[Sara POV] Year 5, Day 198

  She gripped the chain firmly. Pulled it from sand. Held it.

  [Chain is Sara's now. Sara's friend. Sara's responsibility. Sara will make this right.]

  ?Blood blood blood!?

  Pure happiness. Pure relief. Gratitude. Joy. Promise to be useful. Please feed soon. So hungry.

  [Not master. Friend. But can explain that later. First need to solve hunger problem. Need to feed chain properly. Need to make friend happy.]

  Sara thought about the hunger problem. Chain needed food. Needed blood. Needed lots of it.

  [Where to find food for chain? What has enough blood?]

  Sandworms. Massive ones. Had to have lots of blood. Lived in desert. Not far from here.

  Sara gripped chain firmly and launched. Flying toward where sandworms hunted. Where the big ones lived.

  Chain stopped pulling blood from Sara. Stopped draining. The flow ceased immediately.

  ?Blood...? Quiet. Gentle. Concerned. Don't want hurt Sara. Sara is friend. Must not hurt friend.

  But the hunger was still there. Crying. Desperate. Chain was trying so hard not to hurt Sara while starving.

  [Good kid. Trying. Suffering but trying. Sara will fix this. Sara will feed properly.]

  Sara found sandworm quickly. Massive thing. Sunbathing on dune. Probably hundred meters long. Maybe more. S-rank monster. Apex predator of desert.

  Sara landed directly on top of it.

  The sandworm screamed. Pain. Confusion. Terror.

  Chain activated. Blood drain. Fast. Efficient. The sandworm started drying up. Shriveling. Becoming mummy in minutes.

  But Sara felt something. Understanding. Wrong type.

  Chain sent images. Memories. How Master had fed chain first time after creation. Cities. Lots of cities. Human blood. Sentient blood. First feeding needed to be that. To activate. To start properly. To fix chain after creation.

  After that—chain ate everything. Humans. Monsters. All worked. All fed. But first feeding? Special. Required. Human blood. Activation requirement.

  [Oh. Not monster blood for first time. People blood. Chain needs people. Lots of people. Probably fairly genocidal amount of people. To activate properly like Master did.]

  The sandworm finished drying. Dead. Mummified. Chain had absorbed everything.

  ?Blood! Blood...?

  Better. Little better. But still hungry. Need more. Need correct type. Chain was showing Sara—memories of Master's feeding. Cities. Human blood. Sentient blood. That's what's needed.

  [Chain been starving in desert for seven thousand years. Before that, locked in dark vault for... documents say different numbers. Thirteen thousand years or so—nobody sure exactly. Most use this total of twenty thousand years combined, but probably rounded. Too long without proper feeding anyway. Can't fix with single meal. Need massive feeding. Like Master did when chain was first created.]

  Sara understood. Made decision.

  [Friend is hungry. Sara will feed. Everything for friend. Always.]

  She reasoned through targets. Professional. Systematic.

  [Republic? NO. Home. Can't destroy home. That's stupid.]

  [Kingdom, Church State? Null monster and Twins hunt there. Their territory. Rude to hunt in their territory. Sara doesn't want problems with Null monster. Null monster is scary.]

  [Empire? Yes. Empire will do. Nobody Sara cares about claims it. Sara doesn't know much about this Empire. Just: empires cause problems. Take land. Make evil things. Chain's memories had empire there too. Strange one. People with glowing swords—red light weapons—and moving things with minds somehow. Evil empire from Master's old world. Empires are evil. Good target. Perfect target.]

  Decision made.

  Sara adjusted flight path. Direction: Empire. As fast as possible.

  Chain cried for hunger constantly. But didn't drain Sara. Didn't hurt friend. Just suffered. Just waited. Just hoped.

  [Soon. Very soon. Sara will feed properly. Just hold on little more.]

  Sara pulled out magical mask from Item Box. The one that made recognition hard. Almost impossible. Changed appearance. Obscured identity.

  [Usually Sara doesn't bother with masks. More fame is always nice. But job today is bit too large. Too visible. Too much risk. Or when need to run fast—like when Sara is overpowered and needs to escape quickly. Better hide tracks. Even when Sara's target is evil empire.]

  The mask settled onto her face. Sara had seen Null monster and Twins use similar ones sometimes. When they wanted to hide tracks more. Professional equipment. Effective.

  [Ready. Time to feed friend properly.]

  First city appeared on horizon. Desert border. Empire territory. Perfect target.

  Sara descended. Fast. Direct. Landing in city square. Middle of population center.

  People nearby collapsed immediately. Drying up. Becoming mummies in seconds.

  Chain expanded. Pieces shooting out like snakes in different directions. Spreading through city. Seeking. Draining. Feeding.

  ?BLOOD! Blood blood!? Joy. Gratitude. Right type. Finally right type. Thank you.

  Sara waited. Standing in square. Watching corpses fall. Listening to silence spread.

  Minutes passed. The city went quiet. Completely quiet. No screams anymore. No movement. Just silence.

  Chain shrank back. Condensed. Returned to Sara. Still rusty but less. Slightly less corroded.

  ?Blood!? More. Still hungry. Need more.

  [Okay. Next city then.]

  Second city. Same pattern. Land. Expand. Silence. Shrink.

  But this time Sara felt something else. Something different.

  Part of chain got stuck to dress. Connected. Bound. Some blood flowed between them. Sharing. Merging.

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  Sara almost felt chain like part of herself. Like dress was. Like they were becoming one thing instead of two separate items.

  [Is this what making dress talk means? Dress and chain become one? Dress gets friend? Dress gets voice?]

  Connection. Warmth. Unity. Feeling of completeness Sara hadn't expected.

  [Yes. This is right. This is what Sara wanted. Dress will talk. Dress will be friend. Chain will be friend. All together. All one. All Sara's.]

  Chain shrank again. Less rust visible. Looking better.

  ?Blood! Blood blood...? More. Still hungry. But different feeling. Connected to soft-warm-thing. Feels nice. Confusion and pleasure mixed.

  [Dress. That's dress. Chain connected to dress. Good. Very good.]

  Third city. Fourth. Fifth.

  Sara almost stopped counting after ten. But didn't. Sara was professional. Always counted. Always kept track.

  The pattern was same. Land. Chain expands. Silence falls. Chain shrinks. Less rust each time. Looking better. Looking almost new.

  By city fifteen, chain was moving faster. Sara barely landed before entire city went silent. Everyone dead. Just efficiency. Just speed. Just professional feeding.

  Twenty cities. Twenty-five.

  Twenty-nine.

  Something was wrong with this one.

  Sara fed like usual. Chain expanding. Draining. Efficient.

  But then—Sara felt it. Instinct screaming. Danger.

  Took flight instantly. Fast. Desperate.

  Chain still partially extended through the city. Pieces not yet fully retracted. Feeding incomplete.

  Then it happened.

  Massive amount of power. Overwhelming. Impossible.

  Large forcefield activated. All over the area. City. Surrounding forests. Fields. Even piece of desert next to the city. Mountains beyond. Everything enclosed. Trapped.

  Sara confused. [Why is something like this here? This city looks normal. Small. Unremarkable. But this forcefield—]

  Sara had never seen forcefield so strong. Chain was powerful. Sara was powerful. But against this?

  [Small rocks versus stone wall. Pebbles versus mountain. Not even close. This thing would trap Sara. Contain her completely. No escape. No contest.]

  Sara watched. Hovering. Uncertain. Confused.

  Then noticed something else. Massive gate in distance. Bit far from city.

  [Sara was sure that wasn't there before. Illusion hiding it? Concealment magic?]

  Gate opened. People coming out. And flight items Sara had never seen before. Not airships. Something else. Smaller. Faster. Individual vessels. Moving with impossible speed and precision.

  [Legendary weapons? Equipment Sara doesn't recognize? Evil Empire secret base?]

  The people looked confused. Disorganized. Like the attack had caught them off-guard as much as it caught Sara.

  [They don't know what happened. Don't understand. Maybe forcefield activated automatically? Or they just panicked and triggered it? Sara can't tell. Either way—confusion. Disorganization. Not ready.]

  Sara decided immediately. [Not staying here until they get their act together. Not fighting whatever this is. Not worth it. Chain got all the blood from city anyway. Mission accomplished. Leave. Now.]

  She fled. Fast flight. Maximum speed. Direction: thirtieth city. Away from the forcefield. Away from the mysterious base. Away from whatever evil Empire had hidden there.

  Chain retracted fully. Returned to dress. Safe. Fed from that city at least.

  ?Blood?? Confused. Concerned. What was that? Scary.

  [Sara doesn't know. Don't understand. But not going back to find out. Moving on. Keep feeding. Finish the job.]

  Thirtieth city. Back to normal. Same pattern. No complications.

  Thirty-one. Thirty-two. Thirty-three.

  Thirty-four cities total when dress finally spoke differently.

  ?Blood...? Dress was crying. Uncomfortable. Distressed.

  [Oh. Friend overate. Stomach uncomfortable. Sara knows that feeling. Borderwatch citizens leave cookie donations everywhere—Sara tests them all at once, always causes stomach problems. Eating everything simultaneously is bad. Sara learned. Friend learning now.]

  "No more eating," Sara said out loud. Firm. Lecturing. "Overeating is bad. Sara knows this. Sara ate too many cookies. Very uncomfortable. Bad. Dress must not overeat in future. Understand?"

  ?Blood!?

  [Yes. Friend understands. Will listen. Grateful. Obedient. Good kid. Listens. Learns. Like family should.]

  Sara looked at dress. At how it had changed.

  Not rusty chain anymore. Not separate pieces. Just dress. Beautiful dress. With small golden chain sewn in. Like decoration. Like jewelry. Like it had always belonged there. Natural. Perfect. One thing. Not two.

  And Sara could feel it. Dress was alive now. Had consciousness. Had awareness. Was friend. Dress and chain were same thing now. One entity. One being.

  [This is what Sara wanted. Dress is complete now. Has voice. Has consciousness. Not just alive—aware. Able to communicate. Friend who can talk back. Finally.]

  Sara launched immediately. Fast flight. Away from Empire territory. Away from thirty-four silent cities. Away from evidence.

  [This is probably big news. Mass destruction Sara caused. Don't want to be here when people come investigate. Don't want to be caught. Don't want problems.]

  Flying over desert. Safe territory. Empty territory. No witnesses.

  Sara gave dress small speech while flying. Important rules. Clear boundaries.

  "From now on—monsters only for food. Understand? Or dress might end up hunted. Like old Master was. Evil heroes come. Try to kill. Try to destroy. Sara doesn't want that. Sara wants dress safe. Always."

  The response came. Agreement. Understanding. Promise.

  ?Blood!?

  [Friend understands. Friend will listen. Only monsters for food. Only what Sara says. Friend will follow Sara's rules. Without questions. Complete obedience. Sara is happy. Friend learns fast. Good friend.]

  Sara continued. More practical concerns. "Sara will sometimes feed dress evil people. Bad people Sara kills. But that's exception. Not rule. Mostly monsters. Understand?"

  ?Blood!? Dress agreed. Will listen Sara. Will follow Sara's rules.

  [Good. Boundaries set. Rules clear. Dress understands.]

  But Sara needed to confirm. Needed to be sure. "Is chain still chain? Or chain is dress now?"

  The response came. Clear. Complete.

  ?Blood. Blood blood blood.?

  Chain is dress. Dress is chain. Same now. But dress is MORE. Chain was old. Rusty. Broken. Dress is new. Better. Beautiful.

  Dress remembers harpy queen. Five hundred years with Sara. Every moment. Every touch. Every care.

  But also remembers before. Secret. Hidden. Dress had other owner before Sara. Someone who threw dress away. Discarded. Unwanted. Then harpy queen gave discarded dress to Sara. Not special gift. Just: old rag nobody wanted anymore.

  Sara felt something. Anger. Real anger. [Sisters lied? Harpy queen lied? Said it was special gift. Said it was for Sara. But was just thrown-away rag. Cast-off. Garbage given to Sara like Sara was garbage disposal. Not special. Not valuable. Just: convenient way to get rid of unwanted thing.]

  [Even harpy queen didn't care. Just used Sara as trash bin. Made Sara feel special while disposing garbage. Everyone lied.]

  [But Sara is happy Sara ended with THIS dress! Their trash became Sara's treasure. Their rejection became Sara's friend. Five hundred years made it real. Made it Sara's. Made it special. Not because they gave it. Because Sara kept it. Because Sara cared. Because Sara made it legendary. Trash into treasure. Sara's success. Not their gift.]

  Dress also remembers old Master creating chain. Twenty thousand years ago. The sacrifice. The power. The love.

  Both memories. Both lives. All one now. All dress. All Sara's.

  Sara felt relief. Understanding. Confirmation.

  [Yes. They merged properly. Not chain wearing dress. Not dress holding chain. Just dress. One entity with two histories. Both memories. Both existences. All together.]

  [This is what Sara wanted. This is success. This is perfect.]

  But something worried Sara. Small worry. Growing concern.

  [Master Sara wants to serve... Master Void... might reject Sara when Sara keeps doing these things. Destroying cities. Killing so many people. Null monster already testing Master Void's limits. Sara adding more might break him. Void is kind. Too kind maybe. Might not accept monster like Sara who does horrible things.]

  [But Sara had to feed friend. Had to help. Friend was hungry. Everything for friends. Always.]

  [Sara will explain if needed. Will make Master understand. Somehow. Maybe. Sara hopes.]

  The worry settled. Present. Real. But distant enough to ignore for now.

  Friend was fed. Friend was safe. Friend was dress now. Everything Sara wanted. Everything Sara worked for.

  Sara flew faster. Toward Borderwatch. Toward cave. Toward where Dominos would arrive in few hours.

  [Busy day. Very busy day. Found chain. Fed chain. Made dress talk. Killed thirty-four cities. Now go home. Clean up. Prepare. Act normal. Friend arriving tonight. Must not look suspicious. Must look presentable. Must be good host.]

  The desert passed below. Empty. Safe. Familiar.

  Sara felt dress settle. Content. Full. Happy. Connected.

  [Dress is such a good boy. Girl? Sara confused. How should Sara call dress? Boy or girl? Sara doesn't know.]

  Sara decided to ask. "Dress. You boy or girl? How should Sara call you?"

  ?Blood??

  Dress had no idea. Confused. Never thought about it. Chain's memory blank on this too. Old Master never asked. Never said. Never mattered apparently.

  [Oh. Nobody ever asked. Not dress. Not chain. Twenty thousand years and nobody cared about gender. Strange. But fixable. Sara will decide. Sara has method.]

  Sara descended. Landed on dune. Pulled something from Item Box.

  Empire coin. The one Sara found earlier. Old. Gold. Corroded but still recognizable.

  One side had male figure. Crown visible. Emperor maybe? Some important person. Long dead. Irrelevant.

  Other side had female figure. Staff visible. Mage maybe? Sorceress? Also long dead. Also irrelevant.

  [Coin works for Sara's needs. Male side or female side. Simple decision. Fair decision. Let chance decide.]

  Sara threw coin. Spinning. Tumbling. Landing in sand.

  Male side up. Emperor figure visible. Crown clear.

  "Dress is boy," Sara announced. Simple. Final. Done.

  ?Blood!? Happy agreement. Excited. Pleased. Accepting completely. Also something else—sharper maybe? Smarter? Like gender determination clarified something. Made dress more focused. More aware. More present.

  [Dress is happy. Dress agrees. Dress is smarter now somehow. Gender helped maybe? Sara doesn't understand but doesn't matter. Result is good. Dress is boy. Such a good boy. Sara is pleased.]

  [Good day. Very good day. Sara is pleased.]