Reality had warped around me as a black panther with two tails appeared through a dark portal. The panther had identified me as its prey, immediately pouncing on top of me. Unlike the lizard, I lacked the time to be able to react to its movements. Its giant paw crashed into my torso, pinning me to the ground.

Pain laced through my core as my ribs struggled not to crack under the pressure. The snapping maw of the panther drew closer to my face, causing me to desperately try and free myself from my vulnerable position. I clawed at the panther’s leg, drawing blood as imperceptibly small scratches began to litter its powerful limb.

Before I could do any meaningful damage to the beast, it shifted more of its weight onto its paw. My mind went blank as the sounds of my ribs splintering emanated through the arena. Agony wracked my very being. I let out a guttural screech as I whipped my arm up to scratch at the panther’s face, barely managing to graze its neck.

In response, the beast amplified my pain tenfold. This time, the pain did not originate from my chest, but from my hand as the panther enclosed its fanged mouth around it. The sheer horror of having my hand torn from my arm barely came close to contending my screaming instincts begging me to escape from beneath the animal.

I writhed hopelessly beneath the panther as my sole hand scratched away at the beast’s leg. Each scratch drew more blood, dyeing the ground around us crimson. The panther seemed to have developed a taste for my flesh as it lurched towards me, assaulting my nose from the stench of its gaping maw.

What couldn’t have been more than a second after my hand was amputated, it had started to grow back. Searing pain signified my rapid recovery as I raised my regrowing appendage, slamming it straight into the nose of the panther, causing it to stop its advances.

Dazed, the panther’s weight shifted slightly off of me, giving me just enough leeway to force myself out from underneath it. I rolled to the side as the panther recovered from its mild stupor. My ribs were already reforming to their original state, making it nearly impossible for me to move properly through the pain, but somehow, I managed to put some distance between myself and the ravenous animal.

That distance instantly evaporated as the air around the panther grew dark. The panther abruptly vanished from existence before appearing on top of me once again. This time I was more prepared, being able to barely prevent myself from reentering the same predicament as before.

I dashed to the side as I scored my brain for some idea as to how I would make it out of this fight alive. Recalling how each of my scratches seemed to do more damage, the nature of my newest Aspect came forth to the front of my mind. If I wanted to kill this predator, I would need to set aside my fears and face it head on, an action much easier said than done.

My eyes never left the beast as I continued to evade its pounces. I was stalling for even a small slip in the animals defences before making a move. It took some time for the beast to grow bored of its seemingly futile chase. When it had, it once again resorted on whatever magic it was that allowed it to teleport.

The panther disappeared into another one of its portals, only to reappear behind me. I took this opportunity to charge straight towards its new location. The panther seemed surprised that its prey had decided to fight back, hesitating for a moment. That moment was everything I needed to finally enact my counterattack.

I leapt on top of the panther, piercing its flesh with my claws. The beast began to buck wildly to remove the unwanted passenger atop its back. Still, I clung desperately to it. Knowing I would not be able to simply sit on top of the panther forever, I began to rip into its back, each scratch inflicting more pain on the beast.

The world around me grew cold. The sounds of the cheering crowd ceased entirely. Looking up from the panther’s back, all I could see was that I was surrounded by an inky darkness unlike no other. The panther and I were the only beings in this realm, yet my intuition told me not to gaze for too long into the unforgiving black void. I somehow reasoned in my frantic state that this must be where it goes when teleporting.

As quickly as we had entered the shadowy dimension, we left. The roaring sounds of the crowd once again returned, and colour was present again. This happened several more times as the panther hopped in and out of the waking world in a feeble attempt to free itself from my unwelcome presence.

This whole time, even while being thrown in and out of reality, I clawed and slashed ferociously at the panther. Both of our movements were becoming sluggish as we drained eachother of energy in a rodeo from hell. The panther finally realised that its efforts were in vain, causing it to try a different approach.

It lurched, intentionally falling onto its own back. The feeling of having my ribs shattered once again confronted me at full force. I coughed painfully as blood escaped my lips. My vision was swimming from the daze of a beast weighing hundreds of kilograms landing on top of me.

The panther repositioned itself. Déjà vu hit me as we regained our places from the start of the fight. This time, the panther did not want to play with its food, immediately reaching its jaws towards my throat. My body reacted reflexively. My claw swung at its neck.

Red filled my vision as blood poured like a waterfall from the panther’s neck. Its advances on my own throat were paused as the animal lost its ability to breath. Sickening gurgling sounds could be heard as the beast tried to scream in fury. Reality shifted once more. The panther reapeared a metre away. It staggered, then teleported yet again, then again, each time growing wearier as it instinctively tried to escape from its imminent death. I watched with a mix of pity and relief as the once overbearing beast phased in and out of reality over and over.

The final time the panther reappeared, it was no longer standing. It’s near-lifeless body twitched as it attempted to breath to no avail. The spectators were louder than ever in response to my nigh-impossible victory. My body was screaming in pain as it healed my wounds.

Forcing myself back to my feet, I looked into the crowd. These people made me sick to my stomach. I was conscious of the fact that this world’s norms were different to my own so this may not have been as cruel to them. However, for me, everything about this place was fucked up. I did not relish in taking the life of another creature, yet pride welled up within me at my accomplishment.

I hated all of the conflicting things I was feeling, so I did what I knew best: I pushed them down and pretended that my emotions weren’t there. Instead, I slowly made my way back to the prep room, a blank expression across my face. As I approached, I was able to make out a familiar figure.

“Cavia! That was fuckin’ incredible, I’ll say!” An enthusiastic Ivan greeted me. His enthusiasm starkly contrasted my quiet self.

“Yeah…” I gave a noncommittal smile, before stopping in front of him. Ivan seemed to hesitate, noticing my lack of joy, before quickly perking back up.

“I’ve got some good news though! Yer gonna love it!” Ivan clapped his hands together like a little kid excited for a present. He looked at me expectantly.

“What happened?” I played along.

“So, I can’t say for sure, but I reckon I overheard some of the top dogs talking about you gettin’ some offers. Ya hear that? Ya could be outta ‘ere soon!” My ears perked up slightly. Ivan’s excitement was starting to rub off on me. If what he was saying was true, I might finally be free from enslavement.

Alternatively, what awaits me could be a life as property of some rich sadist. I was under no illusion that these ‘offers’ I had heard about from Ivan and the announcer were a ticket to freedom, but I reasoned that it would be much easier to escape from a single person as opposed to the seemingly inescapable Aridian Colloseum.

“Thanks for telling me, Ivan.” I responded truthfully. Despite my lack of trust for the man, I was still grateful he was keeping me in the loop.

“That’s alright. I still gotta take you back to yer cage for now though. Sorry, Cavia.” Ivan and I left the prep room, forgoing the trip to the bath, we headed straight for my cage. By the time I was alone again, the adrenaline from my fight had worn of. My body trembled despite my lack of injuries.

I was still unaccustomed to being inches away from death, and unlike the protagonists from my favourite stories, I couldn’t bring myself to instantly shrug off such a fact.

My introspection did not last long as the smell of a familiar woman entered my nostrils.

“No, no, no… You’re so unsightly covered in blood like that. Nothing like the cutie I left here a couple days ago.” Mira made herself known through more of her incessant gushing.

“C’mon, you’ve got a big meeting coming up, you can’t go out looking like that.” My head snapped in her direction. If I interpreted her words correctly, I was about to be introduced to a new potential ‘owner’.

Mira opened the cage and coaxed me out like I was some small animal. Now aware of the reasoning behind her actions, I was deeply uncomfortable around Mira. I knew I technically wasn’t human, but I was similar enough that my mental perception of myself had yet to shift in line with Mira’s thinking.

I looked around at the cages of magical beasts as we walked towards the baths. I silently hoped that this would be the last time I stepped foot in this room, despite knowing that my new reality could potentially be much harsher than my current one.

“Same as before. You can remember right? I know I do, you were so sweet, acting all bashfully. We’re both girls, no need to be shy.” Mira spoke as she gestured for me to take off my clothes. I did as she instructed before stepping into the already full bath. Unease settled itself into my heart as I sat with anxiety, still unsure of my upcoming fate.

When I finally got out of the bath, I shuddered. The cool air carrased every inch of my feminine form, making me acutely aware of myself. I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as Mira muttered something whilst pointing at me.

Warmth poured over me, and I noticed I was instantly dry. I briefly wondered why she had not used this magic on me last time but did not mull it over for long as Mira seemed to be in a slight rush, and I did not want to annoy her again.

“Okay, you be a good girl and follow nice and obediently behind me.” After I was dressed, we left through the door I had come through on my first day. I was glad to potentially be leaving this place behind despite my stay not being very long. As we traveled down the expansive corridor, I kept my eyes locked onto Mira’s back.

“The man you are meeting today is a very special guest. You know what that means?” She asked, turning around to look at me.

“I’ve gotta be presentable?” I half-answered, half-asked.

“That’s true, but the most important thing is that you behave. We can’t have him thinking we don’t take care of our property. That would be bad for business. So… all you have to do is stand quietly, do as you’re told, and speak only when spoken to. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” My temptation to roll my eyes was subdued completely by my fear of the reprecussions for doing so.

At the end of the corridor sat a large stairwell. We ascended for what felt like a few minutes before finally reaching an imposing hardwood door. Mira tapped on the door gently before taking a step back.

“Enter.” A gruff voice resounded from the inside. It was one I recognised as that belonging to the noble I met at the encampment.

Mira pushed open the heavy-looking door with ease, revealing a large room, adorned with two sofas and a small platform on the opposite side to the door. Behind the platform, a window spanning across the entire wall revealed the arena. This space evidently served as a prime viewing space for visitors of the colloseum.

On one of the sofas sat the familiar giant, his stature made no less imposing by the fact he was not standing.

“Mira, put the girl on the viewing stand. Our esteemed guest should be here shortly. Join me for a cup of tea until then, will you?” His voice which had once boomed with anger seemed soft when addressing Mira.

“Right away, and I’ll gladly take you up on your offer, Lord Wheymouth.” Mira spoke warmly in response him, yet when she turned to me, her tone shifted. “Stand on that platform and face the door. Don’t speak or move when you’re there.”

The burning sensation that began to seep from my collar told me she had used one of the silver orbs beneath her mantle. Slightly taken aback from her change in behaviour in the presence of the lardy lord, I had no choice but to obey.

I ended up standing uncomfortably in place while Mira and Lord Wheymouth exchanged pleasantries over tea for the next several minutes before a recognisable tingle began to build behind my eyes. I wondered what I had done to achieve a change in the status of my Cards but was unable to speak the necessary chant in order to check what had occurred.

Instead, I tried saying the word in my mind. The appearance of two Cards confirmed my success. This time, I could see what had changed immediately. My gold Card was no longer empty.

Along for the Ride

Your soul was tainted by a powerful summoning magic belonging to a foreign plane adjacent to your own. It has rooted itself deep into your being, causing you to be inexplicably tied to its intended target. This blessing serves as [REDACTED]’s apology for your cruel fate at the hands of [REDACTED]. 

Before I was able to read the Aspects, I was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.

“Come in.” Lord Wheymouth boomed. As the door opened, my heart nearly stopped in my chest. A man who looked to be around eighteen stepped inside.

His auburn hair perfectly framed his sharp jawline and complimented his deep brown eyes flawlessly. He was wearing what I could only assume was the typical casualwear of this world, beige tunic and black, baggy trousers with boots to match.

However, none of these things registered in my mind as my eyes were still stuck on his face. My brain had practically come to a halt as emotions I wasn’t even aware I could possess flooded through me in full force. A burning pain circled my neck as I found myself spitting out one word.

“Charlie?”

Mitozen

My apology for a lack of chapters comes in the form of a chapter 2.5x the usual length. Hope you all enjoyed.