It took all of the guild leaders present, with support from Gregory and other senior tamers, to calm the Artemis Guild members after I had taken my true form. The rumors were already spreading throughout the guild of Meebur’s new monster. What was it? Where had he found it? And could even a tamer like Meebur control it?

  Ultimately, I never actually ended up attacking Leif’s Warden. It fainted at the sight of me.

  The sizzling, melted dirt beneath my dripping fangs probably played a part there…

  It was safe to say that Meebur’s position as guild leader was secure. And, if there was any other leader who still doubted my status as a deity monster, they never spoke up.

  Leif, returning their fainted tree to its arsenal egg, ran away from the guild almost immediately. Whether from terror, shame, anger, or a combination of them all, she left without saying a word. No one tried to stop her. This hadn’t been her first failed attempt at challenging Meebur, but she had likely never been defeated quite so easily. She hid her face in her hood and ran far enough away that even my eyes lost sight of her.

  Back in my cute form (for the mental wellbeing of the entire guild), Meebur brought the leaders back together in the council chambers to conclude their meeting. While moving back up the tower, I checked my status screen. Though the battle had taken almost nothing for me to win, it had earned me some experience points. Not enough to level up, but I was making progress.

  The leaders agreed in the ride up to the meeting room that they would say nothing about my true species. While calming the members of the guild, they had heard whispers amongst them that I was an abnormally large Sand Snake or a limbless Dust Dragon. No one suspected for even a second that I was the legendary Withering Wyrm.

  Considering their immediate decision to keep my rank and species quiet, I wondered if Astrid, the Psion Leader, would share what she heard in my mind. That I had thoughts of my past life, and that I was much more than even Meebur realized. But she didn’t say anything as the leaders returned to their seats.

  Now that I knew what she could do, I activated to keep her from scanning my mind again. It didn’t have a perfect chance of success, but it worked well enough that I think she stopped trying after a few minutes. Her eyes remained pink, but they glowed much more dimly now.

  “So…” the mousy man with an eyepatch said, who the Almanac revealed was named Erik and was the guild leader for the city of Apollo. “What are we going to do now?”

  The silence that followed was long and cut deep. Though in a room with objectively some of the most skilled and experienced tamers in this world, not a single one of them knew what to do with me.

  “Meebur, this monster is the most dangerous thing I have ever seen.” Erik continued. “We cannot reveal it to the world casually.”

  “None of us doubt the relevance of the tenth Tamer Tenet after seeing this monster’s true form,” Lheim, the guild leader of Ignis said. A text box opened up and informed me that this leader was in fact not human, but a member of the gnome race. She was shorter than the other leaders, even shorter than the young Astrid, and had long frizzy hair coated in just as much soot as her clothes were. Despite sitting in a chair, she hadn’t removed a massive backpack that was nearly overflowing with items, weapons, and gear. “Too bad the tenet doesn’t tell us what to do with a deity monster, only to be wary of them.”

  I was confused by what they were talking about and why they were so concerned. I was strong, sure, but Meebur knocked me out with one swing of his spear. How dangerous could I be?

  “Perhaps you should explain things to…him.” Astrid said, still trying to avoid looking at me directly. “The wyrm may be more inclined to cooperate with us if it understands why we are so worried.”

  Though some of the leaders looked confused by the suggestion, Meebur stood up and knelt down to speak directly to me.

  “Monsters exist all across this world. They come in many different ranks and types. There are only three, across all history, that are SSS-rank: the deity monsters. They rule the major terrains of Earth, Sky, and Water. Our world may go generations without seeing one, but whenever one is born it always leads to-”

  “Tragedy.” The woman in purple smoking a pipe said. Her name was K?re Khan and she was the guild leader of C'Thun.

  “Not always. In fact, people in Olympia used to worship the Deity Monster of Earth.” Meebur said. “Before the current noble family took power from the stewards generations ago, many would pray for the Earth Deity to return and bring order and peace. But it hasn’t been reborn in a thousand years. As for the other two…well, some say the Ariholl Theocracy to the north is ruled by the Deity Monster of Sky. But those are just rumors. Many agree that they aren’t the real Sky Deity, and are just pretending as a ploy to consolidate power. The Deity Monster of Water was the last confirmed one to be born in our world. And it did, in fact, watch over a country. The Republic of Mim.”

  “Which sank into the sea three hundred years ago.” Erik said. “So, you can understand our concern. If you are the Deity Monster of Earth, at best a great change is coming to our country, and at worst…we’re doomed.”

  “Especially if all three ever appear at once.” Astrid said. “The Prophecy of Hoardsho-”

  “Silence!” Shiv yelled, slamming their gloved hands on the table. It sent shockwaves throughout the entire tower. “Don’t speak of that in front of it. The monster should never know the details.”

  “Yes, let’s not give it any bad ideas…” Erik said, fidgeting in his seat.

  The room was silent for several minutes as Shiv calmed back down. What I could see of their expression behind that massive, flowing cloak screamed concern. Shiv seemed more worried about my presence than any of them. Which must have been why they were so distracted during my battle with Leif.

  I can’t say I blame them. If a giant, shapeshifting snake monster appeared in my country, I’d probably be worried too. I’d start thinking of anything to keep my people safe-

  “Should we destroy it?”

  Even that.

  A large, stoic looking man was the one who spoke. He had not said a word all day, so I was surprised that this was the first thing that came out of his mouth. His name was Bodi, and he was the guild leader of Titan. And considering he was a member of the giant race, living in a city called Titan made perfect sense. Dressed in ornate robes and armor, with a fur-lined helmet covering his shaved head, he was even taller than Meebur. Which was quite the feat. He had a large stomach to match his massive arms and legs, which gave the impression of standing before a mountain. “Would we not all be safer if it was dead?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  A dark cloud fell over the room, and I could tell that every single leader was actively avoiding eye contact with me. Especially Astrid.

  They’re lucky I’m a nice guy. An actual giant snake monster might have eaten someone for a comment like that.

  “You are fortunate I asked you here, Duke Bodi.” Meebur said, breaking the silence. “For if you had said that about my monster as an uninvited guest, I may have destroyed you.”

  “Hmph. As powerful as you are, Meebur, can we really expect you to keep control over such a beast? Its presence alone drains you. No tamer can hold a deity forever.”

  “He will be with me for as long as he desires. End of story.”

  The atmosphere became even heavier as the two massive men stared at each other. Despite living to train monsters, both guild leaders had the bodies of monsters themselves. I didn’t want to see what would happen if they came to blows.

  “Please, let’s not devolve into infighting,” Erik said, standing and holding his hands up between Bodi and Meebur. Erik was a brave man to get between them. Especially considering either one looked like they could snap him as easily as I frightened a tree monster.

  “Such a goody two shoes…” K?re said, glaring coldly. I got the impression that she didn’t like Erik very much, and that their animosity ran very deep.

  “What would you have us do, K?re?” Erik said. “Become tamers who destroy monsters as well as each other? You may not have trouble lowering yourself to such standards, but I will not allow us to follow in your footsteps, fiendborn.”

  “What did you call me?!” She slammed her hands on the table so hard that I wondered if it would crack in half.

  “Ulysses would turn in his grave if he heard you now.” Erik said, moving away from Meebur and Bodi to stand before K?re.

  “How dare you speak his name in my presence!” The murderous intent between these two was greater even than between Bodi and Meebur. The two pairs of leaders looked prepared to lunge at each other and fight to the death, and Lheim and Astrid seemed ready to run for their lives. If not for the last guild leader present, this meeting may have become a bloodbath between powerhouses.

  “~Sit down~”

  A voice echoed through the meeting room with such force and intensity that I didn’t think even a storm would have been able to silence it. The words carried such authority across the wind, that before even realizing what had been said, everyone was sitting down in their chairs again. Even Gregory, standing by Meebur’s side, was now sitting on the floor like a dog ordered by its master.

  The only person who had not been affected by the voice, and who was staring directly at its source, was me. I had, once again, almost forgotten about Shiv, the leader of Zephyr. They were sitting at the furthest seat from the head of the table, draped in their flowing fabric. I couldn’t tell what they looked like, or even how tall they were behind those robes of gray and green. But I could tell that they were dangerous.

  “We came here to discuss the monster, not squabble amongst one another,” they said, but these words did not carry the same intensity as the ones before. Whatever Shiv had done to make everyone sit, they hadn’t done it with this sentence.

  “You’re right, as always Shiv.” Meebur said, and I could see that even my tamer had a single drop of sweat cascade down his forehead. “The wisdom one would expect from a guild leader ranked in the top five.”

  “Considering your rank, shouldn’t you be even wiser?” K?re asked, discreetly wiping her forehead with a handkerchief pulled from her sleeve.

  “Yes, I suppose I’m becoming a bit dull in my old age,” Meebur said, laughing and rubbing the back of his head.

  If this Shiv person is ranked in the top five…does that mean Meebur has an even higher rank? The more time I spend with the other guild leaders, the more I wonder about the ability of my own tamer. Is he a fool, a great leader, or simply hiding his power as a way to maintain order?

  Shiv sat perfectly still. Every other leader seemed happy they stopped the fighting, but also a bit uneasy. And I understood why. Something about Shiv felt off. Something I hadn’t taken notice of before. They smelled…familiar. Not like the masked figure I had seen in the forest of death. But like one of those terrifying Great Beasts I had sensed after becoming the Withering Wyrm. Well, not exactly like one of those. More like a watered down version. Otherwise, I probably would have become blinded by bloodlust like I had been then.

  I was suddenly very cautious of this person, but refocused on the meeting. Meebur seemed to be alright, and if he didn’t fear Shiv, then I wouldn’t either.

  Until they give me a reason to.

  “Perhaps we should contain Nid in an arsenal egg?” Astrid said, who was looking at Meebur with such intensity that I assumed she was doing so to avoid looking at me. I could sense fear and unease from within her, growing every minute.

  “Nid?” Lheim asked, snatching K?re’s handkerchief to wipe her own forehead, but only managing to get it covered with soot. To K?re’s annoyance.

  “Nidh?gg the Withering Wyrm seems like a bit of a mouthful, don’t you think?” Astrid said.

  “What do you say? Do you like the nickname Nid?” Meebur asked, looking down at me with his characteristic smile.

  I nodded happily, and in case Astrid was still trying to read my mind, I stopped using so I could send her a “Thank you!” with my thoughts. I assumed the message got through because she started blushing.

  “But back to your point, Astrid. I’m afraid monsters of Nid’s rank can’t be contained by an arsenal egg,” Lheim said, handing K?re back her dirty handkerchief, who refused it profusely. “Not even one created by Meebur, the longest serving leader amongst all thirteen of us.”

  Longest serving? Meebur doesn’t look that old to me.

  “You flatter me Lheim.” Meebur said, waving his hands in front of himself. He had a sheepish grin on his face. It was obvious he loved hearing the compliment. “Many of you have grown much stronger than me in my old age.”

  “How old are you again? A hundred years?” K?re said, taking a drag off of her pipe to calm herself.

  “Do I look that old?!” Meebur asked, rubbing his hands on his forehead.

  “Can we get back to the issue at hand?” Erik said. Everyone returned to their serious expressions, except for Meebur who was now counting the wrinkles on his face in a hand mirror he pulled from under the table.

  Everyone’s eyes closed as they considered the problem. What to do with a cute, little snake that could stretch out to become a city-sized monstrosity at will?

  “Must we do anything?” Shiv said, breaking them all out of their concentration. It was as though they were each struck by lightning. Shiv turned to look away from us all, but their voice echoed through the room with just as much authority as ever. “Let’s leave it be. For now.”

  “Of course!” Erik said. “As of now, the monster bears us no ill will. Can’t conversations like this only serve to enrage it and turn it against us? I agree with Shiv. We keep silent on its status and leave the monster in Meebur’s hands. We’ll only take action when we can actually do something effective.”

  “So, basically…we couldn’t do anything even if we knew what to do?” K?re asked.

  “Yes,” Shiv said, standing up and making their way to the door. They stopped, holding the handle. I could see they were shaking. Whether from anger, frustration, or fear, I couldn’t tell. “And let that sink in. Within a room of seven guild leaders, before the Withering Wyrm, we may as well be nothing.”