“I did not ask to be born!” the little girl screamed as tears streamed down her cheeks.

She looked up at her mother, standing by the doorway. They looked identical to each other. Blonde hair, blue eyes. A splitting image. Only that one was older than the other. However, despite their similar appearances, they eyed each other with pure contempt.

True hatred.

“And I wish you were never born,” the mother replied softly.

But her words echoed in the bedroom, bouncing off the walls and whispering into the little girl’s ears like a susurration of voices.

The little girl’s vision blurred. She tried to open her mouth, however nothing came out. Her throat was parched, and her breathing quickened. Before she could even find the strength to speak again, her mother continued once more.

This time, the woman’s voice blared even louder than before.

“So why can’t you just die already—”

—--

And Kara jerked awake as she heard the booming clap of thunder in the distance. She sat up with a groan, pushing aside the rock and rubble covering her body like a blanket. Her hands moved to rub her eyes, but she paused when she felt something wet on her cheeks.

“This is…?” She narrowed her eyes as she stared down at herself.

Only to recoil as a drop of water fell onto her from above. Kara blinked, before looking up at the overcast sky. She saw a flash of purple light, followed by the rolling cacophony of thunder.

“It’s going to rain soon,” she muttered under her breath.

So she got to her feet and dusted herself off.

“I should find shelter.”

—--

It had only been a few weeks since Kara arrived in this world— Xantos, or whatever Zarkoth had called it. But it had been quite the busy few weeks for the young woman from Earth. When she was first given the dragonsoul, she had been able to use its powers with ease.

Nothing could stand in her way. She left behind a trail of utter devastation in the ancient ruins of Arcos. Every single one of the gargoyles that had tried to block her path from leaving was pulverized with only a single punch. An aura of golden flames coated her body, burning anything that even dared get close to her. And her senses were incredibly sharp— she was certain she could hear a pin drop even amidst the rain. Kara had felt, quite literally, like a god.

Then she went to sleep.

When she woke up, the aura of golden flames was gone. Her senses were dulled, and she felt much weaker. As in, she could no longer run hundreds of feet in only a second like before. She also had a massive headache, but she wasn’t sure if that was even related to her powers.

In any case, she no longer felt like a god. Now, she felt quite vulnerable, especially when she was lost high above a mountain range full of dangerous, vicious monsters.

“This world sucks,” Kara sighed as she emerged from a small crevice.

It was a small hole— barely a crack on the ground that could fit a human. But one wrong step led to a sharp drop that could break a few bones.

Kara didn’t accidentally trip and fall down this crevice. Sure, she nearly did. However, she actually climbed to the bottom on purpose and buried herself under some rocks to get some sleep. Normally, she’d find a small cave to get a good night’s rest, but she had been left with no other choice yesterday.

She had been chased by a three-headed bear all night, and this was the only way for her to escape since it couldn’t fit into the crevice. It had been clawing at the entrance all night, of course. But now—

Kara swept her gaze over her surroundings. She saw no monster standing there, waiting for her. All she saw was a desiccated tree standing at the edge of a cliff.

“It’s gone,” she murmured as she dusted herself off.

She looked up at the cloudy sky, then placed a hand on her stomach as she heard a rumbling noise. That wasn’t thunder. It wasn’t raining yet. Kara was just absolutely famished.

Her stomach groaned and her eyes narrowed as she looked towards the lone tree up ahead. It bore a single fruit at the very top of its dead branches. And she nodded at herself as she walked up to it, feeling her stomach turning onto itself.

Now, she wasn’t totally defenseless just because she was no longer glowing with golden fire. Even though she felt weaker compared to her first day here in Xantos, she was still much stronger than she was back on Earth. For example, she could now climb a tree without much difficulty, when she shouldn’t even be able to do a pullup. But that was not all—

Kara paused as she placed a hand on the tree, then she felt the dirt beneath her feet shifting. Her gaze snapped down, before the ground exploded. A root shot up from the ground, shaped like a spear. It was aimed for her head, but she rolled out of the way just in time.

Her eyes narrowed as it pulled itself out of the ground, and a face appeared on its trunk. It stood on its roots and eyed her with a wicked smile. Kara gritted her teeth, before taking in a deep breath. She felt something burning within her. Something that wasn’t there before a few weeks ago.

And she tugged at it, pulling it into her hands. The tree took a step forward, before it whipped out with one of its branches. Kara’s eyes glinted as she exhaled. Her hands ignited, lit aflame. She caught the whipping tree branch as the palms of her hands were cut open.

Kara bit back the pain, then grinned. “Got you.”

The golden flames from her hands began to spread up the tree branch. It let out a shriek and tried to pull away, but she refused to let go.

The golden flames engulfed the tree as she pulled down and held it in place. It thrashed where it stood, then Kara finally released it, making it stumble back. She leapt back as it tried to strike her down with its burning branches. But the branches began to break apart, turning to ashes.

Kara backed away, watching as the tree screeched and burned. As she stood there silently, there was a flash of lightning overhead, then a drizzle started to fall from above. But despite the raindrops, the tree’s body slowly collapsed as the golden flames continued to burn it away.

The last of the tree was turned to ashes despite the rain. After all, that was a magical flame. It was far more potent than a normal flame, so even water struggled to extinguish it. Kara nodded to herself, then looked down at the cut on her hand. The bleeding had already stopped, cauterized by the flames she created.

That was right. Even though she could no longer fight like she did immediately after she received Zarkoth’s dragonsoul, she could still use magic. It took her some time to learn, and it still wasn’t easy for her to learn to control. All she could do with it right now was ignite certain parts of her body without burning herself.

But that was it. She could still burn her clothes— which she almost did by accident. And that was when she learned the hard way just how difficult it was to extinguish these magical flames. She cast away those inimical memories as she strode up to the remains of the tree.

The charred fruit was lying there on top of a forming puddle. Kara saw her own reflection on the water surface— her hair was a mess, and her face was covered in dirt. But that was not what stood out to her. Instead, her attention was drawn to the red glow of her left eye. She stared at it for a moment, then the light flickered, before fading away, and her left eye returned to its normal deep blue color.

“I really need to get better at controlling this magic,” she said as her stomach growled.

And then Kara heard an actual growl coming from behind her. She spun around and spotted a familiar three-headed creature standing there, emerging from the shadows. It was the very same bear that had trapped her beneath the crevice for a whole night. It must have been drawn by the commotion of her fighting.

“This world really sucks,” Kara sighed, then made a break for it as the three-headed bear gave chase.

—--

“I think I lost it,” the young woman from Earth murmured to herself as she stepped into the dank cave.

She was soaking wet, her clothes caked in mud. A blast of thunder echoed from afar, and the muffled raindrops of the brewing storm filled the cavern. Kara sank to her knees as she leant against the rock wall.

The three-headed bear was nowhere to be found. Presumably, it decided that chasing a single girl through this deadly storm was a terrible idea, so it went to find shelter instead. And the fact that this storm was deadly wasn’t an over exaggeration.

Kara pursed her lips as she heard the howling winds grow louder in the distance. A curtain of rain and wind drew closer like an unceasing wave on land. Chunks of rock and dirt were mixed with this storm as its powerful gales were highlighted with a faint glow of a multitude of colors. Staring at this deluge of water and debris, it was clear this was no ordinary hurricane or cyclone or anything of the like.

It was a storm of magic and death.

A streak of green lightning shot down from the sky, striking a distant mountaintop. Kara winced as the rocky peak was obliterated— nothing left behind but a smoldering crater. She sensed the overwhelming power. The amount of magic she felt emanating from the lightning strike was almost numbing. It was the deadliest thing she had seen in this world so far. It was capable of even striking down myriads of giant monsters she saw lurking out at night. So she definitely didn’t want to get struck by that.

The young woman from Earth closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, taking in the soothing scent of the rain. But the humidity was not all she felt in the air. Her eyelids cracked open as she focused, and she began to see a flicker of light in the distance. It appeared to her— a storm of colorful sparks that joined this magical storm, like a swarm of iridescent locusts.

That was right. She could sense the magic that was proliferating the world. The dense ambient power that was absent on Earth, but so plentiful here, capable of defying the very laws of physics she knew. And she could see this magical phenomenon take shape when she narrowed her eyes and peered into the seams of this world.

“Mana,” Kara whispered as she looked down at herself. “That was what Zarkoth called it.”

It was just like a video game or a movie. Except, it was real. All of this was real.

She saw the wisping golden embers emanate from her own body. The very same mana that was so abundant in this world, came from her too. It grew denser and brighter as she looked down at her chest.

And there, she saw a swirling yellow mist. Like a cloud of hot gas. A bright nebula that painted her chest with a faint golden light. And in the very heart of this gathering of mana was an inert gray sphere.

Was this her dragonsoul? Was this the gift of the gods? Was this the true magic of dragons? It was… almost disappointing.

And Kara grew even more annoyed at Zarkoth, seeing this weak display of magic. Not only had he kidnapped her, nearly murdered her through his negligence, then forced his will onto her— he had also completely misled her about the power of dragons.

She sighed as she tugged at the golden mist with her mind, pulling it to her hand. A magical flame burst into existence there.

“If this is really all gods are capable of in this world… it’s no wonder they were defeated by humans.”

Kara felt the warmth of the flame dry her body as the storm continued to rage outside. The wall of rain had fully reached her mountain, and the strong winds blew into the cave, threatening to extinguish her magical fire. But she continued to pour more of her mana into it, keeping it burning as her gaze bore into its golden embers.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“No,” she told herself as she recalled her first day in Xantos. “I can do much more than this. I just need to figure out how.”

It was the very same magic of dragons— the gift of the gods. With it, she had been torn from her life on Earth and summoned into Xantos. And with it, if she grew strong enough, she was certain she could return back to her world too.

So slowly, Kara rose to her feet as she balled both her hands, letting the flames coat her fists. Even if she was upset about her current predicament— being trapped in another world full of monsters that wanted to rip her apart— there was no use moping around and wishing things were different.

All that mattered was taking action to make things better. That was a lesson she learned long ago. So she focused on improving her mastery over her magic as the storm continued to assail the mountainscape outside.

And besides… Kara thought as she closed her eyes for a brief moment. Monsters can wear the face of a human too.

—--

“What is this?” the blonde woman asked as she set the report card down onto the dining table.

The teenage girl paused by the front entrance of their apartment, looking up from their cat greeting her. She dropped her school bag onto the floor and walked forward.

“Those are my grades,” she said simply. She refused to meet the blonde woman’s gaze as she paused by her bedroom’s doorway. “Why do you ask?”

And the blonde woman threw a glass against the wall. The teenage girl flinched as the cat jerked back. Her mother rose to her feet, shouting angrily and slamming a hand on the table.

“Because you failed half your classes this semester! I work so hard all night to provide for the both of us, and this is how you repay me?”

The teenage girl gritted her teeth as her hands tightened around the doorknob. There were many things she could say in response. But she bit her tongue, holding them all back. Instead, she glanced back once as tears began to pour down her cheeks.

“Because I’m your daughter,” she replied in a trembling voice. “And you’re supposed to love me.”

With that, she slammed the door to her room. Outside, her mother shouted in a muffled voice, before another glass was smashed against the wall.

—--

“The storm is over.”

Kara stood at the entrance of the cave as she stared at the cloudy sky. The sun was slowly sliding its way down the horizon, painting the dome overhead orange. A loud rumbling echoed in the cavern, but it wasn’t from the crashing of lightning.

“I need to get some food,” the young woman muttered to herself as she placed a hand on her stomach. “Before night comes.”

She had made some progress in learning how to control her magic. But she still struggled to do anything beyond creating simple flames. It was enough to fend off most of the monsters she had encountered so far, however the same couldn’t be said for the monsters that lurked once the sun fully set. She had seen the kind of creatures that emerged in the dark. Those would rip her limb from limb before she could even react.

That was why she needed to hurry and find some food. So she made her way down, following a path that wrapped around the mountain until she reached a valley. Broken trees and bits of debris were scattered across the rocky landscape. Kara thought she would be able to find something to eat here.

She spotted some horned rabbits, but they fled into a hole before she could catch them. There were the carcasses of dead monsters strewn around, however giant vultures got to them first, snatching them into the sky. She scavenged for anything she could. Unfortunately, she found nothing to satiate her hunger.

Eventually, the sun began to dip down into the horizon, and Kara gave up. She hiked back up the mountain as her stomach growled at her.

“I haven’t had anything to eat for two days,” she sighed, reaching her cave. “One more day won’t hurt, will it?”

She asked herself the question as she peered into the darkness of the cavern. Barely a semblance of the sun remained in the sky. The orange glow of twilight would soon fade. When that happened, the creatures of the night would pour out into the world.

Kara took a step forward, shaking her head. “And I don’t have anywhere else to shelter either. Hopefully no monster finds me here—”

She started as she entered the cave, but then heard a growl. This time, it didn’t come from her stomach. Her gaze snapped up and she raised a hand, conjuring a ball of flames.

“What was that…?” she asked.

And her eyes snapped wide open at what she saw hiding inside the cavern. A three-headed bear stood there— the very same one that had chased her last night and this morning. It glared at her as it approached her.

Kara backed away warily, raising her hands in the air. “Hey, uh, sorry for intruding. I can leave if you—”

But the three-headed bear didn’t listen to her. Of course not. It snarled and charged her way as she cursed. Kara rolled to the side as it crashed into the rock wall. She grabbed a nearby pebble, then set it aflame.

“Take this!” She threw the flaming pebble at the monster.

And the three-headed bear picked itself up as the flaming pebble bounced off its back, barely singing its fur. It stared at her for a moment, and she sighed.

“This world really fucking sucks.”

In response, the monster roared and swiped one of its claws at her. She raised both her arms and coated them with her flames. That took on the brunt of the strike, but she was still sent flying back into the hard walls of the cavern.

The impact knocked the air out of her lungs as her entire body ached. Kara’s mind spun, and she tried to pick herself back up in a daze. Her ears rang as she stumbled back to her feet. She couldn’t even hear the three-headed bear’s roar as it charged at her once again.

She gasped as she raised her hands weakly. A ball of flames appeared in the palm of her right hand, and she aimed it at the rapidly approaching monster. She screamed, unleashing a streak of golden flames at it.

It recoiled for a moment as she focused all her magic into this single attack. The three-headed bear screeched, and Kara felt the magic spread throughout her body gather into the palm of her hand. But that wasn’t enough to bring the monster down. It waded through the flames, growling angrily.

Why was it doing this? Kara asked herself as she backed up against the wall. Why does it want to kill me so desperately? What does it have against me?

These questions raced through her mind as she felt the magic leaving her body. The three-headed bear drew closer, its figure practically towering over her. And she closed her eyes as she braced herself for her death.

As she did, all she could ask herself was—

Why?

—--

“Why?” the teenage girl asked quietly.

She saw her mother sitting there at the dining table, bent over and feeding their cat, not saying a single word. The teenage girl frowned and repeated her question.

“Why did you sell my laptop?”

“Because you don’t need it. All you ever do with it is talk to your internet friends and play your video games. I needed the money for a holiday anyway, so I sold it.”

“You can’t be serious…” the teenage girl whispered with wide eyes. Tears no longer streamed down her cheeks. All she could do was look at her mother in disbelief. “I need my laptop for my classes! My textbooks are on there! All my notes—”

“Why does that matter?” her mother asked simply. “You’re failing half your classes, and you’ll probably drop out soon.”

Her mother looked up as she stopped feeding their cat for a moment. A callous gaze was worn on her face.

“Don’t you think your poor mother deserves a break after all I’ve done for you?” she asked, tilting her head. “At least, this way, with however little it may be, you’re finally paying me back.”

—--

Why? Kara opened her eyes as she looked down at herself. Why is this happening to me?

It was a question she asked herself since she was young. It was a question she wished she knew the answer to. Because it always seemed like everyone was out to get her.

From her very own mother, to Zarkoth, and now this three-headed bear— they were always against her. Kara looked up and stared at the monster as it waded through the flames, drawing even closer. Its figure loomed over her.

A towering beast. Except… strangely thin. Kara felt the pang of pain from her stomach, then she saw the three-headed bear’s stature. And she realized it was just like her.

It was starving. It was ravenous. It needed something to eat. So that was why it came after her.

Kara was no different in that regard. With the way she chased the horned rabbits, she was like a monster to them. They were all monsters in some way. Because they were all trying to live their own lives.

Whether it was Kara hunting down the horned rabbits, or the three-headed bear attacking her. Zarkoth was the same too. He kidnapped her from her world to fulfill his promise to himself.

They were all so selfish. Even her. Kara’s eyes flickered as she thought of her mother.

“She was only trying to live her life, wasn’t she? But—”

—--

“What is this?” the blonde woman asked as her daughter set a piece of paper down on the table.

“It’s a full academic scholarship,” the teenage girl said in response. No— she was no longer a teenage girl. She was older now. A young adult. More experienced in life, having worked various part-time jobs to fund her studies. She took a step back and grabbed her suitcase. “I’ll be going now.”

Her mother frowned as their cat glanced between them. “You’re leaving? Just like that? After everything I’ve done for you?”

The young woman paused by the doorway, glancing back. “You’ve done nothing for me.”

“I gave birth to you.” The blonde woman rose to her feet, her breathing quickening. “I am your mother.”

“That is true,” her daughter whispered, closing her eyes. “You gave birth to me. But that’s all you’ve done for me. And even then, you didn’t want me. You just couldn’t afford to get rid of me.”

The blonde woman stumbled forward, reaching for a glass. “Without me, you wouldn’t even be alive.”

“And I am thankful for that,” Kara said, looking back one last time with a smile. “That is why I will live. Just— not for you.”

—--

“I want to live, too,” Kara said as she stared down at herself. “We all just want to live.”

Her flames began to sputter out, unable to keep the three-headed bear back. And she watched as the golden mist of mana receded back into her body, leaving her arm and gathering around her chest.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment as she stared the mana coursing through her being. The amount she held within her barely changed, despite putting in all her magic into that desperate attack. And then she saw the way the golden mist gathered around the strange sphere that was there.

It looked hollow. Almost empty. A strange gray object that was supposedly related to her magic, yet unmoving. It seemingly did nothing, other than drawing her mana towards it. No— not just her mana. But her entire being was drawn to it.

So she focused only onto it, exhaling and pouring her magic into its empty shell as her flames faded away. The three-headed bear stumbled forward as there was nothing holding it back anymore. The golden mist receded into the gray sphere as Kara looked up.

“You want to live,” she said as the monster roared. “However—”

It raised one of its claws, aiming for her head. The last of the golden mist vanished from her body, and a blazing sphere ignited in her chest. Then a golden glow overcame her body as she raised a hand.

“I’m not going to die for you!”

And the three-headed bear struck Kara with all its might. But then it paused, all three of its heads staring as it realized that she had blocked its attack. Its claws dug into her arms, drawing a sliver of blood, but unable to budge even another inch forward. And then she looked up as her left eye flashed with a red light.

Kara bared her teeth back at the monster, and this time, it was the one to take a step back. But before it could disengage she snarled and struck out with a fiery punch. The three-headed back stumbled back from the first strike, then she swept it off its feet.

It collapsed to the ground as she pointed and unleashed a cone of golden flames at it. This time, the magic didn’t pour like a weak sputter. It burst out like a deluge, engulfing the three-headed bear’s body. But it didn’t just lay there and accept its death.

The monster roared and exploded to its feet, tearing through the blast of flames. Its body was burnt, and much of its fur was gone. But it rushed forward at Kara in a final desperate attempt at taking her life. It raised its claws, and she brought her own hand up, the flames gathering on her fingertips, forming the vague shape of a claw.

She stepped forward as a voice echoed in her mind, ducking under the three-headed bear’s attack. And then her lips moved.

“God Strike.”

Kara swung out and the three fiery slashes struck the monster like a claw. The attack went straight through the back wall of the cavern, leaving behind a charred scar in the rocks.

In just a single motion, the three-headed bear was cleaved into three parts. And all at once, its remains collapsed before the young woman from Earth. Then there was a flicker of light, and blue glowing motes of magic were drawn towards her as she took a step back.

And then Kara sank to her knees in exhaustion. “I… I survived…”

She whispered to herself as the golden glow faded from her body. Looking down, she no longer saw her mana coursing across her body like a golden mist. Instead, a burning sphere hovered at her chest, wisping with the occasional ember of mana.

It looked similar to Zarkoth’s soul, but slightly different. And Kara realized—

“So this is the dragonsoul,” she said, eyeing it with round eyes.

She watched as the blue glowing motes of magic that came from the three-headed bear’s began to orbit her dragonsoul.

“What is this?” Kara asked herself, blinking a few times.

But before she could fully inspect this strange phenomenon, she heard a soft groan coming from further inside of the cavern. The young woman looked up and froze when she saw something shifting in the darkness.

She conjured a ball of flame and illuminated the rest of the cave. Then she pursed her lips at what she saw. It was a bear. A baby bear.

Kara stared at it for a long moment as it tossed and turned where it slept. And then she glanced back at the dead monster.

“...even if you were a monster to me, you weren’t a monster to everybody, huh?”

Kara whispered as she closed her eyes. And she remembered a scene from long ago.

—--

“What is that?” The little girl stared at her mother with wide eyes.

“It’s a cat,” her mother replied simply, settling the thin animal down onto the dining table. “A stray cat. I found it lying by the side of the road.”

“Is it dead?”

“It could be, if we don’t save it.”

The little girl just stood silently to the side as her mother grabbed a towel and a bowl of water, beginning to nurse the cat back to health. And as the little girl watched, she truly longed for her mother to treat her with that same kindness and love. But her thoughts were interrupted as her mother spoke simply, glancing back once.

“Now make yourself useful and fetch me some milk, Kara.”

“R-right.”

—--

Kara opened her eyes as the memory came to an end. And then she looked down at the sleeping baby bear, before sighing.

“Now, what do I do with you?” she asked herself.

And the baby bear snored in response.