Game Master in Another World

Juliana collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep. The stress of combat and a massive spell going awry had truly worn her down.

While she slept, I took the time to process what had happened—the taste of a human head still filling my mind. It was something I never wanted to taste again. If I could throw up, I would.

It surprised me how unfazed Juliana was by it; she seemed completely unaffected. Did being a dragon start changing her personality?

I then remembered the details of the spell. It carried a danger of permanently losing your mind and becoming the creature you transformed into. This danger increased with the creature's power and the duration of the transformation.

Juliana had likely spent the entire time fighting not to lose her mind and become an actual platinum dragon. It was quite a risk.

I drifted above Juliana, looking down at her sleeping form, feeling a new appreciation for what she went through today for people who amounted to strangers. She could have left the city with Toby, but decided to stay and risk her entire being to protect citizens she didn’t even know.

After a while, Toby entered the room. When he saw Juliana, a look of relief washed over his face. He quietly moved the blankets, tucking her in, before curling up beside her, cuddling close, lying awake with faint tears on his face.

While Juliana slept. I used that time to look through the city; people were busy repairing the damage. Several buildings had collapsed, and the townspeople were digging through the rubble looking for survivors.

I watched as a young girl was pulled from the rubble, crying for her mother. She was covered in dust, looking dazed.

I continued through the city to the south gate to see the destruction firsthand. The gate wall was frozen, the snow still piled high against the stone. I passed over the wall to see the state of the grounds outside. Several Freyton city soldiers were wading through the snow, retrieving Forlinth soldier bodies and equipment.

Most of the bodies looked stiff and frozen solid, despite it being summer.

I then floated through to the northern part of the city; this area appeared to be on lockdown. Several guards were posted at every entrance to this district. Past the checkpoints, the streets were empty apart from patrols going door to door, checking each building thoroughly.

I came across a group of five soldiers wrestling with a Forlinth straggler, pulling him from a building.

“Just kill me!” the soldier shouted. “I don’t want to be tortured by the likes of you devils!”

He was kicking wildly as he was pulled towards a waiting carriage with a metal cage on the back.

I continued through the damaged streets, towards the hole where the gate used to be. I inspected the wall more closely.

I spotted a mass of stone bricks strewn far from the wall, scattered in a wide cone shape. The edges of the remaining structure were all pushed outwards. It must have been one massive blast that knocked over the entire gate.

On the ground, there were numerous patches of blood, likely formed when the barrage of bricks landed on the soldiers stationed behind the wall. This helped explain how they breached the wall's defences so easily.

I moved out past the ruins into the field beyond. Troops were picking through the myriad of dead Forlinth soldiers, loading up carts with the fallen and their equipment.

The sheer number of casualties was extensive; the task looked arduous and never-ending.

I continued flying over the battlefield towards the Forlinth siege camp. Most of the army was no longer there, but what I would describe as Forlinth looters were now ransacking the camp, loading up their carts with as much as possible.

One man was frantically throwing weaponry, food, and clothing onto a cart, going through what looked like the commanders' tents. He was currently dragging out an ornate-looking table, far too heavy for one person to carry, and was awkwardly manoeuvring it onto his supply cart, crushing several bags of fruit under its weight.

I continued past the siege camp, following the trails left by the retreating soldiers, before catching up to a massive contingent of them.

They shuffled in a disorganised column, their feet dragging through the dry soil. Their heads hung low, and they marched in silence, their morale clearly shattered.

The column stretched for many kilometres, with wide gaps between the clusters of troops. I eventually spotted what seemed to be a better-armed squad; they were locked in a heated discussion.

“We need to regroup; we are sitting ducks for a counterattack!” yelled one man wearing a blue scarf.

“They won’t attack. Their army was destroyed too; you are worrying too much,” a man wearing a red scarf responded.

“But what is the harm of being organised? We must maintain discipline!” shouted the first man.

“The men are too demoralised. You will likely invite mutiny if you try to order them around now. Getting home alive is our only goal,” the other retorted.

I continued up the line to another group of soldiers; they were debating the day's events.

“Did you see the devil?” one man asked.

“Yes, she flew above me as an evil dragon, picking up and dropping soldiers. It was like I was in hell, seeing bodies falling from the sky,” the other soldier responded.

“Did you hear what she did in the south?”

“Yes, she froze men solid just by looking at them, meaning almost none of that army made it back.”

“I hope I never meet her. She sounds pure evil. I heard she even eats the heads of her foes.”

“What do you think Freyton City provides her as a tribute?”

“I think it is newborn babies.”

“I heard it is the limbs of captured soldiers. They chop them off while the men are still alive, then heal them just enough to stop them bleeding to death.”

The men’s faces twisted in disgust.

“We need to succeed in wiping the entire country out. There is no saving any of them; everyone is rotten and deserves to be purged.”

The viewpoints of these soldiers regarding Freyton’s citizens were enlightening and chilling. The distaste these men showed for them, purely based on where they were born, was terrifying. It went some way towards explaining why they razed every town or village they conquered, leaving no one alive.

I decided to head back to Freyton City. With the retreat almost certain, I could now afford to relax. The city would repair the damage caused by the cyclone, and with the impending danger dealt with, Juliana was likely released from her contract.

I got back to the inn just as the sun was going down; Juliana and Toby were still asleep in the bed, curled up together. Luckily, Juliana was unaware of the rumours being spread by the Forlinth soldiers—being known for eating babies might enrage her.

It was a full day before Juliana woke up again, but when she did, she seemed completely refreshed. I slipped inside her once more, possessing her. Her body had begun to feel familiar and comfortable, much like Drisnil’s had before. Being outside a body felt ‘cold’, despite me not feeling temperature as a spirit.

“Good morning, Toby,” Juliana said with a broad smile.

Toby gave her a tight hug as she hopped out of bed. “I’m so pleased you came back alive.”

“You can thank my god for that; he gave me this power, after all.”

“Praise be to the nameless god,” Toby said in reverence.

I had given up worrying about this new religion. Whether people worshipped me or not would have no impact on me in the end. They did not know my name, so that at least made it bearable.

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