:Run Reed, RUN!:

Reed bounded over the ornamental bush, crashing into the waist-high hedge maze like he was competing in a hurdle race.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck—" he chanted in a litany under his breath like it was a spell that refused to trigger. The brush exploded behind him. Dirt clods flew into the air, mixed with shrapnel of wood and leaves.

"Come back here!" she shrieked, dark curls flying, bat wings ripping the air with every flap. Her scythe nearly caught the back of his heel.

This mess had started an hour ago...

* * *

"How long is this ride gonna take?" Reed asked, noticing Saffron's disgusted glance. He turned to look at Baltaz, since the old man looked quite keen on getting to talk. Their ride was a cabin strapped to the back of a giant spider. He sat facing the front with Snow and Amel'issa on either side. Baltaz, Meg'ante, and Saffron sat across from him on the wide couch. Meg'ante took up most of the room, forcing the other two to scrunch up on one side.

"We will arrive at the palace in half an hour. Then you must get ready for the ceremony."

Reed nodded slightly. "'Kay. What's the short version of why I'm here?"

"As you mentioned before, there is a Dark Lord who has threatened the world," Baltaz said. "You, god's avatar, the Astralitar, are meant to defeat the Demon Lord and create a new balance in the lands."

Reed glanced out the window as movement caught his attention. A herd of deer(?) were darting through the trees. Ah nope. That's got a person-face, he realized as one stopped and turned to look at their spider-carriage.

"Aren't they majestic?" Amel'issa asked, leaning against his shoulder, her hand on his thigh.

"Hmm," Reed said and carefully removed her hand. He didn't want to start any rivalries just yet. He looked back at Baltaz. "And the summoning ritual? How does that work?"

"Don't tell me you want to go back!" Amel'issa objected. "You're way cuter than the last one!"

Saffron scowled at Amel'issa.

"Hold up." Reed struggled to push Amel'issa away again and keep the cloak over his lap. "I'm not the first you've summoned?"

Baltaz was the only one who kept a straight face. Even the giant woman lounging across the cabin from him with her arm over the back of the bench looked away.

"The Prophecy has been fulfilled fifty-three times now."

"Ffuuck," Reed wheezed. "I'm not liking these odds!"

The shrine maiden to his left flinched, then lifted her hands. "It isn't like that..." She blushed at the volume of her own shy voice. "That's just how many we have on record. The Atalazia Library burned down a hundred years ago, and a lot of records were lost."

Meg'ante scoffed. "Your most immediate predecessor only lasted two years."

Saffron scowled at her. "We agreed not to talk about him."

"You suggested it. I never agreed." Meg'ante retorted with a dangerous look.

"I'd rather like knowin' what killed him?" Reed asked.

"The Demon Lord, of course." Meg'ante put her ankle on her knee and leaned forward. "He was ripped apart."

Beltaz waved his hands. "Astralitar, don't worry. We'll protect you until you're ready to face her. We'll have the ceremony, and everything will be fine. We delayed the ceremony, and the Demon Lord got to him first. We won't make the same mistake this time."

The four women looked uncomfortable. Even Amel'issa settled down.

Mildly unhappy with this answer, Reed cleared his throat. "So do I have some kind of power that will help in this fight?"

"Your Affinity Mark should tell us what your power is," Saffron said.

"It's Peace," Meg'ante said.

"The last Lotus was white," Saffron retorted. "We've had three Diamonds that were different powers. The color changes it." She gave Reed another disgusted look. "I was hoping for another Diamond. That would've been far more useful than any variation of Peace."

Reed sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to tell her he could kill a person with a spoon if he wanted to, so it didn't matter what the intended purpose of a tool was. If Reed wanted to harm someone with it, he would find a way.

"Well, maybe Peace will be useful," Amel'issa said, leaning on Reed's shoulder again. "Our nations have been having some tension recently." She looked up at Reed with a bright smile, her ears flicking. Her cute personality wasn't a front, but he could tell there was calculation behind her innocent yellow eyes. "Maybe you'll help us all get along?"

"He can only choose one," Saffron pointed out.

Reed flicked his gaze toward her. She sat stiffly, arms folded beneath her breasts. She was clearly determined to hate him.

"Choose one?" he asked.

"There are five nations on this continent," Baltaz said, gesturing around the cabin. "These are the princesses sent to represent each. You're going to choose the next Di'alletta."

Suspicious, Reed glanced around the cabin again. Five kingdoms? Yet there were only four women. Unless Bella counted? Where had Bella gone?

He felt movement on his head and lifted his hand to carefully investigate. His fingers encountered tiny hands that pushed him away. So, that meant this world had Cat people, Elves, Giants, Pixies, and Humans? Reed looked down at his own brown hand. With his tea-brown skin and bright red hair, he certainly didn't look anything like the rest of them. The only thing similar to his previous body on Earth was his height, but he'd not stood on his own feet in ten years. Seeing the world from that angle again was disorienting.

The spider-carriage came to a stop. Reed looked out the window to find that they'd arrived at the gates of a castle. He was about to get up, but Amel'issa gripped his arm.

The cabin shifted, tilting as the spider began to climb the wall.

Reed clutched the cloak in his lap. His long, unruly hair hung toward the back wall, but the rest of him remained in the seat, as if gravity were localized on the floor but didn't reach all the way to the ceiling. The others in the cabin simply held onto their personal belongings.

Nope. I do NOT like this. It had been a very long time since he’d been on a rollercoaster, but this and that were not the same. He did not feel safe without shoulder straps of any kind.

Saffron turned her face away, hiding the fact that she wasn't enjoying this part either. Once at the top of the wall, the spider gathered itself and sprang. Outside the windows, the view turned to nothing but sky.

Even though his butt remained in the seat, Reed's stomach and hair lifted. Saffron’s massive jugs lifted toward her chin, threatening to pop out of the deep V of her dress. Meg’ante’s were strapped in firmly, but still managed to find room to jiggle.

The landing was surprisingly gentle. "Nope. You're not getting me in one of these things ever again," Reed announced.

"Tar'chula is just how we travel long distances here, Astralitar," Baltaz assured.

"Nope. Not me. Don't care. I'll walk." He looked out the window to find that the wall from before was more like a Great Wall. It was now several miles away. The spider began climbing again.

"Don't worry. There are only two more jumps after this," Amel'issa assured, petting Reed's arm.

On his other side, Snow gripped her hakama, squeezing her eyes shut.

Reed's hair lifted as they hit freefall. Speaking under these circumstances didn't seem like a good idea. He kept his teeth clenched as they landed and climbed again. The repetitions didn't make the sensation any better. He liked rollercoasters, but he didn’t like this.

At the final jump and landing, the Tar'chula crawled up one last slope, through a gate, and settled down next to a set of stairs.

Reed was quick to stand, but swayed. Meg'ante caught his arm, steadying him. He'd already braced himself with the ceiling, so her help wasn't necessary. He hurried to get off the Tar'chula before he was forced to endure more bullshit.

His emergence seemed to surprise the double line of pike-wielding guards standing on the stairs. They stared at him, clearly uncomfortable. He knew he'd kept the cloak covering his nudity, but the fact that he was nude under it was difficult to hide. Meg'ante emerged behind him and straightened to her full height with a stretch. Once Baltaz had joined them, he took the lead. "Astralitar, this way, please."

Entering the large double doors, Reed was greeted by a crowd. Four people in fancy outfits stood in front of a group of elves dressed in black and white uniforms.

Center of the group was a man with yellow hair like Saffron's. He closed his mouth as he spotted Reed. His eyes slid to Baltaz. "It seems our esteemed guest... requires a bit of preparation before the ceremony."

This whole situation was starting to stink of politics, Reed realized.

The giantess standing to the man's right folded her arms. On the elf king's left were a white-haired catman and a buff guy with black hair and a massive mustache in red and white like Snow's outfit.

"Mister Ha'art, please show the Astralitar to a room. Miss Mia't, find him something to wear," the elf king said.

The two bowed immediately. "Yes, Your Majesty," they said in unison. Ha'art gestured for Reed to follow while the woman hurried off in another direction, a small flock of maids following her.

"We will conduct proper introductions once you're... more comfortable," the elf king said with a tight smile.

Reed stared the man down with a blank expression and followed the butler. He guessed the guy was a butler. What else could he be?

Ha'art guided Reed up the grand stairs and to the right. Behind him, Reed heard raised voices.

"Peace?" a woman shouted. "What use is that?"

He was out of hearing range too quickly, but given the hostility he'd felt as he walked past the rulers, Reed suspected that he would not be safe as long as they thought he was useless. "Ah fuck," he grumbled.

Ha'art opened a door and led Reed into an opulent room. "This way, sir," he said, gesturing toward another door.

This led to a room with a large tub. Reed paused in front of the mirror, though, shocked.

He'd known he was a lot darker than he used to be and had a hell of a lot more hair, not to mention legs where they'd once been amputated stumps. He wasn't prepared for the handsome son of a bitch reflected back in that fancy silvered glass. Checking that Ha'art had left him alone, Reed opened the cloak to look at the rest of himself.

"Damn, son," he whispered, then grinned. Dropping the cloak aside, Reed went to the tub for a quick rinse and scrub of the parts that were dirty.

A knock on the door interrupted. Mia't had entered, carrying a towel and clothes. "I apologize for the rush, Astralitar." She bowed.

Reed took the towel from her. "Ain't your fault. But what's this ceremony for?" He pulled the underpants on. Not what he would have preferred, but it was better than being buck naked in front of a woman who was being incredibly professional.

"To choose the Di'alletta," Mia't said, looking at him curiously, as if he should've known this.

"They didn't want to give me much information on the way here," Reed explained, putting on the clothes as he handed them to him. "But considering the last guy died? I'm sure you understand that I'd be a bit worried. So can you explain? What's a Dial-etta?"

Mia't flushed at his mispronunciation. "The ruling kingdom for the age, until another Demon Lord emerges. They will be in charge of the continent's protection." She gave him the shirt.

Reed pulled it on and tossed his hair out of the collar before realizing it had a boob-window that exposed the Lotus tattoo on his chest.

He looked up at the ceiling for... something. Patience? Sanity?

Dressed, he followed Mia't to the first room where the other maids waited. He was directed to sit on a bench. The maids immediately went to work on his hair.

The ladies were incredibly adept at their jobs. Reed felt like he'd only just sat down when they stepped back. Mia't held up a mirror. They'd braided it back from his face on the sides and pulled it into a high tail. He followed Mia't back into the hall and down the stairs, where she turned him over to Ha'art. The butler led the way downstairs to a large conference room with a semi-circular table dominating the center. The place wasn't decorated for a ceremony and only the four rulers he'd seen in the hall before were seated around the table, their daughters standing behind them.

Looking from one face to the next, Reed folded his arms with a slight frown. "So I'm supposed to put one of y'all in charge over everyone else? Why can't y'all figure that out on your own?" he asked, preempting Baltaz's speech.

The high priest lowered his staff with a jingle and looked slightly peeved.

"That is just how it is," Saffron's father said. "Now choose your bride."

Reed stepped back in shock.

"You like me best," Amel'issa said with a coy smile. "So just pick me."

Meg'ante chuckled. "He was only tolerating you being all over him."

Saffron sighed, fluttering her fan, "Logically, he should pick me. Arunte is the best equipped to lead the charge against the demons."

Meg'ante turned to look at her, as did her massive mother. "Your insults go too far," the queen of the giants said.

Slowly stepping back, Reed carefully retreated toward the door. He had a suspicion that no matter who he picked, it was going to start a fight. But beyond that...

Reed had no interest in getting married.

"Your kingdom has been beaten into poverty—" Arunte's king snapped, partially standing.

"Because you refused to send aid!"

"Proof that we're more qualified to lead!"

A dark shape to the left caught his eye. He snapped to look as it smashed through the window, sending glass raining across them all.

"Astralitar! Run!" Snow called, slinging her hands toward him.

White sparkles surrounded him, but Reed didn't have time to admire the magical effect. That dark shape had landed in the middle of the room. It stood, revealing itself to be a woman with fluffy dark curls down to her knees and large bat wings. She snapped her head to look at him, her crimson eyes flashing as she pinned him with her stare.