[i]Walking through the woods and jungles were not easy feats, but nevertheless, Darken and his teammates were adventurous in nature. At least most of them. The paladin was as obnoxious as always while they kept going forward, looking for the hiding place of the earth’s avatar.
“Remind me what are we going to do?” she said, clearly clueless even after an earlier explanation.
“One of the animals we defeated was actually a test to prove our worth, and now we need to find the avatar so he can reward us. It could help us defeat the Evil God if we get ahold of his powers.” Another human, the stronger of the group and the one who defeated the creature, answered to her.
“I don’t see how it will help us, if the Deity of Goodness is on our side.” The paladin unironically said, as she was sure that god would do his bidding even if, by that time, all the team had seen was through her.
Darken wanted badly to slap her on the face so she would shut up. He also was mad enough with her for her vicious threat to “purge him” if he were to fornicate with some other woman. There were two weeks since he had fucked the jaguar woman. He could have mated at least five females by now. In the last city they were, she noticed when he was convincing a beautiful cougar woman to join him at her tent for the night and shooed her away. Then, while they were in a caravan, she messed up as she preached to a group of cultists while he was trying to score with a cheetah; and again, almost ruined an alliance with some earth worshippers that could help them locate the whereabouts of the avatar, just because they were naked and refused to hear them out. And more importantly, she prohibited all her male teammates to partake in a party that could reinforce their bonds with more people. Even if the objection could be considered legitimate as the party was mostly a façade for an orgy, she was getting to their nerves already, and because all the males wanted to participate, they weren’t happy to leave.
As they continued treading through the forest, everyone became aware how annoying the paladin was. They wondered why they had let her come with them when the party had to split. Anyone else would prove a lot more useful than she had been while moving into the woods. They remained silent for the rest of the trek.
As they arrived at the marked spot, the strong human noticed his head almost exploding in pain because of a headache. In fact, the avatar had been trying to communicate with him for a while. The intensity was due to the closeness and the affinity he had with the avatar, being just a few steps away. The avatar was incredibly large. It was a tall as a large tree, and as wide as a truck’s length. It was difficult to ascertain where to look at due to this humongous size.
“Great to see you here, human. We have been tracking for a while now, and your team is undergoing a noble task. The Evil God is a threat to everyone on the world, and as such, he needs to be taken care. You’re the one chosen to accomplish this, though you’ll have to survive to a final challenge to receive the full benefit of my blessing. Your friends will also receive a blessing of their liking, but of course, it won’t be comparable to what I have in store for you.”
The human pledged to honor the avatar, and in a second the avatar crushed him in between his two huge limbs. As he struggled to keep himself alive, the group looked horrified how their friend was mercilessly being punished, almost getting squashed by the hands of the creature. Even though the pain was excruciating, the human had refused to use some herbs that could have eased the incredible discomfort he was being submitted. For long-lasting minutes, he endured bravely, until his friends noticed his skin became thicker and rougher, as he was becoming a creature of stone. The pain subsided quickly. The tougher crust made him more resistant to the squashing, but also fragile. But in the end, he had acquired an ability that could prove to be incredibly helpful on their war.
The paladin refused to take any powers as she was already committed to the Deity of goodness. Darken groaned in disapproval as she had become less of a nuisance and more of a bigger setback.
“If she wouldn’t accept the power, why the hell did she come?” he thought to himself. He now despised her for being such a self-centered ass. At least he wouldn’t reject the power the avatar was so graciously providing to him. As he got closer, the avatar infused his magical powers on him, granting him a camouflage that would make him barely noticeable on the ground. Darken, being known because of his stealth, surely would put this new skill to good use, and help defeat evil from the land.[/i]

Art by Jailbird