“Well?”

Wonder had tucked the kids into bed before meeting Kat at the campfire. After the fiasco at the Inn last night, and the possibility that Sakura being an orphan was the other Hunters’ fault, Wonder voted not to stick around. He brought Sakura some supplies and new clothes from the Lodge’s shop, but then insisted the caravan go as far it could without losing the trail.

By random luck, Sakura’s trail went half a day down the path before coming upon a small lake. Wonder watched his kids play in the water while Kat and some Knights went to investigate.

When Kat came back, it was clear he didn’t have good news. But they waited until Wonder had tucked both kids snugly in their sleeping bags on pull-out cots in the wagon.

Wonder closed the door. “As bad as we thought it was?”

Kat nodded bitterly. “Maybe even worse. But our Knights did find one thing… Sakura was not an orphan due to the carnage.”

Wonder blinked. “Really?”

“Really. It seems Sakura was an outcast. I was kinda guessing she was anyway.”

Wonder said, “Whyyyyyy?”

“Lightwraiths have armor on their skin. Usually hatchlings even have a thick leather-like covering. Sakura had none.”

Wonder said, “Oh…”

He scowled. “So her parents abandoned her?”

“No… well, I don’t know about the father. But I’m thinking Sakura was premature, and her mother did not survive the process.”

Wonder nodded bitterly. “I see…”

Kat said, “It’s probably what saved her. She would have been left at the edges of the pack when she could walk, so was probably a good distance from the… hunting party. As far as our trackers could tell, Sakura took off as fast as she could.”

Wonder said, “Poor baby…”

He looked at the dark windows of the carriage. He had found a glow stone, so set it up near her, but the tinted windows hid that. He said, “…why were they being hunted?”

“Can’t tell. All we know is that Dark magic was used. Otherwise… they cleaned up.”

Wonder froze. “Dark Magic?”

“Yeah.”

“So it wasn’t Hunters.”

“Unlikely. But if enchanted firearms were used, well…” He shrugged.

Wonder groaned. “No one’s gonna investigate this, are they?”

Kat was silent.

Wonder rubbed his neck. “Dammit. Well, I’m going to bed with the kiddos. Let me know if shit happens.”

“Wonder…”

Wonder held up his hand. “This is an indication the war is still going on. And people are dickheads. I’m not in the mood.”

Wonder climbed into the carriage and shut the door. He rubbed his eyes. People were people, apparently. Even in another world. Which meant they were cruel monsters.

Which meant innocents like her old self were in trouble.

Wonder looked at his two sleeping children. Apparently, the monsters were more human than humans. Appropriate his true body was that of a monster then.

Wonder had to smile softly, then sat down next to his kids. He grabbed a blanket and got as comfy as he could be. He closed his eyes…

And suddenly she was in a forest. One of those scary ones, with trees more darkness than actual trees. Her flashlight cut a beam, but it was more long lightsaber than it was light.

Wonder turned it off, then sat on a rock. In the distance, she thought she could hear kids laughing and giggling. So far, just another freaky dream. Nothing to panic about.

Even if it seemed strangely more real than normal.

Then again, her brain was that weird.

Something crunched the grass in front of her. Then Wonder could see a dim humanoid figure sit down in front of her. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, just listening to the children’s laughter.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“You are unlike other children.”

“Ha, could have told you that.”

“Not in the way you are thinking.”

“I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been told that. My brain is weird, and back home that is enough to earn you spite for life.”

“You were not summoned by either one of us.”

Wonder rolled his eyes. “I heard this Malchon guy makes a habit of summoning…”

“I checked his records. You were not summoned by him either.”

Wonder froze. She squinted into the darkness. The figure sat there, but did not seem a threat. Where was her flashlight?!? Ugh, she put something in a new spot and totally forgot where again…

Wonder said, “Look. Here’s what I know…”

“Child, you are not in trouble.”

“Yeah, I know that is a lie. SHIT.”

Wonder slapped a hand over her mouth. Her Hoseki self was coming out! No, she needed timid, scared, Pinky Pie Wonder…

The figure gently touched the hand. “Child, this is not the world you know. This is Hoseki. I know today has you questioning it, but we are not like your old world.”

The figure backed up. “But the fact you were summoned here by other means is… curious. What do you know of your summoning?”

Wonder bit her lip. “All I know is that I found a new MMO RPG on Steam for free. I’m a sucker for sales, and the game didn’t seem the type that would crash my computer. When I pulled it up… I woke up in the woods.”

“I see. And Malchon never refuses the chance to be a loud asshole.”

Wonder had to chuckle on that. “Yeah, I guess?”

She looked at the figure. “…I presume I’m somehow talking to the Dark. Isn’t this a chat you should be having with Kat?”

“Maybe if I thought you were a legit threat. But your actions prove you anything but.”

The figure seemed to rub his chin. “…in fact, your neutral actions have even the Light questioning things. And as long as we have fought, I have known her to be very… what’s a nice term… able to roll with things.”

Wonder asked, “That good or bad?”

“For you, possibly good. It is refreshing to have a Neutral Hunter back in action. An actually Neutral Hunter.”

The figure shook its head. “I’m going to be honest, you should probably expect a chat from her soon too. But don’t worry… she’s going to be more curious than anything.”

“And you?”

The Dark chuckled. “While fair, if I doubted your safety factors any, you’d have an army of Forest Spirits breathing down your neck.”

Wonder winked. “Do spirits breathe?”

That earned a hearty laugh. Wonder chuckled as well. Victory points.

The Dark said, “There is a possibility that whoever summoned you may come back for you. I’ll be keeping an eye on you for a while just in case.”

Wonder nodded. “That is fair. Do you think the kids are in danger?”

The Dark said, “I do not know. It is unlikely, though.”

Wonder remembered the hunting party that brought down the Lightwraiths. “…what about Sakura? Is she safe? It was people using your magic that killed her pack.”

The Dark nodded. “They did that without authorization. Trust me, their mana pools are suffering for it… as well as some cases of unexplained food poisoning. But as far as I can tell, none of them even saw her.”

Wonder did have to relax on that fact. He said, “Were they Hunters?”

“No. Mages. If I were to guess, they were trying to move to Blood Magic.”

Wonder froze. “That wasn’t in my cheat sheet of magic I picked up at the Guild.”

“Because, technically, it does not exist. Neither the Light nor I authorize such… questionable magic. But some Mages have worked out ways to use Life Magic to such ends.”

Wonder felt sick. She said, “People…”

“This is not helping your trust factors at all, huh?”

Wonder said, “Nope.”

“I can assure you, these folks are few and far in between on Hoseki. And… oh shit.”

There had been a sudden flash from what looked like a smartphone. The Dark picked it up. His image glitched a few times in Wonder’s sight before settling on a traditional Slender Man look, though with a stretched mouth of sharp teeth. Wonder had a feeling that none were supposed to see his face, so the Dark had a mesmir that effected everyone differently.

“Great… well, here’s fair warning. You’re about to deal the King of Ego.”

Wonder’s skin crawled. “I… what?”

“He’s a Beast Tamer like you. Actually accepts Sponsorships from both sides, but he specializes more in Light Beasts. He’s been Champion for the last 15 years, and… definitely has let it get to his head.”

Wonder groaned. “Wonderful. Just… wonderful. Huh?”

Wonder realized he had turned back into his male form. The Dark chuckles. “Sorry. Your Soulwave adapted itself back.”

Wonder looked up. “What’s a Soulwave?”

“Think of it as the true frequency of your soul. It helps mold your body here in Hoseki to its true form.”

The Dark got up. “I have to go now. We will talk again in the future. But word of advice… don’t judge a book by its cover. Even when it gives you a headache.”

Wonder jolted awake. He looked around, and he was back in the wagon. Izuku was flipping, tiny tentacles waving. Sakura was awake, staring curiously at Wonder.

Wonder rolled his neck out. He said, “Talk about high profile visitor…”

He smiled at Sakura and whispered, “You okay, baby?”

Sakura was silent. She then aptly went around her brother to climb onto Wonder’s lap. Wonder stroked her head. “Don’t worry, the big shadow just wanted to talk.”

Wonder looked outside. He wondered if Kat picked up on his god’s visiting too. Or if the Dark was now communicating to his Paladin directly.

But Wonder needed to brace himself.

It sounded like he was about to face the biggest Customer Care disaster of all time.