After a week more of travel, we spotted a large wooden structure in the distance. I thought it was another town until Vera pointed out that it was closer to a city in size.

I continued to stare at it until I realized that it was one massive structure. It was made of both wood and metal, reaching from the land and off into the distance over the water. It housed a town in its shadow that wasn't even visible until we closed at least half the distance from when we saw it. The bridge was gigantic.

As soon as I understood what it was, I was impatient to step onto it. Nobody stopped me as I proceeded to trip and land face-first on the wooden curb leading up to the bridge. The first step was a doozy, and I was not prepared for it. The elevation was lower than I expected and I tripped on nothing. I stood to a roar of laughter.

"Shut up!" I snapped at them. "That hurt."

Between laughs, Vera said, "Ha! ye were so happy a minute ago, but then ye tripped on nothin'!" she continued laughing. "I mean, we could'a warned ya, but that's just priceless."

"Why didn't you?!" I couldn't help but be angry.

"Consider it payback for that headbutt when you joined the guild."

"Whatever..." I rubbed my throbbing nose. Looking down, I noticed two shallow marks in the wood. "At least I dented it."

"You put up a good fight, but I think the bridge beat you." Sandra handed me a handkerchief. "Your nose is bleeding."

"Thanks." I wiped my nose.

"You can keep the handkerchief."

"Thanks." I stood and walked a few steps onto the bridge.

It wasn't nearly as large as it looked from far away, but most of what we could see from the distance was the portion over the water, which had a series of supports leading into the shore while the rest of it hung over the waves into the distance. I could hardly believe that someone built a bridge that connected the mainland to an island, but now I was standing on it.

"Here we go," I said, taking a deep breath before taking another step.

"Where do you think you're going?" I nearly jumped as I wasn't expecting Cyrus to say anything. "We have to stop at the town before we go. It'll take a day to cross the bridge and we just got here. There's no place for us to put our base on the way."

"We'll just be taking a stroll." Sandra put her arm around me. "Got a problem with that?"

"None at all." He turned and started walking toward the town with Jefford and Vera. "Have a nice date."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, have a nice time." He hurried up.

"I thought so." She huffed.

We walked a bit over the bridge and looked out over the water. There was something majestic about there being nothing but waves as far as the eye can see.

"Can you believe that guy? A date?"

"Yeah... Well, I'm not really against the idea..." I realized what I said after saying it and tried to back-peddle. "I mean, we're just hanging out, I mean, I mean... Yeah."

"Wait, you like me or something?" She looked me dead in the eye for a split second before averting her gaze and staring out to sea.

"Uh... Sure?" I began nervously tapping one of my horns with my fingertips.

"I like you, too." Her voice wavered as she put her arm around my shoulders.

Trembling, I laid my head on her shoulder.

She put her hand on my forehead and asked, "Are you cold?'

"No, it's just I never had... You know."

"A girlfriend?"

"I mean- I mean... yeah."

"My last girlfriend was an aarakocra. A pigeon."

"What happened?"

"She was shot out of the sky into the sea by pirates." She held me tighter. "That's why I'm afraid of the water. I also never learned how to swim because of it."

"I'm sorry, that's so sad..."

"It's ok. Did I ever tell you why I was exiled?."

"No."

"It's because I like girls."

"Their loss."

"True."

We stayed until sundown and watched the sunset. It took me a while to notice that Sandra was staring at my horns. They were probably mimicking the color of the sky at the moment.

"Your horns are beautiful."

"Thanks. I've never seen them myself."

"I think that's sad."

Once it had gotten dark, we headed off of the bridge.

The town had a similar constitution to the bridge. Metal supported the base of the wooden houses and buildings. We headed to the guile hall in the center of town where the others were waiting. They were at a table like normal, but Vera was chatting up a guy with a black staff at his side and a furry brown tail holding it up. He wore light armor tinted gold, but something about it made it seem like it was glowing.

As we approached, Vera saw us and said, "There's the rest of our group right here."

"Another recruit?" asked Sandra, taking a seat.

"Yep." Vera nodded affirmatively.

"No, lady please, I already told you I'm already part of a guild. I just wanted to know if you could take this mission for us-" The man spoke swiftly, but was still cut off at the end by the leader's enthusiasm.

"And I said that wouldn't be a problem if you joined my guild." She put her hand out to shake. "We're the Endlings-" This time she was cut off.

"I know who you are. You're a group of cursed half-breeds who pick up impossible jobs." He was breathing heavily and a look of fear was spreading across his strikingly human face. "I don't have enough lives to join you people, and if I did..." He shook his head. "Can you take this? It isn't something a normal guild can handle." He held up a palm-sized black orb. It looked like it was made of crystal or glass and barely reflected any light.

"What is it?" Vera's eyes narrowed, and she spoke in a more serious tone.

"I don't know. Me and a few guildmates picked this up from a merchant to deliver to York Town. This orb..." He was trembling. "It- it draws things to it. We can't handle it. The rest of my guildmates are either dead or dying... please... take it."

"What kind of things?" I couldn't help but ask.

"The last thing we ran into was a manticore- I know it sounds impossible, but it followed us. It's sitting outside of town right now. You can see for yourself" He sat the orb on the table and placed a folded piece of paper next to it. "I don't care if you take it or not, It's not coming with me." He hurried out the door and was gone in less than a second.

"Looks like we're headin' out." Vera picked up the paper and read it before picking up the orb and tossing it to me. "Hold on to that."

"Why?" I looked into it and only saw a black void staring back.

"It looks like this is right up your alley." She smiled cheekily.

"Alright, why not?" I put it into my bag.

A few minutes later, we were on the outskirts of town looking for a creature so rare that you'd only ever hear stories of it. A creature so deadly that it's said that even touching its poisonous spines can kill you.

It wasn't long before we noticed a high-pitched meow coming from a small grouping of trees. As we approached, the meow turned into more of a roar. At the same time, an ominous glow came from my bag.

Suddenly, a four-legged creature jumped from between the trees. It was covered in golden fur with a humanoid face, a lion's mane, and a tail covered in long barbs. It opened its mouth and roared again before waving its tail around menacingly.

"What are you here for?" asked Cyrus, taking a step closer.

The beast only growled and bared razor-like humanoid teeth.

"We ask that you leave," said Vera.

It growled some more while brandishing its barbed tail.

"I don't get it, aren't these things supposed to talk?" I looked at everyone else, confused.

"Yeah," confirmed Vera, "They do. Something's wrong."

"If it's feral, then I can handle this." I almost took a full step forward when Sandra grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I said, "What are you doing?"

She shook her head. "Instant death needles. I can't save you from that."

I looked her in the eye. "I'll be fine."

She raised her staff. It glowed green and so did I. "Now you will be... I hope."

I turned away from her and stepped slowly toward the impossible hybrid of creatures. It lowered its head and backed back with its tail pointed directly at me.

"It's ok." I reached my hand toward its head. Slowly, I touched its head, and it began glowing with the same eerie light as my bag before a flash of light saw it disappear and be replaced by a light brown kitten.

"Meow!" It said,

I was visibly taken aback. I didn't know how, but I understood what it said. "Um... you're welcome?"

"You can understand it?" Vera crouched down and recklessly petted the cat. it meowed in response. "What did it just say?"

"I think it wants to come with us." I crouched and eyed the cat closer. It hopped up and pawed at my nose.

"What's your name?"

"Purrr~" the sound was closer to words than the meow was.

"Then I'll name you... Katie. How about it?"

She hopped on top of my shoulder and said. "Purr pur- rrrperr~"

I stood. "What do you mean, contract?"

"Purr-rrr rrrperr~ rurr perr. prerr pur purr pur- rrperr~"

"I don't follow."

"Let me explain, meo." Meo appeared between my horns and began prancing around in the air. "This kitten wants to become your familiar, much like I am."

"What? Why?" I looked between the two small creatures. "I already have a cat familiar."

"That's where you're wrong, meo. I'm a fox."

I gave it more thought and asked, "Ok, how do we make a contract?"

"First you- hold on." Meo began purring pleasantly and rolling around mid-air as Vera snuck up from behind and started petting him.

The petting felt nice. She started near the back of his neck and ran her dextrous fingers down to the base of his tail. I wanted to purr as well because it just felt that good. It was like a massage but also scratched an itch I didn't know I had. After a few seconds, it stopped.

"He's so cute, I just wanna- ow!" In the middle of petting him, Meo touched Vera's hand with his paw and she hopped back in pain. "What was that for?" She was blowing the back of her hand.

He turned back toward me. "That's enough petting. Now onto-"

"You little-" She slapped his butt and Meo hopped onto my other shoulder while I hopped forward in surprise.

"Please don't do that," I said, "Either of you."

"I forgot you could feel what he feels," said Vera, looking between me and Meo. "How'd it feel?"

"Not good." I reached my hands back and rubbed my aching backside. "That hurt."

"You're blushing."

"Shut up. Meo, contract, cat, now, please."

"I'll bite next time, meo." He threatened.

"Meo, please." I placed the base of my palm against my forehead.

"Tell her I'll bite."

"Meo. Please," I said, frankly.

"Ok," he said, shifting his attention back to me. "Whatever turned her into that thing stole most of her life force. She'll die soon and as a beast-tamer, you can link her soul to yourself and call upon her at will."

"She's gonna die?" I put my hand on the kitten and she purred affirmatively.

"You have to perform a ritual. This will be easy because of your horns. They will act as a conduit to allow her soul to pass through you so she can anchor herself to this plane of existence." He finished explaining, and I was still confused.

"How does that work?" I grabbed one of my horns with my hand.

"Just place her between your horns when it's time and the rest will happen naturally." He curled into a ball and disappeared in a puff of fire and smoke.

Katie stayed on my shoulder and fell asleep.

We all turned and were walking back to town when I heard a loud smack and felt a sharp pain race from below.

"Ow..." I bent down, holding my bottom. "Why?..." Katie was undisturbed.

Sandra was standing next to me with a surprised look on her face. "Oops, I thought you liked that."

"No, it hurt." I stood, wound up my hand, and did the same back to her.

"Ok, I get it... Ow, that does hurt." She hurried along ahead of me, and I followed afterward.

We made our way back into town and looked around for the man who gave us the orb and letter. There was no mention of him anywhere aside from the guildhall where he was last seen. The clinic had no record of any dead or dying guild members there either.

finding an abandoned hut on the outskirts of town, we set up the guild base and entered to rest.

"It's another one of those missions, huh?" Jefford looked a little more than concerned about the matter.

"That's what it looks like," said Vera, pacing back and forth, reading the letter.

"What are those kinds of jobs?" I asked, unsure of what kind of dangers we faced.

"It's about time we told you." Vera stopped in front of me and stared me in the eye. "We're what's called an 'immortal guild'. We sometimes do impossible jobs in exchange for a payout that usually goes beyond monetary payment. Take our guild base, for instance. It used to be a part of a sprawling dungeon we explored as part of a mission." She sat on an electric blue chair and maintained her stare. "We also lost around five of us there."

"Five?" I was surprised, to say the least, hearing her say that.

"We're called an 'immortal guild', but we're not immortal. Sometimes we get missions of unexplainable origin and instead of letting them sit there, we see it through. Not because we want to, but because worse might happen if we don't."

"Worse than losing people?"

"Worse is why there's only five of us now"

"So, what do we do?" I asked, uncertain of far too much to make a decision.

"What we've always done," said Jefford. "Survive."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Vera nodded. "We move out tomorrow." She stood, went to a corkboard hanging next to the entrance, and pinned the letter that came with the orb to it next to the wanted poster of Muriel the betrayer.

"That reminds me," I said, looking at the wanted poster for the thousandth time. "I'm going back to the guildhall to see if there's a more intact wanted poster of this guy."

"Not without company." Sandra sprinted up the stairs that led to the living quarters. "I'm going with you."

"Sure," I said, "Let's go."

We went into town and back to the guildhall. It took us more than a few minutes looking on the bounty wall to find a familiar-looking wanted poster. The image showed a wide man with a profound beard and a wide-brimmed hat. The bounty was 100,000 for him, dead or alive.

"This is it," I said, comparing the wanted posters.

"Why is the faded one more recent?" Sandra took a closer look at both posters. "And the location... it's York Town." She looked at me, concerned. "I don't think that's a coincidence."

We headed back to the guild house to show everybody else what we found.

Jefford was sitting in front of the door. He changed his bright blue armor for a darker blue set inscribed with words of a language I didn't know.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking around.

"It's Vera and Cyrus. They try to be quiet, but it can't be helped. I just can't sit in there listening to them."

"What are they doing?"

He just shook his head.

Sandra said, "You know that thing couples do when they really like each other?"

I covered my ears. "Nope, nope, nope. I didn't need to know about that. She's like a hundred years old and he's... I don't know, but it's weird."

"Like I said, it can't be helped." Jefford stood. "For all any of us know, we may never see each other again. They do it every time we get a mission like this."

"We were gone for a while, they should be done by now." Sandra opened the door and went down. Jefford and I followed.

We walked into a pretty normal scene. Vera was preparing a bandoleer of differently shaped knives, all of them were shaped according to the attribute they embodied. Cyrus was sharpening his sword and buffing his shield as well as coating them and his armor with a blue liquid that smelled of mint.

We showed them the wanted posters and pointed out the differences.

"We're already preparing for the worst, but this is good to know." Cyrus was practicing his sword swing. "Scarlet, have you gotten any better with that bow of yours? You haven't used it much."

"I think so." I reached for the shortbow on my back. "I have been practicing with it."

"Good. I need you to practice on me." He held his shield up.

"I only have a few practice arrows left." I counted the arrows. There were five.

"That's fine. We're entering pirate territory. If there's a firefight, we'll be relying on you and Sandra."

"What about Vera? She has a crossbow."

"I know you two went over this already, but frankly, Vera's suicidal and likes to put herself in real danger all too often, so we have to rely on you two."

"I'm right here, you know?" said Vera as we continued talking as if she wasn't there.

"This may not be the best time for this, but it might be the last time." Cyrus walked up the stairs and out the door. I followed.

"How am I going to practice on you? I don't think I'm accurate enough to only hit your shield if you take off your armor and you don't move that fast with it on."

"We're not training your accuracy. It's your power." He took a stance with his shield. "A powerful enough shot doesn't need to land. Hit me with everything you got. Don't hold back."

"Everything?"

"And bring out Meo. The more firepower, the better."

"Ok, Meo." I called him out, and he appeared between my horns in a ball of flame.

"You called, meo?" He pranced about in the air.

"I need your fire."

"That's not my fire, meo. It's yours. I just help you bring it to the surface."

"Really? This would have been nice to know earlier."

"That's right, meo. Until you can do it unaided, it's my job to help you with it." He fell to the ground and became a flame that surrounded me and coated my entire body. "Try to remember this feeling. You should be able to do this yourself."

"Ok, now aim your bow and shoot," said Cyrus, "Use that fire of yours. Don't expect to just hit me. Hit everything around me, too."

"I'll try." I notched the wooden arrow and took aim at the middle of his shield.

"Concentrate on the flames, meo. Use the feeling and guide it to your bow and arrow." I did what Meo said and focused on the warmth coating my body. The heat rose sharply before dying back down. I couldn't help but feel that this advice came much later than it should have, but I shook off the feeling and went with it.

I wanted the flame to fly with the arrow and focused on that. I wanted the fire to push it faster than the bow could take it and hit everything. It wasn't long before the arrow burst into flame. As soon as it did, I took a breath and let it go. A trail of fire sparked through the air and deflected off Cyrus' shield before fizzling out as the arrow landed a few yards away.

"That's good, but it felt more like a piercing shot, I wanna see the fire spread out to hit my surroundings." Jefford never even shifted his stance.

I went to pick up the still intact wooden arrow and prepared to shoot it again. It wasn't burned either, despite being covered in flames before being shot. Taking aim again, instead of focusing on the arrow, I focused on what I wanted to hit. Again, the arrow was overcome with fire, but unlike before, the flames coiled around it as if alive and spun like a drill. I released it and the coiled flame unraveled, covering the space before me with a wall of flame that continued until it collided with Cyrus' shield and exploded outward as the arrow shattered on impact.

"Can you do that again, but faster?" Cyrus still held his ground just as firmly.

"Ok." I took aim like I just did and shot again. The intensity of the flame was lower and there was no explosion, but the impact seemed to be the same. The arrow also survived.

"Let's keep going until you run out of practice arrows." He never moved the whole time.

As it turned out, each arrow could only be shot twice and caused an explosion of flame when it broke. The first shot would burn normally, but the second shot seemed to have a mind of its own and carry the arrow away faster than I release the string.

Sandra cursed multiple times at how I wasn't able to do it before and now it seemed like I was a natural. I had to agree with her. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my gut, but said nothing.

I concentrated as hard as I could on the last arrow, and it flew before I let it go. It exploded in a flame similar to a firework on impact. I didn't get a second shot with it.

After running out of practice arrows, I had the idea to go into town and buy some more. Everyone's collective opinions were negative on that venture. It could have been dangerous because anything could have happened.

Sandra wouldn't even let me out of the base once I went inside. She even went so far as making me sleep in her room, though admittedly, we didn't sleep much.

The sound of breathing stirred me awake. Sandra's face was inches away from mine and I could feel the warmth emanating from her body. I tried to move, but our legs were intertwined and I was stuck. I shook her awake, and she opened her eyes slightly, kissed my forehead, and immediately fell back to sleep. A few seconds later, her eyes suddenly opened wide.

"You remember what happened, right?" I said, seeing the surprise in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I just..." She moved, and we untangled ourselves. "I didn't think we'd go that far so fast."

"Me neither, but you wouldn't let me leave your room, so..."

"Oh, that was- um- yeah..." She looked around, embarrassed. "We should get moving."

"Already on it." I was at the door.

Almost an hour later, everyone was outside, and the sun was just rising. Jefford packed up the door like always and we headed out towards the bridge. Since it was morning, there were merchants and adventurers crossing the bridge from both sides, but mostly into town.

A few hours after we started over the bridge, we came upon a split. The bridge split in three directions. The left and middle had people still crossing back and forth, but the right was desolate with absolutely no traffic. It also happened to be where we needed to go.

As soon as we were away from the crowds, I felt uneasy. Everything was immediately tense, and the silence crept up on us faster than I thought imaginable. We still had so far to go, and I wasn't sure if my nerves could make it.

As time passed, the uneasiness let up, and I was able to take in our surroundings. The ocean was so far below and bustling with motion from the waves. The sky was bright blue and clouds hovered delicately in the wind. I could now hear the sturdy boards clank against the metal under our feet. It was like we were walking on air. I wished this moment could last forever, but nothing good ever does.

More than half the day was gone, and the sun was high in the sky. We were coming up to one of the many support pillars that extended above the bridge in the distance when a sharp ringing noise came from beside me. It was as if someone took a hammer to steel. I turned in surprise to see both Jefford and Cyrus with slightly dented helmets. They were both hit by something.

"There's two snipers," said Cyrus, taking up his shield.

"I hit one," responded Jefford, who was now inexplicably missing his halberd.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"Make that half."

"I'm on it." Vera darted forward, only to be grabbed by Cyrus and placed behind his back.

As soon as I heard him say 'sniper', I pulled out my bow and took aim. The only place one would be is on the bridge support, and that was too far for a bow to shoot. I continued to watch the distant pillars in case my enhanced shot could reach. I was partially hidden behind Jefford with Sandra behind me. We moved forward together, slowly as a group.

I saw what looked like a spark in the distance on top of one of the support pillars, and I got a bad feeling immediately. Jerking my head slightly to the side, I felt something hit one of my horns hard enough to knock me over. It made a sound that reverberated through my skull and nearly deafened me.

I was knocked into Sandra, who caught me. Her staff was glowing green, and she pointed it at the pillar where I saw the spark.

"Thundershot." She cast the spell and what looked like a green lightning bolt shot from the end of the quarterstaff. It was almost instant. "I don't think that hit then, but it should buy us some time."

We made a dash, sprinting toward the supports and waiting for another shot. It never came. We made it all the way and there was not another shot fired. Jefford was able to retrieve his halberd from the top of the right support pillar thanks to Vera, who climbed up to get it. It was embedded in the steel and covered in blood. She had to heat the metal with her fire dagger to retrieve it.

Cautiously, we continued forward until we spotted someone in the distance. Sandra, Vera, and I all took aim at them while we closed the distance. Once we came closer, we could make out a familiar set of gold-tinted armor and a tail holding a black staff. He was standing with his arms folded, looking straight at us.

"Fire," said Vera, firing her crossbow.

I shot my arrow with a trail of fire behind it and Sandra cast the same spell as before at the same time. All of them seemed to hit the same target, but nothing happened. He just swiped his staff through the air and intercepted all of it. Then he started running toward us.

I drew my string and shot another arrow, but this time, the flames covered half the space of the bridge. He threw his staff and It collided with my arrow, setting off the explosion before catching it again and continuing on his way.

As soon as he came within range, Jefford stepped forward to intercept him. He was more agile than the heavy suit of armor suggested. They collided for but a second before the tabaxi somehow climbed over Jeffords shoulder and lunged for me.

I met his staff with my blades, and we clashed. He sent a volley of strikes with dizzying speed and I couldn't keep up, but I didn't need to. I followed his rhythm and parried most of his strikes, but was unable to land a strike myself before I was overwhelmed. His staff landed between my horns and I was sent face-first to the ground. I looked up only to be struck again, and blacked out for a second.

Awakening to the sound of metal clashing, I realized that I was being dragged to my feet by Sandra. We were both back behind Jefford as Vera and Cyrus were both confronting the man who knocked me out so swiftly. Vera kept up with his speed and agility while Cyrus acted as backup, looking for openings and striking.

They seemed to keep him busy for a moment until he swept Vera's feet with his tail and knocked her into Cyrus' shield before bashing her in the side of her head with his staff. At that moment, Sandra cast a spell.

"Air blade." A translucent green boomerang shape shot from the end of her staff and careened for her target.

He jumped to avoid it and hit the ground with his staff to jettison himself in our direction. Jefford swiped his halberd at him, but he spun sideways to avoid it and his staff met the side of Jefford's head with a clang shortly before he hopped behind him.

He jumped toward me and Sandra. Her staff was already glowing to cast a spell, but I wouldn't dare move from between them. As he neared me, only one thought was on my mind.

"Burn." My vision flickered red and heat rushed from the top of my head down to my toes. My swords were ablaze and time seemed to slow down. Curiously, he didn't catch fire.

I struck at him with both swords, but he parried them with his staff and tried to hit the side of my head. I tilted my head, and he hit my horns instead. He tried to jump behind me, but I knew where he was going and tossed Baroness at him. He tried to parry it, but it returned to my hand and I threw it again.

He shrieked as it landed in his gut. It wasn't deep and his armor stopped it from going farther. He yanked it out as fast as he could to the result of smoldering flames emanating from under his armor.

"Perfect," said Sandra, raising her staff. "Fire tornado."

A powerful wind whipped up around the man, and the embers became a raging fire swirling around him. Panicking, he threw his staff at Sandra and it landed in the middle of her chest, winding and knocking her backward.

The fire tornado died down and he started moving, but I wasn't about to let him do anything. I struck the back of his head with Reaver, and he fell forward, motionless.

"Is he dead?" Jefford stood next to me. He seemed slightly disoriented and his stance was off.

"I don't think so," I said, staring at the fresh wound I just created. "Should we kill him?"

"We should, but I wanna try something first." Vera waddled over, holding the side of her face. Cyrus was close behind. "Now that he can't fight back, try using that orb on him like you did with that cat. Something's off about a tabaxi with a human face."

"Alright." I bent down and retrieved the orb from my bag. It began glowing eerily. I touched it to the man, and he began glowing as well. In a flash of light, his fur was gone and his tail was missing.

"And that's the se...cret." Vera fell over and was caught by Cyrus as her eyes closed.

"Vera. Hey Vera, wake up!" Cyrus' panicked cries alerted the rest of us.

"Let me." Sandra hobbled forward, holding her chest. She lifted her staff and a single cough saw blood shoot out of her mouth. "That doesn't feel good."

"Are you ok?" I reached for her, but she held her hand up to stop me.

"The moment you relax is when you succumb to your injuries. Looks like we both made that mistake." Her staff glowed green and levitated up on its own. "Healing breeze." A gentle whirlwind swept up around us all and the slowly spreading purple discoloration on Vera's face began reversing. After a minute, it was gone completely.

Holding the orb in my hand reminded me of Katie, the cat. "Katie," I called. This was followed closely by the sound of a meow that came from nowhere in particular. It was confirmation that she had become my familiar.

"My head hurts... Why does my head hurt?" said the man who'd just turned from being a cat.

I found myself crouched in front of him with Reaver in his face. "Don't move," I said.

"I can't move. My head hurts... That wasn't a dream, was it?" He sounded saddened.

"No," I said. "What happened to you? How did you turn into a tabaxi?"

"I'm Kane, a novice adventurer. I was approached by a bearded merchant months ago. He had the power to transform creatures into monsters and said he could do it to humans as well as long as they were willing."

"And you were willing?"

"I just started out as an adventurer and... He was very convincing."

"What else do you know?"

"He said his name was Mez- something, but told me to call him Muriel. He said he could bring forth the powers of my forefathers. What he didn't say was that he'd have complete control over me..." He began tearing up. "I'm going to die. I can feel it."

"What makes you so sure? Your wound isn't fatal yet."

"I don't know, I just feel it." His eyes closed. "You can leave me here. The pain's gone."

"Guys?" I looked at the rest of the group. "What do you think?"

"I think we should let him have his way," said Jefford, "It's the same as with the cat. I don't think we can save him."

"You're right." I looked back down at the man. "We're gonna kill the guy who did this to you." I stood and sheathed my swords.

"Wait," Kane shouted and startled me. "If that's the case, there's more you need to know."

"Such as?" I crouched back in front of him.

"There are four more. Illia and Liam are twin snipers. They were children on the street when we recruited them. You probably already ran into them. They passed me before you came and one was heavily wounded. Reece was a dancer before, but now she's deadly with one of those blades that go in a full circle. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah."

"Good. The last guy is Fontane. He was around longer than me, so I don't know if he's being controlled as well. He's a swordsman and I think he's from Azuma. He uses a katana." He took a deep breath. "That's all I know..." He fell completely still.

I rested my hand on his back. "Sleep well."

"I'm not dead yet." He sounded insulted. "I'll get there, just go."

"Alright." I went back to my group. "How are we doing?"

"Better," said Cyrus, "But she's not waking up." He stood with Vera in his arms.

"I'm up." Vera raised her hand as high as she could. "Don't you dare... Ever... Ever... Say that." She tapped Cyrus' chest between words. "I don't close my eyes to sleep."

"I'll say it as many times as I need to if it means you'll open your eyes again." He smiled.

"Whatever. Put me down." He did and she continued. "If what he said is all true, that means, we're walking into a gauntlet."

I asked, "You heard all that?"

"Got no choice but to listen when I'm waiting to die." She stretched her arms and legs. "We have no choice but to continue. Does anyone need to rest before we go?"

"I'm fine," said Cyrus.

"My spell should have taken care of everyone's wounds for now. and it's better to keep moving while the adrenaline is pumping." Sandra turned toward our destination.

"No rest for the wicked," I said, doing the same.

"Agreed." Jefford was already walking forward across the bridge.

"Then let's go," said Vera as we all continued forward.

Less than an hour later, we spotted a woman walking toward us. She held a moonblade nearly half her height around and each of the protruding points was shaped like a leaf. She was clad in emerald wraps that fit her form closely with parts of it draping off and glimmering in the sunlight.

She stopped not far from us and assumed a flamboyant stance with the inner ring of her weapon teetering on the edge of her fingertips. We paused as well and the three of us who could, took aim.

Standing on her tiptoes, she jumped much higher than I thought she could. we all shot and missed, but she was still hit with a wall of flame. it didn't seem to phase her much as she landed surrounded by a whirlwind before charging toward us.

Without enough time to aim again, we readied ourselves. She turned in a full circle and threw her weapon while approaching. It cut through the air at frightening speed and collided with Cyrus' shield as he charged in front of us. It bounced back and she caught it while flipping clear over Cyrus, making sure her sparkling heel collided with the back of his head.

Next was Jefford, who was twirling his halberd in front of him. Mid-flip, she struck down at him and their weapons made contact.

There was a blue flash and she was flying uncontrollably through the air followed by Jefford who swam through the air. He brought the sickle of his halberd down and she twisted out of the way, narrowly avoiding it.

He landed faster than she did and swiped up at her. She matched his swipe with one of her own and used the momentum to vault behind him.

The moment she touched the ground, a crossbow bolt landed in her chest. The impact came as a shock and as she reached to pull it out, a blade ran through her from behind. She was now impaled on Jefford's weapon.

She looked at it as if it wasn't real even as he lifted her into the air and blood began seeping out. She opened her mouth and reached for the blade. She grabbed it with her hands and looked at her palms then looked at us with sheer terror in her eyes. Jefford yanked his blade back and she landed on her feet before taking a step and slumping to her knees.

Before she was impaled, I could only think of what I could do with the amount of experience she had, but I snapped out of it and ran forward with the black orb in my hand. As I got closer, I could make out her features. Most of them were smooth and angular including her long ears which pointed outward.

Touching her with the orb caused a flash of light instantly and the sharp angles that consisted of her face softened while her ears became more human.

"Thank you..." Her fleeting words sunk under a scarlet pool where they died.

"You're welcome." I closed her eyes and laid her down.

"How are we doing?" Vera asked to a collectively positive albeit melancholy response from the rest of us. "Then let's get moving."

After a few hours, we could see land in the distance and the sun hung low in the sky. We continued until we reached land. The sun was setting and a breeze was picking up. Directly in front of us was a dark forest. Straight through it was a considerably shorter bridge to York Town on the other side.

We walked cautiously between the trees and it wasn't long before there was activity. The first thing was a series of faint popping sounds from different directions that came in twos. Jefford was the only target with both shots bouncing off his armor while the rest of us ducked.

I was going to sneak away from the group, but Sandra tapped my back and said, "Stay still."

Two more shots came from different directions and bounced off Jefford's armor. Immediately after, Sandra stood and her staff glowed bright like never before and her eyes did the same. She gripped both ends of her quarterstaff and pulled them away from each other as they morphed into hollow chambers with sights and curved handles, bright green in color. Her staff split into twin guns.

Jefford kneeled and she hopped on top of his back before turning back and forth, firing bright green bolts of energy out of the guns. Her efforts were rewarded with return fire, but she only unfurled the skeletal wings she kept hidden and hoisted herself upward, avoiding the projectiles. From there, she dodged by flapping her wings. Each time she did, a layer of viridian feathers would cover both of them before disappearing.

Watching where the shots came from on one side, I took aim and waited. Eventually, I saw the head of what looked like a cross between a human and goblin peek out from between some bushes. I shot and the arrow with a trail of red behind it found its mark.

The goblin fell with a yelp and noticing this, Sandra turned her full attention to the other one. A few seconds later, the bushes near the one I shot ruffled a bit, and I took no chances. My next shot put an end to the movement.

On the other side, the return fire stopped for a moment. Sandra waited, patiently hovering in the air with both viridian pistols trained on the wilderness. Suddenly, a white flash flew from the undergrowth and landed in Sandra's chest at the same time she fired both guns at the light's origin.

I watched as she fell out of the air and landed with a hard thump.

"Sandra!" I called, attempting to rush to her side. Vera grabbed my waist and stopped me.

"We need to wait and see if she got them." Her warning landed on deaf ears.

"I'm still alive!" called Sandra, raising her hand between the bushes. "I got them."

Jefford stood first and began walking toward where the last shot came from. He lifted the small form of a gray goblin from the ground. and brought them over. They had a clear tear in the leather of their armor over a recently healed wound and a hole in their throat. Cyrus went and retrieved the blue one on the other side which had two arrows sticking out of them. one from the chest and the other from their head.

Despite them already being dead, I touched them both with the orb and watched as they transformed from awkwardly hairless amalgamates of human and goblin to human children with long red hair and peaceful demeanors.

We took a moment to bury them and almost forgot about Sandra bleeding out on the ground. She was using the time to heal her own wounds and stayed down to rest. She had used up too much magic and she was hit more than once before the shot that knocked her down. I helped her up and she leaned on my shoulder as we walked. By the time we exited the forest, she could walk on her own.

The next bridge wasn't nearly as impressive as the last one despite being built similarly. It was less than half as wide, but it was just as high over the waves below. The island it led to wasn't very far and we crossed it in only a few minutes.

On the other side was a grassy plane surrounded by a shallow forest. beyond that was a cliff all the way around. There were multiple vibrant colors of flowers growing among the grass and the moonlight illuminated them eerily.

Far on the other side of the field stood a large, closed gate into town. Between us and it, sat a man coated in red scales with a pair of horns protruding from his head. He looked up as we approached. He was waiting for us.

Like before, Sandra, Vera, and I took aim and fired. Sandra's staff was back to normal.

He didn't draw his sword and instead dodged before the projectiles could reach him. Suddenly, he was standing much closer than before. His speed was astonishing.

Cyrus went forward with his shield and Vera hid behind him. He could absorb an attack and she could use her speed to retaliate. That's not how it played out.

He walked confidently toward us and we continued firing at him. Both physical and magical attacks missed as he seemed to teleport past the projectiles as they reached him. Our only bet at this point was close combat.

He neared Cyrus and reached for his sword. Cyrus raised his shield and there was a red flash. The man was now behind both Cyrus and Vera. After a short delay, Cyrus' shield fell in two and Vera hit the ground.

I was shocked.

Nobody moved as the man took a step and stopped. A yellow line of electricity traveled around his entire body. He turned and looked between the folds of his clothes and found a dagger shaped like a lightning bolt sticking out of his side. Retrieving it, he threw it into Vera's corpse still lying in the grass. She did her job, not going down without a fight.

He continued walking toward us with electricity racing around him until he stopped in front of Jefford. As soon as he wasn't moving, I took the shot. He reached for his sword again and this time, there was a red and blue flash simultaneously. As the light died down, I could see the man standing where Jefford was, looking toward me and Sandra. Jefford was behind him with his halberd swinging down, blocked by a curved sword held over the man's head with one arm.

There was no sign of my arrow, but now I had a clear shot and he couldn't move. I took a breath and took the shot. My arrow spiraled through the air straight to my target and as it closed in, the man swung his sword, foregoing safety from the weapon above his head to cut my arrow in half.

Before Jefford could swing his blade down, the man moved forward. As soon as he did, I dropped my bow and retrieved my swords. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Sandra surrounded by a stream of magic flowing upward. With that in mind, I charged forward.

"Meo," I called him subconsciously, and I was right to do so. Not only did I gain a fire that surrounded my body, but my senses sharpened immediately. He didn't even appear outside my body.

The man's speed was still blinding, but I kept up with it. His first strike was to my throat, but I ducked and his blade met my horns. I twisted around and swiped at him with both my swords, forcing him to back off. His lack of armor was probably why he was so fast, but that also meant one hit could kill him.

He re-sheathed his sword and dashed at me. I moved forward as well and tossed Baroness into the air. Watching his movements, I mimicked his form and struck forward.

There was a bright flash of red light, and our blades clashed. The impact sent shock waves up my arm and rattled my bones. My shoulder hurt immediately and I almost lost my footing. I thought for a second that I died.

Baroness was still mid-air and falling slowly. Because of Meo, now I could smell the sheer amount of blood in the air and how much we were all drenched in it. It was enough to make me vomit, but I had to concentrate.

I pushed forward, and he stepped back, allowing my momentum to guide my sword down and away from him. In a moment of unprecedented clarity, I watched him swing his blade straight down into my shoulder. As soon as I saw where it was going, I twirled on my tip-toes to avoid the slash and hopped off to the side.

Upon scanning our surroundings, I noticed that everything was layered with a red hue and nothing else was moving aside for him and me. Everyone was frozen in place and the wind stopped blowing. Even Baroness was frozen in the air.

Before I could take in everything, The samurai stepped forward and slashed at me. Refusing to lock blades again, I twirled to the side and struck at him.

He stepped out of my range and closed the distance again with another strike. Just barely dodging to the side, I placed Reaver behind my back to make sure his blade wouldn't cut me on the way past and planned to retaliate quickly.

I was glad I didn't move too quickly because he soon used his sword as leverage to flick me to the side. If my sword wasn't there, I'd have been in half. Instead, I was thrown a yard away where I tumbled back into a standing position.

As soon as I was on my feet, I noticed that a blade was descending upon me. It was all I could do to block the strike with both hands supporting my sword. The pressure forced me into a painful split, but my arms held up to the shock.

He removed his sword and swiped at me from the side. Uncertain of what would happen if I blocked it, I fell backward and dodged it to the result of his foot ramming the space between my legs and causing me to slide farther away.

I completely forgot about the pain in my arms as I scrambled to my feet while my legs buckled below me all the way.

Barely standing again, I felt something was coming my way and looked up to see another slash already on the way down. It was too late to block it completely, so I lunged forward making sure to at least keep our blades in contact while I used only one hand to hold it.

He heaved the blade downward and it cut cleanly into my shoulder, but as soon as I felt his blade against my skin, my other hand moved and Baroness appeared in it.

In less time than it took for Jefford to finish the downswing of his Halberd, the samurai and I were both yards away and impaled. His sword was halfway to my heart and mine was through his. We fell to the ground, and I blacked out.

My eyes opened on their own and I saw darkness. I stood and looked around at the sight of a small red fox sitting patiently at my feet next to a brown kitten. there was nothing else but us three and a world of darkness.

"Am I dead?" I asked, taking in my lack of surroundings.

"Meow," said Katie.

"Then, where am I?" I looked up and saw an array of glowing red lines and curves that looked like a giant eye staring down at me. "What is that?"

"This is your 'eye'," said Meo. "You're a beast summoner, just like your mother was. Every summoner has an 'eye' that links them to the entities they can summon. That is your mark as a summoner."

"You mean, we're inside of me or something?"

"Correct, you've finally opened your 'eye' and entered this space."

"What do I do here?"

"That's up to you."

I looked at the kitten. "Katie, what can you do?"

"Purr- purrr." Her fur turned gold, and she grew to half the size of a horse as her tail grew spines on all sides. She turned into a manticore, but kept her kitten-like appearance.

"Nice." I pet her and she purred in response. "I'll be sure to call you at some point." Still petting Katie, I looked at Meo. "I kinda know what you do, but can you just tell me?"

"I give you my abilities. That is, the abilities of a firefox. I can draw out your flames as well as give you the senses of a fox. Not to mention the ability to copy people you see and make you faster."

"Cool." I thought for a second and said, "You haven't said your own name in a while, is something wrong?"

"Oh really, meo? I hadn't noticed." Meo looked up sharply. "It looks like it's time for you to go, meo."

I was going to say something, but everything disappeared.

A sharp pain in my shoulder forced me awake. I sat up quickly and winced. My entire chest was bandaged all the way around and I was holding the black orb in my hand.

"Lay back down." Sandra was standing over me. I was lying between flowers in the grass.

"How is everybody?" I asked, looking around.

"Jefford and I are fine, but Cyrus isn't waking up even after I healed him and Vera..." She shook her head. "We'll be going without a leader for a while."

I flexed my arm, and the pain returned. "Ow!" I grit my teeth and clenched my fist.

"Stop, you'll re-open your cut." She grabbed my arm. "You need to rest while you can. We're lucky enough to have the moments of respite we can get. With enemies this strong, we should all be dead by now. If they all came at us at once..."

"Why didn't they?" I looked down at the orb. "Why a gauntlet? They could have all come at us at once." I stood despite the pain and against Sandra's wishes while my knees threatened to buckle. "I'll go alone from here."

"No, don't even think about it." She threw her arms around me. "That's suicide. Don't be like Vera, I can't handle two of her."

"Yeah, I'll come back." I put my arms around her as well. "This was about me the whole time. The least I could do is see to ending this myself." Gently, I pulled her off of me and continued toward the gate in the distance.

"Then, you're not going alone-"

"No. You still have to look after Cyrus... And bury Vera." I looked briefly in the direction of the two.

"Why do you want to die so badly?!" She screamed.

"I-"

Her hand made contact with my face and stung my cheek. "You're staying here until we can regroup and move out. There's still a chance Vera's alive. We just have to wait and see..."

"That doesn't change my decision. Katie." I called the kitten and she appeared in a golden glow between my horns. She jumped to the ground and transformed. "Instant death needles, remember?"

"Even so-"

"Jefford," I called him. He looked up from watching over Cyrus and Vera. "Do you have any problem with me going alone like this?"

He said, "If this is where you choose to die, I won't stop you, but consider those you leave behind."

I scoffed. "Unbelievable." I continued walking toward the gate with Katie at my side. The sound of quick footsteps followed me and I sprinted, making it to the gate and hopping over in a single leap.

On the other side of the gate wasn't a town, but instead, was what looked like a mausoleum. The building was triangular and made of a mix of stone and marble.

The landing jostled my shoulder, and the pain returned. I bore it and continued forward. The double door was ajar when I approached and entered.

Despite the outside, the inside was cold and dark. My heart raced as I plunged deeper into the darkness, widening my eyes and reaching my hand forward until I remembered foxes can see in the dark.

"Meo," I called and he responded.

"I'm sorry, meo." Meo appeared in front of my face. "Get out of here, meo."

"Meo?" I reached for him, but suddenly, I felt a hand holding the back of my neck. The feeling paralyzed me and Meo began floating backward away from me.

A sinister laugh resounded off the walls and filled the building. "I thought for a second that you figured me out, but here you are." The voice was gruff, yet vaguely recognizable.

"Muriel the betrayer," I said, attempting a step forward. the hold the hand had on my neck kept me in place.

"Mezurealite, really. Only my closest enemies call me that."

The room suddenly lit up with orbs of light near the yellow marble pillars holding up the high ceiling. The ground was made of chalk-blue stone with an array of circles and triangles etched across the surface. I was standing in the center.

Near the walls were a number of people in pale gray cloaks or similarly colored armor. On the far side of the room, sat a large man with a jet-black beard and mustache. He was missing the hat, but he was the same person. In his hand, he was holding Meo by his neck.

Suddenly, a green bolt flew at his head from behind me. It looked like it hit him, but nothing happened. He simply raised his other hand and Sandra raced past me at break-neck speed. She stopped in front of him, struggling and reaching for her throat. He snapped his fingers and her head violently jerked to the side. He released her and she fell limply to the ground.

I watched in horror, unable to do anything. I thought of calling Katie, but then I realized I had already done that. She'd have been there if she could. Something happened to her as well. My mind began to slip. I couldn't think straight and I couldn't move.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes. You thought your little friend was helping you, but I never stopped controlling him. He's been my puppet the whole time."

"You..." I said, as my voice wavered.

"That's right, it was me, Meo!" He chuckled.

"Burn." My vision went red and Meo lit up in brilliant scarlet flames. I still couldn't move, but my will to burn everything around me became more prevalent than anything.

Muriel jerked the hand he held Meo in hard to one side and I suddenly felt a sharp pain race up the back of my neck. "Oops."

I blinked hard, trying to keep focus, but I couldn't. My mind went blank, and all I had left was the searing pain. The array on the ground began glowing bright red under my feet as the red from my vision faded back to normal.

"Oh, looks like it's almost complete." Muriel was ecstatic as if what was happening was too good to be true. "Now for the final few steps."

He raised his other hand again and the black orb lifted out of my bag before hovering above my head. "This is called the 'legacy of eternals ritual', and one of the requirements for it is that you know what it is and what it does."

He sat forward on his black leather seat while the people standing near the walls began chanting something in an unknown language. "The circle on the ground is made to take your power and send it into the spirit realm like a fishing line where it'll draw in the strongest soul from your bloodline. From there, we yank it into your body and you inherit the qualities that made them special. The downside is, your soul is subdued, and you'd have to wrestle control from someone who's much stronger than you. While you're doing that, I'll just hit you with a mind-control spell at the right time, and I'll have the legendary 'Mortal Hero' under my control.

As soon as he was done talking, the chanting from all sides of the room became all I could hear. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach and a red light shone from the floor. At the same time, my vision began to fade to black.

"Hey there." Suddenly, the chanting stopped, and a man's voice cut through the new silence.

I opened my eyes to find that I was in the dark space inside myself again. Meo and Katie weren't there. Instead, there stood a tall man with long, black hair. He wore a black cloak marked with red. Behind him stood two large creatures, but he blocked my view of them. To the side was a large gate wrapped with chains, a lock, and an eight-point star.

"Who are you?" I asked. I'd seen portraits of my grandfather and he didn't look like him.

"I'm who you just called." He looked up. "Burn. That's what you said. I was drawn to your passion and rage. You just lost someone close to you." He looked me in the eye. "I'll take over from here."

"No. I grabbed his collar with both of my hands. This is my body. You can't have it. I won't let him have what he wants."

He placed a hand between my horns. "Trust me." He gave a sad smile, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "I saw your memories on the way in."

At that moment, he looked strikingly familiar. It was like I was looking in a mirror. "Promise me I'll get my body back." My eyes were as teary as his.

"I promise."

"Okay."

The darkness receded and I was still standing in the center of the array on the floor. My head moved around outside of my control and 'I' looked around. Muriel was standing now and Meo was lying at my feet next to Katie.

"Come to me," said Muriel with his hand outstretched.

"No." The voice came from me, but I had no control.

"Now, don't be like that, Demitree. We're old comrades." He spread his arms.

"No, we're not." My arm raised and Reaver was in my hand.

"The mind-control must not have taken full effect yet." He clapped his hands once and someone stood from behind the leather chair behind him. Murcury walked around the chair with Millie unconscious in his arms. "Succumb to me if you know what's best for all of you."

"You wouldn't kill her. You need her. Her horns are new and there are so many things you can do with that. You probably put this ritual together with the power from those horns."

Muriel put his hand up. "Make him kneel." The people near the wall began moving. They retrieved weapons of all kinds and descended upon me at once.

The first one to get close was met with the palm of my hand toward them "Burn." They caught fire and fell to the floor. This caused many of them to pause in surprise. I put up my swords and reached both of my hands out. "Heatwave." The air gained a tint of red for a second and all of them were knocked back. The metal on some of their armor started melting in the process.

"Stop." Commanded Muriel. "You're not Demitree. He used black earth magic. You use red fire magic, but you're not the girl. Who are you?" The people surrounding me began retreating back to the wall.

"I'm your worst nightmare."

"Murcury, knock her out, we need to re-do the ritual."

"Sure thing." Murcury sat Millie down and dashed toward me. As he came closer, I saw that his skin was entirely red. Just as I left it. "I'm not holding back this time." He drew his scimitar.

"Good. Fire's strong against ice, anyway." 'I' pulled out Reaver, and with a back-turn on one foot, we clashed.

In an instant, I was surrounded by a block of ice. It melted just as quickly, then Murcury cast a spell.

"Crystalize" The leftover water re-froze as he struck at me again.

'I' tapped the ground with my other foot and the thin layer of ice shattered as I twirled while our blades made contact again. I was duly trapped in another ice block. This time, instead of melting, it began burning from the outside in before shattering.

"Got anything better than that?" 'I' said, pointing my sword at him as he backed off.

"Stigma." His sword began glowing blue, and the temperature dropped below freezing.

"That's more I like it." My sword turned black and silver marks started appearing on the surface. "Now I can let loose a little."

"Blizzard." Murcury raised his hand and a flurry of snow filled the room and the lights were overtaken until darkness moved in.

"Inferno." Bright red flames sprung up from the floor and 'I' moved forward.

I couldn't keep track of my own movements as both swords were suddenly in my hands and pushing against Murcury's scimitar. He looked shocked with his blade barely blocking an attack aimed at his throat.

My foot moved swiftly and tripped his feet from under him. As he fell, my fist rose and the butt of my sword slammed down on his chest. Next, I turned the blade around and threw it down point-first.

The blade stabbed into the ground. Murcury teleported and was standing more than a few feet away, panting. The look in his eye was closer to someone who narrowly avoided death than I thought it'd be. He was struggling with something, but he didn't look to be in pain.

"I'm surprised you can still stand given what this girl did to you. I'm guessing you have the curse of 'unfeeling'. That explains so much."

"Celestial body." Murcury gritted his teeth and his blade flashed blue before changing at me. The handle lengthened until it became more like a staff and the blade changed shape to what looked like two razor-thin orbs on either side of the end. What was a scimitar was now a glaive.

The temperature only continued to drop despite the flames rising from the ground. Murcury raced toward me with his new weapon pointed forward. Ice was growing rapidly from under his feet as he went.

"Body of flames." A spark of red saw my body surrounded in fire much as it had with Meo, except my senses hadn't changed at all.

My blades clashed with Murcury's glaive and the temperature continued to drop.

"Flower blade dance." The image of my swords appeared before me as red and translucent before spinning and rotating around me.

We clashed one more time and he tried to jump away but 'I' followed him as he was forced to block an assault of four blades before the two made of magic shattered and disappeared, giving him the chance to escape.

My blades swung forward and a thin red blade of energy shot from each of them. He was forced to block them and was knocked off balance.

With speed that made me question what I was seeing, 'I' was right on top of him before he regained his balance. His back hit the floor and he pushed away, sliding on a layer of ice. The flames on the ground had died out and the blizzard was gone. As he stood, it felt like I was submerged in sub-zero water.

"Last rights." Both his weapon and body began glowing as his hair grew dramatically and turned dark blue while his skin began showing a pattern similar to scales. "Arctic underworld." He raised his staff and suddenly, it was like I was being stabbed from all directions with needles that punctured every cell in my body. It was so cold, I couldn't understand how I could feel it.

"I've seen enough." Faster than I realized what was happening, 'I' had already moved toward him. Our weapons only clashed once and I was behind him. The air was now filled with red sparks that twinkled and hovered in place. My swords were covered in them. "Dance of the fireflies."

The sound of a fuse being lit came from every direction at once as an uproar of light and heat followed. The cold was all but gone and Murcury was now face-down on the ground unconscious. Even if he couldn't feel it, his body had given out on him.

'I' walked through the smoke past his body and pointed straight forward. "You're next."

No one was there. Muriel and Millie were gone. Looking around, I found that the people standing near the walls were gone as well. The only people still there were me, Murcury, and Sandra.

"Extrasensory." My eyes widened and I could feel the presence of everybody on this small island.

The people that left the room were completely gone. Murcury was totally subdued, but there was a presence in his sword as if it was another person. Jefford was still where I left him, Cyrus was conscious, and there was a strange feeling coming from Vera as if she still held onto her soul. There was nothing from Sandra, but there was a presence hovering in front of me.

"I'll give her back, you can say goodbye then." 'I' looked around in a circle as if there was a chance my senses were off. "They really are gone. It's just as well. Her body is near its limit as it is." 'I' placed my hand on my chest and cast one last spell. "Healing flame." What followed was a violent eruption of flames from all of my wounds at once as they closed in unison.

"Pardon me." The voice came from Murcury's sword. It glowed blue and began morphing into the shape of a person. She stood with long brown hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a short-sleeve black top under a high collar blue trench coat and a low skirt over fishnet stockings and knee-high boots. "My name is Aquarius, do you understand?"

"I do. You're a Zodiac Master, right? Why would you reveal yourself to me?"

"You may have held back most of your power, but I can sense the depths your power reaches. You'll make a fine master."

"What about this girl?" 'I' gestured to myself. "Without me, would she still be suitable?"

"While similar, her power more than pales to yours."

"Is that a 'no'?"

"Correct."

"Then I'll pass."

"So be it." She glowed blue and turned back into a sword.

'I' walked over to the black orb still floating in the air. "Now all that's left is this." 'I' reached for the orb and crushed it between my fingers.

I blinked and suddenly I was back in the dark space within myself. The man was still there, but everything else that came with him was gone and he was fading away.

"That's it. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Wait, who are you?" I asked, reaching out to him.

"Oh yeah. Take those spells I used. your body should remember how they're done. Just be careful. You'll have a couple of minutes before the fatigue catches up with you. Those wounds will open again after some time, so rest. I don't want to see you again for some time."

Suddenly, he was gone. I looked around to find Meo and Katie at my feet on the marble floor again. I reached for them and Meo burst into flames while Katie melted into a puddle of gold. Both of the substances leaped from the ground and wound around my arm. In doing so, they marked my skin with a swirl of red and gold before disappearing at my shoulder.

I examined my arm for only a moment before noticing that Murcury was gone. Aquarius probably took him because she knew I would kill him if he was still around. My pouch of the solution to relieve the Reaver's curse was also open and Reaver was wet.

Realizing that everything that happened wasn't a dream, I rushed to Sandra's side and felt for a pulse. There was nothing. Just then, I felt a hand on my back and a pressure on my cheek that felt like a pair of lips. Looking around, I saw no one.

I picked her up in my arms and left the building.