"Oh, neat! I didn't know you could do that!" Jeffrey watched as Noah was moving his bone gauntlet clad hands about.

"Yeah, I worked on it last night."

"You know..." Jeffrey rubbed the side of his elongated head. "I heard of a powerful Touched that wields bone weapons and armor."

"Huh? You did?" Noah could swear he felt Silas stirring.

"Yeah, never met the guy, though. He was said to be quite the lone wolf. I'd suggest trying to find him, so he'll instruct you, but I'm not sure that you actually have the same power. I never heard anything about him having skeletons running around."

"Silas, is that you?" Noah asked within the confines of his mind, but there was no response.

***

The peculiar group continued their march along the rocky plains. When asked further about the Touched with powers over bones, it turned out that Jeffrey really did not know much. What little information he possessed, had stemmed from rumors overheard by expeditions beyond the walls of The Arc, that were aided by the powerful werehuman, years ago.

The Touched in question would always operate alone, which was extremely rare, but would extend aid to expeditions encountering trouble beyond the city walls. This formidable man wielded weapons and armor crafted from bones, seemingly animated with a mind of their own.

'Still no service...' Noah dismissed the holographic display of his omni device with a sigh, while marching on.

Noah felt mentally exhausted, weary of confronting horrors day in and day out. The supposed reward awaiting him, should he survive long enough to reach The Arc? A showdown with Voidstrider, a woman determined to end his life. Naturally, all of this hinged on whether his resident parasite, Silas, was truthful, and not plotting to take over his body, at some point.

'It's too much to handle...'

And what of his grandmother, Lily? Noah missed her so much. What was she thinking right now, with him suddenly vanishing out of thin air. What will she do when the rent is due? Does she have enough money to buy food?

It was also the simple things that Noah longed for, like lazing about on his couch, enjoying a beer after work, and diving into virtual games. And, of course, eating something other than monster meat.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Seemingly sensing his melancholy, Jeffrey began asking Noah about his life in Arcturus City. The towering human-shark hybrid appeared intrigued by even the most mundane aspects of Noah's life back home. No one has ever shown as much fascination with his work in quality assurance as Jeffrey did. Well, perhaps aside from his grandma. They both seemed equally puzzled by his explanations regarding what he was actually doing at work, no matter how many times they asked.

As they continued their trek, in what turned out to be a fairly uneventful day and discussed everyday matters - or at least what constituted as everyday matters for Noah - he found himself smiling a bit. That small taste of normalcy, free from existential dread, had recharged Noah's batteries, if only slightly.

Eventually they made camp at the side of a cliff, shrouded by trees. The meat of an amphibian-looking monster, hunted by Claws, was roasting over the campfire, as the sun set.

"Say, Jeffrey..." Noah began talking over the sound of the crackling fire. "Are you really a...werehuman?"

Jeffrey chuckled a bit while munching on a cut of raw meat. "I'm not sure, honestly."

"You're not sure?"

The humor loving hybrid appeared somber. "I'm fairly certain I'm not from your world, but from the other one."

"Yeah, I figured that much on my own."

"Hmmm, I woke up one day, washed up on a beach in my human form. I guess it was right after the worlds had merged."

"H... how old are you exactly?"

"No idea! I have memories of being a shark, so I don't know how long I lived before the merge."

"You do? What do you remember?"

"I don't know... shark stuff." Jeffrey laughed. "Hunting mostly. Sharks don't have very complex thoughts. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure there was a time that I received human sacrifices."

"W... what?!"

"I guess they thought I was a sea god, or something?"

"That's awful..."

Jeffrey appeared taken aback slightly by Noah's reaction. "Well, yeah. It's awful... but, free food is free food, right?"

Noah sighed and shook his head. It was difficult at times to tell when Jeffrey was being serious, or not. But if he was telling the truth, it would give some insight as to Jeffrey's age, as the humans on the other side were long extinct by the time the two worlds had merged.

"So, you were originally a giant, monstrous shark and became... a 'werehuman' during the merge?"

"A monst...? You don't have to say it like that, you know... But I guess?"

"So, what happened after you woke up on the beach?"

Jeffrey smiled, or smiled as much as he could with his elongated shark maw. "I met a woman fleeing the carnage that followed the merge. I protected her and she taught me how to speak and that kind of stuff."

Thinking back to the framed crayon drawing Noah had seen in Jeffrey's house, Noah asked: "You... had a family with her?"

"What? Why do you ask?"

"The child's drawing I saw at your place..."

"Child draw... I drew it!"

"Oh I..." Noah didn't know how to respond to that, so he changed the subject. "Mmm, what happened after?"

Jeffrey's demeanor changed again. "She grew old, and I didn't and eventually..."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay."