Somewhere in another land on the other side of the arisen continent

???? [POV]

Just by the air around me I had already realized that I was no longer trapped in that horrendous void. I knew not how long I had been there or how I had ended up in it but sure as hells I had no intention of ever returning back to it. It had been hard enough to hold on to my sanity this first time, I was certain that a second time would utterly destroy even my hardened mind.

But now was not the time to despair about things like this, I had to figure out where exactly I had ended up in. I kept my eyes shut and body still, as I pushed my senses to their limit, while at the same time asking for my AI’s input. ‘A-12 Report. Raw surrounding Data. Fifty millisecond Intervals. No response, odd.’ If my AI was not responding I was in deep shit. I had never thought anyone would actually be capable of blocking a military grade AI without killing me, at least in the few groups that would have realistically been able to threaten our organization. ‘I guess you learn something new every day.’

Seeing as my access to my AI had been severed, I continued to rely on my senses to gather the necessary information. The air was damp so I was probably somewhere undergrounds, either a cellar or a dungeon, though the last would surprise me. The fact that I could not remember how I got here and the existence of the void spoke for either as of yet unknown drugs, extreme manipulation of my mind, or an otherworldly phenomenon. The last of these options sounded rather silly though so I didn’t want entertain that thought.

Back to my inspections, what I could feel through my skin was a little more interesting. First of alI I was clearly naked. This was obvious not because I was cold, I felt pretty toasty actually, but simply because I felt my naked nipples press uncomfortably into a rough metal surface. There also was no discernible air flow which supported my underground theory. Other than that I wouldn’t find out much more without moving.

 I waited for a while to make sure there definitely weren’t any sounds around, then clicked my tongue several times in a row. From the echo of my sound I discerned that I was indeed in some stone cellar that also seemed to be on the smaller side but relatively empty except for myself. After waiting another few minutes for any other sounds I opened my eyes. And I was fairly surprised.

I actually was in a dungeon, sadly not a sex dungeon but a real medieval one. ‘Bummer. Silence brain!’ What I had thought to be merely a metal surface turned out to be a large iron cage with faintly glowing symbols on the ground, ceiling and the bars. Now that I knew that no one was around I found that my seeing was weird. Nothing had colours it was more like seeing the outlines of things, without actually seeing them. Then came probably the biggest shock; I looked down my body and was more than confused.

While most of me was as I remembered, meaning fleshy, athletic, and most of all human, some parts just didn’t fit that description anymore. From my elbows downwards my arms extended into crystalline appendages with jagged, cruel looking claws. The same was with my legs below the knees only that my feet had elongated and ended in four long toes with wicked sickle like nails and an opposable claw at an almost 180° angle to the others. ‘Oh man, raptor feet. No more shoes for this girl. I guess they are functional though and will work as natural weapons.’

When I turned my head to look for other changes I found two more. One was that I now resembled a porcupine, from my back and neck several dozens of crystalline needles extended almost as long as my under arm, at first they had laid flat but I had soon found out, that I could make them stand up menacingly. The other probably more important change, were the truly massive bat-like wings on my back. The size of these things alone made their tips scratch across both bottom and ceiling with a satisfying screeching sound. ‘Huh, I guess this means I’ll also have a hard time wearing clothing . . .’

Absorbed in the inspection of my truly strange features I had almost not heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Doing what any respectable humanoid monstrosity would do in this situation, I sat up in a crouch and tried to look like those gargoyle roof figures. As I wanted to get the drop on them if they came close to my cage I closed my eyes and stopped moving. ‘Ohhh~ this really felt good!’

A few moments after I had started to imitate a statue two people came in. Strangely I could still ‘see’ them even though my eyes were closed. Getting used to this body would certainly be a challenge. The two people, both male as I could infer came closer to my cage, one seemed to hold a torch, but it could not see its flames, not even their flickering behind my eyelids. The younger one came closer, looked me over and began speaking in a language that I couldn’t understand. The entire conversation went on for a few minutes but I had a hard time focusing. ‘All this sitting still really made me sleepy, if only I could sit somewhere high up that would be nice . . . Hmm? Wierd thought.'

When I next woke up my surroundings had changed once more, by now I had given up on the hope of either the Boss or Crazy coming to my rescue. I also was aware that option three seemed by all accounts the only one that was still holding up to ocams razor. The implications of this though were a little too mind boggling than I wanted to deal with right now.

Checking the immediate area, this time with my eyes open, I realized that I was still in my cramped cage and my wings were getting sore. Angling my position forward so that they had more space I looked around outside of the cage. Several other curious things were around me; animals in cages not unlike mine, pretty furniture and occult stuff like staffs, tomes, and crystal balls. When I looked at the crystals balls my mouth began to water. ‘I bet they would be tasty! Yeah . . . you go brain.’

This time though instead of waiting for ages, I very quickly heard people approaching so I went back to being a statue, it was the best for now to not attract too much attention. Attention got you killed, in more than one way. What I had initially had thought to be a normal storage room turned out to be the backstage area of a quite impressive auction house. The only time I had seen one from the inside had been when my organization had transported items away from it. At first it was interesting to look over but after a while I fell back into my mindless torpor.

The first thing I recognized was the sound of children around me and realized I was no longer in a cage but a kind of living room with only a circle of faint runes in the wooden floor around me. . ‘I had never liked the little things, way too undisciplined. But still kind of cute! No . . . no they weren't.’ Something was happening to my mind and having those brats around wouldn't help. I cracked open one of my eyes hoping to scare them away. One of the kids seemed to have seen what I had done because it ran away screaming, soon enough the others followed. I couldn’t help myself and a bright grin cracked across my face, I bet those kids would look twice beneath their beds tonight. ‘Hehe.’

A few second after the kids had left a man and a woman clutching swords rushed into the room, but soon enough put them back into their scabbards as they saw I hadn’t moved. They talked for a bit in the language I couldn't understand before the man turned around and addressed me directly. I . . . did nothing except stare at them with my open eye. He repeated the question and I repeated my reaction, if he wanted something out of me he would have to try harder. The woman over looked the scene critically but then simply left, only to return with a massive dusty tome. A few odd looking rituals later, they once more spoke up and this time I understood.

“Can you understand us?” I opened my other eye to the gasps of the two. “Incredible, so it is actually alive!”

“Terino, I think that she would prefer if you talked to her like a person, she obviously has a personality, a stoic one it may be but it is there.”

“Oh, you’re right Camelia. I’m sometimes so oblivious.” ‘You don’t say.’ Having regained his composure he addressed me again.

“So now that we can understand each other, would you might telling us what you are?”

I simply smiled trying to get a reaction out of them. And a reaction I got.

“Holy Goddess! Judging by those teeth you are definitely not a golem but could it be?” In an almost comical fashion he stroked his well kept beard.

And for the first time in this world I spoke. It was odd to say the least, my voice sounded as if my throat was made from crystal itself, which it probably was.

“Why don’t you tell me what you think I am?” Apparently it shocked the two of them enough that they took a step back but the woman soon brimmed with excitement.

“It is true Terino! She is one of the crystal demons, a gargoyle! Do you know what this means? There might be others left if this one could be summoned!” She shook her much less athletic looking husband around for a bit before turning back to me.

“I’m so sorry how rude my husband and I have been. My name is Camelia von Rooststeadt and this is my husband Terino. Do tell, how are you called?”

Hearing this I only snorted out loud. “Why would I give my real name to civilians? You can make do with my alias. I’m First Lieutenant Angel, unhonourably discharged from the Special Forces at the age of twenty-four. Currently I am or most likely was employed as a . . . security detail for the Organization ‘Jardin d’argent’. Is this enough information?”

The woman brows pulled into a frown of major intensity. But after a minute of thinking she began to smile even more. “Say, Angel would you like to work for us as a maid?”

‘I . . . had not expected this development. Oh well, always roll with the punches.’ I got up out of my crouch stretched for a bit and realised I was an entire head taller than either of them. ‘I’m finally big!!! No more tiny Angel!’

“Sure, I mean I have nothing better to do. When do I start?”

The woman now genuinely smiled though her eyes sparkled with mischief.

“How about now?”

'This might actually be nice change for a bit, a serene and calm life away from the battlefield. At least for a while.'