"Long ago, a people existed. They were mighty warriors, and they were descended from even mightier ones. They were stranded on a world not their own, but they did not despair. They found the small victories present in their daily lives and they were happy with their lot.

"They were a proud, stoic people. They refused to mingle with other inhabitants of their world even when they were faced with great peril. Their victories and defeats were their own.

"They refused the aid of we who have stepped beyond. This is the right of any living creature, and I do not begrudge them a life without the complexities that my kind creates. Even this choice, at times, can be a victory.

"This people flourished and then they declined. A great plague feasted upon them for decades. The other beings of their world, holding hatred and jealousy in their thoughts, attacked as well, and though this proud race of warriors continued to obtain victory more often than defeat, still they fell one by one.

"Now only a few remain. In their despair, in order to save themselves from the fate of being forgotten in death, they broke their oldest tenet and pledged themselves wholly to one who has stepped beyond." Sateus fell silent once more.

Tim worked to make sense of the four-out-of-ten story. "So…this race of atheist warriors was dying out, and they decided to stop being atheists to see if that would save them?"

"Yes," said the god.

"And I'm guessing they picked…" Wait, they couldn't have picked Sateus as their god if I just fought one. "I did just fight one of them, right?"

"You did," Sateus said. "Young and untrained, but a powerful warrior nonetheless. The armor they wear is said to be unbreakable no matter who would think to strike it."

"Then how did I hurt that one by hitting him with a hammer?" he asked.

"The one you fought was young, " said the god. "More than fifty of your world's years are required for the flesh and bones of their kind to fully harden. Until that time, they are weak, and they must avoid being struck with much force at any cost. Your opponent has only lived for twenty one of your world's years. Each blow from your weapon would have shattered bones and organs alike from being struck so powerfully against the ground with nothing to disperse the force."

A brief image flashed through Tim's mind of being rattled against his armor so hard that his insides shattered, and he felt a small sense of regret. I did what I had to do to win and not die, but that's messed up. "That's… Why would they fight here with that kind of risk?" he asked if only to avoid thinking about what he'd just done to someone he didn't know who was also one of the last of their kind.

"All beings will fight for victory if defeat means death, Drake Storm," Sateus said. More eyes swirled into existence on its head, focusing their gaze on him. "You know this now."

That's really fucking depressing. Tim brought a hand to his mouth as he thought it over.

"How does this victory taste, Drake Storm?" asked the god. "You sought it desperately, and now you have found it."

He felt his stomach churn. "Did I…just…cause an entire race to go extinct so I could live?" he asked quietly.

"Would that be a victory for you, Drake St—"

"No," Tim interrupted, shaking his head. "I… I wanted to win, and I don't wanna die, but…" He took a deep breath, feeling some abstract sense of loss at the thought of having personally edged some unknown race closer to extinction. "But…" He took another breath as his thoughts continued to whirl. "I… Is this why you brought me here?" he asked at last. "Because Carl wouldn't have killed his opponent, and you need them dead or something?"

"No, Drake Storm," Sateus said impassively. "I asked because I wished to learn more of my champion whose thoughts I do not know. We will speak again when you return, and you will tell me which of the victories you believe to be greater."

"When I return? Where—"

"A promise from my champion is a promise of victory," Sateus said, its innumerable eyes boring into his. "Always remember this."

Tim's vision swirled again, and he was now in a different red-carpeted room. The carpet in this room covered its floor entirely, however, and it was a lighter red, almost pinkish. Comfy and cozy-looking chairs and sofas were strewn about, each with plenty of soft, green cushions and throw pillows. Subtle Christmas coloring vibe aside, the room exuded a sense of comfort and relaxation which, though he wasn't currently able to appreciate it, he still rated as a seven-point-two.

A group of strange, red, lizard-like humanoids of varying heights swarmed around one sofa in particular, facing away from him and chattering in low voices. They wore long, shapeless dresses of varying colors, and each had a series of combined fins extending up onto their heads, almost like hair, out of their prominent, bony spines. Their skin ranged from light to dark red, and each had a number of small scales in places, with the one nearest him close to having a full covering.

"Careful!" hissed one of them, followed by a moan of pain. "Ease it off slowly."

Damn, all this teleporting around is so confusing. "Hello?" he called.

The lizard-people spun around nearly in unison, all of their eyes narrowing into glares, though that was the only part of their faces he found familiar, until he came to a certain realization. When creating his New Era character, he'd chosen to be a dragonkin, which was a human-dragon hybrid, but the character customization allowed players to specify the ratio of characteristics from each of the two races. He'd opted to be almost entirely human, retaining only small claws on his fingers and toes, some scales that he'd scattered around strategically and artistically, small horns, and slightly draconic eyes for effect.

Stolen novel; please report.

These were very clearly dragonkin who were at the opposite end of the human-dragon ratio, past what was possible in the game. Each was taller than he was to varying extents with a head elongated into an elegant-looking snout. Their heads had varying numbers of small horns on top, ridges of bone that accentuated the contours of their faces, reptilian eyes, and nostrils on the front. Their scaled-over hands were more claw-like than his as well, and their bared feet ended with talons rather than toes of any sort.

Also, based on a guess from a quick glance at their attire, they were all female.

"You," hissed the closest one, her skin and scales the darkest red color.

"How—"

"Promise," someone rasped.

"Rai!" the closest one shouted in a clear voice as she whirled back around. "You're going to be fine, okay? You will! Enzi, what are you doing? Stop staring and finish taking her gauntlet off! Nela, boots then greaves. Cindriz, help with this part." The four of them returned to their task, with the one at the far side of the sofa sneaking repeated peeks over at him.

"Champion of Sateus, you're here!" came the excited call of a young girl's voice from somewhere beyond a doorway on the right side of the room. A thick patch of fog floated in and zoomed towards him.

"Uh…" Tim took a deep breath to avoid panicking when the fog swirled around his middle.

"This is such an amazing coincidence!" the girl's voice said. "Oh, I'm Igyn, but don't worry, you don't have to be too formal."

"Igyn…" I feel like I've heard that name before maybe? Too much happening at once.

"I'm a deity!" the voice chirped. "I've only just become one though, so I can't manifest a body yet or anything. Here's a hug anyway though." The voice made a sound like she was exerting herself for a moment, and from the fog that ringed him he felt a very slight pressure which he might charitably rate as a two-out-of-ten hug. "There, how's that?"

"Well," Tim said as he looked down at the wispy deity. What the hell's going on now. "It's…good."

"Good!" said Igyn. "Let me know if you want another one. Hugs are something I'm great at."

A loud, agonized wail sounded out from across the room.

"Oh no, Railleth!" Igyn called, rushing her way over towards the sofa.

Tim followed behind after taking a second to deposit his weapon and armor into his inventory to avoid clanking too loudly, and he sucked in a breath when he came close enough to see between the rapidly-moving group of lizard women.

The giant, armored figure he'd fought was laying on the sofa. Her helmet was removed, revealing a similarly lizard-like face with closed eyes and pale red scales with patches of pinkish skin showing through. Red blood dripped down from her snout, and she let out a weak cough, then a small scream as one of the woman on the side worked the long, armored sleeve a little ways down her ruined right arm. The chestplate of her scaled armor was opened by some sort of latch on the side, and a number of pieces of bone were poking through the form-fitting garment that covered her.

"Easy," said the one who had first spoken in a quiet voice, apparently the leader of the group. Her hands glowed with a soft green light, and Railleth gasped, her eyes fluttering open. "You're okay, Railleth," she said. "I'm here with you. We all are. You won't die today, I promise."

Railleth coughed, and more blood oozed from her mouth. "Promise," she whispered, closing her eyes again.

"Can I do anything?" Tim asked as he stared. Shit, I feel fucking awful now. What the fuck. Why is this tournament even a thing? "I mean, to help?"

There was no reply, and it seemed to him that the question had pushed the atmosphere of the room into an angry silence.

"Ladies, let him help if he's offering," Igyn said in a chastising tone.

"Help hold her up while we slide the back plate of her armor out," ordered the leader after a moment, pointing him towards the front of the sofa. She met his eyes as he moved into position. "Gently."

"Alright," Tim said. "Uh, I can cast healing spells if that would help?"

"We can't heal her fully until the armor is off or she might heal into it," said the one to his left.

"Cindriz, Nela, heal. Enzi get ready to pull it out," said the leader as she walked around behind him. "You, lift from under her shoulders here while I lift from her hips. On three. One. Two. Three."

Tim slid his arms carefully under the lizard woman's back and lifted on the appointed number. The dragon-woman across from him leaned over the top of the sofa, her hands glowing with the same green light.

Railleth screamed again, far louder than before, the sound becoming a deep roar that rattled his body. Her body rose up as they lifted, and another woman quickly pulled the rear part of the heavy chestplate out.

"Down," ordered the leader. "Slowly. Carefully."

Tim followed her lead, doing his best to ignore the continued shrieks as the bleeding lizard woman squeezed her eyes shut and tipped her head back in agony. When she was resting fully on the sofa again, he slipped his bloody arms out and stepped back to get out of the way, continuing to watch in silence.

"Finish with that fucking gauntlet already!" snapped the leader.

"I'm trying not to hurt her!" the woman who had been standing next to him said, sounding like she was about to cry.

"Lekthi, don't be cruel to Enzi," Igyn admonished. "That won't help Railleth."

"Sorry, Enzi," the leader said quietly. She put a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Sorry."

Enzi resumed slowly working the gauntlet and accompanying sleeve of armor down an arm that was completely mangled, periodically reaching inside for a moment or two before resuming the motion. Shards of bone were splintered through the inside of the upper part of the arm where the sleeve had already been pulled down, and blood flowed freely from the area and out of the armor, staining the sofa beneath in an increasingly wide area. At last, she turned the sleeve slightly, flinching as she pulled the tight-fitting band down fully over the destroyed part of the arm. "I got it!" she whispered excitedly, now moving more quickly as she slid the sleeve down into itself until it was like a large bracelet around the top of the gauntlet, at which point she started pulling that free.

"They use magic to make the armor conform to their bodies," Igyn said quietly from next to Tim's ear. "It makes the fit perfect, but it confuses healing magic until their scales are fully hardened, so she would never have been able to take it off for the rest of her life if she'd been healed before it was removed."

"Done here," the one closest to Railleth's feet called, having moved back to her spot there after standing over the back of the sofa for a short while.

Tim stared with a grimace, stomach roiling, at his unarmored opponent from the fight as she lay broken, coughing up blood, on the sofa in front of him. Why am I here at this tournament? How am I… Shit, what am I supposed to do now?