It took a while before I could see a dim light at the end of the ladder. It was just a slight red glow that reminded more of emergency lighting than real room lighting.

A moment later, I felt two presences.

Somehow…

I got to the bottom, and the two presences hadn’t moved since then. There was also an aisle here, but there were only four rooms. The two persons were in the first room on the right side. The entrance of this room happened to be open.

I leaned against the wall and bent my head so far that I could see what was happening inside.

“...not good.”

I could hear a panicked female voice, but I couldn’t see the person.

“Don’t worry! I’ll do it, if this works, I’ll let you out of here!”

A man’s voice answered the woman.

“You’re talking nonsense, and what you want to do in your insanity!”

Now the woman looked rather angry with the man. I tried to look into the corners of the room.

Actually, why am I hiding?

I stepped out of the shadows into the room.

“Hey!”

I greeted them as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Who are you!?”

“What are you doing here!”

The woman didn’t know who I was, but the man recognized me from the attempted execution. He was the “priest” with whom I had a word fight.

He turned to her and pointed to me with his hand.

“She is responsible for all of this! She is the ulcer why my father and daughter are fighting me.”

*Patsch*

The woman slapped him on his cheek.

“You’re just talking nonsense! Irono had left you months ago, and this raid only took place because you wanted her back! Your father had always reprimanded you, and this time he just saw a good reason to intervene.”

She chastised him.

Is she on our side or his?

“Remember one thing, we have a contract, but don’t turn away from reality. Otherwise, I will be the one who strikes you down.”

What she said made me even more confused.

“Go show them why you’re fighting. I’ll talk to her for a while.”

A magic circle lit up under the man’s chair, and he disappeared.

“We are alone, do you want some tea?”

She turned to me with a friendly smile on her face. I couldn’t see through her.

She had black hair tied in a bun. Her eyes were as black as her hair.

“I’d rather like to know what that was right now!”

“Oh, that?”

She pointed to the chair and the magic circle.

“No, I meant your conversations.”

I pointed out her misunderstanding.

“Oh, if that’s it. I want to sit down. What about you?”

Waiting for no answer, she sat down at a table next to her. I carefully approached the table but didn’t sit down.

“So?”

“Well, Darwas is a difficult person. He wants to protect the shapeshifters, but it goes so far that he brings the shapeshifters even more to the abyss instead of helping them.”

“You say shapeshifter, so you’re not one?”

She looked me straight into the eyes.

“You already know the answer, why are you still asking? By the way, I’m going with the name Wynonna.”

“Eris.”

I sat down in the chair opposite her.

“Well, what are you?”

“You are direct. I like that! Right, I’m not a shapeshifter, I’m something else, let’s leave it at that. Let’s talk about you Eris, what are you?”

Her face hadn’t changed since the beginning of the conversation.

“You mean my race? I’m nothing special, just a tamorph.”

In a split second, she grimaced, but the grimace immediately disappeared.

“It gives me the impression that I asked the wrong person. Eris, if not what, who are you?”

Sorry? What is this woman talking about?

“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“Well, you don’t know yourself. Let’s talk about the current situation. At the moment, Darwas is fighting your friends, and you are sitting at this table with me, there are two ways to escape from this place. The first is to defeat me in a fight, but I advise against it. The second is much more time-saving for both of us.”

“What is this second option?”

“Do you see this glyph? It binds me to this vault, if you destroy it, I’m free and get my strength back. Destroying this glyph also disrupts any magical energy in this vault, and you would be free.”

Is she a prisoner? But why?

 “Why are you trapped here?”

“That you don’t know the answer shakes me. Well, I shouldn’t have expected anything. And?”

She was a little impatient.

“What are you going to do if I free you?”

“Celebrate my freedom, of course! After this, will I punish the beings who locked me up here!”

Her laugh grew dark and made a shiver run down my back. It felt wrong to let her go, but at the same time, I couldn’t tell if she was good or bad. I didn’t even know what she was when I tried to (appraisal) her only question marks appeared, not even her name was visible.

What should I do... if Tyche or Crete were here.

“How about a contract?”

She made a surprising proposal.

“What contract?”

She put her head in her hands and leaned over the table.

“Well, it’s easy, you release me, and I’ll give you my right eye, how about? And if you want, we can make a non-aggression pact.”

“You give me your eye?”

“Yes!”

“Why would you give me your eye?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I like you! And for my revenge, I only need one.”

I was skeptical because if she has so much power, why couldn’t she free herself?

“I’m sure you ask yourself, ''Why doesn't she free herself.” I will show you.”

She got up and turned to face the glyph. She held out her hand, and before she could touch the glyph, a blast knocked her away. She got up from the floor and brushed the dust off her clothes.

“You see the problem.”

She came back and sat down at the table next to me.

“The glyph blocks not only my attacks but also my presence. I can’t even get close enough to the glyph.”

Ok, that explains a lot, but she evaded my question, Why is she caught here?

“You didn’t tell me why you are here?”

Her eyes dropped.

“Y... it was my little brother.”

...

“Y-your brother!? Why didn’t you say that straight away.”

“It’s complicated.”

I don’t know... I don’t know! What I should do!

“Crap!”

I gasped and held my head between my hands.

“All right then! Don’t make me regret it!”

“Good!”

She grinned at me and took my right hand. Our hands lit up, and a magical circle lit up on our backhands.

(Phoenix strike)

I wrapped my left forearm in flames and pushed into the glyph.

*Clirr*

The glyph broke, and the pieces flew to the ground. A flash of light came from the wall where the glyph was before and struck Wynonna. After a while, the beam went out, and I could see her again. Her hair was now dark blonde, and her eyes were now a deep purple colored.

“Ah! I thank you.”

She stretched her body and thanked me.

“Then I should return the favor, am I right?”

She asked me a rhetorical question.

“I’m just going to start!”

Her hand bathed in bright light, and it moved a moment later from her hand and formed a ball her hand.

“I’m sorry I lied, I can’t give you my eye. I will create and use an eye out of pure magic. Watch out! It will cause hellish pain, so be prepared for anything.”

She grabbed my shoulder and gave me no chance to back away. She always led the glowing ball to my right eye socket.

The light dazzled me too much, and I had to close my eye. The right side of my face started to burn, and I felt how the bandage became loose. I tried not to scream in pain, but after a while and increasing pain level, I could not suppress it.

It was a terrible pain that ran through my entire body.

I don’t know how long I screamed, but I felt my body weakened by the constant exertion until I passed out.

I heard Wynonna say something.

“When you see them, greet my grandchildren for me.”

 

===

 

“Ngh!”

I yawned and slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurred, and I had to concentrate on seeing something. I closed my right eye and looked around me. A letter and an eye patch lay on the table. I took the message in my hand and started reading it.

Dear Eris,

The eye transplant was a complete success, so after completing it, I decided to get away. I hope there are no initial side effects, but use the eye patch that I left for you. In 48 hours at the latest, the eye should be completely adapted into your body.

If you ever want to visit me, you can find me on the fairy islands east of Kerge. Tell the fairies that you want to visit “the glimmer of hope,” and they will lead you to me.

All the best,

P*****

Well, somewhat exaggerated, but at least now I know that her real name starts with P. Also, how can someone describe themselves as a “glimmer of hope”?

I took the eye patch and pulled it over my right eye.

“Ouch!”

The sheet of paper grew hot, and the letters on the letter changed until they gave a completely new text.

Oh yes, it is not a gift in the real sense, but since your right eye was created from my pure magic, part of my magical energy was also absorbed into you. Please be careful some of your skills may be getting out of hand at the moment.

She left me this message, but she forgot one thing! She also wanted to help me out of here!?

The paper got hot again, and another text appeared.

Sorry! I forgot that!

HEY! You can read my mind!?

The text changed again.

No, I can’t read your mind if you just asked yourself that. I can feel your emotions through the eye’s magic, and it will continue until the eye has fully adapted to you.

*Tch*

I clicked my tongue and threw the sheet away.

Before I could react, a magical circle appeared below me. The scenery changed in a blink of an eye around me. I stood on the edge of the crater and could see how different creatures were fighting a huge monster.

I couldn’t put this monster in any category. It seemed to me that the entire creature was just a mixture of many different monsters, like a chimera, but... no matter how I looked at that creature, I couldn’t bring myself to call it a chimera.

I watched the fight for a few minutes because I wanted to see if the creature had a combat pattern and if I could spot a weak point from here. I noticed something that I could make out a weak point from the transition from the back armor to the neck.

Let’s go!

I pushed myself off the cliff and flew as fast as I could into the sky at a 45° angle. My wings were much stronger than before, and I could fly faster, so the thought occurred to me “Has this anything to do with the power of P?” but of course, I didn’t know the answer. When I was directly over the creature, did I stop and look out for the perfect moment.

The creature had not noticed me because most of the flying creatures it was fighting were flying at its eye level.

“It’s showtime!”

I saw my chance and took it.

(Phoenix strike)

This phoenix strike was different from all previous ones because not only was my hand surrounded by fire but my entire body. I didn’t know what it looked like for third parties, but I suspected that I looked like a phoenix out of flames that were about to dive.

I penetrated the skin at full speed at the point in question. I sank into the flesh of the creature with my entire body. I was so happy that it was dark because I couldn’t see the innards.

At that moment, a system window opened.

((Dark Flames) has been unlocked.)

Dark flames? Something like Amaterasu? I’ll give it a try! (Dark flames)

I felt something slip out of my hands, and before I knew it, the first rays of light penetrated the darkness.