Adrian sat in the dark, tied tight to a chair. The room was silent, except for his shallow breaths. He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out any shapes. Suddenly, a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared, piercing the shadows.
Before Adrian knew what was happening, a figure, tall and menacing with a silhouette that seemed to become one with the darkness, launched at him.
However, Adrian’s instincts kicked in, and he leaned in on one side, falling over and narrowly missing the assailant. His Kitsune eyes were helping him see in the dark, but only ever so slightly.
Still, there was no time to waste. The Tulkas had lightly bound him to the chair since he was dressed as a footsoldier in their eyes, and it was their biggest mistake.
Thanks to their error, it didn’t take long for Adrian to break from the chains binding him to the chair.
But the creature was already onto him. It was an outlandish figure, its body covered in scales that shimmered in the dim light. Thankfully, he dodged the attack again and slammed the chair onto the creature’s back.
The attack wouldn’t have accomplished anything as there was no way a meagre weapon like a chair would hurt a creature of the night.
Thankfully, Adrian had his trusted sword lying in his inventory. As the figure stumbled forward from his attack, he reached for his sword and was about to swing the blade when he heard the creature call out his name.
"Adrian... it’s really you?"
Adrian froze, the sword hanging over his head. It was a familiar voice he hadn’t heard in a while. Slowly, he lowered his weapon and looked at the creature before him.
It was a lamia, her serpent-like tail flicking nervously behind her. But there was something different about her, something he couldn’t quite place.
"Adrian, it’s me," she said, her voice soft and pleading.
Adrian’s eyes widened as he realised who she was. "Sara? What are you doing here!?"
Instead of responding, the lamia nodded, tears streaming down her eyes. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Adrian, pulling him close.
Adrian’s mind raced as he tried to make sense of what was happening. Sara was a former hero, just like him. She was one of the few so-called Netherites allowed to fight against her own kind.
But the stigma of being a Netherite never left her, and it didn’t take long for her to be treated as an outcast. That was before Sophia befriended her, and that’s how she became a part of their guild.
However, during a joint operation with Rowan’s group, Sara went missing and was later pronounced dead by the Church.
’So that was a lie too, huh?’
As happy as he was to see a former colleague alive and well, he couldn’t help but wonder why she was there and was attacking him.
"Sara, what’s going on?" Adrian asked, his voice filled with confusion.
Sara pulled away slightly, her eyes meeting his before averting them as quickly.
"You got caught by the tribe, too?" Sara mumbled in her squeaky voice. "I guess it was only a matter of time."
"I’m not sure I follow," Adrian replied, gently caressing her forehead like he always used to.
It was then that Sara told him everything that had happened to her. At first, Adrian thought it was the Church that attacked Sara, but as it turns out, it was someone from Rowan’s group who knicked her out, and the next thing she knew, she was the property of the Tulkas.
"They keep me locked up here, using me to select who lives and who dies," Sara said as she glanced around the bloodied room. "I don’t know how many days, weeks or months it has been since I last left this room... I’ve been trapped here-"
It was then Adrian realised why so many heroes were alive outside. The Church must have surrendered the ’dead’ heroes to the Tulkas as a gesture of goodwill, and since Sara was one of the strongest heroes of his time, the slaves were brought to her to measure their strength.
If they managed to survive against her, they were helpful to the tribe and could work as slaves. If they didn’t, they weren’t even received; the dead were useless to them either way.
Sara didn’t kill the Heroes but had to kill the rest for a grotesque reason. Suddenly, the scattered blood and bone around the chair made sense. The Tulkas had been starving Sara to the point she had to give in to her instincts and feed on the ones she killed.
"I had no choice, Adrian," Sara said, her voice trembling with emotion as she collapsed to her knees. "I had to do it! I needed to survive, or they would have replaced me and killed our teammates!"
Adrian pulled her close, gently caressing her head. She was having a panic attack, and it was all he could do to calm her. However, there was no one to comfort him.
The thought of what those tribal bastards did to her and so many others filled him with rage. So much so that he contemplated unleashing the Minotaur’s wrath for a moment and burning every Tulka down to the ground.
But he knew he couldn’t. Their time would come, but for now, he would have to keep his head down and bid for the right time.
"It’s okay, Sara. You’re safe now," Adrian whispered. "Just a bit longer, and it’ll all be over."
"You don’t get it... there’s no escape for us," Sara sniffled as she looked at him. "Whoever tried ended up hunted by the tribals."
"Don’t you believe me anymore?" Adrian smiled, cupping his hands around her cheeks. "I always have a plan, don’t I?"
"But-"
"No buts. I can’t tell you the details right now, but know I’m not alone this time, nor am I as weak as I once was."
Sara nodded before letting go of him. "...I’ll trust you and help you in anything I can. But only if you promise me something."
"Anything you want."
"Don’t show off your strength during the trial that’ll follow once they take you away," she replied. "I made that mistake, and that’s how I ended up here."
"...don’t worry, I wasn’t going to either."