Fria leaned against the barn wall, never taking her eyes off the hooded woman.

“Well,” Fria said, nodding at the sword in the woman’s hands. “We’re alone now. So talk.”

She walked to a nearby crate and eased herself onto it. “As you’ve realized, this is indeed Radrick’s blade.” She laid the length of enchanted steel across her lap.

A tightness grew in Fria’s chest. Radrick had been given that sword by the Goddess Ofnia herself, and nothing but death could part him from it.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Fria could feel the tears coming as she said the words, but she held them back.

The woman’s grip tightened on the blade’s handle. “He died fighting.”

Fria almost laughed. “How fitting.” The last time she saw her brother, he left on some kind of quest. He told her he would return, that his objective was given to him by his patron God. That nothing would keep him away forever.

Liar.

“I am sorry,” the woman said, her voice soft as a summer breeze.

“Don’t be.” Fria crossed her arms over her chest, her hands clenched into fists. “I always knew this would happen. Ever since he joined those damned Justicars. They never did my family any good, and now they’ve gone and taken my brother away from me.”

“They are not to blame for this,” the woman said, a hand reaching up to clasp the frosted edge of her hood. “I am.”

She threw the hood back, revealing her mop of curly, golden hair. It radiated light, the warm tones nearly reflecting off her milk pale skin.

“Ofnia,” Fria mumbled, staring into the Goddess’ crystal blue eyes. “Once I saw my brother’s sword, I figured it was you.”

“Really?” Ofnia’s face drew into a visage of puzzlement. “You are rather calm, given that you’re speaking to a God.”

Fria half chuckled, half sighed. “I know what you really are.” She pulled herself from the wall, anger swelling in her veins. “You’re not a God. Not really.”

“Oh?” Ofnia drew upright. “Then what am I?”

“Just a human,” Fria answered, remembering all the things Darian told her. “Someone pulled from earth by the system. You were called Aspirant once. But you fought the others until only you remained.” She stepped forward, sadness and rage battering her soul. “You stand atop their bodies and call yourself a God. But a creature from another world, that’s all you really are.”

Ofnia, to Fria’s surprise, smiled. “It worked,” she whispered, her eyes glistening. “It worked.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Radrick did it.” Ofnia lunged off the crate, her grin widening into a mad smile. “I thought perhaps he failed, but you used an inventory, I saw it. Yet a part of me still didn’t believe.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “But the summoning must have worked for you to know my true nature.” She looked around. “The Aspirant, where are they?”

Fria took a back step. “The summoning?”

Whatever happiness had seized Ofnia faded, and she calmed herself. “Yes. Radrick’s final quest was to retrieve a conduit. I needed it in order to summon someone special to this world. When I received the notification that…that he’d died, I thought he must have never reached it. But if an Aspirant was summoned to you, then he must have.”

“No one was summoned to me,” Fria said, starting to feel a little dizzy.

Ofnia didn’t seem convinced. “You are a companion, are you not?”

Fria thought about lying, but what good would that do? She leaned against the wall and absently pat Zan on the head. “I am.”

“Then you must have met an Aspirant.” The Goddess began to pace back and forth, her boots crunching on the barn floor. “Maybe they weren’t summoned right to you?” She stopped. “Your father, was the Aspirant summoned to him?”

“He’s dead,” Fria replied, sliding down the barn wall. “Now he and Radrick have both left us.” She pulled her knees up to her chest. She no longer had the strength to fight back the tears.

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Ofnia frowned. “I am…sorry.” She approached Fria slowly. “We only met briefly during his time in the Emerald Branch, but he was a good man. I know he loved his children dearly.”

“Stop with the fake sympathy,” Fria said.

“Nothing about my grief is fake,” Ofnia replied. “Because you see…your brother and I…we were…he was my companion.”

“Yeah, I figured that out already.” Fria lay her forehead against her knees. Zan lay down beside her, his head resting on her leg.

“What I mean to say,” Ofnia squatted and lay a hand on Fria’s shoulder. “Is that your brother was everything to me.”

Fria felt her emotions being soothed, calming as if some balm had been applied directly to her soul.

“Stop,” she commanded, scooting away. “Don’t use magic on me.”

“I only meant to ease your suffering,” Ofnia said, pulling her hand back. “I’m sorry.”

Fria looked up, a barbed word on her tongue, but she paused. The Goddess’ face was a wet ruin. Tears streaked down her face, and her body jerked as she began to sob.

“I’m sorry,” she said, doing her best to wipe away the tears. “But to know that Carn is dead, that my so—” she stopped herself. Then, after taking a deep breath, she regained her composure. “My feelings come secondary to the mission.” She looked into Fria’s bewildered eyes. “If Radrick found the conduit, then he must have forced a summoning. To do this, he would have needed to give his life as payment.”

“So he died in order to bring an Aspirant to this world?” Fria asked. “Why would he do such a thing?”

“Because without a new champion, humanity will fall.” Ofnia’s face grew ridged, any sign of weakness washed away in an instant. “And the demon God Atarax was busy making his own plans. He would have used the conduit to further his campaign of destruction. And no matter what, we could not allow that to happen.”

Fria pulled Zan closer, the wolf’s warm fur bringing her a small measure of comfort. “I did meet an Aspirant. He found me in the forest after…after my father died. He saved my life.”

“Normally if someone is summoned to this world, they will appear before the summoner,” Ofnia explained. “But since Radrick gave his life as payment, the person he summoned would appear near his closest relatives. Those who not only shared blood with him, but a deep bond. And since you and your father were together, the conduit most likely chose one of you as the ‘summoner’.”

“Darian ended up in that forest, because we were there?”

Ofnia grinned. “So, the Aspirant’s name is Darian?” She once again peered around the desolate barn. “And where is this Darian now? I have much to discuss with him”

“Gone,” Fria replied, peering at the moon through a crack in the wall. “Gone and hopefully seeing the world, just like he wanted.”

***

Darian lowered the satyr to the floor, his stomach churning. I think I’m going to be sick.

“Very good,” Palintross said, stepping around the comatose body of a deer and rabbit. “Now we wait.”

Stumbling to the side, Darian vomited into the drain.

“It appears fey blood does not agree with him.”

Raphael’s hand clasped Darian on the shoulder. "Easy,” he said. “Perhaps you drank too much?”

Ever since his race evolved into [Vampire], Darian’s hunger for blood was nearly endless. He could drink and drink and never be truly sated. Yet the fey blood after only a few moments burned within him, stinging his insides like milk used to do in his old body. And we ended up discovering I was lactose intolerant. He glared at the bright blood flowing down the drain. Seems like this could be something similar.

“Will he be alright?” Darian asked, wiping the spittle from his mouth.

Raphael looked down at the satyr. “Most likely. But just to be sure.” He waved a hand, and the satyr’s body was enveloped in a swirling mix of shadow and light.

“What did you do?”

“Same thing I did to your paladin friend before I pulled that bolt out,” Raphael answered. “I used my unique skill, Delay Judgment on him. The next time he takes lethal damage, he will be invulnerable for thirty seconds. That will give the healers enough time to save him, if need be.”

Darian had wanted them to heal the satyr right after he had finished draining him. He knew from the cow in Fria’s village that healing someone suffering from blood loss would help them quickly recover. But Palintross thought it might mess with the process of creating vampires, so they were holding off for now.

“That’s a powerful skill,” Darian remarked.

“My build is one primarily geared toward support,” Raphael said. “There are many ways I can prevent someone from dying. This is but one of them.”

His head beginning to cloud, Darian nearly took a tumble to the floor.

“You must rest, friend.” Raphael said.

Darian looked over the sleeping bodies on the floor. There were six of them in total. Four were forest animals, one a seagull, and the last a satyr man named Theo.

“We will keep an eye on them while you sleep,” Raphael assured. “Please rest. We will have much more to do tomorrow.”

“My maids will show you to a room,” Palintross said, casting an annoyed glance in Raphael’s direction.

But Darian didn’t care. He needed sleep and he needed it now. “Thanks,” he mumbled, shuffling for the exit.

Before he left, he looked over his shoulder. If he could turn animals into vampires, completing his quest would be easy. But he knew more challenges would be ahead, regardless of the outcome. But I’ll be ready for them.

With renewed resolve, Darian followed Palintross down the tunnel, his mind readying itself for what was to come.