An ornate carriage rushed through the narrow forest path.
Ebon Forest was one of the largest forests in the world. From above, its dense canopy resembled a green sea. Traveling through it without flight or established roads was nearly impossible.
The carriage was guarded by a host of armored knights and a unit of spellcasters. At the head of the convoy rode Azure, buried beneath so much armor that one could have mistaken her for an automaton.
A green cloak with her kingdom's insignia billowed in the wind.
They were escorting a carriage with a single passenger: a princess in every sense of the word. She was a young elf woman with flowing platinum hair that reached her hips, and crimson eyes like pristine rubies.
However, their travel was to be cut short.
The trees fell, blocking the path of the elven convoy.
Before panic could grip them, Azure raised her sword. "Ambush! Prepare for combat! Archers and casters, give us cover!"
Soon after, the escort was beset by attackers on their flank.
The ambush was brutal, leaving not even a moment for her troops to defend themselves.
What was even worse was that these attackers were each more skilled than her.
In all her years as the champion of the elves, Azure had never been truly challenged. Every opponent before this had fallen with little effort.
She was the undefeated champion, the one warrior her people trusted when monsters and southern warbands threatened the elven homeland.
And yet these bandits, no, she couldn't call them bandits, they were far too strong to be simple criminals.
Her sword had never failed her before. Now, it could not even scratch them.
It was frustrating. Worse still, her own comrades were falling as if they were nothing.
As she looked at the scene around her, a fireball hit her helmet. Due to its magical effect, it was able to resist the heat, but even with the heat gone, the force knocked her back, letting the enemy fighters use the opening.
"Shit!" she exclaimed as one of the hooded fighters struck right in the armor gap, piercing her flesh.
Before she could hit him, he retreated, letting more bulky fighters take the front.
She was sure these people were not mere criminals, but what were they?
They were near Red Dawn's border, so her first thought was an Elf Hunt party. But that made no sense. Hunters captured elves. They did not slaughter them. Even a common elf could sell for thousands of crowns in human lands.
These attackers were not hunting slaves.
They wanted someone dead, or someone taken.
However, the elves had no choice; if they were to have a chance against the southern savages, a deal had to be struck with their king.
"Who are these people?" she muttered as she slashed at them.
With each passing moment, her men were getting fewer and fewer in number; she needed to think fast.
Azure had carried the Lady of Misfortune's blessing since birth and had spent her entire life refusing to call upon it. Some kingdoms would have waged wars for such a gift, if only it were granted by a more gracious god.
The price could be her body, her soul, or every fortunate day she had left.
But Sheira was inside that carriage.
So Azure knelt.
"Men, form a shield around me! Casters, erect barriers! I need time!" she barked an order as the rest of the guards formed a shield, giving her a moment to pray.
She gently removed her helmet, and as she kneeled, she stabbed her sword into the ground before uttering a silent prayer, relying on her comrades to buy her the time she needed.
When she closed her eyes, the battlefield vanished.
She stood upon endless water, yet she did not sink. Above her hung a full moon in a starless sky, and beneath it sat a young human girl playing with a stuffed toy.
She took a step before the girl turned herself toward her.
"My Azure, you are finally here. Are you finally ready to accept my gift?" the girl said gently while staring at her. Usually, talking to such a young child wouldn't invoke fear, but Azure knew better.
She knew this girl was not who she seemed to be; she was the mother of monsters, and no elf dared speak her true name. She was an entity worshipped by the savage hordes and thus an enemy of her kind.
But right now, Azure had come to beg. This goddess was the only way to save her friend.
She inhaled deeply before dropping to one knee in front of the girl while holding her head as low as possible. "Please! I need your help."
"I know why you are here, my blessed daughter," the goddess with the visage of a child said before picking up her stuffed toy, and casually walking toward Azure.
"Then you must…" The girl put a hand on her head while gently patting her, interrupting her with her own words.
"You surely do not expect to just ask a favor of a god," the girl said, giggling.
"Of course not, my lady, I will pay whichever price you wish of me!" she shouted. Guilt gripped her chest as she offered the payment; at best, it would be her life.
The goddess walked in circles around her for a minute while humming.
She suddenly stopped in front of Azure. "If you had only accepted my blessing sooner, you could have been so much more than you are now. Raise your head, my blessed daughter."
Azure obeyed as the goddess gazed into her eyes; she no longer had the visage of the child, but instead, she looked exactly like her friend and liege.
Azure's breath stalled. Wearing a child's face had been frightening enough. Wearing Sheira's was cruel.
She brought her head down to her ear and whispered, "You are afraid of me; I understand, but I wish you no harm. On the contrary, I love you, my daughter. I will always love you."
She pulled herself back before continuing, "All I wish is for you to become perfect, become one of my children."
Azure knew what this meant; to become one of the children meant to become a monster, a monster hunted by everyone and hated by all.
The goddess spun back on her heel before continuing, "For you, I will even grant you an additional boon; I will not force you to throw away your elven form."
Azure looked at the goddess with confusion, but before she could even ask anything, the goddess continued.
"You have a greater blessing, Azure, you are already my most favored child. If you had only accepted it, you could have saved your little friend without losing anything."
The goddess turned around and placed her palm on Azure's forehead. "Do you accept my blessing, child?"
Azure knew she couldn't reject this offer; this was her last line of defense.
"Yes," she whispered.
As she said the word, the goddess smiled wickedly before the realm faded around her. She felt pain in her entire body; her entire being was being reshaped.
As the realm collapsed, she returned to the battlefield. Her comrades' defense was almost gone, the barrier had been broken, and only four guards survived.
Azure screamed as she transformed into a new monstrous form, her armor and clothes tearing apart as leathery green and black skin took over her body, tentacles sprouting from her flesh, and countless eyes opened across her monstrous form.
Her screams twisted into a terrible, monstrous roar. Her blessing turned her into an Argus, one of the most terrifying monsters in the known world.
It was said that anyone who met an Argus's gaze would melt as if doused in acid.
As she transformed, all four of her surviving comrades were blown away, knocking down many trees, all of the animals pulling the carriage melted, and the two attackers who were just about to stab her dissolved in front of her.
She completed her transformation into Argus, yet she couldn't allow her friend to gaze into her eyes.
Despite becoming a monster, Azure's mind remained intact. Perhaps because this form was a blessing. Perhaps because the goddess wanted her aware.
As the attackers retreated, she stretched one of her new tentacles, managing to graze one of the fighters.
The Argus's tentacle touched him, and he screamed in agony, his flesh melting into a puddle of green goo.
Any attacker and any weapon that touched her were gone in an instant.
She continued defending against their attacks until six of them were dead, and the rest retreated into the forest.
But she couldn't afford to leave the carriage unattended and chase after them. Instinctively, she wished to return to being an elf, and the Argussian form obeyed.
Yet it was not the same. Patches of green skin remained across her body, her eyes glowed a sickly acidic green, and her armor and clothes were gone from the sudden increase in size.
But she could not afford to care about that now.
She was exhausted, yet she forced herself to drag her body to the carriage and check on her liege.
When she got to the door, she gave a quick knock, but nobody answered.
Panic gripped her as she pulled at the door. After some struggle, she opened it, and her fear came true. In the chaos, her friend was gone, and her sacrifice meant nothing.
Azure closed the door and opened it again, then again, as if the empty carriage might change. But no illusion faded. No hidden spell broke. Sheira was gone.
She couldn't protect her, even with all her training. The acidic tears streamed down her face, melting the ground where they fell.
She wept for a moment before she felt a warm touch on her shoulder.