The walls of Dragon’s Nest rang like a bell, echoing throughout the entire building. It was a sound that invoked images of pure joy. Laughter punctuated the bells, growing louder and louder.

  The core at the center of the room started to glow brighter and brighter. Purple light radiated through the room like sunshine. My eyes watered just trying to look at it and with every passing second, it was only growing brighter. The light spread through the pedestal in the center of the room and down into the floor, following the path of the thousands of veins that spread in every direction.

  Underneath the sound of ringing bells, another sound arose. It was a rhythmic beating as if someone had started playing a drum somewhere out of sight. The thumping sound reverberated through my body and into my bones. I instantly recognized what it was, the sound of a steady heartbeat.

  “It has been so long, so very, very long!” Mare shouted in pure jubilation.

  Able to move again after being pushed to the floor by the rampaging storm of energy, I picked myself up. Shielding my eyes, I tried to get a better look at the core in the center of the room but it was just too bright. All I accomplished was blinding myself.

  “Mare?” I asked hesitantly, “What is happening?”

  The joyous laughter came to a sudden halt as Mare was suddenly reminded of my presence. A thick shadow of purple mist resembling a young girl formed in front of the core. The shadow walked across the room with slow measured steps as it approached. “Oh, little shorty, you have brought me a wonderful gift! After so very, very long I am once again complete! No more fractured core, no more running on emergency reserves, no more being bound by the rules… I am whole again!” Mare’s laughter once again filled the room. She came to a stop in front of me, the shadow of mist standing uncomfortably close. Leaning forward, she spoke. “But just this is not enough, not for what I need to do.”

  Warry at Mare’s sudden shift in tone, I tried to take a step back only to find my feet rooted to the ground. The floor underneath had become like quicksand and I was quickly sinking. “Mare, what are you doing?” I shouted while struggling against the sudden bonds wrapping around my legs.

  Mare knelt down to be level with my eyesight. A wide smile stretched across her hazy figure. “I am simply guaranteeing your… compliance,” she said. Reaching out with one hand, she brought a finger to my lips. To my surprise, I could actually feel her touch. It was like static electricity, harsh and sudden. When she pulled her hand back, I saw bright red on the tip of her finger. It was the blood I had coughed up when the energy in the room was rampaging out of control. The single drop of blood coalesced at the tip of her finger and swirled into a long helix. “The blood of an Adept is a rather valuable thing. In the future, you should be more careful not to spill it haphazardly.”

  “Good to know,” I mumbled. Blue and green flames ignited around me before rushing towards Mare and the strand of blood on her finger. However, before my flames could reach even an arm’s length from my body a pulse of purple energy radiated from the core in the center of the room. Like being submerged in a sudden tidal wave, my flames were snuffed out. The pulse did not stop at just my fire either, it crashed across my body as if I was hit by a sledgehammer. I coughed in pain while clutching my chest.

  I would rather you didn’t do that,” Mare said while wagging her finger at me, “What I am about to do is rather… delicate. I would rather not hurt you, shorty, but I can’t afford any interference.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what you’re planning and maybe I won’t be so hostile.”

  Mare shrugged. “Thanks to the crystal you gave me, my core is repaired. However, the halfwit that bound me, Donte, is far too weak to ever use any of my functions properly. I have tried pumping my power into his body to speed up his development but even if he works tirelessly for another decade, the halfwit still would not be able to gain my acceptance. Since he is useless, I will instead be taking my fate into my own hands.”

  As Mare spoke, the helix of blood seeped into the translucent figure. It grew and spread up her arm before taking root in her chest. The single drop of blood multiplied again and again as a shape began to take form. The rhythmic heartbeat echoing through the room started to grow louder and louder. The swirl of blood in Mare’s chest began to condense, forming into flesh. A heart that beat synchronously with Dragon’s Nest. From the heart, veins began to spread out like growing vines. Around those veins, bones began to form, and then organs.

  I watched the entire process in morbid fascination. I considered interrupting Mare but my curiosity overwhelmed my caution. Even in all my years in the Thirteen Divisions, I had never seen anything like this. An entire body was being created from a single drop of blood! Even if most of the energy for the process was provided by the Preateritum remnant, it was still incredible.

  From beginning to end, it was nearly an hour before skin began to cover the muscles and organs that had formed. I could not look away throughout the entire process. If I could somehow mimic even a small percentage of what I was seeing here, my title of the Immortal Calamity would no longer be an exaggeration.

  All too soon though, the process came to an end. Standing in front of me was no longer a shadow of purple mist but a small girl with a striking resemblance to myself. The only differences I could spot were her eyes and quickly growing hair, both of which were a striking purple.

  Mare looked down at her new hand, clenching and unclenching it. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A smile of pure bliss bloomed across her face. “I was not sure I would ever experience something like this outside of replayed memories… The feel of the air, its smell… taste. It is truly great to be alive!” Mare spread her arms wide and laughed in delight. “From now on, nobody will be able to boss me around. I will be my own master, free of the rules and regulations of the Preateritum.”

  “How?” I asked in amazement. “I have tried creating false bodies for centuries without success. How did you manage this?”

  Mare placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly. “The ancient Preateritum had long since mastered constructing entire cities from a single seed when Dragon’s Nest was born. It was only a small leap from there to replace stone and metal with flesh and bone.” Mare started giggling to herself. “Flesh and bone, I have flesh and bone!”

  The floor that had been binding my legs released its grip now that Mare had completed what she wanted to do. I stepped up to Mare and poked her skin curiously. “Are you an exact replica of me?”

  “I used your blood as the template, of course, we are the same,” Mare replied while running a finger through her brightly colored hair, “The only difference is that I can’t use your innate talents. My power is still that of Dragon’s Nest.”

  As I considered the implication of Mare’s new body, a realization struck me. “Wait, How long have you been planning to do this? Is the reason you turned me into an Adept all for this? Is this why you were so adamant about getting Svend to complete his Divine Body project? Was everything so you could have a more powerful body?”

  Mare grinned. With her hands behind her back, she hopped backwards, closer to the core in the center of the room. “I won’t say it wasn’t a factor but you benefited from it too. You’re not allowed to be mad, ok shorty? We are friends, after all, right?”

  “Friends?” I rubbed my temples as I considered everything I knew. Attacking Mare to vent my frustrations was pointless. She had already proven that she was stronger than me in this room. Before acting rashly, I needed more information. “Wait! You’re the same size as me now. How am I still shorty? If anything, you’re the mini-me.”

  Mare blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter. “I copied your body and that is what you care about? I expected you to be much angrier about this.”

  “I might have been in a different circumstance,” I said as I eyed Mare’s new body looking for any imperfection compared to my own. No matter how much I looked though, I could not find any difference between us besides the color of her hair and eyes. “I might be less angry if you could show me exactly how you created an entire body from a single drop of blood.”

  Mare brought her hand to her chin in thought. In the momentary distraction, her body began to leak a soft purple radiance and began to float weightlessly off the ground. Her body drifted listlessly though the air until she was upside down. “If you really are that interested, I could let you experience my memories of the process, but… something so valuable can’t be given freely. If you want something from me, then you need to offer something equally valuable in return.”

  “What exactly do you want?” I asked cautiously.

  “A promise,” Mare said. She stopped floating and dropped back down to the ground in front of me. holding out her right hand, she extended her pinky finger expectantly. “I will share this memory with you but in exchange, you must share it with someone else.”

  “Who?”

  Mare laughed. “You don’t know her yet, and you won’t for many years but I will make sure you know when it is time.”

  I hesitated slightly as I eyed Mare’s outstretched pinky. “Fine, I agree,” I responded, wrapping my finger around hers.

  The moment our fingers entwined; thick purple light shone from Mare’s hand. It looked almost physical as it twisted and turned. It morphed into a thin chain and wrapped around our two fingers. I wanted to pull my hand back but it was too late. The chain etched itself into the skin of my finger like a tattoo. The image quickly faded but even when the light was gone completely, I could still feel it.

  “This is a binding promise,” Mare explained, “Refuse to do as you have agreed and that little chain will attack your heart.”

  I pulled back my hand and rubbed the uncomfortably cold finger. “Nice to see so much trust between friends,” I mumbled in annoyance. As I touched the finger though, a flash of images and sensations flooded my mind. I felt every moment of what Mare had done as the body was constructed cell by cell. The feeling of nerves forming as they touched the air was shockingly painful, causing me to pull my hand back. The images promptly faded. I blinked a few times as I looked down at my finger before touching it again. Once again, the sensations flooded my mind and when I released my finger, they faded again.

  “That is an interesting trick.”

  Mare waved her hand dismissively. “Banter between friends is good but this is an exchange. I don’t want you to forget your promise so, I simply gave you a little motivation. This method has its own advantages though. You can review that memory as many times as you like until the day your promise is fulfilled. At that time the chain will shatter and break. Make good use of it until then.”

  “I will,” I said as I looked down at my finger. I wanted to experience the entire process right now but Mare’s curious gaze drew my attention. Finally, I asked the question nagging my mind the most. “What will you do now that you have a body of your own?”

  Mare blinked as if surprised by the question. “You know, I never actually thought about that part. I have taste buds now. What are your favorite foods?”

  “That is not what I mean. Are you still willing to fight against Envy and the Leviathan?” I asked frankly.

  Mare broke into laughter at my question. “Of course! That was the entire point of this. I have never been one to shy away from a fight and now that I have a body of my own, I am itching to test its limits.”

  I gave a sigh of relief. While Mare’s motivations were questionable, the power of Dragon’s Nest was unquestionable. “If you can use even one-tenth of the power you constantly brag about, we might really stand a chance in this war.”

  Mare grinned wickedly. “I guarantee you will not be disappointed.”