*Drip...Drip...Drip…*

The droplets of water tickle your forehead as you begin to rouse from your slumber. You hazily remember what had occurred to you resulting in this slumber in an underground looking dungeon. You remember chasing a girl in red that reminded you of a distant past. You remember getting attacked by someone, using a various array of entanglement magic to keep you shackled, and you remember falling into an abyss.

Suddenly, a sharp pain sears from your abdomen throughout your body, you realise that you have been suspended and there are spikes protruding from your stomach and chest. You try to jumpstart your leylines with Willpower, but your body doesn’t seem to respond. You attempt an incantation of vitality, but find that you can’t speak the words.

“There is no use trying your blood magic here, those spikes are infused with Kovalian crystals, able to stop even the Grand Meister himself if used sparingly,” said a voice from the darkness as a figure emerges from it.

You groan in pain, as you see the figure coming closer towards you. She runs her finger down your chest. She takes out a dagger from her satchel, and runs it through your sides. You scream in pain, as you continuously attempt to get your magic to work.

“Who are you, and why must every woman I meet greet me with a dagger of some sort, and for your information, I would prefer the metaphorical dagger most of the time” you mutter, spitting out the blood accumulating within your mouth.

“My..my...it has not been that long my dear, have you forgotten me already”

The figure shifts and contorts. Reality wraps around her as she now has long auburn hair, she has grown taller, her face sharp and cruel but with a glance you groan even more, as you recognize her. Her name is Zelinas, a former member of the Zealots and your previous leader, and she was also your previous lover, all of these are not in any particular order. The relationship never truly ended because of the many events that happened later.

“Zelinas, my love, why the torture, you know I didn’t leave you in the Pit right?” you quickly respond.

“Hmmm….oh, it was not the abandonment at the Pit of Rolok that brought this predicament upon you,” she says as she takes out another dagger to stab you on the untended side.

You try to remember any other trespasses but fail to come up with anything.

“You see, the disadvantage of falling in love with an individual who possesses the affinity of time is that we pretty much know everything about our partner, and we mean EVERYTHING!”

Her eyes gleam with a cold and calculative demeanour, you clearly have done something really bad at some point in the past.

“Then you of all people should have known that I have been depressed, trying to find a way to get back to you.”

She laughs as she twists the dagger on your sides.

“Are you so sad, that you share the same sorrows with all those tavern wenches...or am I to assume they were a salve for your puny depression” she whispers.

Your eyes grow wider and you begin to regret getting too drunk too many times especially in the bars at the Capital.

“My love, you know they meant nothing, I have only pined for you”.

Your attempts at appealing to her finer side have earned you a strong slap. You forgot how strong Zelinas was at her prime, and you remember it better now that she is insidious with anger.

“ENOUGH FOOLERY, you came to me as a young babe looking for adventure after being on the run for many years, I gave you the best training and I even gave you my heart, and you repay me with stupidity?” she shouts.

“Look, I was young and foolish, but I would never betray you..um fully…Please, we were even in town looking for you.” you cried out.

“We..?”

“Yeah, Boby is here as well”

*CRASH*

The ceilings came crumbling down as a loud boom is heard and from the dust, a tall hulking figure comes out.

“Zelinas, it seems you have found us first,” said Boborygos.

“It seems both of you have business with me, are you getting me to regroup the Zealots again” she quips.

“Alas, I would think that you of all people would know why that is not possible”

Boborygos glances over to a suspended you, bleeding with two daggers stabbed on each side smirking.

“Well, now that I can confirm it’s you, we shall meet later at the Pickled Dragon.” He looks over to you and smirks. “Try not to have too much fun Zelinas, you know how easily our friend here gets mentally scarred”.

With approval from Boborygos, Zelinas licks her lips and eyes you murderously

“Oh come on…..um Ze-Zelinas, for old times sake, can’t we take the gentle route this time?”.

Your pleas go unheard as she strips your clothing off you with the daggers now taken out from your side. She heals your wounds by applying minor time magic to reverse the wounds but just enough so that it wouldn’t be fatal. The spikes protruding you are released and she lunges on you.

It would be an understatement to say that it was a ravaging night, villagers within the vicinity will wonder for days what was that loud howl and they would wonder if it was a werewolf. But they would not dwell on that for too long as the man shouting in the square earlier was found with his limbs severed and his head blasted to the ground with the mark of a Celestial.