We spent most of the day training, which was more of me getting punched by a professional boxer without padding while I tripped over my feet or launched into an out-of-control leap through the air by pushing too hard with my legs.

I let out a groan as I rolled over. Shadara’s last punch left me switching my vision back to normal. How did she hit me so hard that my vision switched to thermal?

“Ready for another round,” Shadara’s voice floated to me from a few paces away. Her steps were as light as the smile on her face.

I know she’s trying to help me, but why does she have to look like she’s enjoying this so much?

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for this,” I grumbled, slowly staggering to my feet. “Give me a second. You messed up my eyes with that last one.”

Shadara’s predatory grin softened. She walked over and held out a hand. “You did manage to dodge most of my punches that time. You’re doing better than you think. When you pivoted, you stopped too hard for too long. Try to be lighter on your feet.”

“Being light on my feet is impossible. If I try, all I do is push too hard and unbalance myself.” I rubbed my sore cheek, which was quickly being healed by my nanites. “How do you manage to hit so hard?”

She flexed her arm and squeezed her bicep. “It’s all about control, and I have three hundred and sixty power. You’ve got the speed, but zero control. But there also seems to be something else. You’re thinking too much.”

I dusted myself off. “That’s because my brain is still trying to keep up with my body. It’s getting better. You were starting to slow down there at the end.”

“One more round; this time let’s see if you can punch me.” Shadara stepped back and gestured for me to get into position. “Try not to use that blade of yours. This is supposed to be a friendly spar after all.”

Says the woman who knocked my vision into a whole other spectrum. I chuckled as I shook my head and steadied myself. My focus was on making smaller, controlled movements, suppressing the urge to let the synthetic muscles take over and launch me into the air again.

Shadara moved in first, her motions fluid yet controlled. Her punches were like watching an action movie where they were slowed down for effect. I easily sidestepped the first punch, but her body twisted, and she started bringing up her leg to kick me. I took two steps back out of reach.

I took the chance to punch her in the face for the first time. As my fist collided, it was like I was hitting a brick wall. She just smirked as she continued to spin. One moment, I thought I’d managed to win our little game, and the next, I was sprawled on the ground, staring up at the sky. My face was yet again, pulsing with pain.

Shadara walked up to me, clapping. “Well done. But remember, just because someone is wounded, that doesn’t mean they’re finished.” She tapped the spot where I punched her. “And was that all you could hit me with? That wasn’t much of a punch.”

I decided I didn’t want to get up again. “My power is sixty-five. My attack power is supposed to scale with my toughness, but it seems that doesn’t cover the whole story.”

Shadara chuckled, offering a hand to help me up. “You’ve got one very confusing system going on.” I ignored her hand. I’m done getting punched. “How do you have your attacks scale off defense?”

I raised my arm and tapped the metal. “My metal skin. Yes, it’s my actual skin.”

Shadara sat down next to me. “I take it you’re done?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I don’t want to get punched in the face yet again.” I turned and glared at her. “It’s not as much fun for me as it is for you.”

She chuckled and stood up. “Come on, let’s go see if we can leave this hellhole.” She offered me her hand again. “You’re getting the hang of it now, and we’ll be good to go. I believe you’ll be able to get us out with your speed now.”

“Thanks,” I replied, taking her hand and pulling myself upright. “I appreciate you not asking too many questions right now.”

Shadara waved her hand. “You already promised me that you’ll tell me when you’re ready. I’ll hold you to that.” She then sat down on a rock. “Before we go, do you mind if we take a quick break to eat?”

“All I’ve got are the potions, so no eating, only drinking.” I pulled out a meal potion from the bag of holding. I also pulled out some water, remembering she needed to dilute hers. “Here.”

She took the two bottles and pulled out one of her own. She filled it with a fifth of the meal potion and the rest with water. One part potion, two parts water. “Thanks. I don’t know how you can so readily consume so many potions. Yes, you said you need way more calories than a regular person. But to drink so much food, doesn’t it get bland?”

I took out another two meal potions to cover for the energy used from healing all of her punches and my tripping. “Honestly, eating is starting to lose its appeal. Although, it’s been a while since I had some good-tasting food. But if I have to eat thirty or forty meals, each time I eat, I’d spend my entire day eating.” I held up a potion. “These are just more efficient.”

Shadara frowned. “Bleak, but understandable. So much of life can be enjoyed through the taste of wonderful and exotic foods.”

I frowned and stared into the empty potion bottle I just drank. My heart sank as I remembered Killa’s wish. “That was her wish,” I mumbled. Shadara’s ears twitched. “That was Killa’s whole reason for coming to the Nexus; she wanted to be able to taste what she ate.”

The panther woman grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up such a painful memory.”

I placed a hand over my heart. “It’s fine. It’s something I’ve still got to come to terms with.” I put the empty potion bottle in my pack and slumped my shoulders. “But you were right; I shouldn’t take things like being able to taste and eat for granted. I should do what I can to enjoy them while I can.” Because I don’t know how long that’ll last.

Shadara slapped her knees as she stood up. “Alright, Miss Raincloud. Let’s go.”

I followed my friend until the world around us shifted, and I found myself back at the entrance of the sphinx’s trial. Wordlessly, we walked into the cave. Shadara kept glancing over at me. I didn’t feel talkative anymore.

As we walked further into the dark, I paused to switch my vision to terahertz, only to see Shadara fumbling through her pouches. “Where did I put that…” She pulled something out of one of them. “Found it. Light, please.”

I returned my vision to normal and found that in the panther woman’s hand was a glowing white rock, giving us some light. “That’s handy.”

She winked at me. “Every adventurer needs to have some way to see in the dark. While yes, my ability to see in dim lights is better than most, I still need some kind of light. This total darkness stuff is a little problematic.” She dug through another one of her pouches and pulled out a leather strap.

I watched her put the stone in a little cradle made within the strap and tie it around her head. “You look ridiculous. That flashlight is really out of place for you.” I couldn’t hold back the laughter. “A cat lady needs a flashlight. That’s a new one.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Shadara leaned forward, her hands on her hips. “Oh, and you can see just fine in this darkness? I know how you humans struggle even in the dim moonlight.”

I shook my head and waved my hand while still laughing. “Nope, I can see just fine in this darkness. Even without any light. I can also see the temperatures of stuff.”

Shadara flinched. “How?”

I calmed down and pointed to my eyes. “You’ve probably noticed my eyes aren’t normal, right?” She nodded slowly. “Well, they aren’t human eyes anymore. I’ve sorta replaced them, like the skin on my arms and the muscles and tendons in my legs.”

Wide-eyed, she asked, “On purpose?”

I sucked on my lip for a moment. “Yes. It helps me get stronger.”

“Why would you replace parts of yourself? Do you hate yourself that much?” Her voice quivered as her eyes shimmered. “You can get stronger without all of that.”

I shook my head. “And that takes time. Time, I don’t have the luxury of having.” I turned around. “And I’m not like you; I don’t have magic or special things that can help me in situations. Everything I’ve done to myself was because I needed to make up for some deficiencies.”

Shadara placed a hand on my shoulder. “If you replaced every part of yourself, would you still even be you anymore?”

I pulled away from her. “Don’t. I… I have to do this.” My voice trailed off.

Shadara’s voice softened. “Rina, I get that you have your reasons, but altering yourself to this extent... it’s unnatural.”

I flinched further from her and turned around. “My soul is unnatural. What difference is it if my body is a little unnatural too?” The irony of it all hit me.

She sighed, her tail flicking back and forth. “I’ve seen a lot. But nothing like this. I’m afraid that if you keep on this path, you’ll forget who you are.” She held out a hand. “Let me help you. You’re not alone anymore.”

I clenched my fists, the metallic sound of my fingers against each other echoing in the cavern. “I’ve heard that before. It ended with me being alone all over again. The only thing that changed is now I carry a pain burning in my heart from watching her die.”

Shadara slammed her eyes shut and grimaced. “I won’t pretend to understand your situation completely.” She opened her eyes, and I could see the pleading within them. “Rina, promise me you won’t do anything to yourself you won’t regret later.”

Her words hung in the air, and I felt a twinge of doubt. What am I sacrificing? Will this all be worth it in the end? Can I–will I be able to live with the choices I’m making?

I slumped my shoulders. “I’ll do what I can.”

She nodded and walked next to me. We continued through the dark cave, the glow from Shadara’s makeshift headlamp casting eerie shadows on the rough walls. The silence between us ate at me, but I don’t think there were any words that would have done the situation any good.

How much of what she said is true? If I replace every part of my body with augments, will I still be Rina Lone? Will I become some kind of robot or cyborg? Will I then live forever, so long as I have energy and am not completely destroyed? Is that a fate I want for myself? Do I still want to keep fighting for my right to live? Or is my life nothing more than a dream? If it is, why am I stuck in this nightmare?

The familiar sight of the stone hallway with the doorway greeted us after Shadara opened the iron door. The sphinx was still sleeping on his pedestal. His tail curled slightly, and his wings splayed out, covering the large stone bed.

“Leave sleeping cats lie,” I whispered to Shadara.

She nodded. “So what now? Do you want to just give it a shot now?”

“Yes.”

After taking a deep breath, I took off as fast as I could. Expectantly, I tumbled face-first at about the halfway mark. But on the bright side, the gate hadn’t closed completely. The sphinx raised its head as I skidded to a halt.

“You’re back, great.” The mythical creature glared at me. “If you’re done making noise, I suggest you leave.”

Shadara walked up to the lazy sphinx. “Come on, give us three tries, and if we don’t make it, we’ll leave. Deal?”

The sphinx snorted. “I’ve got a better arrangement. I’ll give you your three attempts, but if you fail, I get to eat one of you.” He grinned and bared his sharp fangs.

I stood up and walked over. “Why? That wasn’t part of the rules you told me when I first tried.”

The sphinx stood up and stretched. He waved his wing as if to dismiss me. “It’s my challenge. I can make whatever rules I want. If you don’t like it, you can leave and not come back. Because if you wake me up one more time, I will eat you right then and there. Understood?” He turned and leaned towards me. “Oh, and if you flee, I’ll eat the slowest.”

Shadara held up her hand. “It’s okay. We just need to succeed in three tries.”

The sphinx shook his head. “Two. You already had your first attempt.”

That’s not fair! I held back my temper. Calm down, Rina. Don’t make the probably ridiculously powerful being. Shadara’s right; we just have to succeed.

“Alright, two tries.” Shadara stepped over to me while keeping an eye on the sphinx. She turned to me, while her voice was calm, her eyes told volumes of her fear. “Do you want me to use my magic to speed you up?”

“I can barely control myself at the speed at which I’m going right now. More speed will probably make things worse.” I rubbed the back of my head. “We can’t waste our attempts.”

Shadara placed her hand on my chest, and I could feel the world slowing down. “Just try it. You could learn more about how to control your speed. Get your mind used to going faster.” Her words slowed down drastically with each one she said.

The area around her hand felt warm, and as I guessed, she used her magic to double my quickness. A shiver ran down my spine as all of my organic muscles felt like they were being pulled taunt. My legs didn’t feel different. For a moment, everything seemed to almost stop. Shadara’s movements were painfully slow.

Okay, either everything is slowed down or I’m really going that fast. Wait. Is this what you were trying to get me to do, Orange?

Yes. The enchantment has increased your quickness and thus increased your mental processing speed. Through repetition, you should be able to reach this state.

I don’t know if I want to. Everything seems so slow. Maybe though, I’m fast enough to stop the gate from closing. Shadara wants me to try, so I might as well try.

I spun around, and my legs twisted instantly, while the rest of me lagged behind. Right, mechanical muscles are faster than the rest of my body. As Shadara’s hand no longer touched me, I could feel everything starting to speed back up again. Not wanting to waste another second, I bolted.

All of my problems became as clear as day in that fraction of a second. My legs weren’t out of control. It was the rest of me. As I tried to pump my arms while I ran, I would twist and not keep them in rhythm with my legs. And that’s how my balance kept getting disrupted, and once it was disrupted, I would overcompensate and then trip and hit the ground.

And just because I could see it coming, that didn’t mean I could stop it this time. On the bright side, I made it farther than before, sliding and slamming into the gate just as it closed. I peeled my face from the metal bars and felt my nose crack as my nanites repaired a likely broken nose.

Orange, how much to augment my arms like I did my legs?

Synthetic Tendons (arms) Level 1 Upgrade available: Cost: 21,960 shards. Synthetic Muscles (arms) Level 1 Upgrade available: Cost: 29,790 shards. Purchase?

Yes No

Name: Rina Lone Level: 21 Augments: Agility: 210 Cellular Regeneration Arcane: 150 Synthetic eyes: lvl. 2 Power: 65 HUD Quickness: 385 Epidermal plating (arms) lvl. 1 Resilience: 125 Epidermal plating (hands) lvl. 1 Toughness: 145 Arm blade (right) Unassigned Points: 0 Synthetic tendons (legs) lvl. 1 Shards: 21087 Synthetic muscle (legs) lvl. 1

I slammed my fist on the ground. Not enough. Forty thousand short. I pushed myself to my feet. Shadara waited at the end of the hall with the sphinx.

“Oh, so close to leaving your little friend behind.” The sphinx licked his lips. “But that’s one more attempt. Fail again and I’ll have a snack.” There was a dreamy look in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling. “There’s nothing like a nap with a full stomach.”

I rolled my eyes. Sorry, but you’re going to go hungry tonight. “Shadara, how many shards do you have?”

She tilted her head. “Sixty-six thousand, why?”

“Can I take a loan for forty thousand shards?” I held out my hand. “I need to replace the muscles in my arms.”

Shadara stepped back and stared at me in horror.