Phoebe coughed feebly, watching tiredly as blood splattered the ground in front of her. She should probably be freaked out at that, but the idea she might be dying didn’t really mean anything to her at this point.

Pain flared and blinded her for a moment, as something struck behind her head and crushed her skull into the ground. The rocky surface breaking at the force, making her scream again. Couldn’t the damn thing simply be done with her?

As she felt it pull back to hit her again, Phoebe closed her eyes, welcoming in the end. Instantly a brilliant light flooded the cavern, blinding her even with her eyes shut, and the ground became something living - writhing and ripping. Tearing itself up, rising up and causing her to fall backwards.

Phoebe’s eyes opened tiredly, as she found herself falling through the air and staring up at the cavern floor that was suddenly revealed not to be stone at all.

The creature blinked slowly, still waking, as Phoebe gave a small and bitter laugh. The great Guardian of Shadows, was another freaking dragon. She’d been getting beaten into his scales.

Her fall suddenly dropped to the softest landing. Like drifting lazily into a pillow of cotton clouds. Phoebe blinked in confusion, as she found herself suddenly not dying. She reached up and touched the side of her head with a hiss and a wince as she touched the sharp spot that was definitely bleeding.

The softness around her laid her down on a bed of bright green and glowing grass, before a snorting breath billowed through her hair and Phoebe found herself staring into an orange eye that was as big as she was tall.

She smiled weakly, “Guess… You saved me. Thanks.”

“There are few who can survive those who guard this chamber.”

She held up a hand, “Nope, no. Gonna stop you right there. I am not a fucking hero. I just want to get home. I want to see Marcy, and I want to laugh like this bullshit never happened.”

He gave another rumbling laugh, and the gigantic head turned a little, lifting the snout to point across the room. Phoebe winced as she saw Gruna being held by four statues, as the orc still tried to walk across the floor towards her.

“Yeah… She’s with me.”

“She fights for you.”

Phoebe shrugged, “Yeah? I… I like her. I’d fight for her, if I could. If I wasn’t some idiot. I’m just an unlucky bitch. You need your horde tabulated? Great! I can run the numbers. Even work out how much tax you probably owe. I am not a fighter.”

The beast turned back to her, and she could swear the lizard cracked a smile. Bright teeth shone in the cave, and it leaned up again. Towering over her and everything else before speaking in its thunderous voice.

“You, I find worthy. True of heart. One willing to face their deepest fear. Knowing their darkest desire.”

Phoebe blinked, whispering, “I have dark desires…?”

The dragon glared down at her, and Phoebe suddenly swore as she found herself in a room that was completely black, save for the little ball of blue flame floating nearby.

Show your resolve.

Phoebe pushed herself to her feet, the flame bobbing as it matched her, and she looked around sourly. “I did tell you, that I ain’t a psycho fighter, right? Gruna’s the rage you want. I cannot fight a war for anyone! Not me, or anyone else. I’m not a Navy SEAL in disguise or any shit!”

A woeful scream right out of a horror movie hit her in return, and Phoebe stared for a second as she saw something rip out of the ground like it was tearing through a black skin, being rebirthed into the world, before a bloody bag of twisted bones and torn muscles started to sprint towards her.

Show your resolve!

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Fuuuuuck!” Phoebe screamed as she ran the exact opposite direction.

Her feet pounded across a surface she couldn’t see, that felt like some kind of rough sand. The darkness of the floor was rising up, like a mist threatening to swallow her whole. She could hear more screams, as more of the things tore their way out of the ground and began to run towards her.

She was running without a direction, without a way out. She didn’t even know if where she was actually existed. The disembodied voice asking her not to be a coward screamed of fantasy world testing, but she just… Couldn’t.

This wasn’t her. She was a no one. Not a hero, not a witch. She was just someone who was dumb enough to fall in love with an orc, getting her heart stuck between two worlds.

You must choose.

Phoebe burst into tears as she kept running, hearing the monsters getting closer, getting faster. She had to choose to stay in a world that was seriously fucked up, but had the woman she adored, or she could go home. Go back to Marcy and laughing about bad coffee and bad dates.

Choose!

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Phoebe swore, and skidded to a stop.

She wasn’t brave, this wasn’t her. She turned around very slowly, bracing and staring at the dozen or so bloody things screaming towards her and raised her hands weakly, “Damn it. I wish I was a Wick.”

The things didn’t even slow, and she wasn’t actually sure if they saw her, let alone saw her as a threat. There was something far worse about them, something instinctive, and she had to say it, demonic.

Phoebe forced herself to keep her eyes open to the last second, before blindly punching. Her fist hit something solid, but soft. Plunging into it with a cracking and tearing noise, as warmth covered her knuckles for a moment.

She pulled back, and went to hurl, when the unaffected red thing in front of her disappeared in a blur of black and blue. The other shuffling things spun to follow the trail - some of them being flung into the air as others vanished.

A monstrous growl sounded out, snarling and snapping, as each and every one of the things was ripped apart. Disappearing into pieces and splashes of red before falling into the black mist.

Phoebe’s hands clapped to her mouth, as the cause walked ever so slowly towards her. The shoulders of the wolf rippled with a strength she couldn’t imagine, eyes and fur burning with a blue flame.

It towered over her, looking down with a snarl.

“Sh-shit.” Phoebe nearly lost control of her bladder.

The wolf let out a howl that made every hair stand on end, before dropping down onto the ground and looking up at her whilst the tail wagged into a flaming blur.

She blinked, and then glanced sideways and back, “Oh my god. Oh my god! Yes! Yes, you did a good job! Good boy!”

The wolf snuffled happily as Phoebe dropped and rubbed her hands all over its head. Still lost in the disbelief that her flame had somehow become a dire wolf at the very last moment and saved her life.

The black mist slammed into the ground violently, and Phoebe found herself back in the cavern, with her flaming dire wolf still in her arms. The black dragon leaning over her, and Gruna still struggling against the statues - until she saw the wolf.

Gruna stared in disbelief, and Elion dropped from a hidden point on the ceiling, putting away his bow.

“You have chosen.”

There was a crack, and a distant vertical stripe of light appeared as the cavern broken open. The Guardian turned and shuffled before lying back down to go back to sleep. Waiting for the next destiny entangled event.

Gruna turned and punched one of the statues hard enough to break the head free of the body, before walking over towards Phoebe and her new pet slowly.

Phoebe grinned up at her, “Isn’t it cute? I think… I think I summoned it? Some crazy shit. But it’s so cute! And it loves me.”

The wolf rolled to its feet and let out a threatening growl towards the orc. Phoebe punched it in the shoulder, which didn’t seem to do much. “Oi. She’s a friend. We like Gruna, okay?”

The wolf growled again.

“I said, okay!”

The wolf dropped into a sitting position with a huff, and looked away from Phoebe. She shook her head and shrugged, “Sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever trained a dire wolf before. Had a puppy, once. It was a Golden Retriever. Not exactly the same.”

Gruna shook her head and looked over at her, “I should punish myself. I had doubted that you might face such a task as this. I did not expect precisely this solution, to be certain. Yet… You faced something that I could not.”

“Still not happy about the whole destiny thing.” Phoebe shrugged, before stepping forward and taking both of the orc’s hands. She lifted the recently bruised and battered knuckles and kissed them lightly. “But… I’m staying. I’m going to miss my friends. My life. But I’m staying… For you. If you’ll have me.”

“Can holy knights even hook up?” Elion yawned from nearby, “And unless the two of you are planning to bone, we should get a move on. That portal shit ain’t going to stay open forever.”

“Portal? It’s a portal.” Phoebe spun and stared at the distant crack, “If it’s a freaking portal, can’t you just send me the fuck home instead of this hero shit?”

The Guardian pulled in tighter and flopped a heavy wing over its head.

She rolled her eyes, “Oh, you dick.”

“Portal. Closing.” Elion reminded them.

Gruna sighed heavily, and began to walk, stretching her arms, “This is true. Come along, Phoebe. Let us see what it is the ancients so demand of you, so that we might subvert their expectations.”

The wolf shook itself off, before throwing its head into the back of Phoebe’s legs and tossing her onto its back. The creature walking along calmly towards the portal. Albeit also walking through Elion and knocking him off his feet.