The week leading up to their surge of foreign visitors was stressful, to say the least, and perhaps the busiest I had ever been. Between the continued training with Yolana which didn’t get easier, the mix of training with Bob, and planning, I had barely anytime for myself or to spend with Zara and Han.

I barely got to see Han, and I had to spend less time with Zara. it wasn’t nice lying to her, even if it was only half-lies. I could tell she knew something was up, but every time she tried to bring it up, I dodged the questions and steered the conversation to something else. She was worried, and Han was saddened as I knew she really enjoyed our time together. As Zara had Han craved not just attention, but affection and friendship. One might think her a loner, but she wasn’t, and it pained me every time I had to reject her offer to teach me alchemy.

The look in her eyes hurt, and the voice was speaking up more and more, making a mess of my mind. The physical and mental pains were mixing to create a cocktail of stress and hardship that I was forcing myself through. And for good reason.

Bob could not stress enough just how bad the fact an ender coming was, and was adamant we needed to go faster and start planning contingencies should the worst come to pass. He also quickly rejected the idea of me telling Zara or Han a little bit.

“No, Dick. We do not need to get them involved in this. It would do more harm for them, than help for us.” His pages fluttered erratically. “Do you want the ender coming after them as well? Because I don’t think you understand. DOSA is like the government, sure but also a lot more free with their power, and the auction must have been bigger than we first thought if they’re sending an ender. An ender, Dick. Not a capturer or imprisoner. An ender! Why do you think they’re called that, hmm? Not to mention the enforcers coming as well.”

Bob was similarly as stressed as I, and was constantly in a state of planning. Putting together ideas for us from potential escape to a nearby plane to a complete change of who I was using soul magic. He also considered fighting, but that was not one of his better ideas as he put it. I was coming along better than he expected and quickly, but I was not ready to fight an ender. I didn't have experience in magical battles or even real battles for that matter. Me fighting an ender would be like sending a beginner against a master. A master trained to deal with magic practitioners and equipped with the best gear the Prime had to offer.

“Dick, if this thing finds us, and we’re unprepared, we’re not making it out.”

And so we pushed, and pushed, again and again.

With Yolana, I asked to train for an extra hour and to be pushed more. Aleah tried to intervene and legitimately looked at me as though I was a madman, and when I looked at myself in the mirror before taking a shower in the Huuron compound, I couldn't help but see a bit of the same.

I would stand underneath a hot spray of water, normally burning to me, but after the pain pods, it was nothing. The blood staining my skin, not cleaned by one of Aleah’s spells would trickle down, and I would savor that moment of rest, but I would not allow myself to bask in it

The sessions with Zara were still a help, but over the week, a wall appeared before us. Created from the fact that I refused to speak the truth to her. It hurt, and I was worried of what might happen to our relationship. When I brought it up to Bob, he laughed hollowly.

“Dick, this is bigger than them. Don’t tell me I have to tell you that if the time comes and we have the leave them behind, you’ll have to do it.”

“But—”

“But, nothing. I can't stop you from telling them, I really can’t. But if you do, and they get involved in this mess that I'm still sorry for, then what happens to them is your fault. Maybe it’s selfish, not giving them a choice, but sometimes we do selfish things to protect the people we love. Now, get back to work.”

Magic training with Bob was even harder as he became far stricter, and all humor was gone. No more joking or playing around. In his own words, “We don’t have time. Our time is essentially ticking away. I don't expect them to find us immediately or maybe not even for a few weeks, but you don't know enders like I do. They will find us if we don't act or prepare.”

I was taught new spells and my training with force magic continued. New exercises were introduced, and on the first day, I made more mistakes in my rush to learn. “Damn it, Dick. Stop changing the pace halfway through forming the pattern. Same pace the whole way through, and I know it’s hard to split focus, but try, one at a time, and then hold using the container, and release.”

Patterns were a lot harder when I was trying to do them quickly, yet still efficiently. Sure, with enough time I could do really complex patterns, but in a fight or deadly situation, I wouldn't have as much time as I wanted, and if I was too slow, it would be pain or death.

Some of Bob’s plans also began, and he had Uliena helping set up circles, and make items needed for the coming rituals, one of which was to grant me a boost to my physical capabilities, and another a minor growth to my mana capacity. If those went well, then next it would be increasing my mental abilities which directly tied to my ability to wield mana. Being able to split focus, think faster, and process information at greater speeds would help tremendously.

I had to use a lot of money and made plenty of calls to Han. Each time, she’d offer for us to spend some time together, and each time, I would have to refuse. It wasn’t that I didn't see her at all, just that it wasn't like it had been a month ago. I couldn’t spend hours with Han or Zara, not waste because it wasn't wasting time with them. I enjoyed my time with them, but I enjoyed living more.

I also felt some resentment build up toward Bob, but it didn't last long and was a product of the voice which was speaking more than usual due to the stress and hardship. Sometimes, I would find myself listening to it, in the few quiet moments, as when I was working, I was drowning it out, and sometimes my mind was too preoccupied to even pay it attention.

Near the end of the week, Yolana had some different orcs train me as she had duties as wife to the chief and needed to prepare for the foreign visitors, most of which would be orcs. Aleah still remained most of the time, but the orcs seemed shocked at how much I was doing. Nadia ended up watching at one point and walked over as I lay on the ground, battered and bruised, trying to get back to my feet.

“You really don't stay down do you?” She asked. “Strong will.”

Maybe… or maybe it’s desperation and fear.

Maybe it was a strong will, but not just that. It was also fear. Fear that I might lose everything so soon after getting it, and it was worse as I had to choose between that fear and fear of losing Zara and Han. One led to loss of potential love and friendship. The other of life. Of course, I was going to pick the second, but it spoke to the strength of bonds, that sometimes I still considered the first, as utterly idiotic and stupid as that was since choosing it would lead to them losing me.

There really was no choice in the end. It happened in life, sometimes we are thrust into a situation where we must act, or else something terrible will happen. Sometimes it is minor, but other times, like now, life is at stake. Whether or not it is due to one's self, or something beyond their control, when the time comes, either we act, or we fall.

When maybe becomes a must.

For the first time in a while, I also experienced nightmares. Usually of everything crumbling, of dying, of being in a cage, and of Han and Zara fading. The worst had been of me, in a bar with them, and slowly everything had turned to sand. Starting with them and the bar but spreading to the city until it was just me, Bob, and a distant figure in a black cloak slowly walking towards me. A faceless figure to represent the ender that was already in the city, and as Bob put it, “No doubt its hunt has begun.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Rick, what’s wrong?” Brooke asked on the last day of the week. She came near the end of training and had a whispered conversation with Aleah before walking over to me. “You’ve been pushing a lot.” I took slow breaths and just lay there for a moment before rolling onto my back. I met her gaze. “Same reason as before.”

“I spoke with Zara.” She sighed. “She said you won’t talk to her as you normally would. Han called and asked if something was the matter, and if I knew what was wrong. The orcs my mom sends to train you say you act like you’re possessed by something. You don’t talk, complain, or even take breaks anymore.” Her eyes were full of worry, and she leaned down to place a hand on my forehead. “You know you can ask for help, right?”

I nodded. “I know, Brooke, but I’m fine, really.” I pushed myself to my feet and began to stumble to the showers. “We just want to help, Rick,” she called out to me.

“I know,” I muttered, pausing and. for what must have been the hundredth time, considered telling her something. But like all the other times I carried on. “But you can’t.”

****

“It’s done,” Bob said, floating over a very complex ritual circle. “Uliena place them down.”

The demon walked over and began placing down small bowls of different liquids into smaller circles attached to the center circle. Bob called them mutagens, and they would be key in this ritual alongside the patterns and the blood. Uliena had been helping Bob prepare them, and I had been worried she might have done something, but Bob had checked them himself and her bound would prohibit such simple sabotage.

When she was done, she took up a position a few feet away.

“What’s going to happen?” Litra asked, a bowl of sliced steak strips in her hands. The dragon had by far been the least problematic thing about the past week. Most of the time, she was eating, relaxing, or running about the pocket. She was annoyed the field was just an illusion, but thankful she wasn’t caged, or at least, her current cage was gold and had comforts her last didn’t. An oddity was that no matter how much she ate, she never put on a single pound. I guessed it had something to do with her being a dragon, magic, and the whole shape-shifting thing.

Rick, is about to undergo a magical mutation.

Litra tilted her head in confusion. “Mutation?”

He’s going to get stronger.

Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward. “Can I get stronger?”

“Not today,” Bob said. “And fixing you would be the first thing we did.”

A sad look crossed the dragon's face, and she mumbled, “Not my fault.”

“We know, Litra,” I said loudly, glaring at Bob. Litra was still very much a child in some ways, and not so much in others. I’d asked her age, and she’d shrugged, but Bob had confirmed using a spell that she was around 42 years old. As for Uliena, she simply said, It's rude to ask a lady her age.

“She's around four hundred,” Bob said and Uliena had promptly flung a chair at him.

The conversations with them were lighter parts of a hellish week.

I stripped and rolled my eyes when Uliena whistled in my mind. Litra looked me up and down, and a predatory gleam appeared in her eyes. I walked forwards and stood in the circle. “I’m ready when you are, Bob.”

“I hope so,” he said, forming the necessary patterns. I locked eyes with Litra as he did, and the dragon smiled, revealing her blood-stained teeth. She liked cooked meat, but also raw meat, especially raw steak that was bloody. She didn't actually like drinking it though, it was more the way it looked, which once again reminded me of just what she was: a fire-breathing dragon. An apex predator where she had been born most likely.

When the patterns were done, Bob fed a lot of mana into the circle, and the temperature in the room dropped rapidly before beginning to heat up. I glanced at the liquid to see that they were boiling and turning into mist that coalesced into a ball. Then the first pattern was triggered, and my body froze, all sensation leaving me.

It's a pain block.

Turn it off.

What?

I swelled heavily. “Turn. It. Off.” The voice was practically screaming at me, and it was joined by another, softer voice. The voice of reason. But I ignored both. I had a reason, and it was good enough for me.

I felt sensation return as Bob opened and shut slowly. The second pattern triggered, and I felt an itching sensation begin all through my body, not just on my skin, but within me. I felt a shift, and then the third pattern was triggered. It did something to the ball of multi-colored mist, a change, but I didn't get to focus on that for long as soon pain overtook me. I immediately regretted telling Bob to turn it off and I fell to my knees and toppled as a scream ripped its way from my throat. I felt muscles contort, and bones shift, grinding against each other and flesh. The only relief was that I didn’t remain awake for more than a few minutes as when the boiling started, the pain became too much and I passed out.

When I came too, I was laying on my back with Bob floating over me, and Litra and Uliena examining me. I groaned and felt aches across my body. Here, drink this. Uliena poured something down my throat, and I immediately felt the aching and small pains reside. She then had me swallow a pill, and I felt energy rush through me.

Litra helped me up to my feet with one tug, that almost sent me back down, face first. Her strength was no joke. I looked down and frowned. “Did it work?” I certainly looked good, but I had already looked good, and like I had no fat on me. Then everything else seemed to kick in. Everything looked clearer, and I could smell more. I patted myself as Bob said, “It did. You are now just slightly stronger than an orc and have senses on par with a half-elf. It’s nothing huge, but it's definitely a boost. It also helps that it isn't noticeable unless someone examines you closely, and they wouldn't be able to do that without breaking the shields I taught you.”

I clenched a fist. I felt more solid, still like myself, just improved. I couldn't help but picture Captain America, although I didn't think I was as strong as that, or maybe I was. “What am I gonna tell, Brooke?”

“Magic, and alchemy,” Bob said. “You’ve learned some passive strength enchantments, and bought some expensive potions. There are potions to make you stronger permanently. They are just very, very expensive. Most things that last permanently are expensive. Especially when they enchant something. It's why I’m not worried about this. Now, if we say, gave you a set of metaphysical organs, then you’d be raising suspicions because that isn’t so common and easily accessible.”

“Am I still human?”

“No, or at least, you’re a magically mutated sorcerer. Not common, but not uncommon either. A lot of proper practitioners seek enhancements, though most begin with the mental side. We will do that, but we don't have everything ready yet.”

“Han’s going as fast as she can,” I said bitterly.

“I know, and trust me, Dick, it's for their own good.”

I sighed deeply. “I know. It’s just… I don’t want to lose them.”

“I understand?”

“Do you?” I asked, then winced. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I get it. Yes, I do, Rick. It might be a surprise to you, but… I… I’ve been in relationships.”

“Like dating?”

“And more,” he said his voice quiet. “But never mind that sappy nonsense. Let’s get back to training.”

“After I get something to eat.” I pressed a hand to my stomach. “God, why do I feel so empty.”

“Side effect. Come on, then. But let's hurry. I want you to finish that force saw today.”