Three days after meeting with king Calladen and giving him the bad word of his son’s death. Calladen summons Mateo to his chambers. Serenity waits outside wrapping herself lustfully around Mateo before he can enter. He smiles as beauty envelopes him.

  “I heard you and Sapphire treated Mercedes well, is she still with her brother in your void domain?” Serenity asks nibbling on Mateo’s neck.

  “She is,” Mateo grabs Serenity’s ass pulling her closer, “don’t let your passion for me simmer out, I won’t be too long with your father.”

  Serenity leans up placing her moist lips next to his ear and whispers.

  “I’ll be waiting for you, se?or Ryusane.”

  Mateo steps through the threshold of poverty and luxury into the king’s lavish dormitory. Several scantily dressed Nezumi women lie on a large sofa against the wall as Mateo observes the gold cinder walls crafted from, well, gold cinder. Calladen rises from his perch on the edge of a large luxurious bed wearing a casual midnight robe.

  “Lord Ryusane, I would ask the maidens to leave, but they are here of their own accord,” he says with a smile.

  “You can call me Mateo, and the women are fine,” Mateo replies.

  “Oh, I know they are, you don’t have to flatter them.”

  The Nezumi women giggle at his jest.

  “I do have an important matter with which I wish to speak to you about,” Mateo says holding up the book of Sanguine.

  “Then there is a way to cure my daughter of her, condition,” Calladen says starring at the book.

  “Not a cure, and not a solution you are going to like.”

  Elsewhere in the village of Heroldin.

  “I can hold the ssspoon myssself dear,” Chrissima protests.

  “I know, but I want to help you my love,” Okami replies.

  Cold tears drip down Chrissima’s soft cheeks as she peers up at Okami.

  “I was supposed to die and rid you of the burden of my life, the crystal foretold.”

  An unsettling silence falls between them, and they are both still for several moments. Storm clouds fill the night air outside and thunder breaks the silence as subtle rain drops patter against the clay roof of Chrissima’s shop.

  “Chrissima Brilliantscales, you are not a burden on me, you are my reason to live, you are everything I have in this life and more,” he grips her wounded hand in his peering into her eyes, “I love you until the final moonset and into the darkness that follows.”

  “Okami I,” she lowers her eyes sniffling.

  Okami places his off hand on her scared cheek turning her bright yellow eyes toward his. He speaks to her with a voice that is both bold, and absolute in its conviction.

  “Chrissima, I can’t wait any longer, will you accept me in matrimony?”

  “You want me to be, a Moonfang?” she asks her voice trembling.

  “No, I want us to be Moonfang,” he replies.

  Mateo stands before king Calladen holding the book of Sanguine.

  “And you’re sure it will remove the curse from my daughter?” Calladen asks.

  “Yes but, it transfers to you,” Mateo replies.

  “I would have to step down as king if the people found out, Serenity would become the acting queen and,” he pauses as a sly grin paints his face, “and isn’t that what every king wants for his princess, for her to become a queen?”

  The doors to the king’s chamber are forced open violently and a young elven scout bursts into the room.

  “The gates of the afterlife have opened at our southern border, an army of undead threaten the kingdom!” The scout yells.

  “Surely they won’t make it through the Slog,” Calladen states.

  “They aren’t just going through the Slog, they are going over it,” the scout proclaims struggling to catch his breath.

  Calladen steps over to Mateo holding out his hand.

  “The Widow of the West sent you to request my aid in the war against the Hellbent, it seems I am to join the war against them whether I want to or not, help me drive back the undead and I will grant Vitas my aid.”

  Mateo takes his hand leaning in as he embraces him.

  “Do not forget Sanguine’s offer and know that if my soul was the price to save her, I would have already paid it.”

  Calladen pats him on the back leaning into him.

  “I know, Natalia told me as much.”

  Mateo and Calladen separate leaving an empty space between them. Mateo stares sternly at Calladen as if he is his better. Calladen smiles, having not seen the expression for hundreds of years, save for when Aureillius showed him before he left on his last adventure.

  “You really love her, don’t you?” Calladen asks.

  “Yes,” Mateo replies.

  “And you would do anything to make her happy?”

  “No, but I would do a great deal of things to make her happy,” Mateo replies.

  “Honesty, a rare rate among realmwalkers I am ashamed to say, you are far from the caliber of my son, but if my own daughter and his pixie believe in you, then I will do everything I can to help you succeed, Lord Ryusane.”

  Mateo and his party join a legion of elves outside the gates of the Twilight Everglades. King Calladen steps forward adorned with a mystic elven raiment resembling formidable light armor. Chainmail forged from mithrite layered with dragon bone. It is colored in ivory with gold accents.

  The sky darkens as large creatures appear on the horizon. Mateo’s eyes can see far into the distance, and he gasps at the approaching force.

  “What do you see?” Stitches asks.

  “It looks like rotting dragons, but they have some kind of armor covering their underbellies almost like a hatch.”

  “Necrowyrms, and they’re using them as troop transports, they are most likely filled with fleshgolems and rotwizards, we’ll have to hunt down the necromancers and kill them, that will relinquish their control over the reanimated corpses.”

  Mateo conjures his void armor and three familiars, leaving him with a small pool of mana that prevents him from casting most of his spells.

  Jade stands beside Stitches ready to conjure simple creatures with her drawing pad. Terror joins Mateo at the front line as a battalion of elven soldiers guard the rear, some raising bows, and some ready to rush to the front lines with twin curved blades. Serenity steps up by Mateo lowering the hood of her cloak.

  “I’ll be in the shadows,” she whispers.

  “Terror will be the quaking of the earth,” Terror says equipping two massive hammers.

  Mateo turns his gaze toward Terror attempting to observe his hammers. The User Interface complies.

  The Twin Mallets of Simple Smashing. There is nothing special about these mallets accept that they simply smash, everything. While wielding both mallets they ignore armor, physical damage resistance, damage reduction spells, damage reduction from wards, ethereal damage ignorance, and cause paralysis for three seconds. Stamina cost for duel wielding these artifacts is doubled.

  Stitches hands Jade several small bladders of differing colors.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “I’ll have to take to the skies to find the necromancers, use these while I’m about, they are color coded so it should be simple,” Stitches says.

  “I understand,” Jade says in a confident tone.

  Party formed: Mateo Ryusane, Kelliyah Noir, Terror Darklove, Jade Darklove, Serenity Everbold, Yasmina Coldthorne, Balli Ballista, and Elfdaddy Everbold.

  Mateo: Who the hell is Elfdaddy Everbold?

  Balli: oh daddy…

  Elfdaddy: It’s Calladen, back when I was last in a party and used the chat, I was much younger and, far more childish, I’m surprised your user interface remembered that name.

  Keeliyah: I’m glad everyone is paying attention to the massive aerial force of undead dragons about to rain down flesh golems upon us.

  Mateo: Sorry Stitches, are you ready?

  Keeliyah: I’m taking flight now.

  Power- the immortal seamstress activated.

  Large, bat like wings sprout from her back, the wings of a lesser dragon. She flaps them effortlessly rising above the battlefield.

  The horizon is flooded with the grotesque image of large undead dragon-like creatures with metal hatches fashioned to their otherwise open chest cavities and stomachs. Mateo braces himself as metal hinges creak and the undead roars of the necrowyrms fills the air.

  A stench, that of spoiled flesh and organs, pierces the battlefield invading it like a spear thrust through the chest of an enemy. The soldiers stagger as the hatches open raining rotting flesh golems down upon the battlefield. Extremities like arms and legs separate on the force of impact, only to crawl back to the unharmed torsos they were parted from.

  Keeliyah: The Necromancers are dropping with the troops, though far behind them, and there’s something else, I have to get closer.

  Mateo: Ok, be safe, I have to concentrate on Serenity and Terror now, if something is pressing message Natalia.

  Keeliyah: Ok, I’m open message with Elfdaddy, join the channel if you have something to share.

  Mateo pulls his blade and steps up to his familiars, Kobold, Furioso, and Zena.

  “Been a while since we’ve been out, this must be serious,” Zena says.

  “Sorry, I try not to put you in danger unless it is absolutely necessary,” Mateo replies.

  Zena approaches him holding out her rock hand.

  Mateo grips it and kisses the top of her hand behind her absent knuckles. If rocks could blush they would. Mateo releases her hand, and she stands firm ready to strike down the encroaching army of undead.

  “Where did you learn to great a lady like that?” Zena asks.

  “There was a time when that was common amongst my people,” Mateo replies.

  “Maybe you should make it common amongst your new people,” Zena says turning away.

  Arrows scout the battlefield looking for Hellbent to skewer. Flesh golems fall easy to the swords of the elves, but the armies of undead are endless.

  As Mateo’s party and the legion of elves cut through the flesh golems and rotwizards taking few casualties, something feels off.

  Mateo: This is too easy.

  Serenity: Don’t grow complacent just yet Senor Ryusane.

  Mateo: Serenity, your father is in the chat.

  Serenity: He’ll be fine, I’ve heard him address his Nezumi in a far more intimate manner.

  Elfdaddy: He’s right, this seems too easy, something is off.

  Stitches: I’ve located a Necromancer, he’s to the rear of three grounded necrowyrms. Send in Rayo to distract them and you should be able to voidstep past them.

  Yasmina: I’ll send in Charlotte too; I must remain at the rear as a last line of defense though.

  Mateo: Good, keep Jade safe, and don’t overexert yourself until you’re fully healed.

  Serenity: Stitches gave Jade buff bladders, if you need healing or mana let me know and I’ll shadow jump to her, then to you.

  Mateo: Got it, let’s fuck up this necromancer.

  Rayo skydives into the first necrowyrm sending it sliding through the crop lands into a large tree. He gives off a loud roar latching claws with another. Charlotte crashes to the ground causing it to shake as she meets gnashing maws with the third necrowyrm. Mateo void steps through the conflict appearing at odds with a large, blue skinned four-armed hooded female. Drako’s Razor extends into a short sword as he approaches.

  The woman, sitting cross-legged as she floats above the ground, folds back her hood revealing the scarred aging face of a warrior. Her blue ears are pierced and gaged along with two hoops decorating her bottom lip. Glowing veins run up her neck onto her left cheek pulsating as he approaches.

  “A challenger approaches,” she says as her bare feet meet the ground.

  Mateo’s familiars assemble at his side ready for a fight.

  “Who the hell are you?” Mateo asks.

  “I go by many names, Pestilence, Famine, Plague, Death, but you may call me Nightmare, I am one of the four apostles of the Immortal Father.”

  “No horse?” Mateo asks.

  “Not for this avatar, no,” she replies.

  “Avatar, so you’re not really here, probably cowering in a mud hole somewhere,” Mateo scoffs.

  “I assure you that you will see my true brilliance, when the time is right, for now, I leave you to strike down one of our lesser followers, if you can.”

  The woman’s eyes grow wide, and she seems to regain control of herself. Her top two arms draw blades as she continues casting her necromancy spells with her bottom two. She doesn’t speak; she just lunges at Mateo with murderous intent.

  Mateo steps back blocking her twin blade attack by placing his offhand on the blunt side of his blade. His familiars spread out to combat an ambush of flesh golems and rotwizards. Spells zip through the air like flashes of light seeking to vaporize their targets. Mateo concentrates on his main target, the four-armed necromancer.

  “Didn’t figure a necromancer to be skilled with twin blades,” Mateo says kicking her back.

  She grunts unintelligibly before charging him again. Rayo and Charlotte both give off thunderous roars as they combat the three necrowyrms mere meters away. Natalia appears over Mateo’s shoulder as he clashes blades with the necromancer.

  “Mateo, Mateo, let me at ‘em’ I can help!” She says displaying her sexy goth armor and raven wings.

  “Fine, give me an opening,” Mateo shouts.

  Natalia twirls into the air with a crooked smile before folding her wings and diving toward the necromancer. The air shakes as Natalia breaks the sound barrier diving through the necromancer’s right shoulder. She explodes out the back of her shoulder in a crimson mist covered in blood. The necromancer’s right arm goes limp and her sword clatters to the ground.

  Without making a sound or even flinching the necromancer draws another blade with her lower right hand, and a small contingent of flesh golems falls to the ground, inanimate.

  “Oh, this is gross, I’m covered in blood and,” Natalia pauses pulling a piece of severed tendon from her shoulder, “sorry Mateo, I think I’m out for now, I need to bathe.”

  Natalia disappears and the necromancer charges Mateo slashing at him with her medium blades. He blocks one strike only to feel another dig into his void armor. The seemingly insentient vessel attacks relentlessly and without quarter as Mateo struggles to fend her off.

  After taking several damaging blows Mateo notices that the only one of his familiars that hasn’t been felled is Zena. Kobold and Furioso are on cool down and his mana pool, though mostly depleted, is open for replenishment. The necromancer kicks Mateo into what has now become mud after the large dragons and necrowyrms have stomped through it and Drako’s Razor slips from his grip planting itself in the mud several feet away. After sustaining so much damage, Mateo’s armor glows ready to unleash its ability.

  The necromancer raises her blade ready to deliver the final blow as Mateo’s Void Armor activates. Force emanates from his being nearly obliterating everything around him. The necromancer comes off her feet as her arms and legs are obliterated along with any nearby flesh golems.

  Mateo climbs to his feet and steps slowly toward Drako’s Razor pulling it from the mud. During the course of battle dark clouds moved in that are now causing a light rain. Wet droplets drip down Mateo’s cheeks doing a poor job of washing blood from them as he lingers over the necromancer.

  Mateo stares down at the armless legless torso pointing his blade at it. The necromancer dismembered and missing half her face with one of her eyeballs hanging freely from its socket speaks.

  “Go ahead and finish me you two-armed bastard,” she chokes weakly.

  “Two arms are better than none, you evil bitch,” Mateo scowls before shoving his blade through her skull effortlessly.

  The body of the necromancer slumps into a motionless limbless corpse in a puddle of blood. Mateo steps away moving toward Zena as the three Necrowyrms are rendered inanimate. She rests kneeling with a hand on one knee as she tries to recover from the damage of battle. Mateo holds out his hand and she looks up at him taking it.

  “Thank you for your help Zena, you can rest now,” Mateo says pulling her to her feet.

  “I’ll be fine, I know Ryukaze wanted you to treat us like living beings, but she didn’t want you to treat us like children, if you need us for combat, then we are ready to kill, don’t get too strong without allowing us to progress, I don’t want to be stage two fighting a god or something,” Zena replies before unsummoning herself.

  Kobold has ascended to stage two. Kobold has learned ‘two flying fucks’. When Kobold gives two flying fucks he rises above the battlefield raining down spikes on a wide area causing area of effect damage and bleed damage. Bleed damage lasts for seven seconds.

  Furioso has ascended to stage two. Furioso has learned ‘shelled tortoise shitting bull’. Furioso can launch himself in a straight line knocking any shit in his way out of his way using a massive, summoned tortoise shell. Furioso will be unsummoned and put in a cooldown state after activating this skill.

  Zena has ascended to stage two. Zena has learned ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’. Zena can transmorph her being into a culmination of diamonds for thirty seconds increasing her defense by five hundred percent and reflecting any light or laser attacks back at her enemies.

  Zena’s infatuation level has increased by one. Zena is now more trusting of her summoner. When her summoner is in mortal danger her stats are increased by fifty percent, and she enters ‘big sister’ mode. In ‘big sister’ mode Zena takes reduced damage and gains ten stacks of enrage, every attack she deals consumes a stack of enrage inflicting ‘bone break’ on the target. Targets with three or more stacks of ‘bone break’ are rendered immobile for eleven seconds. Targets that cannot heal deep tissue damage or regenerate are rendered immobile for thirty seconds.

  “Thanks Zena,” Mateo says aloud.

  After killing the one necromancer Mateo returns to the rear of the elven legion joining Calladen, who’s armor is soaked in gore. The other members of his party are gaining as much experience as they can before exiting battle. Mateo sits outside a small tent beside a fire lit under a cast obsidian cauldron.

  “We can speak freely here,” Calladen says tossing a chunk of meat into the boiling cauldron.

  “What do you mean?” Mateo asks.

  “The soldiers aren’t the eyes and ears of the kingdom, anything we speak here will die with them,” Calladen says tossing a potato like object into the cauldron.

  “I love Serenity, but she carries a heavy burden, I’m afraid I cannot help her bare the load,” Mateo says tossing a cube of cowligator broth into the cauldron.

  “You cannot, and I am sorry for this, you would have made a fine husband for her,” Calladen replies.

  “The necromancer was possessed by an apostle of the immortal father,” Mateo says ignoring the sentiment.

  “I know of them, but from many years ago, perhaps they have been waiting this long to launch their conquest,” Calladen says.

  Mateo stands turning toward an empty tent as the cries of elves fighting echoes through the night.

  “I should get some rest.”

  “Wait,” Calladen says stirring the cauldron.

  “What is it king Everbold?” Mateo asks.

  “Of all my adventures over a thousand years there were only three things I ever treasured,” Calladen says standing.

  “And what were those three things?” Mateo asks.

  “My son, my daughter, and their mother,” he replies.