I dash into the mist, letting my swords trail behind me.

When it gets too thick, I swing my own powerful soul sword with enough power to send out the golden arc ahead of me. Luckily, it has enough energy to clear my view somewhat. I also have the slim chance of hitting something in the mist.

After only a few seconds of running, I'm starved of breath. Apparently, the gloves aren't perfect at neutralizing the weight of the massive swords. Also, my current body is almost painfully weak. Though I have nothing against my female anatomy, it is much harder to achieve a combat-ready level of fitness. At least according to my own standards.

But I must be close to my target. I can see a faint humanoid figure ahead of me. In preparation, I hold both swords over my left shoulder.

I near the figure, and in the second before I'm upon it, I spin on my toes and whip out first my right sword, then the left. When I swing my own sword, a golden arc flies out, several meters long. It flies through the mist, clearing a large tunnel of fresh air ahead of me. Unfortunately, there's no sign of anything within. Whatever I saw isn't there anymore.

I skid to a stop and look around me. I've lost the general direction I was given and as the Wraith Lord and Thrall can probably see in the mist, they have the upper hand. More than one upper hand.

I sense something behind me and react by spinning and crouching, extending my arms out with a long swing from both swords, the blades parallel.

The golden arc flies from my blade, stronger than ever, and a thin blue one follows it. Neither hit anything and only end up clearing the mist temporarily.

False alarm?

I'm frustrated by the lack of contact I'm making, but glad my looted sword seems to have some use, however inferior it may be compared to my own.

"Shit."

My voice is muted in the thicker mist, doing nothing but amplify my nerves. All I can hear is the thudding of my heart in my chest and my rapid breathing.

Tense seconds pass, and at the height of my paranoia, I hear the almost inaudible sound of a foot on grass.

I do a full 360, putting as much effort into my dominant sword swing as possible. I hear the sound of a single tinkling bell and the air rushes away from me. I see the complete golden ring extend from me like a Nova with me at the centre. Even the mist above me is pushed away.

But there's still nothing in the large area of mist I've cleared.

"Shit!"

They're toying with me...

I drop the sword that I took from Michael and open my status with my free hand. With shaking fingers, saturated with adrenaline, I open my soul perks and select the tier 10 perk: wings.

Immediately, I feel and hear my spine snap in several places and I collapse, losing control over my legs. There is no pain, just a feeling of wrongness as a chilling cold gathers in my lower back.

Just above my hips, out of the corner of my eye, I can see growths pushing their way from underneath my clothes.

Another audible snap and I can suddenly feel my legs again. I scramble to my feet, shoulder off my trench coat and lift up the shirt of my scrubs high enough to see pale, half translucent skin stretched over thin bones emerging from my back. The bones grow before my eyes, and in seconds, a new set of limbs are extended over a meter in both directions.

I'm a little unnerved about how they look like flesh coloured bat wings, complete with three extended digits jointed at an elbow of sorts. But before I can even try to control them, yellow threads grow like grass across the skin, blooming like flowers and darkening until my new wings are coated in gold feathers.

You have undergone severe physical changes.

+5 body.

Feat Unlocked Wings of Gold

Wings of Gold Your soul has become strong enough to provide your body with a powerful step in the evolution towards divinity. Effect: Flight

Divine quest received: Angelic Prowess Objectives: Wings of Scarlet, Wings of Sapphire Reward: Angelic species change

Completely forgetting the situation I'm in, I dismiss the boxes and admire my wings, fully extended and somehow nearly weightless.

There's no way around it. They're beautiful.

They don't start between my shoulders like the stories and legends would suggest, but start near the base of my spine, just above the hem of my trousers.

I can feel a new set of shoulder joints in my back and can, with some difficulty, rotate and move them forwards and backwards like my own arms.

I focus for a second and like flexing my muscles, I manage to fold up my wings so that they lie slightly curled up, against my back and butt.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

It dawns on me how stupid that idea was. There's no way I would suddenly be able to use my new limbs effectively, all I managed was to put myself in a vulnerable situation. Why I wasn't killed, and am still not dead is beyond me, but I'm betting I don't have much more time.

I put on my trench coat again and pick up both the swords, making sure my own superior one was in my dominant right.

I need a plan, but my mind is frazzled. The reaction to growing wings and my potential death is just too much.

The only plan I can think of is just to run in a random direction.

So I aim myself in the general direction I think I came from and take off running. I swing my sword, sending the gold energy ahead of me to make a path I can see through.

I do this several times to make sure I can still see my path, but after the third arc I send ahead, I can see a browned gnarled foot step into the mist on my right. I immediately dive into the dense mist, heading towards it and send another arc ahead.

It hits something this time, and I can hear a gurgled cry accompanied by a gross cracking noise. When the energy dissipates and the mist is pushed away, I see a semi-mummified body on the ground, a deep gash in its chest.

The browned bandages covering dishevelled and dark skin cover none of the male bodies modesty. But it's not like there is much to cover.

I'm unsure whether it's dead, but it's for sure injured, so while it's out of action, I take my chance.

I run over to it and it raises its head slightly. It's one exposed eye a shiny black orb that contains a deep red glow.

It opens its mouth, showing several blackened teeth in a grin and then lets its head fall back as I flip the swords in my hands and stab them both into its chest, deep into the ground.

A small golden ring expands from the wound, shredding the leathery skin and cloth it passes over. The red glow leaves its eye. A dull black marble remaining.

Undead thrall killed: personal xp (140) class xp (xxx)

Level up! You are now level 1.

+1 unallocated stat point.

Level up! You are now level 2.

+1 unallocated stat point.

Enemy more than 25 levels above your own defeated single-handedly.

+1 to all stats.

I dismiss the messages and look around, noticing the mist around me and the Thrall is fading away.

I look around rapidly, searching for any hint of the Wraith Lord. I'm still wary of the arrows it can throw and cautious of whatever other abilities it has.

But now that the mist is fading, I figure my best bet is to get back to where Michael and the tanks. Only a couple of minutes has passed since I left them. But I can only assume that since I've not been attacked by the Wraith Lord, it must still be after them.

I shut my eyes, listening as hard as I can through the muting mist and I can hear cries of pain just on the edge of my audible range. It takes a few more seconds of analysis to figure out where they're coming from, and a few more seconds of sprinting to reach the clearing.

When I get there, a tall figure surrounded by moving shadows is holding up a struggling Michael by his throat with one hand, slowly pushing a black wavy sword into his stomach with the other.

My stomach lurches and my heart dictates my actions.

"NO!"

I spin, throwing both my swords at the shadowy giant, one after the other, using my rotation to put as much force into the swords as possible.

It looks at me in an instant, and as the swords fly towards it, I can see a green and yellow eye under its hood. the glint, sending a chill down my back that literally ruffles the feathers of my wings. This is a being of obviously inhumane power.

It uses the black sword to casually deflect the first claymore that reaches it, but when it tries to do the same for the second with a lightning-quick swipe, my own blade passes straight through his shadowy one, planting itself straight into its head. The growing gold ring upon impact explodes its head, shattering whatever was under its hood. Killing it instantly.

The shadows covering it sharpen, one impaling Michaels' thigh, then soften and sink into the ground as the body of the Wraith Lord collapses.

Wraith Lord killed: personal xp (419) class xp (xxx)

Level up! You are now level 3.

+1 unallocated stat point.

Level up! You are now level 4.

+1 unallocated stat point.

Level up! You are now level 5.

+1 unallocated stat point.

Level up! You are now level 6.

+1 unallocated stat point.

Enemy more than 50 levels above your own defeated single-handedly.

+2 to all stats.

Feat unlocked King Killer

King Killer You have single-handedly killed a monster named at the height of royalty or nobility. Effect: Eligible for knighthood

Michael hits the ground hard, his hands instantly at his stomach and leg. He gasps for air at first, but his breathing is calm by the time I've reached him.

I land heavily on my knees by him, keeping pressure on his stomach wound. Blood seeps through my fingers, but not enough for me to worry.

"Uh, what's your health at?"

I'm not sure if he even really needs health. The way he spoke about it before, I guess his body stat is high, so dying of blood loss might be difficult for him.

He coughs, then smiles and talks in a raspy, pained voice.

"You... came back."

I smile too, happily comfortable in the moment. There's still enough mist around us that the sounds of the surrounding battle are inaudible, and I'm still hyped off of the adrenaline pumping through me.

"And I killed the Wraith Lord. And the Undead Thrall."

He murders a word under his breath and holds both my hands in his. I panic lightly for his wounds, but whatever he said, it stopped the bleeding. Another skill of his that I'm envious of.

"Who are you?"

I grin this time, and he mimics me. The sounds of fighting are beginning to meet my ears, accompanied by shouted orders to help us.

I lean down, close to his face so I can feel his breath tickling my nose. A loose curl of red hair falls from my helmet and lands on his cheek. The blue shimmer covering his lower face is stretched over his gentle smile, providing even more of a mystical side to someone who I know almost nothing about. But that's good. I have no doubt we will learn about each other. 

"I have no idea."

And I kiss him, grounding my spinning head. I lose myself in the kiss, letting all the anxiety of the previous day fall away.

He pulls a hand from my grip, slick with his blood, and lays it on the back of my helmet, pulling me closer.

I feel closer to this man than I have felt for anyone in a long time. I need him now more than ever, and I can thank the gods that I found him. Or rather, that he found me.

But as far as I can sink into the feeling of security he gives me, a subtle feeling in my mind never leaves. Something that has come and gone, but something that has never changed.

Ever since the light left the eye of that thrall, I've been brutally reminded. I am a killer. And a bloody good one at that.