Chapter One

*

Shadows shifted over obsidian boots, causing them to blend with the perpetual darkness of the cavern. The sound of the footsteps floated far into the abyss, getting lost in the emptiness. Each step was evenly paced and carried the armor-clad warrior forward, into the unknown of the monstrous cavern big enough to hold an entire city.

She only stopped once she entered the middle of the cave, ornamented by a simple earthen shrine, a shrine to the hidden master that waited in the dark, sleeping peacefully. Kneeling, the armored figure placed a large sword on her knee and slammed a fist over her heart. The sound rang out and dissipated into the vast room. Bowing deeply, making herself vulnerable and showing her deference and obedience to her hidden master, she waited.

The hidden master’s eyes slid open, its pupils, the reddest in the world, stared at the armored warrior for several seconds. The eyes were many times the size of the armored warrior, surrounded by thousands of obsidian scales.

“Katya,” the hidden master hissed, its words bringing with it a scorching level of heat. “You were successful?”

Taking her helmet off and placing it by her knee, she bowed her head before responding. When she did, her voice was a neutral tone, calm and collected before the ancient being. “I was, Master.”

A blast of wind blew pebbles and stones across the cavern like high-velocity shrapnel from a grenade, but Katya’s shadow came to life, protecting her. Its dark silhouette lingered for a few seconds, but once the danger passed, the shadow dissipated into the surroundings and slinked back into place, looming in wait.

Katya waited a second more, knowing her hidden master, Fe’Mehra, wouldn’t take kindly to anything remotely disrespectful. Not only that, the dragon had the tendency of goading the Collection. Only once they were properly baffled and bewildered would she be satisfied. It was then she’d have them fight.

To be fair, it’s good practice. Katya had never lost. Even if she sympathized with the Others, she wouldn’t allow that sympathy to become a weakness.

“One final test awaits.” The massive eye began to shrink. When Katya had seen it for the first time, she’d expected so much more sound, visceral crunching as organs shifted and shrank. But no, magic made things… strange. When her shifting was complete, Fe'Mehra appeared in her far less oppressive Shrink, a condensed version of the dragon which Katya found easier to communicate with.

However, the Shrink’s form didn’t let Katya forget that Fe'Mehra was still a mythical creature of legends, an ancient dragon, nearly a thousand years old. Now, Katya didn’t speak. Fe'Mehra needed to tell Katya what to do next, but she would only do so when she felt like it. Like a true apex predator, Fe'Mehra enjoyed the games of power. Katya, on the other hand, learned quickly not to humor the dragon.

Fe'Mehra appraised Katya. It’d been so long since Katya arrived that she'd become used to being gawked at, even by Fe'Mehra.

The Others were just like that to the Natives, coveted and hunted like trophies, enslaved like beasts of burden. The hopelessness tingled in Katya’s heart, but she clenched down on that feeling and numbed herself. If she ever wanted to be free again, she couldn’t allow herself to wallow in self-pity.

And that was her goal. Freedom. Home was such a distant hope that it was like a candle in the dark, one which had never been lit. The potential of returning was a trap, something that would only distract her from what stared her in the face.

For what she lacked in hope, she made up for in spades with her determination. Hard-learned lessons, but lessons she had to learn the hard way, because there was no other way to learn such things. For that, she was grateful to Fe'Mehra.

“Master,” she replied obediently, grabbing her sword and rising. Even standing at her full height, Katya was still dwarfed by Fe'Mehra's Shrink. “I’m ready.”

“So you say time and time again, however,” Fe'Mehra paused, trailing a sharp talon along the warrior’s Enchanted Silversteel pauldron, “I’m not convinced. This is why there’s one last task.”

Katya remained still. The Enchanted Silversteel was like paper before the ancient dragon, a deep scratch marring the surface of the shoulderplates as she ran her talons across it. Any sign of weakness, and she’d have to make a journey to Hell’s Gates. Something she really wasn’t in a hurry to do again, but Fe'Mehra worked in mysterious ways.

It took everything in Katya to not sigh audibly when Fe'Mehra removed her hand, stepping away and continuing her appraisal. “Look how far you’ve come, my Trophy, my First.”

“It is all thanks to Master,” Katya responded. Stroking the dragon’s ego was the easiest way to remain unbothered. “I owe my life to Master.”

“This is true, but a Trophy is a bad trophy if it isn’t the best. Suz'Variat lies in slumber beneath Blackrock while his champion runs amok in my lands. You will slay them, or you will die.”

A black rock and a hard place. Katya didn’t respond. Doing so would allow her displeasure to seep through, and that would be taken as opposition to Fe'Mehra’s authority. Death is not a good look, so…

She could only hope that the champion wasn’t an Other like herself, but… it was unlikely. “If Master wishes it, then it shall be done.”

The dragon eyed her, searching for any hint of deceit. There was none. Katya had already steeled her heart to do what she needed to, and if that meant slaying an Other, then it wouldn’t be the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last.

The Champion Tournament would see to that. Fe'Mehra’s policy was brutal but effective. The best Trophies of the Collection were those that could fend for themselves and be useful to the ancient dragon. If they weren’t useful, powerful, or unique, then they were simply a burden to the dragon.

But first, Katya had to be eligible for the Tournament. Participation meant one of two things: the one who won would be recognized as the most powerful, while the others would die. There would be no in-between, but the Collection was used to that by now. After all, anybody who spent more than five seconds around Fe'Mehra knew the ancient dragon as “The Tyrant”.

Though none would say that to her face, the Collection’s murmuring seeped its way into Katya’s heart. The Natives, Fe’Mehra, and Tivara, the new world Katya lived, could all burn for all she cared.

But despite all that animosity stewing within, a predatory grin spread across Katya’s face as she met Fe'Mehra’s gaze. The Shrink smiled back, its rows of short, triangular teeth visible in the equally savage grin.

“Go now,” Fe'Mehra dismissed Katya with a wave of the hand, a fancy flourish. It wasn’t a wasted gesture. Power seeped into Katya from the ancient dragon, and she fell to her hands and knees, closing her eyes and relishing the raw power that purified and enhanced her powers.

Her sword whined in displeasure. It was left out in this infusion, the focus being purely on Katya’s two shadow powers: the Living Shadow and Shadow Mastery. Once the heady rush passed, she grabbed her helmet and left. Though, the second she stepped free of Fe'Mehra’s cave, she stopped and sat on the hard ground.

Chapter Two

*

Sitting down, crossing her legs, and resting her sword on her knees, Katya closed her eyes. She turned her senses towards her shadow, focusing on its depths. In its misty, ephemeral form was a mind, and it waited for her. Once she fixated on it, her consciousness faded from her body. Her mind was hardwired to pull her away from the Shadow Realm if anything were to approach, so she did so without worry.

On top of that, nothing approached Fe'Mehra’s mountain. Not unless they were an Other or seeking a death sentence. She didn’t take kindly to visitors of any kind, rarely even tolerating her own Collection. And if she barely put up with her Trophies, some no-name wanna-be didn’t stand a chance. She had a rule: any and all who trespassed on her mountain were kill on sight. It made it so that any intruders would always be dealt with. It worked two-fold, keeping her mountain pest free and training her Collection further.

Within the Living Shadow’s nexus, a young girl waited for her. “Sister, I’m glad you’ve come so soon!”

Katya smiled. “Tammy, I hope you were a good girl while I was gone.” The little shadow was a humanoid figure that replicated Katya perfectly. When she first discovered the nexus, the similarity was eerie. The lack of color and the child that awaited her were far from what she’d expected when she was led there by Fe’Mehra.

But the eccentric ancient dragon helped her figure out what Tammy could do and how to nourish the Living Shadow, something Katya would be ever grateful for. In truth, Fe’Mehra wasn’t all that bad of a master… Said nobody ever. Most of the Collection didn’t know of her true names, but Katya was The First.

She knew.

Fe’Mehra, Tyrant Terror of Savalia and Scourge of the Diamondsilk Seas. Savalia, one of Tivara’s three continents, was the continent they currently resided on, and the Diamondsilk Seas were a coveted resource that no human could access so long as Fe’Mehra resided within her mountain. It was contained within her mountain range, with no other way in or out.

Before she met Fe’Mehra, she’d heard a tale of the dragon, deemed evil and unjust by any that spoke of her. The story told of conquest and usurpation.

Once upon a time, back when Fe’Mehra was but an adult dragon, settlers of Savalia made their livings off of the Diamondsilk Seas, but Fe’Mehra found the mountain and treasured Seas. Diamondsilk was effectively priceless, so the natural action for the cursed dragon was to claim it as her own, razing all within her newly acquired territories. Of course, this was met with retribution from the Natives, but Fe’Mehra was both eccentric and powerful.

Their efforts? Vain. She slew any that challenged her and claimed the priceless Diamondsilk Seas as her greatest treasure, bar none. The Collection wasn’t even in her top five, or so the ancient dragon boasted.

Diamondsilk was coveted for its unique properties and ability to enhance magic when crafted properly. The material was a resilient fabric which only the best smiths or tailors could craft with, and even then, only grandmasters dared attempt to do so. The resource guaranteed an artifact-grade creation, an item of legend, a tool, weapon, or armor that would rival the very dragon that hoarded it. Katya suspected it was the exact reason Fe'Mehra hoarded the Seas.

To this day, the human empires trembled before her tyranny, even going so far as to send their heroes to die in tribute to the dragon to placate her.

Katya grinned. The bloodshed had been something great, striking fear into the entire continent long after.

“Sister, when you smile like that, it makes me excited! It’s the kill look,” Tammy said, sauntering over to give Katya a hug. “Are we doing some killing soon?”

Katya patted her Living Shadow’s head. Petting a shadowform of herself was still weird, but it was just one thing among many she didn’t give any time or attention to worry over. She couldn’t. Not when her goal was higher than the heavens, beyond the nexus, and across the Void.

She nodded, and the Living Shadow started clapping excitedly. “Is it a wyvern? No, no! A behemoth. It’s gotta be a behemoth, right? There was one lurking around the bottom of the mountain not too long ago…”

“It’s a champion, Suz'Variat’s champion to be exact.”

An absolute darkness robbed Katya of her senses as Tammy raged, “That damned Kelvani! He deserves worse than death!”

It took a second for her to adjust, but this wasn’t the first time Tammy had done such a thing, and it most certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“Oh, that he does,” she responded with another wry grin. Her acquiescence took some of the steam from the Living Shadow, a dim sliver of light illuminating Katya's face and revealing the hot tears streaming freely.

“You have to let me do many bad things to him, Sister! For everything he put us through, I should be allowed to ruin him!” Tammy shrieked. The more upset she got, the more the memories they’d buried deep came back, the more animosity stewed within the both of them. “Sister, you won’t stop me, right? Tell me you won’t, please…” Her voice was almost a whisper, filled with a desperate need for vengeance.

“We don’t play with our food,” Katya said with a shake of her head. “We make him pay with his life. Truly, he will get off easily for what he’s done, but there’s no use bringing ourselves to his level. We want to be better than them.”

“No! Just this one time, please!” The sincere, absolute conviction in the shadow’s wispy eyes made Katya pause, but she still shook her head after a moment of consideration. “Why not?!”

Placing a hand on her hip, Katya raised a brow and stared at her Living Shadow. The shadows became murky like mud as Tammy pouted. “Quit that, your nexus will get dirty for weeks. I don’t want to have to meditate the impurities out of you again.”

“Hey! You said we wouldn’t talk about that…” She only pouted more, liquid shadow dripping from her wispy eyes. “He hurt me too, you know? I was just a little Shadowling back then, so it’s like he was hurting a baby. You have to at least bully him a little before he dies, okay? For me?”

Katya cracked a grin, a malicious thing that stretched from one cheek to the other. “For sure, Tams.”

*

Bringing herself out of the meditative trance, Katya pulled her helmet on and grabbed her sword. Suz’Variat’s territory was a week’s march away, but Kelvani was known to reside in a border town. As a backstabbing Other, he was looked down by all but his master. Serves him right.

And if Katya recalled correctly, Suz’Variat was but an adult dragon. Powerful in comparison to the average adventurer, sure, but Katya relished in the thought of slaying the champion and the master. Not only would it satisfy some deep and dark urges within herself, but it would more than likely gain her merit with Fe’Mehra. The ancient dragon loathed those that tried to encroach on her space.

Katya didn’t voice her plans to Tammy, hoping to surprise the adolescent Shadowborn. I never would’ve considered fighting an adult dragon months ago, but with Fe’Mehra’s help... Maybe things aren’t so bad. She clenched her teeth. The thought irked her because the ancient dragon would discard her in seconds if she thought Katya lost any value.

It’s why she had to become champion. She needed to win the tournament. The fact she had to kill Others stirred a piece of her she’d shoved deep down, but it was a part of her she ignored. “Let’s go, Tammy. We’ve got some traveling to do.”

Katya could feel the Collection watching her depart, hidden away in the nooks and crannies across the mountain. They would have their own projects they were working on, and most of them wouldn’t participate in the tournament.

A mercy.

Even if Fe’Mehra was an eccentric psychopath, she wasn’t wasteful. She could see that a lot of the Others’ talents lay outside of combat. Forcing a crafting specialist to fight was similar to sending them to their death. Katy thanked whatever sick and twisted gods brought her to Tivara for her combat abilities.

The thoughts of her arrival made her heart race, and she squeezed the handle of Nala to relieve that stress. The weapon comforted her more than anything else. Out of everything she had now, it was the only one from the get-go that she could touch or use.

Breaking free of her mental tangent, she sucked on the inside of her teeth. Intruders. “Tam…”

“On it, Sister!” the Living Shadow responded, detaching from Katya and darting forward from shadow to shadow. Everything Tammy experienced, Katya did as well but in ways of the Shadow Realm, the sub-realm of misty shadows and absolute darkness Tammy resided within.

So she saw the invaders long before she reached them, and Tammy sank into the shadow of a staff-wielding man. Dark tendrils immediately exploded from the shadow, wrapping the man in a torrent of darkness.

“Hey, what in the name of Halla is that?!” shouted another man in silver and gold robes. They raised their hand, muttering a quick prayer before blasting forward with a wave of light.

But Katya hadn’t remained idle, stepping in front of the condensed light and blasting forward with her own wave of shadow. The attacks canceled out, but Katya’s sword already sang through the air.

The ground flashed the same gold and silver, revealing an armored Defender. With its two shields, he slammed forward into Nala, “Nice try!”

Katya grinned, pirouetting. Her sword was as tall as she was, and its blade cut the first man in half. Tammy jumped from the corpse onto Nala, the blade shining with a sickly black power.

“No!” the Defender shouted, slammed the sides of its shield together. A large bulwark of golden power encapsulated his other two allies, the last being an Archer that continued to maneuver across the mountainous path to find some kind of angle on Katya.

Won’t happen!

Reaching out to Tammy’s nexus, she integrated the Living Shadow with herself. Her form shifted into an ephemeral mass of shadow that sank into the ground. The intruders were confused, she could see it on their faces, furrowed brows, frantic eyes searching for any sign of her, and sweat threatening to drip from their brows.

Now!

Katya released her delve into the Shadowland, stepping out next to the Archer mid-swing. Its head rolled and blood spilled across the rocks. But the Defender was there. He slammed his massive shield into her, sending her reeling backwards from the heavy hit.

“Sis!” she screamed.

“I’m fine, Tams. Get the other one. I’ve got this guy,” Katya muttered, grabbing Nala with two hands. She allowed the Essence in her chest to circulate as fast as it could, flowing freely from her boots. The surroundings grew murky as a smokescreen of shadow obscured her from the Defender’s vision.

But she could see clearly.

Tammy had done as Katya ordered, rushing toward the Priest. That limited Katya’s movement options, but it wasn’t an issue. Brute force works too! Nala was a trusty weapon, its weight as terrifying as the sharpness of its edge.

Crouching forward, Katya exploded forward. A massive, two-handed slash was easily rebuffed by the Defenders duo of shields, but Katya only grinned. It had been too long since she got a good stretch in, following her first attack with a precise stab through the small gap made by the shields.

“K… Keelin, hel, ” The sound of gurgling interrupted the plea and filled the air as the Priest began choking on its own blood. Tammy had wrapped around and squeezed the life out of him.

“Victor… No…”

The moment of distraction didn’t go unnoticed by Katya, and Nala hissed as it approached the Defender’s neck, aiming straight for the gap between pauldrons, chestplate, and helmet.

“Halt, Katya.”

Chapter Three

*

Nala drew blood, but Katya had stopped in time to spare the Defender, Keelin, according to the dead Priest. The man didn’t know why she stopped her assault, as Fe’Mehra had made the command through her strange mind-communication.

A swarm of Others appeared, all from the Collection. They restricted the Defender to the point that he stopped breathing at one point, then released the bindings enough to accommodate the return trip up the mountain.

Katya ignored them, continuing down the mountainous path. The path was long, but she traveled light. All the equipment and supplies she would need was within her spacial ring, so there was little reason to burden herself with weighty supplies that would slow her.

Looking over the world, she grinned. Far in the distance, she could see the borders of Savalia, their walls built high to give the impression of fortification. Anybody worth a damn could scale those walls, or even simply blast straight through them.

One day, they will crumble before my power, a promise she’d made many moons ago when she was but a slave to the humans. They will taste their own medicine at my hands, and I will relish in their suffering. Then, when they have nothing left to lose, nothing left to suffer, they shall die.

An Oath sworn was an Oath worth protecting with one’s life.

The vast valley below would take time to traverse, but Fe’Mehra gave her no such restrictions on time, instead giving Katya the freedom to deal with the master-champion duo as she saw fit, and, of course, she had a few ideas in mind.

The valley passed in a blurry haze of vengeful thought, Tammy giddily cackling the whole way. I’m coming for you, Kelvani.

*

With practiced efficiency, Katya navigated her way toward the borderlands between Savalia and Kumat-Tai. She kept away from any Savalian frontier settlements, saving her strength and bloodthirst for the one that had done her wrong so many times. His death would be a cleansing of hatred.

In due time, Katya, she thought to herself.

Hunting parties swarmed across Fe’Mehra’s lands, plundering the plethora of natural resources the dragon cultivated. In addition to the hunting parties, she had to avoid many Traffickers, those specialized in hunting, capturing, and subjugating Otherworlders. All it took was one good find, and the Traffickers would be set for life. Many of them were, but just as Otherworlders were seen as treasures to be coveted, they were also seen as monsters to be cleansed.

The Radicals.

The Extremists.

The Purgers.

The Fanatics.

An entire faction, named many things, with the sole intent of slaying every last Otherworlder. She used to ask why, but now? She didn’t care to find out.

The emblem they wore was distinct, the only emblem in the world ostentatious enough to garner hate from every nation under the two suns and three moons. Their ideology was enough to warrant hate, but their direct opposition to everyone else didn’t do them any favors.

It was sickening. Every member of the group was a powerful entity in their own right, simply jealous of the power that each Otherworlder possessed for being summoned by the gods. They preached and swore to the heavens that Otherworlders weren’t holy spawns, but instead, they were spawns of someone wishing to play god.

Such blasphemy would be looked down upon if the Otherworlders weren’t so valuable. Most people just ignored The Purgers, only doing something about them once they threatened their own personal interest.

Katya truthfully didn’t care for their beliefs, nor did she care about how she’d been brought to this gods’ forsaken hellscape. For their simple prejudice, they were on her kill on sight list; executed with extreme prejudice before they knew what it was that sucked the life from their limbs.

Now, the Church, on the other hand, was the opposite. They were so enamored by the concept of the Otherworlders that shrines and religions had been erected in the past in Otherworlders’ honor.

Katya occasionally pondered how things would’ve been had she ended up with the Church instead of a Trafficker so long ago. Well, Kelvani wishes he were a Trafficker. He’d be a happier man that way.

Through and through, Kelvani was a black sheep Otherworlder. His abilities were slotted for charisma. But in this world, that meant very little. Only the Church would’ve seen his life one of grandeur. All others would scorn him.

It made her wonder, what has Suz’Variat done to him?

*

When she was but a day away, she couldn’t pass any farther without being discovered. Even though she’d been travelling two days, she was still within the ancient dragon’s territory. The Church and Savalians both had settlements that pockmarked the dragon’s lands with signs of deforestation, towns aggressively cropping up, and numerous parties hunting game, gathering herbs, and slaying any monstrous infestations, Fe’Mehra’s coveted creations and ‘children’.

Damned Church bastards, damned Savalians. To think they’d push this far into Fe’Mehra’s territory. The Diamondsilk Seas must be coveted more than ever if they’re this far in. Any kindness she had, even for the Church, had long since died. In fact, her mouth pulled back into a feral smile at the thought of culling another group, no matter how big or small.

They’re getting greedy, cocky, or stupid, probably all three. Never had she heard of the Savalians having the guts to contest the dragon’s claim since she’d initially refuted their hold on the territory. Now it seemed that time was fast approaching. Nor had she seen the Church work with any other faction, but the liveries flying showed that there was a first time for everything.

On a less biased standpoint, it made Katya wonder if the Savalians had some kind of new weapon they thought they could use to take down Fe’Mehra, or if the Church had finally lessened their Extremist ways, though opposite to The Purgers.

She didn’t know how to feel about their invasion, wanting her freedom. That would never happen while the ancient dragon lived, Fe’Mehra was simply too possessive. But on the other hand, Katya still had a lot to learn from the dragon.

After all, the red-eyed black dragon was a master of darkness and shadows. Katya attributed that to the reason Fe’Mehra giving her so much more attention, so much more resources than any of the Others.

A stroke of luck. Destiny shines on me, she thought sarcastically. The thoughts burned her mind, and she had to force herself to focus on the problem directly ahead.

A border. A massive wall of chain link fence with a guard every few hundred for miles. That wouldn’t be too much for Katya since she could just shift through the Shadow Realm and past the gate, however the enchanted spires illuminating the entire length did make that impossible.

If I’m going over, it’s the hard way. The fence was easily twenty feet high. She wondered what caused the sudden surge of interest in Fe’Mehra’s territory, but it wouldn’t help her get past the border now.

“Tams, I hope you’re ready for a little bit of bloodshed,” she said, grinning. “We’re taking the hard and fast approach.”

“All the better, sis!”

“I can always count on you to be ready to kill something, Tams,” Katya thought to the Shadowborn.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, sis, but who do you think I get it from?”

Katya couldn’t refute. Tammy had a point there. “Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready, sis!”

“I’m going!”

Chapter Four

*

The crossway, a large gated door, was the most heavily guarded. There was an even split of six Churchmen and six Savalians, a dozen people in total. They Churchmen were identifiable by their white and gold livery while the Savalians wore purple and blue, darker colors that would’ve blended them in with the night.

The enchanted spires took away any chance of that happening. Tammy lifted from her shadow and formed a second copy of Katya, blade and all. The spires illuminated the surroundings so totally that the Shadowborn wouldn’t be able to travel to one of their enemies’ shadows to attack.

But it didn’t matter. Once Katya set her eyes on an enemy, they would fall at her hands. Death was not an option, so it was the only outcome possible. Grinning, she approached. There would be no slinking through the shadows, nor would she shame herself in trying to scale the fence while they pelted her with attacks, binding magicks, likely.

No. They would feel Nala drain them of life, their blood painting the earth in which they stood. Their defenses were tailored to someone like her, and she took great offense. They didn’t know what they dealt with, her capabilities, and they would meet their end for it.

“Halt!” a Savalian said, brandishing a spear, a Spearman then. “Identify yourself!”

The others rushed to his side, a three by two line of Defenders, Swordsmen, and Spearmen. Behind them, two Diviners, the Holy equivalent to a Mage’s Enchanter, toting worthless utility effects, two Paladins, and two unidentifiable Classes.

“I am Katya, Disciple of Fe’Mehra!” she called, leaning forward with Nala brandished to the side. “You bar my path, so you must die!”

“She’s here!” one of the Paladins shouted behind him.

A door opened. Another person stepped out, clad in armor as dark as night, with a mask, a white skull painted on its dark surface. The figure stepped past the defenders, nonchalantly approaching Katya.

“Disciple of Fe’Mehra, hear me out!” a surprisingly feminine voice called.

“No!” Katya immediately refuted, swinging her blade in an upward arc.

The masked figure, presumably a female, did a backflip, leaping high in the air where they kicked off twice and landed gracefully on the chain link fence without issue. The figure drew a bow, its length as long as they were tall, and called out, “Nuar’Tian did say you’d be hard to pin down. Don’t make this too hard on me, please.”

“Shut up!” Tammy shrieked, slipping through the air and into the middle of the group, slashing out in a powerful arc. A barrier appeared, far too slow to stop Tammy. With the one attack, she claimed two lives, blood gushing from the headless spines like a font of crimson. “Just fight!”

“Wow, they weren’t kidding about you,” the unknown figure commented, drawing back on their bow.

Katya’s eyes widened at the sheer power building up in that single attack. “Don’t let it hit you!”

Tams exploded into a fury of blade and shadow as Katya leaped through the air. Exploding into an inky cloud, she gained them just a second, the enchanted spire already acting to dispel her power. But it was all they needed. When the spires flashed, all dozen of the fighters lay at Katya’s feet.

In her hands, the fired arrow.

“Damnit,” the strange and mysterious archer said, leaping to the other side of the wall and disappearing into the night.

“We’ll be seeing whoever that was again, I’ve no doubt of it.” Katya didn’t like that they were waiting for her, that they knew she’d be here. “Tams, you don’t think there’s a spy in the Collection, right?”

“I think Fe’Mehra would’ve eaten them by now. Maybe she did this?”

Katya shook her head, raising her hand to draw the shadow back to her, despite her protests. The suggestion that Fe’Mehra set this up never crossed her mind. Katya didn’t know who this Nuar’Tian was, but if this persisted, they’d quickly become a kill on sight target.

“Looks like I’ve got a few questions to ask next time I see that masked weirdo,” Katya muttered, continuing the journey to the border town.

*

Kumat-Tai wasn’t a large country, primarily residing on the coast. It was by far the largest exporter of aquatic cuisine, but that was all they had going for them. Their lack of overland military made sure they never had enough land to farm properly. All their grain, livestock, and minerals were imported at a loss.

This country reeks like fish. I hate fish, she internally grumbled. She raised her hand to her face, removed her helmet just enough to slip her hand under, and then created a mask of shadows to filter out the stench.

It completely covered her face, but she could see in near-absolute darkness without issue. This much was nothing to her. Tammy’s giggling made Katya roll her eyes. “What?”

“I was just thinking, you’re way cuter without the helmet on, sis! What if you trapped people with your cute face, and then killed them for their Kivex?”

“You’re disgusting,” Katya said, groaning. “What would even make you think that?”

“I’m not wrong.”

Katya could almost hear Tammy’s mental shrug. “You’re so, whatever.”

She gave up on fighting with the Shadowborn before they got into a long argument that went in circles for hours on end. No, Katya had learned it was best to avoid such futile attempts with the literally restless Living Shadow. Any attempts to refute or contradict would be met with extreme stubbornness.

Best to leave it be. Though, the words did strike a cord in Katya. Her way home was doomed from the get-go, barring her from returning to her prior life, boyfriend and all, but she was still a woman. She had needs, but screwing any of the Collection felt… weird. Prior experience showed that it was best to… silence those ties before they had a chance to tarnish her reputation. Best not to think about it now. Remain focused.

With the Archer hanging around, she had to be wary. Her simple stroll toward the bordertown between Fe’Mehra’s territory and Kumat-Tai was only a few hours now. Only when the dense woods of violet oak and vibrant bush ended did she know she was less than an hour’s walk from the town.

As a frontline town for Kumat-Tai, the defenses were lacking. That, she could see the second she crossed the hillock. If her hopes came true, the small bordertown wouldn’t survive the night. But the Archer still lurked about.

Its presence infuriated Katya. Like a gnat, it watched, buzzing around obnoxiously. If what she could parse was true, the Archer was highly skilled. However, they seemed to focus highly on utility skills.

That thought made Katya grin. Fe’Mehra had stopped her from making that mistake. Utility made you useful to people, a tool. Power, like what Katya had, bowed to none. Her Kivex was pure, copious, and focused. No utility powers tainted her Kivex, and that was all thanks to Fe’Mehra.

Tammy also made that possible, providing any utility Katya might need without requiring any Kivex allocation toward the skills. Even then, the Shadowborn’s Kivex was amorphous, adapting to the few utility effects applied.

Out of all of Katya’s boons, Tammy was irreplaceable. Nala was priceless, but Tammy was many magnitudes higher, so unique, Fe’Mehra herself was jealous. Clones could be created, but they lacked sapience.

Once, they’d spoken of Tammy’s origins. It took a lot of finagling on Katya’s part to learn of the Immaterial Realm, apparently the origin of all dragons. There, the Shadowborn thrived. They conquered anybody too weak to oppose, subjugating them under their will.

So having one bound directly to her soul made Katya one very, very lucky girl. The process was unheard of before her appearance. Once again, a reason Katya thought Fe’Mehra treasured her so much more than the others.

She was an enigma wrapped in an anomaly, plastic wrapped in a bow. That level of uniqueness gave her security in her interactions with Fe’Mehra, but she didn’t allow it to make her sloppy. On more than one occasion, Fe’Mehra had consumed someone supposedly ‘unique’ and ‘priceless’ just for upsetting her over some trivial matter.

She passed the border into Kumat-Tai, standing only a few feet from the rocky path into the bordertown. But she didn’t enter, no. Katya turned around and placed her hand on Nala’s hilt, the sword resting on her back.

“I don’t like games, Archer,” Katya growled. “What business do you have with me? Speak plainly, or else it will be the last you speak before I cleave you in half.”

The Archer grinned, her bow in hand with an arrow nocked and at the ready. “You’re sexy when you talk like that, you know?”

Tammy giggled madly in Katya’s mind. “She has the hots for you, sis!”

“Not the time, Tams,” Katya reprimanded. She removed the blade from her shoulder, the Archer half-drawing her prepared arrow in response. “You have one more try.”

“As I was saying before, Nuar’Tian sent me. I’m here to save you.”

Chapter Five

*

“I don’t need saving, Kelvani,” Katya shook her head, smiling at the man. “I’ve joined the Savalians because I want to. They mean well, you know?”

“You don’t see what I see, Kat!” The blue eyes stared into hers, pleading for her to see reason. His silver hair dangled messily in front of his eyes. He pulled on his pants, buckling them, and then his shirt. “I saw what they did to some Others, and they’re most definitely not good people. You have to trust me!” Her smirk didn’t do much to convince him that she cared for his warning.

“You might be The First, but you’re not invincible!”

She tutted in annoyance, rolling her eyes. When he reached for the tent flap, pulling on his last boot, she pulled the sheets closer to her chest to cover her bare breasts. “You really want to have this conversation now? Can’t you just come lay down? We can talk...”

Kelvani looked between the exit of her tent and then back towards her, drinking in her figure, tanned skin, the sheet leaving little to the imagination. “Sorry, Kat,” he started, clenching his teeth, “but I really should be getting back.”

She pursed her lips, nodding. “That you should… Go then. Don’t let me stop you. There’s always tonight.”

He moved to open the flap, giving her a look over his shoulder. She tilted her head, watching the war rage in his eyes. There’s something he’s not telling me.

“Actually, we can’t do this anymore, Kat. This is it. Goodbye.” With that, he threw aside the flap of the tent and disappeared. She stared after for some time, groaning once she realized he wasn’t coming back.

There was more, but what? Something nagged at her, something just on the tip of her tongue, but the more she tried to focus on it, the further she could grasp what it was.

Hushed voices approached her tent, the sound of boots on stone making their way to her. They waited long enough for her to pull on panties, shorts, and wrap her breasts tight to her chest, a makeshift bra, since this world is so damned primitive.

Katya grabbed Nala, the hilt fitting in her hand perfectly, and approached the tent. She could see three sets of boots from where she stood. They were in camp, so she didn’t think to equip the rest of her armor, currently consisting of leather and chainmail provided to her by the Savalian Mercenary Corps.

“Who goes there?” she called out in perfect Savalian. “State your business.”

Throwing aside the tent flap and tying it up so that it wouldn’t fall closed, she looked over her guests. Two Savalian Mercenaries and a crier. The crier unraveled a scroll, expensive parchment with the king’s seal stamped with wax on the folds.

“Crier Donovan speaks His Majesty’s will!” the crier called. His face was like a ferret, a long pointed nose home to low-hanging spectacles. “By His will, Mercenary Katya, known as ‘The First’ will hereby be placed under the supervised custody of Crier Donovan in preparation of transportation to His Majesty! All rights are stripped, all gear is to be forfeited, and resistance will be met with extreme prejudice.”

The crier folded the scroll and beckoned the two mercenaries forward.

“Take another step, and I will end you both,” she growled. They stopped in place, and Nala toward the crier. “You dare come here and threaten me with enslavement? I’ve taken no oath to your king, so His Majesty can scram, you hear?”

This is bad. She thought back to Kelvani and his hasty retreat. He knew, and he didn’t tell me! Was it because I refused to marry him?

There were a thousand thoughts racing through her head. That nagging presence returned, but she shoved it away. In her off-hand, a black orb of shadow condensed. But before she could cast it and make her escape, a massive pressure focused on her.

The energy in the air sang as the Mercenary Leader, Ravick Mordaine, stepped around the corner of her tent, his arms folded. “Katya, even though we don’t directly swear an oath to the king of Savalia, his jurisdiction is still all-encompassing. If I allowed you to slay the crier, how would that look on us, the Savalian Mercenary Corps?”

“To Halla with the Corps if this is how I’m to be treated,” she spit back. “If you let this happen, Ravick, you better learn to sleep with both eyes open.”

The mercenary leader only shook his head once, gesturing the two mercenaries at the crier’s side to capture her while he kept her bound.

“Idle threats do not scare me, Katya. Just be grateful the king finds you worthy of his attention. See it as an honor,” he crouched before her and frowned. “You’re one of my best, I can’t refute that, but there is always another to replace you with. You think you’re special because you’re The First, but it means nothing before true power.”

She spit in his face, and he waved his hand. The mercenaries wrenched her arms forward, forcing her onto her face. The stone was smooth but painful against her skin.

“Remember this, Ravick. You too crier. I’ll burn you both alive, relishing in your screams, and then mount your heads on a pike for all to see!” The hatred and shame seeped into her heart.

The following days were full of mistreatment as she was left malnourished, dehydrated, and barely alive. They beat her when she spoke, beat her when she cried tears of rage, beat her when she swore vengeance.

And all of it was washed away by a healer and cosmetician. Whatever couldn’t be healed was covered up. Her outfit was little more than an elaborate yet sheer servant’s uniform. Her skin was enchanted with runic script, her body removed of any scars or imperfections. The process itched, burned, and made her hate anything to do with beautification.

Then, she went before King Savalia the Third. His throne was a great thing of beauty, a monolithic slab of mythril engraved with silver and gold filigree crafted into beautiful figures of perfection. He lorded from it, his gaze seeing all from down the crook of his nose.

Blue and violet livery adorned the floors, walls, king, and every servant, noble, and member of royalty present, though everything had a varying amount of both to dictate importance. Like the princes of Savalia wore an entire outfit of violet with blue fixings, no other color showed.

The servants wore minimal of both colors, their allegiances being declared by the little that they were allowed. Mostly, they had gray, brown, white, or black to determine their rank within the servantile hierarchy.

And Katya was being placed at the highest of the low, her uniform a black dress with stripes of violet and blue.

“Katya, The First of the Others summoned in the seven hundred and twelfth year, presents before His Majesty!” She wanted to resist, to spit in the face of the customs, but the enchantments under her dress forced her to her knees, going so far as to bow. “Per His Majesty’s request, all rights have been stripped, all personal effects claimed, and an escort was provided to ensure her timely arrival.”

The sound of a baby’s cry cut through the court, and everyone waited long enough for it to be silenced. Katya wanted to look, wanted to figure out who would bring a baby to court, but her answer was provided long before she’d expected it to be.

“Katya, The First of the Others is hereby summoned before King Savalia the Third and relieved of duty as a mercenary of the Savalian Mercenary Corps to act as Royal Protector of Caroline Savalia, the named heir to the throne.”

All color drained from Katya. King Savalia had three sons, all significantly older than Caroline, that were known to be rather ruthless to get what they wanted. This is a test? But is it for me, or is it for the princes?

The throne room was still as the dead of night. A pin could be heard were it to be dropped then and there, but alas, it was short lived.

“Father, you can’t be serious?” a tall, mid-thirties man stepped forward and knelt. “I beg you to reconsider naming this newborn as your heir. As your first son, I kneel before you… don’t do this. “

“Do you question my decision, boy?” King Savalia asked, a single brow raised in question. “Questioning the king is surmountable to treason, and treason is punishable by death.”

The implications of his words sank across the crowd of nobles and royals alike. Katya could only dread the coming future, looking around for her sword. Halla’s Maw, why…?

*

“I don’t need saving!” Katya shouted, leaping through the air towards the Archer. It nimbly stepped away from where she attacked. Its jump carried it away as though it defied gravity, its steps pushing off the very air. “A Mythic Archer then?”

“I’m actually surprised it took you that long to figure out after last time,” the Mythic Archer said, landing on the ground. “I don’t carry a quiver, yet I wield a bow. Strange, isn’t it?”

“Far from strange,” Katya said, shaking her head. “Just annoying.”

“That’s not very nice, you know?” The Archer raised a hand to their face and removed the mask. “Surprise!”

“A Vaunitian?” Katya’s eyes widened in surprise. She had to look away, her face tinged red. “Why are you here?”

“To save you.” The Vaunitian Archer held up a hand to her lips and tilted her head cutely. “But I think I said that already, right?”

Katya turned back toward the town and started walking away. “You’re too much trouble.”

“Hey, wait!”

“No.” Katya wanted nothing to do with the beautiful Vaunitian. Just seeing their kinds’ faces was enough for them to poison the mind and leave even the strongest of wills lusting after their form. “Put the mask back on.”

“But...”

“No buts, just do it,” Katya growled. Her patience was running thin, but she couldn’t outright ignore the Vaunitian. While she waited, Katya started to ask questions of the Mythic Archer. “This Nuar’Tian, is she the ancient dragon, the seer, and what do you mean by ‘save me’?”

The figure of the Vaunitian approached from her peripherals, bow slung to her back and mask returned to her face. “I’m so glad you’re not trying to kill me anymore. I really didn’t like that part.”

“Answer my questions, damned Vaunit!” Katya’s hand clenched Nala’s hilt in frustration, but if the Archer meant what she said, then Katya needed to know.

“Sheesh, just hold on a second.” The Archer rummaged around through a pack at her side and pulled out a sheet of parchment paper. “Here it is.” She unfurled the scroll and began reading. “Step one, go to Savalia. Step two, find the heir. Step three, save the heir. Step four, find the heir’s protector. Step five, convince her to return to her duty. This is required by destiny.”

“Destiny means nothing to me.” Katya took two steps toward the bordertown. She stopped, turning back. “I will not protect Caroline ever again, do you understand?”

“Oh, but you will.” The Vaunitian took a breath to speak, but Katya held up a hand.

“Your name, Vaunit. I can’t keep calling you Mythic Archer in my head.” Katya made sure to keep the Vaunit in her peripheral. Looking directly at her was too dangerous.

“Oh, my name’s Ramika Mystheart. Probably should work on the whole introduction thing.” She held a finger to her lips, tilting her head. Giggling loudly, she started doing a merry skip-dance around Katya. “You know, I thought getting you to talk would be a lot harder than this, Katya. Now, pay attention, because I’m going to explain where the saving part comes into play.”

Katya rested her hand on Ramika’s shoulders, halting her merry dance. “Speak.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” She huffed, straightening her back and lifting her shoulders to make herself look bigger, more professional. “You’re a key player in what’s to happen next. You were summoned for a reason. You’re The First, the rest are accidents. It’s why your power is so potent, why Fe’Mehra keeps you as a pet.”

“You’re not telling me anything new.” Katya rubbed the pressure from her eyes, the heightening annoyance at Ramika’s presence growing ever the more frustrating to bear, especially when Kelvani was hiding within the bordertown only a few steps away.

“Have to be sure you have a basic level of understanding of the situation. Do you remember the Bonding between you and her?” Ramika shook her head. “Dumb question. It’s probably a major annoyance, even now, years later.” She took a deep breath. “If the heir dies, you will die. That is the depth of your Bonding.”

“You lie!” Realistically, Katya had no way of knowing if Ramika spoke the truth. “Caroline died the same night as King Savalia the Third, so that can’t be possible!”

“She didn’t, actually.” Ramika’s tone was wistful, mischievousness sneaking into her stoicism. The Vaunitian manifested a letter from thin air, reaching out to hand it to Katya. “I can verify. Here’s proof.”

Katya’s eyes widened as the overwhelming magical stench, a signature to identify someone by, wafted off the letter. “She lives…” Taking the letter, Katya tried to still her racing heart. There were too many things she felt, but most of all, she felt confusion. “How is she alive? I saw her body…”

“The queen learned of the princes’ plans and preemptively replaced Caroline with a homunculus. She’s been in the care of the Vaunitians ever since, but Nuar’Tian declared it time for you to assume your mantle.”

“But that means…”

“Yes. Caroline is making her claim to the throne.”

Chapter Six

*

They stood there.

Ramika stared at Katya, waiting for some kind of reaction. Katya could see it, felt the expectation of a response. However, she just blankly stared at the Vaunitian.

There were too many conflicting feelings raging inside her to answer with a level head.. As much as she wanted to believe what she said about never protecting Caroline again, she knew her conviction was easily swayed when it came to the child.

After all, she’d been the child’s true caretaker. Protector was such a paltry title in comparison to what her true role had been. She shook her head to clear the thoughts, not one to forget the misdeeds of King Savalia, the princes, and the whore that birthed Caroline.

Turning away from Rumina, shadows expanded across the ground. They left the ground sickly, devoid of life as they used it to fuel their hunt. Instead of dealing with Rumina, she focused on her immediate concerns.

Caroline is not a priority, even if… She could lie to Rumina, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose. Sunshine, I hope you’re okay.

When she first arrived, returning to Earth was her first priority. Barring that, she searched for a purpose. The Mercs were supposed to be that, but then Caroline came around. The day she thought the child died, something inside had broken.

Focus. She saw the Shadowborn lingering around her, looming over her like a protective geist. Tammy was the only consistent in her life from day one, even if Katya hadn’t known it in the beginning. Focus!

She closed her eyes and sank into the shadows, her consciousness merging with Tammy’s to expand across the entirety of the bordertown. It was a small thing; four ramshackle huts were raised in a semicircle behind the rest of the town, a sad mimicry of a residential district. They were only steps away from a tavern, because adventurer’s always needed their slop and swill, a small adventurer’s guild to organize activity, and last, but not least, a poor excuse for a shrine.

Shadows crossed it all, scouting every nook and cranny. But for all their efforts, there was no Kelvani hiding within. The whole town buzzed as the shadows writhed with fury, but Katya took control of herself and stepped out of the Shadow Realm, appearing before the adventurer’s guild.

She kicked in the door, sword drawn at her side, and stepped inside. There were dozens of adventurers within, but only two caught her eye. The rest were run of the mill chaff that would only waste her time.

“Where is he?” she asked, her eyes boring holes into the two. Her gaze locked onto them, observing every movement with intense focus.

A hero in the front, some unremarkable flippant, started to look around the guild in confusion. Apparently, he missed the fear exuding from the masses and the pursed lips of the two leaders.

“What’s everyone waiting for?” he asked aloud, breaking the silence. He stood, removing his sword from its sheath. “Just kill h—”

Tammy blasted forward, wrapping her entire form in his body. Despite being some breed of Warrior, there was nothing he could do to stop her from rushing inside of his throat and causing havoc on all the important internal bits.

His body hit the ground with a thud, and Tammy oozed out of his dead lips, pooling like a mist around the feet of the adventurers.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Her reputation reached far and wide as The First and as protector of Caroline Savalia. Bards sang tales of Killer Katya, a name she quite agreed with, across the continent in hope of warning anybody that had the misfortune of meeting her.

But one story got around that didn’t warn of her terror: the story of how Kelvani, an Other like herself, bedded her and then left her as she was dragged away only moments after getting disbarred from the Savalian Mercenary Corps.

His reputation began from riding off her coattails, and she swore to be the one to end it. She could only feel rage knowing that he lived, breathed, slept, and fucked in peace after the hellscape she’d found herself in.

Focus.

The two leaders had their hands up, as far from their weapons as they could get, and stepped in front of the crowd before anybody else lost their life to stupidity.

“Welcome, Otherworlder Katya, The First,” the Weaponsmaster said, kneeling before her. She could perceive the arsenal of weapons he had stored within his Class ability, but he seemed to be newly anointed. His armory was piss-poor. He beckoned toward the second leader to kneel next to him. “I am Weaponmaster Rodrick Dounvi, and this is my partner.”

The second leader still stared in awe. He didn’t carry fear like Rodrick did. Instead, in his eyes was a curiosity, hints of starry-eyed intrigue. Smack! Her gauntleted hand broke skin on his face, and he fell over sideways.

“Excuse my partner, Otherworlder Katya,” Rodrick said, gulping deeply as he glanced over. “He’s... somewhat of an admirer.”

“My patience wears thin, Weaponmaster,” she growled, brandishing Nala. Katya allowed part of her consciousness to merge with Tammy again, empowering the Shadowborn. Tammy slowly crept up the legs of the crowd.

They began to panic, but when they tried to remove the shadow, they only found it to be an effort of futility, the shadows incredibly persistent. Tammy had shifted the properties to be far more… interesting.

The Weaponmaster ignored his groaning partner, looking anywhere but Katya. “Where’s he gone?” he repeated, wringing his hands. Her gaze prompted him onward with his explanation. “Ah, yes, K- Kelvani. He… left.”

*

“Where’s he gone?” Katya asked, rubbing the stress from her eyes. She hadn’t expected Kelvani to receive word of her presence. Or is it just bad timing?

“I— I swear, I don’t know,” Rodrick answered.

Katya breathed in deep. As she did so, the combination of her and Tammy’s shadows rushed back to her. They all let out deep breaths of relief as Katya turned around, pushing through the still-swinging doors of the adventurer’s guild.

“I know where he went!” Ramika said with a bright smile, waiting outside. The sound of a hawk’s cry sounded from overhead. To Katya’s surprise, it dove at a breakneck pace towards Ramika. She really thought the bird was going to kill the Mythic Archer until it exploded into smoke.

A boy flew from the smoke, rolling forward expertly, and landed in a kneel before Ramika. He was clearly not Vaunitian, his skin a vibrant green with thick, healthy fur. A shifter? Rare to see them so far from Dullanahm.

“Madam Mystheart, the one you’ve asked about is marked now.” He bowed deeply, proffering a thin diamond-shaped crystal. “This will lead you to his exact location.”

“Thank you, Pan.” She tossed the crystal towards Katya and looked back at the shifter. It took a far more mature look and stood before Ramika. She leaned in, pressing her lips against his for several moments. Once finished, she waved her hand over his head, and he returned to his form as a hawk. Wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she grinned toward Katya. “Pan has been a loyal servant for at least two decades.”

The Shifter cawed, leaping high into the air. Now that Katya knew it was there, she easily tracked its movements.

Tammy’s shadows roiled as she exclaimed, “He’s so cool!”

“Do you want to go play with him?”

“Pretty, pretty please?!”

“Go ahead,” Katya thought with a small grin.

Her shadow came up from behind her, morphing into a massive bird. With a flap of Tammy’s wings, something completely unnecessary since her movement was all in correlation to the Shadow Realm, she lifted high to the sky. She had to ride the shadows of the trees to ascend, collecting a myriad of leaves to create an umbrella. Once she passed the highest tree, she let out an air-shaking caw.

Pan and Tammy flitted around each other, the much smaller hawk intrigued by the shadow bird following it. Katya pulled her attention from the two, turning back to Ramika.

“What do you know?”

The Vaunitian shook her head and wagged a finger. “You have to promise to let me come with you if you want me to tell you.”

“Or I can just kill you for the crystal,” Katya groused, grabbing Nala’s hilt. She heard the caws from above as Tammy chased Pan around. It put a small smile on her face and made her clear her head. She let go of her hilt, groaning. “Fine, you can come with.”

“Kelvani is returning to Suz’Variat!” Ramika exclaimed, dancing in a circle. “You don’t know how hard that was to keep secret. I wanted to tell you to save us this trip, but you were kind of mean, you know?”

Katya ignored the other girl’s ramblings. “How do you know?”

“I just do.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Already, Katya felt a headache coming on. She couldn’t deal with Ramika’s level of energy.

“I mean, Nuar’Tian told me so! But also, Pan followed him all the way there.” She finally stopped spinning around in circles, landing right in front of Ramika.

The Vaunitian raised her hand to touch Katya, and the latter had to resist from running her through with Nala.

“It seems,” she started, running a single finger down Katya’s nose, “the dragon, Suz’Variat, has made claim to your master’s land more… formally.”

Katya took two big steps away from Ramika. “Personal space is a thing, and you’ll do well to remember that.”

“You’re really cute when you’re flustered,” Ramika said, taking a step forward. Nala’s tip rested against her neck, and her eyes widened. Katya had moved too fast for her to perceive. “Message heard, loud and clear.”

“Good, now give me the crystal.” A gauntleted palm waited.

Ramika tossed it playfully, a grin on her face. She danced around the blade, walking past Katya. “We should probably get going if you’re done playing here.”

Closing her eyes, Katya attempted to remain calm. This trip was one she was going to drink heavily to forget. Maybe if I—

“Oh, by the way, if you get out of range of me, that crystal stops working,” Ramika said, tilting her head over her shoulder. She winked knowingly before continuing away.

Damn. Katya followed behind the Vaunitian. It only took a minute for her to realize that Ramika didn’t need the crystal to guide them forward. What’s the point of it then?

“I’m linked to it, so I intuitively understand the directions we need to travel in,” Ramika chimed in.

Katya hated that she was so easily readable, even with her full armor on. If it weren’t for Fe’Mehra ordering her to take care of Kelvani and Suz’Variat, she would’ve considered saving the issue for another time.

Ramika… Katya bored into the Vaunitian’s back, her gaze slowly travelling downward.