Prologue

Be proud warrior,
For there wasn’t a job you and your comrades couldn’t tackle.

Be proud warrior,
For the world is safe again and you are the rock that steadied it.

Be proud warrior,
For your job is done and another will bear the mantle.

Be proud warrior,
For adventure awaits, and you have been summoned home.

“Aaaaw damn it, they just had to make the ending bittersweet didn’t they?” Ezera said aloud to no one in particular.

A content sigh escaped his lips while he adjusted himself in bed. Warm tears slipped down his cheeks, prompting him to set the tablet on the nightstand before any drops hit the screen. ‘And with that another great story comes to an end. What I wouldn’t give to have an adventure and get an ending like that of my own,’ he thought. ‘I guess that’s why I get so invested into these, even though they always make me cry. Gotta love them though.‘

Ezera chuckled softly and stared at the various video game posters on his wall. When that didn’t distract him, he picked his tablet back up and opened his contact list. He scrolled through his list of friends, trying to see who would be open to listen to him gush about the story. ‘Mmm… none of them would care enough. Only Elessedil would, but she’s…‘

A knock sounded from his room door. ‘Oh shoot!‘ He quickly grabbed the top of his shirt to rub the tears away from his face, then proceeded to lie down in the opposite direction of the door.

A middle-aged man wearing only a t-shirt and boxers came in. “Ezera?” he asked. “We’re watching a movie now. You ready?”

“Uh, I think I’ll pass. Kinda tired,” Ezera replied with his face buried in his pillow.

“What? Speak clearly.”

“I’ll pass!” he said louder, still just as muffled.

“No need to shout, I was just asking you. Why are you trying to sleep with the light on?” His dad’s footsteps thudded a tad closer. “And you’ll suffocate like that.”

Ezera turned so he was on his side, facing away from his dad. “Guess I dozed off without realizing it.” ‘Gah, why now are you asking so many questions?! I can’t let him see me like this.‘

“At least look at me when I’m talking to you.”

‘Crap. Craaaaaaap,’ Ezera thought. ‘I’m screwed either way, aren’t I?‘ He sucked in a breath and shifted to face his dad, hoping that his face had cleared up any sign of his short-lived cry. However, his father knew better.

“Have you been crying?” he asked, folding his arms.

Great. Ezera knew what was coming. “Maybe. Maybe not,” he muttered, averting his eyes.

His dad’s voice softened a tad. “What have I said to you about this time and time again? Man up, you’re eighteen. And going to college.”

“You know I hate it when you say ‘man up,'” Ezera retorted, directing his gaze to a poster.

“What are you even crying for anyway?”

“I just finished reading this story. It was… pretty damn good.”

“I thought we agreed you would try your best not to let your emotions get the better of you,” his dad said, crossing his arms.

Ezera sighed, tired of this same spiel. He turned back to his dad and kept his hands still. “And I keep telling you I can’t help it. You’d probably get teary eyed too if you read it. But this is ‘insignificant’ according to you, right?”

“Because it’s true. There are more important things to worry about, and if it comes to it, cry about,” his dad elaborated, still standing, unwavering.

“I don’t see what’s wrong expressing myself this way. It’s not harming anyone.”

His dad scoffed. “Right now it’s not. But what happens when you start working and start crying if something happens? People will see you as weak. They’ll take advantage of that. You know I’ve told you about my time as a manager seeing things like that.”

“Jeez, not everyone is totally evil. I like to think people are better than that. And for the record, I know I’m strong myself.” Although, Ezera’s quivering voice made him doubt that statement already.

“Listen to me, son,” his dad urged. He held a hand over his chest. “I don’t want to see people walk over you. It’s a tough world out there.”

Ezera’s eyes welled up again. ‘He always says it’s tough out there. I really hope he’s wrong.‘

“Look, we’ve had this conversation before. I don’t need it told again.”

His breath shuddered as he got out the last words, and the anxiety in his chest made him grip the end of his shirt. Footsteps thudding on carpet reached Ezera’s ears. His mom appeared in the doorway.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, leaning on the door frame. “I hope you two aren’t getting into it.”

“We just finished, hon,” Ezera’s dad dismissed, glancing at her. “Are you still going to bed, Ezera?”

‘I doubt I can sleep after his mini lecture. Why can’t I give him a lecture for once?‘ He rose from his bed. “Not now, no. I’ll join you two for a bit.”

His dad left the room first. Ezera’s mom opened her mouth to say something, but Ezera waved it off. They went downstairs to the living room, settling on the couch while his father set up the DVD player. Ezera took a seat at the end of it, keeping silent and staring off into space.

When the movie began playing, he didn’t pay much attention to the natural disaster plaguing the city. Those earthquake movies always ended up following the same plot of not listening to the scientist and then facing the consequences.

Ezera’s focus remained on his thoughts. Uneasiness tumbled inside him, and about half an hour later he made up his mind. “I think I’m gonna take a walk,” Ezera announced, getting up.

“Are you joking?” his dad said, pausing the movie.

“Does it look like it?”

“Seriously, you’re going to walk this late at night? You’ll catch a cold.”

“It’s summer though,” Ezera insisted. “And technically you can’t stop me.”

His father sighed. “And technically we can kick you out. Just don’t be out too long.” He resumed playing the movie.

Ezera held his tongue as he left the couch. His mom got up and gently reached out to touch his arm, giving him pause.

“Whatever he said to you, he probably didn’t mean it,” she said.

Maybe Ezera was making a big deal out of nothing. But then again, so was his dad, and he didn’t want to let him win. Not this time. Ezera briefly smiled at his mom. “I’ll be back soon.” He made his way over to the kitchen counter to grab his phone. Once at the front door, he slipped on his shoes and grabbed the spare key off the rack.

“Love you guys!” Ezera shouted half heartedly into the house, then opened the door and went off into the chilly night.

‘I’m not weak.‘

---

Ezera opted to hike on the unofficial trail in the neighboring hills, using his phone’s flashlight to lead the way. Thanks to the moon barely being a crescent in the dark, inky sky, he had to rely more on his flashlight than he normally would’ve. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to see a simple three feet ahead, much less his hand if he extended it out in front of him.

His steps continued to crunch along the coarse dirt path in a hurried pace. ‘I should’ve brought a jacket,’ Ezera lamented, pulling his arms into his chest. He replayed scenes from the story to occupy himself. About halfway through the path, Ezera veered off the slope and into the mini valley.

‘If my poor sense of navigation serves me right, then I should be close.‘

The flashlight weakly illuminated the familiar ring of trees as Ezera approached. Soft chirps of crickets filled the air, and relief filled his feet when he laid down in the clearing. He breathed in the musty, but still sweet smell one could get only from untouched wildflowers. ‘I still remember when I told Elessedil about this place after coming here for the first time…‘ He thought back to the text conversation with his friend.

Me: Hey look what I found today lol

There’s like a whole ring of trees surrounding this clearing

But it’s kinda weird cause all the other shrubs and stuff are dead outside this place, and yet this place is fully green

Thinking of calling this place Budget Forest

Elessedil: That place actually looks really cool!

I’d go there to relax daily if I could

It’s almost like a special easter egg in a video game

Where’d ya find it?

Me: Oh yeah you’re right it does look kinda special

It’s off the trail near where I live, I don’t think anyone has

been here before

Elessedil: Didn’t take you as a person who goes for walks

What reason do you have for going off the trail lol

Me: I don’t take walks haha, but had a little fallout with my mom today…

Nothing big tho

We’ll get over it and be back to loving son and mother romorrow

Tomorrow* I can’t type

Also I just felt like indulging my inner explorer

Elessedil: Exploring is always cool

Aw, wanna talk about it?

‘Idiot, why are you thinking about her now? The whole point of this was to relax.‘ A cold breeze tickled Ezera’s skin. The temperature seemed to have dropped in the few minutes he had been there. He ran his arms through the damp grass in an attempt to remove his goose bumps. His eyes stayed fixated on the black night sky, while the little stars peppered it with light. ‘It’s the middle of summer and it feels like a Costco freezer section out here. I’ll never understand the weather…‘ He stayed put in his position for a few more minutes, taking in the fresh air and listening to the rustle of the thin leaves. ‘I should probably head back now. Otherwise it’s more lectures. Fun.‘

RUUMMMMBLE!

Ezera jolted upright as the ground shook. It started out lightly, then grew more and more intense as the seconds passed. ‘An earthquake?! This is the biggest one I’ve ever felt! Oh God, this better not be like those natural disaster movies!‘

Ezera was forced to sit still as the earth groaned and shook about. Panic rapidly rose in his chest and the only thing he could do was swallow it and shut his eyes. A tugging sensation made him open them again, only to find a swirling purple-reddish vortex staring back. ‘What the hell is that?!‘ With full panic mode activated, Ezera scrambled back towards the trees on all fours. Unfortunately, the pull from the vortex only grew stronger. He desperately tried to hang onto the grass but succeeded only in pulling them from their roots.

‘No no no no- I’m done for aren’t I?!‘ Ezera thought frantically. Almost on cue, the vortex performed one final yank, plucking Ezera off the ground. He gasped as his body soared through the air and into the darkness of the portal. The crushing force inside made his shout turn into a wheeze. His breath came in short intervals. Then his vision slowly faded, accompanied only by the suffocating dark.

---

“…on…hold…steady!”

Muffled words roused Ezera back from unconsciousness. His first instinct was to move his limbs, but he gave that up after they wouldn’t respond. He then tried to open his eyes and found that it was like peering through a foggy window. Blurs of merging colors covered his entire viewpoint. Despite this, he was able to make out two shapes a few feet in front of him. The one to the left of his vision had a long and large frame, and its body seemed to emit a red aura. The figure on the right was dwarf sized in comparison.

“I… I still don’t have enough control over it,” the shape on the left panted, his voice metallic like.

“Intriguing. It’s a tad more consistent than it was before. We’ll work more on it later, though I suppose this progress is better than none. Right now it seems we have to tend to an uninvited guest,” a more feminine voice said from the right.

“But this is good? You can use this human?”

“No, we require the one actually summoned here, not some trubbish human that stumbled upon your space-time hole.”

“Then what do we do with this one? It’s not going to mess up your vision, right?”

“So long as you get rid of them right now, it won’t.”

The shape on the left shuttered for a split second, promptly going from a navy blue outline to a bright red.

“So I can absooooorb their aether?” the same metallic voice asked, except in a deeper and scratchier tone.

“You know perfectly what that will do to you. Either send them back or blast them, I care not, but do NOT absorb them.”

“Mmmmm. So boring, I haven’t haaaad human in such a long time!“

The shape shuttered again, going back to its navy blue color.

“We are not absorbing him you craven, we just did that not too long ago!”

“You insolent-! Hmph,” the figure retorted to himself. “Do you not want their deliciouuuss taste?“

“Stop it! Both of you,” the female interrupted. “I can already feel a headache coming on from your yapping.”

“We’re going to try and send them back. Got it?” the figure said.

“Fiiiine,” he replied once more to himself.

Ezera could only watch as the blurry figure loomed closer over him. He opened his mouth to plead yet his voice wouldn’t work. Fresh tears started forming in the back of his eyes. A WHOOSH sounded from behind him. The familiar tug of the vortex was back. As Ezera’s body slid toward it, the figure gathered energy in front of its chest.

“Wait… what are you do-” the figure said, before turning red.

“We’re sending them baaaack- JUST NOT IN PERFECT CONDITION!“

Just when Ezera touched the vortex, the figure unleashed all the power into a large, condensed beam of red light. Searing heat wracked his senses. Terror was the only thing on his mind, then nothing. Pure white filled his sight as his body vaporized from existence. Ezera’s soul ebbed further and further away…

…

…

Not yet human.

Take my paw.

Please.

For her.