Katie and I were making our way to Sundawn, riding on Crusbull. I was worried the rough ride would have hurt her, but to my surprise, it wasn’t an issue for her.

  Our hair waved in the air as Crusbull followed the dirt track leading to Sundawn.

  I did nothing but take in the trees that flanked the road. Many of their crowns were rich with green, and occasionally, red leaves.

  Katie did her best to keep her dyed black hair down with one hand, since the other was busy wedging her fingers into a shell gap, all while holding a black cap with finger-long red horns on the visor and a grinning demon with white fangs on it, along with her shades.

  I expected Tarnisha to be the one with edgy stuff, not her. Anyway, I figured it’d be interesting to think about how strong my monsters were now.

  I was level 20.

  Currently, I had four monsters (I swapped out my Spherehands for Twirlflower), and Crusbull was the strongest at the moment, standing at level 18.

  Twirlflower was level 13. Forwing and Aquaren was level 16.

  I’d learned that monsters gained three skills in every ten-level span. Level 10 monsters had four skills, probably because they were born with one.

  Crusbull hadn’t gained a new skill yet. He would at level 20. Forwing’s skills were:

  [Deep Dive]

  [Hard Wing]

  [Beak Bullet]

  [Faster Movement]

  [Wind Slashes]

  [Feather Dance]

  It pained me that it barely had any wind skills. In the monster forest, I mostly found water, grass, and fire monsters. Monsters with Earth skills were much harder to find. The sphere one I got had no attribute, so all its skills were null (again, no attribute) and racial.

  Anyway, for my other monsters:

  Aquaren:

  [Water Pulse]

  [Slack Jaw]

  [Paralysis Bite]

  [Oil Membrane]

  [Snakes of Water]

  [Sharp Splash] – that one made it leap forward and ‘explode’ in a burst of water.

  Twirlflower was the same as before, obviously.

  It took a while, but eventually we reached the massive black walls and the gate in the middle of the front wall.

  The two knights guarding it were different from the ones before. They stood exuding immense power—gold armor shining in the light. The one on the right had massive gauntlets with spikes on the knuckles. Both hands rested on a silver war hammer, the pole as long as his body, the head shaped like a block.

  The other had a sword that struck me as odd. The handle was normal, but the blade wasn’t straight. It had bends and jagged edges that reminded me of a roaring flame.

  Katie walked up to them and showed a ring she took out of her shirt pocket.

  The knights took a quick look at the silver ring, observing the bird with its wings spread, mounted on top.

  The war hammer knight then looked at her and said, “We’re still dealing with the incident, young miss. Entering and leaving... it’s been put on hold.” He cleared his throat. “Until further notice.”

  Katie touched her eye, but I didn’t see why. Only that the knights’ attitude changed. Suddenly, they both seemed surprised and straightened their posture.

  The sword one said, almost stuttering, “I didn’t know it was you. Excuse what my friend said. You and...” he looked at me, as if wondering what my connection to Katie was. “Your friend?”

  Katie nodded.

  He continued, “...can go right in.”

  I assumed it was some kind of sign that revealed her identity. The next moment, the gates were opened, and we went in.

  The first thing I saw was collapsed buildings and chunks of concrete being shoveled into carts pulled by Green Lizards. It was obvious that Vlandos were among the workers—not just because of their height, but because of their ridiculously large shovels, about as wide as my length.

  I followed Katie’s lead, walking until we were out of that street. While walking, I heard the loud grinding of gears and whirling of winds.

  With four whirring rotors and a clawed arm hanging below, the flying cranes hovered over ruins, plucking chunks of debris from collapsed buildings before drifting off—likely heading to a dump site

  As we walked further, I noticed a wheeled robot of some kind, being piloted by someone. Its hands were shovel-like, like a backhoe, clearing the road of debris.

  It was impressive how fast they were working. Most of the roads were already cleared, which surprised me.

  I asked Katie, “You sure the park will be open? Would anywhere even be open?”

  “Of course. Only a couple streets got ruined. Most of the city’s fine.” She crossed the street, walking past a bald man sipping from a wine bottle. “Why would business shut down?”

  “I dunno. I’m guessing the park isn’t close.”

  “Yeah. We’re not walking there. Just looking for a transportation center that’s still operating…”

  I didn’t respond. I just followed, walking on the sidewalk alongside her.

  We weaved among people, and I spotted an odd bike take a turn, moving into another lane.

  It was fully enclosed and didn’t have rounded wheels—just a long, tractor-like one. I decided to ask Katie, “Does Ether power everything?”

  She raised an eyebrow and looked at me for a moment. Realizing I was serious, she said, “Everything—if you can afford it. Most can’t.”

  “How do they make it? Is it like... a sponge for Ether energy?”

  Katie rounded a small wooden plant shop. A woman twice my age leaned against the yellow counter, her eyes glancing at us without much energy.

  Katie looked around while answering, “Uh... I think it has to do with monster fossils? Or their EPO. Not too sure, been a while since I learned about it.”

  She waved a hand toward the road, causing a Green Lizard-drawn carriage stopped. The metal covered elf driver sitting on it (which was unusual) looked at Katie with dark green eyes. “Yes?”

  “My friend and I are heading to Mavil Tower Park.”

  The elf nodded, his metallic overalls clanking as he moved. He jumped down from the Lizard and slid the carriage door open. Judging by the amount of sound his clothes made, he was definitely poor.

  Katie paid him forty bronze pints, which made him gasp in shock.

  "Young miss... that's too much! Half would do just fine."

  "No, it's okay."

  He seemed to hesitate for a second then quickly agreed. "Of course!"

  He leaped back onto the Lizard as if the veil of overlapping red metal scales, fitted snugly around his body like some strange, armored garment, weighed nothing.

  I’d heard that elves looking for work in Terrafall often adopted the dress styles of the other human races on this continent—Yeathul. I suppose this one simply refused to change at all. I respected that, to a degree.

  Katie and I got on board. I sat on near the stained part of the soft chairs. "You made his day."

  She said, “That’s a woman.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Sure, female elves’ bodies weren’t that different from the males—aside from a little more chest (unless I’d heard wrong)—but I wouldn’t have made a mistake like that. “Didn’t you hear his voice?”

  “Yeah, the sanctity veil messes with sound. Peek out the window and look for the ears. If you can see them, it’s a woman.”

  I think this was the first time I’d ever heard of that. “The men don’t show their ears?”

  "The traditional ones don't. I personally like seeing them. Looks cool, different."

  "Huh... do the dudes sound like girls?"

  Katie laughed. "They would be hot if they did."

  "Sure..."

  I took that as a no.

  About an hour passed when the carriage finally came to a stop. We exited, said our thanks, and the miss drove off.

  We stood on the sidewalk, music blaring from a nearby bar.

  'Ooo baby. I love you so much—it's driving me insane.'

  I told Katie, "I'm surprised she doesn't wear fabric. Like the other elves I saw."

  "You saw elves in fabric? At a job probably." She seemed surprised.

  "About five of them. But I guess they were heading to work, or were visitors. Don't know."

  "They must have been going to a place where your looks can turn away guests." She crossed the road, walking toward the massive fenced site in front of us, where a tall and long wooden building stood, painted with green ghosts chasing after children. "Unless they've got something wrong in their head."

  The place was pretty empty—and really massive. Katie had paid for both of us, so we were given tickets and allowed inside.

  I walked, my footsteps echoing off the wooden floor. Murals of zombies biting down on other zombies repeated about four times on each black wall.

  Katie smiled, strolling forward, heading for the stairs. I kept pace with her. "How often do you come here?"

  "A lot." She rounded a crying kid. "It makes me relax."

  I wanted to ignore the little boy too, but it felt wrong somehow. Not morally—he wasn’t lost—but because it would seem weird to just pass him by.

  I asked him, "Where are your parents?"

  Katie stopped walking and turned toward me, confused about what I was doing.

  The punchio child looked up at me. "Dad is in the bathroom... It stinks... like shit"

  Oh.

  And it just so happened he was crying near the men's bathroom. I said nothing and left him to his own devices. The kid was safe.

  Katie asked, "You thought he was abandoned on the first floor? Where everyone passes?"

  "Was just checking. Hard to ignore a crying child."

  "Fair."

  The rest played out like this: cardboard cutouts of zombies, vampires, ghosts, and so on would shoot up from the ground, trying to scare us.

  I faked my fear most of the time. Katie made it a habit to guess where the next creature would pop out, but her predictions were often terrible.

  Still, I had to say—her reaction time was disgustingly good. Every time there was the slightest sound, she’d snap to it so fast I wondered if she truly wasn’t a Vlandos.

  But then I would remember her grandfather was a Mortal God.

  We moved to the next floor, walking past many kids. Most of them were humans, but I even spotted a Rejuk. They had the same brown skin as Holvions, but lacked the curly hair. Instead, it was ginger and lay on his head like flat leaves.

  The boy, maybe 13 years old, his almond-shaped eyes widened when he saw Katie. He immediately stood up, smiling, and gave a slight bow—one hand stretched out, the other placed on his heart. I assumed it was a cultural thing.

  "Hello. May I know your name?" he asked. "I can't help but notice how beautiful and—"

  "Don't know. Don't know." She clapped his hands and walked up the stairs. "You're cute too."

  To say he was stunned would be an understatement.

  On the third floor, we stood in a sea of fog that made it nearly impossible to see. We had to navigate through it to find the exit, and we’d been at it for over twenty minutes.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I decided to ask her, "Do you have to be home by a certain time? 'Cause of classes something?"

  Katie hit something, and then a vacuuming sound started above us, clearing all the fog. The now-empty, massive room was revealed—painted with blue winds from floor to ceiling.

  "My classes were in the morning." She glanced at me and said, "Animal Biology."

  "Oh. So no warfare class for you, huh?"

  Katie stopped walking toward the next stairs, her face scrunching up. "Why would there be? I'm not a Vlandos. It’d be a waste of their time."

  "I mean, regular humans rule most of the world, so clearly it’s not a waste if they can keep Vlandos in line." I walked over to her, remembering how her grandmother viewed her. "Being human is just as cool."

  Her lips quivered, then turned into a smile, which evolved into an ugly laugh. I was taken aback—definitely not expecting that kind of reaction.

  Katie noticed my shock, then said between laughs, "Sure... Let's not talk about this. I appreciate what you're trying to say. But I don't need it. I don’t think I'm worthless because I'm not a Vlandos—most of the time, anyway." She looked around. "I don't take those classes because I don’t care for them. I just want to focus on things I care about. Things... that stand out."

  "Oh. Sorry. I thought... never mind."

  "Yeah, I get it. I did want to be a Vlandos. Wanted to. Whatever. I'm too old to become one." She shook her head in amusement. "Unless you know someone who became one at fourteen?"

  "Never heard of it."

  She sighed and shrugged. Then she placed her hands in her pockets and seemed serious. "Do you love being a Vlandos?"

  She eyed my face, particularly my mouth—maybe trying to read my reaction. For what? To see if I’d lie, I assumed.

  Did I like being a Vlandos? That answer was complicated, but seemed easy.

  I gave a smirk that contrasted with the rest of my emotionless face. "Sometimes. For the thrills. Other times..." I squeezed my already clenched left fist. "No. Sometimes it’s a curse."

  She was shocked, clearly not expecting that kind of answer. She wanted clarity, so she asked, speaking almost too fast, "Why? You get to do all kinds of cool stuff."

  She was probably trying to appeal to what she thought I found interesting. I had a strong feeling that wasn’t her real reason for wanting to be one.

  My smirk became a regular smile. "The cool stuff—I like that. But other than that..." I hesitated, remembering how Ulah and... Caren died. "Feels like I was born to hurt others. Who likes feeling like they’re a giant blade? I don’t."

  Katie responded, "I guess it depends on who that blade is pointed at. There are bad people in the world. They deserve death."

  She wouldn’t understand. Wouldn’t understand that I was meant to harm everyone around me. Every person but monsters.

  I took a deep breath and shook my head. I didn’t want to have those kinds of thoughts.

  I then said, "You’re right."

  She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she just stared, barely reacting. Then… she smiled and pointed at me. "You're lying."

  I almost scoffed. "Why would I do that?"

  "I mean, you clearly feel strongly about being a Vlandos. A giant blade? You can’t just accept someone’s opinion immediately. No way."

  I squinted at her and wondered... did it really make sense to lie about that? No, not really—but it ended the conversation. And I didn’t care to continue it.

  I said, "I don't think I can make you get what I mean."

  She faintly nodded. "Makes sense. I feel like that a lot."

  "People saying not being a Vlandos isn’t a big deal?" I assumed those people were her family.

  "Yup yup." She turned around and started walking again. "Just lying to my face. But I can try to understand your situation. Hell, the fact you said that helps me get it. I'm not meant to be a weapon, but my brother is meant to be both a super weapon and a pawn. I'm just meant to be a pawn. A tool."

  She waved her hands dramatically. "I've already accepted our realities. I get what it’s like to be something and have baggage because of it. Like..."

  She sighed and brushed her hand against the rounded wall. "I don’t want to marry some old fuck or hag because of politics bullshit. Or because some guy's high level would make my offspring even more powerful. It’s such bullshit that I even have to think about these things."

  She turned toward me. "Sorry. Made this about myself."

  "You’ve got a lot on your mind. I get that. I know I do."

  She nodded and sat on a step. "I guess you might be in the same boat as me soon."

  I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

  "My grandmother is definitely going to get you involved with the family. Not marriage or anything like that—you’ve got normal blood. You’ll be more like... Ferzan. A weapon. Not on the same level as him, of course."

  That made me uncomfortable. "Tell your grandma to keep her eyes off me. Besides, Ferzan still seems to have a long way to go, weapon-wise. That slave did him bad. And I’m much weaker than him. So I’d be a horrible choice, weapon-wise."

  "That slave is over level 100. He looks young, but he fought in the War Against Mankind. Ferzan is only level 40. And that’s with all his self-imposed power dampening restrictions." She took in a shallow breath. "He’s a weapon. And soon, you’ll be too."

  War Against Mankind. The war to end all humans on the continent. He’d lived that long and was that strong?

  I knew the slave had held back against me, but I didn’t realize it was by such a ridiculous amount. He must have faked everything, played along—but why?

  Katie noticed my silence and most likely figured out my confusion. "I think he just really really hates my family now. So all other humans get a pass. Or are you wondering about the weapon thing?"

  I didn’t even want to engage with the topic of being a Starlight weapon. I knew what I was, and I wasn’t a weapon... I didn't want to be one. I refused to be one.

  Instead, I asked, almost laughing—not because it was funny, but because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—"So he, what—does his best not to overdo it on non-Starlights? He’s saving his true murderous rage for you all?"

  Katie shrugged, not seeming to care. "Guess so. But you did catch him by surprise with that choking thing. He probably hates you for that, I think."

  "Oh well..." The weapon thing was still loud in my head. And as much as I didn’t want to talk about it, I wanted to make one thing clear. "By the way, if anyone in your family asks, make sure they know I’ll never be their weapon."

  Katie smiled. "That’s pointless. They get what they want. But... I can ask my mother or my father to pass that along for you."

  "Yeah... Wouldn’t your mother be on their side?"

  "Depends on how realistic she sees it. If she thinks it’s the same as asking the star not to shine on the planet, she wouldn’t waste her time."

  I frowned. "She seems nice though."

  "She is."

  POV: Rael.

  I leaned against the wooden railing, decorated with plants of all kinds. The most common looked like miniature pine trees, but in different colors.

  The one to my right, standing in blue ice in a fancy brown pot, had two green leaves that resembled massive ear flaps.

  My father would love it. I was never one for it personally, but he would go on about how my mother had a secret passion for them. Something he eventually grew to love—and something he tried to pass on to me.

  It worked... somewhat.

  "So hear this right..." a drunk Mulvar man dramatically waved his hand, the purple drink swooshing in his glass. "I was chilling at my girl’s—Naner. Catching up and whatnot, you know the vibes. And then this massive—" He swung his free hand up and started winding it. "Green ugly giant comes running through the house. Booooy, I thought I was a dead man."

  The woman he was telling the story to—an elf—nodded along, not really paying attention. A lock of hair slipped from behind her ear, so she quickly adjusted it and took a sip from her cup.

  Of course, she had to partly lift the face veil from her neck for that. The only thing I could see was her pale chin and pink lips

  Most of her golden hair was braided neatly into a rope that leaned near her waist—almost as long as the Mulvar’s brown hair.

  I often wondered which of the two had more pride in their hair.

  Sigh...

  The wind four stories up did a lot to calm me. But seeing the destruction in part of the city, on such a large scale, did... something else.

  It was a constant reminder that I had to find whoever was responsible for it.

  I swirled the ice spheres in my drink, smiling to myself. Unfortunately, some guy thought it was meant for him.

  Anyway, I had a good dream last night. I was standing in the middle of the city, dressed in white and red, and the King himself was rewarding me with the title of high nobility, breaking the rules just for me.

  Everyone was in attendance, circling us, looking at me in awe...

  It was a good dream. A very good one.

  Suddenly, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I pulled out my pyramid communicator and unfolded it before checking the caller ID.

  I accepted the call and held the communicator to my ear. "What’s up?"

  The person replied, "Nothing much, man. Just wanted to tell you this funny shit that went down in the Monster Forest Zone."

  "How funny?"

  "A little girl bashed in a zone guard and escaped. Grown-ass man. Level 30. I don’t know, but I know old boy’s gonna kill himself. Shit, I would."

  I chuckled a little. "There's a recording? Or did he scrap it?"

  "Nah, we got it. Sucker tried to break the recorder though. Claimed he was stabbed in the chest. Dumbass doesn’t know it’s not saved on the device." There was a pause. "Want to see it? But you can’t share. Can’t risk losing this job."

  "Unless it’s a brown-haired girl... I don’t really care."

  "Huh. She does have brown hair. You know what’s going on or something?"

  Suddenly, my casual demeanor vanished. I stood up straight, urgency kicking in. "You’re serious? Send it. Now. Don’t even worry about getting in trouble."

  The Vanquisher Agency had authority over Monster Zone Keeping. No, that didn’t mean I was allowed to get information from them like this. But I would be able to if I called the intelligence division in HQ and put in the request. I was simply taking the shortcut.

  "Uh... sure. Let me record it on my... mark-stone."

  "Just send me the file. If you get in trouble, just say a Vanquisher was requesting it to assist in the investigation of the man-eating incident that took place yesterday in Sundawn."

  People stared at me, but I ignored them.

  I was dressed casually for once—just a pair of brown pants with too many pockets and a long-sleeve shirt that had a giant skull printed on the back and front.

  Not a choice of mine. Blame my girlfriend. She basically forced me into this shit.

  "Sure. Give me a second... This is some serious shit. You think she’s tied to it? I mean, it’s just a little girl."

  My lips twisted, and I frowned. "Of course not. My aunt’s daughter’s been missing and whatnot."

  "Oh, gotcha."

  It took a while, but eventually a video file was sent to my mark-stone. When I opened it to play and saw the girl, my heart nearly sank to the floor. An odd chill ran down my spine.

  It looked like her. The suspicious girl that Ferzan helped.

  I looked inside the bar, seeing Tesla dancing to the rhythm of the music. It amazed me that her feet weren’t getting caught in that odd red dress that dragged on the ground.

  The shoulder piece stood tall, reaching near her ears, and the fabric at the elbow curled into circles. It was basically inviting odd looks from everyone, but she didn’t care.

  I used to hate that when I was younger.

  When we started dating again for the third time, her mother became aware of our relationship, thinking it was our first time. I can still remember Miss Elver telling me, “Darling... go find yourself another young woman. Tesla... she’s troublesome. She’ll embarrass you. Trust me, that girl is better alone.”

  She did, a couple of times. At certain parties, all I could do was sit with a blank face, trying my best not to think about what everyone was surely thinking. But I failed at that. I failed horribly.

  'Why the hell is this chick talking so fucking loud?'

  'She’s definitely high on something.'

  'Why’s she jumping like that? It’s a calm fucking dance!'

  'She’s singing now? She can’t sing. Bloody hell.'

  It was like I could hear their thoughts. As if their skulls were too thin to keep them in. Their thoughts spilled out with ease, and it was overwhelming.

  I wanted to shrink away and vanish.

  But once those events were done, and we walked home, she would say, “Sorry.”

  I didn’t really buy it at first. Because it felt like something she always did. Like she was laughing in my face. But one day I realized something. Whenever we were talking, either alone or with friends, I would always bring up what she did in an amusing way. To tell a story. Not to belittle her, but to boast about how ‘crazy’ and bold she was.

  Obviously, a part of me liked that about her. So she kept doing it, probably confused about why I always sulked afterward.

  When I realized that—even when I felt embarrassed by what she did (and unfortunately, that was never going to change)—I didn’t let it show. And that made me wonder.

  At those parties, was I assuming the crowd’s thoughts, or were those my thoughts about her, ones I felt too guilty to admit to myself?

  Guess what? I didn’t know. And I didn’t want to know. Because I’d feel worse than shit if I ever admitted that to myself.

  I took in a deep breath, coming back to the present.

  I sent her a quick telepathic message via the System: I’m going to collect something near the gate. I’ll be back in 50.

  And so I made my way down the stairs, heading toward people who surely would have information on my little friend.

  I took transportation and fell asleep until the driver woke me up, making it clear he couldn’t drive any further due to the road being blocked off by Safety Works.

  I got off and made my way to the city gates on foot. It didn’t take long, but when I arrived, I immediately said, “Knights, knights. My favorite kind of people.”

  The two knights looked at me. Although I couldn’t see their eyes behind their golden and silver helmets, I had a feeling they were wondering what I wanted.

  Pulling out my mark-stone, I projected the video of the little brown-haired girl. “She’s been missing, and I’ve been looking for her. Is there a file on her?”

  The one in the golden helmet asked, his voice filled with arrogance. “What does it matter to you? You’re not getting information. Get lost.”

  “What’s your price?”

  My words left him stunned, and for a while, he didn’t answer

  He then stepped forward, anger in his movements. “Did I hear you correctly? My price? My price?! You think of me as some... dirty little mongrel?”

  He was standing in front of me, most definitely glaring. I imagined he was visualizing killing me. “If it ain’t Vanquisher business, fuck off, little monster pet.”

  “It looks like my aunt’s daughter who ran away from home. I gave her my word. You’re a knight, so you know how sacred that is. I may be a dirty vanquisher, but I’m still a person. So help a fellow man out.” I took a step closer to the knight. “I just don’t want her to lose another kid.”

  His attitude shifted, but he didn’t respond.

  The other knight did though. “Sorry. We still can’t give you the files. But...” He pulled his modified mark-stone from his [personal space] and scrolled through what I assumed was their database for a couple of tens of minutes. “Found her. She came with her mother and father... And this might interest you—Bahmos Rezac and Lu’jol Mal’trinul.”

  Putting his mark-stone away, he said, “That's the only thing I can give you.”

  I slowly nodded, smiling at the man. “Thank you.”

  Rezac. I knew of that family. Everyone did. And lucky me, one of the sons owned multiple sex entertainment clubs in this city.

  From what I heard, the Law Keepers were investigating him for drug trafficking, sexual slavery, super-sentient and sex trafficking(obviously, the victims were free people). But progress was slow. If I had to guess, his father was stalling it.

  I wasn’t sure of the details—just bits and pieces. It was stuff for the regulars, not vlandos. A waste of my time and skill.

  But I’d pay him a visit, inquire about Bahmos, then find him.

  This Lu’jol fellow, he would come second if Bahmos didn't have information on the girl.