Caster crawled out of the Zz’Wrath Monolith. His hands touched the muddy ground, and he cringed as the dirt and grime squished between each digit. He could even feel the earth getting stuck between his nails. Then he gasped.

I can… feel?

He squeezed his hands, grabbing two fistfuls of muck and grime. He raised himself to one knee, then slowly stood upright. He stared as the dirt began to fall out of the cracks between his fingers.

I can feel it!

Caster dropped everything he was holding and looked down at his hands once more.

Gross. He wiped the dirt off his loose black pants.

He flipped his hands around and looked over every inch of his mostly clean fingers. He flexed each digit, curling them into his palms to make two fists. The skin on this version of his body was very, very white. Vampire white.

Is this body alive? I’m not a corpse, am I? I don’t feel dead. I feel real! I feel like a human. I have hands. Yes!

He punched the air in victory, doing an awkward little victory dance as he wobbled in place.

What’s this? Caster grabbed something that loosely hung down over both sides of his neck and the middle of his face. Hair!? He leaned forward, shaking his head. The long strands of greyish silver shook wildly.

I need to see what I look like! Caster’s eyes darted around the area. The landscape was mostly muddy and dark, even though it was still midday. I must be near a river or something. He spotted a tiny body of water. It was no pool, and the amount pooled in the mud could only be about a barrel’s worth. But it was enough.

Caster raced toward the pool, his bare feet smacking the soil with every step. He slid to a stop and hunched over once more. The face that stared up at him was completely unfamiliar, but it reflected his movements right back. Am I… a girl?! The face was soft and round, but not overtly feminine. His eyes seemed to be a dim blue at first glance, but he couldn’t tell what their true color was based on the cloudiness of the water.

Caster grabbed his chest. Nothing? Flat but not muscular huh. Ah! The final test. Caster took a deep breath, pulled out the front of his pants, and winced with a downward glance. Look how the mirror massacred my boys… they didn’t make it. Wait for a second… I’m not a girl either!? Mirror!!! Caster bolted back toward the Zz’Wrath.

The structure was standing upright and looked identically to its design inside the Cosmic Center. Each of its identical trio of legs stood twice as tall as Caster. The ball in the center was the size of a wagon wheel. Caster ran directly into its aura, vanishing from the physical world.

Inside the void space that was the inside of the Zz’Wrath, Caster confronted the mirror.

“Mirror! Where are my boys?!”

The mirror didn’t respond.

I guess I did say to surprise me. Caster sighed. I guess it’s not that important right now anyway. But… a devious thought crossed his mind.

“Hey Yohg, are you still there?”

I am. Though, I most likely won’t assist you unless you are in battle. I do have a few other duties I must tend to after all.

“I just wanted to make sure, this mirror can turn me, or my vessel I guess, into anything I want to be right?

Anything, anyone, any time, any shape, any size.

Clever - Knowledge is Power, Activated! +1 Arcane

“Thanks!” Caster said. Yohg’s grey box disappeared.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Caster turned, his eyes narrowing as a grinch-style grin spread across his entire face.

“Mirror! I demand huge, and I mean some seriously massive, honken-badonken-dobonhonkeroo-” a sharp pain seized the entirety of his upper back, cutting his depraved monologue short.

“STOP! STOP! I regret everything I’ve ever done!” Caster wailed. The mirror did as he asked, and Caster’s chest returned to normal.

This is the most powerful technique in all of Perdita! I need to treat this mirror’s customization ability with respect, and caution. I’ll start with the basics and work my way from there.

“Mirror! Grant me a twelve-inch pianist!” Caster confidently put his fists on his hips, waiting for his demand to be met. Nothing happened – Caster checked to make sure.

A series of notes came from behind him. Caster whipped around to see a very small man in a fine tuxedo playing a happy-go-lucky melody on a very small piano.

Oh, it would help if I learned how to spell.

The man grinned and tipped his bowler cap toward Caster, then continued playing his merry song.

Forget it. I’ll play around with this stuff later. I’m not here for fun, I’m here to save the world! I think. Caster stepped out of the Zz’Wrath once more.

Looking around the place he’d landed, he realized something.

This isn’t a lake… Caster looked toward the water he was using as a mirror. The water had been flowing from a large cask on the back of a collapsed wagon. Around the wagon, were at least a dozen bodies, all wearing heavy steel armor.

This is a battlefield! Caster’s eyes darted left and right. There had to be hundreds, no, thousands of recently slain bodies that littered a huge expanse of grey around him. The was sloping downward, with the Zz’Wrath standing in the middle.

Did… did the Zz’Wrath kill all these people when it landed?

Caster was petrified.

I could have sworn that I picked a desolate spot on the planet to land in. It looked equally as distant from the other four nations as possible. There shouldn’t be anyone here!

“By the Gods… it was him,” the shaking voice of the woman said. Caster whipped around to see a crowd of people staring back at him.

When he did this, each of them flinched, most gasped. All were frozen in terror.

“What? I didn’t kill anyone, I just got here!” Caster tried defending himself.

Crap! They think I killed all these people on purpose!

“I told you! Right as the Braxton knights were loading their catapults, he landed in the middle of them all within that thing!” A boy with scruffy, short hair shouted, letting the other dozen in his huddle group know.

How did he guess that?! I don’t think I’m talking my way out of this one.

“Abel’s right! The thing killed them all before the battle even began. Phoebe’s prayers saved us! The Old Gods refused to answer us. Yet the Elder Gods heard our prayers and delivered us from evil at the last moment!” The middle-aged man that was speaking at the front of the group fell to his knees.

“Forgive this wretch for doubting you, oh Great One! You have saved us!” He said, bowing his head toward Caster.

What. Caster started at them in silence.

“Don’t just stand there! Bow to the messenger sent from the Elder Gods!” The man looked back toward his ground. Immediately, they all bowed in reverence and terror.

What.

Not one of them dared to move. As they were still, Caster came to a realization.

There’s a village, up there right over the rim of the crater the Zz’Wrath made. These knights were all heavily armed, and it looks like their equipment is facing this way. Caster spotted the mangled remains of one of the catapults nearby. Was this village about to be destroyed? Why? These villages are all wearing dirty rags. Most of the men don’t even have shirts. What’s going on here? I know, I’ll try to calm them down first.

“I’m not a messenger from the Elder Gods,” Caster finally spoke.

The crowd flinched. From the middle, one of the women slowly raised her head. She was shaking uncontrollably, and her forehead was dirty from the mud that mixed with her sweat. Something in her gaze made Caster nervous. Her huge brown eyes weren’t looking at him, they were looking at his soul.

“He speaks the truth,” she said, her voice a trembling whisper. Half of the crowd looked toward her in shock. “I have never, witnessed an Essence so… overwhelming before. It casts a shadow to the other side of the village!” Her voice cracked. The crowd didn’t move an inch.

“He is not their messenger. He IS an ELDER GOD!!!” The woman said.

Technically, I’m an Avatar but-

The entire crowd burst into hysterical screams. Some cried and rolled into the fetal position. Others screamed in agony while clawing at their faces. Only the woman remained still, staring at him.

I’ve gotta do something quick!

“STOP, STOP!” Caster demanded. He’d mustered up more confidence than he’d ever had before and cast his voice over the crater. His words echoed.

An immediate and total stillness fell over them. Not a soul moved from its position.

“Don’t be afraid! I’m not here to harm anyone!”

The crowd slowly looked at him. A mixture of confusion and childlike wonder filled their eyes.

These people seem insane, but I need to calm them down before I scold them for being so extreme. What would a real Elder God say?

“It is true, I have heard your prayers! Long have the weak and downtrodden of these lands waited for the blessing of strength to come their way. Heed my words, you meek and weary who were plundered and so easily forgotten… I HAVE RETURNED.”

Caster stood proud, pausing to maximize dramatic effect.

“I AM CASTER, THE MINIONBORN.”