Katie and Vernisha made their way toward Sundawn riding on Crusbull. Vernisha had worried the rough ride might hurt Katie, but to her surprise, the girl didn’t seem bothered at all.

  Vernisha did nothing but take in the trees flanking the road. Many of their crowns were rich with green, and occasionally streaked with red leaves.

  Katie did her best to keep her dyed black hair down with one hand, since the other was wedged into a shell gap.

  The hand on her head held a black cap with finger-long red horns. On the visor was the graphic of a grinning demon with white fangs.

  She was also holding her shades with that same hand.

  Vernisha had expected Tarnisha to be the one into edgy stuff, not her. Still, it made Vernisha start thinking about how strong her monsters were now.

  She was level 20.

  She had four monsters. She had swapped out her Spherehands for Twirlflower, and Crusbull was the strongest at the moment, sitting at level 18.

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

  She had 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 annoyed Vernisha that Forwing barely had any wind skills. In the monster forest, she mostly found water, grass, and fire monsters. Monsters with Earth skills were much harder to find. The sphere one she had gotten had no attribute, so all its skills were null and racial.

  As for her other monsters:

  Aquaren:

  [Water Pulse]

  [Slack Jaw]

  [Paralysis Bite]

  [Oil Membrane]

  [Snakes of Water]

  [Sharp Splash] — which made it leap forward and “explode” in a burst of water.

  Twirlflower was the same as before.

  It took a while, but eventually they reached the massive black walls and the gate set into the front.

  The two Knights guarding it were different from 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 carried a sword that struck Vernisha as odd. The handle was normal, but the blade wasn’t straight. It bent and jagged like a roaring flame.

  Katie walked up and showed a ring she pulled from her shirt pocket.

  The Knights examined the silver ring, observing the bird with its wings spread mounted on top.

  The war hammer Knight 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.

  Vernisha didn’t understand why, but the Knights’ attitude changed instantly. Both men straightened, visibly surprised.

  The sword wielder spoke, almost stuttering. “I didn’t know it was you. Excuse what my friend said. You and…” He looked at Vernisha, clearly trying to place her. “Your friend?”

  Katie nodded.

  “…can go right in.”

  Vernisha assumed it was some kind of identifier revealing Katie’s status. Moments later, the gates opened, and they passed through.

  The first thing Vernisha saw was collapsed buildings and chunks of concrete being shoveled into carts pulled by Green Lizards. Vlandos were clearly among the workers—not just from their height, but from their ridiculously large shovels, some nearly as wide as Vernisha was tall.

  She followed Katie’s lead until they cleared the damaged street.

  As they walked, Vernisha heard the loud grinding of gears and the whirling of wind.

  Flying cranes hovered over the ruins, each with four whirring rotors and a clawed arm hanging beneath. They plucked chunks of debris from collapsed buildings before drifting off, likely toward a dump site.

  Farther along, she spotted a wheeled robot being piloted by someone. Its hands were shovel-like, similar to a backhoe, clearing debris from the road.

  They were working fast—impressively fast. Most of the roads were already cleared, which surprised her.

  Vernisha glanced at 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.” Katie crossed the street, passing a bald man sipping from a wine bottle. “Why would business shut down?”

  Vernisha shrugged slightly. “I dunno. I’m guessing the park isn’t closed.”

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

  Vernisha didn’t respond. She just followed along the sidewalk beside her.

  They weaved through the crowd, and Vernisha spotted an odd bike turning into another lane.

  It was fully enclosed and didn’t have rounded wheels. Just a long, tractor-like tread.

  Curious, Vernisha asked, “Does Ether power everything?”

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

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

  Katie rounded a small wooden plant shop. A woman twice Vernisha’s age leaned against the yellow counter, her eyes drifting toward them without much energy.

  Katie glanced 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.”

  Then she muttered, “This is taking too long.”

  She waved toward the road, and a Green Lizard–drawn carriage came to a stop. The metal-covered elf driver perched atop it, the back of their head uncovered, looked at Katie with dark green eyes.

  Those eyes somehow enhanced the beauty of his long, blonde hair.

  Vernisha assumed the elf cared deeply for it, since he had let it grow long enough to rest against the lizard.

  The elf said, “Yes?”

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

  The elf nodded, metallic overalls clanking as he moved. He jumped down from the lizard and slid the carriage door open. Judging by the noise his clothes made, Vernisha figured he was definitely poor.

  Katie paid her forty bronze pints, which made the elf gasp in shock.

  “Young miss… that’s too much! Half would do just fine.”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  The elf hesitated briefly, then quickly agreed. “Of course!”

  She leaped back onto the lizard as if the veil of overlapping red metal scales fitted around her body weighed nothing.

  Vernisha had heard that elves looking for work in Terrafall often adopted the dress styles of the other human races on Yeathul. She supposed this one simply refused to change at all. Vernisha respected that, to a degree.

  Katie and Vernisha climbed aboard. Vernisha sat near the stained part of the soft chairs. “You made his day.”

  “That’s a woman,” Katie said.

  Vernisha raised an eyebrow. Female elves weren’t that different from males aside from a bit more chest, unless she had heard wrong, but she didn’t think she would’ve made that mistake. “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.”

  Vernisha frowned slightly. This was the first time she’d heard 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…”

  Vernisha took that as a no.

  About an hour later, the carriage finally stopped. They exited, thanked the driver, and the miss drove off.

  They stood on the sidewalk as music blared from a nearby bar.

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

  Vernisha glanced at Katie. “I’m surprised she doesn’t wear fabric. Like the other elves I saw.”

  “You saw elves in fabric? At a job probably.” Katie sounded surprised.

  “About five of them. But I guess they were heading to work. Or were visitors. Don’t know.”

  “They must’ve been going somewhere your looks can turn away guests.” Katie crossed the road toward the massive fenced site ahead. “Unless they’ve got something wrong in their head.”

  The place was pretty empty and really massive. Katie paid for both of them, and they were given tickets and allowed inside.

  Vernisha walked forward, her footsteps echoing off the wooden floor. Murals of zombies biting other zombies repeated four times along each black wall.

  Katie smiled as she strolled toward the stairs. Vernisha kept pace beside her. “How often do you come here?”

  “A lot.” Katie rounded a crying kid. “It makes me relax.”

  Vernisha had the urge to ignore the boy too, but something about that felt off. Not morally, he didn’t seem lost, but it would have been strange to not help.

  She stopped and asked, “Where are your parents?”

  Katie turned, clearly confused by what Vernisha was doing.

  The punchio child looked up. “Dad is in the bathroom… It stinks… like shit.”

  Oh.

  And the boy was crying right near the men’s bathroom.

  Vernisha said nothing else and left him be. The kid was safe.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Katie asked, “You thought he was abandoned on the first floor? Where everyone has to pass?”

  “Was just checking. Hard to ignore a crying child.”

  “Fair.”

  The rest played out simply. Cardboard cutouts of zombies, vampires, ghosts, and other creatures kept popping up from the ground, trying to scare them.

  Vernisha faked her fear most of the time.

  Katie made a habit of guessing where the next creature would appear, but her predictions were often terrible.

  Still, Vernisha had to admit, Katie’s reaction time was disgustingly good. Every slight sound made her snap toward it instantly. Sometimes Vernisha wondered if she really wasn’t a Vlandos.

  Then she remembered Katie’s grandfather was a Mortal God.

  They moved to the next floor, passing many kids. Most were human, though Vernisha spotted a rare Rejuk. They had the same brown skin as Holvions but lacked the curly hair. Instead, it was ginger and lay flat like pressed leaves.

  The boy, maybe thirteen, froze when he saw Katie. His almond-shaped eyes widened. He immediately stood, smiling, and gave a slight bow—one hand extended, the other pressed to his chest.

  Vernisha assumed it was cultural.

  “Hello. May I know your name?” he asked. “I can’t help but notice how beautiful and—”

  “Don’t know. Don’t know.” Katie clapped his hands with a grin and walked past him up the stairs. “You’re super cute too.”

  To say he was stunned would be an understatement.

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

  Vernisha decided to ask, “Do you have to be home by a certain time? ’Cause of classes or something?”

  Katie hit something, and a vacuuming sound started above them, 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.” Katie glanced at her. “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.” Vernisha walked over to her, remembering how Katie’s grandmother viewed her. “Being human is just as cool.”

  Katie’s lips quivered, then turned into a smile that twisted into an ugly laugh. Vernisha was taken aback, definitely not expecting that kind of reaction.

  Katie noticed her shock and 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 gazed around for no reason. “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.” Katie shook her head in amusement. “Unless you know someone who became one at fourteen?”

  “Never heard of it.”

  Katie sighed and shrugged. Then she slipped her hands into her pockets, her expression turning serious. “Do you love being a Vlandos?”

  She studied Vernisha’s face, especially her mouth, like she was trying to catch a lie.

  Did Vernisha like being a Vlandos? The answer was complicated, even if it sounded simple.

  A smirk tugged at her lips, clashing with the rest of her emotionless face. “Sometimes. For the thrills. Other times…” She squeezed her already clenched left fist. “No. Sometimes it’s a curse.”

  Katie looked genuinely surprised.

  Wanting clarity, she spoke quickly. “Why? You get to do all kinds of cool stuff.”

  Vernisha suspected Katie was trying to appeal to what she thought Vernisha cared about. She doubted that was Katie’s real reason for wanting to be one.

  Her smirk softened into a normal smile. “The cool stuff, I like that. But other than that…” She hesitated, memories of Ulah and Caren flashing through her mind. “Feels like I was born to hurt others. Who likes feeling like they’re a giant blade? I don’t.”

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

  Katie wouldn’t understand. She wouldn’t understand that Vernisha felt built to harm everyone around her—everyone except monsters.

  Vernisha took a deep breath and pushed the thought away. She didn’t want to go down that road.

  “You’re right,” she said.

  Katie didn’t answer immediately. She just stared, barely reacting. Then she smiled and pointed at Vernisha. “You’re lying.”

  Vernisha nearly 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.”

  Vernisha narrowed her eyes. Did it really make sense to lie about that? Not really, but it ended the conversation, and she didn’t care to keep digging.

  “I don’t think I can make you get what I mean,” she said.

  Katie gave a faint nod. “Makes sense. I feel like that a lot.”

  “People saying not being a Vlandos isn’t a big deal?” Vernisha assumed those people were her family.

  “Yup yup.” Katie turned 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.”

  Katie turned toward her. “Sorry. Made this about myself.”

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

  Katie nodded and sat on a step. “I guess you might be in the same boat as me soon.”

  Vernisha 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 Vernisha deeply 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.” Katie took in a shallow breath. “He’s a weapon. And soon, you’ll be too.”

  The War Against Mankind—the war meant to wipe humans off the continent. He had lived that long and was that strong?

  Vernisha had known the slave held back against her, but she hadn’t realized it was by such a ridiculous margin. He must have faked everything, played along… but why?

  Katie noticed her silence and likely read the confusion on her face. “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?”

  Vernisha had no desire to engage with the idea of being turned into a Starlight weapon. She knew what she was, and she wasn’t a weapon. She didn’t want to be one. She refused to be one.

  Instead, she asked, almost laughing in disbelief, “So he what—does his best not to overdo it on non-Starlights? He’s saving his real murderous rage for your family?”

  Katie shrugged, unconcerned. “Guess so. But you did catch him by surprise with that choking thing. He probably hates you for that, I think.”

  “Oh well…” Vernisha said, though the word weapon still rang loudly in her head. As much as she wanted to drop it, she needed 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.”

  Vernisha frowned. “She seems nice though.”

  “She is.”

  POV: Rael

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

  The one to his right stood frozen in blue ice inside a fancy brown pot. Two green leaves jutted from it like oversized ear flaps.

  His father would love it.

  Rael himself had never cared much for plants, but his father used to ramble about how Rael’s mother had secretly loved them. Her secret love had infected his father, which he tried to spread to Rael.

  It had worked… somewhat.

  “So hear this right—” a drunk Mulvar man waved his hand dramatically, purple drink sloshing in the 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 upward and began winding it. “Green ugly giant comes running through the house. Booooy, I thought I was a dead man.”

  The elf woman listening to him nodded along without real interest. A strand of hair slipped from behind her ear, and she quickly tucked it back before sipping from her cup.

  She had to lift the face veil at her neck slightly to drink. Rael could only see her pale chin and pink lips.

  Most of her golden hair was braided into a neat rope that hung near her waist, almost as long as the Mulvar’s brown hair.

  Rael often wondered which of the two took more pride in their hair.

  He exhaled slowly.

  The wind four stories up did a lot to calm him. But seeing the destruction across parts of the city on such a large scale did something else entirely.

  It reminded him that he still had to find whoever was responsible.

  Rael swirled the ice spheres in his drink, smiling faintly to himself. Unfortunately, some nearby guy seemed to think the smile was meant for him.

  Ignoring that, Rael’s thoughts drifted back to his dream.

  It had been a good one.

  He had stood in the center of the city dressed in white and red, the King himself awarding him high nobility, breaking the rules just for him.

  Everyone had been there, circling him, staring in awe.

  It was a very good dream.

  His pocket buzzed.

  Rael pulled out his pyramid communicator, unfolded it, and checked the caller ID: Alumin-35-16.

  Name and birthdate—year excluded.

  He accepted the call and lifted the device to his ear. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing much, man,” Alumin said. “Just wanted to tell you this funny shit that went down in the Great Monster Forest.”

  “How funny?”

  “A little girl bashed in a zone guard’s nose and escaped. Grown-ass man. Level 30. I know old boy’s gonna kill himself. Shit, I would.”

  Rael chuckled lightly. “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.” 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 something or what?”

  Rael’s casual posture vanished instantly. He straightened, urgency snapping into place.

  “You’re serious? Send it. Now. Don’t even worry about getting in trouble.”

  The Vanquisher Agency had authority over Monster Zone Keeping. That didn’t technically mean Rael was allowed to get information like this.

  But he could have, if he routed it through HQ intelligence.

  He was just taking the shortcut.

  “Uh… sure,” Alumin said. “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 Rael, but he ignored them.

  He was dressed casually for once—brown pants with too many pockets and a long-sleeve shirt with a giant skull printed on both front and back.

  Not his choice. His girlfriend had basically forced him into the outfit.

  “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.”

  Rael’s lips twisted into a frown. “Of course not. My aunt’s daughter’s been missing and whatnot.”

  “Oh, gotcha.”

  It took a while, but eventually a video file came through to his mark-stone. When Rael opened it and saw the girl, his heart nearly dropped to the floor. A strange chill crept down his spine.

  It looked like her.

  The suspicious girl Ferzan had helped.

  Before doing anything else, he needed to inform Tesla.

  Rael glanced back inside the bar and spotted her dancing to the rhythm of the music. It still amazed him that her feet didn’t get tangled in that odd red dress dragging along the ground.

  The shoulder pieces stood tall near her ears, and the fabric at the elbows curled into circles. The outfit practically invited stares, but Tesla didn’t care.

  He used to hate that.

  Back when they started dating again, for the third time, her mother had learned about the relationship and assumed it was their first. Rael could still hear Miss Elver’s voice clearly:

  “Darling… go find yourself another young woman. Tesla… she’s troublesome. She’ll embarrass you. Trust me, that girl is better alone.”

  She had embarrassed him before. At certain parties, all Rael could do was sit there with a blank face, trying not to think about what everyone else must have been thinking.

  But he always failed.

  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.

  Back then, it had felt like he could hear their thoughts, like their skulls were too thin to keep them contained.

  It had been overwhelming.

  He’d wanted to disappear.

  But after those events, when they walked home, she would always say, “Sorry.”

  At first, he hadn’t believed her. It had felt routine, almost as if she were laughing at him.

  Then one day he realized something.

  Whenever they talked, alone or with friends, he was always the one bringing up her antics, spinning them into amusing stories. Not to belittle her, but to boast about how bold and wild she was.

  Part of him clearly liked that about her.

  So she kept doing it.

  Probably confused why he always sulked afterward.

  Once Rael understood that, even though the embarrassment never really went away, he stopped showing it.

  Which led to a worse question.

  At those parties… had he really been hearing the crowd’s thoughts?

  Or had those been his own thoughts about her? Thoughts he felt guilty about.

  Rael didn’t know.

  And he didn’t want to know.

  Because the answer would probably make him feel like shit.

  He drew in a slow breath and returned to the present.

  Through the System, he sent Tesla a quick telepathic message:

  I’m going to collect something near the gate. I’ll be back in 50.

  Then Rael headed down the stairs, moving toward people who might have information on his little problem.

  He grabbed transportation and ended up falling asleep during the ride. The driver eventually woke him, explaining the road ahead was blocked by Safety Works.

  Rael got off and continued on foot toward the city gates.

  It didn’t take long.

  When he arrived, he muttered, “Knights. My favorite kind of people.”

  The two Knights looked at him. Even through their gold-and-silver helmets, Rael could practically feel their suspicion.

  He pulled out his mark-stone and projected the video of the brown-haired girl.

  “She’s been missing, and I’ve been looking for her. Is there a file on her?”

  The taller Knight spoke, voice dripping with arrogance. “What does it matter to you? You’re not getting information. Get lost.”

  “What’s your price?”

  The Knight froze.

  For a moment, he didn’t respond.

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

  He loomed in front of Rael, clearly imagining violence.

  “If it ain’t Vanquisher business, fuck off, little monster pet.”

  Rael held his ground. “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.”

  He stepped a little closer.

  “I just don’t want her to lose another kid.”

  The Knight’s posture shifted, though he said nothing.

  The second Knight spoke instead. “Sorry. We still can’t give you the files. But…”

  He pulled out a modified mark-stone from his personal space and scrolled through what looked like their database for several long minutes.

  “Found her. She came with her mother and father… And this might interest you, Bahmos Rezac and Lu’jol Sons-ver’mol’yu.”

  He put the device away. “That’s the only thing I can give you.”

  Rael slowly nodded, smiling. “Thank you.”

  Rezac.

  Everyone knew that family.

  One of the sons owned multiple sex entertainment clubs in this city.

  From what Rael had heard, the Law Keepers were investigating him for drug trafficking, sexual slavery, super-sentient trafficking, and sex trafficking. Progress was slow. If Rael had to guess, the father was stalling things.

  He didn’t know the full details, just fragments.

  Normally, it would’ve been a waste of his time and skill.

  But now?

  Rael decided he would pay the man a visit, ask about Bahmos, and follow the trail.

  Lu’jol would come second if Bahmos didn’t know anything about the girl.