What was certainly not One-eye, picked the blade from the air like an exhibit, examining every inch of it as he would a painting before tossing it back to me.

"Crude my king. Usable, but still, very crude. I would have thought a Knowing One to be far more ingenious in his methods." taunted the spirit. Three snare traps launched themselves in his direction. He dispelled two with a wave, but with the last I controlled it into a spiraling motion. The moment it caught him in the foot like a bear trap, I filled the container with as much mana as I could, exploding the spell. A crackling sound shattered the silence in the corridor and violet shards flew up in the air before dissipating. The move was unexpected and made the spirit flinch.

At that I dashed forward and swung my sword in his face as hard as I could. I could feel the impact rebound against me as my sword shattered against the pressure. I dropped to the ground at the sudden loss of resistance, tumbling into the multitude of vines creeping across the ground.

"Hmm.. an impressive attempt, but still far too lacking." sneered the spirit. "How will you return to your wife at this rate I wonder? What if she's here too? Alone and weak, waiting for you to protect her? No, perhaps it would be better for her to die here before experiencing the world and seeing the weakling her husband has become. Better to die oblivious than disillusioned."

His words seemed to trigger a sudden urgency within me. The spirit knew of my predicament! Mana within my stomach was already rising to my chest, and I could feel it pumping into my heart, sickening me to an almost unbearable level.

"GRAAAACKKK!!” escaped a scream from my mouth. I could feel something dripping from my eyes, but I was in no state to see what. My mana was tearing its way out of me like a storm, and somewhere in my mental thrashing I could feel tendrils of my own mana latch on to something in front of me. I subconsciously pulled it towards me, causing the spirit to come flying in my direction. He struggled against the invisible bonds wildly, before suddenly relaxing, giving a loud chuckle at his capture.

"Telekinesis? Wonderful!. A passing score to be sure." He snapped his fingers and almost instantly, I felt my mental tendrils recoil as though electrocuted. The shock blew me away forcefully, shattering the bones in my arms and sending me reeling back. Sheer willpower kept me on my feet just long enough to be pressed down to the ground by the immense bloodthirst emitting from the spirit.

"Where is she?" I growled defiantly. “Why am I here?”

There was no link established between us, but somehow I knew the spirit heard me none the less. He knelt down in front of me, and I craned my head up glaring at him. The bastard knew where Lynn was, but I was far too helpless to do anything against him. With a single wave of his hand, I was swung up with an invisible force that held me tight in the air like a floating mannequin.

"Relax. Or rather, don't because I wasn't lying. Your family is here. Maybe even in danger. At any time now they could encounter a threat that could end them both, and you wouldn’t even know it. How does that make you feel?” he questioned. “Helpless. Frustrated. Weak.”

The feral part of me had slowly won over my better judgment, and I willingly let it. Every remaining spell that still hovered within my midst I drew into my arms, right before the mana within them ignited. Pure kinetic force launched me directly at One-eye, tearing both of my arms off at the same time. With teeth outstretched I snapped my jaws right onto his face, only to be stopped by that same invisible force.

“Rage.” he whispered quietly.

One-eye snapped his fingers once more and everything around us stilled. Wind, dust, shadow. Even mana froze as though a pause button had just been pressed during a movie.

“All valid feelings my king. And thus you and I are of the same heart.”

*Snap*

I dropped to the ground, arms and all. The spirit stared into space before turning back to me. I couldn’t tell exactly how long he stared straight into my eyes but words could not be formed. The pain within them chilled the rage I felt against the creature, and I could say nothing of his own rage behind his eyes.

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“Every day my people are hunted down. My children killed and slaughtered for no other reason than existing. Used as a means to train newbies. Stepping stones. Can you imagine? That the child in your wife’s belly might one day be used as a punching bag for another’s child, before being tossed aside like a rag. Worse still they celebrate this ‘victory’.”

Blood thirst filled the air and my breath caught in my throat.

“No, this status quo will stand no longer. I am their parent, their caretaker, and my children are to flourish no matter the cost.” he declared fiercely.

"This is why you have been brought here. Just as you would do anything to take care of your family, I would do the same."

At this, One-eye's appearance twisted and cracked unnaturally. Muscles snapped and tore, before reforming themselves into a much more imposing visage. Bright green goblin skin covered thick bands of muscle. A human-like face morphed into being, with a hooked sharpened nose and fitting teeth that decorated it. I could see none of the crooked posture that all goblins possessed. Instead, a powerful back held the creature straight, one that sent waves of mental pressure across the area.

"I am First. The original, and god of all goblins. And I have selected you to be my king. To lead my children to strength and prosperity." He lowered me to the ground gently. As my feet touched the soft soil, First leveled his eyes to mine, his expression a far cry from his initial haughtiness, holding only seriousness, and just a little bit of regret. The anger in my mind gradually abated, slowly being replaced with caution and weariness.

"I apologize for uprooting you with your family, but by chance your souls were the most straightforward to snatch from earth; with circumstances the most fitting as well. Not to say it was easy of course. Whoever's got a hold of earth's people has a pension for security."

First conjured up clouds of golden energy that hardened into light constructs. They formed into three dimensional figures of goblins in various situations; adventurers slaughtering them by the scores, demonic creatures and even elves butchering and dining on their corpses.

"I have but one reason for bringing you all here: bring my people the strength to break free from their bonds." The hologram then formed into a picture frame of a couple with a child in the center.

"Do so and I promise you the locations of your wife and child, for as long as they are alive. Know that I will not force you to accept my conditions; though once the contract has been established, the terms must be kept on penalty of soul destruction."

"Why would you not do so yourself? With your strength you could bring protection to your children on your own, or at least through those already here.." I asked. First scoffed at the question, while playing with the holograms and producing unnaturally mutated creatures that ran into the forest.

"Hah! Do you see this place as real? How are your arms healed? My children unawake still after our short battle? Where are they even?” With an arm, he gestured around us.

At that I was suddenly well aware that the location we were at, looked nothing like the twisted corridor we had camped in. I could see neither the olives nor Gro’Bur. My arms had also been magically reattached without my knowledge.

“No, my powers extend no further than the dream realm, as is the case for all Gods. We can no more affect the material plane than you the dream realm. Merely influence it through oracles and prophecies. As to your second point, I have already tried. Goblins simply do not have the soul nor mental capacity to accurately receive oracles. Your foster father Gro'bur is a proven case. In fact, such a thorough explanation between you and me is near impossible, if not for the fact I'm burning away my divinity. It will be a long time before we have a chat this precise again. I would not be doing this were it not necessary."

He propped me up to my feet, holding out his hand for a shake.

"I have already gambled a century's worth of divinity in bringing you here, with more for every wasted moment. Now choose, quickly, before our time runs out. The sapling Ash'kar has already informed you had she not? All races will always be at war, whether they know it or not. At least with you to lead them, my children will have a fighting chance. In return, your family will be revealed to you."

There wasn’t really a choice to be honest. He hid it behind noble intentions but the bastard was a blackmailer through and through, and he knew there was only one option open to me.

I grabbed his hand, making a childish show of strength by squeezing it as tightly as I could. If it affected him in any way, his expression didn’t show it.

“Show me to my family.” I demanded.

First grinned, his devilish face showcasing rows of sharpened teeth. Only false bravado kept me from flinching at the sight.

“It is already done. All you have to do is wake up.”

White smoke enveloped me, clouding my vision away from First. I tore at the mist to no avail, hearing only a parting sentence from the Goblin god.

“Take care of them, Goblin King Ulk’ari.”