After resolving the issues with Thorn, they made their way back to Shango. As they neared the room Shango was in, Ave called out to the guards who were watching over Shango.

“You two.”

“Yes, Princess.” they said as they slowly appeared out of nowhere.

“Has the hero left the room?”

“No princess, he has remained in the room ever since Thorn left.” the man with the large battle-ax said.

“He could not possibly still be deciding on a weapon, could he?”

“I told you he was a picky one. He will probably spend the whole day picking a weapon,” Thorn replied, shaking his head.

“That might not be the case. A strange wave of mana emitted from beyond those doors for a moment before vanishing about an hour ago.” the man with the daggers around his waist said in a low voice.

“That should not be possible. That room is designed to keep that from happening,” Thorn replied as he headed straight for the door, entering the room.

“Why did you not check on him to see if he was okay?” Ave said as a vein appeared on her temple.

“We aren’t allowed to enter that room.” uttered the man with the battle-ax.

“So you’re saying that you just stood there when you knew something odd was happening inside? What if something bad were to happen to the hero?”

Not saying a word, the two just stood there in silence. They couldn't care less about what happened to Shango, they only cared about the orders they were given and the rules they must follow.

Seeing the two men stand there and not say a word, Ave felt the urge to slap them both. “Useless sheep,” Ave yelled before entering the room with Rolla following behind her.

As they entered the room, they caught sight of Shango sprawled out on the floor with a sword next to him, sound asleep with Thorn looking over him.

“Thorn, what are those?” Ave asked as she pointed at the gauntlets that were on Shango’s hands.

They did not immediately wake him but examined the gauntlets.

“I don’t not know?” Taking back control of the grimoire, he searched through it. He noticed that besides the broadsword that was beside Shango, the only thing that was missing was a pair of marbles. “Hmm, I think those gauntlets may have come from a pair of marbles?”

Thinking for a second, Ave recalled seeing the marbles when she was picking her artifact weapon. “If I can remember correctly, those marbles have been in the grimoire for ages. Some assumed that they were defective, at least that is what I was told.” she said as she used her hand to trace the gauntlets.

“You are correct, princess. They’re one of the Lost Seven, the seven Artifact Weapons that cannot get to work. They have been in the grimoire since they were discovered.” Closing the book, Thorn took a closer look at Shango along with Ave.

They notice a few changes had taken place, the most glaring being the two gauntlets that were on his arms. The next thing that caught their eyes was how his hair had changed.

Thorn reached down and plucked a strand of hair from Shango’s head, causing Shango to move slightly in his sleep. Looking at the hair, a look of surprise appeared on Thorns face.

“This is quite the surprise. It seems that the Artifact Weapon is of the bonding type.”

“Oh, like Second Brother,” Ave said as she followed Thorn’s example and plucked a strand of hair from Shango’s head to study it.

“Yes, similar to the second prince’s Artifact Weapon. Now he is not the only person in the kingdom with a bonding Artifact Weapon.”

After studying the hair for a while, they went back to examine the gauntlets for a few more minutes.

“Alright, time to wake sleeping beauty; we need to get some answer out of him.” Thorn stepped over him and reached out towards his face and slapped him a few times.

“Hey, wake up.”

“Thorn, what are you doing?” Ave yelled, reaching out to stop him, but before she could, Thorn let out an ear-splitting scream.

Looking down between his legs, he saw a foot was placed dead center on his manhood. He looked at Shango, who was looking at him with a somber expression.

“What in the hell do you think you are doing, you got-damn drunk?”

Dropping to the side, Thorn rolled around on the ground, using his lone hand to grab his most precious thing and reaching his hands into his robe try to soothe the pain away.

Seeing this Ave, jumped up and ran to Rolla, who had remained silent for the most part. She was now using her hand to cover her mouth with her eyes wide open, looking at the events unfold while Ave was behind her, covering her own eyes.

“I only slapped you a bit, why would you kick me there?” Thorn said, gritting his teeth.

“I’m sorry, but where I’m from, if someone you barely even know is standing over you, you are either getting rob or fucked, and I’m not down for either,” Shango said as he tried to get up but quickly realize something was amiss.

Remaining sitting down, Shango looked at his hands, which were now covered in an amethyst-colored metal. Opening and closing his hands, the gauntlets were rather comfortable. They were not heavy, and he felt an odd sense of intimacy with them. Getting up, he continued to look at them.

“What are these?” he asked as he turned to Ave.

“That is what we wanted to ask you.” Ave replied, walking back from behind Rolla.

Just as she was about to say something else, a surprised look appeared on her face and Rolla let out a gasp next to her.

“Thorn, stop!” she yelled, but it was too late.

And for the third time since coming to this world, Shango felt great pain.