I didn't know how long I stayed in the sea of light. A second…An eternity… Slowly, however, I was able to pin down that the time wasn't moving just as fast, but it was a sensation similar to being drunk. It was strong, stronger than anything else I tasted or experienced, enough to enrapture me if it wasn't for the combined effects of the adrenaline rush and the pain of my wounds. Interestingly, the moment I stepped into the light, the sensation of rejection vanished completely, almost like it didn't exist in the first place. Maybe I should have felt fascinated by the dancing colors around me, but a lifetime of practicality forced me to consider something else. Whoever — or whatever — was responsible for the portal was clearly not omnipotent. If they had been, they could have done something more effective to keep me away than trying to play with my thoughts or emotions to make me take such a decision. However, even as I processed that, I turned my attention to the other detail. Two

"Is there anything else I can do for you, great Marked Envoy," the servant said after he led me to my room — a huge, opulent room, decorated as lavishly as anything else, but I noted that, unlike everywhere else, there were no decorative weapons on the walls, instead replaced by huge paintings. Paintings that shared fascinating themes. Each painting showed five men, fighting against some kind of horde. Not all hordes were the same, some showed scenes filled with ghouls and zombies, while others had dragon-like huge monsters filling the painting. One even showed some kind of metal machines, though too far different than the tanks and planes that he was used to, impossible to truly assess. "No, you can leave," I said in a dreamlike tone as I focused on the paintings until I heard him slam the door and leave. I stayed locked at the paintings, not because I was truly interested in the scenes they deciphered, but due to the subtle sense of attraction that radiated from them. It wasn't a

"A flying Court," I murmured as I glanced around, fascinated yet scared by the idea. I shouldn't have. The idea of several thousand tons of rock and marble flying through the air was not a concept I couldn't understand. Just a big — well, huge — magical helicopter; nothing against the miracle of taking me to a different world, or somehow rewriting my whole biology. Maybe it was why it scared me. Teleporting to a different world was something mystical, an event that I couldn't even begin to comprehend. A flying Court that probably weighed as much as an aircraft carrier … was the kind of miracle that I could understand, both in terms of strategic deterrence, and the amount of sheer force that was required to keep it floating. Enough to make me feel stirrings of cold, calculated fear, the kind that I hadn't felt even when I was a young man, and found myself as the target of the majority of the underworld due to a chain of unfortunate circumstances. "No despair," I muttered as I turne

The guards had dismissive smiles on their faces as they looked at my game, not bothering to hide their mocking smirks as I acted like I was putting my full attention on the game. I had all the confidence of winning the first pile, and not because I bothered to put a complicated strategy in place, or actually tried to cheat. No card shark would ever actually let the mark lose during the first hand, not even the incompetent, amateur ones I was currently playing with. Still, I watched them, looking for signs of cheating — not because I cared particularly much about the borrowed money I had, but because I wanted to get a sense of how things had worked in this new world I found myself in. It was for the better if I could avoid shanking before I got too ambitious when gambling. I failed to get any sign of cheating before the first pile was concluded after I raised by another ten denicas. "You're so lucky," one of them laughed as slapped his thigh. "Look at that, almost forty denicas, a g

It was Toross that was at the door. "I hope you had a good rest. We have a lot of things to do today," he said, with a sense of energy that could never be displayed by someone that was suffering from a hangover.I didn't ask anything as I stood up. While his words weren't followed by the exact kind of pressure that followed Falael's words, there was no harm in showing my enthusiasm to follow their orders — the more obedient I looked, the easier it would be to slip things through them.Also, Toross was still radiating a sense of aura that asked for respect and obedience, which was more constant than Falael's occasional flares, and being proactive in questioning him might make me suspicious about my ability to reject the impact of his Charisma.It was better to be safe."Wear something more comfortable," he said as he pointed at the wardrobe."Anything in particular?" I asked."Just some pants and a loose tunic, maybe some robust boots will do. We will move around a bit today," he said,