"These things look good," Zaroth spoke as he glanced at the menu.
The menu was of high quality, as there were even pictures to show how the dishes would look.
Knowing that this night he would spend an ungodly amount of credits, he decided to let loose.
A cute waitress approached their table, asking if they had chosen what they wanted.
"Yes, a Lobster, Beef, and Tortilla," he said. These were among the most expensive dishes on the menu, so Zaroth wanted to try them all out.
He didn't order any alcohol, leaving it to the expert—in other words, Roran.
After the order was placed, Zaroth began to glance around, noticing how happy everyone seemed.
"People sure do change when they drink, huh," he muttered under his breath.
Thinking it was time to ask, his gaze shifted to his friend. "Hey Roran, why are you so obsessed with protecting Lily?" Zaroth asked.
He was really curious about the matter, so he just had to know. It was possible that Roran loved her that much, but at the same time, it felt like there was something more to it.
Roran's eyes seemed to change for a moment before he responded with a smile.
"I'll tell you if you can outdrink me," he challenged.
Zaroth glanced at Zack for a second, who was silently telling him to do it. He wondered if it was a good idea… but he was living for his desires after all, and he didn't want to pass on a challenge.
With a sigh, he spoke, "Alright, the challenge is on!"
A Few Hours Later…
"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" Everyone in the bar was hopelessly drunk as they danced in unison.
Unlike last time, there weren't any fights anywhere, as everyone was having a good time.
"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" Slamming the giant cup hard on the table, Zaroth sighed.
"Oh, I can't anymore. You win." It seemed he couldn't outdrink Roran no matter how hard he tried.
In the end, everybody got pretty drunk, but it wasn't as wild as last time. Zaroth somehow managed to get to his apartment, collapsing on the bed as soon as he arrived.
*****
The Next Morning he expectedly woke up with a hangover and barely managed to get out of bed, cursing as he did.
"Never again! I'm never getting drunk again!"
This time, he meant it. He wouldn't go back on his word… probably.
"I give you two days until you go back on your word," Luna teased, walking around the apartment.
She seemed to be getting more comfortable in her human form as she had managed to brew herself some coffee.
"Give me more credit, will you?" Zaroth spat back, frustrated—because he knew she was most likely right.
Placing the cup on the table, Luna sat down, crossing one leg over the other.
"So, there's about a week until that tournament starts?"
"Pretty much," he answered as he began changing into his academy uniform.
"Do you have any plans until then?" she asked.
"The only thing left is to try and get stronger, there's not much to it."
"But…" he added, "when the tournament begins, I don't think I'll be able to use you. I can't come up with a way to hide you in the middle of the arena. So before the tournament starts, I'll either have to tame a beast I can use publicly aside from Silverfang or learn a spell or two more."
Noticing the time and that his lectures were about to start, Zaroth desummoned Luna, making her a bit upset as she wasn't done drinking her coffee.
"I'm off," he muttered quickly as he exited the apartment.
*****
The surroundings were deadly quiet. The only sound present was the faint echoes of the footsteps of four men in the cave.
"How… how did we get into this situation?" one of them asked, keeping his voice low, trying not to attract attention.
"We… we have probably angered the gods. We should pray for forgiveness," the oldest one answered.
"Don't be stupid!" the man in the center hissed angrily. "The gods will not help you with what's coming next!"
"Captain… I can feel it in my bones. We must not venture deeper," one of the soldiers warned hesitantly.
"You know we can't just leave—not when a whole damn city and its inhabitants disappeared! Do you want to be executed for cowardice when we return?!" the captain barked.
"Can't we… just say we reached the end of the cave and found nothing?" another asked nervously.
The captain hesitated for a moment. 'True… maybe we could do just that. The fault is in the commander, after all, for sending four soldiers into such a large cave to begin with.'
He was about to issue his next command when a sudden smell in the air stopped him.
"There's blood ahead," he grimaced, tightening his grip on his spear.
Even though they were in a cave, it was wide enough to comfortably use a spear, which was why the captain had chosen it as his primary weapon.
Everyone held their breath as they moved forward.
What they saw next made them freeze.
In a large cavern, hundreds—no, thousands—of bodies were piled one over the other.
The smell was so unbearable that a few of the men gagged.
Trying to keep his composure, the captain asked, "Jeremy, do you sense something?"
Part of the reason the captain was so calm was because he had Jeremy in his team.
Jeremy had an uncanny ability to detect danger before it struck, so the captain trusted that if Jeremy hadn't warned them yet, they were safe for now.
"Jeremy?" he asked again when there was no response.
Turning around, his eyes widened in a flash.
"Where is Jeremy?"
His two subordinates glanced around in panic as they realized their comrade was missing.
"Huh? He was here just a second ago, I swear!"
Their panic was cut short as they heard footsteps coming from the entrance—where they had just passed.
"Jeremy? Is that you?" the captain asked cautiously.
There was silence for a moment until…
"Not enough… it's too weak…"
The voice didn't sound human.
The three soldiers immediately raised their weapons, ready to attack.
"Stay calm, alright? Just like we practiced," the captain instructed, trying to steady his subordinates.
"Guys?" he asked again after hearing no reply.
Turning around, his face drained of color as he realized he was now alone.
"Shit!" he muttered, pressing his back against the wall of the cave.
"How? When?" Questions raced through his mind, but there was no one to answer them.
But the most important question remained
How had his comrades disappeared without him noticing?
Suddenly, his eyes widened as realization hit him.
He shifted his gaze upwards—
But it was too late.
Some kind of dark matter fell from the ceiling, hitting him square in the face.
"HUM! HUM!" He tried to struggle with everything he had, but it was useless.
The dark matter, like a liquid, forced its way into his body through his mouth and nostrils.
Collapsing to the ground, the man began to shiver violently in pain. He opened his mouth to scream, only to realize, in horror, that he couldn't.
After a few seconds of violent struggle, his body grew cold and stopped moving.
Slowly, he got back on his feet. His right hand twitched unnaturally as he cracked his fingers.
"It's not perfect," he muttered, a small smile spreading across his face.
"But this will suffice for now."