Soulforge Legacy Series

“She is still too fucking injured to go anywhere.” An annoyed Xander’s cursing slowly meandered through the fog that permeated my head. “Let alone see the god damned council.”

“My orders are clear.” The male voice sounded powerful. Well, not really. More like those people trying to emulate power they didn’t have. The ones that had been given permission to do something that they would never be able to. Usually something over someone else's head. “You and the fox are to report to the council as soon as she wakes. Good day.”

“God fucking damn it.” Given Xander’s voice had dropped to little more than muttering, I had to assume the imperious asshole had left.

“Wha…” my throat was so dry it hurt. I couldn’t have been out for more than an hour, so it had to be something to do with the medication they used to put me under. Maybe. With some effort, I managed to get enough saliva together to wet my throat. “What is going on?”

“We have been summoned by the council.” His words were soft, if a touch curt.

“Why?” In an effort to look at him, I tried to open my eyes but they felt like they weighed a ton. Ever so slowly, they opened to reveal that I was still in the same room as before.

Xander paced back and forth as he started to explain. “The council is trying to rein me back in by using you. Which is what I get for proving them wrong. For showing them that their information network had holes and was thoroughly compromised. Something they should be glad for, but that isn’t how any of this works.”

That was a lot, especially from Xander. But he didn’t stop. “It isn’t the first time they have tried this, but it is the first time they have a fully legal way to force my hand. One that I cannot ignore.”

“What did you do?” I managed to get in between breaths.

“I saved you. And in the process, I entered the kingdom’s protected zone without permission.” He stopped pacing to look at me. Why, I had no clue.

As it was, I was trying to figure out what he was talking about. I got the whole saving me bit, but what is a protected zone? Was that a place for special groups to hunt or military installations?

My confusion over the term caused him to shake his head. “I sometimes forget what some people do and don’t know. The kingdom is split into regions. Each of which has a level cap. If a person with a higher level than the cap wants to enter the area, they need permission from both the council and the kingdom. This usually means wearing a mana restriction device.”

That made some sense. It was one way to keep someone overly powerful from just destroying whole sections of the world because they were throwing a fit or just because they could. But how would they enforce such requirements? It wasn’t like they could station enough people alone every border to check people's levels and permissions.

Even with all of Earth’s technology, there was never a way to do so along one border. Sure, they had magic, but so did everyone else.

When I brought up the question of how, he shook his head. “The capital is built around a single massive spell array. That array is what detects, blocks, and reports intrusions. A spell that the council was told was working well. But if it was, then I wouldn’t have been able to even get to you.”

Oh. Now the issue made some sense. Not all of it, but most of the parts that didn’t probably had something to do with politics. Something I had never been all that interested in, let alone kept up with in the first place.

“So you stepped on a few toes?” I voiced it as a question, but I already knew the answer. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“Normally this wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But one of the members has had it out for me since I refused to do a job for him.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I managed to avoid him and his threats, but now he has a legal reason to drag me in. Of course, if it was just me, I could refuse. But you can’t. You don’t have a choice but to answer the summons.”

“Why?” To me that was a simple question, but given the emotions that flit across his face, there were some things he wasn’t telling me.

“Because the law they are citing is from the Paradox Earth Charter. The agreement between the governments of Earth and those from this world. It won’t just be enforced by the city or even the kingdom. The system itself was used to bind the agreement, and it will uphold the terms within.”

I was taken aback by the fact that he had broken a law for me, of all people. I would understand if it was his sister or such, but for me? Sure, we joked about how we would do anything for each other but I didn’t think he was serious. And he made it sound like this was a death sentence.

On top of that, I also had to visit this council. Though that didn’t mean I had to do what they said. There had to be a few loopholes we could use. Too bad I didn’t spend a ton of time reading through and studying law. Maybe then I would have a chance. That being said, maybe my AI would see something.

“Ah,” the doc- I mean healer’s voice cut through the serious atmosphere as she walked in. “I see that you are awake. Any pain? Stiffness?”

“Not that I can tell,” I replied as I moved to sit up so I wouldn’t be forced to crane my neck so much given that she had moved to the computer terminal.

“Well, other than those injuries, it looks like you are healthy.” The moment she tapped something into the screen, the system shoved a notice in front of me.

Kyren Vulpier. You have been inside the city, Gravepoint, for one hundred and fifty-three hours. Failure to meet with an oracle in the established timeline has resulted in a breach of agreement.

Penalty for breach – suspended. User was injured beyond acceptable parameters.

User has been deemed healthy by a medical professional.

Kyren Vulpier, you are hereby ordered to meet with the council to discuss the events that led you to arrive in the city. Failure to do so in five hours will result in severe penalties.

Given how Xander’s eyes seemed to scan over the space where my window was, it had to be visible to everyone. Which told me the system was making sure that everyone around me knew what was going on. While that might have been its way to streamline the process to meet with these people, it could have caused me some issues if the wrong people found out.

Xander let out a sigh as he tossed a shirt and bra at me before making his way to the door to follow the healer out. “Get dressed. We have a meeting to get to.”

I don’t know what I expected him to give me, but an ice blue and silk soft bra paired with a midnight blue dress was not it. While I could wear it, I wasn’t going to chance getting hurt yet again. At least, not until I was sure I could defend myself.

While I put the bra on, the dress went into my inventory, along with my pants. In their place, I put on a pair of shorts and my Moonlight Fox Fur dress. At least I knew it could handle being hit by a demon. Though, given the durability, I would need to take it in to get repaired sooner rather than later.

But that was a problem for another time. For now I needed to focus on this council and their summons.

When I opened the door, Xander looked me over but didn’t say a word about my choice of outfit. Together, we made our way out of the building, where I got slammed into by what felt like a truck.

It wasn’t really a truck, but a copper-haired fox. “Thank the gods that you are okay.” Ginger’s grip was so tight that I could barely breathe, or even move really.

While I couldn’t move, I could see over her shoulder due to how she had positioned herself. Something that allowed me to watch as Xander reached out and picked her up by the back of her shirt. At first, she didn’t want to let me go, but a gentle shake by Xander was enough to do the trick.

“Why are you here Ginger?” He sounded a bit irked. “Shouldn’t you be dealing with paperwork or something?

Ginger waved off his words. “I can do that later. I was more worried about my little fox here. Especially since she has been ordered to meet with the council.”

“I don’t even want to know how you know that.” He didn’t seem all that impressed. More annoyed than anything, really. “And I thought you hated the spire.” What was the spire?

“I don’t hate the place. I just … don’t like going there for personal reasons.” I decided not to comment on the slight hesitation in her words. “But what about you? Surely you didn’t plan to go into that place of snakes as you call it.”

“If I had the choice, I wouldn’t.” His tone was serious. “But I broke the law in such a way that they can finally use it against me.”

“What law did you…” She trailed off as what had happened finally occurred to her. “When you want to save Kyren.”

“Yep.” He gestured for us to get moving. “And honestly, it was bound to happen eventually. If not now, then sometime in the future. Best to get whatever they want done now so that they will get off my back.” He sounded a bit bitter.

The growing silence shattered the moment my stomach decided to let out a protest. Something that shouldn’t be happening with how much food I had eaten at lunch. “Hungry?” Ginger smiled at me as she passed some sort of bar wrapped in plastic. I didn’t bother to answer as I tore into the food.

While she laughed at me, Xander answered a question I hadn't even thought to ask. “Seeing as you only just used your stone, I have the dubious honor to inform you of the unintended side effects. Specifically on food intake.”

Oh, this was going to be good. I was able to feed myself before, but that was while I was in a starter town. A place where prices were low and jobs were easy. Out here, I would struggle to get even half as much. Assuming I found any jobs given my current level.

“The transformation uses up a ton of energy. Most of which you have to replace. Even then, there might still be a few changes going on in the background as your body adapts to its new form. As various processes and functions kick into gear.”

The first thing that came to mind was my new anatomy. Something told me that process would be going to go into overdrive to compensate for the complete lack of various hormones and such. Oh joy.

“Even after all that, your metabolism is going to be higher, much higher, than before.”

“It just means you can eat anything and everything you want and you won’t gain weight.” Ginger chimed in like that was the most important part of this conversation.

Xander just shook his head. “And before you worry, my sister and I will not let you starve.” His words caused some tension to leave my shoulders. Something I hadn’t even realized was there until it was gone.

I didn’t know what to say or even how to say anything really. So I stayed quiet. My mind slowly digested everything I had learned and what these two had done for me since I had woken up. Had it really been a few hours ago? Even as it did that, my eyes scanned over the various streets we traveled down, seeing everything and nothing at the same time.

That changed the moment we reached a massive square. Unlike the other squares that were filled with pop-up stores and other things, this one held a single massive building in the center. And by massive, I mean the base was large enough to fill an entire block on its own. It also looked like nothing else.

Each line was more organic. Grown rather than formed. Yet it wasn’t a tree or anything else you might expect in a world with magic. It was a massive crystal. The dark surface caught the light, drinking it in even as it seemed to shine from within.

The more I looked, the more the structure seemed out of place. Like some giant, or even god, had dropped it and hadn't bothered to retrieve it.

People streamed through a massive triangular opening at its base. While there were guards around the place and on either side of the opening, no one stopped to question anyone. They simply stood there, watching everything that happened.

“It’s a marvel, isn’t it?” Xander asked as I rolled my neck to relieve some of the pain from trying to take the entirety of the structure in. “There are some rumors that this was someone’s SoulStone. Others say this has been here for longer than most species. Personally, I am pretty sure it was placed here by some god. What for? No idea.”

I didn’t know what to think other than the whole SoulStone change, as that idea was out there. It just didn’t make sense. If anything, the story sounded more like something people put together, as the original story was too boring for them.

While we got a few odd looks, no one stopped us from entering the structure. That is, until a voice boomed from high above. “Ah, Kai.” Xander moved to the side just in time to not be hit by whatever had just dropped from high above.

As the object moved, I realized it was a man. A giant, golden-skinned, slit-eyed man. He didn’t look the least bothered by the landing. Then again, given how a pair of leathery wings stretched a bit before closing, this was probably a normal thing for him.

“Pendragon,” Xander growled.

At the same time Ginger’s voice came out in a squeak. “W-what are you doing here?” The stammered words caught my full attention and I noticed how her face had turned a brilliant shade of crimson.

The man stepped past Xander. His entire focus had shifted to Ginger. Voice low, he practically purred at the woman. “You never did call me back. I was worried that you were avoiding me.” While she looked like she was about to hyperventilate, she didn’t back away. Even as his arms wrapped around her waist. Sure, her ears and tail twitched, betraying her nerves, but she stayed stock still. As if she was unsure of what to do.

Her voice was timid as she spoke. “I thought you would want some space after what happened.”

“Why would I want space after what we did? From what you….” His voice softened to a whisper so quiet that even I couldn’t hear him. Xander chose that moment to turn and continue deeper into the building. Likely to give the two a chance to do whatever they needed to. I didn’t even think about staying. It wasn’t my place. The last thing I saw before leaving what was likely the entrance hall was their lips meeting even as his wings encircled them.

“Ummm…do I want to…”

“Don’t ask,” Xander groaned.

“But…” A wave of his hand cut me off. As he took me down a series of odd, looping turns, I had to ask. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Of course he does.” A woman spoke as something rasped against the stone. “He comes to visit quite often.”

“Hello, Anya Nguyen,” Xander’s voice lost the gruffness. In fact, it seemed to lose all emotion. “Did the Council call for you as well?”

“What if I told you that I was here because I heard they called for you?” Anya’s body moved oddly. “It isn’t often you make yourself available. I thought this time I would take some initiative and come see if you would like to spend some more time together.”

The feeling of something as it brushed past my leg caused me to look down. A scaly tail pushed past me as it worked its way around Xander. Only as it slowly crawled up his leg did it occur to me what was going on. If not for the fact that I didn’t know where I was going, I would have left these two to it.

“Um…” My voice shattered the odd situation. “Where do I go from here?”

“Just follow this hallway to the giant door.” The snake woman gestured with a hand before moving closer to Xander. I took that as my dismissal and made a break for it.

After a few odd twists and turns, I found myself in front of a massive door with a handle. One that had a pixie sitting on it.

“What do you want?” Her voice, while high-pitched, sounded angry with my mere presence.

“Um…” I had no clue what to say.

“If you don’t have an appointment, scram!” She bit out.

It took me a moment to recall why I was there. “I was summoned by the council.”

“Sure, and I am the empress.” She scoffed. “Get out of here before I call the guards.”

“There will be no need for that, Patulia,” Xander said from right behind me. To my surprise, he was alone.

“What happened to Anya?”

“She was here to deliver a report. Nothing more.”

It didn’t sound like that was the case. “Report?”

“Yes,” the corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly. “She is one of my direct subordinates. She didn’t know who you were or if what she had to report could be done with you around.”

What was with the cloak and dagger? Was she a spy or something? Not that I would ask him that.

“Get off the handle so we can get this meeting done with.” The pixie zipped off the handle at his command. With a twist, the door opened to reveal an antechamber. It was probably meant to act as a place for people to wait or maybe even as a security measure. Whatever the reason, Xander didn’t care. He simply continued to the door on the other side.