[Zacks View]
The wave of lava from the Elemental splashing into the fire lake hit me, and I was taken under with it. This really wasn't much of a problem, and I plunged deep, using my arms to pull myself to the bottom.
[Blaza is trying to get to you, but you need to seal yourself from him and then try to absorb what you can! fifteen seconds till eternal damnation is released, and the top ten feet for a mile around is vaporized!]
I didn't need Fireden's voice to remind me about the burgeoning atomic bomb worth of energy. I kept Keri's Totem up but changed to my Water Force Pact and started to churn the fiery sludge.
The massive surge was building within the Dread Dragon as I whipped the lava around me faster. I could tell that it was about to reach the crescendo of overcharged unbridled power, so I needed to be faster.
I closed my eyes, entirely slipping into my Water Aspect, forcing my body to expand. Then I started to swirl my body around, creatin
[Ooo, that is not going to feel good in the morning!]'Great to hear you again too, Hero.'[Yes, well, you look like you have been run over many times, but what is with this intense aura you have? Your energy is almost completely depleted, but you still have more than what your limit was when you left!]In the background, there was silence, but I could feel the Demons all around us… wait, why did I feel that?"Ugh, yeah, had my mind blown apart a couple times, but you saw me after that, right? Also, since when did a human join us?" I asked out loud, and the bodies that were crushing me into the steps started to move."What did you just say?" Mex asked as everyone got off me.I ignored him, my eyes were still closed, and I rolled over. I reached my hand out to push myself up, but the hand slipped, and then I tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs.[You should try opening your eyes, I hear they help when looking for places t
"Me? What are you talking about?" I asked as I looked around at the gathered and waiting Demons.They were all looking at me with expectant faces… wait… they were waiting… Me?I could actually feel that from them, but I didn't understand what It meant. Was this part of being a Demon Lord?[You are the strongest, and the only Demon Lord left on this island, but you are immensely more potent than anything that is on this island. I suggest you call a meeting and recall the ones that were sent out to attack.]"Am I the Lord of everyone now? How does that even happen?" I asked Mex, and he mimicked the shrug I had just given him."I guess that you are too strong, and they have all been forced under your control. I think that only Nixi, Lani, Nushi, Dack, and Nushi are the only ones strong enough to be able to resist you, but I will give you my loyalty without question. You fixed me!" Mex said with excitement as he grabbed his crotch
I told Mex and Nushi to head back to the Keep and let everyone know what was happening. Before they left, I asked Hydie if I could talk to her.I wanted to pick her brain about Beeno and see what I could do to make her more comfortable. Clearly, she was very stressed out, and I don't think she understood what was going on."Yes?" Hydie asked after she joined me in the back storage area I had used to enter Dao's tent."I wanted to ask you about Beeno. She seems distressed," I said to Hydie, but she rolled her eyes to my surprise.Not the expression that I assumed I would get, and then Hydie took in a deep breath. After letting it out in a long sigh, Hydie shook her head and then looked back at me with a grin."Nushi told her about all of us and our relationships with you. Now she thinks that she is going to be standing in a long line. The girl just wants to be able to spend time with you, and I get it, so I think you could maybe do some stuff with h
Before leaving, I went through a couple of the boxes until I found something to put on. The shorts I found were red and had some bloodstains, but it gave them a textured look, and I really didn't care what they looked like.I left the storage area and backed out into the central tent area, but the place was deserted. I looked around, and I didn't see Beeno at first, so I closed my eyes.I immediately felt her and opened my eyes to look in the direction that I had sensed her. The raised hexagonal dais that was surrounded by stairs blocked my view, so I walked forward.I looked around as I did, the place looked much different and empty, but most of the arenas did. Without the people and the energy that came with them, the place was just a tent.Beeno was squatted at the end of the stairs, and she was using one of her long fingers to draw in the dirt. As I got closer, I was surprised at what I saw in the dirt.She drew a picture of me fighting with on
I smiled, but I also activated my Fire Aspect, and fire slowly covered my body, but it didn't cause Beeno to pull back from my chest.I grinned down at her and lifted into the air slowly, not wanting to set everything below me on fire. Once I was about fifty feet in the air, I turned on the heat, rocketing forward to my destination on the map.Now that Hero was back in my head, I no longer had to rely on doing everything myself. I knew that Hero helped me out a lot, but having him gone made me realize just how much I relied on him.[It's about time that you noticed, but I am just glad that you were all able to make it back safely.]*Wataluga: You were talking about the table?*I didn't have far to go, so I relayed about Arthur Pendragon and his Knight, and it was well-received by both Elementals. Of course, I didn't really explain that much; Hero had to explain most of it because reading wasn't really my thing.*Fireden: I like the sound of
Fireden was right, and I didn't want to waste too much time with this. I still had the demons that were still gathering to deal with, and I wanted to get home to see my girls."Okay, let's go check it out; I am not sure if we will even find anything. I had just found it very suspicious that the Gnolls didn't try to attack me when I found them all heading down here. If I had had more time, I would have checked it out then, but it is probably better now that we are all together," I explained to everyone and then waved Fireden ahead.I let the others go ahead and offered Beeno a hand, but she only looked at me strangely. I resisted an eye roll and reached down, taking Beeno's thin hands in mine."Are you sure you want to hold my hands?" Beeno asked me shyly, and I looked down at the hands that were in mine.They were thin, long fingers and a bit rough, but there was nothing wrong with them."Yeah, let's get going. Who said your drawings were stupid or
[I know that you don't want to push her, but maybe it is something that was done to her, and she is scared to talk about it.]'I don't really think that this is the case here. I think I might have been something along the lines of someone important to Beeno disapproved, and she crushed it down. It happens all the time with kids and young adults.'People at young ages were always more impressionable. The disapproval of someone they looked up to could easily cause them to stop doing something they loved.Sometimes it was attraction, the need for friendship, attention, or getting to a place you wanted to be. Some would do anything in order to impress others, and with gangs and other groups that would be sometimes pushed to the limits.I let go of Beeno's hand and turned from her, and started to talk casually, "I feel like these passions people have could be the things that help if that is what was taught from a young age. Passions are important, and if peopl
Lights streamed around me, and I fell onto soft ground, but the lights were still spinning around me. They were starting to clear, and I could see a massive Gnoll in front of me sitting on a throne made of weapons of all sorts.The rest was space; we were on a single island floating section of land that floated in the vast void. The colors were starting to slow down now, so I waited to see what the massive King of the Gnolls was going to do or say.His face was long like a hyena, but his body was covered in muscle and iron jewelry. He had no weapon, but the claws on his gigantic hand and the steel cord muscle on his arm said he really didn't need them."So, you are the big shot that is making waves out there? Everyone came back and said some scary guy was here now! I guess they weren't wrong, but you are so strong to be on this island. What brings you to the island?" The Giant Gnoll asked."I stepped into a Challenger Gem and got extra training, but I onl