//------------------------------// // Granite Podium Arc: Part 2 [Rewritten] // Story: Silas Epista // by Maneiac //------------------------------// Life has a funny way of bending people over and going in dry.          I had fallen asleep in my cave, my back against the wall as I hung my head. An undetermined amount of time had gone by since then, and now that I was awake and stretching, I was beginning to feel a little adventurous. “Wergal, you there?” My question rung out as I stood up.         “I can’t fall asleep, for weariness is a foreign concept to this body of mine...” Wergal trailed off. “What is it that you need?” His head poked around the corner in askance, his eyes blinking as he stared at me stoically. I flexed my wings and then folded them back up. “Feel like taking me out for a night on the cobblestone,” I jokingly asked, watching as Wergal blinked twice and then slapped his face with a paw. “That was excruciatingly painful to hear, Silas. Please, for the love of everything holy; no more jokes.” Removing the paw so he could see again, Wergal shook his head. “And no, I cannot allow you to leave here. Should I give Dreggen any means to suspect my actions, he’ll find out that you and I are running the revolution. That in mind, I’ve already spread the rumor in Otto’s section,” he pointed up, “above us.” I nodded. “How much time has passed by since I fell asleep, and do you know where my clothes are?” Wergal sighed, apparently annoyed by my constant questions. “It is night time yet again, meaning a full day has passed in your terms. As for your belongings, Boss Dreggen has given them to me for safe keeping. Out of everyone he trusts in this warren, I have the most; not even his brothers come close to the amount of trust he places within me...” Wergal grinned and patted his belt as he walked around the corner into my cave. “It is the perfect dagger to thrust into his heart, no?” I winced at how carefree he sounded about killing Dreggen. “That kind of killer mentality is dangerous... makes him a little more suspicious. If push comes to shove, he might not think twice about sacrificing me to get at Dreggen’s jugular...” Fixing my face, I stretched out my arms and did some squats to work out any remaining kinks in the joints. “So it’s possible that you’ll be giving them back to me, then,” I asked, watching with curious eyes as Wergal nodded his head. “Dreggen will not mind giving your clothes back, but your weapons have to stay. So your belt and those things on its sides, your pants, and your jacket will be returned to you momentarily; that is, if I feel like leaving my post to get them.” I rolled my eyes as he waggled his eyebrows at me. Sighing, I pressed myself against the back wall and slid down onto my ass. “You know what? I would really like those clothes.” I grinned mentally as a dastardly thought finally entered my mind. Wergal didn’t know that the two things in the holsters were weapons. He’s going to be giving me back the pistols, and I know how to shoot! Wergal shrugged his shoulders and left the cave, raising his index finger to tell me, “Hold on.” I did as was asked of me by the finger Wergal held up, whistling a merry tune to myself. “Another red light on a cold  november day~...” I continued imagining the song as I whistled along to it, thinking of Sunset being sad somewhere in the cave. Pictures of myself breaking through big lines of armored guards and embracing her ran through my head, making me sigh and smile. And it was here, in this small-ass cave, that I waited for what felt like half an hour, before Wergal returned with my things. Nigh instantly, my eyes fell upon the pistols on my belt. I quickly hid that gaze of extreme want and stood up, ready to receive my clothes. Wergal tossed them at me underhandedly, and I caught them as they fell out of the sky from their brief flight. The belt made them jingle, and I did feel a mite better when their warmth latched onto me. “What are those things on your hips, anyway?” Wergal quirked his head to the side, which made me laugh. “They’re...” I brought my voice down to a whisper just in case the walls have ears. “...weapons...” Wergal jerked back and widened his eyes, but instead of growing cross like I thought he was going to do, he simply nodded and made his way back to his post. “Sorry for not telling you straight-up, my friend!” “Save it. It’s not like you lied or anything. Telling half-truths aren’t as bad as lies, so I forgive you. Just make sure you don’t show them off to the Alphas when or if they come back to visit you.... actually... there’s a visit coming later on tonight.” Wergal poked his head around the corner as I frowned at that news. “You’re going to be visited by all three Alphas in the span of three days. They are mostly doing this to scout you out; it’s more or less a screening test to see what you’ll be the greatest at during your time here.” Wergal winces and then continues. “Pray to whatever deity you believe in that you don’t end up in Dreggen’s Section. It is a cesspool of lust, and he heads it as Master of Ceremonies.” Wergal gained a distant look in his eye as he shivered. “That is a dark place indeed.” I nodded my head in affirmation, even though I was pretty sure Dreggen was going to take me to his section anyway. He seemed to express a vivid desire to subjugate me by using Sunset as a means to keep me under wraps. “Maybe he’s getting a thrill out of being able to tell a dragon what to do? That seems to be the case; most dragons from Earth’s mythos are shown to be horrible beasts with overwhelmingly strong power, height, and flame breath. And by the way Io talked about them, I’m sure that’s the case for this planet as well... maybe.” “Why does Dreggen want me to submit to him so bad, Wergal?” At my question, Wergal grimaced. It was a good question, apparently. “Dragons are widely known for enslaving the Diamond Dogs, making them mine gems to feed their lazy asses when they should be out hunting. That’s mainly why Dreggen and his brothers joined their warrens together and migrated away from the mainland; too many dragons to ensure one of them just wouldn’t come around and enslave their grand-warren. So, two years later, Granite Podium was built on the inside of Titan Mountain some twenty miles north of Stonehaven,” Wergal explained, making me nod in understanding. “So the dragons enslave the slavers? That shit needs to stop if I’m gonna have a shot at pleasing Io...” Staring out stoically, I slid my wings through the slits in my jacket, feeling them be freed from the compacting against my back. “So who’s coming tonight?” “Rex.” “Can you give me more information than that?” I tilted my head to the side with a frown; a little mad that he thought an answer like that would be satisfactory. Wergal tucked his paws into his vest’s lower pockets and sighed. “He runs the bottom level of Granite Podium, and he’s the one that produces the most numbers in terms of collecting gems. His part of the warren is mainly physical labor, with little to no breaks for its workers, although they do work in shifts as compared to Otto’s top layer, who seldom get breaks at all.... which, should stand to reason, that Otto’s Level has the highest death rate.” Wergal stopped peeking his head around the corner, making me sigh. “So Otto and Dreggen are the worst places to go, and Rex might not be all that bad. Thanks for the information, Wergal; but if it’s all the same, I want to stay in this cave.” I sat back against the wall and drew a flintlock-looking pistol out and studied it. The brown handle and black-everything-else made me smile. If the gun could be compared to something, I would have to say it’s barrel is about as long as a .44 magnum.... or a Deagle. The gun’s heavy too! Oddly enough, there was no safety mechanism, and there were three barrels forming some type of triangle! “Is this thing a pistol or a sawed-off!?” Each exit hole looked big enough to fit a silver dollar inside... this thing must pack a punch! Turning the gun on its side, my eyes instantly locked on to a name etched into the top barrel. “.... Blowback....” I said slowly, then nearly jumped out of my scales when the sky-blue cursive lettering glowed and sent little lines of energy all throughout the gun. It was like having a western-style space-pistol in my claw! Gazing at the device in wonder, I slowly lifted it and aimed for the wall. A sky-blue holographic box came up from where the hammer was supposed to be, and showcased the number ‘88’ in white coloring. “Eighty-eight bullets inside.... or does that mean eighty-eight shots available? It could also mean its travelling speed, or how long it takes to chamber another round. There’s too many options, and not enough facts. I think a test is in order.” I was fully aware that this gun had no trigger, so it took me a minute to think of ways on how to operate it. From what I’ve gathered so far, its name serves as the safety mechanism, as it appears to be on right now. As for how to fire the damn thing... “Once again, we’re back at square one... how the fuck do I fire it? I don’t have any bullets to feed this thing, nor am I technologically savvy; this is a job for someone who is... but no one on this planet would be able to solve this. It’s up to me.” “Fire.” I narrowed my eyes and braced for the recoil, but none came... nor did a blast or bullet. Growling a little in frustration, I tried thinking of many options that would help me figure this out. “RIght, so we can scratch vocal commands off the list. I don’t know any magic, so we can’t test that.” “Don’t mind me; just inside your head and watching you fail. It’s not like I’m a sapient A.I Core or anything, so just go back to being a failure at working such a simplistic device, Champ.” Siri the Smart-Aleck used so much sarcasm in that voice of hers, that I thought she was actually being sincere. “Hello to you as well, Siri. Care to shed some light on my dilemma?” “Use the Hearth’s Fire.” I snapped my head up and frowned deeper. “... How does that even... ohhhhh. This... this brings me back to a day I entered the Station... the day where I fought someone pretty scary.” I opened my eyes quickly, sitting up in the quiet atmosphere of my Station with a hiss of annoyance. Lately, I’ve been having more dreams the longer I stayed in the presence of Sunset, and it’s been a long time since I dreamt up anything besides this place. “One week in, and I’m already being harassed by this place again. What the hell is with this place, anyway!?” Standing to my feet, I flexed my recently-trained wings out to alleviate the soreness in them. “It’s a good thing Atharva came through with her promise and trained me for that whole week.” “You have a lot of nerve showing yourself here, Justin Richards! Why if it were up to me, you would be a black mark on this mural right now!” I groaned and turned to face the proud face and voice of Sylvan Awrenos, who was sitting across from Silas as they played chess on a black and white checkerboard. “Still, you do have an opponent tonight.” I crossed my arms as Sylvan and Silas didn’t turn their heads. “An opponent? To whom might you be referring, Sylvan? As far as I can see, it’s just you and Silas in here.” Tossing my gaze around the Station, I grumbled to myself as my own eyes disproved my earlier statement. That one draconian from earlier; the one that couldn’t stop crying and sobbing was curled up in the fetal position, still weeping for some reason. His remorseful cries were not loud and irritating, but filled me with a sense of dread. “You would think him to be your Remorse, wouldn’t you?” Sylvan said, moving his white knight in a strong position against Silas. “Check.” “From the way he’s moaning like a ghost, yeah, “ I answered. “What a surprise; you’re wrong again.” Silas took Sylvan’s knight with a bishop, which moved him into a good position to say, “Check.” He chuckled as Sylvan groused, making me a little irritated that I was being ignored over a game of chess that can be paused and resumed. Sylvan chewed his bottom lip and moved a rook into Silas’s base. “Indeed he is, Silas Epista. You may confront him, but be warned, Richards; he is an enemy that even Silas and I have come to fear.” Sylvan’s rook was taken by Silas’ queen with a laugh, for now his king was boxed in on the other side of the board. “DAMN IT ALL!” “Checkmate, buddy.” Silas snapped his fingers in a ‘Z’ shape, making me chuckle a little bit myself as I made my way over to the sobbing excuse for my Remorse... or maybe he isn’t. Sylvan was pretty good at being confusing, even though I’m sure that wasn’t his intention. “Yo, buddy; you good?” In response to my questioning, he curled up further. I sighed and squatted down, watching his form for any means of attack. “Come on, now; sulking like that never got anything done. As my Old Man would say, ‘The only time where curling up is acceptable in life is when you’re next to your woman, and when you’re dead.’” “.... Go away...” I quirked my head to the side at his serpentine voice. It was eerie, and carried with it the sound of a creaking coffin. “Woah... what the hell is up with this dingbat? When he finally addressed me, all traces of sorrow vanished instantly. This guy is more than he appears to be... and I plan on shoving the hornet’s nest.” “Come on, already; you’ve moped enough. What good are you to anyone down there on the floor? You’d make others happy by having more confidence in yourself! Stop doubting your-” My face was rocked by something fast and hard, sending me flying back into the table Silas and Sylvan were using for chess. As the pieces for the game rained down on me, I heard Sylvan open his mouth again. “DAMN IT ALL AGAIN!” “Told you this was where Veritas was going to knock him back to! I guess your five years of servitude will start today, Sylvan!” Silas broke out into laughter as Sylvan growled and I stood up. Shaking my body free of any remaining debris, I watched with wide eyes as the sobbing form of myself got up with a demonic chuckle. The lifeless black mane, reminding me of black flames, fluttered about like it belonged on a sacrificial altar. And as I continued to watch as he turned around to face me, his scales began dissolving, leaving behind nothing but bones and a black trench coat that was made of black, withering fire and reached down to the ground. The rest of his body was just bones, and eyes made of purple light stared at me as he smiled demonically. “You rang, Richardssss?” A short, rattley, bonish cackle came out, making the scales on the back of my neck vibrate as he rested a bony claw against his chin. “Why do you hesitate to respond, Richardssss? I’m not that intimidating, am I?” I took a step back, my chest squeezing tight as he took a step forward. My breaths were shallow as I stared into those eyes. They had the marking; the cloudy area completely taking over the entirety of his eyes. “W-what... what the fuck....” He cackled strong and proud, all his bones jostling in his jubilee. “All it takes is one glance, Richardssss!? Where’s that spirit I desire to crush!? You disturbed me...” His jubilant spree ended, and he affixed me with cold stare that made me grit my teeth and shake my knees. “... You pay the price. And my price will always be death.” “Who the hell are you!?” I swung my arm in front of me for emphasis, my eyes widened in fear as a black, cloudy substance began effusing from his mouth, becoming a cracked cocoon of horizontally stretched wisps of smoke. “Lucius Veritas the Rafflesia. I hold within my body the power of a Great Equalizer, much like your ‘Hearth’s Fire’,” he mocked by making quotation marks with his fingers. “It’s a cute gimmick, that! It pales in comparison to my Equalizer, though. Nothing can withstand the curse of time; even the immortality Gods claim to have is pointless at the end of all things!” He snickered, his mouth coming undone multiple times as he did so. Bringing a bony claw up, he appropriately snapped his broken jaw back into place. “... You’re mocking the Hearth’s Fire? What the hell’s a Great Equalizer? Why are you so goddamn creepy!?” I stood my ground at the edge of the Station, looking the lich-like abomination in his eye as the initial creep factor wore off. “The other time I tried talking to you, all you did was scream some random name into the heavens! What’s with the violence all of a sudde-” “You called me, fool; you called me by my emotion. I am the representation of your Regret and Doubt, Richardssss. When you called my emotion, I am duty-bound to reveal myself to what you call.” Lucius’ voice dropped to a whisper that sounded like it was everywhere at once. “Under normal circumstances, I am your Regret... but you wanted Doubt this time. I live with some past terrors of yours.... and I think it’s time to give them back~” His eyes flashed bright enough to blind me, and I responded by throwing my arm over my eyes. As the bright flash of sick purple ended, I blinked a couple of times to get the circles out of my eyes. They locked onto Veritas, who was now sitting on a barstool with his arms holding his head up. “What did you do to me?” Veritas smiled, cracking the corners of his mouth audibly. “I gave them back, Richardssss. All those little things you locked away for a looooong time~; I gave them back. To. You.” Veritas snapped his fingers, and instantly, my mind felt like someone was doing last-minute construction inside of it, blinding me with enough pain to scream and drop to my knees clutching my head. “Yesssss.... feel the things you’ve locked away... with your skeleton key~” Amidst my screaming, I looked up at Veritas’s cackling form; watching in horror as he, and everything around me, started dissipating away. Fire consumed my insides, making me bile on myself as my brain continued vibrating seismically, filling my body to the brim with unholy amounts of nausea and pain. The sound of falling sand in a hourglass rocked me to the core as the world around me dissolved, making me black out as the final modicrum of pain tolerance was shattered. I shot up from Sunset’s couch with a scream. The living room reminded me of her’s perfectly. I couldn’t really understand why I was back here after looking at Lucius’s ugly mug earlier on, but I felt relatively good. Shaking the fuzzies from my eyes, I looked down to see Sunset curled up in my lap, sleeping like a little kitten. Rolling my eyes at the rather odd situation I was put in, I looked around the room for any sign that this was some sort of cruel joke. “Right; this is officially the freakiest thing that’s ever happened to me.” Scratching my head while looking down, my eyes fell upon the white cup filled with tea. “Did she leave this? Ugh... she knows I don’t like it when my food goes to waste.” I picked up the cut and rubbed her head softly, bringing it up to my snout for a quick sniff. The air the tea gave off was warm, and it smelled faintly of chamomile. “This is pretty strong. She must have drank this to fall asleep on me faster.” I looked down at Sunset, whose body was slowly rising and falling amidst her soft snores. Smiling a bit, I brought the cup to my lips and started sipping from it. The brew was lovely, going down my neck like some sort of relief agent for tension, which is basically what chamomile is made for; soothing the muscles and nerves. As the green liquid lowered in the cup from my constant sipping, something wet but solid bumped up against my lip. Jerking my head back from confusion, I slowly lowered the cup away from my mouth and raised my eyebrow as I peered into it. The green liquid held itself true, showing no obstacle in it. Frowning, I tilted it towards me a little bit more, and went wide eyed at what breached the surface of my beverage. The round and blue pupil stared back at me; a little tadpole-like tail of red flesh trailing behind a white globe filled with red cracks. The eyeball sat there, staring at me, and all I could do was stare back. I felt hollow and sickened; a part of it was now inside me! “.... No... no, please! You can’t be...!” The world around me dissolved as shrill screaming broke in from every side; my surroundings quickly becoming those of a dimly-lit warehouse. The eyeball in the cup became suspended on a silver spoon, and slid around of its own accord. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably now, and as I looked down, the shakes only got worse as my eyes fell upon three things I had long thought to be gone from my mind. Quickly, I saw the faces of that dissected, eyeless little girl; her parents, one of which was pregnant, while the other was still knocked out from watching me torture- “Milly. That was her name! Milly Jolee Sevenson...” My head started pounding as I fell back onto my ass. My breaths were shallow and painful; the chest area unrealistically tight as I watched Milly’s lifeless hands swing lethargically. I could still see the redness of her throat, which was a strong indicator to all the screams she was shrieking out as I dissected her body with the very spoon in my claw right now. There was no hope for the jerky I had ate earlier once more as I expelled it from my stomach, the thought of enduring this hellish nightmare any further scaring me shitless. “I... I might actually end up shitting myself if I don’t get out of here!” I stood up shakily, vaulting over the examining table in a heartbeat and continuing a dead run towards the huge metal doors. I ran and ran, ramming large metallic shelves aside like they were made of pillows; the things contained on their shelves spilling over noisily as I clamored on. Fishing hooks reached for my head like the Scythe of the Shepherd for the Damned, but I swatted them aside as well, hearing them break apart like fragile glass in a hailstorm. Amidst all this clamor, my breaths stood out the most. To someone hearing it, they would think the gates of hell were opened, and a contingent of devils were marching on the plane of humans. The doors were right there, dammit! “I can’t stop... I need to leave!” My thoughts spurred me on, so I lowered my shoulder and drove through the dense metal, knocking the entire door off its industrial-strength hinges, hurling the monstrous metal into the water some four feet ahead of freed position against the pier. I collapsed onto my chest from my running, almost smacking my face upon the cement. All I could do was pant like a dog and leak already-eaten jerky from my throat into the water. I felt sickened with what I saw... sickened with myself! “How could I do that to them!? How could I do that to myself!? What kind of life was I living!?” Thankfully, my spree of upchucking finally stopped. I breathed heavily as I got back to my feet shakily. I needed a plan to escape this dreamscape, but everything felt so real, that my mind was screaming at me that this was reality. The feel of the concrete: the soft spray of the ocean crashing against the pier, the chilling air of autumn, and the clapping claws of Veritas were so goddamn clear that- I was on my feet in milliseconds, angrily leering at him. “What the hell is this, motherfucker!? I’ll fucking rip your head off and juggle it with a can of liquid nitrogen if you don’t put me back in the real world right now!” I growled and balled my fists up. “With what power, peon!? I have control over everything you’re not proud of; everything you could ever hold regrets for; I’m it!” Veritas flapped his long trench coat at the waist, making the bottom come up and expel black fire into the air, a hellish roar emanating from it. “And since all you mortals are beneath me, It is my duty to put you in your place! Witness now; the power that puts the Hearth’s Fire to SHAME!” On his last outburst, Veritas’s claws were consumed in a black fog that made me raise my eyebrow. “Smoke!? That’s all you got!?” I flicked my wrists, hoping to snap the Hearth’s Fire into existence. My eyes went wide when the fire I desired did not sparkle to life, but left me hanging in the cold autumn air. I brought my claws up and glared at them angrily. “Fucking work and stop playing! I need this now more than ever!” “The power you desire will not come to you, Richardssss. It will forever forsake someone like you, fool. However; the curse of time itself will never neglect those that are willing to feel its caress.” The smoke around his body whirled about faster, and then sunk into his face to form a black balaclava that left only his bony left eye exposed. The rest of the balaclava was painted with white pentagrams, and he chuckled when I took a step back. “I gave pause to even the mighty Silas Epista, such is my power. You will never overcome me, Richardsss; you are just a sniveling bipedal monkey child!” Veritas cracked his neck with a bony claw, walking towards me with a glint in his eyes. All I could was back up, knowing there was no chance in hell to beat him without the Hearth’s Fire. Turning on my heels sharply, I took off towards the warehouse I had left. The sound of cracking bones made me wince and look back, and my eyes widened as Veritas’ back sprouted spires of spider leg-like bone; about eight of them, pure white and sharpened at the end lifted him up a good three feet into the air. His body was swinging slowly but surely, and his eyes glowed with killer instinct as those same legs scuttled after me frantically; a cackle emanating from his mouth as he did so. I turned back around and crashed through the other door, blowing it off its frames as well and sending it a couple of feet forward into some more fishing hooks. With a loud crash, the door landed and skidded on top of some detached fishing hooks, creating sparks against the cement as I barreled past it. I could still hear the scuttling of those bony legs hounding me, and this only served to increase my panic and run all the more faster. I vaulted back over the table, rolling back onto my feet and continuing my dead run away from the lich-like abomination following me closely. I could smell him like a cloud of death, making my eyes roll back into my head a little from just how damn bad he smelled! “Come on, Richardsss~! Let’s have a little bit of fun!” Veritas made a sudden move, and I heard the wind whistle near the left side of my head! Ducking quickly, I watched from my rolled-back eyes as one of his spider-like legs whizzed across where my head used to be located! “Quick right! QUICK RIGHT!” I jumped to my right, knocking over another shelf as I heard Veritas skid on his legs. The floor was soaked with water, and this low-traction area did wonders in slipping the creepy motherfucker up! A lot of metallic bangs rung out, letting me know he was going to be tangled for a good while. Turning around so that my eyes were on his struggling form, I yelled at my claws and concentrated as hard as I could. “Damn it all! Where the hell is my Hearth’s Fire at!? Why could I use it against Silas, but not against Veritas!? Was he right? Am I truly not worthy enough to wield it!?” I kept flicking my wrists; this being my ‘launching’ motion for igniting something I didn’t even have mastered. “These cords are not good enough, Richardssss~..... I’m going to skullfuck you seven ways from sunday!” Veritas continued to thrash about the fish hooks and their metallic ropes like a caged animal, hissing at me while effusing that same dark cloud of some unknown substance that stunk to all hell.  “You’ll be another carrion wasted away by the Reaper’s Hand!” That same black substance began to... dissolve the metal. The fishing hooks and wires rusted before my eyes, and then broke apart into nothingness as it was consumed into oblivion. “You don’t need to tell me twice! I’m out of here!” I doubled back, vaulting back over the table and sprinted for the exit. There was a hellish scream behind me, the groaning of metal, and then the shattering and breaking of bones as Veritas -to the best of my knowledge- succeeded in freeing himself! Once outside, I snapped open my wings and took off, not looking behind me for a simple second. I knew simple flight was not going to be enough for escaping someone like him, so I flew faster. Whipping my wing backwards and then down, I applied the Afterburner method that Atharva taught me to help gain speed at a quick rate. Needless to say, the technique worked flawlessly as I sped away subconsciously, my body realizing that to slow down here would probably mean imminent and instant skullfucking by Veritas. Lightning and thunder cracked all around me, and it was deafening enough to cause my wings to falter. I cursed my luck at that, and gave a cry of pain as Veritas stuck two legs through the membrane of my wings, tucking me against his chest as we started a nosedive! “This crazy motherfuck is going to crash us both into the ocean or the ground!” “Let me go, dammit! Why are you so obsessed with killing me, you fuck!” I sent earth-shattering elbow after elbow into his midsection, hearing all the bones break as he laughed at me. “Thanks for rubbing those kinks out, Richardssss!” We broke the cloudline, and I could see the small rural town of Chester wink into existence below us. Every elbow I threw back was only serving to make him chuckle harder as a cone formed around us! “I can smell the beautiful scent of decay in the air, human! You get to watch what happened and all that jazz!” His sentence evolved into a harsh, mocking laughter that made me whine. “This is it, then! I’m fucked!” I shook my head and then lowered it. I felt like a coward, but I knew it was over. “I never stood a chance against them! How could I ever entertain the notion of victory against them?” Shutting my eyes, I waited silently for the inevitable impact to come just as we started heating up from our speedy descent! “... This is it.... I’m going to die...” I shut my eyes all the tighter, not liking the sinking feeling that was welling up inside me as Veritas cackled his ass off. There was no way in hell I was getting out of this one, and it really felt like this would be the end of me.... but... I no longer feared him. My eyes snapped open as it became clear. “Wait a minute... is the Hearth’s Fire... controlled by confidence!? If so, the! I could always use it; I just needed to believe that I could! That’s what Veritas was doing to me this entire time; instilling enough doubt to keep my confidence lowered enough to make summoning the Hearth’s Fire ineffectual!” Growling, I slowly calmed myself down and breathed heavily through my snout. The ground was fast approaching, and I felt something hot stirring in my gut. It screamed at me to beat the shit out of Veritas... and that’s what I’m going to do! “You’re fucked, ugly,” I snarled, reached and arm up and wrapping it around his head. Hiking my feet up, I pressed the soles against his knees and pushed off mightily, flipping Veritas over my shoulder as I ignited my Hearth’s Fire. It roared through the sky like an angry dragon, our fast-paced hurtling to the the ground only making the frightening sound that much higher! Veritas screamed as if everything was on fire... which it probably was. We kept spinning like his, gaining enough momentum that I doubt even an army of big-armed soldiers could stop us from impacting and causing serious damage! And as the final rotations came in, I heard the screaming of many people. ... But who cares about them. I wanted Veritas dead now. It was instant; no one could have prepared for our two forms smacking into a skyscraper right dab in the middle. I heard the sound of breaking glass, and when I opened my eyes to survey the damage.... The Station of Awakening stared back at me. “Oh.... my... Io...” Looking down in disappointment, I realized that yes; Lucius Veritas was beneath me and still on fire.... and yes; I was truly back in my Station if the mural of myself was anything to go by. Veritas moaned and groaned underneath me, his balaclava melting away into nothingness itself as I jumped back. “... He actually beat him.... huh,” Silas droned out in actual surprise, making blow air through my snout in bemusement and turn to face him. Of course, him and Sylvan were engaged in a friendly game of shuffleboard.... I was panting heavily, utterly exhausted from that whole ordeal. “Fuck off. I’m... I’m leaving now.....” Flipping the duo off for good measure, I headed for the wall of darkness and pressed on through, using my wings to fly myself up to the light above. “Then the key... to the Hearth’s Fire.... is confidence; willpower.” My eyes grew tired when I reached the light, and I passed out right before passing through the gate. “... Why didn’t I think of that?” Sighing in annoyance, I lifted the gun again and aimed at the wall. Heat swelled in my chest, and slowly drifted from there into my shoulder, and then down the length of my right arm into my claw. The small, sky-blue lines grew brighter, and a hushed whirring sound came from the barrels. “It’s going to go off this time! I believe it will!”   “Now... fire...” My arm was blasted back into my chest as a triple-spread of sky-blue pellets blasted that wall to bits and pieces! Widening my eyes, I stood up and ran over to survey the damage. “Holy shit... that was AWESOME!” The hole was about three feet in, and six feet wide. If this was used against a regular body, it’d be blown straight to hell. “What is going on in here!?” Wergal came around the corner at a frantic pace, his face scrounged up in annoyance as he stared at the hole in the wall. “Any mutt for two miles inside this blasted mountain could have heard that, you idiot! Put the weapon away before you’re found out!” He was growling at me now, and I slid Blowback into its holster with a sigh because of that. “So in order to use my guns, I have to feed them the Hearth’s Fire... interesting. Blowback seems to be a mix between a pistol’s frame, and the power of a sawed-off shotgun... and I’m pretty sure that hologram dropped from eighty-eight to eighty-seven after that shot.” I walked back towards the wall I was shackled to yesterday and sat down, resting my forearms over my knees as I stared at Wergal with a stoic expression. “Calm down, Wergal. I’m not hurting nothin’, anyways. You should chill out a little more...” I trailed off with a playful grin, nodding towards the diamond dog. “We have guests, after all.” Wergal jerked his head back and quickly turned it to see a large shadow approaching the cave by way of torchlight, making him growl a little before skulking his way over to the entrance. I chuckled a little bit and relaxed against the wall. “I’m sure this Rex guy is going to be a little big; his name foretells him as a meaty dog! Well... maybe he is, maybe he’s not. It’s not nice to judge people, or to lump them in. I really should practice what I preach!” Shaking my head of these stray thoughts, I watched as a diamond dog wearing the same ensemble as Dreggen walked in alongside Wergal. He was big, like I thought; more so, actually, with a barrel chest that stretches the fabric of his shirt ridiculously. The tension in his shirt was unbelievable, and he wore no matching pants like Dreggen. The dark-brown fur gave way to white paws and a circle around his right eye, where hazel-coloring ruled in the pupil. His arms and legs were ridiculously muscular, and he reminded me of a boxer dog. “Wergal.... he’s clothed.” Rex’s voice was surprisingly deep, but sophisticated. I was honestly expecting him to talk like the guards from earlier. “I was very specific in my wanting to keep him bare, Beta. Is there a reason for his appearance as of now?” He turned his head slightly, looking at Wergal with a set of green eyes. “Boss Dreggen has given me permission to distribute his belongings, so long as they’re not weapons. I’ve searched those articles of clothing thoroughly for any sign of knife, sword, staff, shield.... you name it. Excepting his diamond-looking sword, there’s pretty much nothing on this guy right now.” Wergal pointed at me while looking at Rex, the bigger diamond dog nodding in understanding at his Beta. After that, Rex turned his attention back to me. “You would be a magnificent addition to my Level of Granite Podium, dragon. The slaves would look at you and  think, ‘Boss Rex has even broken the back of a mighty dragon! What chance do we have!?’” He faked a swoon and chuckled, making me narrow my eyes at the large mutt. As he straightened himself out, Rex placed the same paw he swooned with on his chin and analyzed me. “You appear to be a bit stubborn at first glance, but all slaves are when they’re first captured. Wills are strong, but they can be broken. I’ll be betting a high bit for you, little dragon.” He laughed and turned around, heading out of my cave. Wergal watched him leave, and then turned back to me. “I honestly thought you were going to rip his head off. Needless to say, I’m very glad and disappointed that you didn’t.” He chuckled, which brought about a bemused glance from me. “Yeah, well we all can’t be apathetic killers.... anymore.” I averted my eyes and sighed, before realigning my gaze with his. “Don’t you have job to be doing, Wergal? The rumor won’t spread with you lollygagging like this.” Wergal pursed his lips and flipped me off, but nevertheless, he made his way out of the cave as well. As silence descended upon my “cell”, I began wondering about my new girlfriend and how well she was taking this new change of pace...