Coconino National Forest Border, Otherside - 1:23 AM


    As we delved deeper into the desert forest, things became stranger and stranger. More eyes appeared everywhere, no longer constrained to the air. The trees had them, the rocks had them, even the ground underneath our feet was watching us. Della had been creeped out for hours now, but it was even starting to wear on Glaraphel’s nerves and I would have bet his true Angelic form was at least 50% eyes.


    Seven more waves of enemies came at us and Sara gave me repeat quests for all of them. Della continued to improve, but I could tell that her Mental Points were starting to get low by the end. Even with maxed out stats, her pool only held so much. I was thankful to Bethany for preparing some tea potions that would help out before I left.


    “Here,” I said, stopping as I noticed that the eyes were beginning to dwindle. I summoned two bottles of green tea in one hand, and then the same and two bottles of purple tea in the other. “Green is healing, purple is for resource recovery. Take these and use them as needed.”


    <<<>>>


    [[Item]]


    Healing Green Tea


    When imbibed, restore 25% of your HP.


    [[Item]]


    Arcane Breakfast Tea


    When imbibed, restore 20% of your Mental Points.


    <<<>>>


    Della took the four I offered with no hesitation, but Glaraphel shook his head. “I cannot. I will protect player Della Luna as instructed, but my health is not of concern.”


    “It is a concern when the Highest Sister has given me a quest to make sure you survive this as healthy as possible,” I told him with an arched eyebrow. “Besides, I still have two more of each. Take the tea.”


    Glaraphel looked down at me before nodding. His shield disappeared from his hand as he took the two bottles. “Very well. I will take these in the name of the Highest Sister.”


    Satisfied, I turned to Della. “You can use the scroll now.”


    “Finally!” she cheered, swiping open her menu.


    “You know how you were disappointed about how the transformation into a Warmind was kind of anticlimactic before?” I asked. She retrieved the Scroll of Copy Equipment and nodded. “Well, you’re going to like this. It’s going to basically be a full magical girl transformation sequence. Lasts a whole thirty seconds and everything.”


    “Sounds exciting, which is more than I can say for the rest of this place,” Della replied before looking around. It didn’t appear as though she had noticed the difference in our environment. “Why now? Are we almost there?”


    “Almost,” I confirmed, pulling out the Staff of Raphael. The copied version would give her some extra healing as well as boost her Willpower and Wisdom stats. “I wasn’t sure if the scroll would count for time outside of this temporal anomaly or our own personal time, which was why I had you wait. I’m going to go scout ahead. You two catch up after the transformation.”


    “Will do,” Della said.


    “Do not go too far. There’s a strange energy in the air,” Glaraphel warned.


    “Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for,” I chuckled.


    Turning, I started running down the trail. The ground wasn’t solid enough for me to use my Heelies, so this would have to do. A light show took place behind me as Della activated the Copy Equipment spell. I saw that all of the eyes tracking me had looked away, distracted. Walking over the top of a tall hill, I looked down on a wasteland.


    This was the true border to Otherside, the small dimension that Lord Talafraxis reigned over. The eyes disappeared as I crossed the boundary, but that wasn’t all. The trees, bush, and resilient grasses were nowhere to be seen, replaced by crystals dotting the red landscape of dirt and rock. Every so often something would pass through them, though they were too quick to see.


    I continued to follow the trail. The location was somewhere close to where the real Bradshaw Ranch was, but there was no trace of it. Instead, I headed towards the only other identifiable mass: a giant crystal surrounded by a sea of black.


    This was Talafraxis, floating over his Tulpa minions. With the Loaner Sword slung over my shoulder, I stopped my approach to watch.


    The Lord of Otherside was roughly twenty feet tall and made of several pieces of purple-blue crystals with eyes strewn seemingly at random inside. Nearly every one of his appendages floated separately from each other in the vague shape of a humanoid with a wide, cross-shaped head. Both of his massive hands were raised as he manipulated purple balls of energy. Streams of it came down, creating Tulpas as if he were filling out a mold. Creation took a few minutes, so I wasn’t in a rush.


    Besides, he already knew I was here. If he wanted to start the fight, he would have already. I didn’t mind a few more enemies.


    Even though the Tulpas were milling, these would be the strongest ones yet. As completely psychic beings, they lost strength the further and longer they were away from the one who made them. Sedona’s second scenario would have had the people in the city taking out the entities much like we had. Every wave would draw Talafraxis closer, making each skirmish more and more dangerous.


    <<<>>>


    [[Patron Message]]


    You already have a quest for this one. Would you like a refresher?


    If so, I can send it again. If not, be careful anyway. Talafraxis is dangerous.


    <<<>>>


    “No need for a refresher, I remember. Defeat the big bad while making sure Della is over 90% on her hit points and Glaraphel is 75% on his,” I said to the sky. “And don’t you worry. All will fall before the Champion of Earth. This is the way things have always been.”


    “You got some kind of pep talk going on?” Della asked as she approached, but she quickly became distracted by the sight of our enemy. She leaned on the copied Staff of Raphael in her arms.


    “Just talking to my Patron,” I answered, returning my own staff into my inventory. I nodded upwards at her, gesturing towards her clothes “How’s the fit?”You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Just as the spell described, Della was wearing an almost-exact replica of what I had on though it was sized for her. It was strange seeing someone else in my gear. The crown of bones and glasses on her head, the long black coat, the rosewood red gloves and pants, and the Heelies. The only things that hadn’t been copied were my Unique Items, so she didn’t have Esaraphelscion’s Love, the Vambrace of Wires, or the Loaner Sword of Coyote.


    “It’s not the best look, honestly, but I’m glad you’re wearing comfortable underwear,” she admitted.


    I laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a whole thing about copying gear across gender lines. Sorry I don’t have a magical bra to lend out. I was expecting old Fred to be my companion for a different adventure.”


    “I’ve already fixed that problem,” Della said before arching an eyebrow at me. “There are magical bras out there?”


    “Oh, yeah. There’s magical everything out there. I meant to get my feet in some comfortable doomed socks a while back, but some other things came up.”


    “Doomed socks,” she repeated before shaking her head. “I’m starting to believe that we’ve been really, really sheltered in Sedona.”


    “Yeah, it’s a real shame,” I said sadly. Silence hung between us for a moment as she stared at me, completely ignoring the army ahead of us. “Anyway, it looks like they’ve decided to grace us with their attention, so we should get moving.”


    I Pulled the Writhing Belt Whip from my inventory. It wriggled in my hand, and I offered it to her. She gingerly took it from me, taking note of the leather’s similarities to diseased skin.


    <<<>>>


    [[Item]]


    Writhing Belt Whip


    (Whip form; +5 Strength, +10 Constitution, +5 Willpower, Eldritch Chomp passive acquired)


    [[Passive]]


    Eldritch Chomp


    Whenever a blow is struck with the Writhing Belt Whip, there is a 50% chance to deal damage equal to your Constitution stat and inflict the bleeding debuff as the whip grows teeth and takes a bite out of your target.


    <<<>>>


    “Thanks?” she asked more than said, clearly unhappy with the macabre material the whip was made out of.


    “Feel free to keep it after the fight,” I told her as I started walking towards the battlefield. Della seemed distracted reading the whip’s description, but she followed shortly after. “I’ve kind of outgrown it, honestly. Ready, Glaraphel?”


    “I have been ready for hours now,” the Angel said as he resummoned his wicker shield and brought up the rear. “What is the plan?”


    <<<>>>


    [[Notice]]


    The Patron [Coyote] wishes to see you use Bringer of Fire and so he can marvel in his power in slow motion.


    <<<>>>


    Arching an eyebrow at the sky, I lifted the heavy Loaner Sword. “Patron of mine, Coyote wants me to bring the sun down. What say you?”


    <<<>>>


    [[Patron Message]]


    You should be a safe distance away to use it. I’m not sure how effective it’ll be given Coyote’s nature, but there’s probably no harm in using it. Better than you losing his sword because you didn’t entertain him.


    Speaking of entertainment, I just had to sit through several minutes of you asking that question, just so you know. I feel like I’ve been very patient but I may have to dissuade you from going into anomalies like this where you’re much slower than I am in the future.


    <<<>>>


    The Tulpas had turned to face our general direction, but they hadn’t moved yet. Beneath us, the ground rumbled as Talafraxis spoke. His voice was loud, deep, and unintelligible. It almost reminded me of a whale.


    “Yeah, yeah, and I’m the Head Honcho of Earth. I’m the one who’s going to kick your ass,” I called back even though I couldn’t understand him. Glancing back at Della and Glaraphel, I spoke normally. “Going to use a skill from the sword. After that, we charge. You two take out any remaining Tulpas, and I’ll go after Talafraxis.”


    “Understood,” Glaraphel said. Della gave me a nod.


    Talafraxis was saying something unintelligible, and I ignored him. Instead, I raised the Loaner Sword of Coyote high into the sky and mentally activated Bringer of Fire.


    The air all around us whipped up into a whirlwind as we heard the sound of something entering the atmosphere at a high speed. Everyone, including the Tulpas and their master, looked up to see that something heading straight for us. Glaraphel immediately picked Della up, careful not to let his flaming sword burn her, and started fleeing.


    I stood my ground, holding the heavy sword in the air as I stared down the ball of light that was heading my way. The sun was still high in the sky so I knew it wasn’t that, as cool as it would have been.


    When it came closer, I saw what it really was: a flaming meteor in the shape of a coyote’s head. I let out a low laugh as it continued on its collision course towards me. Trusting in Sara that it wasn’t going to crush me, I stood my ground and watched.


    The meteor went from a fast dive to a full stop in an instant, hovering over the tip of the Loaner Sword. It looked around with unblinking eyes before it turned its attention to me, and it opened its mouth.


    “You thought it was the sun, but Coyote is more powerful than that!” the stone head announced with a cackle. “Throw me! Throw me at our enemies!”


    “Sure thing, man,” I said with a disbelieving chuckle and shake of my head.


    I pulled the sword back, and the flaming meteor turned so that it was looking at the army. They began running towards us, apparently taking the appearance of Coyote’s head as a declaration of war. I decided that was fair.


    I swung the Loaner Sword forward, and the meteor took off like a boulder from a catapult. It cackled and laughed before it collided with the center of the army, exploding on contact.


    Fire burst forth from it, becoming so blinding that I had to look away, trusting only my aura sight to see what was going on. The ground became scorched as Tulpas burned away into nothing, but only in a particular pattern. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that only a quarter of the Tulpas remained, and those were the ones lucky enough to be on the outskirts.


    In the middle of the survivors, the flaming meteor had scorched the face of a photorealistic coyote into the ground. Its eyes moved, winking at me before going dormant. An ethereal laughter echoed before disappearing completely.


    “Bringer of Fire. Alright, I guess that solves that,” I said, nodding. Turning around, I saw Glaraphel put Della down what he considered a safe distance away. I needed to yell. “You didn’t have to run!”


    Before they could respond, the remaining Tulpas were between me and them, and Talafraxis was behind me. He was already mid-swing, and I didn’t have time to get Shield when he struck me. I went flying into the air from the force of the blow.


    It occurred to me that I should have remembered that the Lord of Otherside had a mass teleport skill. Given the low number of times I had fought him, I decided to let him have that one.


    The Tulpas had been positioned to divide and conquer. While it certainly wasn’t what Glaraphel had in mind, I decided that this was the best possible outcome. I had wanted a one on one against the boss and that was exactly what I was getting.


    Rolling after flying nearly twenty feet from where I was struck, I landed in a small group of enemies. I slid, swinging the Loaner Sword with the power of Orbit. The Tulpas surrounding me were cut down, slashed in half and disintegrating into the wind.


    Surveying the situation, I saw that most of them were going after Della and Glaraphel, which suited me just fine. While dangerous to most people, the Tulpas were really just a distraction to me. I could spare the mental energy to keep them from surrounding me with their boss, but that was it.


    My back hurt from the blow, and I summoned the Staff of Raphael in my free hand. Dual wielding it and the Loaner Sword of Coyote would give me a great boost to healing as well as the multiple different weird skills and passives I wanted to try in this fight. I turned to look at Talafraxis.


    “Really? Hit me with the teleport behind the back?” I asked with mock disapproval. “Not very lordly behavior, you know. Certainly not how you should start a fight with Earth’s Big Cheese, which isn’t a meaningless title I just made up.”


    Talafraxis responded, not that I could understand him.


    That didn’t stop me from acting like I could.


    “Come on, you know it wasn’t fair!” I complained, keeping an eye on the fight going on behind me. “There’s absolutely no way that that’s acceptable behavior in a duel.”


    The Lord of Otherside had an answer to my complaints, and that was to throw his fist out. Several crystal shards escaped from his hand, coming straight for me. Without moving, I activated Force Field, deflecting the projectiles so that they would land at my feet instead of stopping them outright.


    “Man, I came all this way, at least speak English,” I continued. Talafraxis’ eyes all narrowed as he looked at me, and I twirled the Staff of Raphael. “I don’t speak whale.”


    The boss’ cross shaped head tilted one way, and then the other, before it settled. “I am going to raze your planet to the ground,” Talafraxis said in a voice like gravel.


    “Rude,” I told him.


    Della and Glaraphel had started off on the back foot, but thanks to the Angel’s combat experience it was turning back in their favor. Now that I didn’t have to worry about them as much, it was time to go on the offensive. Turning my attention back to Talafraxis, I smiled.


    “Turnabout is fair play, right?” I asked, raising the Loaner Sword high into the air. Before he could respond, I activated Fae Step, teleporting directly behind him.