SECRETS OF EXOCLYUS

7: MAN, BEAST, OR GOD

Usgard had suffered many headaches in his life, some from alcohol others from pain, unfortunately this headache came from the latter when he really wished it was because of the first.

As he woke up he almost yelped because of the pain in his shoulder, the memories of last night came flooding in. He got bit by that monster, then was tossed aside like an abandoned chew toy. He wasn't certain what occurred after that but with him being in this bed and his wounds being bandaged up it meant they survived...or atleast he survived.

Usgard looked across the room, his trusty axe leaned against the room's plain walls, but he couldn't find his armour, it was probably busted so there was no need looking for it.

He looked outside, he was in Luro, it wasn't snowing anymore so he could actually see further into the horizon than expected. The sight was great, but his worried heart made everything feel somber.

It wasn't until the door open and Stella walked in that Usgard finally let out a sigh of relief. "By the gods, I thought you died or something."

Stella rose her brow at him. "You were the one bleeding out."

"Yes, but still."

Stella dropped a plate of food on his laps and he started eating, his hunger made him forget to ask how they survived that whole ordeal, but he eventually did while chewing which made Stella slap his arm for bad manners.

"Ow!" He yelled. "I'm already in fucking pain!"

"Shut up." She told him. "I got us back here. The two of you were so heavy I had to take a bunch of breaks while dragging you guys out of the forest, and you've been out for two days. Luckily it wasn't anything too fatal."

He glanced down at his shoulder, it even hurt to shrug, but he did it anyway. "Okay...wait. Did you just say the two of you?"

Stella looked towards the door then back at Usgard. There was no easy way to explain it so its best to show him. "Can you walk?"

The knight set the plate aside and rose to his feet, he stumbled for a moment but got his balance quickly. "Yeah, going to need more rest though. Now explain yourself because you have confused me."

Stella led Usgard to another room down the hall. When she opened the door all he did was stare at the unconscious dark skinned man chained to a chair in the middle of the room, then he noticed this man had something strange attached to his shirtless body.

A wooden right arm.

His brain rushed to add everything up, he could sense that magic but he couldn't understand why he did. It made no sense, yet he knew who the man was, or rather what he was.

"That's the Nyxlian!" He screamed.

Stella quickly slapped her palm against his lips. "Tell the five realms why don't you?"

He pulled away and scratched his head as he traveled back and forth the hallway. How? Why? What? The questions kept coming but no answers met them. The feared prowler of the Nevcram forest, the Fanged Shadow, was now a man sitting in an inn chained like a common criminal.

It sounded like a terrible joke.

"What the fuck happened?" He demanded.

"I shot a hole through Nyxlian's heart." Stella explained. "And then it turned into him."

Usgard looked at the man then back at Stella. "The furry giant horned dragon tailed monster turned into the man sitting right there?"

"Yes."