Anger, frustration...and sadness, they filled Erika as she once more was faced with the elusive fox.

"Why?" She asked, eyes wide, so full of emotion yet they seemed hollow.

"You ask, a very loaded question there." Kyllix mused with a chuckle.

As the air around Erika filled with mana, shuddering with pressure. "You knew, you knew it would all...Why didn't you-"

"Stop it all?" Kyllix asked with a raised brow, hovering up and then off the altar, coming to stand before it with arms wide.

"Come, young one, make yourself comfortable. There is much we must talk about." He offered, as Erika's fists clenched, his grin only causing her further annoyance.

But she held it in, entering the temple as the doors closed behind her. She though did not take a seat. Instead, she came to stand at the start of four steps taking up to the altar he stood before.

"This world, as many, is in tatters. As you may yourself have noticed, young dragon." Kyllix mused sadly, "I have been travelling across many worlds, across my lifetime. Cleaning up the chaos which some dark beings have chosen to unleash upon reality. Beings, we call Voids. Now, while this is far beyond your head, still you should know this war your father has joined is far beyond mortals and deities alike."

Kyllix leaned back into the altar, "I must ask you one question, young dragon. Are you prepared, for what you may face? Do you accept the horror, the anger, the sorrow and pain you will be dealt with, to face chaos itself."

"If it means, achieving what my people have strived for. If I am to be the Dragon which saves this world. I will do whatever it takes." Erika responded.

Kyllix nodded with a smile, "I must apologize, for there is not much else I can do. Left simply as a passenger through the river of time and space. I am powerless, all I could do was leave messages across this globe, for someone to find and follow. Everything I've done, was so that you would survive, young dragon. For I truly believe, you have what this world needs, to thrive. I have placed my cards, I have set my bets. I'm going all in, and you're the gamble I chose."

Erika's gaze fell at his words, as she clenched her fists. "I do not blame you, for what has occurred...I cannot, I too was powerless to change anything."

"And ahead lay many more struggles of equal danger," Kyllix warned.

"And I will face them nonetheless!" Erika exclaimed, her eyes burning with a golden ferocity.

"A strong will is good, young dragon, but let it not blind you from what lies before you." Kyllix sighed, "While, powerless as I may be, I have one wish left to ask of you." He then straightened himself, as his form began to rise up into the air.

"Worlds collide as the forces of chaos and life clash for existence. Fools drunk on the power of darkness, allow it to run rampant across their worlds as they feed upon its gifts. I cannot tell you, how much pain and suffering I have witnessed across existence. I wish it only to end, but alas I know that is only wishful thinking, as even if these wars end, we creatures of consciousness inflict pain on each other anyway."

"But that, does not mean one must give in, and allow the darkness to take hold."

"I have one wish, as my final gift to you."

"One last trick, one final grand scheme I wish to unleash upon the forces of chaos."

Kyllix's form hovered down to stand before Erika, his hand outstretched towards her, "But, to cast my melody, I require one final string to be rung. This world, and you Erika. I, a half-risen deity of fools, I ask of you. Will you join me, daughter of Dragons? Will you become, my partner in this grand scheme of mine?"

Erika glanced down at his outstretched hand, then over to his focused gaze. "If I may ask, before I agree or disagree. What are you planning, fox?"

Then a grin outstretched across Kyllix's mouth, a sneer of frigid amusement. "With one last direction, which I shall hand to you, I will cast a die that shall unleash consequences upon reality no one could have foreseen. A play on fate so disruptive, so chaotic, which the very embodiments of chaos will be caught off-guard and confused."

"With one...direction?" Erika mused, unsureness filling her eyes.

"One path, for you take. One place, you must go. One destination, which all your enemies do not wish you to even know of." Kyllix grinned madly, "Enticing, isn't it?"

"A place...my enemies do not wish me to go to?" Her eyes then wide, her interest piqued, her gaze fell back down to his hand. "Where? Why?..."

"That, I cannot say. For fate to land, as I plan it to. You must go of your own volition, and without pre-existing knowledge." Kyllix explained. "For, you knowing, may change everything."

"You ask me, to risk my life. My future, and my ally's. Without...even knowing on what shore I may land on?" Erika mused, "You ask me, to trust you blindly."

"I do." Kyllix nodded, "For, it is the one thing, no one would ever expect you to do. Not even, yourself. I can feel it, you've already decided to decline my offer." He grinned widely, as her gaze rose back to meet his.

"I...cannot risk all their lives...on the whim of a fox...Can you at least guarantee their safety?" Erika asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"No, I cannot." Kyllix answered.

Erika sighed in frustration, as she turned away from the fox. "Then give me one reason, why should I even think of agreeing to this madness?"

"Because avoiding that place, is exactly what the dark lords of this world expect you to do. What the enemies of your father, expect you to do." He said, smiling as he closed his eyes. "After all, it is what your father, would do."

"But, it is not what you expect me to do. Is it?" Erika mused, as Kyllix opened his eyes to find her accepting his hand. Gripping it tightly.

"I look forward, to watching what chaos you unleash, daughter of storm." Kyllix chuckled coldly as his form began to fade. "A new era, of tricksters, has begun." He said, leaning in to whisper one last thing into her ear.

Erika's eyes being taken to the scroll he had formed out of, as the fox's embodiment was sucked back inside, yet it remained glowing.

Approaching the parchment, she picked it up and looked it over. "I expected something more...mystical." Erika sighed, as she held the very simple map.

Pocketing the scroll under her shirt and armour, Erika opened the doors to the temple and stepped out, as the fox's final words echoed in her mind.

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Festivity, food and drink in over-supply.

A perfect distraction lay upon the village that survived the pirate raid.

A distraction which the militant renegades, once known as the Concord, abused.

As Dust, Drun, Celest and Teijil were laid on their knees in the town square, surrounded and completely outnumbered whilst a firing squad of rifles lay aimed at them.

"Shit." Drun grumbled, "Guess trouble just likes to find us itself..." He mused under his breath as a ghoul held their leg over his back. Holding back a growl, "I can kill this guy." Drun groaned.

"No. The villagers will end up as casualties." Celest whispered back, glancing about at the encirclement not even they heard coming. "We wait."

"Round up all of 'em here." Shouted out the ghoul holding Drun down, cocking a small flintlock aimed at the Lycan's back as he did. "So, where'd your little friends go, eh? The big ole strong one and that fiery woman."

Drun groaned at his questions, "Screw you."

"Big man not scared eh?" The man said, his deformed facial skin curving into a grin. "Is fine, they'll hear this." As suddenly a shot was fired, echoing out through their surroundings.

Drun sighed and groaned further, glancing back at the ghoul who took his shot into the sky.

"No point wasting healthy captives yet, eh?" The ghoul mused.

Drun returned his face to the wet dirt, then began to chuckle. "Oh buddy, you're gonna wish you took your shot."

"Oh will I now, big man?" The ghoul huffed, reloading his flintlock and aiming it at a group of villagers his men were herding to the side.

Lining up his gun onto the eldest of the group, the ghoul smirked widely.

"You son of a-" Dust moved to rise, as the ghoul held his finger on the trigger and glanced down at him.

"Nah-ah, one more motion, and one of them's dying. Take your chance if you will kid, be my bloody guest." The ghoul chuckled, cocking the weapon as several more clicks sounded off all around them. "Or ten, right boys?" He motioned to the two dozen Ghouls keeping Wytar the Draem beast at bay as it stomped about agitatedly.

"Eva the dramatic." Fang grumbled from where he sat at a doorstep, entirely tied up, he gestured forward with his bound hands. "Can't we do away with these Sergeant? Not like I have any interest in interfering 'ere..."

"Can it lizard," The ghoul leader snapped back, aiming his flintlock at Fang. "You be telling me where you landed those ships of yours next."

Fang simply went quiet, lowering his arms as he grimaced.

"Not yer day eh?" The ghoul chuckled.

As an explosion from the edge of the village resounded out, then another...and another.

As a body came bursting through a building, crashing several more feet forth before rolling to a stop, bent and broken in many different ways.

Yet the ghoul still breathed, barely alive, it groaned in agony.

"The fuck?" The Sergeant mused, glancing into the hole the body left in the building, only to find himself staring down a long tunnel of broken walls, coming face to face with a large Mer.

Zen began stepping through the collapsed walls, approaching the ghouls, fury in his eyes as he shrugged Gray off who was trying to stop him.

"Hey-Ah fuck it, do what you want." Gray grumbled, stepping out of sight as Zen trudged through the buildings, coming to stand at the village square where all of his people were being gathered.

Where over four dozen Ghouls turned their rifles at him.

"Oi." The Sergeant snapped at his men, "Aim at the prisoners, not 'im, ye idiots." He said, and they stumbled turning back to the villagers and the captured Lycans.

Zen narrowed his eyes at the sight, wanting with every fibre of his being to trash the vampire-spawn before him...

"You, eyes on me, aight?" The Sergeant warned, aiming his gun down at Drun once more who, simply lay there grumbling under his breath. "Hah, big ole guy, can't do shit with his fish buddies all rounded up though. Can ye?"

Zen's bloodshot eyes focused down on the Sergeant, as he clenched his fists. "I'll-"

But he was cut off, as a loud tearing sound came from behind the ghoul leader.

Glancing behind himself, the Sergeant watched as each ghoul surrounding the Draem fell dead to the floor.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya5hb2F8gOM

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Blood lay sprayed out all around Wytar, as blade shards flowed out of the bag laying on its side, many hovering there on their own already, each coloured crimson.

Each of them then heard another sound, coming from ahead.

Footsteps, splashing into the wet ground and approaching in the darkness of night.

One of the ghouls raised his torch to the road, but the torch's own light was overtaken as two fiery golden eyes lit up before him.

Out of the figure, a half-scaled and clawed arm rose up, hand wide open and aimed at the Sergeant.

The sound of leather and cloth tearing resounded across the square, as a massive broken blade soared through the Sergeant's body, slicing the ghoul in two and swirling over into Erika's closing hand.

The cleaved Sergeant's body stood there for a moment, squelching as black blood rushed out of the cut, before separating into two chunks and falling with a thud to the ground.

Shaken by the sight, every single ghoul turned their weapon to her, taking aim yet unsure of their next action. Each looked on flabbergasted.

"We do not have time, for this hindrance." Erika mused, "Gray." She motioned to the gathered villagers, and suddenly four large wooden spheres fell out of the dark sky all around them.

The moment the spheres hit the ground, a small ignited spark entered deeper into each, and they exploded immediately after into a quickly expanding cloud of silver smoke.

The sounds of gunshots, metal hitting metal, screaming villagers and confused yells filled the area.

Yet beneath it all, one sound went unnoticed.

The sound of blades whistling through the damp air, meeting flesh and bone before spiralling off to their master's will.

It was but a few moments, before the smoke was forcefully cleared by a hidden wind.

Each villager lay huddled up as the adult men and women surrounded the children with their own bodies, all looking about at each other in astonishment.

As every single Ghoul now lay at their feet, each limbless.

Squirming about like worms, groaning in pain and croaking in fear.

Yet Erika lay untouched, her ferocious golden eyes still aglow in the dark.

"Captain Fang." She turned her gaze to the lizardman pirate, who flinched at the sudden eye contact.

"Y-Ye?"

"You've an island to find." She mused.

"T-That I do, apparently." He shakily agreed.