“Be truthful with me. What are my chances of seeing my family again?” John asked hopelessly. His eyes were closed and he gripped the side of his head, helplessness stemming a deep fury within.

“There’s no way to tell. The shortest ever Games lasted less than a decade while the longest lasted nearly fifty millennia,” Bellathorne responded with a shrug, looking away from John’s distraught display.

“Here’s the thing, though,” Bellathorne started. John didn’t look at her, refusing to let hope worm its way back just to be stamped out again. “You’re Void-Touched.”

“So what?” John snidely asked. “That means nothing to me.”

“What she’s trying to say is that your body was warped by Void and Discord.”

“I’m not following,” John waited for a better explanation.

“It’s hard to talk about, but let’s just say you have a significant advantage. You will be an asset, though you could also go the monster route and hope that you find a way to shapeshift along the way. You get huge boosts to power and evolution if you choose to become a Void-Touched monster, though that also poses an issue. People will hunt you down once word gets out,” Xexel looked like he was looking off somewhere John couldn’t see.

“Void transcends universes, though your soul is tied to the draft. You won’t be able to escape, and the price for trying to is severe.”

“Whatever. I choose Player, though I want to know more about Companions. What do they do?” he asked, truly just trying to delay the inevitable. He knew he wouldn’t stay in the company of gods for long, and he imagined that any universe that participated in the Galaxy Wars would be far from friendly.

Xexel cleared his throat, speaking in his normal haughty tone. “Well, Companions come in all kinds of forms. They’re bound by Contracts and can be resummoned if they die. They all have different skillsets and abilities to help you on your journey, though they’re usually fairly greedy. They leech quite a bit of Essence, but grow even more powerful the more they absorb just like a Player. The only real difference is that a Companion has to be Contracted and can’t truly die.”

Bellathorne looked away, “My favorite is the Kitsune. They’re just so adorable. Not only that,” her eyes narrowed and her face twisted into a wicked grin, “They’re so beautifully sick and twisted. Also, you can’t go wrong with all the floof.”

Xexel rolled his eyes while John stared at Bellathorne like she’d grown another head and a second pair of arms.

“Before we lock you into being a Player, I’m gonna tell you more about the monster category, just so that I can say that we did our jobs correctly,” Xexel glared at Bellathorne while he spoke. “You have to gain enough Essence to become a Rank-Ten Boss-Class monster. A Rank-Ten Boss-Class monster is designated as a “Universal Disaster” and is hunted by the gods personally. Since you’ve been drafted, it means that your spirit gets released from the Games.”

John felt a headache coming on. There was far too much information to take in all at once.

“However,” Bellathorne hesitated before she continued speaking, “After a hundred years pass, any drafted monsters will be forced to return to the Games if they have yet to be completed.”

“Would I lose my power while I was in my world? Would I have to start over again?” John definitely wouldn’t choose that option if that was the case.

“You’ll retain a portion of your power when you return to your world to keep you from dying, and you would return to the Games at full power.” Bellathorne could tell he was interested. “With the parasite inside of you, you’re going to need to get as powerful as you possibly can if you want any chance at surviving.”

“I-I think I’ll actually choose to be a monster then,” John reluctantly replied. “I need any advantage I can get if I’m going to survive the parasite.”

“Okay, then the next step is very crucial. The Race you choose will determine how others interact with you. If you choose a more dangerous race, most people will stop at nothing to hunt you down. Choose a race more useful to the Players or Dungeons and you’ll see much more growth,” Bellathorne excitedly said.

“Do you have any recommendations?” John asked, not entirely sure what kind of monster would be useful on a galactic scale.

“Well, first you wanna start looking at utility options for Players to Contract you for, or to look at something as deadly as possible. I’m almost certain that anything you choose will become a variant due to you being Void-Touched, though that could do well in helping you. I recommend any Race that allows you to have combat potential and act as a mount for Players,” Xexel said matter-of-factly.

“What races have the ability to become flying mounts?” John asked. Flying seemed cool to him and he figured that it would be better than a mount that was limited to the ground.

“Races that are accepted and trusted by Players? Well, there’s only two, really. Dragons-”

“Overrated and highly mistrusted for their arrogant dispositions,” Bellathorne interrupted Xexel.

“Fine, then why don’t you give him your recommendations, sister.” Xexel crossed his arms and pouted at being interrupted.

“I recommend the Gryphon. They’re respected almost everywhere and have been known to gain the ability to shapeshift around Rank-Seven.” Bellathorne beamed proudly at her brother and he just rolled his eyes.

“If that’s what you think will be the best option for me, then that’s what I’ll do.” John nodded resolutely, finalizing his choice in his mind.

“Then it’s decided,” Xexel clapped his hands. John felt strange and he realized that his body was morphing. Surprisingly, it wasn’t painful like he thought it would be.

The desk he sat at changed into a cage and he was bound down to the ground. The classroom also changed into that of a stable, though it was ornately adorned.

Bellathorne stared out of a window while he changed, though the image he had for a gryphon and the truth of what he became was far different. He was barely bigger than a small puppy. His feathers and body were an obsidian color and he had two sharp horns that went straight back. His tail turned out to be two tails and they were both spiked and incredibly strange.

He fumbled for quite some time as he got used to now having four legs and wings. He hadn’t considered the time it would take for him to adjust to using so many extra limbs. It was as though he had suddenly gained a bunch of muscles that he’d never used.

The overhanging lights dimmed quite a bit, being sucked down towards John’s head and chest. He looked down frantically and saw that his chest emitted a soft, glowing light. It was the only part of his body that wasn’t obsidian in color. He felt like he gained power from the energy he gained, but it was insignificant.

He tried to speak and started squawking and chirping like a bird before remembering that he was a gryphon now. His front half was that of an eagle and his back half was that of a lion, though with some extra edginess thrown in.

“Don’t panic. If you want to speak, you’ll have to think at us. We’ll be able to understand, though it’s something you’ll develop if you find someone that wants to Contract you. It usually happens around Rank-Three,” Bellathorne informed him.

He tilted his head and tried his best to...

Think at them.

Strange, but he focused quite a bit and he finally saw a reaction in Bellathorne. Her cheeks went red and she looked away from John.

“Well, this is weird. I guess we should finish up and get you going,” Xexel said awkwardly.

“Okay, so what we have left is Factions. These determine where you’ll start in the universe and who you’ll be aligned to, but they don’t decide who you end up with. It’s just something to get you started in the world,” Bellathorne said, still refusing to face John.