It was a day like any other one month into Nephenee’s stay in this strange new world when she started to notice things being…off.

The voice calling out to her was neither her own nor one she recognized, and it caused the Sentinel to stir in her sleep.

It was faint, something barely heard, like it was far away…but the feeling of a presence being there is what caused her to jolt awake, instinctively going for the Wishblade near her bed and rolling off it, landing in a crouch, bringing it to bear before realizing…there was no one there? At least, not that she immediately saw. But a purposeful and quick search of her small home confirmed there was no one visible here.

Frowning deeply, Nephenee fell into thought, though she didn’t return the weapon to its resting place. “...What on earth?” What could have caused her to hear that call? Was it just a dream?

After a moment, she shook her head. No, she’d very clearly felt a presence nearby, like she would if there was someone sneaking around. Those instincts had been honed over the years in the wars and had served her well; she sure couldn’t see a reason to doubt them all of a sudden. A ghost, maybe? The thought tightened her grip on her weapon, the leather under her fingers creaking lightly at the strain.

“‘Scuse me…W-Whatever ya are,” She said to the empty air, “If you’re a ghost or somethin’, Ah should let ya know this weapon can hurt any kinda spirit, so don’t try nothin’!” Somehow, she got the impression of someone giggling, but that was all she received in reply. The feeling of there being a presence remained, and the soldier didn’t like it one bit.

But it didn’t seem she was going to be getting any answers just standing here talking to maybe-not-so-thin air, so she started getting ready for the day. Though that, too, started presenting what she could only term problems; her usual washing up of her body and face had her noting her nails seemed longer, sharper, and the mirror…no, she had to be seeing things.

In the mirror, she saw her normal fair skin that was tanned from long hours in the sun developing pale patches that reminded her at first of whatever skin thing she had had once as a child, but they seemed…almost metallic, like a fish or snake…

A touch was all it took to confirm the shiny bits were just like what she’d seen on dragons back home, and she barely kept herself from yelping as she jumped back. They were in small groups unevenly distributed across her body, but they were there, small flakes of colour that shifted from silvery-white to silvery-blue in the light. They weren’t too prevalent on her face yet, but they were there too, a few even appearing darker where she’d expect freckles to be. Nephenee brushed her bangs away to see if they went further into her hair, and froze when she felt small bumps, bumps that proved to be bigger than what she’d get hitting her noggin. That was hardly comforting either…

But her eyes. Her eyes were somehow the most disturbing part of her appearance. While they still held their emerald hue that mirrored her hair almost perfectly, her pupils were taller, and she could swear that they had almost a cat or reptilian quality to them…

Her hands went to her mouth to try to keep her whimpers from being heard. “Oh...oh, Yune…was…was Miss Gaia right…when she asked Charlie if…”

Somehow, that faint presence she was now certain was in her head seemed to confirm that suspicion, but she didn’t want to listen to it. She didn’t want to believe it.

Her blood ran cold, colder than she felt possible, as a tear ran down her cheek.

“...If we’ll…become dragons?”