Zaundra trembled in the wake of the metal business body. She looked around and gauged the situation. All the villagers trembled even more fiercely than her. Children cried on their parent’s shoulders. Oculus crumpled at the feet of Ont, his eyes closed, but his chest still rose and fell with each breath. He’s still alive.

“You must be the captive that Liam failed to keep in check?” Ont shouted, holding out his hand to her. “If you don’t want these people to get hurt anymore, then you're going to come with me.”

The villagers all turned their heads toward Zaundra. She stood completely still, looking at Ont’s held out hand. If she felt them, would it feel like the warmth of a human being or that of a cold machine? Either way, she wouldn’t want to grab onto it, even if it cost her everything. To grab it would be to admit defeat.

As she readied her stones, she pondered what made her come down here to save these people. There’s only one thing she wants right now, and that is to go home. But, once Oculus left her behind with the dragon, her mind wandered, not knowing what to do. Whoever came into the village obviously came to retrieve her, so if anything, she’d want to stay away, but at the same time, she didn’t want to feel responsible for anyone dying.

***

What is troubling you, young one?

Zaundra looked up at the dragon, who was looking down on her. She wasn’t used to be looked at like a child by anyone, other than her teacher, so it felt wrong that someone else looked at her in such a way. Even when she was no more than five, everyone that passed her by wouldn’t even look at her, for fear of looking down at such an important child. 

“I want to go home.” Zaundra said.

But you do not want to sacrifice anyone for your goals? The dragon scoffed, smoke blowing out his nose. That is the voice of a child talking to you. Do you believe you can get back home without sacrificing anyone, even an entire village of people?

“I don’t want to do that, even if it’s unavoidable.”

Exactly, it is unavoidable, therefore you should just tuck your tail and run. 

Zaundra’s face heated up, not just from the heat emitting from Moerchknel himself, but also from her own feelings of shame, embarrassment, and pathetic weakness. 

“Well, what else can I do? If I run, my mind will just wander back to the village. If I stay and fight, I’ll be captured.”

Moerchknel laughed, the roar from his gut vibrating the very cave itself. The vibrations from the laugh traveled so far that it eventually reached her spine, then traveled up along it making her shiver. 

“What’s so funny?”

What’s funny is that you have not come up with a third option.

Zaundra’s face flustered, this time from anger. She stood and spun around, holding her fist out as if she were about to deck the dragon in the face. 

“What third option could there be?” Zaundra yelled at the top of her lungs. 

The question echoed along the cave walls, hitting her ears three more times, each weaker than the last. The question vanished as quickly as her will, but her anger remained as she continued to stare down at the dragon. 

The third option being that you go down to that village, finish the fight, then head home, this time with allies by your side.

It was Zaundra’s turn to laugh this time. She couldn’t even comprehend that being an option. There was no way she could face anyone, especially if they’re a Gifted. 

“I don’t think you understand the situation. The people who kidnapped me aren’t just some creeps. They’re a part of the Grimwall Organization. They carry out tasks within the shadows of the world, taking prisoners and killing anyone for a quick buck. Their grip spans across the entire Hiphon continent, even in the starting areas of the Exxen Rings. The people they have after me are Gifted above my level in every way imaginable. How could I beat them?”

It is hilarious to see you like this. Moerchknel chuckled, only angering Zaundra more. Then he said something that caused her to freeze. It is strange to see someone baring their fists at a Dragon God, but refuse to fight a meager few Gifted. You talk about not wanting sacrifice, but the choice that would end up with zero sacrifices is the one you refuse to think about.

Zaundra’s breath froze before exiting her mouth. Moerchknel grinned, realizing that he got something through to her. She lowered her hand and stared at it. It was still curled into a fist, and when she unfurled it, she realized she had gripped it so hard that she made imprints on the palm of her hand. With so much conviction and anger, she faced against a dragon like this?

What is your choice? The easier two choices with sacrifice, or the harder choice where you don’t have to sacrifice anything. That is your decision to make.

***

Those final few words echoed in her mind as the stones around her head orbited faster. She breathed a deep, calming sigh, and corrected her hat. Once everything was ready, and the decision she made finally sunk in her, she gazed straight at Ont.

One of the stones floating around Zaundra’s head rocketed toward Ont and crashed into his chest. It broke into so many pieces, it turned to nothing but dust, covering Ont’s face. The mask of dust slowly dissipated, showing a face that had zero fucks to give. For the first time since he set foot in this village, Ont made the move toward his opponent. 

A new stone formed right next to Zaundra, and she clapped her hands together. As she did so, all four rocks collided into each other, creating a layer of smoke covering Zaundra’s body. That didn’t persuade Ont to slow down as he got ever closer to his target. 

He stuck his hand in the smoke and swiped through it, blowing it all away. Strangely, he found nothing, but when he looked down, he found a rock flying towards his face. It smashed against his eyes, but it barely phased him. The real issue was all the shattered dust covering his eyes.

He rose his head, only to find another stone slamming against him, but unlike the rest, this one didn’t break. Another one hit his torso, a third on his knee, and the fourth slamming against his groin. If he wasn’t metallic there as well, then he’d be doubling over in pain. The stones just kept slamming into him over and over, but it affected him none. A measly pebble couldn’t hope to damage a dam. 

Suddenly, the stone burst and created a cloud of dust around him, blocking his view again. All he had to do was step forward slightly, and he could see again. Some feet away from him, Zaundra stood breathing heavily, the stones reforming around her, retaking their orbit. 

“I’m guessing you can control the hardness of your rocks?” Ont guessed. 

Zaundra sneered and threw a rock at him as soon as it formed completely. Ont rushed forward, slamming his fist against the rock. It broke into dust, but he didn’t let that stop him. He continued to rush forward as Zaundra threw another rock at him.

“I’m also guessing it takes a few seconds for a new rock to form, leaving you open in the meantime.”

Ont was nearly upon her, and even though she only had two rocks left, she clapped her hands together, breaking them into pieces. Another dust cloud enveloped her, but it wasn’t as thick as the last one. Ont could see her movements quite clearly. She had crouched down, expecting him to do the same thing as last time. 

However, he wasn’t like a Kinx that only knew how to rush down an opponent. He had a brain, and the kick he was gearing up would smash her teeth in would prove that. When he went to kick her, for some reason, he couldn’t move his leg. It felt like something big had just grabbed onto him and refused to let go. 

Ont looked behind him, and somehow, Oculus was up and kicking. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth, but there was still gusto flowing through his muscles. Enough to where he could muster enough strength to stop a metal man’s kick.

“Get out of there.” Oculus warned. 

Zaundra fell back and ran enough so she was at a safe distance. Ont brought his fist back and slammed it against Oculus’ head. He let go of Ont’s leg and fell to his knees. This time, he gained enough energy to stay awake. Ont shook his head, thinking how stupid it was for him to stay conscious. It would just be better to faint so he could feel no more pain.

Ont was about to finish Oculus off, but something slammed the back of his head, hard enough to just slightly tilt his head forward. He froze and turned back, and saw Zaundra, breathing even heavier, hands on her knees, and a new stone forming near her head. 

Just when Ont was about to blow from all the annoyance, two villagers ganged up on both sides of him and began unleashing their blows of punches and kicks on him. He barely felt anything from such weak attacks, but it was still annoying him that he couldn’t just do his job in peace. 

He grabbed the leg of the villager kicking him, and swung him around, crashing into the other villager, sending them careening to the dirt. 

“Stop it!” Oculus yelled. “This fights between you and me. No one else.”

Ont stared down at the kid and promptly ignored the second stone hitting his head. Oculus stared up at him, blood dripping down his cheek, but there was still a force within those eyes that declared they weren’t done yet. This kid’s willpower and determination are so strong that even being unconscious wasn’t enough to keep him down. Or Ont’s confusing that with stupidity. It could be anyone’s guess.

“I like your spirit, kid, but let me tell you something.” Ont said, lowering his glasses for the first time. They stared eye to eye, one filled with so much life it refused to be put down while the other remained standing, yet screamed to be put down. “There are people in this world that, by sneezing, could topple the likes of both you and me. If you can’t even beat me here, then there’s nothing for you out there. So why do you keep fighting for her, when you don’t even know why we want her in the first place? As far as you know, you could anger someone with strength far exceeding mine, that if they were to bring their wrath here, this village wouldn’t even exist in a few seconds.”

Oculus smiled, hesitation not given a second, or even a first, seductive look. That answer couldn’t have been any more obvious, at least to him.

“Because she doesn’t want to go with you guys. Last night, she asked me to free her, so I did. If I were to let you put her back in a cage, then how can she explore this world? That just wouldn’t be right.”

Ont stared at the kid, but there was no sign of falsity in his words. The words he spoke came from him, one of a kind. Someone who has such a massively curious and exploratory nature, to the point where if he saw another being caged, he would help them no questions asked, not because it’s right or wrong to cage someone on moral values alone, but because if they were caged they couldn’t see the world. That was the type of man this kid is, but right now he’s a kid, and far from a man.

Ignoring the third and fourth stone hitting his head, Ont raised his arm once again. Ignoring the other villagers shouting, screaming, and hitting at him, he praised the kid for having such guts.

“Once you go down here, explore this world. You have what it takes.” 

“Wait!” 

Ont looked behind him where Zaundra was standing. The stones had vanished, and she bent over, panting from exhaustion. It seemed using that Gift put a lot of strain on herself, especially using it in such a drastic and bombastic manner.

“I’ll go with you.”