Kuzari knew he should have just started to run the moment he knew somebody had caught him. The curiosity of what could be speaking to him in a town full of lizards that were supposed to be incapable of speech was too mesmerizing. That and something else.

He turned to view the origin of the voice and was met with a tall figure. It was a skinny man wearing a deep green robe. He seemed about Kuzari's age, perhaps a little older. His hair was short and dark, and his eyes were a strange yellow with slitted pupil, much like a reptile. He bared his teeth with a frown, and they were jagged and haphazard, more for tearing flesh than those an omnivore would have. His long arms ended in pointed fingernails that may as well have been clawed.

Both men stared at each other for a brief second as they felt a buzzing sensation in the air. A deep and primal hatred woke up deep inside Kuzari, a strange and hungering beast from the primitive parts of his brain. The sleeping dragon that was his own Fate had stirred catching the scent of this sworn reptilian prey. Fate whispered into his mind the name of this enemy.

Zator, Contractor of Modeus

Zator screeched as the buzzing passed, undoubtedly receiving similar information as Kuzari. The Contract that brought both of them to this world compelled them to fight and kill one another, Fated to be enemies just as the gods they represented were sworn against each other as well.

Panic set into Kuzari's stomach as he winced from the sharp sound. He knew the noise would attract the Mas'Quin, and although he didn't know how or why it was hard to gather that this 'Zator' was working with the lizard monsters. He shoved down the primal instinct to combat his foe and ran away as fast as he could. Stealth was blown, and he needed to escape as quickly as possible.

Kuzari turned around a corner and heard the sound of a massive crash behind him. He peeked over his shoulders to see Zator pulling his fist out from the ruins of the wall just slammed into, shaking dust and rubble off his body. Oh, this is bad. This motherfucker just missed me with a crazy charge.

Mas'Quin were slowly responding to the chaos, peeping out of doorways but still sluggish from the night. Kuzari ignored them as he found the dark room where he had snuck into the building. Going off of memory he immediately dipped through the crack in the wall, the sounds of more crashing and destruction following behind him.

He didn't waste any time as he sprinted down the nearest pathway and rushed to leave this town. More booming sounds echoed behind him as Zator demolished the wall barring his way and stepped over the rubble with ease. His eyes locked onto Kuzari and he gave chase.

Kuzari flooded shadows through his system no longer caring about preserving energy. He barely had time to dove out of the way as Zator blitzed passed him. Kuzari screamed in pain as his back was rent from the clawed attack. Had he been a second too slow, he held no illusion that the attack would have split him in half.

Gritting his teeth together, he pushed down the pain and zig-zagged between buildings, trying to put as much distance between him and the powerful Contractor. He is ungodly strong, and his speed is way beyond my own. Luckily it seems he can only use his speed in straight bursts. As long as he cant get a lock on me, there's a chance I can lose him.

He lost sight of Zator, but the brush against his core told him he hadn't escaped yet. The sounds of destruction echoed behind. Zator opted to demolish a path to his foe instead of trying to catch up by chasing him down through pathways. The homes and possessions of the Mas'Quin didn't matter. Slaying this fresh and weak Contractor dominated all reason.

Kuzari felt the edge of the makeshift town coming closer, the way back sped up as stealth was abandoned long ago. Already he saw Mas'Quin joining in the chase and the sounds of screeching reverberated throughout, waking more of the monsters from their slumber. He quickly pulsed mana every few seconds to keep track of his pursuers.

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He couldn't help but look back when he suddenly felt a response forty feet into the air.

Zator seemed to float in the air for a second as he reached the apex of his jump. He spotted his prey and reached out his claws, ready for his blitz. He shot forward at an impossible angle and speed crashing into another shack. Kuzari winced as he leaped backward, lines of red flashing across his chest. Blood and pain bubbled to the surface. For a second time, he evaded sure death by a narrow margin. Okay, this Zator is just cheating if he can charge from the air like that. I can't keep this up; I need to do something!

Kuzari paused his running to think of a plan. At this rate, he would get mowed down just outside of town. The analytical part of his brain was churning as fast as it could. So far Zator hadn't displayed any ranged magical offense. His strength crushed stone, and the speeds he reached felt more like a bullet. The only clues he could pick up was the way Zator seemed to position his fist and claws for an attack before charging. Either he was locked into the direction, or his mind couldn't match the speeds of his body as the lizard man simply crashed into whatever direction he faced instead of turning to land the blow. It also seemed to take several seconds before he could make the reckless charge again.

With the information available, he had one idea. He was nervous as he watched Zator shake more rubble off his green robe. If the plan failed, he was dead, full stop. Even if it did, it wasn't a guarantee that he would be able to do more than buy some time. Time for what, he didn't know.

Kuzari stood as tall as he could, wincing from the pain and held his free left hand out. He constructed his spell glyphs and readied for his moment.

Zator grinned, "Finally tired of running and read to face the end of your Fate?"

The chosen of Modeus reached his hand forward for his own attack. At this distance, there would be no time for his prey to dodge.

Kuzari counted the seconds down, timing the release of his spell.

Now!

Kuzari cast Minor Telekinetic Pull.

Zator had no time to process the spell as his ability triggered. Kuzari's spell pulled sharply on Zator's head. The force was barely enough to do more than tilt the imposing figure briefly. That was all he needed, however, as Zator's angle dipped away from Kuzari towards the ground.

The lizard man crashed into the ground no more than a few feet in front of him. The crash hit him hard as his body tumbled across over and over.

Kuzari was already running before he could even see the results of his ploy.

Zator shook his head as he tried to refocus from his daze. Anger built up from his throat, and he growled.

Kuzari cocked his head as he saw the strange sight of the small blue fox creature in front of him. The creature stared at him briefly before ducking down a pathway that headed deeper into the town. He couldn't explain why, but he felt compelled to follow the strange creature. It had always seemed to vanish entirely after it passed by. He turned the corner and found himself falling.

It was a strange sensation to feel himself falling. It wasn't like a pit had suddenly opened up underneath or anything. It felt like slipping into the deep part of a pool. He was sinking down into thick darkness. He looked around and saw nothing but murkiness. His lungs urged him to take a breath, but the air was compressed and felt strangely solid.

The darkness wavered, and he found himself surrounded by the faint aura of the shacks and town around him. He waved his arm through a wall in confusion as the form wafted around his body. It wavered for a second before reforming into the same structure.

He twisted around, trying to grasp what was happening. He looked down and was shocked to see the solid and real form of the blue fox. It sat there and swished its tail. His thoughts felt fuzzy as he tried to focus on the creature.

The animal got up and turned around, trotting towards the outskirts, unphased by the phenomenon around it. Kuzari felt a strange sense of calm as he followed after the creature, merely walking through buildings as if they weren't there. To be fair, the buildings indeed behaved as they weren't there.

He saw Mas'Quin running about, blind to his presence, even phasing through and around him as the buildings did. He wasn't sure how or why, but he seemed to be safe for now. Not sure how long this effect would last or what would happen when-or even if - it ended, he made his way as far from the city as he could.

He lost track of when the sight of the fox disappeared. He felt there was a reasonable probability the animal had been responsible for the strange turn of events. It certainly explained how it continually vanished from view the previous times he had spotted one. Likely some sort of spacial manipulation, although this was to a degree, he had never heard of in any of the books he had read. The greater mystery was why the animal saved him. He felt bad for thinking about eating one the first time he saw it.

It was morning by the time he neared the meetup point. He was starting to get worried that he was trapped in this wispy world when the sensation of falling hit him again. Instead of feeling like he was falling into thick darkness, he felt like he was falling into an airy light. He took a deep breath as the world clicked into place, and everything felt solid again. Kuzari was released from the fox's dimension.

He shook the feeling of lethargy that had settled into his body as he came upon the apprentices' camp. Adara was shocked to see the bloodied figure approach them.

"Holy hells are you okay? What the fuck happened?" She exclaimed.

"It's a long story..."