The vision was vivid and vibrant, more than her eyes could have seen. This fiercely beautiful being, full of rage and regrets, covered in scars and secrets, should have been nothing to her, a random misfire of her mind conjuring an image of a girl she had never met. Yet it was everything, for without it her stopped heart wouldn't have given its first beat. It was the dream that gave the dreamer life, though its significance would never be known.

You are here.

The urge to breathe pulled her into reality, but instinct stopped her from giving in. She saw only darkness. She felt only cold. As her mind woke, an innocent, half-conscious question was her only thought: Was this death?

You are alive.

At once, the water around her and the fire inside assured her that life still coursed through her veins, but not for long if she continued to stay still. All she could do was guess which direction was upward, then swim frantically as the current and her aching muscles fought her. Despite her efforts, the water seemed to expand into eternity.

Hope began to slip away. Her limbs grew numb. The world became darker…

You exist.

…then exploded with light. Gasping as soon as she breached the surface, the crisp night air was like ice to her burning lungs.

Her opening eyes slowly brought the world into focus as she floated with the waves. A colorless blur became a brilliant star-filled sky. Gentle sounds of wind and water eased her panic. Thankfully, it took little effort to remain afloat in the dense seawater.

Now she had time to think, and discovered that her mind was alarmingly blank. She couldn't seem to recall who or where she was, where she came from, or even how she ended up nearly drowning. Scraps of memory floated through her mind like pages torn from a book, but out of context they were useless. Even the dream she had while underwater was fading. Her thoughts could form into words, so she hadn't forgotten her language, at least.

Looking down, she was startled by something moving in the water. Upon realizing it was her own lengthy hair, she felt a twinge of embarrassment, but this was soon replaced by a disorienting sensation, as if there was something amiss.

Was my hair always so dark?

The thought did not feel as if it were her own. Before she could puzzle over it, a swift movement caught her attention in the water. A large shape circled her with incredible speed. The instant she realized that it was actually the shadow of something above, it suddenly dove in her direction, too fast to avoid. With an explosion of water that rapidly shrank beneath her, the girl was pulled into the sky. Under her dangling legs water sped past and became land before she even had time to struggle.

The creature that held her slowed with a flap of its mighty wings, causing a cloud of sand to erupt beneath them. Into this cloud her captor descended, landing as it dispersed and setting her on the shore in one graceful motion.

As she tried to stand and run, the soft sand slid beneath her feet and rushed to meet her. All the air she fought so hard for was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground, and only now that the sand stuck to her wet body did she realize something she should have noticed from the start. She was completely nude.

A distant echo of laughter reached her ears, too far away to be from anyone who could see her, but that did not prevent her cheeks from flaming with embarrassment. The creature offered its hand in assistance. A hand. With fingers, not talons. Her instincts couldn't seem to decide if it was comforting or frightening in its strangeness.

Before attempting to stand, she took in her surroundings. The sand stretched along the entire visible coast, dotted with various arthropods crawling in and out of the ocean, some being preyed upon by bats the size of boars. Of civilized life there was no sign. Further inland loomed a steeply rising forest that must have been ancient, judging by the enormity of the trees.

A second entity emerged from the shadows of the forest, a figure that approached her with measured steps. Though his appearance was much more humanoid than the creature, the black armor that covered his body blended seamlessly with the darkness. Her eyes struggled to focus on him until he was nearly upon her. Ignoring the beast's offered hand, she stood on her own to face the newcomer.

To her, the man resembled a knight. But the memory of knights was a faded one, like everything else she had managed to recall. His footsteps were soundless as he walked toward her. No sand clung to his feet. Hardly any light was reflected on his armor. He was a human-shaped void in the darkness.

Stepping between them to regain her attention, the creature reached into the weathered satchel it wore and held out what appeared to be clothing. It folded its four wings onto its back, one set feathered and the other reptilian, pulling back shadows as if they were curtains. Unlike the knight, the creature stood out strikingly from its surroundings. Red and green scales that covered its muscular body from the neck down glistened metallically. In the direct moonlight, what first seemed to be black fur covering its feline head and neck now appeared more akin to feathers.

Stolen novel; please report.

Looking into its gleaming blue eyes, she carefully accepted the clothing from its hand, wary of the fingertips. She could see indents where catlike claws had been retracted. This caused her to consider her own fingers. Why were her claws so flat and dull? They appeared too brittle to be of any use. No, she remembered; these were fingernails, like those of a sapien. But what was a sapien? Was she a sapien?

After looking the garment over, she began an attempt to dress while maintaining her balance. It was a red one-piece with an intricate design, made up of two strips of heavy fabric that met at her waist, forming a 'V' shape that exposed her chest and back. Decorative cloths hung from beneath the front and back of the belt, and a seven-pointed star adorned the non-functional buckle. It was better than being naked, and the warm nighttime breeze didn't require more clothing. Once dressed, she did her best to attain some level of composure while fighting her urge to flee.

The creature spoke, its voice deep and mesmerizing. "Unexpected, but fascinating. I should have known such a thing was possible. Were you with her before she was captured?"

His words only confused her, so she did not answer.

"The harm doesn't seem as dire as I had anticipated," he continued, his feline features masking a surprising degree of articulation. "But judging by how you look, and how you look at us... you don't remember me, do you? I am Ayan, do you remember your name?"

She shook her head.

"Then I hereby grant you the title of Glitchen Apostle Number Seven-Zero," Ayan declared. "We've come to help you. Let us take you home."

She tried to speak. "Zel… S-sefeth... Zell-oh," she stammered, then tried harder. "Zel. Lo. Ah!" Attempting to move her tongue made it like a living thing in her mouth, with the flexibility and speed of a viper. Slight movements were difficult to control. "Zero. Sev-en. Seven-Zelo. Zel!" She was growing more frustrated. "Ah! Zel! Ah!"

With a low rumbling that was halfway between a purr and a chuckle, Ayan placed his hand affectionately on her head. "Close enough. Azela will suffice better than a number, until you choose a name more fitting."

His touch brought a sense of comfort to the newly named Azela, but it was short-lived.

A deafening explosion interrupted the moment, sending tremors across the beach.

In the center of the blast, a woman stood amidst the flying sand and vaporized water, her red robes and hanging jewels whipping in an unsettling wind that Azela could not feel. The stranger's face was contorted in anger as she bellowed, "You! False dragon, you stole and contaminated our specimen! I know not what foul magic you've used to animate this soulless creature, but by order of Vane, step away so that I may dispose of this abomination!"

The air crackled like thunder as the woman's tattooed hands clapped together. Red light surrounded her body, illuminating the area with an ominous glow. An echoing chant in an unknown tongue poured from her cracked lips. Azela trembled unconsciously. She was not quite able to remember what those words meant, but the sound of them called forth dread on a primal level.

Small red bolts of light shot between the stranger's hands as she separated them, coalescing into a radiant orb.

"No one orders me, mortal. Leave now and live to warn your master against meddling with forces beyond him," Ayan said, and seeing that the woman ignored his words, he let loose a roar that seemed to silence the world. Even the knight made of shadow flinched at the sound of it.

The glowing woman threw the orb at Ayan, but he ducked out of its way. The distant cliff wall behind him exploded into a cloud of red fire. Ayan spread his wings and slid across the beach in the attacker's direction, reaching out with his claws. He glided across the sand as if it were ice, moving with effortless speed. Silvery blades extended from each of his forearms. They resembled swords attached to the back of his wrists.

As Ayan slashed at his opponent with his arm-blades, the glowing woman sprang out of reach, unleashing a second orb that struck him in the abdomen. Using the blinding explosion as cover, the woman flew rapidly toward Azela, holding yet another glowing sphere.

"It must be destroyed!" the woman cried out with fervor, hurling the weapon.

With impossible speed, the shadowy knight appeared between the orb and Azela, receiving the full force of the impact. His armor heated to violet as he was engulfed, and as Azela collapsed from the shockwave, she couldn't see or feel anything except the searing flames.

Before the fire in the air faded, Ayan roared again. Azela's vision cleared just enough for her to see a brilliant blue beam blast forth from his mouth like dragon's fire, hitting the robed attacker before she had time to move. Without a sound, her body was incinerated at the light's touch. Azela looked quickly away from the falling remains, but she could still see glowing ashes being carried by the wind.

Gradually, the flames surrounding the knight vanished, leaving him shrouded in smoke and steam. As his armor cooled to black again, he calmly lowered his arms.

Something about the way he stood left Azela feeling awestruck. It reminded her of someone, someone dominant and powerful, but try as she might, she could only recall that vague image of strength.

Ayan retracted his arm-blades and sped to Azela's side, shifting her back into reality. She had not landed well from the fall, but seemed unhurt otherwise.

After a second she turned her head away from the armored man, but before she looked at Ayan her attention was drawn to the ocean. A vast wall of steam had risen from its surface, stretching as far as the eye could see. Azela realized that it was the path Ayan's beam had taken as it passed through the robed woman, evaporating everything in its way in an instant. If his aim had been slightly off, there would be almost nothing remaining of Azela, either.

Azela turned to face Ayan and smiled uneasily. With her memories lost and someone with powerful servants out to kill her, there was only one path to take… for now.