As the group drew nearer and nearer towards the guild hall, it appeared as though his hatred and anger began to subside the closer they got. Not wanting to provoke him now that he seemed to be calming down, the trio decided to leave him be for now. However, after arguing with Baz about it, they agreed to discuss what had happened and figure out why it had later.

As the afternoon began to shift to evening, the group arrived at the guild hall. As they entered the hall, Aislin happened to be taking care of some plates that she ended up dropping. Seeing the party enter the hall covered in blood was a minor shock. “What the hell…” Aislin said in a calm tone, trying to process the scene before her. “You three, go out back and wash up before Adria gets back here,” Aislin began again as she gestured at the boys, not wanting to have them stand in the guild hall covered in blood. She continued, “Aisha, come with me to the back room and tell me what happened while I tend to your wounds.”

As Baz, Mylon and Zycor cleaned themselves up, not one of them spoke a word. Despite Baz and Mylon having questions, they restrained themselves when they saw the devastated expression on Zycor’s face. When they re-entered the guild hall, Aislin and Aisha were waiting for them. The boys could tell they were in for a long discussion the moment they saw Aislin.

Thirty minutes earlier… “Well, you lasted much longer than I had initially anticipated. I suppose congratulations are in order.” Adria chuckled sarcastically, walking towards the now bruised, battered, covered in blood and incapacitated Volnir.

He looked as though he had been to hell and back. His left arm was broken along with his right leg, multiple lacerations across his chest, and nearly his entire body was one large bruise. Volnir groaned, “I knew you were strong, but this is ludicrous, you monster .”

The lush grassland fields they had been in before had now become nothing more than a wasteland full of large craters and upheaved earth in a half mile radius. The thick dust clouds scattered throughout the area had begun to settle, revealing more clearly the scarred land. However, in contrast to the state Volnir, his compatriots, and the land was in, Adria had nary a scratch nor torn piece of clothing. “Well,” Adria began, “I don’t think calling a lady a monster is very charming, you know.”

Stopping above Volnir, Adria extended her upper right hand towards him and continued, “Any last words? Not that I care, I will forget them right after this anyways, so I suppose it does not matter.”

Volnir began to chuckle. Adria, confused, responded, “Laughter? Far be it from me to judge how a dying man spends his last moments, regardless of how odd it may be.”

Volnir looked at Adria with his remaining strength and weakly spoke, “Are you sure you should have spent all of your time toying with me and ignoring my subordinates? I managed to send one into the town to take care of that boy when the fight started. Lucky for me, you got cocky and figured you would hunt him down later.”

Adria’s eyes widened and she quickly looked back towards the city. “If I were you,” Volnir continued, “I would get going and hope I was not too late. Though, seeing how much time you have wasted here, I would not be surprised if all that was left was a corpse! Haha!”

Adria clenched her hands and screamed in anger as she vanished in an explosion that shattered the ground as she propelled herself forward, blitzing towards the city. Now left alone, Volnir struggled to his feet while he muttered to himself, “I’m glad I sent that soldier ahead. It is good to have contingency plans.”

After finishing his comment, he began to walk away from the city in search of a place to recover.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

As Aislin finished her lecture, she told Baz and Mylon to go back to their inn. Aislin sighed and began to complain, “Jeez, what the hell am I going to tell-,” Before she could finish her thought, the sound of the guild doors being blown open cut her off as Adria stood in the entrance. “Adria…” Aislin finished.

Adria frantically looked around the room and locked onto Zycor. She dashed over and began to hug him tightly. “You’re ok… You’re ok… You’re… ok…” Adria repeated as she began to softly cry. “I am so glad you are ok,” She continued, “if you died… I don’t know what I would have done.”

Having never felt as though she was loved, nor feeling love towards someone else before, Adria was at a loss. She had never had a bond so strong, and by extension, neither had she been so close to losing that bond. Aislin and Aisha stood in shock, never having seen Adria like this before. “H-hey,” Aislin began, “are you ok there Ms. Mori? I-I don’t think I have ever seen you cry.”

Noticing the few tears on her face, Adria released Zycor and swiftly composed herself as best she could. “I’m ok now. I was just… worried.” Adria replied.

After a short silence, Adria continued, “Well, I think it’s time for a drink… or five. Are you joining Aislin?”

Aislin shrugged, “I’m always down for some booze. Let’s sit in the back and talk, what do you say?”

Adria nodded and walked into the kitchen area to retrieve some liquor while Aislin headed into the back room to prepare a place for them to sit.

After Adria retreated into the back room with Aislin, Aisha and Zycor found themselves alone in the massive guild hall. Uncertain as to what to say, they both sat in silence for a while. As Aisha went to excuse herself, Zycor stopped her before she could, asking to talk. Aisha, still being cautious after what happened earlier, hesitantly agreed. “I’m sorry, Aisha.” Zycor began, “I don’t know what came over me today. The dream I had may have had more of an impact than I originally thought. But now that I am back here, I feel more like myself.”

Aisha, hearing something that could give her answers, asked, “What dream?”

Zycor hesitated for a moment, but then opened up to her. He told her about Mister X, all of their previous encounters, and what happened during their most recent meeting.

The two sat in an awkward silence for a while. Beginning to believe he may lose his friend due to how out of his mind he must sound, Zycor quickly retracted his statement, “A-actually… forget all of that. It’s not important, so just forget I said anything.”

“How could I just forget about something that serious?!” Aisha responded.

Uncertain if she truly believed him or not, Zycor asked, “You… believe me?”

Aisha, pushing through her embarrassment, grabbed his hands, looked him in the eyes, and adamantly replied, “Of course I believe you!”

Zycor gave a small smile as he thanked Aisha, “I appreciate that, It means quite a bit to hear that.”

“Of course,” Aisha began, “You don’t lie. Actually, I don't think you are biologically capable of it. Whatever has happened to you is serious, and this Mister X guy sounds like bad news. It also sounds like he is most likely the one responsible for why you seem to be acting weird. But the question is, why do you seem fine here?”

After giving it some thought, Zycor’s eyes widened as he muttered, “Egg…”

Zycor shot out of his seat and began to rush to his room. “Where are you going?!” Aisha shouted as she got up to follow him.

When she finally caught up with him, he was standing in the doorway to his room, staring at his bed. She walked up behind him and peeked over his shoulder. Scanning the room, she noticed a massive egg on his bed. “Zycor, where did you find that egg?” Aisha asked.

Approaching the egg with Aisha right behind him, Zycor replied, “In the dungeon… It was given to me.”

Aisha, deeply invested, leaned forward and curiously inquired, “From who?”

Zycor, remembering the girl he met and what she told him, replied, “The goddess.”

Before Aisha had a chance to process what he said, Zycor dropped to his knees and threw up. Due to the proximity of the egg, Zycor’s morality was heightened and an intense panic took over. Until that moment, he had not fully acknowledged that he took someone else's life. Not only that, but he brutalized their body. “Hey! Zycor! What’s wrong!” Aisha yelled, “Adria! Aislin! Help!”

The last thing he saw as he passed out was Adria and Aislin barging into the room.