[Kara] Chapter 8: Dreamers (Patreon)

“How exactly did a human like you acquire a dragonsoul?”

It was a simple question. But it wasn’t one Kara had expected to hear. Not from Koros. Not at this moment. She blinked a few times as the Dark Lord’s gaze bore into her as he settled back into his seat. Her head spun, and she considered her possible responses.

Angel peered at her curiously, his concern evident. And finally, Kara sighed, lowering her head.

“It’s a bit complicated. And I’ll explain it all to you in a moment. But first— how did you figure it out?”

There was no point in denying the source of her power. Perhaps if the Dark Lord’s line of questioning was more vague, she could have deflected. But the specificity of his question showed how certain he was about Kara possessing a dragonsoul.

Furthermore, Kara thought she could potentially get some answers and maybe even help if she came clean to Koros. So she chose to be truly transparent here, hoping that he would reciprocate. After all, there were many questions she had to ask, and a plethora more things she didn’t know…

Koros smirked, placing a hand on his helmet that was resting on his desk. “My helmet possesses a special enchantment that allows me to peer into the depths of a person’s soul when they speak. That way, I can judge if an individual bears any malintent towards Alyona or my people.”

“And when you looked at me, you saw my dragonsoul?” Kara asked as she placed a hand on her chin understandingly.

“Indeed,” he said with a nod. “And considering what you possess, that can only mean Zarkoth is dead.”

Now that made Kara pause again. She stared at the Dark Lord with wide eyes, even as Angel looked on in confusion behind her.

“You know Zarkoth?”

“I have… encountered him once before,” Koros said as his eyes flickered. “But I cannot say that I am well-acquainted with him either. All I know is that if he is truly dead, that means the age of dragons has truly come to an end.”

He grew silent for a moment as he stated that simple fact. It looked like he was paying his respects. So Kara lowered her head, unsure of what to add. But eventually, Koros shook his head and faced her once again.

“So why did Zarkoth choose to pass on his dragonsoul to you, of all people?”

Now Kara shifted where she sat as the Dark Lord interrogated her even further. But she had already resolved herself earlier. There was no point in telling lies here if she wanted answers too. So she cleared her throat and met his gaze.

“I… am not from this world,” Kara finally admitted. And as the words left her mouth, she closed her eyes. She wondered how Koros would react to this fact.

Would he even believe her? Would he accuse her of being a liar and lock her up in a dungeon? No— that was an improbable outcome. Kara knew her nerves were getting to her. So she steeled herself and waited for Koros to react to what she said.

A shadow was cast over his face, masking his initial reaction to her revelation. But then he craned his head back, which revealed an amused expression on his face.

“Oh?” Koros asked as he raised his brows. His curiosity was clearly piqued. Leaning forward, he rubbed his chin with a grin. “Now that is interesting— of all the things you could’ve told me, I didn’t expect that.”

“Wait, you believe me?” Kara stared at him, taken aback.

He shook his head. “I see no reason why you would lie about something so outlandish. When most people lie, they would say something far more believable. And that would explain quite a lot about your mysterious origin. Now, tell me more.”

Kara stared at him, taken aback. She didn’t expect him to be this fascinated with her background. Certainly, she anticipated some disbelief and shock, but not this.

She scratched the back of her head as his expectant gaze was locked onto her, his attention ready to cling onto every word she said. So she explained.

“Well, uh, you see, it started when I was getting ready for my first day at work…”

—--

There were a lot of questions to be asked. Kara wasn’t prepared to answer them all. But still, she tried her best. Even though she struggled to explain some of the most basic concepts that differed between Earth and Xantos.

“And you’re telling me there’s no such thing as magic in your world?” Koros asked with round eyes. He almost looked like a child, listening to his parents tell a ridiculous tale.

But he was no child, and this was no ridiculous tale. It was the truth— a fact from a different world. And what was normal there was considered to be outlandish here.

“No magic at all. At least, not magic outside of stories.” Kara nodded as she raised a finger. “But we’ve been to the moon.”

“Amazing,” he breathed. “Which one?”

“Oh, uh, we actually only have one moon,” she corrected him hesitantly.

“Only one moon? That seems like it would be quite the odd sight. How does your lone moon illuminate the night sky?” the Dark Lord asked disbelievingly.

Angel made a sound and nodded in agreement. Somehow, both of them found this tiny detail to be the strangest part of Kara’s story.

She shrugged. “We just have one moon. That’s all.”

“And the people of your world have stepped foot on its surface. How is this possible without magic?”

“It’s possible because of our technology,” Kara said simply.

“You mean your technology that can let you communicate with others across the world using these radio waves that nobody can see?”

“That’s one example of technology, yeah.”

Koros rubbed his chin. “…is that not essentially magic?”

“I mean, not really?” Kara scratched the back of her head. She wasn’t an engineer, let alone a rocket scientist. So she wasn’t able to give the Dark Lord an in-depth explanation about much from Earth.

However, Koros didn’t seem to mind her poor attempts at explaining concepts from her world. He had too many questions for her. Some which she found difficult to answer for other reasons.

“So have only humans conquered the moon of your world, or have us dark elves followed suit?”

Kara twiddled her thumbs. “Well, about that… we kinda only have humans in our world…”

Both Angel and Koros gaped at her.

“What?!”

—--

Kara continued her explanation about her world, answering any questions the Dark Lord could have asked, until the topic returned to her predicament and how she arrived at Alyona.

“—and there was that one time we fought a giant spider. Well— when I say we, I mean I fought the giant spider as Angel watched. Not that Angel can’t fight. You’ve seen his magic, right? He’s pretty dang strong. But that was before Angel learned how to do all that, which I still don’t know how he did…”

Kara caught herself when she realized she was losing her audience. Koros no longer wore an interested look on his face. Instead, he was very much bored. It almost looked like he was going to drift off to sleep at any moment: his shoulders were sagged, and he was resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

Pursing her lips, Kara coughed lightly into her hand. “Uh, are you still with me?”

Koros blinked, then straightened. “Yes, I am— you were talking about the Soulmaster, right?”

“No, that was… like, five minutes ago,” she said quickly, before shaking her head. “Do you know anything about him, by the way?”

“Unfortunately, I have never heard of anyone who goes by that title before.” Koros gave her an apologetic look.

“Right.” She nodded slowly, then her shoulders sagged. “Sorry about going off-track. I just haven’t really had a proper conversation with anyone in so long. And I’ve been through… a lot over these last few months.”

The Dark Lord stared at her. He saw the look on her face— he saw the way she shivered as she recalled everything she had been through. And he bowed his head.

“I should be the one apologizing for my lack of tact. It must have been hard, going from a life with little danger to a life where one wrong move could spell your end.”

“Well, I am used to it now.” Kara raised her head. She felt a furry thing poking at her from the side, and she looked down to see Angel rubbing his face against her arm. She smiled as she rubbed his cheeks.  “Anyways, does that answer all your questions?”

She turned to Koros who was nodding his head in thought.

“It has certainly answered some of them. And I find your world of humans with its technology and lack of magic to be quite fascinating. But I still have more questions. Although you have done enough to satisfy my curiosity for now.”

“What do you mean?” Kara asked with a frown. “I told you everything I knew.”

Koros waved a hand dismissively. “Do not be offended by that statement. While I understand you have answered my questions to the best of your abilities, what you said does not answer everything. From what little I know about the history of dragonkind, I can understand wanting to pass on a dragonsoul to a successor. But that still does not answer the question I initially asked— why did Zarkoth choose you?”

“That’s…” And the young woman hesitated.

“Exactly.” The Dark Lord’s eyes glinted. “There is still much we do not know about Zarkoth’s intentions. Why did he have to summon a human girl from another world as his successor? Why did he not choose to seek refuge in one of the four Sanctuary Cities of the Xor-In Mountains? Alyona would have given him all the aid he required to help him recover, and I know so would Vera and Tatania.”

“What about the fourth?” Kara pointed out. “You said there were four Sanctuary Cities, but you only mentioned three of them.”

Koros strummed his fingers on his desk. “Considering what I know about the Dark Lady of Yulia, it’s a toss-up on whether she would actually offer aid to Zarkoth, or capitalize on his near-death state and turn him into an infinite power source for her city.”

Kara shrank back when she heard that. “...that doesn’t sound like a place I want to visit.”

“I’d highly advise against it,” Koros chuckled.

“So much for being a Sanctuary City,” Kara sighed. She was starting to think that title was a little bit misleading, considering what she experienced in Alyona so far, and what she knew of Yulia now.

The Dark Lord rose to his feet as he crossed his arms behind his back in parade rest. “It truly is unfortunate to hear of Zarkoth’s passing. But I cannot lie and say I am not relieved to hear that it was only humans who got to him. If it had been the Dreamers instead… I fear for what they could have accomplished with his corpse.”

“The Dreamers?” Kara narrowed her eyes, and Angel perked up next to her.

“That’s right, the Dreamers.” Koros nodded as he looked out a window towards the undulating hills in the distance. “You are somewhat familiar with them, even if not by name. After all, you’ve seen the destruction they have wreaked across the Xor-In Mountains.”

Kara folded her arms across her chest. “Wait, I thought you said that was all caused by monsters?”

“That is true. But what I had neglected to say is that those monsters were brought forth by the Dreamers. In particular, by a man by the name of Adam.”

“And am I expected to know who this Adam is supposed to be?”

Koros shook his head with a scoff. “Of course not. Even ignoring your origins from another world, most humans do not know of him, for they do not privy themselves to the matters of us dark elves.”

“So he’s a dark elf like you?” Kara said simply.

“And he was a Dark Lord like me, too.”

That made Angel cock his head. But Kara just gave Koros a flat stare, waiting for him to continue.

The Dark Lord closed his eyes, speaking in a morose voice. “There was once a fifth Sanctuary City by the name of Catherine. And it was ruled by Adam the Dark Lord. Because of his might and his intellect, it was known as the safest and greatest of the Sanctuary Cities. But it no longer exists.”

“And I’m assuming it’s because of him?” the young woman asked apprehensively.

“In a sense, yes,” Koros whispered, before looking up again. “But what happened back then matters not. What matters is that he will not stop, even if it means burning down all of the Xor-In Mountains, to fulfill his twisted ambitions.”

Kara was starting to feel like a broken record, constantly asking the Dark Lord questions. But even though she knew little about this world and its people, she still shuddered as she learned more about this Adam.

“What… what are his ambitions?” She swallowed as she asked the question.

Koros stared at her for a long moment, before looking down at himself. He peered into the palm of his hand, before giving a mirthless laugh.

“He wishes to become a god.”

And Kara grew cold when she heard what the Dark Lord said.

—--

“Wait, wait, wait!” Kara protested as Koros escorted her and Angel out of the office. “You can’t just drop that bomb on me and ask me to leave!”

“On the contrary, that’s what I’m doing right now.” The Dark Lord smirked back at her, undoing the enchantment on the doorway.

“If what you’re saying is true, then doesn’t that mean Alyona is in danger too? That guy is a megalomaniac! And he’s extremely strong, right? What happens if he attacks this city?” She paused by the doorway, staring at Koros with wide eyes.

He sighed, shaking his head. “Adam is indeed incredibly powerful. And the monsters that accompany him— these nightmares— have never been seen before. Their abilities and their weaknesses are undocumented. No one knows just what kind of threat they could pose. All we know is that they are capable of leveling small cities in only a few hours.”

“But Alyona is a Sanctuary City— and you’re a Dark Lord like Adam! So that means you’re as strong as him, right? I…” Kara drew her lips into a thin line. She met Koros’s gaze, before taking in a deep breath. “If he attacks us, would you win?”

The Dark Lord of Alyona smiled when he heard her question. He stood up straighter as he hefted his helmet over his head. His eyes glinted as he nodded at her.

“No, I’d lose.”

And Kara blinked, before he ushered her out of the room.

—--

“Dark Lord, have you made your decision?”

Kara and Koros both came to a halt in the middle of the hallway as a dark elf clad in ornate armor stopped them. Angel bumped into the back of her legs, then peeked out to see who it was. The bear cub immediately shrank back when he saw the man standing there.

“Uh-oh.” Kara recognized him too— of course, she did. They had traded blows just a few hours prior. He had been the first of the drakenriders who had charged at her, then ignored her words just because she was a human. He confronted the Dark Lord as she stood almost protectively over Angel.

“Thank you for lending me your office once again, Captain Hayder.” Koros nodded cordially, seemingly ignoring the tone at which the other dark elf spoke. He gestured at Kara casually. “And I have made my decision— I will be allowing both Kara and Angel into my city.”

Hayder’s lips twisted into a scowl. He wasn’t even trying to mask the fact that he was unhappy with this outcome.

“Dark Lord, with all due respect, we allowed a human into our city no more than a year ago, and he has caused us nothing but trouble ever since he arrived.”

Kara narrowed her eyes when she heard that. She had assumed Hayder’s hatred towards her stemmed from a general distrust and dislike of humans. But it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case.

“You know as well as I do that that was a vastly different circumstance than this time around. He was dying, and we chose to save a life. Because of that, I could not investigate whether he posed a threat to our city before he ran free.”

Koros spoke simply, meeting Hayder’s gaze.

“Meanwhile, I have spoken with Kara, and I know she wishes no harm upon our people. I am certain of it.”

“And how do you know she isn’t using some kind of spell to mask her intentions?” Hayder asked, no longer hiding his disdain for this decision.

For a moment, the Dark Lord and the Captain of the First Company remained in a tense stand-off as Kara and Angel stood awkwardly to the side. The latter two evidently tried to stay away from opining in this argument.

But Koros’s eyes darted towards her, and he grinned. “If my words aren’t assurance enough, then let her actions speak for itself. After all—”

Hayder furrowed his brows, watching the Dark Lord walk up to the young woman. She stared at him quizzically as he placed a hand on her shoulders.

“Kara here has told me that she will help us deal with our little human troublemaker to prove herself to us.”

“Wait, I will?” Her eyes widened as Koros finished. She had tried to stay out of this discussion because she didn’t want to exacerbate Hayder’s hostility, but she was forcefully dragged in by the Dark Lord.

Hayder’s brows snapped together at that. He opened his mouth to speak, but Koros nodded.

“You will help us deal with that other human, won’t you?” the Dark Lord said with a small smile.

Kara gaped for a moment longer, then looked towards Hayder. She saw the way he hesitated as he eyed her. She realized this was the only way to defuse the situation. So she quickly agreed.

“Uh, of course! I’ll bring this asshole to justice— because he gives us humans a bad name!” Kara flexed an arm, and Koros gave her a flat stare. She realized she overdid it as her shoulders sagged.

Koros sighed as he faced Hayder.

“I do wish I could deal with that rogue human myself, but I have other responsibilities to attend to. However, I hope this is enough for you, Captain?”

Hayder gritted his teeth. He glanced between Kara and Koros a few times. And he finally unclenched his jaw.

“Yes, Dark Lord. I have no qualms with this arrangement.” He relented, his eyes fluttering shut.

“Very good.” Koros nodded as he ushered Kara down the hallway. “Now if you will excuse us—”

They started past the Captain of the First Company, then his eyes snapped open. He spoke up, glaring at Kara. “But know this, human: if you do anything as much as start a fight with anyone in the city, I will have you arrested and locked up. Is that understood?”

Kara blinked at his words. “Uh, sure?”

And with that, Hayder marched back to his office and slammed the double doors behind him.

When he was gone, Kara turned to Koros and asked, “...what was his problem?”

“It’s a long story, and I’m sure you can already infer some of the details,” the Dark Lord said as he made his way down the walls of the city. Both Angel and Kara followed suit.

“You guys let a human into the city, and he’s causing you guys trouble. I got that much.”

“The situation is a lot more complex than that,” Koros explained. “You see, he isn’t actually causing us any trouble any longer. If we left him alone, he wouldn’t be a problem for us. But we can’t exactly let him go.”

“Why not?” Kara asked as they reached the bottom of the stairwell.

“Because he stole a few powerful artifacts that belong to our city. Artifacts that are kept in our vault for times of need. So we need them back. That is why we have been hunting him down for the last year, but he has proven to be quite elusive, hiding himself away in the lower tunnels of Alyona.”

“And the lower tunnels is…?”

Koros came to a halt before the exitway. Kara and Angel stopped just behind him, and he continued, “The lower tunnels is a network of caves that lie underneath our city. They do not lead anywhere, but they are full of dangerous monsters. We have lost many good soldiers and guards trying to hunt him down in that maze of death.”

“So you want me to go down there and find this guy?” Kara said, chewing on her lower lip.

But to her surprise, the Dark Lord shook his head. “You don’t have to force yourself to do anything. I was only telling Hayder what he wanted to hear. If you wish to help us out, it is up to you.”

“Oh.” Kara exchanged a glance with Angel. Then she looked Koros up and down, and slowly, a smile spread across her face. “You— I would’ve thought that someone with the title of Dark Lord would be evil. But you’ve only been kind to me. So… thank you. For letting me into your city. And for sticking up for me.”

Koros laughed as he raised his helmet back to his head. “While I appreciate your flattery, I would not treat any other guest of our city differently from how I've treated you.”

“Still, I appreciate it a lot.” Kara placed a hand on her chest as she spoke gratefully. Angel nodded beside her. “Even though you said I don’t have to do anything about that other human, I’ll still see what I can do, I guess.”

She couldn’t lie and say that she wasn’t intrigued by the prospect of meeting another human. There was the fact that she was, in fact, a human too. Even if she didn’t feel like one after everything she had been through. But she thought that speaking to one would ground her back to reality, even if he was… a lying thief.

And there was also the possibility that humans in this world might not have been carbon copies of humans back on Earth. So she might not have shared a kinship with whoever this guy was. However, she was still intrigued. Especially with what Zarkoth had told her about humans— how they quite literally stole magic from the dragons.

She was curious how it worked. If greatly it differed to her dragonsoul, or if it was similar at all. With the way Zarkoth had characterized it, it seemed to be more likely to be the former. But she didn’t know for sure. And while she could ask questions while in the city, the only way she could truly learn this fact was by speaking to another human.

So she made her decision.

“If you insist, I will not stop you. But until then—” Koros yanked a chain, pulling up a portcullis to allow entry into the city.

Kara looked forward, and she saw a vast expanse of densely packed stone buildings spread out into a massive cavern. A giant statue was erected at the very center of a large courtyard, reaching up to barely touch the long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. There were thin towers— minarets of sorts— interspersed throughout the city, and they glowed with a faint light.

It was unlike any city the young woman had ever seen back on Earth. She gaped at this scene as Koros lowered his helmet onto his head.

And his voice echoed around the room as he spread his arms wide. “Welcome to the Sanctuary City of Alyona.”

—--

And deep beneath the Sanctuary City of Alyona, a lone figure strode past a pile of dark elf corpses, covered by a barrier of white light. His daggers were stained with fresh blood as he twirled them between his fingers. One of the fallen bodies moved— still alive.

But he reacted in an instant, throwing his dagger into the guard’s neck. There was a gargled sound. The guard dropped dead for real this time. And the weapon reappeared in his hand with a flash as he saw a blue screen pop up before his eyes.

*Ding!* You have leveled up!

[Treasure Thief - Level 39] has become [Treasure Thief - Level 40]!

You have reached a capstone level! You can now evolve your Class!

The man— formerly the only human who was present within a hundred miles of Alyona, but now, unknowingly, one of two humans there— smiled savagely. He picked up a golden cross sticking out of the ground as the barrier surrounding him dissipated. He looked over the notification he received from the System once again.

And he sat down, cross-legged by the pile of corpses.

“Fucking finally,” he spat as he closed his eyes. “t’s time to escape this damned shithole.”

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Author's Notes:

4k words. What thonk?

Also Seth the Abyssal Assassin, one of my two co-writes, is finally up on Amazon KU! If you haven't read it yet, it's time to check it out! And if you could, please give it a rating, I really appreciate it <3

Amazon.com: Seth the Abyssal Assassin Book 1: An Isekai LitRPG Adventure eBook : Lewis, V.A., Extra26: Kindle Store