to purge the world of all life kuhu. They simply exist because one the species screwed up an the gods want them dead kuhu."

"If you believe that the Calamity Beasts are here to punish us, why is only one rampant now, why has the general populace never even heard of them till now"

"You humans are ignorant kuhu, You only pass down the tales of your good deeds, in the face of the calamities you trembled in your own shoes and hid in your homes kuhu. Those brave enough to fight died in the war or were permanently scarred, wishing not to tell the horrors of them. Your kind knows no leniency for the truth, but rather warps it with lies."

"Where were you when facing King Glutton, Kylia and Poison Leviathan. As they wiped out many species from this face of a moon. The Golems are gone, their clay bonding with the earth, so are the Mindless Shadows whose being of self has turned into nothing, Ember Sprites and Dryads have long since decayed from the onslaught. The slimes and the dwarves are near extinct and yet you humans are the majority, where where you when all of our species were needed to fight" Roa roared his weird accent gone with the anger.

"I...I wa.... " Julie stuttered and a shattering headache pierced her head, in her mind she saw the fields of battle, Kylia laugh gleefully as she sniped Wind Nymphs and Aerolite Garudas as they tried to run. King Glutton grabbing bunumen and eating them whole. King Dracio scorching the land into cinders amidst the dying screams of Golems and Dryads and countless other scenes flashed through her mind until she blacked out.

She woke up with a cloth on her head and a blanket covering her. Julie looked over to see Roa tending to a fire, Chance and Yoshiro were nearby, talking intensely. Julie just smiled and went back to bed.

The next morning Roa had an announcement, "I will be joining you, you are searching for a sword to defeat Kylia, Kylia is a being that was created by the gods, If we do defeat her, I will want to ask questions now can I kuhu?"

Julie was flabbergasted at this sudden announcement and she turned to look at her two friends, Chance just shrugged and Yoshiro smiled before saying "One more person will make surviving the encounters much more bearable".

Julie turned toward Roa and thought intently for a bit before tell him "Sure, lets go, I want to ask a few questions myself"

The ground was smoking, the husks of insects lied everywhere you looked. Yoshiro wrinkled his nose. "The smell is getting me, are you sure we should be looking for survivors, the last time we did this we spent days without results" he said and Chance scolded him, blasting him in the face with a torrent of wind.

The wind blew some of the corpses away and revealed a tiny larva. The larva was munching on the flesh of her brethren but she didn't appear to have a care in the world. Chance walked up to the larva and started to pet it. The larva was startled that something touched her but other than that she continued to eat.

"What type of insect could she be?" Chance asked as she cuddled the little critter.

Julie looked around to see the wasps, mantis, spider, beetles, ants, caterpillars, moths, and more variety of insect corpses that were strewn about. "She could be anything" Julie said to Chance and Yoshiro shouted out a warning.

Julie quickly pulled out her sword and ran toward Yoshiro and she found a mantis, half decayed and body parts missing.

The body was still twitching yet cracks were appearing. Everyone watched as the mantis's body cracked and a new body emerged from the mess.

Yoshiro had his spear-bow out and aimed at the mantis and after gasping loudly, the mantis turned to look.

"You hunans are here to slay ne?" the mantis asked.

"We just want answers, what happened here?" Yoshiro asked with caution

"Let ne talk arout huat hakkened here" the mantis spoke.

"I an CKet and the Ruage Huarriors attacked this village. I narroly survived nyself. dut tell ne, are there any survivors?" CKet spoke.

"We found a young one, unknown variety" Chance spoke up, holding the little guy in her hands.

"Hzzz, an Arclight Huasp you have there, They're not a race to live long for various reasons, but this one is a girl, so if a boy cones round, another hive can be founded, any others?"

"Nothing, so far it was just the two of you" Julie replied, and CKet tisked.

"There are Rillions of corpses here, if you just started looking then you could find thousands" Cket struggled to get up but her injuries prevented her.

Chance saw this and put the larva down, getting into a meditative position, after a few minutes a gentle breeze flew through the area, "It will take a while but I can sense life"

CKet started to cocoon herself "Thankfully I was nearing the shedding, see you huen I get I noo body" CKet chittereed and cocooned herself.

Hours later, Chance fell exhausted, "Millions of bodies and no survivors, though I haven't checked the outskirts" Chance muttered and fell asleep on the spot.

Julie got her weapon ready and Yoshiro prepped his spear. Roa started to make a campfire.

Julie fell asleep.

In the morning the cocoon was hatching and Chance was shouting about life.

"Two signatures, one very faint"

CKet who just hatched from the cocoon sprung forward with her new body and rushed to the area that Chance said the signitures were. "Follow her" Yoshiro cried out and everyone sprinted to follow

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Sorry for the long wait, here are some short stories/side chapters for you all