A stinging prick in his arm, followed by a burning pain. It spread through his body, but he couldn’t scream. The leather wrapped bar that he was biting into didn’t let him.

  “You’re doing great, Xander. Just a few more seconds.”

  Seconds? Had he only been suffering this pain for seconds?

  He nearly threw his head back to scream out loud, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t control his own body.

  That was when he realized he knew the voice of the one that had spoken, but try as he might, he couldn’t recall their name. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t remember.

  With a jolt, the pain ceased, and he nearly spat out the bar, turning around to look at the one who had spoken to him. The world spun around, and he lost his balance.

  Suddenly, he was falling.

  ----------

  “Oof!” Xander let out a grunt as he rolled in his bed, falling just over a foot onto the ground and getting a mouthful of dirt in the process. “What the hell?”

  All around him the world slowly came back into focus. What was nothing more than a swirling mess of nonsense turned into a script that he could read, but it was strange.

  He recognized every symbol on the walls of his current dwelling, but he also knew that they were a language that he had never seen before. Yet, as he continued to look it over, he found his own name written in whatever this strange new language was.

  “This is the strangest dream I’ve ever had...” He trailed off as a thought occurred to him. “Can you wake up in a dream twice?”

  He slowly shook his head and pushed himself up into a standing position. Looking around the room, he noticed that the words he saw were written in the door to wherever it was he currently found himself.

  “What the hell is going on?” He repeated, and this time was answered by the door opening as he sat on the edge of his bed.

  Several figures in the strange robes from before filed in alongside a few of the soldiers. The group seemed to be led by an older man with a much more intricately designed robe.

  “Alexander Mar.” The fact that the leader of the robed people knew his name set him on edge. He was no longer nearly as muddle-headed as he was when he last woke up, and he was beginning to get an idea of what had happened to him. “You are to come with us to speak with our lady. She has questions for you regarding the Era you are from. You will comply, or you will be taken by force.”

  For a moment, Xander didn’t say anything. He just looked at the soldiers, the memory of his shoulder shattering and being repaired in seconds flashed through his mind. Instincts from his training and field agent days flashed through his mind. From before he had become a bodyguard for one of the most successful women in the world. The one that was also the most important to him.

  These bastards can snap me like a twig... His mind snapped back into focus as the soldiers stepped forward. “Understood.”

  He didn’t leap to his feet, but he stepped down gingerly and rose to his full height. Happy to see that he was at least the tallest person in the room, if not the strongest.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that his compliance came too slowly, since both soldiers grabbed him and dragged him out the door before he could take another step.

  Several long and slow breaths came one after another as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be dragged, not resisting. At least for now. He knew better than to operate with a lack of information in enemy territory. Hurried footsteps rushing behind him echoed through the corridor he was now in.

  “I don’t suppose you can tell me how I now know your language? I assume it has to do with the helmets you made us wear, but I could be wrong.” His voice remained level, and his tone neutral.

  “...That would be correct. Did such technology not exist in your era?” The soldiers ignored him, but he was answered by the...scientists? He wasn’t sure what they were; but he felt it was a safe assumption.

  “No. At least, not during the time I remember being awake for...” Xander decided to remain silent after that. His current question was answered, but the grip on his arms was also tighter.

  Instead, as they went through another door, this one guarded by two more soldiers, he winced as he was nearly blinded by a much brighter light. He was now in a large and cavernous area. Nearly twice as large as the warehouse he remembered being put to sleep in. There were also several small structures that had been set up inside the open space wherever there were flat planes.

  Yet this warehouse was much more advanced, with what seemed to be incredibly advanced hardware being moved around to inspect and set up additional equipment for whatever they were looking into here.

  Several strange devices poked out of the walls, and there were staircases leading both up and down, as well as numerous tunnels in the walls that were still far off. Piles of broken machines, robots, from what he could tell, were also numerous.

  Once more, he saw the slightly altered, and much more majestic, emblem of Sage Pharmaceuticals emblazoned on the walls. This time, however, they were being covered by the soldiers. Large banners depicting a golden Greek chimera with red eyes on a black background were being hung in front of the original emblems.

  Xander didn’t know why, but the moment he saw that, he felt a searing hot rage well up inside him. His muscles tensed, and the soldiers’ grip on his arms faltered for a moment. They paused, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself once more before anyone could do anything.

  “Sorry... I’m still a bit confused. Please take me to whoever your lady is. I will answer what I can, but I’m not certain my memory is all there...” It was becoming more and more apparent to him that something had gone wrong after he went to sleep. “Hopefully, I can also find out a few answers of my own...”

  The last part was whispered, but it was clear that the ones holding him heard, but rather than do anything against him, they simply dragged him faster than before.

  God I hope that this lady of theirs, whoever she is, will have the answers I need.

  His thoughts grew darker as he was pulled toward the largest structure in the area. Thoughts of his fiancé, and continued control of his breathing, were the only things that were keeping him calm.

  Even though he knew that any resistance would likely be met with receiving a beat down.

  Then the wall of the building they were approaching exploded outwards, and he was blown off his feet and sent tumbling across the ground. The old and familiar feeling of bones crunching as he bounced on the ground nearly made him pass out. This time the pain was all too real.

  Warily looking up from his prone position on the ground, he saw the small woman that had previously healed him stepping out from the rubble. Her eyes glowed red, and her previously short hair had grown in length, while her canine teeth had extended, and her figure was far more beastly.

  “What the hell have I gotten into...” He muttered with a pain filled gasp.

  His only answer was the soldiers grabbing him again, gingerly this time, and moving to approach the beast in human skin.

  ----------

  Moments ago, within the private study of Elyria Wrathmor.

  Elyria laid her head on the cracked remains of her barely standing study desk. The intricately carved wood was nearly ten times tougher than steel but had cracked beneath the pressure of her clawed fingers.

  “Those wretched bastards!” Her exclamation came out in a venomous whisper. “I found this ruin! I cleared the final guardians, and they dare to lay claim to it, even after I was specifically granted this territory by my father!?”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Perhaps they feel that you simply need some support?” Her cousin said from his place next to her. “After all, this is the largest, even if not the greatest, discovery our kingdom has made since it was founded. Obviously your siblings would want to steal a piece of the prize.”

  The taunt in his words was obvious, and Elyria began taking heavy breaths that shook the air.

  “It doesn’t matter... They can’t take this from me... Not after everything they’ve already made me go through to get here!” She reeled back and lifted her head to the ceiling. Muscles bulged all along her arms and legs, while her face extended, and her teeth grew sharper. “I won’t let those bastards take this victory away from me! Not even if it means facing them on open fields in all-out war!”

  Her final words were followed by a roar that cracked all the walls around her and made her cousin who was standing in the corner with a grin on his face flinch from the force.

  She then threw the broken desk through the wall behind her, breaking it open and causing a shockwave to send everything, and everyone, on the other side flying. Something that she wasn’t worried about since all her soldiers were at least late-stage 1st Evolution mutants. This would be nothing to them.

  Then she stepped forward to address her follower directly and saw the injured form of her VIP being carefully carried forward.

  “Gods dammit all!” She growled under her breath. Her Vigor started rising as she prepared to heal the ancient man before her. “You’d better be worth all this trouble.”

  She ignored the raspy chuckles that came from behind her.

  Killing her cousin wasn’t worth the additional trouble it would bring. Even if it would grant her a temporary reprieve, she had more important matters to deal with.

  ----------

  After being dragged through the rubble of the destroyed office room, Xander was brought through the small building to another, much smaller, room. This one had a spartan desk that didn’t look nearly as opulent as the one that was in the first room. Even as wrecked as it was, that room was clearly the workspace of a rich and prideful individual.

  The sheer amount of gold that had adorned the walls could mean nothing else.

  “I apologize for my outburst. Some lesser rabble had the poor timing to give me bad news not long before you arrived. I hope that this meeting won’t taint your image of me, even if our first meeting was not much better.” The short woman spoke softly and sat down. “My name is Elyria Wrathmor. This is my cousin and advisor, Nicholai Wrathmor. It’s a pleasure to meet an ancient person such as yourself.”

  Xander focused on the short woman speaking to him. He recognized the tone that she was using. It was one he had heard from executives at Sage Pharmaceuticals more than once. Each one of them had been scumbags that sought to use him for his connections to Katie and her father.

  He could honestly say, however, that those old fogeys at the company were much better at it than this woman was. Yet, seeing the posture and smiles of the others in the room, he could tell that no one else caught onto her manipulations besides himself.

  “I understand. While I can’t say I recognize your emblems, I can tell that a woman of your status must be dealing with a lot of stressful problems.” He pointedly did not say that she was forgiven, since that would give her an avenue to attack if he ever brought up the topic again. “I hope that you can forgive me, however, when I say that I am not certain what use I will have to you. Everything I’ve seen so far is more amazing than anything I can ever remember witnessing. It’s obvious that I’ve been asleep for far longer than I was supposed to be.”

  The small smirk that had formed on the woman and thin man’s lips at his first few words faded by the time he finished speaking.

  It was obvious that they wanted something from him, so he knew that he needed to lower their expectations of him, while also increasing his value in their eyes. That was the only way he was likely to last long enough to get his answers.

  He had a fiancée to find and get back to.

  If she’s even alive, that is…

  A small shake of his head threw such thoughts out the window. He wouldn’t allow such doubts to taint his dedication. Even if he couldn’t find her, he needed to at least find out what happened to her. What happened to his old life.

  It was the least he could do for all those that had done so much for him.

  “That is unfortunate… From what we could tell, your pod was the only one that was marked as ‘very important’ to the Sage Empire. Do you mean to tell me that one of the Largest Empires in the world, one with over a dozen 5th Evolution Mutants, wrongfully put you to sleep?” The doubt in Elyria's words was obvious, as was the tenseness in her shoulders. “I lost a lot of people digging up this ruin. I hope that there’s something here that can make my time and expenses worth it.”

  Xander knew a threat when he heard it. It seemed like it was time to increase his value more significantly. He just felt that it was a shame that he only had a few skills that seemed like they would be useful.

  “While I wasn’t privy to the more personal and private businesses of the Sage Empire,” Xander knew he’d need to figure more out about that when the time came, but he knew that using these people’s words would be best, “I was… engaged to be married to one of the more important women of the family. I was, originally, her bodyguard, but eventually became her friend and lover. Unfortunately, not long after we were betrothed, I was stuck with a condition that caused my body to waste away, until I got to the point that I was barely even able to walk upright. I was frozen in the hopes that I could be cured and return to fight again in the future. It is clear that they succeeded. At least in part, as I don’t think I could defeat even your weakest soldiers at this time. Even though I was more than capable of defeating teams of fellow guardsmen in direct, and indirect, combat.”

  Elyria’s face took on a more contemplative one. Which was good, but Xander could tell from her flexing hands and clenched jaw that she still wasn’t happy.

  “Regardless of that, I know that the extensive work that’s been done to me should be of use to you. If you believe that you should have been able to find the records of my, and the other’s medical history from before we were frozen. Take what you will, not that I could stop you, but know that much of it will be a mix. From what I can tell, several generations have passed since I was frozen, and it seems like some of my memories were lost, likely as a side effect of whatever treatments were used on me. So, please don’t be surprised if you hear stories and reports from different eras.”

  With that said, Xander hoped that any discrepancies would be circumvented when these people inevitably began interrogating the others.

  Not that he had been lying. He knew that there was no way that he would’ve been put into a different cargo pod without being woken up, The sheer difference in how they had frozen him meant that there were extensive changes put into place.

  “In that case, mister…” Elyria led on, and Xander realized that he hadn’t introduced himself.

  He failed to stop himself from wincing at that, as it could be taken as a perceived slight. Something he had been chewed out on during his etiquette classes back when he had accidentally lost Sage Pharmaceuticals a client when Katie had invited him to a dinner party.

  “Alexander Mar. I would beg your forgiveness for not introducing myself right away. I am still regaining my balance from being asleep for so long.” For the first time since he got here, Elyria smiled.

  It was both genuine and terrifying. Her teeth were far too sharp for it to be anything else.

  “Forgiven. Though, I must say, if you are being truthful, I would’ve expected such a renowned warrior to have at least one active mutation, to at least put him at the 1st Evolution.”

  Xander frowned, his eyes narrowed, and he forced his voice to sound as if he was trying to remain calm, while also sounding insulted.

  “The wasting that my body went through was extensive. At one point, I was informed that it was something that they had never seen before. It was as if my genes were destroying themselves while cannibalizing everything that was still working properly.”

  A short gasp from behind him nearly made him turn around, but he stayed still. Elyria, on the other hand, waved at whoever it was that made the noise.

  “You recognize this, Scholar?” She asked, and one of the people in robes stepped forward.

  “Ah… I think so… It’s from some old medical records that were dug up in the ruins found in the Central Wilderness by your grandfather, King Reynold the second. The medical text from those ruins led to several genetic cures for previously unheard-of diseases being discovered. One such disease that never occurred, but was among the records, details a hateful disease that was artificially created. One that could degrade the mutations of even a 4th Evolution Mutant.” The woman bowed her head and awaited Elyria's response.

  “Are her words true?” The lady asked another of the scholars. The elderly man who seemed to lead them,

  “…While I specialize in gene sequences, the history of plagues and diseases isn’t something I’ve focused on, but given that her mastery does, I would be willing to take her word on it. Though I would request she put forth the names of the texts she speaks of, just to confirm.”

  It seemed like that was enough for Elyria, and Xander took the chance to take a better look at the so-called scholars. The one that spoke of medicine, and was currently bowing, had a much smaller badge that only had one color on it. While the one that seemed to be their leader had a larger badge with two colors, gold and red.

  Status markers? Xander assumed but made a note to confirm later.

  “If that is the case, then we will need to bring more scholars of the medical schools into the ruins. The technology here clearly isn’t the only thing we need to study right now.” Elyria cupped her chin in thought. Her cousin opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand to stop him. “For the moment, Alexander, I would have you undergo the same standard mutations that all soldiers of the Malicent Empire undergo. Given the extensive genetic modifications you’ve undergone, there should be no problem with this, correct?”

  Not knowing anything about the gene mods she was talking about, Xander could only nod his head and give his thanks.

  “If it’ll get me back to peak performance, then your gesture is appreciated. Though, I hope that we can further discuss terms for my service later. It would be nice to find out just how long I’ve been asleep for. As well as find out what happened to my betrothed.” The polite speech was starting to irk him, but Xander knew better than to let it show. “For now, I would greatly appreciate it if you might let me speak with some of the scholars, so that we can exchange some more information regarding the current state of my health.”

  Elyria stared at him for a moment, and he began to wonder if he had stepped too far over the line. Then she waved him off.

  “Go. You’ll report to the medical building once it is completed tomorrow. You will be the first among those that will be joining our forces to receive your modifications. I hope to see you do well, and for your sake, you had best reach the 1st Evolution quickly. Weakness is a sin in this world, after all.”

  Xander almost felt pity for her, as he could hear the painful melancholy in her voice.

  But that just makes you more dangerous, doesn’t it. He thought while standing up and bowing to the lady.

  He knew how desperate those that sought power could become. Especially when they knew what it was like to be weak. More so when they had achieved something great and were at risk of losing it all.

  It seemed like his new boss was more like him than his old one was. But that just meant he’d have to watch his back even more carefully.