I blink awake. Why is it so dark? I wave my right hand in front of my face, and the fingers vanish from view as they pass by the crest of my nose.

“I guess that part wasn’t a bad dream, huh?”

I feel over my right eye. A gauze bandage had been tightened over it. I suppose that explains the pressure, eh? The bandage depresses as my finger pushes where my eye had been, and yet I feel nothing more. As I set my hand down, something beneath my blanket stirs, as Clio pushes from out of the covers and licks me over my face.

I turn my head over to her.

“Hey, girl.”

Master awake! Master’s awake! Clio’s voice in my head sang.

“How long was I out for?”

Long time! Long time!

I push myself up to a sitting position and grab Clio to set her on my lap. She whines happily as I scratch behind her ears and scratch her chin. As the blanket falls from my body, it was only then that I was missing a shirt, and felt the weight of the Shard missing from my right wrist. I lift the dog off my lap and place her down on the bed beside me.

Leaving?

“No, not leaving.” I tell her. “Just... need to get up.”

As I push myself off the bed, dizziness swims through my head, and I almost fall back down to the mattress. I catch myself on the bed frame, and it scrapes against the wall. A moment later, a loud pounding came on the wall just beyond.

“Sorry.” I whisper hoarsely.

What time was it? I glance back and nearly stumble once again. It was hard maneuvering, with half of my vision obscured. Pink had begun to crawl up the skies over the distant, stretching eastern horizon. Early morning, then... wait, wasn’t I on the second floor?

I grab hold of the bed frame and turn myself around to steady myself as my feet grope for the ground. I glance around the room and head toward the door where the light switches sat on the wall. On the way there, my left knee slams against the bed, and once again it bumps against the wall, which draws another loud knock.

“Sorry.” I repeat myself, as I slowly walk across the room; sweeping my head from side to side.

Light floods into the room as I flip the switch. I cover my face until my eye adjusts to the light. I glance around the now lightened room. On an end table by the bed was the sheathed kris, sat on a sheet of paper and a pile of mail. Leaning against that same table was the cane that the mage that had pushed me to my limits had wielded.

A bag of clothes had been laid out on the table on the far side of the room. Where was the shoebox, the various documents that I had taken from the doors in an attempt to crack the language, and most importantly, my Shard? I bend down and glance under the bed. It wasn’t there. I walk over to the bag of laundry; making sure to keep my eye peeled to the ground, so I didn’t run into anything.

I pull out a black shirt from the bag and slip it on, and then dig through it. While doing so, I hear the lock on the door click. I turn around and steel myself.

“Who the hell forgot to turn off the lights?” A voice mutters from the other side of the door. “I bet it was Shawn. Fucking gorilla. Why do I have to do this? Why can’t Monica or Shawn, or Maria? Why is it always me?”

“Who are you? Why are you coming in here?” I call. “I’m armed.”

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The door swings open. Stepping through the threshold was a tired-looking man with large, round glasses, and a messy mop of dark hair, parted in the middle of his forehead.

“You’re awake?” The whole timbre of his voice changes from annoyed grumbling to a monotonous drone.

“Who the fuck are you?”

The man looks around.

“For how long?”

“Answer my question.” I keep my hand by the waistband of my pants in order to feign a holstered firearm.

“Did he have a gun?”

“Answer. My. Question.” I demand once again.

“I’m William, William Carol.” Came the matter-of-fact statement, “I’ve been the one tasked with looking after you.”

“Looking after me? How long was I out?” I move my hand away from my waistband.

“Nine days.” He states.

“Nine days? Really?”

“Yes.” William nods. “How are you feeling?”

“Confused, mostly. Hey, if you’re looking after me, are you also a...”

“A Chosen? Yes. A Shard bearer, like you.”

“Okay, so where’s my Shard? It was on my wrist.”

“Ah, we put that in the end table.” William points to the one by my bed. “How are you up? You still had tons of mana left to process yesterday.”

I shrug and walk over to the bed, once more ramming my leg against it as I pass.

“Oh, for FUCK’S sake!” Came a yell from just beyond the wall.

“Sorry.” I say again.

“... I’m going to make a call.” William says as he pulls his phone from his pocket and steps outside.

“Hello? Ortega, yeah, he’s awake. Yes, please tell the others.... I’ll ask. Of course...” He steps away from the door and his voice fades.

I sit down on the edge of the bed, and slide open the end table. The Shard had returned to it’s original state, and I hold it up on my right side. Text is already on it.

By learning about your patron, you have gained the abilities Fox’s Guile and Subversion.

As I finish reading it the white-gold text fades.

Due to your magic stat increasing over 50, your ability Familiar’s Contract has evolved to Soul-bound Contract, and you have gained the ability Quick Cast.

Over 50? How? I suppose that wasn’t a dream... Once more, the text fades. Quick cast sounds like it’ll be useful in the future.

Due to successfully opening communications with a god, you have gained +10 magic and the abilities Lightning Step and Bolt.

I shutter when I think back to that time in the aqueduct, and rage begins to bubble in me. What was Shawn thinking? At least we made it out. I’ll save that for later. For now, I probably had a few levels to invest. There were scores of Ratmen who died

“Can you show me my stats?” I ask the Shard.

Of course I can.

I wonder if Reynard’s mad at me. I suppose I just shut down his plans for revenge, but I wasn’t about to become a cold-blooded killer in order to settle a century’s long feud.

Occupation Adept Elementalist

Level 19 (139/2100)

Strength 18

Stamina 16

Perceptiveness 4

Intelligence 22

Creativity 20

Endurance 18(-2)

Magic 71 (+2)

Points 21

Most of my stats have increased exponentially, especially my magic stat. I was pleased with that, but the perceptiveness stat...once again it annoys me that it’s the only thing below 10.

“Can you invest 6 points into perceptiveness?”

The number increases to 7.

“I said 6, not 3.”

I glance down to my available points decreased to 15.

Due to your disability, it will take twice as many points to increase this stat.

Oh, that’s bullshit.

“...invest another 6 points, then.”

As the stat changes, I feel my eye, my inner-ears, and my nose burn. My nose? That’s new. The stink of my body becomes all the more apparent.

“... I really need to shower, don’t I? Maybe some other clothes.”

I divvy up the rest of my points; increasing my strength to 20, my stamina to 20, and my magic to 80. After all the burning passes, I push myself up off the bed and head to the restroom, and strip down; passing by myself in front of the wall hanging mirror. I stop. It was the first time I’ve seen myself since waking up. The gut that had once protruded out had vanished considerably, and I could see the beginnings of a muscular frame beginning to emerge, like a Grecian statue out of marble.

Most of the scars that I had gotten over the last few weeks were gone as well, and my skin looked remarkably smooth. No more did the aches and pains of the knife scars all along my back bother me, either. I turned around to see that those, too, had vanished. Was this the result of a greater healing spell or ability? I didn’t know. I’ll ask William, I suppose.

What drew my attention the most, however, was the yellowing gauze wrapped around half of my face. My fingers linger on it for a moment before I unwind the bandages. I blanche as I see the empty socket... I look away and stumble into the shower; taking the Shard with me.