The smell of cherries and limes flooded Perrin's nostrils as something tickled his face. He appreciated the scent and inhaled deeply. Something tightened around him, and he noticed a weight on his chest and legs. Opening his sleep-addled eyes, he saw that the tickling offender was a mop of silver hair. Finally, connecting two brain cells together. He realized that Mazikeen had decided that he was cuddle worthy.

Perrin wasn't sure what to do about the sleeping temptress. He tried freeing himself from her clutches, only for her to tighten her hold on him. Trying again, her hold tightening to almost bone-crushing. He gave up at that point.

The woman could probably pop me like a grape.

His lack of movement led to her relaxing her hold on him, which his ribs were thankful for. He reached his hand down to her back to try and nudge her awake, only to come in contact with silky smooth skin. That's about when Perrin realized that he felt quite a bit of that silky smooth skin on his body. Lifting the covers up with his free arm, he immediately dropped it back down. Mazikeen was wearing her birthday suit under the sheets. The image of her naked body was burned into his mind. He was quickly having a situation coming up between the bend of the leg that lay across his waist.

He cleared his throat and gave the voluptuous sleeping beauty a shake. Mazikeen ignored his attempts to wake her as his rising issue became a full problem. Deciding that he really needed to excavate himself from this situation. He turned his body towards the woman, which she thankfully allowed, thus hiding his problem. He closed his eyes, trying to think said problem away.

He wasn't opposed to sleeping with the woman. He had a pulse, after all, but he at least wanted to have the option to decide for himself. Perrin had a strong inkling that she would take advantage of a said problem with great gusto. He was also confident that he would enjoy it very much but shit. It's the principle of it. He wasn't the submissive type.

My life is so… strange. I haven't been laid in months. I also haven’t had a woman throw there self at me like this sense my days in the military. A time when I was a little more willing to decimate a female population around the post. Now I have this woman who looks like I designed her in a character screen just for my naughty desires. Even her broken personality satisfies some depraved kink I have. This is almost the exact type I avoid now that I’m older. They are fun but walking trouble. Infatuation or love can turn to burning hatred and vindictive actions at the drop of a hat with these types. They just can’t be predicted. I know it’s not a fair assessment of her for all of the probably 12 hours that I’ve known her, but I can only work off my own experience. I just need to be careful and not give into her. Games of control are clearly her thing.

Mazikeen adjusted herself, and Perrin opened his eyes. She was lying on his arm, purple eyes staring right at him, full wicked toothy grin wide on her face. He was now sure that she had been fully awake the entire time.

I'm not going to be embarrassed by this. I'm not going to be embarr… well, shit.

Perrin felt the heat rise in his cheeks. His body letting him know that it gave zero fucks what he thought. He smiled in defeat and said, "Good morning, Mazikeen."

"Good morning, lover. You were amazing last night. I've never been so satisfied in my life," she started rubbing her fingers down his chest as Perrin began spluttering.

"I did… we di… huh. I… but I was…" He trailed off as Mazikeen started giggling at him and pushing playfully at his chest.

"I am just messing with you, Perrin. Relax. You will most definitely be aware of our first time." Her hand started trailing down his chest to his abs, the tail tale look of mischief in her eyes hinting at her goal. He grabbed her hand before she reached his boxers, and she allowed him to pull it away.

And there goes my problem again. Damn this woman. And look at her face. She knows exactly what she is doing and causing.

Perrin blushed again and rolled out of reach of the woman he was now positive was a succubus. Grabbing a pillow, he covered his… situation and got out of bed. He grabbed his go-bag and did what he thought was a very undeserved walk of shame to the bathroom, refusing to look back. Convinced if he did, he would lose the will power to not take up what the woman was clearly offering.

He took care of his morning routine in record time. The fear of the temptress coming in mid-shower, sending him into overdrive. He pulled out his spare clothes from the bag. He put on the brown t-shirt, off green cargo hiking pants, pulled on his old iron rangers, and walked out. Mazikeen had yet to get out of bed. Her body was covered by satin-like sheets that clung to her exceptional curves. The display giving off an arousing invitation that Perrin was hard-pressed to deny. Her gaze had turned to him as he walked out of the bathroom.

"I think I'm going to cook some breakfast. Pancakes?" Perrin said.

"What are pan cakes? Are they tasty?" She said in a quizzical tone.

"Pancakes are very tasty, Maze, very tasty," he said with a smile.

"Why don't you have the servant make them, and you crawl back in bed with me and… talk about whatever comes up." She said in a sultry tone.

Good lord, this woman is a predator. That's it. I need to get out of here before she changes her mind about even letting me leave.

Perrin made a polite decline for which Mazikeen cackled louder than he thought his pride could handle, and he practically ran from the room.

Making it downstairs, Perrin started on breakfast. Sausage, eggs, bacon because yes, and pancakes were prepared in short order. He again ignored that each time he reached inside the fridge, whatever he was looking for was there, and only said item. He had enough to worry about, and if his kitchen wanted to give him what he wanted when he wanted it, then he wasn't going to complain.

By the time he put together two large breakfast plates, Mazikeen made her way down the stairs. She was actually dressed pragmatically this time. Not to say she wasn't still a sexy dream walking around, just that she seem to know what Perrin had in mind for the day or maybe night. He wasn't sure what time it was, and he couldn't find his phone amongst the things he grabbed before jumping in the portal. He decided since he was having breakfast that it was now morning.

The silver haired beauty walked up to where Perrin was setting down the plates. Her single ponytail and militant fatigues of green and black clinging to her body in a distracting way. He was certain it wouldn’t pass muster in the military, but might make her millions in an action movie.

"This smells amazing." Mazikeen said as she took a seat at the counter.

"I hope you enjoy it. It's probably my favorite combination for breakfast if I have time to make it. I like biscuits and gravy too, but it takes too much prep work, and I want to be in the first arch shortly after we eat," said Perrin as he moved around the island to grab a bottle of syrup from his magic kitchen cabinets.

He looked around for the butter but didn't see it anywhere, so he moved to the fridge, and a fresh stick was waiting for him to pick it up. He walked to the other side of the island to sit down. He noticed Mazikeen go to say something, but she hesitated, looked to the left, then snapped her mouth closed. He thought it was strange, but his life was weird, and he was hungry. So he ignored it. He was going to have to stop doing that pretty soon. He could slowly feel his mind rebelling against the unusual things, but he had to keep it together until he found this Dio character. He needed answers, not panic attacks.

"This goes on the pancakes like so…" he said as he sliced some butter on her pancakes. Then he poured syrup on them. "And voilà, bon appétit madam," Perrin said with a flourish of syrup. Mazikeen giggled and took her first bite. The inappropriate moans coming from her as she chewed let him know that he had converted another one to Team Pancake.

He grabbed his last strip of bacon and started smearing it in the leftover syrup before he popped the piece in his mouth. His thoughts turned to what they were about to do. When he finished chewing, he turned to Mazikeen and said, "I am not really sure what to expect once we step into the portal. There is supposed to be a punishment because you were brought here. I know part of it is that I don't have access to the training facilities. I'm assuming that those are needed to start this ascension thing. This means I was probably supposed to level up or some shit before I went in. I will go out on a limb and assume that since this place decided to punish me for bringing you, you are powerful? I mean, I know you have power, but if the training wheels were taken off because of your presence, then you must be akin to a broken cheat character or something."

Mazikeen took a drink of water and wiped her mouth off with a napkin that he was sure hadn't been there a second ago and said, "I have power. Compared to you currently, I would be considered very powerful. I have yet to achieve Unity, but I can touch my path."

"Yeah, I have no real idea what that is. I got the overview, but I think a lot of the information just didn't click with me. I'm sure that you could probably explain it, but without Dio giving me access to what was left to me. I probably couldn't do anything with said information. Right?" Perrin said as he picked up the dishes and took them to the sink.

He turned around when she didn't answer, and he caught a brief hint of confliction on her face before it when neutral. She shrugged then said, "I honestly don't know what… he left you. You were… he was beyond brilliant, Perrin. Any information I gave you might actually hurt whatever plans… he made." Her face was full of pain as she said the words.

Shit, good job Perrin. I guess the recording hit her hard.

He had been worried about situations like this surfacing since he had decided to let her see the recording. Knowing the information was necessary to keep issues from coming up later on. He figured now was as good of a time as any to explain himself and his thoughts. He just hoped that she would still be willing to help him after he made his feelings clear.

"I'm sorry, Maze, I know that what I showed you must have been a serious blow. I couldn't even imagine knowing a person so long. I never expected to live past 75 or 80 years. You all are claiming to be thousands of years old. It is difficult for me to understand the depth of a friendship or relationship that lasts that long. I don't want to hurt you more, but I do want us to be on the same page here," he turned and sat the dishes down. He organized his thoughts before picking an approach that he thought would be honest.

"I don't want to confuse you, Maze. I want our fledgling friendship to be based on honesty. I am not whoever was in that recording. I have lived a completely different life with different experiences and morals that drive me. I'm not sure what I would have done if he hadn't made it clear that his memories were completely gone. This is my life, and I won't give it up for someone I don't even know. I'm just not him. I know he was loved and probably a great man, maybe even a god to some people. We shared a soul at some point. He decided he wasn't worthy of it anymore. I would have never done that to my family, even if I can understand why he made the decision that he did.” Perrin made a diagonal chop with his hand emphasizing the point.

“I won't turn my back on people I can help if I have the power to assist them, but that isn't him saying that. That's just how my mother and father raised me. I might even make some of the same decisions as him. For instance, I detest people being bullied. So I most likely would have cracked some heads for you if I had witnessed a similar episode when you two met. But that isn't because of him. It's because my father would have beat my ass if he thought I let something like that go unchecked. Just thinking about it, I can hear him saying, "son, what if that was your little sister." And a swift kick in the ass would come shortly afterward." Perrin paused for a second, gathering his thoughts.

He caught a smile on Mazikeen's face at his last statement. He grinned as well; his father had been one of those men from a different time. He had firm beliefs in doing the right thing even when no one was looking. He had been able to do anything he set his mind to. He could build a house or tear apart an engine and reassemble it without a manual. Hell, Perrin's great grandfather knew how to make lakes and dams. He was still unsure how he figured out how to do that without the internet, because he wasn't an engineer. The A's men were just old school definitions of Men. His father didn't talk the talk. He just walked the walk, never needing thanks or recognition for the good things he did. Perrin had worshiped the man for that and tried his damndest to emulate that in his life. He wasn't his father, but he did think that all the smacks to the back of his head and ass-kicking hadn't steered his life in the wrong direction.

Perrin took a deep breath, thoughts of his father fading from his mind. He blew out said breath before continuing, "I just need you to understand that I'm not him, and I never will be. That said, I probably won't survive without your help right now. I just don't want you to do it under some false belief that whoever I was, is me. If you understand that and you still want to help me. I would be very grateful. If you don't want to help. I won't hold it against you. I'll do everything I can within my limited power to get you out of here either way. It's my fault you are here in the first place."

Perrin had nothing else to say, so he waited for Mazikeen's response. He prayed that she wouldn't decide to start working against him. If he was frank with himself, the woman terrified him in ways he didn't know existed. If he hadn't been battle harden or drudged through more than one gauntlet of “Murphy’s” finest moments. He would probably be in a full-blown panic attack blubbering to himself in a corner. Depending on what she said, he might still do that.

He knew that he would probably die before he found Dio if she didn't come with him. The warnings had been all too clear. If she caused the difficulty of this place to increase, then she must be powerful. This was only speculation, of course. If his previous self was so brilliant, then he surely would have been smart enough to know that something could happen that forced him to bring someone else without power. It was just another question he would have to save for this Dio character.

Mazikeen studied him as the silence thickened in between them. He couldn't read her face. It had gone to a blank, emotionless mask after the brief smile. After what felt like five minutes or so, he started to say something before she held up her hand to stop him.

"I'll help you, Perrin, but I want something in return. Three things, in fact. One I will have from you right now, and the second price is something that… well you can't give it to me as you are currently. The third will require Dio's assistance and may not even be possible, but I will not count it against you if that is the case. You may not ask what these things are, and I will not speak them aloud. You must give them freely and without reservation. I will tell you this much, but nothing else. Neither thing will harm you in any way permanently, nor will it physically hurt anyone else. If you want to establish trust, gain my help, and grow our friendship. This is my price." Mazikeen said.

Perrin thought about her words. He felt like he didn't really have a choice. At the same time, he shouldn't expect her to help him for free even if she needed him to get out of this place. If the things were not going to harm him and wouldn't hurt anyone, then he didn't really see why he wouldn't give them to her. He didn't like it, though, and had a feeling that if he was able to ask questions, he probably wouldn't give these things over. Perrin also thought about situations where he absolutely shouldn't agree to freely give things over.

She might want my damn soul or something. Now that I've been told they are real, it seems like the very thing I shouldn't be giving away. No, she said that they wouldn't harm him. Taking my soul would probably constitute harm. I bet that I could ask Zimon. He's here to help me, right? I should at least try that before I give her an answer. The definition of stupid, in my opinion, is not using the resources allocated to you.

Perrin started to look up from Mazikeen's face to call out to Zimon, but she disappeared from the chair. His brain sort of short-circuited at her disappearance. He knew that she could move fast, but no, she could fucking teleport? There was not a sound, though. He knew that much, or he thought he did. There would be some type of pop or whoosh of air being displaced. But there was nothing. He then realized that maybe he should have made some plans with Zimon before having this conversation. His ears were straining to hear her. His fear of the unpredictable woman rooting him in place.

Perrin opened his mouth to call out to Zimon in a desperate attempt, but a warm hand quickly covered his mouth. Mazikeen's hot breath brushing against his ear as she whispered, "Be calm, lover. I'm not going to hurt you. If you call that thing, then I will take your answer as a no. In fact, say nothing. You will nod your head in the affirmative or the negative to my price. Do anything else, then I will take your actions as a no. Do you understand, little mouse? Nod for me. Good, good boy. Now, you have five seconds to nod yes or no to my price. I will know if you aren't freely giving these things up. So try really hard for me, lover, if it's a yes."

Perrin felt as though he had been thrown into an icy sea. The chill feeling ran through him in a wave. He focused past the cold sensation, having zero clue how to do what she asked, he mentally willed himself to freely giving away whatever it was she wanted. He then nodded that he accepted. His mind swirled, the room flipped upside down, and he lost his balance for a second. Everything righted itself, and the disorientating experience was over. Mazikeen held his body up until he was able to gain his balance again. She released him and appeared in her chair as if she had never left, not a hair out of place that he could tell. Perrin wasn't even sure just what happened, really happened. He thought maybe the stress was getting to him.

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Mazikeen was smiling in triumph. Her eyes went up to her left then she cackled loudly for some reason. Perrin thought he might be losing his mind. "Relax, you aren't losing your mind, Perrin. I merely took my first price, is all. You will be perfectly fine in a moment."

"Why were you laughing?" He inquired.

"No questions, remember, lover. Let us just say… I won a personal victory. Now, let us leave all of this for the servant to clean up. Don't we have a portal to go through, and a… sore loser to find?" She smirked. Perrin felt like he was yet again missing something.

Whatever, to hell with it. Games of control indeed. I didn’t even make it an hour after my mental pep talk before she checkmated me. Probably taking pieces off the board in a single move that would keep it that way. Fuck it, it seems I bought my fiddle of gold. Let see if the price, whatever that is, was worth it.

Perrin gathered up his things. He stuffed water bottles into his go-bag from the magic kitchen, which also happen to have MREs because, of course. Looking at his gear, he realized that he couldn't do anything about the ripped tactical vest but thought he might find a use for the body armor. He salvaged the gear off the vest and stuffed it along with the armor in the black bag. He looped the rifle's combat sling across his torso for ease of use. Strapped his pistol back on his leg. Having a thought, he called out to Zimon.

"Hey Zimy, can I open the study inside a portal. Also, is there anyway I can give Mazikeen permission to enter freely. I don't know what we are going into, but it looks like I'm the weak link. I may need to retreat without her depending on the situation. I don’t want to leave her hanging if I can help it.”

"Master will have access to the study in certain areas. The guest has been added to the list. Does the Master know how to access the study properly? Data shows that the study may have been called forth by accident."

"Shit, you're right, Zimy. I hadn't thought of that. I have no clue how it actually works. Say study, maybe?"

"Quite right, Master, but you may also think study, and if the area allows it, then you will be able to access the entrance. Now that the door has been unlocked, you will no longer need to place your soul item on the door to open it. Simply think, open, and the door will open for you. Think, close, and it will close for you. The same is true for calling the entrance or dismissing it."

"Thanks, Zimy. Nice catch btw. Well, wish me luck." Perrin waved as he and his busty silver haired companion made their way to the portal room.

"Good luck, Master. You will most certainly be needing it,” the AI said quietly as the door closed.

*********

Perrin and Mazikeen stepped out of the golden door. He then tried thinking the door closed and away. It happened just like he had been told. He pulled out his medallion and started walking archway to archway, waiting for the item's gem to light up. With his luck staying as loyal as his favorite girl at a brothel, it was the very last arch that finally made the little blue gem glow. He looked at his companion.

"Are you ready?" Perrin asked.

She nodded in the affirmative, and they stepped into the undulating silvery liquid. He felt a jerking sensation in his gut, followed by heat suffusing his body to the edge of being painful, then it stopped.

Perrin released the breath he had been holding and opened his eyes. He found himself sitting on a stone bench. He took in a breath and promptly started gagging. The smell of onions, old piss, and shit almost causing him to sick up. His eyes burned from the stench. Looking around, he saw that Maze was still beside him. Her clothing had changed into something decidedly different, though. She now had on some seriously skimpy armor that he was pretty confident didn't actually protect the wearer from anything. She looked down to see why Perrin was staring at her body and then smirked at him. A second later, she wore something closer to what she had on this morning. A Green t-shirt with dark combat style cargo pants, and black boots. It gave her a sexy off-duty female soldier look.

He personally thought the unrealistic video game armor looked way better, but he wasn't about to give her any more ammo to tease him with. Never mind the fact that the clothing just appeared from no where. The list continuing to grow. Mentally shaking the images of side boob and unexplained bull shit from his mind. He caught her smiling at him like she knew exactly what his thoughts were.

Do all women now know my thoughts.

"Yes," Mazikeen said.

Perrin choked.

"What did you just say?" He managed to get out.

She just smiled and ignored him. She started checking him out. Her face looking pleased with what she saw. Perrin felt a little breezy now that he thought about it. Looking down, he realized that his clothing had changed as well.

His shirt had been replaced with some type of leather armor that went around his right upper torso with two hardened pieces sticking out covering his shoulder and arm. His pants were now gone, replaced with what he guessed was a war belt with a maroon colored skirt made out of cloth. He thought it might be of roman style, but he wasn't sure. His medallion was in the middle of the war belt. Metal shin guards and sandaled feet finishing off the gladiatorial look.

That explains the breeze. Where are my rifle and pistol?

He noticed a huge, unrealistically long sword sitting beside him leaned up against the bench. The blade had to be half a meter in width and two in length. One side of the blade was razor-sharp, and the other side looked like it had something akin to pic rails similar to what was on his rifle. He thought maybe its function was the same, although he couldn't fathom why a sword would even need attachments.

The hilt looked markedly different, though. It wasn't straight, but a pistol-grip design very similar to his rifle only tilted downwards at a forty-five-degree angle. He thought that if he could hold the monstrosity out with one hand, he would still be able to hold it out straight. The rest of the hilt curved out and slightly around the end, becoming straight enough that he thought he could probably use it with two hands. It looked cool and stupid all at the same time.

He, of course, immediately started to play with it. He found that he could actually pick the thing up. He chalked the anomaly up to game mechanics, maybe. He wasn't sure and didn't care because it was awesome. His inner geek going wild in his head. He heard Mazikeen snicker at his antics, but he only gave her a sheepish grin and continued to check out his new weapon.

"It has to be named. But what should I name it? Maze, any suggestions."

"It's a bit girthy, isn't it?" She said with a giggle.

"It is, isn't it. The blade is ridiculously wide. How about… Gertha?"

"Sounds like a winner to me, lover. Wide is good." She said, then gave Perrin a swat on the ass, eyeing him suggestively.

Perrin turned a little red at the apparent innuendo.

He looked more closely at the trigger guard and realized that it was actually missing pieces. He could see where the housing could even be taken apart, and he assumed something could be added to it. There was an open slot where a trigger might go. He was so caught up in the new toy that he didn't really pay attention to where he actually was.

A loud boom came from the ceiling, and dust came down and got in one of his eyes. He set his new blade down as he rubbed at his eye. That's when he started to pay attention to where he was. It was a prison cell if he had ever seen one and one from ancient times if he had his guess. The pot in the corner being a give away to the smell from earlier. The cell had a dirt floor and was probably three meters by 4 meters—an iron banded wooden door standing as the only exit.

The boom from the ceiling came again, only this time it was more rhythmic and accompanied by a loud chant.

Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom! Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom! Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom!

The chant and thud of probably thousands of feet were felt in Perrin's chest. He looked over to Mazikeen.

"Where the hell are we?"

She had a broad smile on her face as she said, "Search me. I would hazard a guess that the thumping of feet, and feverish ritual like chanting, that we are in some type of primitive gladiator arena."

"Why are you smiling?" Perrin said as his panic started to rise.

"Why Perrin, I believe we are about to fight to the death. Doesn't it feel exciting?" She stood up, and a manic twisted gleam was in her eyes.

Perrin didn't shy away from the look. He let the panic take him fully and run wild in his mind as he counted to ten. He then promptly squashed it dead and kicked it over to a corner in his consciousness. He let the more primal side of him take command. It had been honed over the years, mission after mission—the thrill of life and death situations sharpening his senses. Yes, Mazikeen was most likely right. It seems right out of the gate. This place was going to try and kill him.

He closed his eyes and let his adrenaline run through his veins. Before he knew it, he was stomping in rhythm with the beat. Then he was chanting with the crowd above. He could feel blood lust start to consume him as the chant and stomps went on.

Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom! Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom! Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom!

The door clanged then started opening. Perrin snarled at the door like a rabid animal. His eyesight started tinging with red around the periphery. A large aqua blue-skinned being walked into the cell. He stood seven feet in height, eyes' scalar void black with vertical and horizontal slit red pupils that glowed with an ominous inner light. He had white hair tied in a top knot, hair shaven on the sides. Two horns of crystalline onyx stretched to backward curved points on each side of his forehead. The elven like pointed ears were a little too long, and curved back at an angle. It was like the evolutionary progression was going for something more arrow dynamic. The thing looks sinister. Perrin wanted to kill it immediately.

He reached for Gertha and pulled the blade up. Mazikeen grabbed his hand, lowering the tip of the blade back to the ground. He struggled against her grip, but he might as well have been trying to push a skyscraper over with his bare hands for all the good it did. He started snarling, spittle flying from his mouth .

"Calm down a little, lover. Take it to a slow burn, but don't put it out. Don't let it control you." Mazikeen said in a soothing tone. Her words had the desired effect as he calmed down to a more manageable rage.

"What do you want, demon?" said Mazikeen in a sneer.

The demon looked back at the door, and Perrin saw a metallic plate in it’s center depicting an Alpha symbol. The devil looked around with a wide smile. He had two elongated fangs on the top and bottom of his otherwise entirely too-white teeth.

Speaking in a deep resonating voice he said, "Alpha cell… huh. Well, we didn't think you would be stupid enough to break that particular set of agreements. It's your funeral, though." The demon shook his head in mirth.

"What set agreements did I break?" Perrin spit out.

"You will see if you survive, that is. Come along. You two are up next." The demon chuckled and walked out of the cell.

Perrin felt the rage inside of him burn hotter. Somewhere deep in his mind, he thought something was wrong with him, and he wanted to rebel against the strange feeling. Mazikeen stepped up beside him and started stroking his back.

"Let it burn, Perrin, let it burn. Control it, use it, my warrior." She said in a soothing melodic voice as she guided him out of the cell door.

As they walked down the dingy hallway, Perrin came back into sync with the crowd's rhythm again. He didn't lose himself this time but control the burning rage like Mazikeen asked. He let it wash through him. Perrin had never felt so on point before in his life. His senses were laser-focused. His rage was perfectly controlled. The feeling was intoxicating. The rhythmic booms above, growing louder and in sync with his beating, rage filled heart.

He wanted death. He ached for the thrill of battle. He craved to feel his enemy's warm blood splash over his skin as he eviscerated them with the power of his blade. He sought, no, he needed skulls. A throne of them. Rivers of blood running to either side. He would burn the world to the ground to see it done.

Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom! Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom! Boom! OOOOOOOHHHH AHHH! Boom!

The hall eventually ended in a sizable iron-barred portcullis. The noise from the crowd rolling through him like shockwaves of painful pleasure, feeding Perrin's need for blood and violence. Loud creaking sounds of metal chains being ground together sounded as the blue demon turned a wheel to raise the gate. Perrin paid the demon no mind. He watched the bottom waiting for his chance.

Once the portcullis was open enough for him to pass through, Perrin rushed it. Sliding under the bottom like he was in some first-person shooter trying to avoid sniper fire. Spear like projections at the bottom barely missing his head with their sharp edges. Momentum carrying him up to his feet, he noticed that he still had Gertha in his right hand. It pleased him. She was going to earn her name today. Entering his foes bodies, filling them until they split in half.

The crowd hushed as someone started speaking from a balcony high above. He didn't care. All he could see was blood bags entering the massive dirt arena through similar portcullises. He didn't count them because it didn't matter. They would feed his thirst. The arena was open with no obstacles. It pleased him that his victims could not hide from their fate.

Mazikeen walked up beside him. Her soft hands rubbing his back in small circles while she cooed to him in the same melodic tone. He felt like it was telling him to wait for a moment. That not all of his foes were here yet. He agreed with the suggestion like it was his own. The rage and need easing in pressure. He could wait. Yes, waiting was good. The more that came, the more he could feast on.

A large portcullis directly across from them opened, and an armored figure stepped out. He thought the figure was female by the looks of the breastplates design. A silvery centurion style helm sat on her head, matching the breastplate. The details were noted and summarily dismissed. She would die like the rest. It made no difference to him.

Mazikeen's hands stiffened for a moment at the sight of the armored female, then continued their ministrations. In that brief moment, Perrin's rage faltered. A voice inside him was screaming that something was very wrong with him. But it disappeared as her circles started again.

"Well, that is annoying. Sigh… It looks like I won't be as much help to you, my love, as I'd like. They seemed to have provided me with a suitable opponent. No matter, though. The other opponents are fair for you, mostly, just more numerous. This is a free-for-all, so they should take most of their selves out. All you need to do is survive long enough for me to handle my foe."

Perrin understood precisely one thing from her statement. She would be feasting as well, just not beside him. He found this to be fair, he would share with his female, but he wanted to take his foes down by his own power. The thought of their warm blood running down his body took his need to new heights. Mazikeen's circles centered him again as he waited to start the slaughter.

The crowd started stomping again as the entryway behind him clanged shut. There was a loud bang like a large tuning fork had been struck. It's humming filling the air. Perrin noticed that Mazikeen had disappeared from his side along with the armored female. Loud claps of thunder could be heard overhead, and then the armored female slammed into the center of the arena. She created a sizable crater but was instantly up cursing loudly. The woman bent her knees then disappeared again in a blur—her movement sending a shockwave of pressure outward. The dust from the wave momentarily blocking the view of the other opponents. That was okay to Perrin. He remembered where they were and thought this was the perfect time to start hunting his foes.

He turned left and started slowly jogging towards his first victim. His right arm stretched out, Gertha's tip dragging behind him as he picked up speed. The crowd's stomps and chanting starting up again. He fell into blissful sync with it—their mantra begging him to slaughter.

His first opponent was an eight-foot, six-armed beast-man. His head was that of a grey wolf, muzzle, teeth, furry human like body and all. Perrin never slowed down as he came out of the dust cloud, like a wraith, relieving the beast-man of his right lupine leg. He then spun, slashing at the arms of the foe as it tried to catch himself. Perrin’s strike taking two hands and a few fingers on the third with the blow.

The beast-man howled in pain. His eyes found Perrin's, and he started to beg, "Dear God, please stop, I yield, I yiel…eeegugh,” the beast-man cut off as Gertha made a "thwink" sound while cleaving through his spine. His head flying from his shoulders in sprays of blood. The body unwilling to give up on the lost cause. Perrin bathed in the spray. The warm red liquid coating his skin, drawing out a moan from his lips in ecstasy. He shuddered, and a vicious smile split his face. He couldn't dally long, though. There were more springs to be tapped for his river after all.

As he continued on to his next meal, the sounds of fighting and things dying started to ring out around him. Mazikeen's battle overhead sporadically, giving off "fa-rumps" that he could feel in his chest, followed by loud cracking "kabooms."

The brief advantage the dust gave him had finally settled down as he came upon his next two opponents fighting. They both seemed to be male and were in similar armor to him. One was a bald dark-skinned humanoid with short small triangular ears, eyes wholly orange in color with tiny black dots as pupils. The other was some type of half-breed mix of what he assumed was human and demon. His skin was blue-ish in tint. He had blond hair and slightly pointed ears. They weren't quite elven and not extended or slanted back like the blue demon Perrin saw earlier. His red serpentine eyes had no inner glow. He was also getting his ass handed to him by triangle ears.

Perrin was conflicted. He could keep moving on as he didn't want to wait for the fight to conclude, but the thrill and need cleared that right up for him. He'd just attack them both while they were preoccupied with each other. Gertha was surely more than enough for both of them, and he wanted to share her with anyone he could.

Triangle ears struck the half-breed in the man's right thigh with its dirk. The half-breed stumbled, and Triangle ear moved in to capitalize on his opponent's opening. Perrin sprinted in from the side, swinging Gertha with finesse. That is to say, he swung her like a man with a tennis racket fighting off a nest of hornets. Perrin had zero skill with a sword, and Gertha was more akin to a wrecking ball than a sword anyway. The fight had moved farther than he had judged, but he still thought he might hit triangle ears.

Triangle ears moved at the last moment, and Gertha only clipped his hip. Expecting more resistance, Perrin spun around and fell on his ass. The blond half-breed took full advantage of the situation, skewering triangle ears in the abdomen with one quick thrust of his falchion. He then performed a spin move, gracefully decapitating his opponent. This all happened faster than Perrin could blink. The half-breed was good, and Perrin's rage could appreciate a master at his craft.

The half-breed stumbled again shortly after the fancy move. Clearly, his leg wound was more debilitating than his little decapitating performance had shown. The man turned to Perrin and gave him a warm and friendly smile. Small and just a little too long pointy canines visible.

"Thanks there, Chapo. I really thought that Grax had me there for a second. Then wham! You come out of nowhere to catch him on the hip. Saved the shit out of me.” The half breed was gesticulating Perrin’s actions wildly, reenacting his swing and miss like he’d been some sword master at work.

Perrin was confused. He hadn't tried to save anyone. Gertha was just too damn unwieldy.

"I appreciate the assist, but I believe that is it for me, though. I can't finish this one with a busted leg.” The half-breed looked at Perrin like he was supposed to say something. When Perrin said nothing he continued, “Right… Anyway, Chapo, I owe you one. I’ve been meaning to settle that score with Grax for sometime now. Come find me if you survive this. I run an adventure shop on the south end of town. I’ll hook you up.” He tipped an imaginary hat and vanished without a trace.

Perrin growled in frustration. Picked himself up and promptly forgot about the eccentric half-breed. His desire for blood unfulfilled from the interaction. He lost control of the burning rage inside of him. The tinge of red that haloed his periphery fully consumed his entire vision. It was the last coherent memory he had for a time. A haze of pain, blood, and the ecstasy of battle was all he knew.

The haze started to fade when he took a gash to his upper chest while somehow falling, jumping maybe, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was coming down with Gertha, hilt reverse gripped in his hand, slamming the blade home in his foe's chest.

He was pretty sure he just impaled a panda man. It had four golden eyes, black and white coloring and a monstrous muzzle full of needle fang-like teeth. The panda must have gotten a hit on him as he was coming down and the pain shocked him out of his blind rage. He brought it back under his control. It seemed to be mostly sated now.

The Panda man was still not dead even though Gertha’s sizable length had impaled the panda’s chest to the ground. It swiped Perrin’s feet out from under him with its massive paw. The sharp claws of the paw missing Perrin’s flesh by chance. He hit the earth, and the air whooshed out of his lungs. He didn't let it slow him as he rolled away from the panda's deadly claw filled swipes. It tried to move out from the blade but couldn't make headway without making it’s situation worse.

Perrin struggled to pull air back into his deflated lungs. After what felt like an eternity, he finally caught his breath. He was furious. The panda man had almost made a meal of him. No, he couldn’t have that, there was only one predator here. He scanned the area for a weapon. He saw a large club laying over to the side out of the reach of the panda man. Perrin thought this must have been its weapon. Yes, he was sure it was.

He strolled over to the club and picked it up. It was almost as large as Gertha. He walked to the head of the snarling four-eyed freak. The thing roared at him and the sound rattled Perrin's chest. Perrin roared back at the panda, then lifted the club, and came down on the panda's head like John Henry. He continued to scream and roar unintelligibly at the panda as he pounded the things head into oatmeal and jello.

He wasn't sure how long he pounded the panda before Mazikeen came up behind him. She plucked the club out of his hands like he was a baby. He turned on her in a snarl. She only laughed at him. He relaxed slightly once he noticed it was his female. He looked down at himself, please by what he saw. Blood, bones, and brain matter covered almost every inch of him. He searched the arena for more foes, but all he saw was dead bodies and dismembered limbs. The chant had changed now that he was paying attention. It switched to something he thought was a little sweeter.

Perrin! Perrin! Boom! Boom! Perrin! Perrin! Boom! Boom! Perrin!

"It looks as though we are the victors, lover.” Mazikeen said.

Perrin was captivated by the sight of her. Mazikeen had never looked more beautiful to him than she did at that moment. Half of her face covered in blood. Most of her clothing was torn to shreds or burned off. Her silver hair frazzled and half fallen out of the ponytail it had been put up in.

Perrin moved before he thought about it and grabbed Mazikeen by the back of her neck. Jerking her face to his. Their lips met, and he kissed her passionately. It was not intimate, but feverish. It was a kiss born of survival. A Kiss born of victory. The taste of salt and iron intermingled with cherry lemons—her unique flavor and soft lips driving his frenzied passion wild. He broke off their embrace after an unknown time. Mazikeen stared at him like she had never seen him before. The two lost in each other's eyes. Lost in the warmth of two living bodies embracing, surrounded by blood, violence, and death.

Perrin pushed her away and fell to his knees, breath ragged. His gaze going to his blade off to his left, impaled inside one of his foes. He was covered in so much blood that he could feel it dripping off his nose and fingers. Some of it was his, but most of it was not. His body felt too hot, and his chest felt like it was going to burst. The primal, animalistic part of him wanting him to howl in victory at the death of his opponents. The crowd was still screaming his name as they stomped.

Boom! Perrin! Perrin! Boom! Boom! Perrin! Perrin! Boom! Boom! Perrin!

The rhythmic stomps and chanting becoming louder and louder. Then from nowhere, large silvery letters started falling from the sky, landing on some of his fallen enemies—earth-shaking booms with each impact. Blood sprayed over the silvery letters each time it squashed a body, making them look primal and gruesome. The rhythmic beat washed over him, driving him to thrust his fist into the air in victory. Unable to hold it back anymore, he began howling to the sky like a beast.

The last letter fell with a final loud "kaboom," and a golden string of letters started forming out of the ether over the bloody silver ones—the stomps and chants reaching new, almost painful heights.

Perrin finished his primal call to victory and saw the display of words. The red started fading from the sides of his vision as he read them in his mind.

Welcome to Daedra

The stomping and chanting stopped. Complete silence fell over the arena. Perrin's strength left him then, and he slumped over. Mazikeen caught him before his head could hit the ground. He closed his eyes. He had never felt so exhausted in his life. Every part of him refused to move. He surrendered to the welcoming blackness of oblivion.