Ursula sat on the meeting room chair as Josh paced back and forth in front of her. His furious expression made her avert her gaze everytime it swept across the room. With a final growl, he threw himself to the floor and layed down with his back up. She did not dare to interrupt him, as she knew how that would end. With a final heave, he picked himself up and stood tall, “I can’t believe those bastards left us. I mean, they were our friends! We were supposed to stick together till we grew old! Can you believe it?” he asked, turning to Ursula, who gave a shy nod, “Thought so,” he snorted, “You’re sad you can’t talk to your little girlfriend, aren’t you?” 

She tightly shook her head, “N-No… I d-don’t think so.” She hated him. She hated him so much that she wanted to kill him. Despite that, she couldn’t. Even in a new world. Even with magic endless and the ability to change her body and soul with some effort and a thought, she was powerless to fight him. It was always the same.

Despite her words, he sneered at her, “Oh, don’t lie. I know you two were close. I mean how much did you let her get away with?”

She shook her head, “I-I never did anything! I-I swear!” she shouted. They never did anything that Eva didn’t do with Josh, which was to say nothing but a few hugs.

Again, despite her words, Josh glowered at her, “You swear? Really? Did you ever realize how much you were feeling her up? How close you got when you hugged? Or are you just so used to cheating on me that it just doesn’t register anymore?”

She wanted to deny it again, but some part of her doubted her. Was she really so innocent? Did she really think of Eva as just a friend? Were the hugs they shared really so innocuous? “I-I never m-meant-” her words were cut off by a heavy fist slamming into her face. She tipped backwards and fell like a sack of potatoes. Something began pooling around her head. It was warm. Red. Sticky. It was her blood. Josh stood over her. He had a disgusted look on his face. He didn’t even care. Her final thoughts before the darkness took her was of rage and hatred. And a desire for vengeance. 

*=====*

Ursula awoke to something she would have never expected. Classical music. It was something foriegn and familiar, like the skiffs that she had been surrounded by since she had come to Granulous. She opened her eyes and looked around, finding nothing but pitch black darkness all around. She could still see herself, as if light was pouring in from on high. 

Just as she was about to stand, a deep, powerful voice echoed from behind her, “It seems I have found an interesting prey… Welcome, young one.” Her head whipped around, but she fell back as she met his eyes. He was a massive, white-furred wolf, dressed in a three piece suit shaped to fit his quadrupedal form and sitting behind a modestly-decorated desk. In spite of it all, what Ursula fixated on was his eyes. They were kaleidoscopes of color, of reds and oranges and yellows and greens and blues and purples and grays and whites and blacks and even more colors she did not have names for. 

They all swirled in a flaming inferno that tracked her with patient wit. With a squeak, she sat a little taller, “P-Prey? I-I, uh-”

The wolf laughed, resting a shifting paw on the table, “Prey for me is not the same as prey for what I am reminiscent of. Nor is it the same as what those who I deal with. Like you, for example. If you find it necessary, I could learn your circumstances through magical means, but I find that to be… poor manners. Instead, let me lead with a simple question: What is your name?” he asked. His eyes were calm, looking at her with a small smile that she had never thought a wolf could have. 

With a start, she realized that she had been seated in a simple chair. It was comfortable, but it was not extravagant. The wolf smiled at her when she showed her confusion on her face. With a final, shaky breath, she sat up straight, “I a-am Ursula H-Helinger. W-Why did you w-want to m-meet with me?”

“It is nice to meet you, Ursula,” the wolf said, “I am Hel’ga’thra. The Great God of Raging Vengeance.” The thought that the wolf before her was a god never crossed Ursula’s mind. The very thought made her back stiffen to the point of pain and her breath to catch in her throat. Seeing her distress, the god sighed, “Please, do not be so… stunned. Most would simply call me a liar, or worship me. Few act in fear —especially so after I adopted this more ‘calming’ attire. 

“Now then,” he said, “I believe you asked me why I wanted to meet with you. The answer, truth be told, is simple. Recall my deific domain for a moment. I am the god of rage and vengeance. With the amount of both you were radiating into my little self-made layer of reality, it was a trivial thing to make contact with you, even under the watchful eyes of Rk’ath and Ar’kik.”

She stiffened again, mouth moving but not producing words for a few moments. Finally, she breathed deep and looked the wolf, sitting placidly behind his desk, in the eyes, “I-I still don’t understand w-why you want to speak with me… Did I do something wrong?”

Hel’ga’thra shook his head and raised a paw. Ursula reflexively braced, but a hit never came. Instead, a soft, gentle paw patted the top of her head with care and kindness, “Of course not. Instead, I am here to offer a deal. In exchange for enough power to break your chains, I want you to do a few errands for me.”

Ursula cowered a bit as he spoke, “E-Errands?” she asked. 

He shrugged with a surprisingly human movement, “What I need from you is simple: the world where your physical body is, Granulous, seems to be primed for something extraordinary. Rk’ath and Ar’kik have both lent direct aid to a mortal, En’gem’ia has sent one of her worldborn children to the planet, and Vit’net had a reliquary under the sands of the Vast Dust with an ancient soul-eating chimera stored within looted and destroyed. I’ll be honest, things are going down, so much so that many of the gods in this stupid war are sending their own spies to the planet. 

“With all of that in mind, I hope you begin to understand the extremity of these occurrences. And why I want you to be my own eyes and ears on the ground. Before we go any further, tell me if you are willing to do that.” he said. 

Normally, Ursula would have immediately refused, as most would when offered power from a divine wolf, but something niggled at her in the back of her mind. She remembered the look Josh gave her, the disgusted, condescending glare that he showed when she was on the ground, bleeding. It smoldered in her, threatening to become flames that would swallow her whole. 

She wanted to pay him back for every abuse in their relationship, but to do that, she needed power. And to get power, she would need to do the bidding of the wolf in front of her. She knew what her task would be, but she hardly knew anything about the power she would be given. It was a gap in knowledge to fix, “Before I make a promise, I want to know what kind of power you’ll give me.” 

The smile Hel’ga’thra gave was enough to know she asked the right question, “Of course, that is up to debate once we begin negotiating the nitty gritty details. Normally, one has to pay a share of the sentient energy they produce for a set amount of time, but this deal is one of information and personal favors. I know how deadly En’gem’ia’s army can be, so I will offer the best package I can give you.” he explained. Placing a paw on the desk, Ursula heard a shuffle of paper and peered under the furry appendage to see a catalog of sorts. She picked it up as the wolf removed his paw and scanned through it as he spoke, “The specific power set includes advanced body refinement, the specialty of one of my angels, anger control, minor empath powers, and access to the three main forms of magic, runes, sigils, and single mana points, as well as a little invention I call shout magic. It’s within the oral casting zone, but much more dependent on the anger of the caster, which is why it can be so powerful. 

“Now then, do you have any other questions?”

Ursula nodded, pointing to a part of the catalog, “Um… what’s this part about weapons and armor? Am I going to get any of that?” 

Hel’ga’thra shook his head, “Unfortunately, no. The two gods who laid claim to Granulous are very attentive to the flow of both mana and matter to and from the world; were I to give you a sword, like I did to Hiltas, those two would almost immediately notice. Anything else?”

“One more thing… Why are you so… calm? You said you are the God of Rage, right?” she asked. It was hardly pertinent to the conversation, but knowing who she would be working for would be very, very important if she wanted to continue working for him.

The wolf showed his same reassuring smile from before and nodded, “Most ask that question. It comes down to asking whether or not a god is an embodiment of something, or if they are the master of something. I fall into the later category. I am not an embodiment of rage and vengeance, I am their master. I can settle grudges between lifelong enemies and begin ones between lifelong friends. I can inspire pure hateful wrath from a person, or I can inspire supreme calm. Either way, I have to ask you this: Do you desire revenge?” An otherworldly light grew from the wolf’s shadow, circling them both in magic she could hardly fathom. All it took to decide was the look of complete acceptance in the wolf’s eyes; he accepted her answer, no matter what it was. She nodded as a contract appeared before her. A quick scan through it revealed their deal, in its entirety. She was to observe the goings ons at Aekan for either one year, or however long it took for the matter to come to a conclusion. Hel’ga’thra nodded as she signed her name on the dotted line, “It has been a pleasure doing business with you. Just so you know, there’s a chance that you will be disconnected from the Sa’rk system once the changes occur. With the changes I am doing to your soul, they will take notice. Disconnecting you will, while tipping them off, make you hard to trace and harder to judge the strength of. Now then:

“This contract is complete.” Before she could say anything, she blacked out, only a small twinge of pain reaching her mind.

*=====*

Ursula opened her eyes, groaning, and sat up in the darkened meeting room. Just as she was about to stand, the door opened and Josh walked through, carrying a bowl of stew, “Oh, about time you woke up,” he said uncaringly, “Since you made me expend that much effort healing you, you don’t get dinner. You also know what happens when you make me mad. I expect you to put in enough effort to make up for your stupidity. Get to it.” He sat down on the bed with his stew and began pulling down his pants. 

She did not let him. With one hand, she plucked the stew from his hands and with the other she slammed his head onto the bed. He cried out in alarm and she could feel the mana move from the air into his soul to be made into a spell. 

She did not let him. With her own mana, she smothered it, channeling spells whose meanings she had hardly been able to consider as she slowly choked Josh out. With another spell, a single mana point spell, she began draining the life from him. His eyes grew in alarm, but she did not let up. He screamed and began thrashing, trying with all of his might to escape. 

She did not let him. Slamming a knee to his chest, she knocked the air out of him as she put the bowl of stew down. She then pinned his arms to the sides of his head and gave a sad smile, “Josh, you may not understand, but we have different demons. Mine just so happens to be a god of vengeance. Your’s is your puny pride and egg-fragile ego. Just die, and let me move on to the next chapter of my life.” 

Within a minute, Josh was a desiccated corpse on the bed. For a moment, she wondered if anyone would find his body, dried up like a mummy, lying on the bed. She realized that it did not matter; she had a mission to complete. She wolfed down the stew, nearly tearing up at the flavorful meal, and packed her things, taking a final look at the corpse in her wake. 

Killing him had been easy. Too easy. Not too easy as in there was a catch, but too easy as in she did not know why she had not done it earlier. She used to fear him. At that moment, with his body splayed out on the bed and a shocked look in his eyes, she realized that he was nothing. She, however, was something. And she was proud of it.