Soulforge Legacy Series

Between one blink and the next, the world shifted and I found myself deposited back on the edge of the bed as the usual time prompt forced its way into view.

Welcome back, Kyren Vulpier.

2 hours, 19 minutes have passed since you logged off.

Current in-game time: 11:04:36 AM

For the first time, however, I felt confused by the wording. After all, if this was another world and we were just jumping back and forth, then why did it say I had logged off? Was that a deliberate decision by the god to keep this all secret, or was it more of a joke by one of the programmers?

Too bad I would probably never be able to ask about it. Well, at least not until I reached them, but I doubted I would. After all, there was something a bit more pressing to demand from them.

As the prompt vanished, I found myself looking eye to chest with a slightly stunned Xander. It wasn’t the first time I had seen him shirtless. Hell, most of my old coworkers had worked in either a thin tank top or entirely shirtless on some of the hotter days. Mostly because the damned owners had been too cheap to buy air conditioning.

Now, while I never really thought about him as more than a friend, that didn’t mean I had not checked him out once or twice. Mostly trying to find out what he had that I didn’t. So, to see him now, to see all the changes that had taken place since he joined this game, was a shock.

His body was ripped. If he told me he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, I might have believed him. Fuck, if the old world wasn’t falling apart, his muscles would have been right at home in more than one magazine and commercial.

He must have just finished taking a shower as the light reflected off his skin. The light shifted and danced as the water slowly beaded up before making a race for the towel around his waist. As I took him in, my heart fluttered just a tiny bit. It was a sensation that I had never associated with Xander or any other man before.

Wait, that wasn’t entirely true. The stupid muscle did something similar when the elf had hugged me. But what did that mean? Had this not-really-a-game fucked with my mind? Did it start even back then? But if that was the case, then what was the point of the SoulStone? Was it just a tool to speed up the transformation or something else?

My mind boiled with questions that demanded answers. Yet at the same time, it feared them. And honestly, what would knowing accomplish? Nothing. Sure, I couldn’t just forget or act like nothing was bothering me. But I could try and push past it. Because if I didn’t, if I let this fear take hold, I would never make it to the gods. I would never be able to demand they reverse this.

“Alex,” Xander’s voice broke through the storm of thoughts. It gave me an anchor to use. A place to focus so that the waves didn’t pull me into the depths. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t “Welcome back. Give me a minute and we can see about getting some food.”

The mention of food caused my stomach to growl, which caused both of us to smile. With a single hand, I waved him toward the bathroom. “Go.”

My brain locked up as he didn’t move in the direction of the bathroom and instead came toward me. Then my heart stuttered and skipped as his free hand reached toward me. Instead of doing something we both would likely regret, he grabbed something from behind me. It was as he walked away, and my brain started to process what the fuck had just happened, that I realized what it was.

Gripped in his hands was a set of clothes. Not the leather pieces that I had grown used to seeing, but something softer. In fact, the pieces almost looked modern. Like something he might have worn back on Earth. But that couldn’t be the case.

Not because we couldn’t make any of it, but because there would be no point. In a world where people were constantly fighting, everyone would wear armor. Hell, I was wearing armor. Though even if I hated the outfit's shape, I had to admit the dress was comfortable.

“So,” Xander started as he mostly closed the bathroom door. Leaving only enough of a gap that we were not forced to yell to be heard through the solid wood. “I was thinking.”

“You?” I scoffed. “Think?” We both laughed at the joke as he had a bad habit of overthinking everything.

“But, seriously,” he managed even while still chuckling. “I don’t think we should tell anyone what you are.”

“Why?” I don’t know how I could tell, but my ears went straight up as my tail stiffened ever so slightly. “Surely it wouldn’t be all that hard to guess? And maybe then I could find others like me so we can exchange information, tips, maybe even a few tricks.” The very idea of trading tricks with others brought forth ideas of what I could possibly do with my powers. Things I hadn't even thought of trying when I was still just trying to figure out how to use mana or when I was busy fighting for my life.

“Believe it or not, Kitsune are fairly rare.” The bathroom door opened to reveal a man who looked ready to go into the city. Dressed comfortably but not in old, tattered clothes you would wear for housework. “In fact, I only know of three other Kitsune and only through rumors and short videos.”

That was, actually, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Especially given everything I knew about the mystical creatures. Hey, don’t make fun of me. I was curious and decided to go down the rabbit hole.

With a shake of my head, I agreed. “But what if someone asks?”

He didn’t hesitate to toss out a response. “Just say that you are a foxkin.” It was almost like he had been thinking about this for a while. Who knows, maybe he had been. “The two look almost the same, minus the extra tails. Well, that and the extra power.”

“Extra power?” The thought of getting a boost simply by being a different race was something I wouldn’t say no to.

“Most of the kin are built more toward the physical side of things.” With a hand, he reached out. I didn’t even realize I had taken it until he pulled me to my feet. “While Kitsune are more known for their mystical powers.”

“You mean their tricks.” I pointed out.

“Yes, their powers allow them to pull off some tricks that would otherwise be impossible.” His smile was wide as he started for the door. “But it is more than that. In fact, you recall how every show and book talked about the number of tails indicating their power level?” He waited for my nod before continuing. “I think there is some truth there. But I don’t think it was a linear power growth as everything suggested.”

While he didn’t have to say it, I understood what he was implying. “Are you saying a Kitsune has exponential power growth?”

His head rapidly shook back and forth. “While I think the power of the next tail is exponentially more than the last, I think the requirements for each are just as hard to reach.” With that said, he opened the door to reveal a rather comfortable and warm-looking hallway. “But enough about that, I think it is time we get some food and meet up with my sister.”

“You have a sister?!” Why the fuck was this the first time I had even heard of this? What the fuck.

“She is…” Xander’s free hand reached up to rub at his neck. “Difficult to deal with.” She couldn’t be that bad. At least, she couldn’t be as bad as some of my family. “You will understand when you meet her.”

Just as we started down the hall, Xander spun around and stalked back into his room only to appear a moment later. A mix of annoyance and anger flickered across his face as he exited the room. Without preamble, he forced something the size of a marble into my hand. “You really shouldn’t be leaving this laying around where anyone can pick it up.”

Sitting in the palm of my hand was my orb. “Well, it isn’t like I have anything that can hold it.” A fact that reminded me that my dress didn’t have pockets. God, how I wished the thing had pockets.

“That is a good point.” I could practically feel his brain kicking into overdrive as he started to think about the issue. “What if we got something to hold it?”

“Sure,” I agreed without a single reservation. “But it would have to be something I couldn’t lose.”

“How about a subspace bag?” A simple tug at something on his pants revealed a bag no larger than my thumb.

Of course, seeing how easy he pulled it off his pants, I had to point out the major flaw in the idea. “And how long do you think it will be before someone manages to take it? Or until I lose it.” Even though I mumbled that last bit, he had no problem making out what I said.

“True.” To drive the issue home, he added, “Remind me, how many times did you lose your calipers again?”

“Twice,” a hand slapped his shoulder. “But that was because someone distracted me.”

“Okay,” he shook his head. “How about having it sewn into your clothing?”

“That would be great except knowing me, the instant we do that is when I find out just how weak my armor is.”

“You mean your dress.”

“I mean my armor.”

“Fine,” his shoulder hit mine just hard enough to cause me to stumble for a step. “Then you come up with an idea.”

I found myself looking up at the ceiling and the tiny, LED-like lights embedded in it, as I tried to come up with something, anything, that could work. “I could always swallow it.” The words came out without a single thought, and I felt the revulsion as I voiced the idea. “Actually, no.”

We stepped to the side to let a small group exit the stairs before we started our trip downward. “Well, what about having it surgically implanted?”

“And if I need access to it?” My head shook as I tried to recall what various myths and legends said the kitsune did with theirs. “I could always just have someone I trust hold it.” As one, we both tossed that idea out the window. It wasn’t worth the risk.

We dropped into silence as both of us tried to come up with some idea that would work. Just as we stepped off the last step and entered an absolutely massive floor, Xander spoke up. “Don’t most women hide things in their cleavage?” His idea had merit and caused me to stop and think.

It wasn’t like he was wrong. Of course, most of those women had a larger bust than me so it was probably easier to store things in there. Not that I wanted bigger breasts. I didn’t even want the ones I had. Still, if I could have used them, I would have. But with all of the fighting and acrobatics I was likely to do between now and getting my original body back, there was just too big a chance for it to fall out mid-fight.

Before I could point out the flaw, a streak of red and brown flew through the air. Whatever it was slammed into Xander’s side with enough force to cause him to stagger a step to the side. His voice dropped into a low growl as he addressed his attacker. “Ginger.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” A feminine voice purred from where she hung off him. A braid of reds and browns reached her lower back where it almost reached a very lively tail of the same color. “When was the last time I saw you?”

Xander spoke as he tried to pry the girl off him. “Two weeks ago.” Something about how closely she clung to him sent a spike of pain through my chest and nearly caused me to turn tail and run. Yet another sign that the system had fucked with me. Still, maybe this was a good thing. If he had someone, then whatever had been done to me wouldn’t be such a big deal. At least, not until I figured out how to deal with the changes.

“Why?” She sounded like she was pouting. “It isn’t like you left the city. You could have at least joined me for dinner when I got back from my trip.”

“I was busy,” he said as he struggled to pry her off. Something about his lack of progress and her clinginess had me moving back as I tried to give the two some room to figure their shit out. And who knows, maybe I could figure out a solution without his yammering. Of course, before I could take more than a few steps, his next words, while not obviously directed at me, caused me to halt. “Not so fast!”

“OH!” The girl’s voice seemed to grow even more excited. How? I had no clue. “Is this my project? I mean, victim.” Her voice dropped a tiny bit. “Wait, no, that sounds worse.”

Xander rolled his eyes as he finally managed to force her off of him. “This is the person I was telling you about.”

With those words, she turned into a blur and smashed into me. Unlike with Xander, she didn’t climb me. No, she pulled me into a full-body hug. One where I could barely breathe thanks to her cleavage being even with my face. I mean, I knew I was short, but really, universe? If you were going to force me to switch genders, you could have at least made me average height.

“You will kill her if you keep holding onto her like that.” My lack of oxygen slowed my ability to process what Xander said.

Thankfully, that wasn’t a problem for her as she released me from her deadly embrace. “Sorry, sorry. I just…sorry.”

“And that is why our neighbor ran whenever they saw you.” His words, while mostly a joke, still carried a bit of an edge to them.

“No,” somehow her laugh was tinged with darkness. “That would be because you beat him up for hitting on me.”

“Still,” Xander didn’t refute her words. “You will not be taking Kyren anywhere without me present.” His words were packed with enough power and pressure that the only reason I didn’t fall to the ground was thanks to Ginger holding me up. There was even enough power to cause the people near us to stop for a moment and shoot a look at him. It was likely those looks that caused his words to soften a bit as he continued. “At least, not until I know you won’t get her killed.”

Thankfully, she let me go as she spun around to face him. Shock, coupled with a bit of glee, tinged her voice as she spoke. “My my, how bold of you. Whatever happened to the complete refusal to even consider dating someone?” A long nail tapped at her bottom lip. “What was your excuse again?” She didn’t say anything for a moment. “Oh, that’s right, you were too busy leveling.”

His eyes narrowed at the woman. “Nothing has changed.”

“Oh, so you don’t mind if I take her for myself?” Her words sent a shiver of fear racing up down my spine and along my tail. “Or, if she doesn’t swing that way, I am sure I could find a guy that would take care of her.” Just how much of a death wish does this woman have? Couldn’t she feel the power that was rolling off of him and the anger that tinged it?

“No.” The single word practically came out in a growl as the room visibly darkened.

“What could you do to stop me?”

“If you, or anyone else, dares to defy me and force themselves on her, I will send you back to respawn.” His lips lifted in a predatory smile as he continued. “Say, did you ever set your spawn to somewhere in the city, or is it still set to somewhere in the capital?”

The two continued to face off until she finally broke the stalemate with her laughter. “Goddess, how I missed you.”

Both the predatory look and the darkness vanished as he returned the smile. “You too little fox.”

The way he looked at her was something I did not want to intrude on. Hell, it was something I imagined only came from a really close relationship. It was the kind of look one gave to their significant other before making out. Or at least, that was how I imagined it when I read a few romance books.

Not wanting to get in the middle of whatever this was, I muttered a few words as I started to scoot to the side in an effort to go around the two of them. “I will just give you two some room.”

“Oh no you don’t.” The girl spun around to grab onto me. Her eyes seemed to light up with mischief as she continued. “I have to know what is going on between you and little Xander here.” Her insinuation caused my brain to glitch out.

Thankfully Xander came to my rescue. “When was the last time I was shorter than you? Ten years? Fifteen?” He snapped back as a few of the people around us started to whisper. “Now, we were on our way to get food and meet up with you.”

“FOOD!” Oh, god, she was one of those people who seemed to never run out of energy. “I know just the place.” With what felt like a grip of steel, she pulled me along as she made her way to a pair of massive and open doors.

It was just before we left the building that I finally realized what his wording implied. This crazy person pulling me along behind her was his sister. No wonder he had tried to warn me about her.

Actually, maybe she would be perfect. Who better to ask for advice on keeping things secure than someone with endless energy? Though I couldn’t ask her here. At least, not until we reached wherever it is we were going. I just had to hope it was nearby.