What was this that I heard?

What was this that I saw?

Before my eyes, I saw the stubborn Zoreya smiling, crying, speaking those words which touched my heart. It was a confession, but then... she fell back, and I saw the blood.

The red stain spread on the ground, while The Darkness laughed in joy.

The weapon that killed her... was in my hand...

“I’m holding it?” I said and saw it.

The battle with Zoreya had begun, and I could not help but worry about her. In my mind, I prayed and urged her to run away, to hide from this abomination created by my own hands, but this one was a crusader and an Apostle of Melkuth, the God of War. Running away from an opponent would have been considered cowardly, maybe even disrespectful towards the one she prayed to.

Our current situation was... awful to say the least.

When we stepped on the battlefield prepared to fight against The Darkness, we all believed that we had all it took to defeat it and somehow or someway free Illsy from under his grasps, but the reality was a bit different from what we expected.

Illsyore was a Dungeon Lord. His body was that of a humanoid Dungeon. The Darkness was a gathering of memories and thoughts of the Dungeons constituting his body. In other words, we were not seen as wives from our point of view, but rather that of a Dungeon’s.

Frustrated, confused, in pain... I couldn’t bear with my own thoughts as I let the hours pass by me like sand grains in an hourglass. What good was an Apostle to a God of War when they didn’t even have the strength to lift their own shield up.

Drinking didn’t help either... yet I tried to drown my own thoughts and think about what I could do, for I was so ashamed of my failure, I didn’t even have the courage to go and face my own god.

The Darkness took over in but an instant. I was unable to stop it... No, I let my guard down, and that split second was all it needed to rip the control of my body out of my frail grasp. But instead of destroying me, it kept me caged like an animal with only a small window to the outside world, through which I could watch the terror and disasters it was about to unleash upon all those unsuspecting mortals.

As soon as we reached the inn, Shanteya put on a smile and went to join my other wives. Since then, two hours had passed. Now, I was sitting on the roof of the inn, gazing at the clear blue sky above me while I waited patiently for Zoreya to get ready for our date. It was a beautiful day, but if I were to complain about something, that was the lack of entertainment around these parts. Above all, I missed my computer.

Ah~!

Thinking about the good ol’ days before reincarnating into this strange world, I realized how everything was so simple, so peaceful. There was only one god I had to pray to, and the only thing I had to worry about was whether or not I could finish a game event in time. Dating was simple, only one woman for one man. Superpowers and magic were seen only in games and read about in books.

Master scared me that day... I tried to avoid him, to stay away from him because I was afraid of Master who wasn’t Master will come out and harm me again. There were two Masters in Master’s body, but one was evil, and I didn’t like him, while the other was the Master I knew.

Zoreya explained this to me, so did Nanya, Shanteya, and Ayuseya, but I was still afraid of the evil Master. My fur would stand at its end whenever I was around Master.

What if he came out? What if he hurt me? What if I was attacked by him? What if he killed me?

Do you think I will let her kill us?! The Darkness shouted at me.

I was currently inside my Inner Mind, facing this monstrous thing. It was huge and literally enveloped everything around me like tar would a helpless prehistoric creature. I couldn’t even access the material deposits without it allowing me...

After I left the inn, I searched Illsyore around the city for the next couple of hours, but I wasn’t able to find even a trace him. It was already getting very late, and people were heading off to bed, putting off the small candles that flickered at their windows.

I stopped near a small well at the now empty market. I had no intention to have a sip of water from it, but I was feeling rather hungry, so I took out some of my supplies. I had a quick snack: a sandwich, a fruit, and three glasses of pure water.

The temple of Melkuth was a building made from soldi granite and decorated with beautifully carved marble arches and support pillars. Seven big steps raised the whole construction from the ground, each representing the most important laws of my god.

The first was the step of duel, which dictated that a battle between two followers of Melkuth should always be one fought with honor and honesty. This law didn’t apply if only one of them was a follower.

In the past four months, I have carefully watched and analyzed the behavior of the Godlike Dungeon Lord Illsyore. Most of the times, he acted like a calm individual with an unusually good nature.

We traveled throughout the entire continent at a speed I rarely had the chance to. Back when I was in Prince Reginald’s service, I never once went faster or slower than him, but with Illsyore’s group, I could use my top speed without worrying that I might leave them behind. On the contrary, there were times when they were the ones who more than once left me behind.

Ah~ Sweet harmony of death… Such a long time has passed since I last quenched my thirst with the blood of my enemies.

My memories were stranded on small islands across and endless ocean.

Time of past and moments of the future all seemed to clash in but one single body, yet our memories neither belonged to one or all… We were something else, a hive… a swarm… simply put, the darkness in Illsyore’s Inner Mind.

It’s been almost four months since Zoreya became part of our little group. With her help, we were able to travel safely throughout the entire continent and complete a lot of quests. Rumors of the once unruly prince from Aunnar Kingdom who turned his blade against slavery reached far and wide, especially since he himself began to hunt down those who defied this law.

I woke up in the morning and let out a big yawn. It was around the time the sun started to rise at the edge of the world. Getting out of bed, I jumped on all fours and sniffed the air. Only Ayuseya and the metal lady were here.

Sneaking up between their beds, I peeked at the dragon lady and saw her sleeping peacefully. Her chest going up and down each time she took a breath. On the other bed was the metal lady. She slept wearing her armor and used her own shield as a blanket. It looked extremely uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem to mind. Maybe she was used to it?

Upon returning from my ‘cozy’ spot, where I was smashed into the face of a cliff, I was surprised to find Zoreya being nursed by Nanya. That armored woman was probably Dankyun’s relative… or something like that. She was clearly not a draconian though; the lack of scales, a tail, and relatively smaller height gave her away.

“I’m back…” I announced in a not-so-excited tone of voice.

After I left Prince Reginald’s room, I took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

Melkuth’s light guided me through thick and thin whenever I found myself at a crossroads in my life. My prayers as his Apostle were always heard and replied with his Divine Voice. At heart, I felt free and unburdened by a mortal’s man daily worries.

Of all the things I loathed in this world, my own flesh and blood brother had to be in the top ten on my list. Always so easy to quit half-way through anything, always eager to punish the innocent, always acting and thinking like an idiot without so much as taking into account what would happen if he were to give a certain unreasonable order. All of these things represented and identified my one and only brother Reynolds.