The sound of a door being incessantly knocked resounded in a dark room.

A groan came from the single bed next to the room's window. The closed curtains prevented even the smallest drop of light from having the audacity to enter the room.

“Lady!” came a voice from the other side of the door. “Wake up!”

The owner of the room, however, was in deep sleep. It was a day off, after all. If nothing required her immediate presence, she'd choose to sleep.

Little did she know that was perhaps the last day she'd get to sleep until such a late hour for a very long while. She was abut to meet one of the worst people in the world; a morning person.

“Lady!” the voice behind the door insisted on knocking and calling. “Open the door! It's ten in the morning! It's too late to continue sleeping!”

The woman inside the room cracked open an eye with a deep scowl.

“What!” she barked, sitting up on the bed. “What?! Don't interrupt my sleep! There's a sign on the door for all that is sacred in the world!”

A moment of silence followed the angry outburst.

There indeed was a sign on the door. Written with red ink, it read 'Do not disturb if you enjoy moving'.

Such threats, however, did not faze the person knocking on the door. Not in the slightest. Thus, they knocked again.

“Lady!” the voice called again, this time a little fed up. “Someone checked your form and is interested in meeting you. Open the door!”

An irritated sigh left the woman on the bed, “I clearly stated 'sleeping in' on my list of likes!”

“How are they supposed to know it's a day off for you today?!” the person behind the door let out an exasperated sigh.

“Well...” the woman on the bed hesitated for a second. She was still half asleep, after all. She continued in a small voice, “You tell them?”

“YOU'RE A CENTURY OLD FOR DANUVA'S LOVE!” the person had enough.

“Out of four thousand three hundred!” came the retort. “Potentially eight thousand!”

“Cognitive development is not variable-” an attempt at lecture.

“Do not recite Dronov's laws of mental capacity to me, Clara!” the recently awakened woman interrupted.

Another moment of silence followed.

“I know!” the voice was happy. “I'll give you ten strawberry scones if-”

Quick steps interrupted the instant of enlightenment and the door opened, revealing a naked female Luzo.

Her white hair was dishevelled and her scarlet eyes were squinting at the light coming from the many lamps in the corridor. Her tail moved behind her, signalling her annoyance.

“The scones?” she extended a hand and waited.

The other person, a female Human, sighed and produced a small box with a flowery design. “Here,” she muttered in resignation.

With quick hands, the Luzo took the box and opened it. After counting exactly ten scones, she picked one of the delicacies and brought it to her face. A blue, split tongue wrapped the dessert and kidnapped the baked delight into her mouth. “Hmm!” a small moan of satisfaction left her throat while a smile split her lips.

“Well?” the Human probed with a tight smile.

Those scones were hard to get. Strawberries were expensive in that part of Lumin Kingdom, after all.

The Luzo nodded and a white dress carrying Danuva's symbols covered her body.

Hers were much grander in design compared to the Human's. Fitting since the Luzo was a Cardinal and Arch Bishop of the seventh rank.

Reptile eyes inspected the Human's and a scaly eyebrow arched. “The form?” she requested while extending a hand.

The Human smiled and handed it over.

After reading the first few lines, the Luzo looked back at the woman in front of her. “You woke me up for a prank?” she demanded with irritation.

Clara shook her head. “Not at all, Lady Alyssa. It is as you read,” she assured her with a serious face.

“Hmm,” Alyssa hummed and gave the form a serious read.

Name: Natasha Novak
Species: Halve (Forest)
Features: I'm super gold.
Gender: Female (with male genitalia)
Age: 5-6 days.
Likes: Fruits, salty food, jokes, polupis, flowers, kisses, the weight of heavy plate armor.
Dislikes: Spiders, bandits, extreme heights, bad hygiene.
I tolerate: The elderly, overly serious people.
Interested in: 80% women, 20% men.
My motivations are: Exploring the world.
Hobbies: Reading, walks, learning new things.
Highest Class: Dragoon. (Spear based, highly offensive)
Total Level: 1350.
Partners: 1 (Lapia Pofeta, Domi Elf Pyromancer)

The form had more surprises than expected.

A Halve by itself is surprise enough, and quite the big one.

Alyssa giggled at the 'I'm super gold' line.

Her eyes widened a little at the line regarding gender. She knew Danuva had the capabilities to transmute the body to fit the egos of the individual, but a Halve is not of flesh.

Maybe this Natasha knew not the difference between gender and sex, seeing as she was barely five to six days old. An understandable oversight.

The likes were interesting, and a scaly eyebrow arched at the word kisses. An interesting and important mention, if anything.

The dislikes were understandable, and the mention of bandits meant more than a simple word.

The motivations were... surprising.

Are Halves not driven by the instinct to protect above everything else? To remove dangers and achieve peace through what extremists would consider tyranny?

Alyssa prayed she was not similar to Holistos, the Halve born with a broken mind who abandoned the task to protect.

The hobbies were... expected, in all honesty. The pursuit of knowledge is shared among all species, including those that stand above the rest.

The Class was surprising. A Dragoon is perhaps one of the most offensive Warrior classes available. Shorvanna considered it the peak of combat prowess.

Still, Alyssa's heart beat in excitement. A Warrior Halve had not showed up for the last fifteen thousand years. The implication alone was a promise of what was to come.

A Healer would be paramount to the Chase. If this Natasha was of sound mind, she'd make sure any and all companions that joined her would achieve her level of power before facing the great dangers of the world.

Which brought her attention to another detail: how soon this Halve was seeking companions.

Nilenna did after five centuries. Miraztor after three. Desseyr was still unclaimed. Yulianna was a difficult woman as far as Alyssa knew, and the loss of Perculis was a thorn in her heart... or that's how Performers would sing about it.

The total level was an expected surprise.

'Above a thousand, with room to grow' was the common understanding of Halves' initial power.

Still, less than a week old and already above what an average individual could achieve in a thousand years.

Alyssa smiled at that. Halves truly change what is understood of E'er.

Her eyes widened to the limit at seeing the partner the Halve already had.

Lapia Pofeta, the cheeky Elf working for Lord Punten. That delicious and mischievous Wizard had already sunk her seductive fangs on the Halve! Knowing her, Natasha's mention of kisses was the mark Lapia had left on her already!

Alyssa saw this as fate working itself out.

How else would it be seen? The Luzo had been infatuated by the Elf just three years ago. For this Halve to have chosen her form and requested a meeting could only be the Gods smiling down on her, even in their own special way of seeing the world.

The rarest of blessings!

Naturally, she didn't know it was Clara who had presented her form to the Halve.

It had been a while since Alyssa last formalized a relationship. She had been seeking competent people of her stature yet found most lacking. Koluum Kingdom had been a disappointment in that avenue. While monetary gains were satisfactory, people can't live off of gold alone.

She ate another strawberry scone and turned to Clara. “Give me a minute and we'll go,” she announced and went back into her room.

The Human smiled and a giggle almost escaped her at seeing newfound purpose in the eyes of the Luzo.

Alyssa took a quick shower and got ready, then followed the Human towards the Archives.

There, a golden individual was facing away from them. Golden hair like the suns fell down like a waterfall to the knees. The little of her legs that were visible were sculpted and perfectly shaped.

Alyssa's heartbeat picked up speed.

The Halve slowly turned around while placing a book back in the shelf next to her.

Alyssa's mind stopped working for a second at seeing the golden person.

The muscles. Oh, the muscles! Thighs, arms, forearms, torso, everything! Toned and noticeable even from the ten meters that separated them.

The hands. Oh, those strong-looking hands that ended in delicate yet thick fingers with silver fingernails.

When the Halve finished the turn, the two locked eyes.

Alyssa's mouth went dry.

Gold.

Eyes, skin, lips, eyebrows. All gold.

The Halve had a fierce look to her. Almost as if she was glaring at everything.

A straight nose, full lips in an almost frown, eyes a third closed, a strong and sharp jaw, high cheekbones, and the most noticeable detail: a horizontal golden line crossing the pupil.

Alyssa had the urge to bow and sing praises to the Protector.

Even the air in the Archives had a strong clear smell of high-concentration E'er.

The dress! Oh, the dress! The accentuation of the curves was mouth-watering. The cleavage of full, medium-sized, perky breasts above strong muscles was so enticing with the golden shine they emitted. The red and black fabric did wonders for the Halve, exquisitely contrasting the gold that was her body.

Alyssa blinked once and cleared her mind with colossal effort, then appraised the higher being.

[Natasha, Forest Halve Lvl 450 Dragoon]
[Healthy]
[Hermaphrodite: Omniovary]
[Recently Born]
[̵̨̢̛̛̙͓̫͙̞͉̬̆͑͊̄̀͂̄͗́U̷̦̩̻̘͚̘̜̫̳̤̜͛̔͋̌̈͌̑̍̄̚͘͘͜͝͝n̸̡̡̢̧̛̛̩̯̮̪̥͔͓̈͆̎́̿̈̈́̑̓͘̚͝͝k̶̨̢̢̮̟͙̜̯̮͆̀́ṋ̷̨͍̬̣̠̯͍̮̄̄͗̌̾̈́̅̔͊̽̚o̶̧̢̡̢̝͇̲̻̖͍͕͖͈͍͗̈́̉̇̏̀̾͝w̸̩̝̺͉͇̜͈̳̗̲̅̎͒̊̿̈̕ͅn̶͔̜͚̺̫̒̈́́͐͜]̴̧̡̨̜̗͉̥̭̬͎̅̀̀̅́̋̕̚ͅ

Interesting.

Alyssa had never seen appraisal show such information.

The specifics of the Halve's anatomy and biology were a riddle of function, shape, coding, and purpose.

She got the most important information, however. Hermaphrodite.

The Halve had not made a mistake but wrote it down in a very vague way.

Still, those golden eyes inspecting her felt like the suns during the Aphelion. They made Alyssa's skin itch with excitement and arousal.

Everything the woman in front of her was what she sought in a partner.

Competent? Naturally. She's a Halve.

Strong? That's obvious.

Capable of the most interesting plays in the bedroom? To be confirmed, but mostly check.

Her biggest kink? Check those defined muscles! Those glaring eyes! That confident stance!

Alyssa wanted to gulp but stopped herself.

She had finally found someone she could call a Queen without feeling forced in the slightest.

Who to better dominate her than a literal Higher Being? Though that would need to be confirmed as well. A play has value when everyone is on board, otherwise it's simply rude.

Alyssa took a calming breath and halted premature thoughts.

The Halve was seeking companions as an equal. It would not be ideal to treat her as a being above others from the start.

Alyssa reached the conclusion to treat the woman as an equal as well.

The Halve started walking towards her, much to the Luzo's surprise.

Alyssa copied her and met her halfway.

“Natasha, nice to meet you,” the Halve introduced herself in a silvery and smokey voice that tickled the ears and tummy in equal amounts.

But the Halve had offered a hand. Not a kiss.

Alyssa's heart dropped a little, but Natasha's eyes were staring into hers and her soul so she could not show it on her face. She chose to return the gesture and shook the woman's hand.

Oh, such a strong hand. So gentle! So warm! So heavy! And the fingers!

Any Warrior above level one thousand had enough strength to crush the hardest natural materials. Yet the Halve was careful to not put any pressure.

Clearly more self-restrained than any newborn Halve she had ever heard of.

“Alyssa. N-nice to meet you,” the Luzo introduced herself and her heart stopped for a second.

She had stuttered. Her first sentence, the most important when meeting someone. She stuttered her self-introduction.

Alyssa wanted to crawl back to O'lu Keer Ren and hide forever.

The Halve giggled.

Death it was, then. The shame!

“You're beautiful,” Natasha whispered, staring into Alyssa's scarlet eyes with her golden.

With those simple words, Alyssa's heart relaxed instantly, and a deep, hot blush spread on her face up to her ears.