Chapter 3: Be Careful What You Wish For

"I wish I was stronger than the warlords."

And did he ever. There was a burning white-hot desire in the boy now, growing exponentially stronger as he met the young ahamkara's gaze steadily without flinching. Sadly for him, she could not turn him into a risen lightbearer. She didn't have the ability to manipulate a paracausal being like the traveler into granting him a ghost and the ability to use its light.

What she could do was mimic reality around the boy and manipulate him to the point of being virtually indistinguishable from one.

However, that left the finer details of his wish a bit problematic. He wished to be stronger than the warlords. She can only assume that he meant the lightbearers. While she had a few memories of his previous experiences, and knew enough about the light itself to properly imitate it, she didn't quite know how strong the lightbearers could become on their own.

That didn't mean she couldn't give him what he wanted, she would just need to err on the side of granting the boy power. A lot of power.

This presented a wonderful opportunity for herself as well. Fixing the weakness in the boy was one of her top priorities, and this certainly counted among the best possible ways to overcome it. The bond between them was strong, but if she could tie them even closer… Like the small robots for their undying companions for instance… She would be able to keep him safe by making him effectively immortal even as he did the same for her by providing protection and a flawless disguise. After all, her shapeshifting abilities would allow her to impersonate them without any issues already.

Though, my methods of resurrection must be a… bit different… hmm.

Her mind made up, acting on the boy's will, and even adding her own will to the spell to direct it in a specific way so as not to have her end up as a small floating robot. She was most certain that she could provide for a perfect imitation, or even improve upon the 'risen' as she would not be limited to this one-time power increase, and nor would she be as defenseless as those floating machines given enough time.

Knowing what she needed to do, she began.

—

Pain. Excruciatingly agonizing pain ran through his body, like molten lava sliding through his veins. Opening his mouth, he tried to let out a scream but nothing sounded as light, white hot and burning crossed his vision.

Falling to his knees before slamming into the ground, he was absolutely powerless to stop the agony he was now in. Unable to move, unable to breathe, he finally found his voice.

Unsurprisingly, it was the scream of someone who was feeling the worst pain imaginable. Letting loose a bellow of absolute anguish for only a moment before his throat, already raw from the strain, broke his voice. His screams faded to whimpers before the blackness of unconsciousness took him.

—

Illuyana stood there gasping for breath, feeling the rush of immense power around and within her. Wriggling in absolute bliss as her wish-magic granted the boy's desire, she couldn't help but let out a blissful laugh.

She felt strengthened by the wishes before, but this? This was different.

The wishes the boy asked for before were small, inconsequential, minute, but this one? This one was massive when taking her own youth into account. It granted such immense power and such a wonderful rush of energy!

The sheer power she felt from granting such a monumental thing filled her with such strength! Such power! Such life! She wanted more! Bread and ammo were one thing, but with the eldritch energies of the universe now filling her, she howled with joy! She felt the wish strengthening her bones, building her body, empowering her magic, siphoning energy off of the reality she changed, the one left behind where Brynden was just a normal human, and building her own strengths at a rate she didn't even know was possible until now.

This was something different, something invigorating! Something amazing!

I've never felt more alive!

Right about then is when she heard the screams.

Looking up from her spot on the ground, she saw Brynden was covered in flames, electricity, and void magic. Screaming at the top of his lungs, the boy looked to be in immense pain, falling to his knees before his eyes rolled back and he landed in the dirt, motionless.

Then, just as sudden as it began, it ended.

The now wolf-sized Illuyana made her way over to the boy. Placing talon on his chest, she nudged him carefully but got no reaction. Panic rising within her when she realized she might have killed the boy, she watched him extremely carefully.

Fire surrounded the boy, solar energy flickering and sparking with barely leashed energies. The source was definitely the boy, but the hammer he picked up only an hour or so prior seemed to be channeling a bit more of it than the rest of his body. Thankfully, he still appeared to be breathing, so it should only be a matter of time until he wakes up.

The euphoria of her newfound power now an afterthought as it was replaced with worry for her friend, the ahamkara sat back on her haunches and waited. It would only be a matter of time until the boy woke up, and when he did, she would be here for him.

It didn't take long for the bite of the cold winter air to catch up with her once everything began to die down. The bite of the wind mixed with the exposed scales on her body caused her to make the decision to transform herself into a wolf. Feeling the warmth given off by the power the boy was still giving off she curled up near him. Using him as a makeshift hearth, she began to laze around.

Hours passed like this, the ahamkara beginning to worry about the boy, but every time she checked on him he was still breathing. His skin looked normal, he didn't appear pale, and he wasn't sweating despite how he was still wreathed in flames.

Perhaps I put a bit too much power into that spell…

Hearing the sound of an engine overhead, the young ahamkara realized with a bit of horror that her previous plans of patiently waiting would need to change.

Or maybe not enough!

Rushing over, despite the paracausal energies still swirling around and within the boy, she began to violently shake him awake even as she transformed into a more familiar shape.

"Brynden! We need to move! Something's coming!"

—

"-en! We n- … -oming!"

… Owww…

"Wake up! Now!"

Feeling something squeezing and poking into his chest, the boy groaned. Regrettably opening his eyes, he saw a much larger Illuyana using her forepaws to press into his furs in a panic.

Well at least I found out what's poking into my chest, but why does it feel like I got run over?

Brynden felt awful, like a building had been dropped directly onto his head. Feeling his temples pulsing with his rapidly beating heart, he tried to bring a hand to his forehead, only to find that his fingers remained curled around something.

Glancing down, he saw the intricately carved hammer, sparking with barely leashed fiery energy. Roaring flames licked and washed over his furs, and yet they, along with himself, remained untouched by the fire. Electricity ran up and down his arms, seemingly slowing time itself as the branches from each bolt spread through what felt like his soul. His vision tinged purple, he felt a magical energy filling him deep down to his core.

He knew what this was, as familiar with the wrath of the risen light bearers as he was, and despite the slowly ebbing migraine in his head and horror of having such a terrible power, he began to laugh.

Almost upon the realization that his wish was granted, the pain subsided and the headache left.

He. Felt. Invincible!

Feeling the claws of a creature shaking him, he glanced down to see Illuyana looking at him with concern. Pointing a talon in a specific direction, she began to try and help the boy to his feet.

"Eyes up, oh protector mine." The ahamkara said. "We have company."

Even as the somehow much larger Illuyana borrowed herself under his back and pushed him into a sitting position, Brynden looked to where she pointed. Feeling his stomach drop as he saw one of the alien ships coming in for a landing, the boy knew they needed to move.

Getting to his feet, the moment he planted a foot onto the ground, a soft boom and a crater was made that sparked lightning. Reflexively raising his arms in defense from the shockwave, he watched as a strange purple energy encased his arm to protect him.

What the…

The strange energies in his body were seemingly settling in, but the reaction to everything that just happened couldn't be ignored. He couldn't help but feel powerful, strong, unstoppable.

The minor explosion caught the attention of the ship, and it began to turn towards their direction. Floating menacingly, the engines burning and the doors opening, he knew it wouldn't be long before they would reach them.

Brynden should feel scared. He should be terrified. Not a day prior, these monsters would have instilled paralyzing fear into him, causing him to turn tail and run.

Hearing the rustle of wings flapping, he felt Illuyana perch onto his shoulder only to bury herself into the hood of his coat and bury herself as deeply as she could. The only words she gave him were, "Don't let them get me, please."

She sounded almost scared, like he did with his mother not even a day ago. Feeling an immensely strong feeling of protective rage full within him, he turned back to the aliens.

"Not a chance."

Hearing a roar of challenge from one of the aliens, he looked up to see several more fallen dropping down from their ship. Strange spears and odd guns in hand, they began to charge towards him.

He didn't know why he did what he did next, not fully understanding what changed within him, but he calmly strapped the hammer he took from the warlord's body to his side. Firmly smashing one fist into his open palm, he smiled as an electric energy created a small shockwave around him.

Despite the situation, Brynden smiled and took one step forward.

And another.

And another.

Before long, he was full on sprinting in their direction, teeth meeting air as he allowed his bloodthirsty smile to spread across his face. He thought of his friends and his mother now, blissful adrenaline coursing through his veins as invigorating as the lightning on his fists, his yell promising vengeance to those these aliens hurt.

He had the power to stop them now, and he was no longer scared.

Once he closed the distance, he jumped high into the air and raised his hands over his head, energy bolts from the aliens splashing against his chest seemingly harmlessly as he soared through the skies for only a moment… until he came crashing down like a bolt from the heavens.

Smashing both fists into the ground, several of the aliens disintegrated upon impact, but the rest of them were knocked back at the force of the shockwave.

Looking up from his spot hunched over, he spotted one of the fallen recovering from his devastating blow. Crossing the distance between them faster than he ever could have before, and much faster than the alien could react, Brynden sent a punch toward the fallen's face with as much strength as he could muster.

He didn't just punch the alien, he annihilated it.

Watching as the head of the creature sailed away from the body, Brynden looked down to his, still electrified, hands. Blinking, he then turned his gaze to the remaining alien forces.

It was about then that both parties fully realized the situation they now found themselves in.

Some tried to fight and were met with electric punches strong enough to decapitate them in one strike. Some tried to flee and were met with his shoulder smashing into their backs. One tried to return to its ship, only to have a hand as strong as steel grab hold of the it's leg, dragging the creature kicking and screaming back to the ground before the last thing it saw was a boot descending toward it's face.

It was over before long, the boy standing in the middle of a bloodbath of smoking and twitching alien bodies. Scanning his surroundings for any further threats, the only threat of note that he found was that the alien ship was still floating lazily nearby. Waiting for a long moment only for nothing to happen, he realized that the ones inside must be all gone, and that the ship was empty.

With all threats gone, Brynden looked around the battlefield in a sense of awe and wonder, now fully realizing what he just did.

During the fight, he was running on instincts, instincts that weren't his own before but clearly were now. Those instincts honestly terrified him now that he recognized just how much he enjoyed absolutely obliterating those creatures with his bare hands.

A strange sense of calm soon replaced his previous euphoria as he reached, perhaps a bit too quickly, the conclusion that he was now the same as the monsters he hated his whole life. He was one of the warlords now… or at least something just as strong.

But I'm still me, aren't I?

Feeling the pressure of a small dragon on his shoulder, he looked over to see a wide eyed Illuyana looking around the obliterated battlefield in shock. She clearly didn't know exactly what transpired curled up within his hood,

"Illuyana?"

Slit blue eyes meeting soft grey, the little dragon tilted her head. He would have found it adorable if it wasn't for his conflicted mindsets

"What did you do to me?"

Blinking, she turned to look at the smoldering corpse of one of the aliens.

"I made you stronger than the warlords… I think."

Latching on to how uncertain she sounded, he began to pace around, almost tripping as his foot slid into a crater he idly noted to be one of his fist's impact points.

"You think? What do you mean, you think? You don't know what you did to me?"

Becoming angry at his tone, she snapped her jaws once at him, causing him to flinch back at the unexpected aggression.

"I worked on your desires! You wanted to be like the warlords, but stronger! I gave you that! How am I to know how strong they are? I'm not omnipotent!"

He watched in strange fascination as his draconic companion jumped off his shoulder and began to morph and change in front of him. In a flash, the little red dragon was replaced by a small mechanical device. It reminded him of the other lightbearer's floating things, clearly an attempt at mimicking them, but with one key difference.

The eye in the middle was still a draconic blue slit one. Sure, it was mechanical, but he could easily tell just from looking at it that it was still her. She floated around, finally landing firmly in his hood just like she did when they were traveling.

"You now have the same power they did, but stronger, and I can bring you back should you die in a… similar manner as their own little devices do."

Gesturing with a hand to the destruction around them, he clenched his fists.

"If all you did was give me power, Why did I enjoy that? How did I defeat them so easily? What's wrong with me?" Feeling his frustration turn to sadness, he slumped down onto the dirt. Looking at the dead mask of a dead fallen nearby, he felt sadness building up leading him to look away just as quickly.

He wasn't sorry for the death of these monsters, he was worried he might have become one himself.

"I'm a monster."

"No."

Looking up, he was met face to face with the wolf-sized version of his friend, the little device now gone once again. Her eyes were far more expressive than he'd ever seen them before, showing just how much she cared for him now, despite the short time they had spent together.

"There is nothing wrong with you. If you didn't kill these things, they would have killed us. You protected me, saved my life from both the cold and now these fallen."

Moving closer, she sat down next to him. "I did not make you into a monster, I gave you power, and you used it to become a protector, if only for a moment. Only time will tell if you will turn into a monster, but the choice to become one will be yours alone."

Thinking on what she said, he looked down to his fist as he clenched it. Something deep within him now shifted, and sparks sprang to life with only that little push. He had immense power now, and it now all boiled down to how he used it.

I will never be like the warlords, like the fallen. I will protect, and I will save… He looked over to see his friend still watching him with clear concern in her eyes. … and if I lose my way, she will always be there to help me back.

"Illuyana?"

One sapphire eye looked over to him, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

Smiling back, she snorted a bit of smoke before she leaned her shoulder against his own.

"If you ever want to wish to become a giant tentacled eldritch monster of epic proportions, all you need to do is ask."

Laughing uproariously, he leaned his own weight against hers.

"I don't think I have any plans for that, but I'll let you know if something comes up."

Snorting, the two sat in comfortable silence together. They didn't stay like that for long, however, as the two of them began to feel a bit awkward having their heart to heart in the middle of a battlefield surrounded by dead aliens.

Standing up, Brynden brushed off the dirt for his pants before he began to make his way back to the forest edge.

"Come on, my mom still deserves better than to be left at the forest edge."

—

Standing in front of the intricate polished stone crypt, Illuyana looked back to the boy in happiness only to be met with a deadpan stare.

"What? You said she deserves better!" She argued, completely unashamed of her blatant use of magic at every single instance she could.

Shaking his head, he took out the hammer on his side, and made his way over to the stone doorway. The hammer became molten white as the boy channeled his newfound energies into it. Upon completing his task, he nodded before backing up.

Looking up to the engravings, she studied the carvings carefully, before looking back over to Brynden.

"What does it say?"

The boy looked surprised, looking down to her with a bit of surprise in his eyes.

"You can't read it?"

Snorting, she shook her head. "You think we wish dragons go around studying scripts and texts in our free time?"

Smiling, he placed a hand on her head. Something she idly noted that he could only do standing up after the massive surge in her stature due to the wish.

"Maybe I'll teach you one day…" he said, looking sadly back to the crypt. "… Like she taught me."

Walking over, he pointed at the first scribbles and followed his finger along them as he spoke.

"Rest In Peace Daisy. I can only hope I can make her proud."

Smiling, she shrunk herself and flew up to his shoulder.

"I'm sure you will. Now, where will we go?"

Giving the crypt one last look, he turned away and began to walk toward the single road that went straight through the… former camp.

"I heard tell of a peaceful city out there before the fallen came. While I don't know where it is…" he said, glancing at the two directions of the road before picking one at random. "We now have all the time in the world."

Perking up, the ahamkara wriggled in delight. "An adventure it is!"

Walking past a downed tent that he missed on his initial scan, Illuyana felt his desire to find some supplies within the tent still. Wordlessly granting his wish, when he pulled up the entrance, he conveniently found a wooden chest with everything he would need for a long term adventure.

She watched his confusion for only a moment before he turned to her, who was smiling brightly. A shake of his head was the only response she got as he began to stuff his pack with everything he could before departing.

"You know…" Brynden said, turning away from the camp he grew up in, giving her a sidelong glance as she returned the gaze from his shoulder. "I might want to do something without your wish magic in the future. If I have everything I ever want given to me, I feel like I won't have earned any of it."

Looking at him curiously, she put a talon to her chin. "So, you wish to do things yourself sometimes?"

Nodding, he took a few more steps before she spoke up again.

"Doesn't that mean by not granting your wishes, I grant this one?"

Seemingly deep in thought, the little dragon perked up as a thought hit her little juvenile draconic brain.

"By asking that question, didn't you just surrender all free will to me?"

Blinking, the boy stopped in his tracks as he turned to the ahamkara. Before he could talk, she continued down her road of thought.

"Yes, taking that to its logical conclusion, no decision is your own anymore. Now everything is a question of 'did I allow it to happen, or did I change it?'"

Smiling a fang filled smile, she seemed proud of herself as she returned her gaze to the road. "Go that way, oh minion mine!" She said in childish glee, completely satisfied with her thought process.

Unwilling to let this stand, he turned and began to make his way the other direction. After all, they didn't know where the city they were looking for was in the first place, so there was no direction he could go that would be considered wrong.

Even as he retraced his path backwards, Illuyana wouldn't allow him to have even this small little victory. Smiling devilishly, she whispered three words into his ear before falling back to curl up in his surprisingly comfortable furry hood.

"I'll allow it."

-Author's Note-

Do ya'll know how hard it was for me, someone who mains hunter to the point where the last time I played Titan was shadowkeep and warlock was early beyond light, to admit to myself that Brynden would be a Titan? I'm one of those people who likes to keep characters real, and the protective instinct and sense of morals that Bryn has, along with the ignorance of the world around him, would lead him to be a crayon eating bonk monster.

I'm not happy about it, but I'm sure Illuyana is. Less thinky, more wishy.

He won't be dumb mind you, just not one to strive for knowledge like warlocks do. He will know enough to get by and not eat play dough.

I wanted to make the fight scene longer, but honestly adding a captain against a Fist of Havoc would just be more bonk, so I kept it like this. I hope you enjoyed it, oh reader mine.

Also to Noble6117, here's more. Hope you enjoy, and please stop yelling at me! *sniffle*

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it consider giving me a follow and a favorite, and know that I read every review and eagerly await your responses.