2nd Muriel, 1093.

Five Days Since Kashi's Capture,

70 Kilometers South Of DarrenHold.

Lunette walked among her sleeping companions, unable to keep her unease at bay. Due to hard riding, they were now only a day away from Second Under. Humming a tune to calm her rampant mind, she stopped at the bank of a tiny stream. She crouched low, then splashed some water on her face. It was icy-cold, but she couldn't feel it. The closer they got with each passing day, the greater her anxiety flared.

Lunette was not used to these emotions. Aside from her brother, this might be the first time she felt this agitated about somebody. She wasn't sure how to handle these emotions, and for the first time in her life, she didn't want to talk to her brother about it. She doubted he would understand.

"Do you have an aversion to sleeping?" A voice called from behind. "Or any form of rest in general?"

Lunette smiled at Rider's reflection. "Is it that bad?"

"Well, considering I haven't seen you take a break in the past few days, I would say yes. Yes, it is."

Lunette lightly shrugged. "I can't help it," she confessed, voice low. "I know he's strong and everything, but there's always someone stronger." She looked up at him. "Right?"

"I suppose that's true, too," Rider admitted. He folded his arms across his chest as he looked beyond the horizon. "But there are some people whose fates are peculiarly blessed. I believe he is one of those." He gazed down at her, confused by her demeanor. "Do you not?"

Lunette hugged her knees, face half-buried between them. "I don't know," she confessed. "I can tell there's something different about him. The way he challenges things head-on, his warped reasoning, and a quiet sort of charisma. I mean, it's not like Ms. Lightwood's domineering presence. You find yourself inspired by him, just like that... for no rea—" She reddened when she realized how long she'd been rambling. "B-but, still, many heroes are like that..." Her eyes dimmed as she muttered, "up till the moment they die."

"So, you fear his death?" A new voice called as its owner plopped down beside her. "Good. I will be the one to kill him."

A couple of days ago, and Lunette's reaction might have been bloody, but now, only a warm smile regarded the Chetah to her left. Over the past few days, Lunette had 'bonded' with the Chetah general. The wasteland was a terrible place, and they'd both had their fair shares of saving each other's lives. Somewhere along the line, Asha had divulged her past to the songstress.

Now, even though Lunette was still wholly against it, she reluctantly understood why Asha was so hostile towards Kashi. If Lunette herself didn't personally know the daeben, she might have hated him too. Or more accurately, what he 'represented.'

"And I have told you, I will not let you do that," Lunette lightly warned.

"You said you would change my mind," Asha remarked as she dipped her feet in the cold stream. She never wore shoes or boots. The downside to that was sometimes the hot sand could get unbearable. "You've failed so far."

"So far," Lunette re-iterated. "I haven't given up yet."

"I must concur with Ms. Falsetto," Rider said with an amused smile. "I need the daeben for just a little longer."

"But you cannot interfere, can you?" Asha pointed out.

"Not directly, no." Rider reluctantly admitted.

"We have a situation," a voice interrupted.

!!!

Lunette and Asha nearly jumped out of their skins. The former whirled around to face her brother. "Seriously, stop that. You'll give me a heart attack one of these days."

Shadow's reply was a small smile, though his eyes remained deadly serious. "We've got company. Hektor says they are the same guys that jumped Kashi."

Asha immediately sprung to her feet. Any pleasant image was gone, replaced by a daunting killer. "Distance?"

"Thirty minutes out," Shadow replied, even as she zipped past him. He cocked his head to face his sister, releasing a sigh at the cold, dark bloodlust that escaped her. How long would it be until she finally realized her true feelings? Rider's amused expression seemed to relay the same thought. "I'm off," Shadow announced as he turned to leave. Surprisingly, she was too angry to chant her usual 'be careful' line. Honestly, how long until she figured it out?

Shadow pulled his mask up to his nose and fingered the twin blades holstered at his back. In the end, it did not matter how long she remained clueless. He would protect and grant her wishes until he drew his last breath. That was his only mission in life. With these thoughts, the assassin melted into the night.

Rider watched Lunette switch to a beautifully crafted armor. Thin plates strategically rested on a flowing aqua blue dress that stopped just above her ankles. The air-like embroidery was as captivating as the feathery attachment that dropped from her waist just below her knees. Her feet donned what initially looked to be above-knee socks, but were skinny leather boots. Very light, but tougher than most metal. Aside from her voice, small throwing knives bound to her waist had become her new weapons.

The songstress exuded a deadly dose of beauty and terror, heightened by the glare in her eyes.

"Good luck," Rider called as she trudged past him.

"Thank you." Her voice was as distant as her mind. She was already playing the next hour over and over in her head. She would kill them all.

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Present Time

Second Under.

Four hours since Kashi's escape from the Coliseum, and Second Under was still un utter chaos. Dwarven men and women locked their doors as ghouls, and soldiers tore down stores and homes in an attempt to find the missing daeben. Caverns were scoured from top to bottom, and while they had seen several pieces of evidence of the daeben's presence, they were never able to pinpoint his location or ambush him. He always seemed to be a step ahead of them. But no matter, eventually he would tire out. When he did, they would find him.

Lord Froy stomped his way past a couple of guards into the second most protected 'room' in the entire mountain. He choked back the urge to throw up as the smell of rotting flesh assaulted his nostrils. He hated this place and tried his best to avoid coming down here altogether, but sometimes, he had no choice.

This was one of those times.

The ritual chamber served as an experimental base for all magitek discoveries, including the manipulation of souls. The walls were lined with the dead bodies of their test subjects, which the deranged physician swore were even more useful in death than they were in life. Several gemstones littered workbenches and stations, with magic circles etched into every conceivable corner of the room. Today's focus was the 7-foot full-body metal armor at the center of the room.

A very, very short man with his back to Froy was barking instructions at ghouls to get them to set the arm and feet correctly.

"Jerxas," Froy called. When the dwarf did not reply, he repeated with an impatient shout, "Jerxas!"

"What!?" yelled the man called Jerxas as he whirled around. His terrible visage always made Froy uneasy. His skin was molted with lumps all over his body. The most grotesque of which was one giant lump just above his right eye. His left eye was clouded white, burned like the rest of that side of his face during a mishap. For whatever reason, the physician refused to treat himself, thereby leaving his entire right jaw and cheek burnt off. "Oh, it's you," Jerxas spat, seemingly with disappointment. "What're you doing here?"

"Watch your tone dwarf," Froy warned. " I don—"

"I ain't a dwarf, pretty boy," Jerxas spat. "Me pa's an orc. A great one too. I take his side of the family. HAHAHA!"

So Jerxas claimed, but that complete disregard for others was as dwarven as it got. Froy knew better than to get into a contest of words with the mad dwa... Orkh... thing. "Nadir's dead."

"That why you're here?" Jerxas said with a disappointed shrug. "Fine. Was in the final testing phase anyway. Your toy might be useful for once." The dwarf had a terrible limp from a disjointed knee, one which was on full display as he bumbled over to a drawer. "Now where'd I put that kid." He flung out gemstone after another, all dark in color, with auras that were equal parts terrifying and powerful. "Ah, there he is," Jerxas pronounced as he lifted a gemstone the size of a young boy's fists. A dull glow emanated from the stone, somewhat sinister in appearance.

Jerxas barked at the ghouls, and they quickly stepped away from the armor. Thankfully, they had finished assembling it. The dwarf glanced at the soul-stone in his hand and shook his head in sorrow. What a pity. He'd had such grand plans for that armor too.

Sigh, well, orders were orders. A ghoul prostrated on the floor ahead of the armor, and Jerxas climbed onto its back. The mandalas etched into the walls glowed black, as he chanted something under his breath. If it was possible, at that moment, evil itself solidified into choking gas that caused many to fall to their feet.

Jerxas meanwhile was unfazed by the malice. With a roar, he slammed the gemstone against the armor's breastplate. A mana explosion knocked off the ghoul, and onto his backside. Subsequent curses gave way to a reluctant grin as black 'veins' of mana began to branch across the armor.

The armor was dyed in blood as the branches expanded. Its joints were welded shut by a miasma which leaked like effervescent gas from the suit. A thin line that made up the eye-holes on the helmet burst with black light, even as an otherworldly scream exploded from the helmet.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"He lives," Jerxas stated. He didn't look surprised. Nor was he. At this stage, things like this were child's play. The stuff they pulled off at HQ made this look like a parlor trick. Jerxas brushed his coat as he got to his feet. He approached the suit with the authority of a creator. "Oh, shut up, Nadir," he commanded in an exasperated tone. He was tired of these wailing stages.

The suit's wailing seized as it studied the man. "N-Nadir?"

"Yes, your name is Nadir," Jerxas confirmed. "You died rather stupidly. You're lucky you were wearing my amulet when you did. Diverted your soul this way."

"Grrr... Died... Grr... How?" Its growls resembled that of a beast as it struggled to maintain its intelligence. Its entire frame shook from the struggle.

An entirely pointless struggle.

"The daeben. Kashi," Froy explained. "He was responsible for your death."

"Ka—shi... Ka... Grrr... shi."

"That is correct. Now I need you to find him."

"Grrr... Grrrrr!!!" The monster within had begun to seize control. The suit shook violently as sanity and madness struggled for control. But this was a suit powered by a soul stone. There was only one winner from the beginning. "RAAAAR!" The suit kicked off hard as it prepared to escape from the room.

Four ghouls tried to intercept its charge. In a matter of a split second, only pieces of the ghouls remained. The suit itself was gone before these remains dropped to the floor.

"Leave him," Froy commanded. "Nadir will find the daeben. It is all he lives for now." More importantly, Froy himself had to report the current situation to Primate Ruse. His time was best spent finding a way to deceive the bastard. A failure on his part would result in his immediate death. He shot the dwarven physician a snide sneer, then exited the chamber with impatient haste.

"Hmph, pretty boy," Jerxas spat. "Hope I never see your ugly mug 'round here."

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Somewhere in Second Under, heavy breathing cut the silence of a hidden cave. Its owner groaned as he ripped out arrows from his back and arms. He quickly wrapped his arm with bandages. Unfortunately, the wound on his back would have to heal on its own.

Kashi rested against the wall, as he spared a glance at the girl sleeping beside him. Health potions and carefully wrapped bandages ensured her life was no longer in danger. But she had since succumbed to fatigue, which was good. She needed time to heal.

Meanwhile, it took everything Kashi had not to pass out. Chi release, coupled with the Draconic transformation left him drained of stamina and vitality. The hours he'd spent running while searching for a safe spot also left him mentally exhausted as well. The heat from molten lava and volcanic ash didn't help matters. He had no idea how generations of dwarves could live next to the sweltering heat. But he could not afford to give in. This entire territory was as of yet wholly alien to him. There was no way to estimate how long until a search party came their way.

Ah, shit. His plans were utterly screwed. Kashi had planned to gain as much information about this place as possible before he made a grand escape. He would have killed as many as possible and destabilized things too. But as fate would have it, he was running without a clear plan of attack.

Kashi's breath caught when Zuri sleepily opened her eyes. She 'seemed' to see him, or maybe not. He couldn't tell. Whichever it was, she crawled over and rested her head against his lap. With a satisfied smile, she murmured something inaudible then continued sleeping.

No, it wasn't fate. It was this girl. He had thrown away his plans to rescue this girl.

Why?

Kashi shook his head. It didn't matter why he did it. He had already made his choice. The only thing left was to follow through on that decision.

"Hahaha! So this' where you went."

Kashi stiffened, but immediately forced himself to relax. He couldn't afford to wake Zuri. Her unpredictability could get her killed. "You found us," Kashi said with a short laugh. "I was a fool to think I could shake you."

Zeing Ashqoj guffawed as he entered the cave. "This entire kingdom is my domain. You cannot hide from me." Zeing approached the daeben with a triumphant grin. "If you hadn't shattered my restraints, you might have gotten away. Tough luck, huh?"

Kashi sighed and banged his head against the wall. "Great."

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"Well, Froy, how are things?"

Froy stared at the flaming apparition. Usually, his heart raced whenever he had to report to this man. But not this time. This time, his heartbeat was steady, and his hands were relaxed by his sides. Even the temperature could not break a sweat on his forehead.

That's right. He was calm.

It didn't matter that this false bravado was the effect of a spell. If he were his jittery self, Ruse would sniff out his deceit. It was part of the reason he was so aptly named.

"We are still interrogating the daeben," Froy reported. Good, no reaction. The spell worked. Still, it wouldn't do only to tell lies. The best lies were those laced with truths. "He has so far refused to spill any of his secrets aside from what he told us on the first day."

"Where is he?" Ruse asked. "I wish to interrogate him myself."

"My Lord, I know you can detect lies, but I am afraid he won't even speak."

"Did I ask your opinion!?" The flames flared menacingly. Good, Froy thought. If he were enraged about something else, he wouldn't ask too much over the daeben.

"A-apologies, my lord," Froy apologized with a frantic bow. "It just so happens we have subjected him to various methods of torture, and he hasn't breathed a word. I doubt he would just talk."

The flames relaxed for a moment, as Ruse pondered on his words. "Fine. I admit you have a point." A pause. "I have decided. I will interrogate this daeben in person. The secrets of our god Razznik are too important."

The Primate was coming in person!? Froy blanched. That never happened. Primates very rarely left their positions as the loss of a single primate could heavily jeopardize the Order’s influence in an entire region.

To reduce information leakage, only Primates held the locations of all operations within a country. They also had the secret to the headquarters’ location. Losing a primate was the equivalent of tearing down all communication between bases.

"You look concerned," Ruse noticed. "Could it be you fear for my safety?"

"N-No," Froy replied calmly. Thank Razznik for these spells. Even though his insides felt like they were about to explode, he could maintain a calm exterior. "It is just a surprise to hear you wish to make an appearance in person."

Ruse laughed. "That's right. This will be our first meeting in person, won't it."

"Y-yes, my lord."

"I look forward to it. Please, do not disappoint me." The flames flickered. "Ah, that reminds me. Where is that lapdog of yours? I do not see him anywhere."

Froy's heart quickened as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. Shit, the spell was wearing off. "I sent Nadir to take the daeben where he belongs." Hell!

A long pause followed—a break which caused Froy's hands to shake with fright. The spell had worn off! Any more questions and he would undoubtedly be killed. "You will receive a message detailing my arrival shortly," said Ruse, much to Froy's relief. "I look forward to your fabled amphitheaters."

"Y-yes my Lord." Froy released a huge sigh once the flames dissipated. He had survived. But all it amounted to was buying time. If he could not catch the daeben in time, there was only one other option. He hurried out of the chamber, through a series of tunnels till he reached the dungeons.

Froy stopped in front of one and smirked at the magnificently beautiful creature trapped inside. "I had hoped to use you for something else," he mocked at the glaring bluish-green eyes. "But it would seem saving my life will have to suffice."

Lunette glared at her captor, lips pressed in a thin defiant smile. "If I do not end it first."

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Elsewhere, Kashi wearily opened his eyes. His body ached all over, but at least he felt well-rested. Oddly, rather than stone, the surface beneath him felt soft. After a few moments, tired eyes regained focus and his attention was drawn to the tapestry on the wall to his left. It seemed to have been crafted with colored straws which depicted the great Yggdrasil. Though his senses were gaining focus with each passing moment, the young daeben's mind was still muddled.

Where was he? How did he get here? And why did he feel like he forgot something important?

As Kashi tried to work his mind around these questions, he surveyed the room. The room was small and had just one window—a window that was shut and bolted. The bed was just a smooth rock extending from the wall. Almost like it had been carved out of one giant stone. The 'soft' feeling was from animal skins placed on the rock to make it a bit more bearable.

More than a few hunting tools sat by the opposite wall. At least Kashi didn't seem to be a prisoner if he was left with weapons.

Kashi got off the bed and strolled over to a table and chair beneath the window. Papers were littered around the table. Kashi picked one up. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be blueprints for crazy inventions. Pretty good ones too. Whoever owned this lodge was an impressive engineer.

Just then, the door swung open. The dwarf that walked in evoked Kashi's memories and once curious eyes suddenly expelled serious bloodlust. "Where is Zuri?"

Zeing Ashqoj scratched his cheek. "Why, good morning to you too, brat." His tone and lips were laughing, but his eyes definitely weren't. "Not even a thank you for your savior?"

Kashi blinked twice. "Savior?"

"You don't remember?" Zeing scolded. "I whacked you then brought you here. You'll be much safer here than in any of those caves."

Whacked? "You knocked me out!?" Kashi wailed.

"Well, I knew you'd complain otherwise," Zeing harrumphed with a shrug that said he really couldn't be bothered. "A patrol was coming. I didn't have time to argue with you. So I did it faster than you could react."

"How am I supposed to remember that!?" Kashi screamed but then stopped as a severe headache assaulted his brain.

"Calm down, elf," Zeing prompted. "You released too much chi at once. Your entire body's a mess."

Kashi massaged his temple. Determined to get some answers, he repeated his earlier question. "Where is Zuri?"

Zeing sighed. "Follow me." He backed out of the door, allowing the daeben to pass. He smiled at the look of wonder that replaced all the rage on Kashi's face. "Welcome to Second Under, Champion of the gods .”