Mazeek scratched at his long unkempt beard, wondering how long it would take for his guest to arrive. It was getting late in the day, and Mazeek was craving his nap. He supposed that he could simply fall asleep here on the Greatbridge while he waited. It was not like he would be in any danger, the Fiends crossing the bridge made sure to keep a safe distance from him. Interesting behavior, they must have instinctively understood just what Mazeek was.

Oddly intelligent considering the maddening pain they felt, to know not to try and wound Mazeek. It was strange though… Mazeek had certainly not told any Fiends what he was, so how was it that they knew to avoid trying to harm him? Again, Mazeek found himself thinking that it was a part of their base instincts, after all, Mazeek could cause pain far beyond anything the creature’s had ever felt in the entirety of their cursed existences.

And a Fiend with even half a wit would do well to avoid that pain no matter what.

He kicked his legs over the lip of the bridge, staring down at the rushing water below. The Shots were all impressive in their own rights, all mighty torrents that barely any ship would be able to cross without utilizing Foundation. It was no surprise that trade between nations was all but impossible without the use of the Greatbridges. Fascinating constructions, they had been around since before the Menra era, when Mazeek had been born.

Setstone was a truly wonderful material to be able to withstand nine Godling Wars without even a scratch. Should he take some of the bricks to build himself a new fortress on the Icy Lashes? He doubted that anyone would notice a few pieces missing… Yes, he’d start gathering them now as he waited for-

“Unbound.” Mazeek heard a booming voice say from behind him.

Mazeek grinned and turned his head, a sudden gust of wind blowing his hair back as he stared at the imposing figure before him. Standing a head taller than the highest ogre and clad in silvery scaled armor, the ‘man’ seemed to have stepped right out of legend. Indeed, he had the features for it, strong chin and hard cheekbones, on full display due to his clean-shaven face. Golden eyes regarded Mazeek with what appeared to be contempt, or perhaps mild annoyance? It was hard to tell. 

Mazeek had always enjoyed poking fun at these creatures. Their great pride had always been so much fun to whittle away. Of course, only one such as Mazeek would be able to do so, anyone else would certainly be turned into paste, had they tried to insult such a monster.

“Dragon of the East.” Mazeek said with a smile “I’m glad you’ve finally arrived, I was beginning to grow bored.” He continued, standing from the ground and turning from the Shot to fully face the new arrival. “I’m sure you understand what happens when I grow bored, you may have just saved the world.”

The Dragon smoothed back a lock of silver hair from his brow, merging it with the rest of his long mane as he glared down at Mazeek. “Spare me your words, Unbound. I suggest you say only what is needed, else you may suffer the consequences for wasting my time.”

“Oh?” Mazeek asked, quirking a brow, “Do you intend on invoking the Right of Challenge upon me?”

The Dragon said nothing in response, standing there with face hard as stone. Absolutely unreadable this creature was… Even for Mazeek.

“Wise decision, all the Dragons that have challenged me in the past to become The Unbound have ended up as fish food.” Mazeek continued with a chuckle. “And I truly do not think you would make for a good meal for my pets.”

“Get to the point, why have you drawn me here to this place?” The Dragon asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he continued to glare down at Mazeek. 

“Hmm…” Mazeek hummed, placing a hand on his chin. “Well, for starters, that armor is very tacky,” He said, approaching the Dragon to kick his shin lightly, “Perhaps go for black and red? Or perhaps pink, that would suit you better.”

The Dragon then turned his back, and began moving away from Mazeek.

“Wait! It is just a jest!” Mazeek shouted quickly, trailing with a laugh and catching the Dragon by his elbow. “I just thought I would let you know that your nephew is heading this way, if you wanted to meet with him.”

“Nephew?” The Eastern Dragon said, shrugging off Mazeek’s hand as he turned to face him. “I am the only Dragon of Decuma, the Last Dragon. You know this, I cannot have any ‘nephews’. Save me your foolishness Unbound, we are done here.”

“While it is true that you are the only Dragon of Decuma,” Mazeek continued, rubbing a hand through his long brown hair, “You are by no means the only Dragon that has ever lived, you know that…” Mazeek continued, mouth quirking up in a grin. “This nephew comes from an older brother of yours I suspect, a much older brother.”

The Dragon of the East then furrowed his brow a moment, before giving a small shake of the head. “None of the Dragons from the previous ages still live Mazeek. They all died invoking the Right of Challenge on Zodd… You know this.” 

“Not all of them.” Mazeek said simply, turning his back to the Dragon to stare out across the Shot.

A truly gorgeous river, stretching infinitely towards the sun on the horizon. Did the Dragon appreciate the view as well? Mazeek turned to ask that very question… only to see that his guest had already departed. The Unbound laughed, placing a hand to his mouth as he continued to chuckle. The Dragon must not have liked what Mazeek had implied.

Mazeek understood though…

The potential return of the Banished Child was a terrifying thought.

Hey guys, finally back after a month. First chapter is pretty short but I think its a good prologue. Also, I have really BIG news...

I am most likely going to be published, but to do that... I need to make SSIAW exclusive to Kindle. I'm just telling you now, I plan on doing just that, I don't know when I'll ever get an opportunity like this again. Now, here on Royalroad, I can leave a stub here for new people to read, which is basically a sample. You long time readers don't have to worry though, only book one needs to be exclusive to Kindle, but book two: The Fiendwood, will be getting updated here on Scribblehub just as book one did. You'll be able to continue the story as normal, but if you want to go back and re-read you will have to go to Kindle to do so.

Or

You can buy a physical copy! That's right, I have physical versions of SSIAW for sale RIGHT NOW on Amazon, in Hardcover and Paperback. I'm even going to start signing them (As soon as I get a PO box) Also, don't worry, at the time of publishing this 4/28/23 you can still go back and re-read everything. I don't plan on going exclusive for at least another week or two.

Here is a link to the store page for a physical copy, if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Soldier-Another-World-Ahkoolis-ebook/dp/B0BZKBZS9T/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AEQZY6KUBRST&keywords=super+soldier+in+another+world&qid=1682738154&sprefix=%2Caps%2C314&sr=8-1

Thank you all for supporting me on my journey, this was my first original work that became successful and if it wasn't for all the good reviews ya'll left me, I'd never had gotten contacted by the publisher otherwise.