Chapter 15: Boss

Cal stood up, and immediately his mind seemed to expand, his vision going black. He found himself in his core space, the red crystal standing ominously in the dark, with red smoke flowing from its crack into his essence sense rune. Then, he heard a voice. It was familiar, the woman who had brought him here. But now, she wasn't all-encompassing. Her tone was soft, as if she were whispering right into his ear, close enough to feel her breath.

“Hello, my chosen,” she purred.

Her voice was like music—sultry and soft, with a twinge of playfulness... and something else. Pleasure or anticipation, perhaps.

“It’s you,” Cal said, his voice laced with a mixture of recognition and dread.

“Yes, it’s me,” she replied, her tone smooth, almost affectionate.

“I want explanations,” he demanded, trying to keep his voice steady despite the growing unease within him.

“Oh, my poor chosen,” she said, almost mockingly. “Have I not been clear enough for you?”

She let out a little giggle, a sound that sent a shiver down Cal’s spine. It made him feel both good and scared at the same time, like cuddling with a lion—beautiful and majestic, but with the ever-present danger of being mauled.

“My name is Cal, and I’m not your chosen. I’m nothing to you,” he insisted, trying to assert some semblance of control.

“Lies, my chosen. You belong to me, and your name is no longer the same. That disgusting human name does not fit you,” she responded, her words cutting into him like a blade.

Even though he wanted to deny it, something deep inside him told him she was speaking the truth. He was no longer his past self, and he was no longer a free man.

“What is the meaning of this? All of this? Bringing me here, stealing me from my world? What did I do wrong?” he demanded, his voice tinged with desperation.

“Nothing was done wrong, my chosen. Your purpose is simple—you are mine, and your purpose is to please me,” she said, her tone dripping with a mix of satisfaction and possessiveness.

“Fuck you,” Cal spat, his anger flaring.

That giggle came again, and once more, Cal felt that strange, unwelcoming pleasure wash over him. Amusing her filled him with a sick sense of pride, a feeling he wanted to reject but couldn’t.

“No, no, no,” she chided playfully. “Be nice, my chosen. You might hurt my feelings if you play that nasty.”

“What do you want? Why are we speaking?” Cal asked, his voice a mix of frustration and fear.

Her tone shifted slightly, becoming more serious though still laced with that unnerving playfulness. “We’re speaking because it’s time for you to understand your purpose, my chosen.”

“Purpose? What purpose? You’ve thrown me into chaos, and now you’re talking about purpose? I never asked for any of this!” Cal’s voice was rising with each word, the reality of his situation pressing down on him.

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“Of course you didn’t ask,” she replied, almost soothingly, but with a hint of condescension. “Few ever do. But you were chosen because you have the potential to serve a greater cause. A cause that transcends your petty human concerns.”

“What cause?” Cal demanded, his frustration mounting. “What could possibly be worth all this?”

"Power, power is worth anything, you know this to be true, you've felt it.... tasted it"

Cal froze and grimaced, realizing she had a point. The power, the feeling of Essence coursing through him—it was intoxicating. Back on Earth, he had been strong, sure, but that wasn’t real power. Power on Earth was political, financial, or intellectual. There, he was just a cog in the machine. No, he was less than that—he was the oil for the cogs, burned up for the benefit of others.

But here… here, he could run faster than ever before, rip the throats out of bug monsters, and heal wounds in an instant. Beasts, both human and otherwise, feared him. In fantasy worlds, strength was always paramount, at least in the movies and books. Why should this place be any different? Why shouldn’t he seize that power? Why shouldn’t he seize it now?

“Okay, fine,” he conceded, a hint of bitterness in his voice. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t forgive you for ripping me out of my life, but I see what you’re saying.”

He looked up at the towering crystal before him, its red hue casting an ominous glow over his thoughts.

“Power is worth it.”

“Good, good, good, my chosen,” she cooed, her voice a mix of delight and hunger, both carnal and spiritual. “I knew you were perfect for me. You are incredible. Good.”

Her voice was filled with a twisted kind of satisfaction, and he could almost feel her excitement radiating through the air.

“Then you are prepared to do what you need to?” she asked, her tone sultry and smooth.

“Yes, I am,” Cal replied, his resolve hardening.

“Good boy,” she whispered, her breath tantalizingly close to his neck. A sensation filled his body, a mixture of pleasure and pride that made his skin crawl. He hated how much her words stirred something within him, the ecstasy he felt at her praise leaving him feeling disgusted with himself.

“Stop that,” he snapped, trying to regain control. “I’m not your toy.”

“Oh, but you are,” she purred, though her tone shifted slightly, acknowledging his resistance. “No, you’re right. We can save that for later. Now it’s time to converse, my chosen."

“About what?” Cal asked warily, unsure of where this conversation was headed.

“You are not meant to be a mere mage,” she stated, her voice dripping with disdain. “Do not look to the lives and tools of dirty mortals like that elf and human. You are beyond them.”

“But I need more,” Cal protested. “I can’t interact with Essence that isn’t mine. Power comes from taking—that’s what you told me.”

“Taking, not learning,” she corrected him sharply.

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do, huh?” Cal’s frustration boiled over. “How am I supposed to get stronger?”

“It’s simple, my chosen,” she said, her tone turning cold and calculating. “The elf has something you want—the ability to manipulate Essence. So take it.”

“She doesn’t have a core,” Cal argued. “Even if I killed her, I couldn’t devour her.”

“The core doesn’t give you your power,” she replied, her voice echoing in the dark void. “Essence, yes. Power, no.”

“Then what am I supposed to devour?” Cal demanded, his voice thick with desperation.

“Her soul,” she whispered, the words lingering in the air like a chilling breeze.

Silence followed, Cal had already made his decision in his heart it just took a few seconds for his brain to catch up.

"Yes, I will consume her soul. What do I call you"

Silence followed, thick and heavy. Cal had already made his decision in his heart—it just took a few seconds for his brain to catch up.

“Yes,” he finally said, his voice steady with grim resolve. “I will consume her soul. What do I call you?”

A gleeful noise escaped her, reverberating through him, bringing with it a wave of impossible joy. Cal didn’t resist it this time; he embraced it.

This is the one who gave me the ability to become something, to escape nothing. Without her, I am nothing, and that is not an option. So for now, I am hers.

Her name came to him in a whisper, so soft it was almost a caress on the wind. Even with her breath warm against his neck, it was barely audible, as if it were both a delightful secret shared between lovers and an ancient burden carried through the eons.

Senseti

Her name lingered in the air, an echo of power and mystery, binding him even more tightly to the path he had chosen.

"You said my name is insufficient," Cal began, his tone shifting to something almost reverent. "Sen—"

"Shhh, no," she interrupted, her voice urgent and sharp. "Do not speak my name."

Cal froze, startled by the sudden intensity in her tone.

"Names have power, more than you know," she continued, her voice softening, but the warning still clear. "For the moment, you may call me... Mistress."

Her breath was warm against his skin again, but this time it carried an edge, a reminder of the power she held over him.

"As for your name," she added, her tone dripping with anticipation, "that is for you, my chosen, to discover."

"Yes, Mistress. I will do what I have to," Cal responded, his voice steady despite the turmoil within him. He felt a strange mix of resolve and submission, the weight of his new reality settling in. The word "Mistress" felt foreign on his tongue, yet somehow, it fit the new path he was being forced to walk.

A shiver ran down his spine, both from the lingering sensation of her presence and from the knowledge of what he had just committed to. There was no turning back now.