I knelt there, head in my hands, for an unknown amount of time. I was aware of a few things; the breath in my lungs, my heart pumping blood through my body, and the absolutely mind-shattering agony in my head, and the message of victory in front of my eyes. With a groan, I collapsed to my side and rolled onto my back, breathing heavily and staring up at the sky. THe notification blinked a green checkmark and disappeared, leaving me looking at the sky. It was sparsely covered by clouds, leaving the stars to shine brightly down upon me. Somewhere out there, Jen and Andrew are living their best lives. I am happy for them, even if it breaks my heart. Besides, I have found souls who genuinely care about me. I don't need her anymore. I need Lia. Rosie.

  With that thought, I closed my eyes for just a moment, gathering my strength. I grunted and sat up, fighting through the pain in both my head and lower body. Bracing myself for a horrible sight, I opened my eyes and sighed.

  "Ah. That's not good." I said, looking at the shredded remains of my left leg. How the hell was I able to move like I did with this kind of injury? I studied the wound closer, a sort of detached, scientific interest taking over. My left foot was missing. Just flat out gone. The rest of my tibia and fibia were completely shattered and my knee was broken, facing the wrong way. Somehow, the wound was cauterized, preventing blood from leaking out. Did my Spark do that? Again, my rational mind warred with my eyes. I should not have been able to stand with that kind of wound. I imagine my foot was obliterated during the first attack and my leg was destroyed when it tore its claw from me. I drew in a breath, feeling the sweet, warm air in my lungs and reminding myself that I was still alive.

  Confirming that I was relatively okay and not currently dying, I assessed my surroundings. The Nevind lay to my left, taking up the majority of that side of my vision. It lay still and unmoving, the black smoke rising from it slowly. From what I could see, the creature was still in one piece. It was dead; I knew that for certain. I felt the Spark leave it when I landed my blow.

  Looking around, I didn't see anyone to help me move closer to the beast, so I sighed and braced my body for a bout of pain. I moved onto my stomach and crawled my way to the front of the Nevind. Yes, it was agony and yes I screamed for a good long while, but I did it. I crawled in front of the creature and stared at it, sad that I had taken its life. I knew that it had to be done, that it would have destroyed the city if I hadn't, but it still broke my heart to see such a beautiful example of evolution brought low. Panting, I laid my hand on the creatures skull and collapsed.

  "I'm sorry, friend." I whispered to the heavens. "Please, forgive me." As I finished speaking, I heard what sounded like a sigh of peace come from the Nevind and the body sank a little further. It could have been my imagination and the blood loss, but I thought I saw an orb of pure blackness rise from the creature and speed off into the night. I brushed one of the pieces of bone armor on its head comfortingly and, while I did receive a message, it was not the one I was expecting.

  This kill belongs to someone else. You can not loot it without permission. Kill Owner: ???

  What the fuck? The hell does it mean, I can not loot this kill? The kill was mine, I was the one who brought it down. Clearly, the creature was dead, else the message wouldn't have popped up at all. Oh, well. Nothing I can do about it currently. Right now, I need to figure out how the fuck I'm going to get my leg back in working order. I haven't come across any amputees yet, which is either a good or a bad thing. Either Carminal has magic to regrow missing limbs, or those who do loose limbs don't live long. I closed my eyes, prayed that Lia would be able to help me, and let my exhaustion drag me under.

  It was... later, when I woke. I wasn't sure what time it was, seeing as how I didn't have my watch nor any way to tell time, but the light coming in through the window was far to pale to be sunlight. As my senses came back to me, I realized that I was lying in a bed under a sheet and blanket. No one was with me, which was strange. I had spent every night in Carminal with some sort of creature by my side, either Lia or Rosie or both. This was the first time I'd woken by myself and let me tell you, I was not a fan.

  It didn't help that everything hurt. My head, my chest, my abs, my legs, my feet, everything. Groaning, I threw the covers off and swung my feet out of bed, placing them on the cool stone floor. I stood, my legs struggling to take my weight, making me stumble slightly, but I reached out and grabbed the bedpost, growling and holding myself up. The stone sucked the warmth from my feet as I wobbled toward the wooden door on the other side of the room. I had to close my eyes and take deep breaths when I reached it. My stomach was not happy with me, clenching and unclenching in painful ways. I fought not to vomit as I opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, searching for Lia. I knew she was fine--I could feel it in my soul that she was, both her and Rosie--but I still wanted to lay eyes on her, make sure she was alright.

  I appeared to be on the second floor of the Guild Hall, at least I thought I was, and I could hear the sounds of celebration coming from somewhere deeper into the building. The hallway was just as dusty and plain as the Guild Hall, but there was a warmth coming from the building that I hadn't sensed before. It felt like something had changed, either within it or me, to make the building 'accept' me. I scoffed at the thought. There's no way a building had that much sapience to actively select which occupants it liked and didn't like. The warmth turned that much colder and I shook my head, abandoning the thought.

  I leaned heavily against the right wall as I walked. It was slow going but I eventually made it to the stairs, a warm light shinning up from below. The sounds of revelry had gotten louder as I approached and it came to a crescendo when I stepped down onto the stairs. I was unable to determine specific words, but it seemed the partiers were excited about something. I watched with a slight smile as someone stood on a table and held a cup over their tilted-up face, dumping the liquid over them. They got a little of it in their mouth, but that didn't seem to matter as they smashed the wooden vessel against their head, letting out a primal yell. I grinned. People were the same everywhere you went.

  I took each step one at a time, using the railing for assistance. I was still in quite a bit of pain but pain was an old friend by this point. I was in no more agony than after the game from Freshman year against Auburn. I had played every down of every game that year and my body was a broken mess at the end of the season. Right now reminded me of the first day of off-season; riddled with pain and fuck-all to do about it.

  I was drawn from my thoughts by the silence. I slowly became aware of the fact that the people had all stopped yelling and screaming and I refocused on the current moment. Everyone was staring at me, some with fear, some with trepidation, and some with awe. I scanned the sea of faces before me, not seeing any of the people I recognized.

  "Anybody know where Lia and Rosie are?" I asked, my voice gruff. It was scratchy and quiet, so I cleared my throat and repeated myself. "Does anyone know where Lia and Rosie are?" This time my voice was clear and firm, echoing out over the quiet room. No one responded for a while until a young man around my age pointed back up the stairs.

  "Upstairs?" I asked, hooking my thumb over my shoulder. The young man nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. I looked up the stairs then back at him. "Really?" Another nod and I leaned my head back, letting out a long, annoyed 'FUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKKK'. "Alright! Let's get this over with." I turned and growled as I raised my left foot, beginning the long trek back up the stairs.

  "Um, sir?" a voice called. I stopped and turned, noticing that the man who had pointed earlier was now talking.

  "Yeah? What's up?"

  "Um, perhaps you should consider, um..." he trailed off, shifting his weight from side to side and refusing to look directly at me.

  "Well, come on, dude, spit it out. Perhaps what?"

  "Um, perhaps you should consider putting on some pants, sir." He blushed and looked away. I looked down at myself, finally coming to the realization that I was as naked as the day I was born. Now, I didn't have anything to be ashamed of, if anything I was quite proud, but I was still embarrassed. A blush came to my own cheeks and I hid myself with my hands, nodding to the room.

  "You're right, I should do that. Sorry about that, y'all." I scurried up the stairs as fast as I could, retracing my steps to the room I had exited and biting down on my groans of pain. I knew the room was mine cause I had left the door wide open, and when I rounded the frame to enter the room, I ran smack into Railey. She bounced off of me, reeling back a few steps. I reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back to balance.

  "Good morning." I said with a smile, letting go of her hand. "How are you?" Railey flapped her lips soundlessly and I chuckled, sneaking by her into the room. "You got any idea where my clothes ended up?" I asked the girl over my shoulder while searching for said clothes. "They stink like week-old sweat and dude, but they're the only pair I have."

  "Your... your clothes are in the wash, sir." she said. I frowned.

  "Damn. What the hell am I supposed to wear, then?"

  "You should not be out of bed, sir. Your wounds still need to heal. I'll go get the Lady." Railey turned and sprinted out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the hall. I shook my head and returned to the bed, sitting on its edge to take some weight off my feet. Looking down, I did a check over my body. I was still the same physically, but now there was another golden scar around my left ankle. It pulsed in time with my heartbeat, just like the scar around my neck. I smiled and shook my head, astounded at this world. My foot had been completely destroyed and here it was, back to normal with a sick-ass new scar as an added bonus. I heard clicking pawsteps coming down the hall and glanced at the door just in time to see a black streak slam into the door frame. There was the sound of scrabbling claws then nothing but black as my Shadow Wolf crashed into me. I lost all sense of the world as everything became a whirlwind of black and stink. I laughed and got a mouthful of fur, bringing my hands up and rubbing Rosie's sides.

  "I missed you too, sweetie." I said into her fur. She shook the bed with her panting, tongue lolling out of her smiling mouth. I continued to shower affection upon the wolf who loved every second of it. At some point the weight smothering me lifted and I was able to breath again. I smiled wide and fought through the pain to sit up, looking around the room, and my eyes locked onto Lia. She was gorgeous, standing there in her technicolor dress. It wasn't fancy or expensive or even clean, but I thought that she was the most beautiful woman on the planet. I stood and walked as best I could over to my Lady, not taking my eyes from her. The moon's light shone in through the small window, igniting her hair in a glorious pale fire. I took a step towards her and she, me. We melded into one, our lips moving together, her hands tangled in my hair. My hands found her waist and anchored her to me. She jumped and wrapped her legs around me and I grunted as I hands transitioned down, squeezing gently as her hips ground against me. She broke the kiss and panted, our breath mixing together. Her fiery, emerald eyes flashed in the dark, pulling me in.

  "My Champion." she whispered, her warm voice sending shivers down my spine. "My Marshall." A flash of hate wormed its way through the golden haze, Jen's voice overlaying Lia's for half a second. At one point in the recent past, I had wanted Jen to say that to me. The fact that another woman said it first was surprisingly angering. I kept the scowl from my face as best I could, smiling at my Lady and leaning down, pressing my lips to her neck to avoid looking at her eyes. She's my Lady and I will do anything for her. My Lady gasped and shuddered at my touch, but I didn't feel the heat from her anymore. Her hands pulled me into her, her need clear, yet I felt none of the need I had just a moment ago. It was like all the passion had been sucked out of me at the thought of my lost lover. Am I not ready?

  Lia's warm breeze of a voice washed over me, pushing all thoughts of another woman out of my mind. "Love me, Champion. I need you." My Spark roared up to just under my skin, burning away any hesitation I might have had. I felt myself respond to her, spinning and laying her on the bed as I pulled away from her neck. She giggled as I did so, clutching me tightly. One of her hands left my shoulder and traced its way down my front, barely touching my skin. She traced her pointer finger over the tattoo of my fraternity, driving me wild as she worked her way down my stomach. Her burning emeralds flashed with mischief as she passed my waist and caressed my thigh, a coy smile on her lips. I growled and leaned down, nipping at her shoulder blade; I could feel the bone through her skin. Even though she had gained some weight that accentuated her curves and allowed her to grow into her full self, she was still incredibly thin. I could feel her bones everywhere I touched, with only her chest, thighs, and butt having any sort of fullness to them. Even then...

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  My appreciation of her body turned to her slim hands when she finally touched me. Lightning ran up my body and into my brain, forcing a gasp from my throat without permission. She wrapped her hand around me, bringing me closer to her, and I obliged, sliding a hand up her thigh and lifting her dress. It come off without any difficulty, leaving my Lady naked beneath me. The sight of her caramel skin tight over a thin, incredibly sexy body nearly sent me over the edge, especially when she moved against me. I grinned down at her, fighting through the agony in my lower body. I wanted her. Right. Fucking. Now.

  Right as I positioned myself properly, Lia's burning emeralds begging me to come to her, I felt Rosie snap into alertness. I sensed the Shadow Wolf's head snap towards the door and she leaped from the bed, diving into my shadow. I broke away from Lia and spun, placing myself between her and whatever was approaching the door, drawing my dagger from my inventory. I gasped in surprise when only the wooden handle attached to a shattered, jagged blade was all that appeared. I ignored the confusion and surprising amount of sadness at the loss of my dagger, readying myself for combat. Not a second later and the door flew open; Railey, the Guild Master, the Commander, and a person dressed in gold that I didn't recognize all flooding into the room. I felt incredible power coming from the golden person, who was almost entirely gold, mind you, but I'll describe them later. I was too focused on the feelings of inadequacy, weakness, and an overall smallness pressing itself into my brain to focus on them. I felt Rosie's primal fear towards the being, like she wanted to do everything she could to stay away from it.

  The person was dressed in what appeared to be traditional eastern garments; a long, flowing robe with long sleeves that covered the hands and pinned up, long hair the color of obsidian. The being's skin was as white as ivory, the complete opposite of its hair. Its face was unnaturally beautiful, like someone had taken the word 'beautiful' and cranked it up to eleven. The nose was a tad too sharp, its eyes just that much wider and more slanted than a humans. Had I not taken the time to examine the being closely, I would have assumed it was a normal human female, yet it clearly was not. I watched as the golden trail of fabric twitched and moved on its own, like it was alive. When the being was fully in the room, trail and all, it finally looked at me, and smiled.

  "Who are you?" I asked in a not so kind tone, narrowing my eyes at the being. "What are you?"

  "Well, that's rude." the being said, its voice echoing through the room in a strange way. "Is that how you always greet people, Marshall?" The words it spoke started with an echo, making the first few words hard to hear before coming into clarity and fading into another echo, my name being repeated multiple times.

  "Rosie's scared of you and you just burst into my room without asking. I think I'm in the right to be a little confrontational." I replied, the annoyance clear in my voice. The being smiled, too sharp teeth flashing in the moonlight.

  "Of course. Please, forgive me." it purred, coming closer to me. I snarled and adjusted my stance, tightening my grip on my knife. The being stopped coming closer and looked at me. Its golden orbs for eyes traced me up and down then stopped at my waist. Its eyes flashed back up to mine and its smile became one of understanding. "Ah, I see. I interrupted you. I hope this makes up for it." The being waved its hand at me and I was suddenly clothed in the same clothes I started in. They were silky smooth and a boring tan, exactly the same as my other pair. Dozens of questions filled my mind but the being turned and walked away from me.

  "Come, all. We have everyone now." The being walked out of my room and further down the hall, Lucinius and Tzolob following close behind the creature. Kiltont looked at me.

  "You heard her. Let's go."

  "What?" I asked, standing up and letting my defences down. "What do you mean, let's go?"

  "We have a meeting to finish." he said, looking past me at Lia. I turned and found her covered in the same clothes as me. I frowned in confusion and looked at the door the creature left through.

  "What the fuck is going on? What did I miss?"

  "Not much." Lia said, rising from the bed and standing next to me. I could feel her annoyance and anger at being interrupted and I took her hand in mine, squeezing it softly. "We didn't talk about anything important. Come on, let's get this finished. We have something to continue."

  Eight of us--well, technically there were seven--seven of us sat around the Guild Master's table like a bunch of schmucks. I was unfortunately sat next to the golden being, who sat at one head of the table. Lia sat on my left with Railey on her's and Tzolob took the other head. Kiltont sat on Tzolob's left and Lucinius on his, across the table from me. Jen's Molinbi took the seat between the two men, simply phasing through the wood without pulling the chair out.

  "Wonderful." the gold being said in its weird voice. "Those necessary for this part of the conversation are present. As two were not present when I arrived, I will introduce myself again. I am Elysin." The being paused, waiting for some kind of reaction, I think. The name meant nothing to me but I felt Rosie shrink a little further into my soul and Lia gasped in shock.

  "I deeply apologize for my Champion's behavior." Lia said, bowing her head to the being. "He is not from here, you see. He doesn't know our customs." The gold being laughed gently and waved Lia's words away.

  "Yes yes, I know of your Champion and his tendencies. It is why I chose him after all."

  "I feel like I'm missing something." I said, narrowing my eyes at Elysin. "Who are you, really?"

  "I just told you. I am Elysin, the Gold Dragon."

  "Dragon?" I looked over at Lia who nodded fervently. "Like the Prime Dragons you mentioned that one time?" More nodding. I sighed. "Man, fuck. Alright, what do you want?" I asked Elysin, putting my head in my hands and dragging them down it in exasperation.

  "Who said I want something?" Elysin replied innocently, its eyes narrowing in concern.

  "Clearly there is a reason you summoned us here tonight and the majority of the time when people seek me out, they want something. What is it?"

  "So testy." it said, inspecting its finger nails imperiously. "You are not ready for what I need you for, child. You must grow stronger, and quickly. I am forbidden from giving names as they do not know yours, but I can tell you that the person responsible for tonight's attack is in the West, within the city of Guillo. I believe this Macawian and Human have particular experience with that city."

  "We do." Kiltont said, his voice low. "That city haunts us still."

  "Aye." Tzolob said, staring at his hands.

  "You were right, Macawian. The same atrocity that occurred within that city is happening again. The leader's lair is located within the Ashaing Range west of Guillo, but that is all I can tell you without risking recourse. I can only say what I have because they are aware of your location. Our opponent's actions this evening have allowed me a certain amount of freedom, but that is all I can say on that topic. I can only do so much, you see. As is, liberties have taken by both sides tonight and you will pay the price for my being here, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

  "If you can't tell us about the folks behind the attack," I said, the gears turning in my mind. I wanted as much information as I could get from this person. "can you tell us about the creature? That was unlike anything I've ever seen. Especially its lack of blood. The damn thing had shadows for blood." Two things happened when I said that last bit. I noticed Lia's reaction first.

  A sadistic, evil pulse came from my Lady, surprising the hell out of me. I felt her Spark clamp down on the pulse, cutting it off almost as fast as it came, but not fast enough. Rosie didn't react to the pulse, but I felt it. It rattled my soul, the familiar feelings of terror and panic rising over me again. I flashed back to the closet, my back burning as blood dripped down it and Kathrine cried under me. I heard and felt the belt land and I flashed back to the present, my hand holding Lia's. I took a deep breath and squeezed her hand gently, trying to calm myself.

  The second thing I saw was Elysin's reaction to my words. Its brow furrowed in confusion and a genuine look of concern appeared on its face.

  "What do you mean, 'black smoke'? You can see that?" I nodded.

  "Yeah. Both the Nevind and the Molinbi give off the same abyssal black smoke." I gestured at the Molinbi sitting between the Guild Master and the Commander and another pulse of 'evil' for lack of a better word came from Lia. I looked at her and frowned, pulling her face closer to mine. The circle of fire that lined the outside her emerald eyes had grown. More than half of her irises were now flames and I felt my frown deepen.

  "Are you alright?" I whispered with concern. "Your fire is growing."

  "What? What fire?"

  "The fire around your eyes. It's grown. It was just a little line around your irises, but now more than half of them are blazing with actual fire. It's... kinda hot." Elysin laughed as I spoke, its laughter just as freaky as its voice. The echoes took a good minute or so to fade as the creature recovered.

  "Oh, me, I didn't think that you would have the Sight, Marshall. I did not give it to you."

  "What?" I asked, utterly confused.

  "True Sight," Elysin repeated with a smile on its face. "is a gift that very few Blessed posses. It allows you to see a creature's soul and, if you learn to see things properly, you will never be deceived. What's strange, though, is that I did not bless you with that power."

  "True Sight. Soul Ability. Level: Max. See the souls of other beings. Sparks are easier to read than non-blessed." Robot Lady said and I sighed heavily.

  "This world is so annoying sometimes." I said in English. Elysin smiled at me commiseratingly.

  "I know how you feel, Marshall. A new world can be a lot to take in sometimes."

  "You're telling me." I scoffed. "This shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder. You said you blessed me?"

  "Yes. I am one of the five Prime Dragons in this world; Elysin, the Gold Dragon. I bless those who draw their strength from love and care for others, and I prefer to be called 'she', not 'it'." I blushed as she stared directly at me.

  "Sorry about that. So you can read minds?"

  "Just the minds of those I've blessed."

  "And you blessed me because..."

  "That should be obvious, child. Very few people will burn to death to save the fiance that cheated on them." Anger flared at Elysin words but I forced it down.

  "Fiance?" Lia asked, looking at me. She tried to pull her hand from mine but I clamped down and continued to hold her hand. It was the only thing keeping me grounded at the moment as exhaustion and a dozen other emotions battled within me. "You are engaged?" I shook my head negative.

  "Not anymore. That cunt is a world away, engaged to a different man. She slept with another man a week before we our wedding."

  "Are you sure about that?" the Molinbi asked in Jen's voice. My head snapped up and my vision locked onto the creature. I watched in horror as pearlescent flesh grew over the creature at a terrifying rate, covering its body in just a few seconds. It completed the transformation and Jennifer stared at me from the seat, empty eyes flashing with victory and brown hair floating around her head in an unseen current. "Let's see what she has to say."

  With those words, Jennifer exploded into a cloud of black smoke that dissipated into the ether. My mouth dropped open and I stared at the spot where the Molinbi had just been sitting.

  "Hey, Lia?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady and staring at the spot where the Molinbi had just been. "What's it mean when a Molinbi suddenly grows all of its flesh and says 'Let's see what she has to say', then disappears?" Lia gave me a puzzled, annoyed look, again trying to pull her hand from mine. I felt anger flash over my face as I clamped down on her hand, holding onto her. She's not getting away from me. I made my choice.

  "What? Molinbi take years to develop their entire body, adapting and changing to the way you live and cope with trauma. It shouldn't be possible for one to grow all its flesh at once." Lia blinked and shook her head just slightly but I caught it. I immediately forgot about her weird head shake as the door to the Guild Master's office opened and another Elysin walked in, just as golden and just as regal. This Elysin was dressed exactly as the other one was, though clearly more feminine; a long, golden dress that flowed behind her and her dark hair done up in a high ponytail that followed her golden trail. Her clothes looked like they came from Asia, but I didn't know where in particular. The Elysin who walked in had her arms in the sleeves of her robe like a traditional Chinese person would, but what really got me was when the second Elysin walked into the first. Just simply kept walking into the Elysin who had been talking to us and disappeared. I blinked a few times before I remembered that dragons are essentially gods in this world and could do whatever the fuck they wanted to. Just because it didn't make sense to me doesn't mean she couldn't do it. I still didn't know if she was actually a dragon, but the overwhelming sense of power and seemingly live cloth trailing behind her made me feel like she was.

  Of course, none of it mattered when the voices sounded from outside the doorway.

  "Hey, wait up! Where'd you go?" a male voice called from outside the room. I felt my face fall, the voice familiar.

  "Anthony!" another voice called, this one higher than the first. A knife was stabbed into my heart as her familiar sound of her voice filled my ears. "Slow down!"

  Two people came into the room, slowing to a stop two steps in. The man had dirty blond hair and brown eyes. He was fit and tan, like he spent most days out in the sun. He was tall and broad-shouldered and, had this been Earth, everyone would have known he was an athlete immediately. He just had that kind of air about him. He was wearing a blue set of clothes exactly like mine that made him kind of look like a crayon.

  The girl who came behind him, though, was all too familiar to me. She had long brown hair that was tied back in a pony tail with a blond highlight in her front right bang dressed a set of clothes not dissimilar to the one's Andrew and I were wearing but green. The only difference was where our clothes were a little baggy, clearly just there to get the job done, her clothes fit her perfectly. They hugged every curve in just the right way, accentuating her feminine charms when she walked. Her icy blue eyes scanned the room assessingly and widened when she saw me.

  "Jennifer."