Azura

I was falling... and fast too. The air was threatening to rip away my arms and my eyes were so dry I think they might as well have been rocks. After closing them and flipping my back downward, I took my first breath.

The smell of danger, ahhh...

Oh shit, was I actually going to die?!

Again...

I tried to glanced down toward the ground, except, the white puffs of clouds stared back.

With all my might, I tore my gaze away from the view, a sick feeling rising in my stomach. I felt like puking, and the idea of splatting on whatever ground was beneath me did not do much to help. I needed to do something or I would for sure die.

Then a memory seem to seep into my mine. I was talking to someone before I came here. Who was it?

All I could remember was the awkward imagine of a hippy with hot fry crumbs littered about. What was his name?

"Is this the time to look calm?" A small female voice seem to whisper in my ear. I lurched from it and swirled to my left.

A girl fell with me, white robes hung around her slender feminine body. She was gorgeous and her white hair that somehow did not fly into her face shone with golden aura. She had golden pupils, and a smile that almost gave me a heart attack.

"H-hi?"

She giggled and twirled around, "You're funny."

What?

She sounded so sure about herself, making my self esteem tank. I only said hi.

"Why are you here?! Well a better question is," I finally was able to stay looking down, "Why am I here?"

The girl- the angel tapped her chin, the way she did it making me want to squirm.

"Well Master sent me to find the presence that disturbed the realm," she glided over and poked my nose.

I almost melted.

"I'm guessing it was you. What's your name?"

Ignoring the oncoming threat of death, I stared her in the eyes trying my best to look cool, "Names' Kane."

She giggled again and spun in a circle, "What a funny face you are making Kane." She covered her mouth as a few spurts of laughter came out, "Way funnier than Master."

I blinked, who exactly was this Master guy, and were does he get off getting a cute ass girl like this.

"Who is this Master?"

She went cold, her eyes casting daggers i to my chest, "The man who will kill you of course..."

What?

She menacingly grinned ear to ear, sharp teeth baring outward, "Oh I can't wait to taste your blood."

I swallowed hard, "Ummm-"

She reverted back to her cute-self, a small giggle filling the air. This time though, it wasn't having the same effect.

"Well good luck Kane, Master will arrive in three days, I hope you find your grave location rather quickly."

What the fuck am I getting myself in to?

I opened my mouth to speak but my words were stolen by the white that consumed me. Freezing cold air hugged my body, pushing me further down.

After needles poking my sides, the white finally broke and the scenery below came into view.

It was beautiful. A mountain that reached high into the sky glistened with snow. A bright and dazzling sun slowly peaked behind the grey of the mountain side. Below it, a fast moving stream snaked its way through a forest of evergreens, the tips layered with white crystals. Farther off, a few piles of smoke drifted high, thatch buildings hidden amongst the trees.

Woah.

Then, I finally decided to look below me, a huge dark abyss that seem so out of place awaited me. Darkness was all I could see within it, tree roots skating down the sides of it like veins. So much emotion was flooding inside me that as I neared my death, a single tear raced by my eye, a rainbow visible for a split second.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

This was surely the end, and as I thought those words, the darkness enveloped me.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I hit the ground with a thud, honestly thought it was going to be a splat but somehow, I felt fine. The damp moldy air easily raced down my throat and my eyes flickered around.

I let my hands guide around the floor, cold slanted rock licking the tips. Where the hell was I, who was that girl? Who is Master?

What was I getting into?

Wait, I asked for this, I remember. The hippy dude transported me to this world, whatever this world was. But, what was his name?

Marcus... no that did not fit. He looked more like a Nathaniel if anything, maybe a Joseph. Wait is this the time to be thinking about that, my life could be in danger.

"Kane..."

A voice inside my head vibrated through my soul. I jumped, pushing my body against the rock and looking about.

"Kane please find me, before it's too late."

It was a soft female voice, but you could tell it was hiding the urgency behind it. Who was talking?

"Azura?" I spoke, my mouth moving on its own. I touched my lips, the name having no real reason to be said. Somehow, I knew that it was important.

"Kane, people are coming, and all they want is for you to die."

I was still idle in the darkness, unsure of what to do. People wanted me to die. Maybe being a college drop out was a better idea, no way was this worth it. I was out of my league and everything was moving so fast. This world was still such a mystery that I might as well have jumped into a cauldron of lava.

I whimpered and ran my hand through my black locks.

"Azura, is your name Azura?"

The female voice spoke with enjoyment, "Yes Master, and I await your touch."

Master?! Touch? Await?

Bewildered by the voice I decided to stand and try my hand at walking. Just as I took a step, a divot in the rock made me tumble forward. I face planted, except instead of unforgiving rock there was a sensation of softness. Wha-

"Rise and shine prisoners!" Shouted a voice. It echoed through the abyss, an there was an explosion of fire light. Lining the entire wall was torches mounted, all of them lighting at once.

The abyss was finally visible. My mouth dropped open. Scattered about the jagged rocks lay hundreds of figures in ragged clothing. I scanned further, an archway breaking the dull rock. Knights in plain silver armor made their way from the archway, torch in hands.

The figures started to rise, a few groans and moans entering my ears.

"Can you please get off of me."

I stared down, my hands wrapped around mounds of softness. Black smears stained the white cloth wrapped around lumps. It was a girl, yellow eyes watching me in annoyance. I quickly pulled away, my eyes darting back and forth, "I uh-"

"Hurry before the guards get mad." She said quietly and precise. After closer inspection, she had short white hair with a single yellow strand. She was pretty, but gave off strong aura.

She was a warrior.

How did I know that?! I glared at my hands, did I just grope my first boobs!

"It's fine, most of the women here get urges they cannot control."

What?

She stood up, the sown rags barley holding on to here muscular body.

"Oh I'm not a prison-"

I noticed my clothing. I had brown ripped shorts that reached the top of my knee. My shirt seem to at one point have been white but black smears said otherwise. When did-

"Hurry and line up." She hissed and grabbed my forearm. With little to no effort she lifted me up. As I planted my feet, another glance around the room sent chills down my back.

There were only women...

My suspicion was confirmed and as I watched dozens start to line up, I followed the white haired girl.

"Why are you following me?"

I opened my mouth but no words came out.

"Well what does it matter."

She turned and stalked away. I tagged close behind, clinging to the first "person" I met in this world. The floating demon did not count.

I sighed, usually the first person the MC meets is there first love. I watched the white haired girl fall in line.

"What is your name?"

The same yellow eyes of resentment fell upon me, I was taller than her but somehow it seemed I paled in comparison.

"My name is Eleven, but since you seem trustworthy, you can refer to me as Ven."

Ven eh?

I smiled, "Nice to meet you Ven, my name is Kane."

Ven raised an eyebrow as the knights flanked each line, "You were given a man name?"

I shrugged, "Is that not normal?"

Ven also shrugged, "In a world were there are only ten men, it seems odd but whatever."

Only.

Ten.

Men.

I froze for a few moments, Ven turning toward the front, almost like she had lost interest. I guess I was never good at keeping women's attention. I sighed and looked around. Twenty or so lines of so many different girls waited patiently. So only ten men, would that make me the eleventh or did it mean I was the tenth.

Was I something special in this world?

That meant that there had to be millions of women? How do people repopulate? Does that mean I have to contribute?

Thoughts flooded around my mind, washing back and forth until a single word stayed in my mind.

Azura.

I glanced back toward were I landed, an imprint of my body visible. I gulped and couldn't help but squirm. Things were getting interesting, something I could do without.

Why am I even here?

The hippy, he sent me here because I asked something for a girlfriend, but what was his name?

WHY CANT I REMEMBER DAMNIT?!

"March!" Yelled one of the female knights. I blinked a few times as the lines split off, a few going into other archways carved into the wall.

"Ven, where are we going?"

Ven was still facing forward, "Into the Ward, I guess it's Tuesday then."

"I'm new here, what exactly do we do?" I had to get more information before if I decided to make moves. I needed to understand why I came to this place. I only had one lead, and that was Azura.

Ven glanced at me for a second before facing toward the archway, our line starting to move.

"I guess you can't really tell who is new or who has been here for years, but this is The Tomb of Azura, a dungeon that we as prisoners are exploring."

I perked up at the name Azura, "And why are we doing this?"

Ven bit her lip, "You ask so many questions, just like a man." She seem to show a single glint of enjoyment before going stone cold.

"I just need to know, it will all come in handy."

Ven answered quickly, "In handy for whom?"

I smirked, "For me to escape this hell whole."

The air grew scarily silent as we passed into the dark archway. Only a few torches showed a long hallway.

"It's impossible, the only way out is through that gaping hole, anywhere else goes deeper."

I scratched my head, "Then maybe magic or-"

Ven held her hand up, I stopped being a twenty questions machine.

The entire ground shook violently for a few seconds. I fell to my rear, the vibrations gripping my bones. Woah, what the actually fuck?

Ven's hands turned to fist, "It looks like he is moving."

He?

"You mean a man?"

Ven kept walking, "Yes, Bellamy the Dark, the one we are imprisoned under," she sighed, "How do you not know this?"

I countered with the best excuse I could muster in the moment, "Im a traveler, I know next to nothing about this land."

I kept the facade and tried to smile, Ven only seemed disgusted by the gesture, "How can you be so happy, today is most likely the day we die."

I cocked my head, "The day we die..."

A knight sheathed a sword that she had drawn when the quake started. She did not wear a helmet, letting her dark brown hair fall around her shoulder plates. I watched her closely and as I got a glimpse of her through the firelight, I held my breath.

An elf.

No mistaking those pointy ears, or did the race even go by that.

The guard caught my stare and I immediately shifted my eyes.

"After a year we have found Azura's Tomb and when we enter, I'm sure all hell will break lose."

Azura, it was that name again. She was the voice in my head. Now that I think about it, why did she stop talking?

"Who is Azura?" I asked as the hallway took a sharp turn. A few knights stayed focus on the prisoners, making sure nothing abrupt was afoot.

"You really must be a traveller. Azura is one of the Holy Divine, a woman so powerful that this dungeon was created to make sure she wasn't resurrected."

I nodded, good good. This is what I need, information dumps was the only way to understand the situation more clearly. I pondered everything I learned till now.

One thing I was good at was improvising and coming up with ways to fix problems.

The problem was....

I was transported to this world, were only ten men exist and one was already out to kill me. Bellamy the Dark was his name, meaning most of the men had names for themselves. Apparently he could sense me or something because he sent the demon/angel girl. I met this other girl name Ven, who was really smoking hot and seem uninterested in me but sees I'm trustworthy. Which hopefully I am.

Also there is this voice who belongs to a female that is a Holy Divine. Which could only mean she is all powerful, and I must have some connection with her.

I rubbed my temples. This was getting complicated fast, so I might as well solve things one at a time.

Apparently I have to deal with today, which is probably the day I die. I don't even know if magic exist.

I narrowed my eyes and watched the girl in front of me, whatever the case may be.

I have to keep Ven close. She was useful and seemed not to care if I asked her things. I smiled, this should be a piece of cake.

"Hey Ven! You ready to kill some Shades?"

I was pushed to the side, my ribs slamming against the wall.

Fuck, I knew something would throw this into chaos.

It was a tall slender girl who surprisingly had clean clothes and dark blue hair tied in a pony tail.

Ven grimaced, "Get away you hag."

The girl laughed and a few of the prisoners laughed. I gawked at the sight, I swore before it was depressing and dull. Why did the mood shift so quickly?

The girl noticed me, "Yo who is this."

Ven did not look at me, "Her name is Kane."

Oh yeah, technically I'm a female at the moment. It would seem impossible for them to actually believe I was a man.

"Name is Gwen, I have been here the longest, and Im really good at killing Shades. Wanna be friends?" she had beautiful light blue eyes and a black tattoo that skated down her neck.

I finally pushed off the wall and centered myself, "I guess..."

"Sweet! You are pretty ugly so you must be from the north but you seem pretty chill."

I raised an eyebrow.

Chill?

Ven caught a glance of a few knights taking notice of Gwen, "Enough chit-chat, we have elven watching."

I wanted to fist pump the air, they were called elves. This most likely meant there were a lot of races besides human.

Gwen pouted and fell behind me, "Don't worry, Ven thinks being emotionally dead is a good thing. Give her time and maybe someday she will show emotion."

Gwen tapped my back, then she gripped it.

"Woah you must have came from a rich house, never seen someone with such soft muscles."

Ven spoke, "This is her first time here."

Gwen's expression changed, "Oh, so I guess I won't see you after today. The Ward is especially heated on Tuesday."

I swallowed hard, "Eh, what exactly is the Ward?"

Gwen shrugged, "A labyrinth crawling with Shades and Hollows. If you aren't mentally prepared for the Shades or physically for the Hollows, you might as well just kill yourself quickly."

Oh.