Chapter One

*

John sighed as he eased up on the gas pedal, his foot hovering over the brakes as the black Mustang aggressively merged in front of him. The bass in his music helped calm him after his frustrating day at work. The average twelve-hour shift felt three times longer due to lack of work. He was still considered an “essential employee” despite having nothing to do, so the day had amounted to idly twiddling thumbs while impatiently awaiting the sweet release of freedom that came at six.

This also came with the hour-long drive and the crazy people trying to get an extra foot ahead of the next guy in the several miles of congested traffic, but that was ordinary. All he could do was sit there and relax to the near eardrum shattering music without really caring about how long the drive took.

Working sixty hours a week left little time to make plans with Elaine or Lily.

He took out his phone and looked through the calendar and calculated how much PTO he’d accrued while not moving a single foot in the traffic. “I’ve been killing myself with work. I need to make plans.”

Time passed as he started scheduling time off with work, booking plane tickets, and making lists of things they would need to pack for their trip to Canada. He heard that it was nice this time of year.

By seven, he pulled into his driveway and looked at his two-story home. They had bought it shortly after being married nearly twelve years ago. The brick was beginning to fade, but their lovely garden made up for it. One of Lily’s favorite hobbies was to pick weeds and maintain the plants, always coming home with various fauna that she “just couldn’t resist”.

John had a green thumb as well, though he’d never admit it to Lily. It was a game they played.

A couple steps later, he pushed open the front door and took in the comforting baby blue walls, the marble countertops, and the beautiful redwood dining table with the maroon placemats. He smiled as a small body came flying into his arms. “Daddy! How was work? Did miss Sharell like my card?”

John’s pride and joy, Elaine, hugs him tightly and began rapid firing questions without giving him a chance to respond. He waited for her to finish and just pat her head, sitting her down at the table for dinner. He kissed her forehead, fixed her hair, and then turned to face his lovely wife who stood by the stove mixing a pot of something heavenly, the scent permeating the air in the kitchen.

He could tell she was focusing and turned back to Elaine. “Baby girl, she absolutely loved it. She wanted me to tell you that she appreciated it and that she can’t wait for the next ‘Bring Your Child To Work’ day. She says she’ll have chocolate cookies for you if you come.” He poked her nose and walked back to the office by the front door. “Bless All Those Who Enter” was painted quite beautifully on the hall towards the front door.

The office was large. It contained several bookshelves overflowing with all kinds of books and various texts, a desk with several filing cabinets with several organized manilla folders, a treadmill, and random things that Lily would throw in the room. The room ranged from organized chaos to a natural disaster. He flicked off the light and shut the door, walking up behind Lily to give her a big hug. He kissed her neck softly and rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder and neck.

“I love you. Also, dinner smells nice.” She wore a fuzzy jalapeno onesie and leaned her head on him

“I love you, too. Did anything interesting happen at work today?” she asked as she started ladeling servings of spicy gumbo onto two large plates and one smaller plate. John kissed her neck once more before taking the plates over to the table and setting them down on the table mats. She brought over the silverware and sat across from him. There were flowers in the center of the table from the garden as well as several floral paintings strewn about. Lily hung them up willy nilly, not caring too much about how well they matched or if they were in a good spot.

“I wish. It reminded me of when I was younger. ‘Hurry up and wait’. They want me there, overpaying me all the while, just in case something happens, but it’s not likely to happen. All those machines have been tested more than a hundred times in the last month, down to the absolute minutia, but you know how upper management is.”

He took a bite of the gumbo and the flavor exploded in his mouth. It was spicy with a hint of sweet lemon.

“Enough about work. I’ve missed my two favorite girls in the whole, wide world,” he said as he pinched Elaine’s cheeks playfully with a smile. “How’d things go with the Newbauers?”

She paused and thought for a moment. “They settled at a quarter for the house down on Mulberry. I’d say I’m envious of them, but that’s just too much space. It wouldn’t make much sense for us, but their family is growing relentlessly. Did you know that Mrs. Newbauer is pregnant again? I figured four kids by the time you’re thirty would be enough, but they wanted a fifth. Lord have mercy on them.”

He nearly choked on the mouthful of gumbo. “A quarter of a million? Isn’t that property worth double that? And a fifth kid?”

“Yeah, not sure how they managed that.” Lily looked over at Elaine who quietly played with her food, eating a couple bird-sized bites here and there. “Five kids… Is that so bad for them? They have the space, and they definitely have the money to provide for a family that big. Do you ever wish…?”

“I’m happy with what we have, love. I’m happy with our family as we are. You can’t help what happened, so put the thought out of your head. Okay?” John reached over and placed his hand against Lily’s, watching as the moment of sadness faded.

“John, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, love.” He looked over at Elaine. “If you make a happy plate, you can have a little bit of ice cream after dinner.”

Elaine squealed in delight and started scarfing down her food in eight-year-old sized bites. She made funny faces all the while, but eventually finished it and showed John her squeaky clean plate.

“I did it Daddy! Can we have ice cream now?” she asked excitedly while bouncing in her chair.

“Absolutely, honey.” He stood up and went over to the fridge, “Lily?”

“Strawberry, please.”

He took out two tubs of ice cream and grabbed bowls from the cabinet. He wet the ice cream scoop and quickly filled all three bowls. He set them down on the mats and took a bite, remembering that Elaine had gymnastics today.

“How was gymnastics? I’ve heard a lot from Mr. Johnson. He says you’re one of the best students he’s had in a few years.” He turned to watch Elaine. She squirmed in her seat and blushed at the praise.

“It was really fun, Daddy. I hope you can come some time.” She jumped down from her chair to do a little cartwheel in the empty space in the kitchen. “Mr. Johnson is really nice, but I just have fun when I go.”

She climbed back into her chair and scarfed down her ice cream like her life depended on it. It didn’t take long for her to finish. She set her bowel on the counter instead of throwing it into the sink and ran to the backdoor to let in our other child, Dexter.

Dexter was an Argentenian Mastiff. John always found it funny when he took Dexter for walks. People would be terrified of how big he was, but he was the most kind animal John had ever seen.

John got walked into the living room as Dexter came rushing toward him, tongue flopping from side to side, and nearly ran John over. Dexter easily weighed over a hundred and sixty pounds. He stood on his two rear legs and propped his front legs on John’s chest, standing as tall as John. Without a trace of elegance, Dexter licked anything he could get his slobbery tongue on.

Needless to say, John needed to change by the time he finally calmed Dexter down and got the dog off him. John pet Dexter’s back until Dexter rolled over to show off his belly, begging for tummy scratches. John looked over at Lily who still sat at the table giggling at John.

“I missed you too, Dexter. How could I forget my baby boy,” John crooned to him like he talked to a baby. John played with Dexter for a few more minutes before collecting both his and Lily’s bowels and rinsing them out, making sure to place them in the dishwasher before settling down to read the mail.

Most of them were letters from different insurance agencies, phone companies, and other such things, but one of them gave John a bad feeling. A feeling that made him feel sick to his stomach. A feeling that made him feel absolute dread.

It was simply a blank envelope.

“Love, have you seen this?” he asked as he gestured Lily over. “It’s completely blank and isn’t addressed to anybody.”

“I saw it, but I’m not sure what it is. I left it for you,” she says with a smile.

He looked at her and then back at the envelope. She seemed fine with it, but when he looked at it, he got tunnel vision and felt incredibly lightheaded.

He felt on edge as he looked at the letter. When he looked at Lily again, it felt as though an enormous pressure was taken off of his shoulders.

“What the…?” he muttered to himself as he felt the pressure return when he looked at the envelope again.

“Is everything okay?” Lily asked with a hint of concern in her voice, her brows furrowing as John started to sweat.

“Y-yeah. It’s nothing. I guess I’m just more tired than I thought,” he lied. He didn’t know how else to explain the feeling. It sounded crazy in his head, so he could only imagine how crazy it sounded to someone else.

This truly freaked him out. He tossed it in a drawer and left it as a concern for later, collecting the spam mail and dropping it into the recycling bin. The bin had “Go Green, Save Our Planet” in a large white font on the side next to a picture of an animated sun that smiled up at John.

He looked around their house and felt complete bliss. His home was his safe haven. The only place he didn’t have to wear a metaphorical mask and pretend to care about the people outside.

The letter felt invasive. Unnerving even. This was his safe space and the way it made him feel uncomfortable felt like an intrusion into his safe space.

He glanced at the drawer with the letter and felt a sense of dread. He always trusted his gut and it screamed danger.

“I’m getting rid of it tonight. To the trash with all that extra stress,” he muttered to himself.

They spent some family time where he nearly dozed off watching shows on Kid’s Network. Before long, it was nine and he was putting Elaine to bed. He sat on the ground next to her bed and read her several books. “Green Eggs and Ham” was still one of her favorites, even though he’d read it to her nearly a million times.

Once he finished a third book, he tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I love you, honey.”

“I love you too, Daddy!” she responded happily. “Can you leave the night-night light on? I’ve been having bad dreams.”

He flicked the switch on the night light and pulled the cord to kill the ceiling fan’s light, “What kind of dreams, honey?”

“Scary ones. Like, monsters and magic, and spaceships, and all kinds of weird things. You were there too, Daddy! They were hurting you, but you got away.” She sat up as she started recalling her dream. “It was really, really real. Like, really, really, real, Daddy. You had this gross thingy inside you that was hurting you, but you got it out. You killed the bad guys and came home! You’ll always come home, right? No matter what happens?”

“Honey, honey. It’s okay. It was just a dream. I’m not going anywhere. Actually, next month we’re all going on vacation, but don’t tell momma. It’s our little secret. Pinkie promise?” He held out his pinky finger and raised his eyebrows in expectation. He smiled when she looped her finger in his.

“Pinkie promise.”

“Alright. Time for sleep.” He gave her one last hug before walking out of the room and leaving the door slightly cracked.

He walked down the stairs and went to the drawer, trying to decode whatever Elaine’s dream meant. He went over to the drawer and pulled out the letter, setting it on the counter and bracing himself. The dread only got more intense.

He could hear the shower running from his room and knew Lily was in the shower. He picked up the letter and walked over to the trash, stepping on the pedal that flipped the lid open. However, when he went to drop the letter into the trash, he felt an overwhelming terror that sucked away his breath and brought him down to his knees.

It felt as though the entire world screamed at him. He felt as though by dropping the letter in the trash, he’d be doing something he’d regret.

It took some time to get back onto his feet and recover from the absolute terror he felt. His body was covered in layers of sweat and he had to stop himself from shaking.

There was no getting around it. He opened the envelope’s flap and it immediately caught on fire. He quickly threw it down onto the ground and started stamping out the fire. He looked down at the envelope that had been on fire to see that only a letter remained. There was no hint of the fire and no trace of any ash. There was no smell either, as though it had never happened.

Chapter Two

*

John reached down and picked up the strange, folded letter. He saw a naked Lily peek around the corner from their bedroom hallway, her mouth opening to speak as he opened the letter.

Everything froze.

Not in the bone-chilling, icy way.

Nope.

Time itself came to a complete halt.

Everything but John, that was.

He rushed over to Lily, but a barrier kept him from leaving the kitchen. He still held the letter and looked back down at it. This hadn’t happened until he’d opened it.

The feeling of anxiety ate away at him as he read the letter’s contents. He thought back to what Elaine had said and felt so very confused.

The words he read would forever be burned into his mind.

“Congratulations! You have been drafted!” The letter even had the audacity to explode with confetti.

As soon as he’d read the letter three times with no explanation, a timer counting down appeared on the paper starting from five.

Four.

“What is happening?!” he asked aloud in a panic, receiving no answer in response.

Three.

“Who’s doing this? This isn’t funny!”

Two.

“This can’t be real.”

One.

There was a great flash of light followed by absolute darkness.

The darkness was pervasive, attempting to reach into his existence and tear pieces away for itself. The darkness demanded obedience over his mind. It demanded his flesh, his mind, his soul. It tore at him and he felt as though he screamed, but there was no sound. The darkness caused him pain. So much pain.

He endured, not knowing how to make it stop, for longer than his mind could handle. He endured with only one thought in his mind. He endured until he was stripped of everything.

He existed in the darkness, though something strange happened.

His body began to reform of the darkness after having been completely stripped away. He felt something else, some foreign entity slip inside of him from the darkness as his body reformed, but he really couldn’t even tell that it was his own body. It felt familiar, while at the same feeling completely alien.

The darkness whispered to him, begging for his surrender. It whispered words of comfort, and when that didn’t work, it screamed so loud that he felt his brain ooze out into the ever pervading darkness. Though it didn’t matter.

His body reformed time and time again with no end in sight.

Until it just did.

John woke with a start and tried to stand up, confused at the unfamiliar surroundings and massive headache that hammered against his skull relentlessly. He felt dizzy and nearly collapsed, quickly realizing that he was shackled to a desk in a classroom.

“What the f-” he started to swear before he was interrupted.

“Watch your mouth, boy.” John started as he hadn’t even noticed the other occupants of the room.

“Where did you come from? You weren’t just there. Where am I? Why am I here? Why am I shackled down to a desk?” His mind was working at a million miles an hour, though he quickly found himself unable to speak.

The figure on the left, an inhumanly beautiful woman, spoke in a voice that sounds like a symphony. Her gaze was sharp and John figured he’d probably be dead if looks could kill. “Okay, now that the pest is silenced, let’s begin class. You’d do well to pay attention now. My brother Xexel will be schooling you today.”

With that, a pen and notebook appeared in front of John. He quickly scratched down a question in a rush, holding it up for the two to see.

It read: Where is my family?!

“They’re just fine,” Xexel lazily waved. A strange pool of water appeared in front of him. He stared down into it and saw his precious Elaine and beloved Lily holding one another while cops inspected their house. The pool disappeared just as fast as it appeared and John screamed in silent rage, his woes unheard by any.

“Bellathorne, don’t frighten the ignorant chap. It’s not his fault his universe is foolish and refused our services years ago. He cannot be blamed for such delinquent actions. Young universes tend to be rather illogical at times.” Xexel spoke with a flamboyance that really annoyed John. It reminded him of a satire, but this person didn’t seem to be joking.

“Now, we know what you’re going to ask. ‘Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on? Why am I here?’ Yada, yadda, yadda. All the typical questions, but let me tell you something,” Bellathorne glared at John, deadpanning towards the end. “Just don’t.”

“We’re here to give you the most rudimental information to allow you to become a great asset towards the entertainment and joy of your neighboring universes… Or Universi?” He turned to face Bellathorne, “Remind me to ask Ezekiel later. Anyway, you’re not special. We have several students a decade, and I can count on one hand how many of those students lasted long enough to do anything besides piss themselves before they died a slow and painful death. This academy is made for those that are non-residents of the current Game of War galaxies. We are, in your terms, gods of knowledge. As a being that has been drafted, you have several options instead of the ‘Average Joe’ who gets to simply be a player. Now, are you gonna cooperate?”

John stared at them both in utter bewilderment.

Xexel just declared that they were both gods.

Not only that, but there were several universes, and he got dragged into one that played a wargame spanning an entire galaxy.

On top of that, Xexel referred to the normal people as “players”. Like in a game.

John dumbly stared at them both, slightly nodding in acquiescence.

“Good enough. Now, John Chapman, we’re nice people here.” John glared at him, looking down at the shackles and thinking about how they had temporarily made him a mute. “Oh, don’t be like that Johnny Boy. No harm, no foul.”

Xexel really pissed John off, but he knew he needed them for information. Though, honestly, it didn’t seem like they would be able to help him much if what Xexel had said were to be taken at face value.

“I just want to get back home,” John said as he made eye contact with both of them. “I have a wife and daughter. I’ll do whatever it takes to get home. That’s all that matters to me, and I’ll do anything.” He spoke quietly. He was resigned to his fate. If he worked with them, he would probably have a higher chance of making it back home. A tear freely flowing down his face and he looked away from them both.

Xexel and Bellathorne looked at one another. Xexel let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Well, that’s boring. You tell him.”

Bellathorne frowned but began speaking, “There are two ways to return to your homeworld. You’ve been Void-Touched. Don’t ask what that means. Just know it can both harm and help you if you’re lucky enough.”

“Woah, Bellathorne. I thought we were gonna convince him to do something dumb so that Upper doesn’t give us more work. You told him he’s Touched, so now he’s actually gonna try.”

“If I’m being honest, Xexel, I’m bored. Now, he’s told us he’ll do anything, so let’s give him the information,” Bellathorne rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Xexel groaned in frustration, “But, that means we’ll actually have to try. There’s no way this guy will do anything useful.”

“Xexel, he’s Void-Touched. Are you dense?”

“So what? He’s got that parasite inside of him. He’s gonna die no matter what we do.”

“You’re not helping,” Bellathorne said as she glared at her brother.

John watched this happen silently, trying to parse any information he could. So far, he understood that the dream he had may not have been so simple, and that something had, in fact, latched onto him. He shuddered at that thought.

“Fine, you want me to be helpful? Then let’s be helpful.” Xexel held his head in his hands. “This universe is currently hosting the Galactic Wars and is completely different from the one you came from. Your host world refused to join us and became a reject. That’s why you got drafted. Rejects don’t actively participate, but that doesn’t stop them from being summoned. Much like you.”

Bellathorne smiled as she saw Xexel being helpful, though she scowled at John.

“Listen up. In this world, there are four types of entities. There are monsters. Monsters are the easiest way to gain Essence. There are Players, those that actively participate in the Games and act as the pawns in the massive game of Galactic Chess. Non-Players are children and crafters. As a player, you’re going to need to learn a Profession to supply and protect crafters, and then the crafters will create weapons and armor for you. Lastly, there are companions.” Bellathorne took a deep breath after rushing through all that information.

John did his best to remember what she’d said as he jotted down notes as fast as he could.

Xexel didn’t skip a breath before continuing where Bellathorne left off. “Companions are very interesting. Now, because you were drafted, you have the option of choosing which category you’d like to participate in the Games as. Having said that, I want to inform you that Non-Player and Companion are actually locked due to your status as Void-Touched.”

Bellathorne stared at her brother, “Don’t act like choosing monster is actually a choice. He wants to return home to be with them, not to eat them.” She paused for a moment, biting her lip in contemplation before she continued speaking. “I want you to note something, John. Our timeline does not run equivalent to yours. Time here passes about twenty times faster than it does in your world. That means a hundred years here is five years where you come from.”

John’s eyes widened in shock.

Xexel scowled, “Now you give the boy false hope. The current Games have been only going for a millennia. It is still early on, so more than likely your family will be very dead and gone long before you ever get home.”

John felt like he got whiplash from how fast his emotions tanked after he felt that brief elation.

Chapter Three

*

“Be truthful with me. What are my chances of seeing my family again?” John asked hopelessly. His eyes were closed and he gripped the side of his head, helplessness stemming a deep fury within.

“There’s no way to tell. The shortest ever Games lasted less than a decade while the longest lasted nearly fifty millennia,” Bellathorne responded with a shrug, looking away from John’s distraught display.

“Here’s the thing, though,” Bellathorne started. John didn’t look at her, refusing to let hope worm its way back just to be stamped out again. “You’re Void-Touched.”

“So what?” John snidely asked. “That means nothing to me.”

“What she’s trying to say is that your body was warped by Void and Discord.”

“I’m not following,” John waited for a better explanation.

“It’s hard to talk about, but let’s just say you have a significant advantage. You will be an asset, though you could also go the monster route and hope that you find a way to shapeshift along the way. You get huge boosts to power and evolution if you choose to become a Void-Touched monster, though that also poses an issue. People will hunt you down once word gets out,” Xexel looked like he was looking off somewhere John couldn’t see.

“Void transcends universes, though your soul is tied to the draft. You won’t be able to escape, and the price for trying to is severe.”

“Whatever. I choose Player, though I want to know more about Companions. What do they do?” he asked, truly just trying to delay the inevitable. He knew he wouldn’t stay in the company of gods for long, and he imagined that any universe that participated in the Galaxy Wars would be far from friendly.

Xexel cleared his throat, speaking in his normal haughty tone. “Well, Companions come in all kinds of forms. They’re bound by Contracts and can be resummoned if they die. They all have different skillsets and abilities to help you on your journey, though they’re usually fairly greedy. They leech quite a bit of Essence, but grow even more powerful the more they absorb just like a Player. The only real difference is that a Companion has to be Contracted and can’t truly die.”

Bellathorne looked away, “My favorite is the Kitsune. They’re just so adorable. Not only that,” her eyes narrowed and her face twisted into a wicked grin, “They’re so beautifully sick and twisted. Also, you can’t go wrong with all the floof.”

Xexel rolled his eyes while John stared at Bellathorne like she’d grown another head and a second pair of arms.

“Before we lock you into being a Player, I’m gonna tell you more about the monster category, just so that I can say that we did our jobs correctly,” Xexel glared at Bellathorne while he spoke. “You have to gain enough Essence to become a Rank-Ten Boss-Class monster. A Rank-Ten Boss-Class monster is designated as a “Universal Disaster” and is hunted by the gods personally. Since you’ve been drafted, it means that your spirit gets released from the Games.”

John felt a headache coming on. There was far too much information to take in all at once.

“However,” Bellathorne hesitated before she continued speaking, “After a hundred years pass, any drafted monsters will be forced to return to the Games if they have yet to be completed.”

“Would I lose my power while I was in my world? Would I have to start over again?” John definitely wouldn’t choose that option if that was the case.

“You’ll retain a portion of your power when you return to your world to keep you from dying, and you would return to the Games at full power.” Bellathorne could tell he was interested. “With the parasite inside of you, you’re going to need to get as powerful as you possibly can if you want any chance at surviving.”

“I-I think I’ll actually choose to be a monster then,” John reluctantly replied. “I need any advantage I can get if I’m going to survive the parasite.”

“Okay, then the next step is very crucial. The Race you choose will determine how others interact with you. If you choose a more dangerous race, most people will stop at nothing to hunt you down. Choose a race more useful to the Players or Dungeons and you’ll see much more growth,” Bellathorne excitedly said.

“Do you have any recommendations?” John asked, not entirely sure what kind of monster would be useful on a galactic scale.

“Well, first you wanna start looking at utility options for Players to Contract you for, or to look at something as deadly as possible. I’m almost certain that anything you choose will become a variant due to you being Void-Touched, though that could do well in helping you. I recommend any Race that allows you to have combat potential and act as a mount for Players,” Xexel said matter-of-factly.

“What races have the ability to become flying mounts?” John asked. Flying seemed cool to him and he figured that it would be better than a mount that was limited to the ground.

“Races that are accepted and trusted by Players? Well, there’s only two, really. Dragons-”

“Overrated and highly mistrusted for their arrogant dispositions,” Bellathorne interrupted Xexel.

“Fine, then why don’t you give him your recommendations, sister.” Xexel crossed his arms and pouted at being interrupted.

“I recommend the Gryphon. They’re respected almost everywhere and have been known to gain the ability to shapeshift around Rank-Seven.” Bellathorne beamed proudly at her brother and he just rolled his eyes.

“If that’s what you think will be the best option for me, then that’s what I’ll do.” John nodded resolutely, finalizing his choice in his mind.

“Then it’s decided,” Xexel clapped his hands. John felt strange and he realized that his body was morphing. Surprisingly, it wasn’t painful like he thought it would be.

The desk he sat at changed into a cage and he was bound down to the ground. The classroom also changed into that of a stable, though it was ornately adorned.

Bellathorne stared out of a window while he changed, though the image he had for a gryphon and the truth of what he became was far different. He was barely bigger than a small puppy. His feathers and body were an obsidian color and he had two sharp horns that went straight back. His tail turned out to be two tails and they were both spiked and incredibly strange.

He fumbled for quite some time as he got used to now having four legs and wings. He hadn’t considered the time it would take for him to adjust to using so many extra limbs. It was as though he had suddenly gained a bunch of muscles that he’d never used.

The overhanging lights dimmed quite a bit, being sucked down towards John’s head and chest. He looked down frantically and saw that his chest emitted a soft, glowing light. It was the only part of his body that wasn’t obsidian in color. He felt like he gained power from the energy he gained, but it was insignificant.

He tried to speak and started squawking and chirping like a bird before remembering that he was a gryphon now. His front half was that of an eagle and his back half was that of a lion, though with some extra edginess thrown in.

“Don’t panic. If you want to speak, you’ll have to think at us. We’ll be able to understand, though it’s something you’ll develop if you find someone that wants to Contract you. It usually happens around Rank-Three,” Bellathorne informed him.

He tilted his head and tried his best to...

Think at them.

Strange, but he focused quite a bit and he finally saw a reaction in Bellathorne. Her cheeks went red and she looked away from John.

“Well, this just got weird,” Xexel said awkwardly. "Uh, I guess we should finish up and get you going

“Okay, so what we have left is Factions. These determine where you’ll start in the universe and who you’ll be aligned to, but they don’t decide who you end up with. It’s just something to get you started in the world,” Bellathorne said, still refusing to face John.

Chapter Four

*

“So, in the current Games, there are countless Factions that exist. Some work well with others, but some may limit your options. Your Faction is always shown by others unless you find some way to hide it. This is usually only done by spies or traitors, but that’s not super important right now,” Xexel elaborated for John.

John tilted his head the other way, “Examples?”

“An example, huh? Let’s use the Necron and Demon Empire. They essentially have the same goal, but the way they wish to implement things means that they will never ally with one another. They’re both invasive species that prey on other Races. You’ll be hated by all if you choose either of these Factions, however there are a lot of resources to be gained from joining them. Not only that, they’re very powerful,” Xexel said, though he felt hesitant to offer either as examples.

“Yes, they have resources and power, but you’re not likely to survive long. Your appearance alone would make them seed you and then harvest you for whatever powers your strange appearance. They’d treat you like some strange specimen to dissect and use to empower their own people. They’d make you wish for death a million times over before giving it to you in a horrible fashion,” Bellathorne quickly chimed in, obviously wary of both Races.

“That is concerning. Better stay away from them. What Faction should I choose if I wanted to Contract a partner?” John asked curiously, hoping that he could get free resources from an ally. Not only that, having someone else to fight with would make the journey far less lonely.

“There’s the Coalition. They’re primarily humanoid and fight for freedom and equality. They’re an enormous group, but they’re spread very thin. They would be your best bet at finding a partner to Contract with, though the capability of that partner may be lacking,” Xexel answered, losing his haughty arrogance.

Despite both of their initial hostilities, John found them both to be quite helpful. They had information, and he needed as much as he could get if he were to survive the turbulent world he’d be entering.

“I’ll go with the Coalition,” he decided. He was anxious, yet excited, to get started. “Also, why am I so small?”

They both chuckled at his question and Bellathorne quickly responded. “You’re currently a Rank-Zero monster. Your initial growth will be accelerated until Rank-Two, but everything after that will require time and extensive Essence consumption.”

“Do monsters naturally grow over time?”

“To an extent. A lot of monsters have a soft cap for their natural progression through the Ranks, but with enough luck, all monsters can eventually make it to Rank-Ten. Having said that, the likelihood of making it to Rank-Ten within a century is nearly impossible. Hell, the last time I saw a Rank-Ten monster, it Ascended to godhood and joined us in the Upper Realm.” Bellathorne explained things in a way that made sense to John, plus he found Xexel’s voice to be far less pleasing.

“Okay,” John took a deep breath, “if that’s all, then I’m ready.”

Both Bellathorne and Xexel looked at him with stern gazes. Xexel sighed, taking a couple of moments to collect his thoughts, then said, “Listen, I’m gonna be honest with you John. We’re hoping for you to succeed. We really are. We get rewarded for it, in fact. We gain power when you do, though the amount is negligible until you hit Rank-Eight. If you ever need anything from us, you can pray to us and we’ll do our best to answer. We hope you can find your way out there and make it back home.”

“Okay, I’m gonna start the timer now,” Bellathorne snapped her fingers and a timer started counting down from ten. It reminded him of the letter that had brought him here, but this time he anticipated the countdown reaching zero. The shackles slowly fell away from his body and he felt strong. He realized that the shackles probably contained some sort of restraining effect, though it meant little in the presence of two literal gods.

John blocked out everything besides the timer, closing his eyes as it got to three.

And within just a few seconds, he felt himself shift through space.

The feeling left him dizzy and the sun’s rays shining down through the thatch roof above blinded him momentarily. He tried to step forward and ended up toppling over onto a warm body. He blinked rapidly until his vision was clear of the debilitating effect.

He looked around and realized that the body he felt was a smaller gryphon that he stopped from moving. It struggled beneath his frame and squawked in protest. It took a moment, but John righted himself and began walking around on his four legs.

‘This is so strange,’ he thought to himself. ‘I wonder how long it’ll take to get used to this. Hopefully not too long, otherwise, it could be a little awkward.’

He started walking in a circle, catching sight of his two-pointed tails. ‘I’m definitely not like the others.’

He looked back and saw an enormous gryphon staring down at him, realizing that this must be his “mother”. He didn’t know what else he should do inside these shoddy stables and decided that he’d just rest against her warm frame. He leaned against her and quickly fell asleep, reveling in the darkness.

He dreamt of home. He dreamt of the last few weeks, reliving those moments in his mind. He had to keep his goals in focus, otherwise, he might just lose himself to this world.

Despite what Bellathorne and Xexel said, the world so far seemed quiet. Maybe a little too quiet.

“It’s in there sleeping. It looks like a strange variant, though I’m not sure how that happened. I promise I haven’t broken any of the United Breeders' Association’s codes. I’m just trying to make a living here, sir.” A young man came stumbling, wearing clothes that were ragged and worn, dirt and filth mucking up his leather boots, patchwork pants, and bare chest.

‘Looks poor. I wonder how he managed to afford to breed gryphons, unless it’s some kind of job and he doesn’t actually own us.’

“You’ll be fined. Any more malpractice and scrutinous eyes will be investigating your career. This isn’t the first report we’ve gotten about you,” a stern, armored man said as he came into John’s view.

‘Oh boy, he does not look friendly.’ He wasn’t sure how to take the situation. The man sounded very aggressive, though he looked as though he had resources aplenty.

‘What to do? Oh, what to do?’ John started considering the actions he could take and realized that he would be at the complete mercy of the man before him. The man looked at him like he was a beast to slay, so John decided that he would make himself seem as friendly as possible.

He walked closer to the man and lay on the ground, then struggled to roll over. The world looked strange upside down, but he stuck his tongue out of his beak and mewled at the man in armor.

It didn’t look like it meant much.

“Strange creature, sir. What will you do with it?” the youth asked.

“I’m gonna take it to the Tribunal and see what they have to say about it. It seems a little too friendly, though I’m sure they’ll find a way to break it into a warbeast in no time.”

“Warbeast, sir? I thought that the variants were slain though?”

“That’s not for us to decide, now is it? Keep your questions to yourself, otherwise, I’ll be sure to find your tongue removed from your mouth.” The armored man turned to the younger man and stared at him for a good second. “If you know what’s good for you, this never happened. Understood?”

“Y-yes, sir.” He seemed as though he wanted to say more, but instead turned away and walked back to wherever he came from.

John righted himself and approached the armored man, sniffing at his steel boots. ‘Looks medieval. I hope the Coalition has something better than this to fight in a war that spans galaxies.’

“You’re a strange one, indeed.” The armored man picked John up with ease. John decided that making the trip to wherever they were going as easy for the man as possible would be in his best interest. “Doesn’t struggle when picked up? Not only that, you’re already nearly three times the size of the other newborns. What are you?”

John couldn’t understand the man muttering to himself. He really hoped it wasn’t about the ways that he could make gryphon stew.

They exited the small stable, and John saw that they were on the outskirts of a large city on some farmland. He could see several other stables full of working beasts, several were already working the fields with harnesses, and they all seemed normal enough. What surprised him the most was a couple of baby dragons running about pouncing on one another.

‘Are you serious?! I could’ve just been a dragon!’ John screamed inside his head. The armored man saw him glare at the dragons and chuckled.

“Don’t like dragons, huh? I’m not a big fan of them either. All it takes is for someone to put up a strong enough magic dampening field. Then they can’t cast their magic and can’t stay in the sky. Overrated creatures, in my opinion.” He progressively became less hostile as they continued walking. “Not to mention their awful personalities.”

They eventually left the farmland and made it to a large road. Three semis could drive down the road with little issue, though it quickly made sense to John as he spotted several merchant caravans pass by much faster than they walked. The wagons were absolutely monstrous, pulled by some kind of horned and scaled bull bigger than an elephant.

“You know, with how quiet you’re being, I would doubt that you’re a newborn at all.” The armored man stared down at John. “My name’s Enric, young one. I hope that the Tribunal doesn’t have you killed. I’ve been looking to find myself a Contracted beast for some time.”

The armor did a good job of obscuring Enric’s features, though if John had to guess, the age gap between him and the farmhand wasn’t large. It just seemed they had far different experiences in life.

‘Enric, you must be a Player and that farm boy had to have been a non-Player, right?’ John mused to himself, knowing that no conlusive answer would ever come.

Hours passed as they traveled down the large road, slowly approaching the massive city that loomed in the distance. The walls were easily a hundred meters high and there was a massive dome that covered the whole city.

‘Gotta keep the angry dragons out somehow, I suppose.’

“We’re almost there, bud. You’ve done well the entire trip. Would you like a snack?” Enric pulled out a fish and dangled it in front of John. John quickly realized that he was starving and mewled quietly. “Food is the way to any beast's heart, right? Keep ‘em fed and they’ll never turn on you.”

John started to struggle as his hunger grew to a painful level, his beak snapping for the fish. “You must be really hungry to be acting like this now.”

‘Give it here and stop teasing me, jerk.’

Enric dropped the fish, and John snapped his beak, catching the fish in his beak and swallowing it down with a gulp. 'I feel funny.' Apparently, it was time for a nap. John curled into Enric’s arms, falling asleep in record time.

“Sorry I had to do that to you, but It’ll be easier this way.”

Chapter Five

*

A darkness lurked in John’s soul, prodding and probing for any weakness it could find. An incorporeal entity with a single purpose explored its new vessel, unaware of the identity of its new host. The emptiness inside demanded fulfillment, and it would not- no, it could not rest until it found what it desired. It felt the source, the empty radiance of unadulterated Nothingness. It permeated the fabric of existence within its host, tainting everything in a landscape of dreariness.

This darkness spewed out from the center of its host. A weak and feeble thing with limitless potential. Too bad for its host that the darkness couldn’t resist.

Hunger.

A soul-wrenching hunger that dared taunt the darkness into acting rashly. It circled the Nothingness - a sphere of pure delight - with great greed, slowly drawing closer and closer until it could no longer fight its primal urges to devour.

It launched itself forward impatiently and latched onto the Nothingness, vigorously draining the delightful core to satisfy its insatiable need to consume. Its body wrapped around the core so wholly that the Nothingness leaked out in insubstantial quantities, greedily sucking away at the energy of its host.

And there it stayed, preening as the energy filled its body, washing over it in a powerful destructive force that fueled its growth.

-

John woke up chained down to a large formation, glowing brightly in a green tone beneath his body. He struggled to lift himself, but he felt weaker than he’d ever felt before. A deep invasive cold wracked his body, and he lay there bound shaking with no idea of what happened around him. He looked around and realized he was at the center of an eight-sided star formation with countless engravings.

He could hear muted chanting around him, but he couldn’t focus on any of the room’s occupants, not that the words made sense to him either way.

“Kharmina, Mother of Monsters and Men, Benefactor of Ghulda, and The One, hear us on this day! We pray to you to bless this coupling so that they may fulfill your will and Ascend to the Heavens. We, of Ghulda, beseech you!”

John noticed that as the chanting got louder, the glowing of the green circle brightened to a painful extent. He had to close his eyes to stop the pain that threatened to send him back into the darkness of slumber.

The procession continued, and a young, battle-worn woman walked to the center of the circle with a knife. John’s eyes were still tightly shut, but he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He knew he couldn’t resist whatever happened next, so he kept his eyes closed and hoped for the best.

The pervasive cold slowly abated as power funneled into him from the strange circle. He cried out more in pain and surprise as the knife tore into his skin across his body multiple times. He felt the warmth of his blood pooling and coalescing as the painful ceremony continued. Struggling was futile, his body weak and uncooperative.

It was odd though, as the more he felt his blood flow, the stronger he felt. The cold nearly vanished despite a puddle of his own blood sticking to his fur and pooling beneath his body. Realizing that there was far too much of the crimson lifeblood for it to only be his own, he opened his eyes to see a young woman with several gnarly scars sitting in front of him, cutting away at her own flesh.

Her breathing was labored, her teeth grinding as she continued muttering nonsensical words. Despite the circumstances, he noticed her voice was heavenly.

“I sacrifice my blood, as Herald Kumara did before me, to show my loyalty and willingness to suffer with my Contracted. I swear that I will cherish my Contracted and share my power, bearing the responsibility as a noble Herald of Ghulda. In turn, my Contracted will share his. I will treat my Contracted with the utmost respect and value its life as if it were my own. Kharmina, should my Contracted ever perish in this life, I swear that I will uphold the Curse of Failure. I promise to bear the burden of failure as a Forsaken, else my eternal soul be cast into Halla's Maw. With this, I bind myself wholly to my Contracted.”

The strange green luminescence condensed into an orb that surrounded them, magical shackles exploding from the dense ball of magic, and then reached into their bodies to bind their souls. The girl screamed in pain and John whined in protest, but their wounds visibly healed over. Her scars disappeared in front of his eyes.

He was ignorant as to what happened, but his shackles fell away and allowed him ease of movement. He raised to his full height, realizing that his body was far larger than it had before. He hadn’t been much bigger than a dog before, but now he was the size of a small horse.

‘This must be Rank-one. Bellathorne and Xexel said that I’d have enhanced growth until Rank-two. I grew far more than I expected,’ John thought to himself as he looked around.

A figure approached with a steel longsword in hand, beelining towards the downed woman as she lay helpless on the ground. Hostile intent oozed from the figure, so John did the only thing he thought appropriate.

He attacked.

Preparing to pounce, his two tails flicked forward faster than his eyes could perceive, slamming into an invisible barrier that easily deflected his attacks. From deep in his chest, a rumbling filled the air, until he released a powerful shriek that warped the protective barrier. Repositioning himself, he stood in front of the woman. The man stared behind John at a figure John couldn’t see and then gave a nod toward the unseen figure, resheathing a sword on his hip.

John waited, listening to slow measured steps. Stopping next to the man who had tried to attack the downed woman, a hooded figure with folded arms assessed John from the depths of their hood. John couldn't make out any distinct features, which he found profoundly disrespectful, but he doubted they cared about how he felt.

“Impressive. I’ve never seen a variant grow so fast, and that attack would’ve killed you before you could react had I not shielded you." The unknown ringleader rested their elbow on their other arm and assumed the 'thinking position'. "Yes, I do believe that was a reasonable demonstration. The Contract binds them. The Tribunal’s will has been enacted. Get them out of here, and be careful not to anger the gryphon.”

With that, the hooded figure turned and walked out of a door that shed daylight into the room. John took the opportunity to look around and realized that he was in some kind of ceremonial room, though it was far larger than anything he had seen before. A chamber of sorts, yet there was no holy symbols or artifacts anywhere.

More hooded figures began to approach with their hands raised, magic glowing on their fingertips. He watched them intently, still hovering over the woman protectively. In a coordinated motion, they pushed toward him. A concussive force slammed against him and pushed him towards a large door that had just slid open.

A second bout of rumbling began deep within his chest, and he cawed loudly. Waves of that strange dark energy slammed against them, but there were too many. Slowly, they ushered him through the large door, giving the downed woman one last look. Once he passed the threshold, a massive slab crashed down and sealed off the chamber.

‘Looks like they want me to have some alone time, so I guess I’ll just…’ He turned around and found something unexpected. A large dome hung overhead, a dense forest with beautiful vibrant green grass and a wide variety of shrubs welcomed him. Several strange monsters roamed around, all shapes and sizes. Predators and prey alike mingled within, making him very confused. Munching away on the grass, staring at him like he was crazy, were the familiar bull-like creatures he’d seen when traveling from the farm.

With a little bit of observation, he also saw large cat-like creatures prowling about in the trees. They had scales running down their spines and claws glowing with ephemeral energy, moving across the branches with an attitude of feline confidence, lording over all the creatures trapped to the forest's floor. He decided that he’d stay away from those.

He found somewhere quiet and secluded to lay and decided that a nap wouldn’t be a bad idea. He had a feeling rest would be a commodity in the near future, a luxury he wouldn't be afforded when the excitement of this new world really began. If the things Xexel and Bellatrix said were true, then it was almost certainly true.

Invasive thoughts haunted John as he slept. The anxiety of returning to Elaine and Lily; the strange darkness he'd experienced; the pervasive coldness that had wracked him with pain before the ritual; the new woman that had bound herself to him...

Chapter Six

*

A pounding headache assaulted Amelia as she woke, compounding with a dreadful sense of loss tugged at her gut and left her with a deep anxiety. Frantically looking around, she felt delirious and confused until started recognizing the familiar surrounding. She was in Healer’s Den and lay on a cot.

She tried to rise, but a medic - Rohelle, a busty broad with more empty space in her head than brain - rushed over and laid her back down. She glared up at the meak girl, “What’s going on?”

“Herald Amelia, well, uh," she stammered, further irritating Amelia. "See, the Heavenly Oath took more out of you than we anticipated, but your gryphon - super scary looking, by the way - is being kept at the habitat. The big shots wanted you to rest." Rohelle nervously shuffled her feet as she spoke.

"Rohelle, I'm fine. I've been through worse."

"Doc's orders, you- you have to stay for th- the rest of the day," the timid girl refuted. Amelia grunted in annoyance, and Rohelle took that as permission to keep gushing. "It passed The Tests. An astonishing success, they said." She sat on an empty cot next to Amelia. "The Tribunal is worried that you won’t be able to handle his growth, you know? They're currently in council. Doc told me so."

"I'm leaving," Amelia said, trying to sit up again.

"I can't let you do that. You know Doc, and I'm not gonna be the one that messes up today." Rohelle withered under Amelia's damning gaze, but she pushed Amelia back down when she tried to rise again. "Let's just talk, Herald Amelia. You know, they're planning out the next couple of weeks for you. Isn't that exciting? I wish-"

"Spare me the pity part," Amelia scoffed. “I’ve never heard of something like this happening to any of the other Heralds. Did Doc tell you anything else?" Amelia held up her hand before Rohelle could talk. "Anything useful, like, did anything go wrong?”

“Everything went fine, but variants are always tricky. That’s why the Tribunal usually has them exported to other countries, but this one-" she paused and Amelia's glare deepened. "This one's strange, but times are rough Amelia. You of all should know that. You're so brave to take on the mantle of Herald. You'll be a legend one day," she stared starry-eyed at the roof of the Den as she continued on, "and I'll get to tell all my girlfriends that I knew Herald Amelia the day she first Contracted. It's so- it's just- wow!"

"Rohelle..." Amelia uncomfortably groaned.

"Bah! You're such a sourpuss. You know if you stay like that, you'll never be able to find a good man." Rohelle nodded her head, reaffirming her statement.

"Bah, you! I don't need a man, Rohelle!" Amelia shouted back. "I can fend for myself. I'm not like-" She cut herself, seeing the dampness accumulating in the younger woman's eyes.

"I- I think I hear Doc in the other room." Rohelle wiped away the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Rohelle," Amelia groaned, "you know I didn't mean anything of it."

Ignoring Amelia's apology, Rohelle left her alone.

Amelia stared up at the wooden roof and sighed. She had been here too many times. She refused to wait around for a decision to be made. That was so not her style, so she tossed off the covers and stood from the bed. A little rummaging around, and she located her gear. They had placed her things in a drawer next to her, which was nice but foolish.

She quickly sheathed her shortswords, returning the familiar weight to rest on her hip. Next, she placed her bow into the customized hole in her quiver, then pulled the straps of her quiver over her shoulders. Now properly armed, she pulled her hood over her head and peeked around the corner.

Rohelle was nowhere in sight, so Amelia slinked out of Healer's Den, quickly navigating through the domed city. Within minutes, she stood before the habitat dome. Confidently, she stepped into the viewing area and searched for her Contracted. When she found him, she looked on in awe.

She tried to communicate with it, but she wasn't entirely sure how this whole thing worked. “Can you hear me?"

It stirred when she spoke, so she kept trying.

“Wake up, you,” she said a little louder, trying not to garner any attention from the others in the area. Its eyes flash open and it looked around, though she knew firsthand that it couldn’t see out of the dome. “Relax, you can’t see me right now, but I’m here. Just listen to me,” she whispered. “My name is Amelia. I don't know if you can understand me, but you and I," she drew in a deep breath to calm herself, then continued, "We’re Contracted now, and I feel what’s inside of you. We can’t waste any more time waiting here for the Tribunal to finish bickering and politicking, otherwise, it’ll be too late to help you.”

It stared at her through the glass dome. She flinched back at the intensity in its gaze, gaping when it nodded at her.

“You-” She placed a hand on the dome. “You understand me?”

It nodded again. She takes a moment and process what that meant for a minute. The urgency of their situation pressured her, so she didn't waste much time. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she looked back up to meet its waiting gaze.

"That thing inside of you will kill us both if we don’t hurry, so we need to get you out of there, and we need to do it now.” She looked it in the eyes once more, “I’ll get you out soon, a lot of people be after us after I do.”

A flash of cold numbed her, and she barely managed to stop herself from falling forward flat on her face. As her body spasmed, groans escaping her pursed lips against her will, she exited the spectating area. Outside, the sun began to sink beyond the horizon, casting long shadows about the large city. She leaned against the nearest wall after she was out of sight of the other spectators, waiting for the cold to pass. Once she could feel her limbs again, she deftly maneuvered the winding streets and dark alleyways. The last rays of daylight shined over the horizon by the time she arrived at the other side of the enormous bestiary.

The bestiary had two entrances and one exit, requiring an obscene amount of paperwork to enter. That took time. Time she didn't have. She stared at the guards vigilantly standing by either side of the door she needed to pass through. Her breathing grew heavy as the weight of what she needed to do weighed on her shoulder.

"I guess it's time to kiss Ghulda goodbye." With what she planned, she would never be welcome in the city again. Her memories of Ghulda were a mixed bag, but it had still been her home.

When the last ray of daylight passed over the horizon and gave way to the darkness of night, she made her move. Essence flowed about her, forming a blanket that settled around her. She crept past the guards, pausing only to make sure the guards weren't looking in her direction, and then carefully opened the door and slunk through without making a single sound.

Her eyes narrowed as a wave of exhaustion threatened to overcome her. When she released her control over the Essence, dissipating the cape of darkness, she breathed a sigh of relief. Despite getting through the door without alerting the guards, her job was far from over. Her senses spread with a bit the help of a bit of Essence, giving her a clear image of the surrounding and its monsters that lurked about. Luckily, her Contracted had felt her presence and moved closer to her.

“Over here,” she whispered.

It sauntered over, and she smiled as the feeling of loss that had plagued her disappeared. It leaned its head against hers, causing her to blink in surprise. She found it strange that it expressed its emotions so humanly.

“Okay, now we have to get out. This is the hard part, and we’ll have to be fast about it.” She nimbly hopped onto his back, gripped its side as tightly as she could, and flattened herself against its back. Her quiver still showed, but it was dark and they would hopefully be moving fast enough for it not to matter. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.”

It watched their surroundings vigilantly, making her feel as though the coupling couldn’t have been a better fit for her. There wasn’t anything to worry about in here, yet it still looked for a threat at any turn.

“More than likely, the Tribunal knows I’m gone by now, so we're going to have to move fast. I'll make sure to take down the door, but then it’s up to you to get us out of here safely. The thing inside of you is making it hard for me to use my Essence,” she whispered quietly.

Essence rapidly accumulated at her fingertips, and she aimed in the direction of several Yolin - the large bull-like creatures. Dark bolts of magic spewed out from her hands and slammed into their hides, the damage she inflicted on them negligible. However, the barrage had the intended effect and the whole herd of them gave out angry snorts, eyes affixed on her gryphon.

It cawed in surprise, running as fast as its legs would carry them in, and circled around the dome. The angry Yolin barreled after them, demanding retribution for disturbing their peaceful grazing. She led her gryphon until she saw the outline of the door. “I need a shot.”

A purple ball of Essence in Amelia's hand. She gave it every last bit of Essence she had left, feeling darkness creeping at the edge of her vision. Grim determination and brute force of will kept her conscious long enough to hurl the ball forward. Slumping forward in exhaustion, she watched as the ball slammed into the large doorway. Her gryphon's confusion was palpable, but she mentally reassured it, prompting it forward.

Her gryphon's chest began to rumble as it continued running as fast as it could, ignoring the shaking ground and herd of Yolin hot on their tail. With a loud screech, a wave of power blasted forward, slamming into the weakened door. She stared on as the doorway began to erode, chunks collapsing away to form a hole just big enough for them to jump through.

She thought she heard the gryphon sigh in relief as they ran from the bestiary, but that couldn't possibly be.

She heard the Yolin slam through the damaged doorway as they continued to give chase. Up ahead, she could see the city’s opened gates not too far off, but she had done her part. 'The rest is up to you,' she thought, her vision blurring as the pervasive coldness wrenched at her soul. She had no Essence left to stop it from stealing away her consciousness.

Chapter Seven

*

John ran as fast as he could, the sound of the large elephant-bulls hot on his tail the only motivation he needed. The street’s few inhabitants got out of the way long before he reached them.

At some point, the woman had collapsed on his back. Through their connection, he could feel her suffering. There was little he could do to help her, so he focused his attention on getting them out of the city alive.

Things became significantly harder when a gathering of hooded figures blocked his way forward. He looked around for any way out, any option at all, but there were all kinds of shops to either side of the road. The alleyways were an option, but he knew that he’d get lost in no time at all.

So, forward it was.

His tails sailed forward over his head, extending far longer than their initial size indicated, and slammed into the familiar barrier that prevented his attack in the chamber. Forward was no longer an option, so he leaped onto the closest building and ran across the rooftops, jumping on the taller one next to it as the rooftop ended. Like this, he continued forward, scaling various buildings to subvert the hooded group's efforts of trapping him and his passenger.

Nasty bolts of magic whizzed by, humming in their proximity, as he slowly put distance between them. Every now and then, a bolt would melt away the rooftops and singe his feathers or fur, overall an unpleasant experience. When he thought he started to lose them, he spotted another group at the massive gate. With the dome overhead, that gate was the only way out.

‘They’re definitely not making this easy.’ He skid to a stop before a large, spiral tower. It reminded him of a fantasy mage tower - sculpted of stone and topped with a cone, its spiraling staircase would lead to a much larger room for magic related endeavors. Its height rivaled the large wall in the distance.

He had a plan.

Was it a good one?

Probably not, but he didn't have another choice. With a running start, he leaped across the divide, extending his wings to glide forward. When he started to descend, he lashed out with a tail, wrapping the other around the woman to stop her from falling, and anchored himself in the wall. He slammed against the mage tower and groaned internally as the impact knocked the wind out of him. Sharp claws tore out swaths of stone as he ascended, very slowly and very carefully.

Luckily for him, he no longer had to worry about the bolts from the hooded figures since they didn’t come even close to them. Looking over his shoulder, he prepared himself to leap to the edge of the coned roof, his free tail prepared to act as an anchor again. Taking a moment for himself, he hyped himself up to make the leap.

And then he leaped. His front paws caught the edge and his feet struggled to find purchase, flailing wildly. But then they did, and with a strong push, he was propelled over the edge and onto the roof. From the top of the roof, he let out an excited victory caw and struck a graceful pose. He stared down at them, but they didn't stare back. No-no-no, they did the smart thing and ran towards the stables. Only moments later, he heard an angry ear-piercing roar. He nearly pissed himself as he saw a dragon, eyes as red as her scales.

‘Oh, that’s not good.’

See, this wasn't one of the baby dragons, no. This wasn't one of the adolescent dragons either. This was mama big-and-angry herself, weighing in at holy-whale and flying straight towards him with an equally pissed off passenger glaring at him.

'Yep, time to go. I'm not dealing with that.' He took aim, backing himself as far as possible on the roof, the large massive gap making him fairly uncomfortable, but, ‘It’s now or never.’

The space available only gave him enough time to break into a small gallop before he leaped as far as he could into the open air, flaring out his wings at the height of his ascent. Maintaining the majority of his speed, he glided forward fast, but it felt like he hung in the air for ages as momma dragon flew toward them.

Unfortunately, he was new to the whole flying thing, so there was no braking. No, he slammed into the wall with an audible thud, his claws working wonders on the stone. Without wasting any time, he climbed to the top of the wall and threw himself over. But now, he was face to face with an issue.

There was a dome in his way. 'I really hope this thing is made to keep things out and not in.'

Panic started to grip at his chest, tightening the muscles around his heart as his body did its best to keep up with the metric-fuck-ton of adrenaline coursing through it, not to mention the dragon that could swallow him whole as a snack drawing closer by the second.

‘Let's see how tough this thing really is.’ He unwrapped the woman and stabbed forward with his tails methodically, watching as the pointed tips began to wear away at the dome. ‘Too slow!’

Momma dragon flew down with claws outstretched and tried to grab John. In a panic, he relented his assault on the dome and lashed out with his tails. Momma dragon's scales melted like butter, gushing several fonts of thick blood onto the roofs and unfortunate passerbyers.

Momma dragon shrieked in pain and veered away, circling back to face him. With renewed vigor, he continued his unrelenting assault on the dome, a light of hope shining brightly as cracks spiderwebbed across a large part of the dome.

‘It’ll have to do!’ he thought as a large fireball formed in the throat of momma dragon as it opened its mouth wide. With two final desperate strikes, he, an empowered caw blasted outward and he went headfirst through the damaged dome, the tinkling of shattering glass making all aware of his success.

He lurched forward into a freefall as a fireball flew over head. His free fall was cut short as he spread his wings and glided forward. Now that they had escaped, he wanted to put as much distance between him and the city of psychos as reasonably possible. His dark coloration would help camouflage them in the moonless night’s darkness.

His troubles with momma dragon seemed to be finished for now. It was far too large to enter through the small hole he’d broken through, and their massive gate seemed like it would take quite a bit of time to get open.

‘Hopefully, they probably have bigger issues than finding me now that there's a hole in their dome. That has to be some kind of security disaster.’

With the lack of pursuit, he disappeared into the darkness of night.

*

“How is this even possible?” one of the Tribunal asked in awe.

“I really don’t know,” another answered quietly. “These domes have kept us safe against stronger monsters, yet it got through it in no time at all. This can only be-”

“Yes, it’s what you think. The variant has some kind of magic nullification.” The hooded figure was the same that bore witness to John and Amelia's Contracting ceremony. They stared at the hole stoically. “Tell the Lord that we’ll repair the damage done and send out a recovery party. Keep in mind, the girl must be kept alive, but that doesn’t mean she needs to be whole. Do whatever it takes.”

“You can’t be serious? This damage will cost us-”

“Don’t question me. See that it gets taken care of.”

With that, the hooded figure vanished from sight to reappear on the outside of the dome, floating in the air casually. They pulled back their hood, revealing an exact replica of Amelia. She stared off into the distance, clearly watching the back of the obsidian gryphon as it flew into the distance.

“What game are you playing, kid?” She stayed there and watched the gryphon land on the ground, continuing to lope across the land until it faded into the distance. “Amelia, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

She returned their hood and vanished once more.

Chapter Eight

*

John ran until he couldn’t feel his legs and then some. Hours later, he trailed off the massive road and wandered through the nearby forest, searching for water. The scent of freshwater lingered in the air, and it didn't take long for him to find the source. A stream with large trees provided a nice shady area for him to rest his tired body, the adrenaline rush fading quickly. Lying on his front paws, he rested.

'Amelia.' He worried about her. She hadn’t stirred at all since she’d cast her final spell, and he could feel her distress while she slept.

Restlessness kept him awake, so he leaned to the side, using his wing to lightly lower Amelia onto the ground, and began to pace back and forth. Eventually, he drank from the stream to try to calm his nerves, slurping from the stream until he felt like he would burst. Surprisingly, it did, so he curled up beside her and allowed himself to rest until morning.

Nightmares plagued his dreams, momma dragon swallowing him whole the most memorable, but he also dreamed of becoming a slave to the Coalition. He felt like they wanted to enslave him, limit his growth so that they could always use him as a pawn in their Cosmic Chess game. By morning, it was as if he hadn't slept a wink. Despite wanting to continue to lay in the shade, he knew they couldn’t stay there.

The Coalition creeps would come eventually, and he really didn't want to reunite with momma dragon. In fact, he wanted to be as far from the city as possible. A surprise awaited him as he opened his eyes, pawing away the morning crust.

Amelia bathed in the stream, her clothes hanging on a tree branch above his head. John looked away from the nude warrior's muscular back and rose to scout their area, making sure that sensed her presence through their bonds at all times.

The connection he shared with her felt weird to him. He could feel her uncertainty and fear, and when she spoke to him, he didn’t quite understand the word but instead felt the intent behind them. Not only that, he could feel her presence at all times when she was within a certain range. He didn’t know the extent of the range yet, though he looked back to make sure she was still there when he started to climb a hill.

The forest contained a small mountain, and the stream water flowed from some subterranean font within.

John looked around, seeing the small critters and markings of larger beasts in the area, and thanked whatever gods may be watching over him that none of them had attacked while they slept.

When he took a step forward, his head whipped back to look back at Amelia. He no longer felt the connection. He couldn’t have been more than a hundred meters from her.

‘That’s convenient.’ She stared back at him from the lake, a feeling of discomfort on her face. He walked a few steps back towards her and the discomfort faded, her scrunched brows giving way to a soft smile.

Within moments, she was clothed. Following the path he took, she ascended the hill to stand beside John. “Anything out there?”

‘Not as far as I can see. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there, though.’

“I know a dungeon not too far from here. I need to get my Essence back, so we can start there and then figure out a way to get whatever’s inside of you out.”

One of the words she said - Essence - confused him. The feeling he got from it was 'magic power', and he remembered Bellatrix and Xexel mentioning something similar. Now that he was experiencing the new world, he realized that there were a lot of things that he hadn't been told. There were a ton of questions he should've asked but didn't know he needed to at the time. 'Hindsight is twenty-twenty, I suppose."

He dipped his head and allowed Amelia to clamber up his wing where she sat, her heels tightly gripping his sides. 'I wonder where I can get a harness? Oh, even better. I want some battle armor like the gryphons from World of Warcraft. Those things always looked cool.'

“Before we go, I’m going to need some supplies. I’ll have to go into one of the villages near the dungeon first, but-" She paused, drawing in a deep breath. "That might be easier said than done. The Tribunal has had the night to collect themselves and send out retrieval squads.”

He looked back at her over his shoulder, prompting her for a direction. They made eye contact, and he felt like he could read her mind. It was weird, invasive, and he shook his head and looked away to stop the feeling. John wondered about the specifics of the Contract, but he couldn’t communicate.

‘I really hope I'll be able to shapeshift soon.’ His goal hadn’t changed and would never change, his last memory with Lily and Elaine distracting him. With steely determination and a heavy heart, he let Amelia guide them toward their destination. ‘Elaine… Lily… I love you both so much. I’m coming!’

*

Amelia gripped the side of her gryphon’s torso with her thighs and held the fur on the back of its neck to keep her stead.

“It’s just over that hill there. You’re too conspicuous, so you’ll have to stay outside the village while I resupply. Don't let anybody see you, okay?” She felt strange when she spoke to the gryphon as if it were a real person, but it truly seemed as though it understood what she tried to convey.

It preened the feathers in its wings while giving her a dirty look. She glared back at it and huffed, “I have to go alone. I’m sure you’re getting a little hungry, right? We need supplies so that we can go into the dungeon and get you to Rank-Two as fast as possible.”

It rolled its eyes at her, then completely ignored her presence as it continued preening its feathers.

“Wow, I didn’t know I’d be getting scolded by my Contracted monster,” she said to herself, though it huffed as if she'd made a joke. “Peculiar. You can understand far better than I ever imagined possible. Well, guess what. You’re not going and that’s fin-”

It turned one-eighty and rested its head against her ow, staring into her eyes. That strange connection formed again and its resounding denial resonated through her whole being. It even scolded her! Its thoughts were hazy, but she could understand its intent. "You're not going, and to even consider going without me is a big no-no." Or something like that. She was still new to this whole thing. Admonished like a child, her shoulders drooped forward in resignation, wondering how she found herself being bullied by her Contracted monster.

“Stubborn and foolish, I see,” she said to it. “It’s not like I can stop you from coming. I suppose it might be better to keep you closer, but you’re so easy to identify.”

It raised a brow at her, “You did not just…” It raised its other brow at her. “You did.”

It huffed in annoyance, its brows furrowing dramatically, so she put her hands up to pacify it. “Okay, okay. This is just weird. I’ve never heard of something like this before. Most Contracted monsters take a lot of coercing into being obedient, and none of them ever get to this level of… human emotion.”

The gryphon turned around and started walking over the hill. Amelia trailed behind, sighing as the village came into view. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, a distinct lack of the UBA's presence making her feel far more comfortable with the venture. Despite no outward presence, she still couldn't help herself from looking around. But, there was nobody scouting, nobody on guard at the gates, and, most of all, there were none of the UBA’s people around.

“They haven’t made it this far yet, but that doesn’t mean we should waste time. We want to keep our lead. Let’s get in, get out, and get to the dungeon as fast as possible. They won’t follow us in there,” she looked around anxiously, “I hope.”

Chapter Nine

*

Chad dropped his dilapidated hammer on his workbench and took off his apron, hanging it next to the still-hot forge. He grabbed a nearby cloth, futilely attempted to wipe the soot from his hands, and then exited the blacksmith with a huff. It was midday, and he hadn't eaten anything all day. His grumbling stomach reminded him that food was important, despite how little he actually cared about his own health.

With business booming as of late, due to rising tension between the Coalition and the Ardenians, he rarely had time to think - let alone take care of himself properly. With the ongoing Coalition mandate requesting weapons of all quality, he worked himself to the bone trying his best to put out what he could. He had a monthly commitment he had to meet, otherwise, he was at risk of losing the smith, but the amount of work that need be done- he couldn't finish it all himself.

It was a task doomed to fail since he was no blacksmith, and he would never be one. Father, a Faction-spanning renowned blacksmith, had only just started teaching him, but Father was gone now. Death waited for none, and when its time came, there was no argument to be had.

That was a minor issue. The true problem was Chad himself. Chad was a Player, so his ability to learn crafting skills was doomed from the get-go, and he would never amount to much no matter how hard he tried. No matter the blood, sweat, and tears he put into his work, he would never succeed as a blacksmith.

But, he couldn’t just abandon everything he knew. He couldn't leave behind his father's workshop or his family home. It just wasn't something he could do. The outside world was terrifying, filled with monsters and horrors that defied reality. He'd heard stories of the faefolk and the spiderkin, and those were fates far worse than being a failed blacksmith.

Looking off into the distance toward the nearby dungeon, he palmed the hilt of the sword Father had left him. It was only a short trek away, yet he would never go. Thoughts of the dungeon constantly nagged at him, haunting him in his dreams. Delusions of grandeur whispered to him, calling him to battle, but Father told him countless times that the life of an adventurer was anything but glamorous, filled with harrowing, mind-breaking experiences on a regular basis. He'd even pulled up the Adventurer Guild's registration list for the past ten years to show him how many people really died.

"A useful trade skill is better than chasing death as an adventurer," Father used to say.

"Look where that got him, dead as any other without ever having experienced all the things life has to offer," he grumbled in frustration. Working for a pittance, barely able to afford food to fill his belly, left Chad with little to live for.

No matter how many times he thought about the dungeon or his resentment for his lot in life, he knew nothing would change. He would stay here and forge swords of low quality until the day he died. It was all he had left to connect him to his family.

Chad clenched his teeth, opening the tavern’s door a little more forcefully than he’d meant to, and grumpily approached his normal seat. Strangely enough, someone was already sitting there, eating without a care in the world. A beauty if Chad ever saw him, though the woman was strapped to the teeth with various weaponry.

He considered finding a new table for today, but he shook his head and decided that he wouldn’t sit anywhere but his normal seat. Sitting across from her, he struck up a conversation. “Excuse me miss, but you don’t look familiar. I’m Chadwick, but everyone just calls me Chad.”

She looked him up and down as she took a sip from her drink to wash down the dried rations they tried to pass for food, then sighed deeply.

“Listen here Chadwick, I’m busy, so I’ll just finish my meal and leave.”

Her clear dismissal tinged his cheeks scarlet as his short temper flared. “I’m sorry to bother, but-" He recoiled in his chair from her scathing glare. "I-I’ve sat at this table every day for my entire life, so I-I’ll let you eat in peace. However, I'm not moving.”

Her relentless glare stared back at him as if it could see deep within his soul. It was terrifying. “That’s pretty childish Chadwick. Fine, stay. I do have a question though.”

He collected himself and let the insult fade, though it bled through when he spoke. “What is it?”

“First, a couple of observations. You’re covered in soot, yet you carry a finely crafted blade. Second, you're far larger and stronger than you have any right to be. Third, most of the people here avoided this table like it was the plague.”

“Get to the point,” he said impatiently, feeling as though she could see right through him.

“You’re a Player, without a doubt," she said with a slight smirk, pausing. "So, why are you here Chadwick?” she asked calmly. It felt like a bucket of water had just been thrown in his face, chills tingling down his spine and sweat accumulating on his palms.

“I-I live here. Your question doesn’t make any sense,” he responded.

“That's where you're wrong. You have to look at this in terms of wasted potential to understand where I'm coming from. You’re a Player. You should join in the Wars, and if not that, there's a dungeon nearby. You’re wasting yourself staying here and failing as a wanna-be blacksmith.” She sipped her drink, watching him from the corner of her eyes.

His face heated up, and he felt like his head would explode. Red tinged his vision, and he felt his rage seep through his clenched teeth, “Outside. Now.”

“Oh, did I offend you? Like I said before, I’m in a hurry, so I can’t waste time with you. I’ve been here long enough as is,” she finished the last bit of her food and drink, tossing a silver onto the table.

He followed her out of the tavern, ignoring the hushed whispers that mocked him as he passed by the rest of the tavern's inhabitants. He palmed his sword hilt, resisting the urge to strike her down then and there. They entered the small walkway between the tavern and the apothecary next door.

An obsidian gryphon, like nothing he'd ever seen before, glared back at him. Chad nearly pissed himself, jumping back in surprise, and pointed at the beast. It rivaled a full-grown warhorse in size. He blurted out, “You’re a Monster Tamer?”

Without looking at him, she picked up a cheaply made leather harness that lay on the ground near the gryphon and began strapping it onto the monster’s back, “Chadwick, why are you following me? Go back inside and eat. Return to your life as a blacksmith, wasting away your potential. Make sure you hang that sword on a wall or sell it. You’re not fit to carry it around.”

Nearly cutting his own arm off, he drew his blade and struck out at the woman that had done nothing but insult him. She tapped the head of the gryphon, its gaze full of hostility, and seamlessly drew the two blades at her waist. With great ease, she blocked his attack, following up with a kick to his chest that sent him reeling onto his back.

Using his elbows to propel himself back onto his felt, he returned to his feet. With a great shout, he leaped toward her. Rolling her eyes, she ducked beneath him, but he couldn’t stop himself from descending toward the gryphon.

Something wrapped around him before he could process what happened, then he was hanging upside down. Vertigo made his vision spin, but he eventually focused enough to realize what suspended him in the air. Two tails wrapped around his sword arm and chest, squeezing tight enough to make breathing far harder than it had any right to be, with their pointed tips resting against his neck.

“Well, this didn’t go how I expected,” the woman said while staring at him. “You have no training, that much is obvious. You’re hotheaded, unable to control yourself and make poor decisions. However, you did take that kick quite easily. I’ve seen better men than you incapacitated by that much force. That’s workable.”

Blood rushed to Chad's head, making the world spin. He tried to move the blade to hit one of the tails, but it tightened its grip around his wrist, eliciting a pained groan. He couldn't take the pressure any longer, and his sword fell to the ground.

He did his best to turn his head so that he could see the woman. “What- what do you want?”

“Well, luckily enough for you, I need help, and, unfortunately for me, you’re the only Player in this whole town. I'm taking my gryphon dungeon-diving, and I’ve got everything I need already, so I’d like to ask you another question.”

“Okay, but have this beast put me down!” he shouted, his face redder than a tomato.

She motioned for the gryphon, and it unceremoniously dropped him. He crumpled down to the ground and sucked in a deep breath, trying to his best to ignore the aching in his body. Under the watchful gaze of the woman and very angry beast, he grabbed his sword and clumsily sheathed it.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

He thought about it while he gasped for breath, sucking down as much fresh air as his lungs could handle. “I-I don’t know.”

“Then come with us. You’re shoddy at best, but I can probably whip you into shape pretty easily. You’ve got quite a bit to work with,” she said, patting him on the back with deceptive force.

“I-I don’t want to die,” he said as he hung his head. “I’ve always wanted to go, but I don’t want to die. I need to live… for them.”

“Ah, so that’s what this is about then? Family's dead, and this place is all that you have of them?” she said as she waved her hand around. “They’re gone. If you’ve always wanted to go, then now is the time. Live your life for yourself for once.”

“You don’t know anything about me!” he shouted back at her, realizing quickly that he responded emotionally. “I-I’m sorry. I’ve just been alone for so long. Everyone thinks I’m cursed here and it-”

“I know the feeling. Don’t worry about it. Come with me and I’ll show you how to be a real adventurer, though you have to work for it. Nothing worth having is gained without putting in work.”

Chad looked at her in a new light, then back at the gryphon. “Fine, yeah, okay. I need some time to collect my things.”

“You have half an hour before I leave without you. Meet me here when you’re done.”

With that, she stopped paying him any attention and returned to strapping the gryphon with the harness.

Running as fast as his feet could take him, he returned to his workshop. He grabbed several useful tools and threw them in a sack that he slung over his shoulder, then quickly made his way to his home. It was worn down, having been built several centuries ago by his forefathers.

He didn’t have much to pack; Two pairs of boots, four sets of clothes that were a little too tight on him, and a ring passed down from several generations. What little rations he had were scarfed down in a hurry.

Passing his mother's vanity, he realized that his effort to wipe the soot away had only smeared it more.

“Whatever.” He left the house, staring at the home he spent his whole life in. He took a deep breath and then released it, letting go of the attachment he had to it, and returned to the alleyway.

He spotted several hooded figures walking about, several were stationed at either entrance to the village.

“What’s going on?” he whispered to himself.

When he entered the alleyway, the woman was gone. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

He turned away, planning to go home and sulk, but a whistle from behind the tavern caught his attention. When he rounded the corner, they were there waiting for him.

“Time to go,” she said as she looked around frantically.

“Those hooded people, they’re after you, aren’t they?” he asked. “Why shouldn't I turn you in?”

Her swords were pressed against his throat before he even registered her movement. “What were you saying?”

“I can still yell.”

“Why would you want to do that? You’d be dead, and I’d get away regardless.” She looked around again, weariness evident in the way she breathed heavily. “I’m offering you a chance at a new life away from all this.”

“Are you a criminal?”

“Is this really the time? You either come with me or you stay behind. Either way, I’m going now.” He breathed a sigh of relief when she removed the blades from his neck.

She clambered up the gryphon's outstretched wing and rest herself on its harnessed back. They walked towards the short walls and prepared to jump over. Chad didn’t have much time to consider his options, and his only ticket out of here was about to leave.

“Wait! I’ll go,” he said, rushing over to them.

“Good choice,” she said as she whispered to the gryphon. It reached back with its tails and wrapped around his torso tightly. Surprisingly enough, the action didn't cause him any pain. Then they were over the wall, trodding away from the town.

Chapter Ten

*

The trio reached the dungeon with little issue, a whole day passing with Chad kicking up small talk here and there, getting completely ignored by the stoic Amelia. Amelia groaned as Chadwick began to nervously pace back and forth in front of the dungeon's swirling gate. It would take them to the dungeon proper. She knew her limits, and without Essence, she knew even the most simple dungeon could be a death trap, but the constant pressure of her Contracted eased some of that anxiety blooming in her chest.

Chadwick looked to be in his mid-twenties with auburn hair, a chiseled jaw, and a frame that could shame some professionals she’d worked with before. She eyed his sword crafted of mythril. Its make far surpassed anything she'd ever wielded, but having a powerful weapon could be a crutch if the wielder couldn't put the power to use. She truly envied the powerful engraving containing ancient magic. She couldn’t identify its purpose, but it was there nonetheless.

Whoever made that sword, they're a dragon among sheep.

When Chadwick left to retrieve his things, Amelia hoped he'd return with a shield, but he’d returned without one. If he survived the dungeon run, they would have to get him one.

A Defender was only as good as their shield.

Her thoughts meandered as she waited for Chadwick to calm down, already attempting to calm his nerves twice.

First on her hefty to-do list, she needed to get her gryphon to Rank-Two. This was the main purpose for the dive today, but that didn't stop her from greedily looking over her shoulder at the swirling vortex. They were known to be resource-abundant and very profitable for anybody that cleared the final boss. Next, they also needed to remove the presence - the roiling thing of cold darkness - from within her gryphon. Her last immediate goal was focused on herself. She desperately needed to refill her Essence.

Secondary goals? She had a few of those, too, but they wouldn't take precedence over her primary goals. She wanted to make sure that Chadwick didn’t die, evade the UBA - far easier said than done - and find a new Guild to join. If she joined a new Guild within the Coalition and proved herself to them as a valuable asset, they could act as a political shield against the UBA.

Far down the road, a tertiary goal was to have her Contracted gain strength enough to take them off-world. Dimension gate access wasn’t cheap, but her lifeline - her golden ticket off this gods' forsaken world - would completely rely on her Contracted's growth. The further he grew, the more power and abilities he would manifest. Reliable Contracted monsters were a boon almost any Faction was willing to pay for.

The Ardenians weren’t moving without some heavy backing, so that would be their first ticket to some glory and recognition. They just needed more Essence, and they needed it now.

Sighing in frustration and impatience, she considered how unprepared they were. Everything to come would be a rush with danger at every corner. This world was merciless on those too weak to stand for themselves, and she refused to return to her life of before.

No, never that.

She pet the back of her gryphon’s neck, smiling at his rumbling pur-caw. She would take care of him, and he could feel his intent to do the same. She felt the creeping coldness stabbing at her, giving her the feeling of thousands of uncomfortable pinpricks across her body. Its attempts to numb her elicited a snort. Now that she wasn't utterly exhausted and completely devoid of any Essence, her passive Essence absorption did well enough to fight back its invasive presence.

Chadwick approached, breaking her of her reverie. "I-I'm ready. Sorry."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she turned and approached the distortion forming in the cave's mouth. It was a pitiful thing, slightly jutting out from the side of a small hill. “This is it and last I heard, it was a fairly weak dungeon for beginners below Rank-Two. It non-invasive and has no known valuable resources, so Ghulda doesn't bother with it much.”

“What’s inside?” Chadwick asked nervously.

“Giant Leeches, apparently. My information is pretty old, so take that with a grain of salt.” She pulled her bow free of its home in her quiver and beckoned him forward.

“Here goes nothing,” he said, taking a couple of steps before looking over his shoulder. “Q-quick question. Why do I have to go first?”

“Just go, I’ll be right behind you.” With uncertain steps, the portal flashes and whisked him away. She looked her gryphon in the eyes, “You need to get stronger. I'll gain some Essence from anything you kill, so don't hold back." She looked in toward the portal, "I know you think he’s annoying, but he’ll be useful in time. He’s an unpolished gem in the rough, and I’m gonna make him into something great.”

The gryphon nodded back at her, then they stepped through the distorted cave mouth. The inside of the dungeon flabbergasted Amelia. A large castle, unlike anything she ever saw, loomed in the distance. None of her information ever mentioned a castle.

Chadwick stood ahead of her, staring dumbly at the castle in the distance. “I’m not liking this very much. I-I thought you said leeches? What kind of leeches build castles?”

“None,” she said stoically, standing next to him. “I did tell you the information is a little out of date. We can scout out the enemy. We need to determine if we can fight them or if we should leave.”

“Sounds like we should just leave. I knew this was a stupid choice,” Chadwick grumbled as he turned back toward the entrance. "Oh no, no-no-no." He ran over to the empty space they just appeared from. "That- this isn't normal, right?"

Amelia stared at the empty space, her jaw locked. It took her a moment to cool herself enough to speak. “Looks like we’ll need to complete it.”

The pungent stench of swamp water made her blink a few times, the putrid stench causing unwanted stinging in her eyes. A distinct lack of light caused her to feel on edge. Without a source of light, things would be more challenging than they already were. Chad blindly stumbled about, looking as though he couldn’t see further than just in front of him. His face cramped as he squinted, looking about with little success.

Amelia groaned. She doubted the water was any deeper than her mid-thigh. She looked at her clothes, grumbling, “I just washed, and this place reeks. I’m gonna have to burn these and wash again after this is all done.”

She looked over toward her Contracted, and it didn't look any more excited than she felt. Completely unrelated to the dungeon and its swamp, she realized she still needed to name it. The name came to her fairly easy, as the gryphon’s hide, feathers, and fur were all the same obsidian color. She walked up to it and looked it in the eyes. “I need a name for you so that I can stop thinking of you as ‘my Contracted’ or ‘my gryphon’, you know?”

It furrowed its brows at her as if asking her if this was really the place and time for that. “I’ll have you know, it bugs me to think of you as a thing. You’re my Contracted, and that means a lot more than you know. Do you like the name Obsidian?”

It looked at itself and then back at her and glared. “What? A little too on the nose? Well, deal with it because to me, you are now Obsidian.”

Obsidian huffed back at her and stepped forward into the murky water.

Chapter Eleven

*

‘Looks like I’m taking lead on this.’ John stepped into the murky water. The water barely came up to the middle of his leg. He didn’t know what dangers lurked in this dungeon, but he knew it didn't matter much.

He felt Amelia's hand rest on his hide, prompting him to halt. When he looked at her, she looked like a child. Pleading eyes begged him to let her onto his back. He huffed again and watched as she nimbly mounted him.

‘I imagine that the big castle is our destination,’ he thought as he sloshed through the water. The buffoon followed behind, moaning and groaning as water soaked into his cheap garb, more than likely flooding his boots.

'This is strange.' John didn’t feel anxious or vulnerable when stepping into the dungeon, even though its sole purpose was literally to kill them. 'I just feel strong. I've never felt this power, this confidence. It's- it's strange.'

The castle looked distinctly European, standing at an impressive seven stories with various sized conal towers. The front had dozens of curtained windows, multiple layers of gates, and a large front gate. Just from the spacing alone, he knew that there had to be some kind of courtyard.

When they were halfway to the castle, he realized something was very wrong.

A heavy fog had descended around them and obscured any semblance of vision that John previously had. It was brief, fading as quickly as it came, and a not-so-nice surprise awaited them when it lifted.

They were surrounded. Pale humanoid figures crouched on the branches of the trees far above. He hadn’t heard them, but there they were. More of the pale humanoids than he could count.

“Vampires,” his Contractor whispered out. The image he saw was of Edward Cullen shimmering like his skin was made of diamonds as light touched it, but he had a good feeling that these were not the same kind of bloodsuckers. “This is bad, I don't have enough Essence to do anything to them.”

The trees were thin. He lashed out at the closest of the spindly trees with a tail and watched as the pale humanoid leaped away. The tree splintered and cracked where he struck, toppling unceremoniously with a cacophony of groans. It splashed in the water, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

John looked back towards the man and saw that he at least had the sense to pull his sword out. He stared at the sword for a moment, feeling strange primal energy inside.

“An interesting situation you’ve found yourself in, variant,” one of the vampires hissed, but John surprisingly understood what it said. It sniffed the air, cringing at John's scent. “Just, what even are you? You smell terrible.”

John decided that talking with them would at least give him time to try and figure out what his team's options were. He cawed back, doubting if they would understand what he tried to say. “I’m not saying. Any idea where the exit is?”

The vampire’s eyes narrowed, “Why are you here, variant? You have these humans with you. Don’t tell me you wanted to come and kill us.”

John shook his head, “I would prefer if we didn’t have to fight. We sought refuge in the dead of night and wandered into this dungeon by mistake.”

“Well, looks like we’ll just have to show you what we do to trespassers.” It leaped towards John.

Chaos broke loose.

Acting on reflex, his tails struck out, leaving two vampires with large holes in their chest. The vampires turned to ash, death rattles bringing a rush of energy. The newfound energy dissipated as quickly as it came, his Contractor channeling the energy he acquired into a barrage of roiling darkness.

“Sorry, but this is all I can do to help," she said.

Despite the effectiveness of his tails, he could only strike out so fast. Together with his beak and claws, he took chunks of their flesh away and his talons shredded them into fleshy ribbons, but he quickly realized that they regenerated quickly if they didn't explode into the strange energy.

John grew weary as a primal presence grew within the sword, as though waking from a deep slumber. The vampires ambushed the man, flanking him from behind. They wearily eyed the sword with trepidation, the presence within radiating a regal, overbearing aura. When he managed to simply cut them, a simple wound that should easily heal over, the wounds festered until the vampires exploded in chunks of gore.

Once cut, their lives were forfeit.

A deep satisfaction oozed from the sword.

John shrieked in rage as a vampire - the same one he spoke with before - pierced deeply into his hide, wriggling around its taloned hand and damaging his inside. A snapping beak removed its arm, elbow deep in his side, from the vampire's shoulder. Blinding rage fueled John as he swallowed the limb, clawing forward with traces of obsidian energy. When the vampire retreated, the obsidian energy chased faster than the vampire could retreat, decapitating it with swift justice.

Amelia looked back at the wound, speaking through clenched teeth. She felt his pain. Stashing the bow, she reached down with both hands. “Keep us safe. I need to heal you.”

Redoubling his focus, he assailed the swarm as they continued their own assault. They glided through the air using some sort of levitation magic, but it limited how fast they could move. When they were in the air, his tails rarely missed his target. As he slew more of the vampires, a tidal wave of energy flowed into him. Amelia made sure it quickly drained, but he couldn't complain. He felt the stitching of his open wound, the fruit of her efforts.

Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to take a quick peek.

A lattice of complex interweaving energy slowly knit stitched his wound closed. The intricate lattice morphed into new flesh, molding into his skin. He could even feel it acting on the internal injuries he sustained. By the time she finished healing, it was as though he’d never been injured.

‘That’s useful,’ John thought to himself. Two more vampires turned to ash, his tails slaying them with little effort. ‘I feel like I’m imitating a scorpion. It’s pretty cool.’

Ever so slowly, the swarm thinned. John appreciated the man's presence, the haughty presence within the sword making short work of the vampires. That presence still worried John, but beggars couldn't be choosers and they needed all the help they could get if they wanted to live through the encounter. It made his skin crawl, its hunger palpable when it focused on him. It wanted to devour him. He didn’t want to find out what would happen if it cut him, the chunky bits gorey vampires floating on the surface of the murky water.

All at once, the vampires retreated. Without a single sound, they took flight toward the castle.

"Their casualties grew higher than the worth they’d get from killing us," Amelia huffed. "Thank whatever gods watch over us for that. I - I don't know how much longer I could've kept that up."

‘I guess that clears up the mystery of what we’ll be fighting. It's almost disappointing, they didn’t seem all that impressive. Sure, there were a ton of them, but they died easily enough.’ Once he stopped missing, that was.

Looking over his shoulder at Amelia, he waited for some kind of prompting. She bit her lip as she considered options, looking around for any place for them to shelter themselves and recover.

Strange energy swirled about his chest, flowing into Amelia. It reminded him of a tank of a half-empty tank of gas. Completely filling the tank would do…

‘Who knows what?’ It warmed him, fighting off the ever-invasive coldness.

John looked around idly. The dungeon didn’t afford them many places to hide, so they would have to be content with finding somewhere dry to recover. Hopefully, they’d proved their capability to handle the swarm. He didn't want to get another visit while they tried to recover.

Amelia started, returning from some kind of glossy-eyed incoherent state, when he walked forward towards a small strip of dry land. It was soft and mushy under his weight, but it got him out of the water.

‘Good enough,’ he thought, laying down to rest. The fight had been the first true test of his ability, and he was utterly exhausted. The wound, despite being healed over now, still drained him. The healing itself had taken its toll.

Hunger pains reminded him that it had been some time since he ate, but he couldn't do much to sate his appetite. His stomach growled, and the brute jumped in fright, swinging his sword to and fro.

“You did well,” Amelia whispered, softly scratching his head between his horns. It soothed John’s nerves and helped him sleep, his hunger taking second to exhaustion.

Chapter Twelve

*

Amelia stared at Obsidian for a moment after its light breathing signaled he’d fallen asleep, turning to look back at Chadwick. Obsidian had fared far better than she could ever have hoped. Its tails were something terrifying, and she was glad the gryphon wasn't an enemy.

Now, she focused on the slightly glowing sword he still wielded, hands pale from how tightly he held the ornamented hilt. His eyes flit to and fro, looking as though his life depended on remaining absolute in his vigilance.

He had far excelled her expectation, but it wasn't his own skill she admired. If it hadn’t been for that sword…

She looked back over at the chunks of vampire that floated in the swamp water and sighed, “Chadwick, you did really well. Were you injured?”

She nothing apparent, but the vampires had taken precaution and only struck at him from behind. Initially, when the fighting started, she thought their wariness for the sword was absurd, but then he barely grazed the first vampire and the wound maliciously festered until the vampire outright exploded into chunks of gore, fading away into Essence.

“I-I’m fine. Just a little shaken is all,” he said, spinning around with wide eyes and sword brandished at the mere sound of splashing water. “Okay, I’m scared out of my mind right now, but I’m uninjured.”

“Put your sword away and rest while we can. I’m sure going forward there won’t be much time to breathe. I think-” she started as he sheathed the sword, realizing that an unseen pressure lifted off her shoulders. She cleared her throat and spoke again. “I think the leeches here evolved into a vampire colony. I’ve definitely heard of stranger evolutions, but that makes our dive here far more dangerous.”

“Obviously!” he shouted back, startling Obsidian as he rested.

“Keep your voice down and calm yourself. They’re probably watching us, so you need to stay close.” She looked around and tried her best to ignore the feeling of being watched. “The vampires seemed pretty weak, and that would make sense. The lack of wildlife here shows that they’ve sustained themselves, but they’re more than likely starving.”

“Starving? We’re stuck in a den of starved vampires, that's just - doesn’t that mean we’re doomed to die?” Chadwick looked up at her, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. “I don’t want to die.”

“It doesn’t mean we’ll die, no. It means they’re weakened. With your sword and Obsidian’s help, we’ll be able to make it out alive. My magic works against them, but it’s expensive to use. That fight barely refilled my Essence." She let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing away the stress-headache forming. It didn't help much, so she focused on what she could do next. "I imagine you feel strange energy inside yourself that you’ve never experienced before?”

“I thought I was just warm from the adrenaline. It feels like a thick liquid rampaging inside of me. I -" he groans. "I can’t control.” Chadwick rubbed his chest and stared back at Amelia. “Wait, I still don’t know your name.”

“Amelia,” she said as she rubbed her temples, “and that liquid is the overflow of Essence you absorbed. You’ll need to take control of it.”

“Essence? Are you saying I might be able to use magic?” he asked with renewed excitement, all traces of fear having dissolved into an afterthought.

She shook her head, “Not everyone’s Essence manifests the same way and it takes personal testing to figure out how you will use it personally.”

“Okay, so how do I do that?” he walked over to her and she hopped down from Obsidian’s back.

“It’s not that hard initially, but it does take a long time to get used to using it.” She took his hand and rested it on her chest, ignoring the perverted grin he gave her. “I’m going to channel my Essence and I want you to try and feel the paths that it takes in my body and then create the same in yourself. This is the easy part.”

Chadwick met Amelia’s gaze and then looked away quickly, the embarrassment clear as day with his quickly reddening cheeks. He sucked on the inside of his cheek, breathed in deeply, and then looked back at her. He released the breath. “I’m ready.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes before rapidly circulating her Essence throughout her body and into his hand. It stemmed from her chest, flowed out through her limbs to her toes and fingers, and then completed a circuit as it returned. It constantly flowed to her eyes and head, enhancing her vision and enabling her to understand the magic she used. Her body felt invigorated with each circuit that was completed.

She could feel him slowly begin to imitate her energy flow, but he breathed out in a huff. “This is hard. I don’t think I can do it.”

“That makes sense since my path won’t be the same for you. I’ve seen some people that only flow their Essence through a single limb, to their heads, or even keep it in their chests. What that does is empower your body to overcome inherent limitations in the physique. Many effects include improved vision, durability, reflexes, and mental comprehension,” she said, emphasizing the last effect.

“I- okay, but how do I use magic?” he said as he tried to hide his excitement. He reminded Amelia of a child that just got a new toy.

“It depends on how your pathways form, so focus on that first. Trying to use any kind of magic with an unstable circuit will just end up backfiring and blowing up in your face. Trust me. You don’t want that,” she lectured him sternly, hoping that the buffoon would have the decency to not blow himself up.

“Dangerous, got it.” He looked around and then back to Obsidian. “What now?”

“You go practice,” she rubbed her temples to assuage the forming headache. “If you can establish your circuits, you’ll be far more capable of dealing with the vampires.”

“Practice, got it.” He sat and closed his eyes.

Amelia looked around again out of habit and wariness before she laid back against Obsidian and closed her eyes. She spread her senses out in a small range around them and allowed herself to rest.

Her thoughts meandered to the past and the life she’d lived. She couldn’t remember the face of her mother anymore, but she could describe in absolute detail the stench of liquor that pervaded their rundown home. Her mother loved liquor and used it to drown out her sorrow.

She could vividly recall the details of the day that changed everything. The day she came home to find her brother and father hanging in their living room and the figure of her uncle sitting in a chair casually as if nothing happened.

She wasn’t supposed to be home.

Her uncle had attacked her and she was beaten, violated, and beaten again. She remembered his words clearly as the fat pig rolled off her, “Tell anyone and I’ll make you suffer a life worse than death.”

She had told her mom what happened and received a beating for lying. “He would never!” her mother had screamed, hitting her repeatedly.

She was alone in a cruel world, beaten and broken. She had nothing left to live for, but she found friends. She joined a special group, a dangerous group. She learned to fend for herself, and one day came forth with the truth of what had happened. She was scoffed at and ignored, but she remembered every face. She honed her skills until she made them pay. Made them suffer much like she had.

When her uncle got word, he came looking for her, but she wasn’t the same young girl. She smiled at the memory of his screams. His cries for help. The pain she made him feel. The humiliation, powerlessness, vulnerability.

Then she let him bleed to death as she executed every corrupt official that allowed people like him to exist. That enabled criminals to run free to pocket a little more coin here and there. When she gained her magic and established her circuit, she put her skills up for hire to those that wanted to see a better world and joined an organization that helped cleanse the filth.

She gained a reputation in time and eventually garnered enough reputation with the powers that be to receive a single request from them.

Her request was Obsidian. When she heard he would be executed for being born as a variant, she had redeemed her single-use request and demanded to be Contracted to the gryphon. She could sympathize with the gryphon and added into her request that a Heavenly Oath be conducted to bind them for life.

Her train of thought was broken when Chadwick shouted in excitement, “I did it!”

Obsidian woke and looked back at Chadwick, and Amelia took amusement as the man shrank away from the irritated gryphon. She grinned and then stood, “Time to move.”

Chapter Thirteen

*

Amelia felt anxious.

They stood in front of the castle gates, yet there wasn’t a single vampire in sight. They had crossed the distance in a few hours without interruption, though her nerves were shot. She had been prepared for an ambush at any point and her vigilance had been for nought. Nothing had contested their trek through the swamp.

It made her believe that a nasty surprise waited for them inside the castle. Every dungeon had a boss that protected it that would respawn after time and rebuild after it was conquered. Every dungeon had a dungeon core that could be shattered, though that was taboo almost everywhere.

Only invasive dungeons that corrupted the area around them were targeted for destruction, but this dungeon didn’t seem like one of those. However, Amelia considered destroying the crystal after they cleared the dungeon. Vampires were nasty creatures. She was surprised that they hadn’t spread to the surrounding area yet and wanted to prevent the inevitable from happening.

The dungeon had been left alone for quite some time to change so drastically, so she hoped that, if they did destroy the core, it wouldn’t be too terribly missed. Not only that, she hoped that she would be thanked if it were to be found out. She wouldn’t go about spreading the knowledge that she’d done it though.

“Chadwick, what do you know of dungeons?” she asked as she stood there, thinking about the options they had available to them.

“They contain monsters. That’s about all I know. Some of them have decent resources that people often flock to, but besides that, I don’t know anything else.” He palmed the hilt of his sword as he nervously looked back and forth.

“I want to destroy this dungeon after we kill the boss monster. More than likely, it’s a vampire lord, but only time will tell.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” he asked with furrowed brows. “Like, hunt you down and hang you illegal?”

“Only in valuable dungeons, but this one has little to no resources and hasn’t been visited in some time. I think we’ll be fine if we destroy it. If we don’t, the vampires could spread to the villages nearby.”

He stared at her dumbly, “That can happen?”

“It has and will happen if we allow this dungeon to stay. It’s a danger and many lives would be lost if we leave it. Someone will eventually find it and put a stop to them, but we can stop it from happening now.”

“I-I don’t know about this.”

“Trust me, we’ll be fine,” she said calmly. “Nobody likes vampires.”

“Okay, then let’s do this. I’m going crazy here waiting for them to jump out at us.” He drew his sword and stepped through the open gate.

“I was thinking the same thing,” she responded as she prompted Obsidian forward. Luckily enough, Obsidian wasn’t too large and fit through the oversized doors easily.

They walked down the halls and checked the rooms. There was little filling the rooms, and Amelia realized that the dungeon had to have made the castle. She praised it for its design while wondering who died to give it the knowledge to do so.

“Where are they?” Chadwick asked through clenched teeth. “This isn’t how I imagined things going.”

“More than likely, they’re gathered with the dungeon’s boss and are waiting for us. We’ve already shown we can handle ourselves against the weakened vampires. It’s what I’d do,” Amelia said as they returned to the massive central hallway that led to the East and West wings. “Back where we started. This is going to get messy fast.”

She stared at the largest door she’d ever seen framed in an intricate arch. Chadwick walked forward and kicked the door inward, though it proved futile as it barely budged.

“Obsidian, please take care of this.”

Obsidian’s tails pierced through the door in rapid succession before he charged forward and barreled his way through the door, nearly ripping them off the hinges.

What they found inside surprised Amelia. At the same time, it really didn’t. Vampires had a strange nack for theatrics.

Several human statues littered the large gathering chamber. Some were whole and some lay tattered in pieces. Amelia sighed before speaking aloud, “I think I figured out why nobody has heard anything about the changes in the dungeon.”

On either side of the great chamber, vampires stood and watched them. A large, ornate throne had been placed at the end of the great chamber, and in the seat was a well dressed vampire with long, silver hair that flowed freely.

It sat with one leg crossed over the other while its chin rested against its interlocked hands. Its face was androgynous and it wore an expression of absolute boredom. Its voice resonated with an enchanting timber as it spoke, “My guests, welcome. I’ve awaited your arrival since you first appeared. I apologize for the hostile welcoming party, but many of my swarm aren’t familiar with the meaning of hospitality.”

He glared at each and every one of the vampires that stood to either side. “How I see it, you’re trespassing on my territory, but that may not matter to you. You don’t even know who, or what, I am. Well, let me inform you so that you may shed some light on the darkness that is your understanding.”

He slowly stood and held his hands out to either side, “I am Amadeus, Son of Kyriall. I am a Vampire Overlord, though it may be simpler if I just say I’m a demigod. I wonder, do you even know of Kyriall on this world?”

He waited for them to answer, but Amelia couldn’t say that she had. She shook her head, and he sighed in disappointment. “I figured as much, though I can’t blame you for your ignorance. If I recall correctly, this is Kharmina’s domain.”

“That is correct,” Amelia confirmed, though she felt uncertain as to whether she should even try to talk to the vampire before her. She’d heard of vampire lords, but had never heard any mention of an overlord. She warily pet Obsidian’s head, though she couldn’t tell who she was trying to comfort.

Chapter Fourteen

*

John stared at the vampire before them numbly. His instincts screamed at him to run, but he knew it would be useless in front of the power that this vampire contained. He listened carefully, taking in as much information as he could.

‘This guy seems to mean business. I can feel Amelia’s uncertainty, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow. She feels like she’s doomed us all, but I haven’t given up yet.’

The vampire from before could understand him, so he wondered if he could try to communicate with Amadeus. Even to his ears, he sounded as though he squawked and cawed randomly, but the vampire paid John attention when he spoke. “You’re powerful, Overlord, but you haven’t killed us yet. Is there any reason?”

“Oh, what do we have here? You wouldn’t happen to be a drafted soul, perchance?” Amadeus rose a brow and waited for John to respond, making it clear that he wouldn’t respond until John answered his inquiry.

“Yes, I am.”

“What an interesting turn of events. This is very unexpected. It doesn’t explain your strange manifestation. What of that?” John could see the curiosity burning within the eyes of the Overlord and decided that total disclosure was better than death. He didn’t know if Amadeus could detect lies or not.

“When my body left my world, I entered a strange land of darkness. It tore away at my body until I reformed.” John paused to consider what he was going to say next. “I spoke with two gods and they said I had been Void-Touched. They said I’m infected with a parasite, and that’s why we’re here. I needed to grow and my Contractor needed to restore her energy. Why is it that we’re still alive?”

“You can tell I’m powerful, so what is it that makes me stay here?” Amadeus responded with a question of his own.

“I can only think of two reason. The first is that there’s something stopping you from leaving. The second, something outside threatens you. Seeing how strong you are, I doubt it’s the second,” John responded after brief consideration.

“Bah, like anything in the realm could threaten me. My father punishes me unjustly for a crime I didn’t commit, but that is history. I’m sealed inside, doomed to fade into obscurity and suffer from hunger pangs until I finally fall into eternal slumber.” He walked forward, each step slow and deliberate.

The brutish ape rushed forward, stabbing toward Amadeus with his blade. The Overlord caught it between two fingers and glared at the buffoon. “You are not befitting of this blade. Tell me, why shouldn’t I kill you right now for disturbing the adults while they talk?”

The brute could only stare on in open mouthed horror at the ineffectiveness of his attack. He looked back towards Amelia, absolute terror frozen on his face and eyes begging for them to help.

“Spare him, please,” John asked for mercy on behalf of the brute. He didn’t want to see the man die before him. Monsters he could kill and didn’t care for, but the fool was a human. A little special in the head but still human, and John was still a human inside.

“Don’t ever say I never did anything for you,” Amadeus said as he stared at John. “Now, in exchange for your friend's life, I think we should discuss my issue.”

Amadeus kicked forward and sent the fool flying through the air where he unceremoniously tumbled head over heel until he skid to a stop. John stared at the body, looking for any sign of life. He heard the sound of gargling blood, but he was still alive. John turned his head and looked at his Contractor, tilting his head in the direction of the man.

She understood what he tried to convey and rushed off to heal his wounds while John returned his attention to Amadeus. He had to fight back the anger and bitterness of their situation to speak again.

“Thank you for sparing him,” John said and tilted his head in respect.

“Maybe he’ll think twice before attacking an unknown foe next time. You never know, maybe this lesson will save his life in the future. Now,” Amadeus’s eyes narrowed and he began to walk around John, “I need you to remove the seal keeping me here. You have the ability to nullify magic to some extent as a Void-Touched, though you might not have known that.”

John stayed still, feeling as though he were a timid mouse standing before a mighty dragon. He didn’t even know if that comparison could be made, as even the red dragon hadn’t given him pause before.

“What will that take?” he asked, hoping that he could find a way out of the dungeon that didn’t involve actually agreeing to release the Overlord.

“Well, I’m going to bind you to an Oath. A neutral Oath, mind you, but even those have consequences if broken. I want this to be a mutual relationship. A partnership, if you’ll have it.” Amadeus chuckled. “Thought, the alternative is death and I wait for someone else that can help me to come along, though, I don’t fancy waiting another thousand years for someone to stumble across this place that has what it takes to break the seal.”

John really considered his options.

He could decline and then all three of them would more than likely end up dead at the hands of Amadeus.

He could attempt to fight the Vampire Overlord and die swinging.

Or he could fulfill the Oath and release Amadeus from his prison.

He thought of Elaine and Lily, and made up his mind. He didn’t know how many would damn him for his choice, but his goal was to see his family again. He couldn’t do that if he died here so early into his adventure.

“You don’t give me a real choice. I can’t die here,” John reluctantly admitted.

Amadeus stopped in front of John and assumed the thinking position with his arms crossed and a single brow raised. “I know you don’t have a choice, but I prefer the carrot over the stick. If you agree to the Oath, then I’ll fill you with enough Essence to gain a Rank. Complete my request and I’ll do it again, no matter what Rank you are when you fulfill it.”

John’s eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder at Amelia tending to the brute’s wounds. He considered the offer for what it was and then turned back to Amadeus, “I’ll accept, but I need more information about the process and some answers to some questions I have.”

“Reasonable enough,” Amadeus responded with a shrug. “The more you know, the easier your mission will be. We both want things from one another, so let’s further discuss while I prepare the Oath.”

Amadeus waited for John to continue speaking while raising his wrist to his mouth. With a quick bite, he sliced open the vein in his wrist and began dropping blood on the ground around them. John watched on curiously, but a quick prompt from Amadeus had him blurting out everything on his mind.

“First, I need to know more about what it means to be Void-Touched. I don’t know enough about my capabilities or what I can do to remove the parasite inside of me. Second, ultimately my goal is to reach Rank-Ten Boss so that I can go back home to my family, so gaining Rank is very important to me. I don’t know enough about Ranks or how to get to that level.”

“Oh, you poor fool. The ignorant truly do fumble about the world like blind children, listening to every adult that wants to ‘help’ them,” Amadeus splashed blood about haphazardly as he made air quotations with his fingers. “You don’t know what you’ve signed up for, so let me educate you.”

*

It felt as though a cold bucket of water was splashed onto John’s face as he listened to Amadeus explain what he’d signed up for and just how difficult the lofty goal of Rank-Ten Boss truly was.

“There are twenty Ranks for monsters like you and me broken down into two sets. There’s the initial level, Rank-One through Rank-Ten, and then there are the Boss levels which become exponentially harder to overcome. Those Ranks aren’t accessible until you’ve made it to Rank-Ten. They’re less about raw power and more about understanding conceptual power.” John’s talons on his front feet pierced the ground and the claws on his back feet rent the floor beneath his feet. “Yes, you should be frustrated. To make you realize how far you have to go, I’m a Rank-One Boss monster.”

“They tricked me then?” John asked, referring to Bellathorne and Xexel.

“Honestly, it sounds like you just didn’t ask the right questions. It’s not their fault that you don’t know what you don’t know, and as for being Void-Touched? That’ll make your goal both easier and harder. Variants like you are executed when born for a reason. The fact you’ve made it this far is rather impressive.”

“I was taken from my gryphon mother to a city, and the next thing I knew, I was in the process of being bound to my Contractor.” John looked towards Amelia, feeling the tug of Essence from their bond.

“Then you have your whole life to make it up to her before you inevitably have to consume her soul,” Amadeus said as he finished completing the circle of blood around John. “Now, I’ll finish answering the rest of your questions after we take the Oath.”

John stared dumbly at Amadeus, eyes widening even further. He couldn’t process what Amadeus said. “Wh-what do you mean? Why would I consume her soul?”

“It’s exactly as I said. You can’t proceed to the Boss Ranks while bound by any Contract or Oath. It seems like the bond you have formed with her is a powerful one, so you’ll have to integrate her soul into yours to avoid any repercussions. It’s nasty business but can be easily done by someone like yourself.”

“But…” John couldn’t think of anything at all. “That’s so…”

“It is. Sick, twisted, tragic. All words I would apply to the strange rules this world operates by, but you have no choice if you ever want to see your family again. Now, I’ll start the Oath.” Amadeus’s hands lit up with a powerful magic that caused Amelia to shout in surprise. He slammed it down onto the ground and a large, blue circle appeared underneath Amadeus and John. “I swear that I, Amadeus, will fulfill my terms of the Contract. These terms include providing the Void-Touched draftee with enough Essence to gain a Rank before and after he partakes to fulfill his end of the Oath. I will allow him and his friends to exit under the condition that he fulfill my requirements within three months. If he does not fulfill my requirements, he will be Cursed with a crippling illness that causes nightmares every time he sleeps and saps him of all strength.”

John glared at Amadeus, “That’s not what we agreed on.”

“It’s too late now. You either finish the Oath or you die. Which is it?” Amadeus asked with a smile.

“I, John, will find and remove the seal that keeps Amadeus imprisoned. Amadeus must provide the location and method to remove the seal. In turn, if he is released, he is to never harm myself or anyone I consider an ally. In the event that he breaks his Oath, he is to suffer from an endless thirst that will never be quenched.”

Amadeus narrowed his eyes but shrugged off the condition. “I have total faith in your success. I accept the terms of this Oath.”

“I accept the terms of this Oath,” John copied Amadeus, watching as the swirling lights attached themselves to their souls and then faded into nothingness.

“Now that all that business is finished, let’s talk about what you need to do to get me out of here and how you can, at the same time, deal with your little parasite problem.” Amadeus returned to his throne and waved a hand.

The vampire swarm that had watched the whole procession dispersed without a sound and left John, Amelia, and the injured man alone with Amadeus. John highly doubted that they were there to actually protect Amadeus if what he said about his power was true.

“Now,” Amadeus began as he sat, looking just as bored as when they walked in, “the seal is stored on the other side of the continent. You’ll have to travel there, though, you should probably find a way to consume the heart of a dragon.”

“What will that accomplish and how am I supposed to do that?” John asked in confusion.

“The seal is kept under a dragon den in the Ardenian Empire. Consuming the heart of a dragon will allow you to unlock different evolution paths that will enable you to consume the parasite. It won’t be easy and your Contractor will have to help, but it’s doable.” Amadeus grinned at the disgust apparent in John’s eyes. “Let’s finish our business here. I owe you enough Essence to get you to your next Rank and guidance on destroying the seal.”

John nodded and approached Amadeus, bowing low in deference to the other’s superiority, though he was sure to do so with confidence and surety in himself and the Vampire Overlord.

“This won’t take long. If I may make a recommendation?” Amadeus gestured for John to raise his head and touched his chest. An intense warmth spread through his body in only moments. John nodded and Amadeus continued to speak, “When you go to break the seal, you’ll need to be stronger than you are. I gave you three months, but it would only take you about a week to get there, so don’t dilly dally.”

“Thank you for the information, Amadeus. I greatly appreciate it,” John said sincerely. ‘The guy isn’t actually too bad. I’m not happy to be his errand boy, but I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if I was locked away and couldn’t make it back to Lily and Elaine.’

The warmth filled that internal pool and began to circulate strangely until it felt as though a dam burst and the contents of his pool spilled over into his body.

An inhumane shriek shook the walls of the castle as John’s body began to grow rapidly. “Forceful Rank increases aren’t pleasant, but they get the job done.”

John’s body expanded and then condensed. His wings felt far more powerful, and his tails grew to match his new size. His horns extended over the back of his head slightly. He felt an energy - he assumed it to be Essence - flowing freely throughout his body, though it felt ominous. It felt foreign - almost invasive.

His body shook and he had to close his eyes to not collapse. As the Essence circulated, he started to recover and feel far sturdier. When he spoke, his voice resonated through the halls like with a deep, booming bass. His glare spoke volumes as he nearly growled, “You should’ve warned me.”

Amadeus cracked a sly grin and met John’s pained glare, “And ruin the surprise? Where would the fun in that be?”

John contemplated trying to bite the Overlord’s head off but managed to cool his temper. “The exit?”

“Fine-fine. I suppose it’ll do just fine if we conclude business here. Gather your companions and then I’ll show you.”