Dei woke with a start, disoriented and apathetic. A fog filled his mind, preventing any sort of panic but a sense of nostalgia telling him immediately what the familiar sensation was: Soul damage, something he wished he’d never grown used to.

  Still, it was not an all-encompassing gap in his mind, discipline filling the gaps where fear should have.

  He processed what his eyes saw, his body fighting through the haze to understand whether he was in danger or not, finally seeing Perumah.

  He was still draped atop her unconscious figure. He hadn’t been disturbed. How long was he out for?

  Careful not to step on her or her new form or any of the petal-maws on her back, he quickly stood, looking around.

  For a moment, his mind stuttered as he saw the demon-kin Commander, fully healed… but still limp on the ground. No wound marred its body, but its eyes still held the glassy apathy of death.

  “It’s dead,” he heard Justin say next to him

  “Why did you stitch it back together?”

  “I didn’t. Your God stepped in to tell us you were in trouble and explain a little bit through his priests. Apparently, it was faking its death while you two did something that put you both out of commission.”

  “Ah…” he said neutrally. He wondered how close he’d gotten to dying. On his back, Clever nudged his cheek, and Dei smiled slightly as he reached up and gave the korgonda a gentle scratch, affection breaking through the haze.

  He was going to ask for more details on what was happening when he remembered what the T-Rex represented, and a burst of panic made him ask “Wait, the raid!”

  “Effectively over,” Justin assured him.

  “Effectively?”

  “Yes. There are more demon-kin, but… whatever you did to the space made everything outside of the capital unlivable. There are rifts and warping space everywhere. Now that you’re in a physical body again, I imagine not even you can break through the anomaly- we’ll have to wait for the Realms to stabilize before anything else.”

  “How did you get here?” Dei wondered, remembering how all the other Shamans were holed up in the capital before.

  “That… odd individual you brought from outside the quarantine. Jacob. He was able to effortlessly punch a hole through the rifts, stabilizing them temporarily in his wake- before the fabric was shredded again by the surrounding turmoil, of course. He guided a small team of Shamans through, while the Realm Storm- the temporary name we give to the anomaly until we figure out what it is- swirls around the people, guarding them in the eye of its storm.”

  “So… things are safe for now?”

  “Indeed, though we cannot return immediately.”

  “How come? Wait, where’s Jacob?”

  Raising his hands in self defense, Justin said “He said it was your plan.”

  Dei thought for a moment, then said “To face the demon directly? How… did he even get there?”

  “Hm, well, the demon is somewhat predictable with particularly resistant enemies, and the Tyrant Lizard was strong enough to open a portal directly to the demon’s domain, so it was assumed that was the course of action he would likely take- which he did. Almost immediately after this, the demon lost control over its Commander, and I was able to put it down with suspicious ease for how strong it would supposedly be, so I can only assume Jacob succeeded…” Justin said with a disbelieving glint in his eye, clearly running infinite scenarios in his head. Whatever he believed Jacob was, ‘Able to hold off the demon single-handedly’ was likely a surprise.

  “Yea, that’s what he does. Now what?”

  “Hm?”

  “Well… we can’t go home yet, so now what? With the people protected and you saying the raid’s effectively over, I can only assume you have plans for the remaining demon-kin, so there isn’t much fighting to be done. Where do we hole up now?”

  Justin looked around the wasted village. Several houses were caved in from the demon-kin rampage, but more than a few still stood; when his eyes landed on Iora’s house, a thoughtful expression overtook his face.

  “A Shaman’s home is well-defended with enchantments, and I am capable of hijacking them… if it would not upset you?”

  Dei shook his head, “Nah man, whatever keeps us safe… and hopefully blood-free,” he said, indicating to how he was coated in the drying red liquid.

  ‘A little gross but not terrible.’

  Justin grimaced, “There’ll be a shower and cleaning enchantments that expel the blood, but I would really like an explanation for that.”

  “Not my secret to share,” he said, “But whatever you’re thinking is probably worse than the reality.”

  Justin nodded then turned around, walking towards Iora’s hole in the wall and waving his staff a few times and doing something Dei couldn’t see.

  Bending down, he hoisted Perumah over his shoulder and she let out an irritated growl in her sleep, but didn’t open her eyes. He couldn’t exactly blame her either, as her soul had effectively been shattered and rebuilt several times; she was probably facing a soul apathy more intense than he.

  * * *

  When Iora’s main room was clean, he rested Perumah on the couch went to the back to take a shower. Fendrascora left his bloodstream and Clever joined Justin in making dinner. Reading his emotions, Ashvorn decided to retreat down into his soul and stop reading his mind and give him time to think.

  He sighed under the warm water, Iora’s odd stone “Shower” surprisingly advanced compared to everything else he’d seen in the village.

  What to feel… what to feel…

  All his enemies were dead, so satisfaction, but so were a lot of the Gem Dwellers, dampening that enthusiasm.

  Perumah reached her goal, and it was very likely that they would get together; that, he knew he was happy about. He’d felt Crimson Rain, and though it wasn’t a typical “Relationship” emotion, it wasn’t bad, and the unique way he and Perumah treated each other leaned into it anyway.

  At the same time… he felt it within him as well. Ashvorn had broken down pieces of it into its most basic forms, and he knew it coursed through him now. Was he willing to endure Perumah’s version of love if only because he was compromised? Worry wormed its way through him, but he shook it off. ‘I was always willing to work with her, to become symbiotic to her hunger.’

  Above all else, though, he was tired. His body was… two. Two years old now, and he hadn’t had a real moment of rest through any of it.

  Now he could. They’d repelled the demon raid, and he was happy with where he was situated in life. He didn’t have a real, direct goal anymore, but that was fine. Even without direction, there were a few things he wanted to do.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Spend time with his family, grow as a person, and learn more about his Personal affinity. Aloran had even encouraged him to relax after this.

  He knew there’d be dangers throughout the time spent, that’s just how Avium was, but as long as he wasn’t looking for it, he might get some time to sleep- recreationally, of course.

  Turning off the water, he got dressed in his Beastware, imagining what his Earth family would say if they saw how he still hadn’t bought any clothing. A pang of sadness bubbled out, but he shook it off and made his way to the living area where he heard everyone else.

  Fendrascora and Clever were watching Justin cook, and he was pretty sure Clever gave him tips as they went. Near Justin, Dei felt a ghostly, almost invisible Presence that allowed him to perceive it.

  ‘Whisper was here the entire time?!’

  The invisible, gaseous woman was very forgettable, and it’d slipped his mind that she was close friends with Justin. ‘Part of her stealth abilities?’

  His family was out of Fendrascora’s bubble, his mom sitting at the head of the table, his dad on her right, and Perumah on her left. Rena sat opposite their mom, and Ben next to their dad, leaving the only opening next to Perumah; the woman in question held her face in her hands, covering her eyes like she had some kind of hangover.

  He studied her and her new appearance again: without Zyz’Ti to corrupt her, her face was different, changed into something her own; rather than Zyz’Ti’s casual rounded beauty that appeared as natural as it was accidental, Perumah had sharp cheekbones and a defined jawline that radiated elegance, like a high-noble; she’d decided to keep the dark tan of her predecessor, and he curiously noted that her skin was seamlessly smooth and real, no illusions, though based on what he saw under the wounds during their fight, he knew that internally she was half plant, half meat; her hair still blossomed with the red-and-black flowers that ran down to her middle back, the patterns on them seemingly more intentional and intricate; above all else, though, her general body seemed soft, with almost no muscles- though he knew that was deceiving to her real strength.

  The most noteworthy “New” feature though were the petal-maws he’d seen before, four large curved flower petals filled with teeth that grew from her back and held a terrifying strength. Now, they were nowhere to be seen, supposedly retracted to allow her to put on clothes.

  She was completely clean, despite probably not having taken a shower, so he assumed either there were other enchantments in the house or she used some kind of blood manipulation to keep herself fresh.

  She didn’t move, but through their bond he could tell she was struggling to keep herself together mentally. Having gained Wrath and Love in quick succession, arguably the two most explosive emotions, she was trying not to lash out, laugh hysterically, or burst into tears.

  Sensing his attention, she was the first in the room to see him, uncovering her eyes to reveal two blood-red irises.

  His parents were quick on the uptake, and his mom’s face lit up upon seeing him, gesturing to the seat beside Perumah with a teasing glint in her eyes.

  “Ashvorn, how much of that battle did my family see?” he asked quickly, as he saw no tension in their bodies.

  [Nothing. Fendrascora decided that it would result in unnecessary fear, and that she was unsure as to whether she would be able to stop them from exiting- even if it would have made the situation worse. She darkened their vision of the outer world when things became dicey and told them they’d been coated in supernatural darkness, but you could see through it, even if Fendrascora herself couldn’t. Then she lied, and stated that the battle was going well]

  ‘Hiding it from them… yea, let’s go with that for now.’

  Fendrascora raced across the room with Clever atop her and gave him a hug, tension draining away. Out of them all, she was likely the most scared when things went south. In nature, she wasn’t a predator, just a fleeing prey animal that fought against her instincts and keep flighting.

  It was a very brief embrace to avoid it becoming awkward, but he got the message. She saw him as a big brother, and the entire time, every close call he had, terrified her.

  For a blip, the world turned grey and Dei felt something fading away- his Karmic Curse, matured and snatched away in an instant by the System. Startled, he realized that this was the moment, the singular instant that was spoken to him.

  It held close ties to his family, the demon, and Iora, but nothing about Clever, Perumah, Fendrascora or Justin… but that was it, wasn’t it?

  It lumped all of them with his parents because they were all family. This was his family, and no matter where they sat, even in this house he once had nightmares about, he still felt like he was home.

  * * *

  He chatted with everyone, unwinding at the table as Justin served them food, including a tiny bowl for Clever to eat from, likely made right before the meal by Justin, which he set on Dei’s shoulder.

  Fendrascora sat on her watery bottom-half, Clever on his shoulder, and Justin floating cross-legged at the corner of the table between Dei and Rena.

  At some point, when the conversation between the others turned away from Dei, he mentally poked at Perumah.

  She hadn’t said a word to him the entire time, but he could feel it was because she didn’t know how. She was irritated and jealous that Fendrascora had hugged him, angry that she was still in pain while he seemingly was untouched by the battle- then guilty that she’d wished harm on him, and grieving that he no doubt heard her thoughts and hated her; then stupid because she could sense his emotions and knew it wasn’t true, and self-loathing because she wasn’t thinking straight.

  He fought back a chuckle, knowing it would only make things worse by drawing attention to Perumah’s internal struggle. Within the storm, Dei felt a nugget of doubt lodged deep in Perumah’s psyche, and he didn’t need to analyze it to know why. She was afraid he wouldn’t like her new form.

  She ignored his first poke, but he felt her building irritation with his second and third.

  “What?” she asked silently.

  “You’re really pretty.”

  She huffed and tried seeming casual, but he spotted the slight blush before she turned away to face his mom, joining his parents’ conversation.

  * * *

  Waiting out whatever calamity he’d kicked up ended up with its own slew of issues, and Dei got to meet a few more Shamans… while also finally being told that things were not nearly as hopeful as he’d thought, and he’d assumed the Gem Dwellers were on the verge of genocide not even a day ago.

  The final count of Shamans: twenty seven. Only twenty seven Shamans remained alive, the rest being stored in their staffs until they could undergo the process to create a new one. A festival would be held to grieve the ones lost, and celebrate the Shamans soon to rise. Despite the hefty toll, there would likely be a boom in the Gem Dweller population, as Shamans falling in combat meant more Shamanic staffs could be created from their souls.

  The remaining demons left. Seeing that it was a fruitless endeavor as the Shamans who’d escaped the cage Dei put around the remaining population started picking them off using guerilla tactics, one by one: a much more effective way to fight than they’d been forced to before.

  Jacob was recovered soon after as well. Apparently, he’d already been found by a Shaman and Thadria, only a day after he faced the demon, but Thadria had wanted time alone with him for a long while by this point, she simply couldn’t justify it without leading to the deaths of countless Gem Dwellers. With them out of trouble, they took a short, chaperoned vacation on the surface before returning below to guide the Shamans into the capital once more.

  A festival was held in honor of the fallen, a grieving procession which turned into a ghostly celebration as the spirits of the dead Shamans excitedly regaled the stories of their own deaths. Dei learned that it would be the last time they were allowed to talk to people outside of their future handlers, certain insular systems in place preventing such public appearances.

  He could feel only respect for people who faced their deaths with such… gratitude. Every dead Shaman held their imprisonment in reverence, like a weight was taken off their shoulders now that they were dead.

  No longer did they have to push themselves every single day to be the best version of themselves possible. They were free. They’d succeeded, their life goals complete, just like that.

  Chuckling into his cup, Dei admired that he wasn’t the star of the show. True, many came up to ask him questions and thank him for saving them, but most were too caught wide-eyed on the translucent visages of war heroes, talking to them from beyond the grave.

  He was not immune to such emotions either, listening intently to every single one, and holding the memories close in his heart.

  The Gem Dweller population celebrated, perhaps not as uproariously as Prime humans might’ve, but with a quiet admiration for the dead, and an ever-burning spark of determination to keep living.

  Sitting around one of the many bonfires around the roads, all within the city as they did not need to worry about things like “Wood,” Dei rested his head on Perumah's while she sat in his lap, the special alcohol even able to give him a buzz.

  It was warm. The fire, company, and his heart. He closed his eyes, and let himself drift off.