ã€ŠWhispers From Realmspaceã€‹


 Chapter 1: The Dark

    Addie ran through the house with her destination in mind, her favorite part of the house, a special hiding place where only she could fit. In her mind, this was the obvious place to go. In her haste to reach this special place, while turning a corner, she smashed directly into Christena, flinging the dirty laundry from her hands all over the place.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Addie yelped, clutching her head. For a moment, everything spun¡ªa whirl of colors, shapes, and laundry scattering everywhere.

    Christena¡¯s frown seemed to dance before her eyes, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Christena¡¯s voice was somewhere between chastising and genuine concern.

    That broke Addie out of the dizzy spell. Instead of replying, Addie playfully stuck her tongue out at the maid and made a sound.

    With a small break of her normal serious character, Christena also stuck her tongue out in response. Then, with a flick of her finger, a tiny blue lightning bolt shot out and touched Addie¡¯s nose.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Addie shouted, ¡°You surprised me!¡± But, like all of Christena¡¯s magic, the lightning bolt didn¡¯t hurt, or feel like anything at all. It just looked like a lightning bolt.

    Addie giggled, then absently, Addie peeled one of the dirty socks off herself. Addie put on her best innocent face, ¡°Are we still going to play games tomorrow night after lessons?¡±

    Christena sighed. She looked guilty, and Addie knew she would be breaking some bad news due to the hesitancy in her tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Addie. I thought I already told you, but I am going to be busy with a personal project tomorrow night. Can you ask your mother to play with you, instead?¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t bother to reply. This was supposed to be their night together. She always played with Addie at the end of the week. Addie looked right into Christena¡¯s eyes accusingly. For a second, Addie almost thought she saw something in Christena¡¯s eyes¡ª an angry glint that didn¡¯t seem like Christena at all. It passed almost as soon as Addie noticed it.

    ¡°Alright, maybe next time,¡± Addie murmured.

    Her head hung low, Addie made to turn around and start walking away. Then, once she couldn¡¯t hear Christena anymore, Addie sped back up into a sprint, her initial destination back in mind.

    Once Addie reached the kitchen, she looked to the far corner food cupboard. Looking above it, she spotted a loose ceiling tile. As she crawled up the shelves, she could practically hear Christena chastising her, ¡°Do not climb the shelves!¡± The memory made Addie hesitate for a moment before shaking her head and continuing to climb.

    Addie reached for the loose board on the ceiling, but froze when she heard the door creak. Mrs. Potts entered the kitchen, bustling about. With a silent gasp, Addie scampered up, and the board clicked into place just as Mrs. Potts glanced over. Now, in her secret hiding place, Addie let out a relieved breath. If the cook had seen her, she would have told Addie¡¯s mom that she was getting dirt on the pantry shelves again.

    She looked around her special dark cave. It was a familiar sight to Addie. A quite literal hole in the ceiling. To the left sat Rob, curled up on his blue fleece blanket. The tip of his tail flicked through the air seemingly in response to Addie¡¯s entrance. Addie had found this spot after seeing Rob disappear into the kitchen last summer.

    The black werecat had seemed exasperated the first time she intruded on his space, but after bribing him with some locally caught fish from market day, and setting up his corner with the blankets, he seemed to tolerate her presence. It was still hard for Addie to tell anything he was thinking, quiet as he was, but Rob¡¯s nature honed from his previous life as a bonded meant he was far smarter than he let on.

    Not much else sat nearby, cramped as it was. Addie barely had enough room to crawl into the space next to Rob, and even then she sadly noted that her head had just recently started to touch the ceiling of the space. It wouldn¡¯t be long before she had to hunch just to fit in here. Next to Rob¡¯s blanket, Addie had her own cushion that she crawled onto. Additionally, she had even managed to hang up a small circular mirror on the wall across from her, though it was quite useless most of the time with how dark Rob liked the place. She liked this spot since no one had found her here yet, though she suspected Rob had something to do with that. If Rob did not want to be found, he wouldn¡¯t be found.

    The longer she intruded on Rob, the more the darkness of the room seemed to grow, as if the light was physically being pushed out in tune with Rob¡¯s temperament.

    ¡°Rob, it¡¯s too dark in here.¡± Addie started with a roll of her eyes, ¡°I can only see you because of your shiny eyes,¡± Addie jokingly complained. Though Addie really did enjoy his company, regardless of the darkness.

    Rob did not respond verbally. With a huff of mild annoyance and a repositioning of his body, the shadows within the room retreated enough that Addie could make out the werecat¡¯s outline and flickering tail again.

    Addie made her final push into the room, readjusting her cushion just to the right of Rob, her customary spot. As she sat, she turned around with her back facing the wall, and Rob on her right-hand side.

    ¡°How come you haven¡¯t re-bonded since grandpa died, huh? And you even know I¡¯m looking for one too...¡± Addie pouted at the werecat, just like she did most days. Addie reached her hand out to Rob, aiming for his ears. Touching his soft fur, she absently began to scratch him where his ears connected to his head.

    Addie always liked the dark. Even though she only discovered this spot last summer, she had been hiding in dark and cramped places like this for years. She even remembered fondly back to a time when she would ask her father to turn off the night candles in the hall so she could sleep better. It shocked Addie to learn her cousin Nettal couldn¡¯t sleep without a candle lit in her room. To Addie, the darkness was a friend; an ally that provided comfort.

    As Addie continued to scratch Rob, he pushed the side of his face into her hand, as if to say ¡®Scratch me here¡¯.

    ¡°You like the dark here just like me, huh?¡± Addie looked right at Rob, examining his whiskered face.

    Suddenly, and without any obvious cause, Rob stood up and meandered out. ¡°Awe, don¡¯t leave!¡± cried Addie, pointlessly.

    Addie¡¯s thoughts turned sour as she realized Rob was all done with the affection for today. But then, just before he reached the slightly ajar open plank, he turned around and looked directly into Addie¡¯s eyes. She felt a slight chill sweep through her as Rob examined her. Addie felt exposed, like her very being was under question. Though surprising at first, somehow, Addie knew Rob held no malice towards her, only interest. Bond touched animals had no capability of speaking in the way a human can, and yet Addie felt Rob communicating something to her. His eyes seemed to convey meaning, telling Addie that she was ready for a bond. That was weird. He had never done that before.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Addie had been holding off, but maybe now her dad might listen if she talked to him later?

    Then, as if he hadn¡¯t just silently communicated, Rob continued walking off, slipping through the small gap between the boards. Addie could hear him plop onto the shelf below. With him gone from the space, the sunlight seemed to return, and Addie was able to see particles of dust float by in the revealed sunbeams peeking through the wall boards.

    ¡°I guess you aren¡¯t offering a bond today either, huh?¡± Addie sighed, dejected.

    While Bonded Creatures never communicated in words, looking back at his actions, something about Rob¡¯s demeanor seemed to tell Addie ¡°Not yet¡± or ¡°Not me¡±, though Addie couldn¡¯t decide which.

    Now, Addie only had herself for company in the small room. With Rob gone, there was enough light leaking into the room that she could see her reflection in the mirror. Staring back was a young girl with bright, nearly luminous blue eyes. Her long red hair draped close to her shoulders with low waves at the ends, and freckles dotted her face. Today, she was wearing a blue flowered sun dress that went up to her neck and down past her knees. It matched her eyes. She loved the pattern on this particular dress, but she had to be super careful not to rip it when she went out adventuring. Keeping the dirt away seemed impossible, and it frustrated her mom and the servants who had to clean her expensive dresses after such adventures. Just thinking about that almost ruined her mood.

    With Rob gone, Addie got to work on her second favorite activity, snooping! If she couldn¡¯t get anyone to play with her, maybe she could spy on them, instead. Through this crawl space, Addie had access to the guts of the entire mansion. The slim space was positioned between the wooden inside walls and the stone overlay of the outside walls. This created a space just barely big enough for Addie¡¯s small body. The crawl space felt a bit stifling at night since it became impossible to see, but during the day like this, the lighting shone through the cracks in the boards perfectly. The beams of sunlight from the Binary revealed specks of dust floating through the air, which sometimes made Addie cough. Addie was always careful about snuffling her face if she needed to cough, otherwise people might hear.

    Perfectly hiding her presence while only being mere feet away from anyone in the house thrilled Addie. The first time Addie tried snooping about and listening to peoples¡¯ secrets still stood out in her memory as the single most exciting moment of her life. Addie snuck around frequently to try and repeat that level of excitement, but it never quite lived up to her first memory. Regardless, Addie still loved the secrets this special place shared with her. Just yesterday she overheard some of the servants gossiping about boys! Addie had no interest in such things, obviously, but she couldn¡¯t possibly help it if she just so happened to overhear some of the servant women gossiping.

    Crouching through the inner guts of the house, Addie placed her feet in pre-memorized locations to avoid making any sound. She had come close to being heard in the past, and had several scares when she came close to getting caught; but now, Addie felt very proud of herself for placing each of her footsteps with care and silence. Starting from the corner space of the kitchen, Addie slowly moved her way around the servant quarters of the house. Some of the servant bedrooms had very thin walls, so this is where Addie knew she had to creep along with extra delicate care. Normally on an expedition like this, Addie would just listen to gossip here and there. Moving from the servant bedrooms over to the launder¡¯s area, and then usually back to the kitchen, but now, Addie had a plan.

    Addie wanted to know what Christena was up to. Maybe, Addie could figure out what this ¡®personal project¡¯ was. Addie doubted it could be more important than game night, anyway.

    Silently, Addie advanced, her steps cautious to avoid the creaking boards. Her destination was the esteemed administrative center of the house, an ostentatiously named space that in reality served as Christena''s modest office, accessible only to Christena. As she drew nearer, Addie''s pace slowed, until she stood on tiptoes with her ear pressed against the inner wall. It was likely that Christena¡¯s bonded companion resided within the confines of her office. Addie would need to be careful to not draw its attention.

    The Slyfox, named Fluffy, always had a knack for catching Addie in places she didn¡¯t belong.

    Unfortunately, after placing her ear against the wall, it seemed Addie would have to check in here later, since she couldn¡¯t hear anything at the moment. Likely, Christena was still finishing up with the laundry.

    Addie sighed at the disappointing result, but that was alright. She had a backup plan. It was time to go bother her dad about getting a bond instead. Rob thought she was ready, after all.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°I really think you should let me have a bond early,¡± Addie said, smugly, ¡°Even Rob seemed to agree with me!¡±

    Her father¡¯s face showed a degree of amusement from her claim. ¡°You are not yet ready for a bond,¡± His smile revealed a stern finality, ¡°You know just as well as I do that first bonds traditionally are taken on at the age of twelve, little miss.¡± Her father reminded her. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to get bonds early. You don¡¯t want to cascade, do you? Besides, Christena and I are still working on your bonding initialization. It won¡¯t be ready for a little while, yet.¡±

    A cascade would be bad, Addie knew. That scary bedtime story wouldn¡¯t stop her, though. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that.¡± She rolled her eyes at her father, with sarcasm in her tone.

    Some degree of frustration began to show on her face, ¡°You bonded with Dorple when you were ten.¡± Addie countered.

    At the mention of his name, Dorple angled his head towards Addie, seemingly interested in the conversation. Addie looked up when she noticed his movement. The small, navy-blue bipedal scaled rabbit-like creature with stubby arms sat upon Mr. Lomain¡¯s mess of a desk, inkwells, and half-finished letters accompanied by long dried-out containers of wax, which often found themselves in the trash.

    Behind the desk, the wall was more glass than wood, allowing a perfect view of the bi-rise¡ªthe blue orb of a sun being slowly consumed due to the pinprick of a black hole on the other side of it. On either end of the room stood bookshelves of research, some even written by Addie''s father himself, though recently Addie hadn''t seen any new projects. Pieces of paper strewn about created an atmosphere of messiness, and contributed to the strong musky paper smell of her father¡¯s office.

    Addie¡¯s dad sat reclined behind the desk in his cushioned chair. He had blue eyes and short-cropped black hair. He looked no older than 30, but Addie knew her dad¡¯s age was twice or even three times that. Something about Area Lords never aging. Addie didn¡¯t remember the specifics.

    His face showed exhaustion, and a thin layer of amusement barely contained his building frustration. Addie''s father shook his head. Laughing quietly to himself. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, Addie. I got an exception to bond early, and it¡¯s precisely due to the circumstances of those exceptions that allowed for it. I can¡¯t just give them out willy-nilly.¡± His face shifted into a serious expression, and he pointed his eyes directly at Addie.

    The attention made her fidget nervously and Addie couldn¡¯t help but glance at the floor for a moment.

    Leaning forward, Addie heard him shuffle as her dad put his elbows on the desk in front of him, interlocking his fingers. ¡°I know you think you are ready, but there is a reason we have these rules in place. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± He finished.

    Seeing a pause in her father¡¯s speech, Addie spoke quietly, pleading in a soft tone, ¡°You also had your first bond at the age of ten.¡± She looked up at him as she raised her voice, ¡°You didn¡¯t get hurt.¡± Addie tried to reason.

    ¡°We limit ourselves to our first magic bond at the age of twelve, and that further by only allowing a second bond when you reach adulthood at 16 if you so choose,¡± Addie''s father sighed, tired of this repetitive conversation with his daughter. ¡°I understand your eagerness, Addie, but this is not up for negotiation,¡± he stated firmly, his voice laced with a hint of disappointment.

    ¡°Bonds are not to be taken lightly. They require maturity, understanding, and the ability to foster a deep connection with a totally alien soul. You need more time to develop qualities that will ensure a successful bonding.¡±

    ¡°I''m ten, just like you were, Dad! There¡¯s gotta be some emergency out there that needs me, right?¡± Addie¡¯s words tumbled out in a hopeful rush.

    Her dad''s face showed hesitance and he shared a secretive glance with Dorple. Why did he pause, with a shadow of something unreadable crossing his face?

    ¡°Addie, this goes beyond just the risk of a cascade, there¡¯s...¡± he trailed off. ¡°Look, just drop it, ok? This isn¡¯t the right time.¡± He spoke earnestly.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll make an emergency, myself,¡± Addie threatened. She began to leave the room, upset at him for denying her.

    Before she could finish even her second step, her father commanded sternly, ¡°Stop.¡± The room suddenly grew colder, surpassing the chill of the morning outside. A faint shimmer of magical energy enveloped him, causing his eyes to glow briefly with a soft blue hue as he activated a subtle display of his power. He continued in a somewhat quiet voice, yet it still projected across the room. Addie felt a shiver run up her spine from the dropping temperature. ¡°You will not bother our people with foolishness. I am tired of this conversation.¡± Her father shook his head and stood up out of his chair as he placed his hands on the desk with a thud. Accompanying her father¡¯s change in mood, Dorple''s angled head and narrowed eyes suddenly seemed a lot less endearing. ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, father.¡± Addie stood tall, even as his scolding filled her with panic. She spoke in as serious of a voice as she could, fighting to prevent the fear from showing on her face.

    Her dad¡¯s eyes returned to normal as he stated, ¡°You may go.¡± With those words, Addie ran out of the room, not bothering to close the door.

    As Addie left her father¡¯s office, with the cold still nipping at her heels, she decided she wanted nothing to do with him¡ª at least for a while. That had been terrifying. Addie thought he was going to freeze her solid!

    It was so boring, to wander the house by herself. Mostly, she wanted a bond so she could have a friend. Addie didn¡¯t really care about dealing with an emergency. And any magic that came from the bond would just be a bonus.

    Addie''s thoughts shifted, maybe she could still convince Christena to keep her promise for board game night.

 Chapter 2: Secrets

    ¡°Yes... I think... if... start...¡± Addie strained her ears to catch Christena''s muffled words through the door. She crept closer, pressing her ear so far against the door she had to be careful not to get splinters. ¡°No, Fluffy, we''re not doing it that way. Not with Addie, at least.¡± Christena paused as she rummaged around for something.

    Addie listened in more closely at the mention of her name.

    ¡°Ah, there we go.¡± Christena chuckled and continued, ¡°Okay, you know what? That might work. Let''s go back to the basement tonight and see if moving things along with your idea is better.¡± Concluding her pseudo-conversation with Fluffy, Addie heard Christena approaching the door, causing Addie to flail in a panic, trying to find somewhere to hide.

    Just as Addie was trying to figure out where to hide, Christena exited the room and immediately noticed Addie standing there.

    Addie looked up at Christena with wide, doe-like eyes.

    ¡°Addie, what did I tell you?¡± Christena paused with a stern expression, and Addie¡¯s breathing stopped.

    ¡°You need to go find someone else to play with for today.¡± Christena finished.

    Relief flew across Addie¡¯s face, it seemed like Christena hadn¡¯t realized Addie was eavesdropping.

    In response, Addie kicked at the carpet, ¡°How come we can¡¯t do board games tonight?¡±

    Christena tried not to roll her eyes. Addie still noticed the beginnings of the motion, though, ¡°I already told you, Addie. I¡¯m busy tonight.¡±

    With that, Christena walked past Addie and continued on her way down the hall.

    Addie waited for a moment, watching her go. Once she was certain the coast was clear, Addie took a moment to look into Christena¡¯s office.

    The room was a cramped space, barely accommodating Christena''s desk and chair. There was hardly any room to stand, as the room was filled to the brim. In stark contrast to Addie''s father and his office, Christena¡¯s desk was meticulously organized. Neat stacks of paper were aligned perfectly, not a single edge out of place. Although there were no bookshelves, wooden filing cabinets were integrated into the desk, adorned with old iron locks that had begun to rust at the edges. The room lacked glass, and the single window had only wooden shutters. The midday light from the Binary streamed in, filling the room with brightness.

    Addie circled around the desk and plopped down into Christena''s chair. The unexpected lack of cushioning in the purely wooden chair made her wince slightly. ¡°ow.¡±

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    Just tall enough to see the surface of the desk, Addie noticed a few baubles strategically placed to keep the papers from shifting around when the window was open. Most of them were crafted from polished stone, varying in textures. They mostly depicted animals from the seventh caste, the lowest caste of bondable creatures. Among them were a Krefft Mouse and a Rechin, resembling a three-eyed raven. But it was the last item that caught Addie''s attention the most.

    Resting on the right corner of the desk was a pure red crystal figurine of a Slyfox. Addie noticed that the color of the gemstone perfectly matched Fluffy''s eyes. Partially hidden behind a stack of papers, it would go unnoticed unless someone sat in the desk chair.

    Addie reached out to grab the peculiar bauble and ran her fingers across its surface. This went beyond an ordinary polish. What fascinated her the most, though, was how some inexplicable tug pulled on something within her. It felt as though an unfamiliar muscle flexed itself in response to the unknown force. Surprised by this strange sensation, Addie instinctively pulled her hand back, as if recoiling from touching a hot stove. The bauble slipped from her grasp and clinked as it hit the ground, but it did not shatter. Then, Addie wavered before everything went dark.

    <hr><hr>

    As Addie opened her eyes, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. An uneasy feeling washed over her, reminiscent of waking up in the middle of the night after falling asleep in the living room.

    She sat up hastily, her heart pounding. She jerked her head around the room, only to notice her mother sitting in a chair to the left of her bed. Addie let out a sigh of relief, as she rubbed at her eyes.

    ¡°Christena found you collapsed in her office. Are you okay?¡± Addie¡¯s mom stood up and reached out to squeeze Addie''s hand.

    Still seated on the bed, Addie nodded slowly. ¡°Yeah, I think I''m alright.¡± Looking around the room, Addie realized her mother must have carried her unconscious body over to her parents¡¯ bedroom to rest. That¡¯s why the room seemed so unfamiliar when she woke up.

    Addie put on a serious expression and proceeded to recount the strange experience she had in Christena''s room to her mother, omitting the details of how she ended up there, focusing only on the bauble.

    When Addie finished, her mother tilted her head and said, ¡°But Addie, dear, Christena wouldn''t have anything like that. Besides, when I rushed to you after one of the maids informed me, you had simply collapsed on the floor of the office. There were no items like the one you described.¡±

    ¡°But there was! I''m telling you! I saw something like that,¡± Addie insisted, trying to convince her mother of what she had witnessed. Lately, none of the grown-ups seemed to listen to Addie! She squeezed her fists until they went pale.

    ¡°Oh, Addie, you probably just needed some proper rest,¡± her mother replied with a patient smile. ¡°Make sure you go to bed early tonight, alright? You''ve been staying up too late into the night recently. It¡¯s worrisome to find you collapsed all of a sudden, you need to take better care of yourself!¡± Her mom said shamelessly.

    Addie''s scrunched up her face in frustration. ¡°Ugh! Whatever.¡± She got out of her parents¡¯ bed and practically stormed out of the room, struggling to refrain from slamming the door behind her.

    For the rest of the day, Addie camped out in her room, mulling over the day''s events. She felt a combination of indignation over her mother¡¯s response to the situation, along with total bafflement over the disappearing bauble. Addie had of course gone back to try and find it.

    ¡®How did it just disappear? Maybe Christena took it before mom got there. What was that feeling it gave me?¡¯ None of her internal thoughts could reveal the answer, unfortunately.

    To Addie, the bauble seemed to enhance her sense of touch, allowing her to ¡®feel more¡¯ in a way she couldn''t fully comprehend. It was an alien sensation, unlike anything else. Trying to describe it would be akin to wasting time explaining colors to a blind person; one had to experience it firsthand to truly understand the sensation.

    Even having experienced it herself, Addie struggled to fully grasp the phenomenon. Driven by curiosity, she resolved to find the bauble again, hoping for more time to examine the peculiar feeling that arose in her, hopefully, this time without fainting.

    As night fell, Addie sat on her bed, gazing at the ceiling, her thoughts continued to linger on the strange sensation. Remembering Christena''s mention of the basement, she decided that the next day she would explore it. Hopefully, she could find a clue.

 Chapter 3: The Basement

    As a child, Addie had often heard bedtime stories filled with tales of spooky basements and creepy attics. However, when she finally ventured into the basement herself, it was nothing like the eerie places depicted in those stories.

    Addie walked down a circular stairwell. The stairs in question were crafted from polished wood, and adorned with delicate carvings that traced the railing. The entire path was bathed in the warm glow of candlelight, ensuring a well-lit and inviting atmosphere. The basement, frequented by various servants, was meticulously maintained and organized, mirroring the pristine order of the rest of the house.

    Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, Addie stepped off onto a meticulously well-swept stone floor. Although the basement lacked distinct rooms, a quick survey of the space revealed its various functional areas. Positioned in the far-right corner was a wash basin accompanied by a washboard still resting within the tub. It showed some dings and scratches, which indicated how it was well used, but it wasn¡¯t broken or degraded by any means. Just to the left of it sat a laundry rack, currently unused since clothes would hang outside on a clothesline during these summer months. Closer to the middle of the wall, a few maid uniforms hung on hooks. Most of the hooks were empty. The few uniforms that did hang were reserved for new or returning servants. Traditionally, servants kept possession of their own uniforms.

    In the left corner of the room sat a small table with four chairs gathered around it. A few knitting needles and strands of yarn still sat out. ¡®Perhaps the servants knit and sew down here in their free time.¡¯ Addie thought to herself. Built into the middle of the right wall a furnace started to gather dust, unused this time of year.

    Mostly, the basement was a fair bit of empty space, to the point where Addie couldn¡¯t find anything unusual about it in the slightest. Addie looked around the room just to confirm, but she truly could detect nothing amiss about the space. Not even a stray puddle of water was pooled near the wash basin.

    Going further into the room, she approached the maid uniforms. Then, she double-checked nothing hid behind them. When that turned out to be pointless, Addie circled around the room. She picked up pieces of yarn, some needles, and she even lifted up the wash basin and looked under it. All searching ended up being totally pointless.

    Disheartened, Addie began ascending the stairs once again. About halfway up the stairs, Addie heard footsteps approaching the top of the stairwell. Before the door could be opened, Addie half ran half tip-toed back down the stairs.

    ¡®That must be Christena coming down! Maybe I can hide here somewhere...¡¯ Addie thought.

    Hiding behind the maid uniforms wouldn¡¯t work, since her legs would be showing. Under the table and in the wash basin also gave little hope due to her size.

    With a quick touch to the front door of the furnace to confirm it held no heat, Addie opened it. Ducking her head to peer inside, she realized it must have been cleaned up after winter ended. Of course, it wasn''t like Addie could see much inside the dark abyss of a metal box. Those things had a knack for swallowing light whole, leaving no room for sightseeing, much to Addie''s disappointment.

    At least confident that the furnace felt cool, Addie crouched down and hopped in. She snugly fit inside, contorting her body into an egg shape by wrapping her arms around her knees. She reached out and closed the door behind her. It was just in time, too, since Addie could hear someone reaching the end of the stairwell. Peeking through the four tiny metal slits in the door of the furnace, Addie could barely make out that the mystery person was Christena after all.

    "...," Christena''s voice whispered faintly, barely audible due to the hard steel walls around Addie, muffling the sound. The grate at the front of the furnace also didn¡¯t provide a fantastic way for Addie to see. Even when she strained her eyes, Addie could hardly make out Christena¡¯s figure. The main clue that made Addie certain was Christena¡¯s uniform. Only she had the unique affectations on her maid uniform¡¯s sleeves and chest that marked her as the boss. The ornate sleeves adorned with embroidered roses that curled around onto her chest area normally commanded respect for her position, though, from Addie''s current vantage point, it almost seemed as if Christena¡¯s arms possessed an exaggerated poofiness.

    The whimsy of the moment quickly evaporated. Soon enough, Addie could see Fluffy engaged in a peculiar and precise pattern of movement. With uncanny dexterity, Fluffy leaped from wall to wall. She watched as Fluffy unerringly landed in the center of the wall face, then pushed off and ran to the next wall. Again, she jumped unerringly into the center of the wall. Once Fluffy¡¯s path started towards the far side of the wall Addie was in, she could no longer see Fluffy¡¯s path, due to her limited field of view from the furnace. Despite this, Addie could still hear Fluffy¡¯s skittering nails along the floor as she ran unerringly closer.

    Her excitement turned to dread though, when Addie heard muffled cries of distress emanating from the stairway entrance. The cries seemed to grow in sequence with each rhythmic jump Fluffy performed, until finally, the sound of the screaming blended with the sound of Fluffy''s approach towards the furnace, conveniently located right in the heart of the wall where Addie remained concealed.

    Now realizing something felt wrong about this situation, Addie had a moment of apprehension as she saw Fluffy homing in on her hiding place. ¡®What if she finds me?¡¯ This game of snooping on Christena¡¯s activities no longer felt exciting. Instead, Addie¡¯s heart dropped.

    Addie closed her eyes and braced. She jolted when she felt more than heard the loud bang of Fluffy¡¯s paws jumping off the metal door of the furnace. Addie experienced a brief surge of relief when Fluffy kept running along, not seeming to notice Addie at all.

    ¡®Maybe this strong charcoal smell hid my scent,¡¯ Addie wondered. That didn¡¯t stop her heart from slowing down though. At least she seemed to be in the clear, for now. Unfortunately, the exact opposite became true for the poor soul being dragged each agonizing step down the stairway.

    As the source of the screams came into view, it became apparent that Christena had pulled some random peasant from out of the manor¡¯s farms. Addie could tell the woman was older due to the hoarseness of her wails. Addie decided that hearing terror-filled screams was the worst way to discover someone¡¯s age. Behind the old woman stood another of the manor¡¯s servants. A stablehand tightly wound the old woman¡¯s hands behind her back with his own. Despite her screams, the stablehand¡¯s face betrayed nothing. His serious expression didn¡¯t match the horror of the situation at all. This was just business, his face said.

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    What made it all the worse, Addie knew the stablehand. His name was Jeff, and he came across as slightly awkward with his large body, as though he didn¡¯t quite know how to be dexterous with his strength. Jeff always treated Addie kindly when she visited the fillow in the stable, large moose-like creatures. He stayed quiet most of the time, but he seemed kind enough in their limited interactions. His supposedly quiet-kind demeanor made his presence here shocking. Especially in the way he seemed so clinical about holding his captive.

    As Jeff and the old woman approached the center of the basement, Addie was able to make out the old woman¡¯s face. She recognized her since the surrounding village was so small, but she didn¡¯t know her name.

    After she saw Jeff and the old woman, Addie took notice of Fluffy¡¯s movements across the room. Everywhere Fluffy ran she began to radiate a bright pink trail behind her. Streaks of light followed in her wake as she jumped across the room. She unerringly jumped onto each wall once, causing a bright focal point in the middle of each wall to glow. The glowing point on Addie¡¯s wall brightened just above the furnace slits. It shined into the furnace, blinding Addie as her eyes adjusted.

    The stablehand stopped walking forward abruptly. His sudden movement caused his cargo to stumble for a moment before the old woman caught herself. Now directly facing Christena, the old woman replaced her piercing wails with a softer sob. At that moment, Addie realized what it looked like for someone to give up.

    After a brief moment accompanied by sobs, Addie thought she saw Christena nod her head to Jeff in an unspoken command. However, it was hard to tell for sure from Addie¡¯s position in the furnace. Her guess was confirmed when the stablehand shoved the older peasant woman forward at a harsh angle designed to make her fall on her face. Just as she should have hit the ground face first, instead of colliding, the woman seemed to vanish into the ground, falling through the earth as if it were liquid.

    Addie rubbed her eyes, but the patterned stone floor of the basement looked no different than a moment ago. She looked at Christena in a new light. Christena¡¯s twisted smile and apparent glee clashed with Addie¡¯s image of the friendly, if sometimes teasing, woman. ¡®We were supposed to play games today.¡¯ This was her maid smiling to herself after seemingly murdering a defenseless woman. She had to tell her dad. But, Addie couldn¡¯t move, too horrified to so much as wiggle. Any movement she made could reveal her presence to Christena. Addie didn¡¯t want that.

    Being in the sixth caste, Fluffy never should have had as much power as she currently demonstrated. Even earlier, the lightning bolt she teasingly ¡®shocked¡¯ Addie with didn¡¯t actually feel like anything. It just looked pretty. All of Christena¡¯s magic was like that. It just looked pretty, it never did something like kill someone. Either Christena held inhuman reserves of power, ungodly discipline, and focus, or, most likely, she had hidden another caste of bonded somewhere on her person. Or worse. Maybe Christena had cascaded destroying her personality for magical power. Addie didn¡¯t see any other way Christena could do something so horrible while also having the needed magic power to do it.

    With a beckoning gesture from Christena, Fluffy ran back towards her bonded partner. The three accomplices then started back up the stairs, behaving as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred at all.

    Addie had to decide what to do next. Obviously, she needed to tell someone about what she saw. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation for this somehow? Addie wanted to trust Christena, to trust the woman who spent so many days teaching Addie about the world and being a part of her family. The events of the past few minutes left Addie feeling conflicted.

    She would have to go to her dad, Addie decided. With that thought, Addie scrunched up her face. She slapped her cheeks to motivate herself. Regardless of how upset he might be, this was an emergency.

    Before worrying too much about that, Addie decided, it would be vital to leave the basement without anyone noticing. For now, Addie had a sense of security¡ªno one had seen her enter the basement. That meant no one could report her whereabouts to Christena. Hopefully, the secrecy wouldn¡¯t matter, anyway.

    It was a good thing Addie always kept an eye on the servants. Imagine if Christena had found out she walked down into the basement just before the ritual. It was a sobering thought, one that left Addie feeling even more conflicted than a moment ago.

    Entering the basement was easier than leaving it, however. When entering somewhere, it¡¯s easy enough to look at your surroundings and find out if anyone else is around. Once on the other side of that door, though, it always proved more difficult. It¡¯s not like Addie could see through the closed door to check if someone was outside watching the door.

    Slowly, Addie opened the door to the furnace. Standing up, her skirt stirred up the dust and soot she had been sitting on. Her lungs seized up, wracking her body in a coughing fit. It seemed the furnace wasn¡¯t as clean as she initially suspected.

    The adrenaline from the previous situation had started to fade, leaving her limbs tingly and numb. But now that she had just made a lot of noise coughing up that soot, her anxiety started to come back. She stood dead silent in the room, listening for any signs that she had been heard. After a few moments of silence, a wave of relief passed through Addie as she realized no one was coming to investigate. The sting of soot still invaded her airways, especially her nose, making her feel the strong urge to sneeze, but she managed to hold it in. With watering eyes, she wiped her face as best she could with the front of her shirt¡ªthe only spot yet untouched by the soot.

    Addie¡¯s initial impression of the basement as a pristine and orderly place had been shattered by Christena¡¯s ritual. Addie made no effort to stay near this place any longer than she needed to. She walked back up the stairs, glancing at the candles that illuminated the circular stairwell.

    Though she felt no nerves going up the stairs, now that Addie had reached the top, a familiar nervousness tingled in her chest and fingertips again. The moment had come to determine if Addie could keep her part in the basement ritual a secret.

    Addie pushed herself onto her tiptoes and leaned her ear against the door, without putting her weight on it. She had to rely on her hearing to figure out if someone was standing or walking around outside the basement entrance. But even that could be unreliable. If someone stood motionless outside the door, it would be almost impossible to hear them. After a few heartbeats of silence, Addie decided to look under the door and see if she could make anything out. A fair amount of light shone through the bottom of the door, allowing Addie to see a foot or so away from the door. However, the angle from the top of the stairs didn''t provide a clear view further out.

    She retraced her steps carefully down the stairs, deliberately stopping three steps from the top to align her line of sight with the bottom of the doorframe. By adjusting her position, she no longer had to strain her neck against the floor, restricted to a limited view. Instead, her new angle granted her a straight line of sight through the small gap between the floor and the door. While her vantage point remained at ankle height, it provided ample visibility to assess whether anyone stood guard near the door.

    Looking out from this new vantage point, Addie confirmed no one stood near the exit from the basement. Still feeling a tinge of apprehension, she twisted the door handle with delicate pressure, ensuring it made no sound as she cracked the door open. Peeking out in this way further confirmed no one stood nearby. With slightly more confidence, she opened the door fully and stepped back out into the hallway. She wasted no time and immediately began walking to her father¡¯s office.

 Chapter 4: Dad. Again.

    ¡°What is it now, Addie?¡± Her dad struggled to hide his frustration¡ª now interrupted for the second time in as many days. His face and hair appeared disheveled, and he seemed deeply engrossed in his work, with letters stacked up, their wax seals still drying.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about yesterday, Dad. Something insane happened!¡± Addie walked further into the room facing her father¡¯s desk.

    As Addie entered the safety of her father''s office, she felt a sense of relief having successfully escaped the basement, but also a nervous anticipation for her upcoming conversation. She didn¡¯t know what to think about Christena anymore.

    ¡°Something insane? You haven¡¯t conjured up some imaginary ¡®emergency¡¯ to try and convince me to find you a bond early, have you?¡± Her dad accused, tiredly.

    Addie ignored her dad and instead plopped down heavily into one of the guest seats across from him, causing a big plume of soot to explode out from her skirt.

    ¡°Oh, you just got dust everywhere!¡± Her father remarked without any real annoyance, only surprise. Standing up from his chair he continued, ¡°What have you been getting into.¡± He grabbed a handkerchief from his breast pocket as he stepped around his desk to approach Addie and gently wipe off her face.

    With a touch of attitude, Addie said, ¡°Stop it, Dad,¡± even as his efforts squished her face and broke up her speech. But, besides that one complaint, she made no real effort to stop him from his task. Instead, she sat patiently, waiting for her father to finish cleaning her up.

    Satisfied with his cleaning job, her father grunted in approval and returned to his side of the desk as he took his seat. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to get a maid in here to clean up all that dust you spread around,¡± he grumbled, though Addie could tell he wasn¡¯t really upset with her.

    In a burst of mischievous retaliation, Addie jumped up out of her seat and walked over to her dad''s side of the desk. She then hopped onto his lap with more force than necessary. She made sure to settle herself comfortably, all the while spreading soot all over her dad.

    He took this development in good humor, ¡°Now I guess we''re the dusted duo,¡± her father quipped with a smile.

    After a moment of Addie¡¯s giggles, he spoke up again, ¡°Well, tell me about this ¡®insane¡¯ thing you witnessed.¡±

    Addie¡¯s face turned somber, ¡°Dad, is Christena supposed to be down in the basement with the peasants?¡± she asked.

    Maybe, there was a reasonable explanation for this after all.

    ¡°Nothing beyond their normal duties. I wouldn¡¯t expect a peasant to be down in the basement when we have housekeepers who do the normal chores around here. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Dad, I think, Christena might have done something bad.¡± Addie¡¯s heart dropped. She didn¡¯t want to think of Christena like this, she didn¡¯t want to think of her caretaker like this. Even though Addie knew on a logical level that what Christena did in the basement looked wrong, Addie desperately hoped she was misunderstanding something somehow.

    ¡°Something bad? Why do you think that?¡± He sounded contemplative rather than skeptical, ¡°I will need more than that to take any serious action.¡±

    From her position in his lap, Addie explained, ¡°Earlier, I went into her office and found a really strange object!¡± Addie cupped her hands to demonstrate the size of the object, ¡°It made me pass out, and then Mom had to come and take care of me. Then, later, when I tried to find out more about it, I...¡± Addie paused, a flash of guilt crossing her face. She couldn¡¯t just admit she had been snooping around... ¡°Well, I overheard that Christena was going to do something in the basement today.¡± Addie emphasized the word ¡®overheard¡¯. ¡°When I went down there, I had to hide in the furnace!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you''re covered in soot...¡± His voice trailed off, his curiosity piqued. ¡°Why did you have to hide in the furnace?¡±

    ¡°I saw something crazy down there, Dad. Christena and Fluffy came into the basement shortly after me. Then, Fluffy just started flying all over the room trailing these bright lights¡ª¡±

    Her dad cut in, ¡°Some kind of cleaning ritual?¡±

    ¡°No, Dad. Let me finish.¡± Addie replied with a roll of her eyes.

    ¡°After Fluffy did that thingy, Jeff joined Christena in the basement with an old lady. They threw the lady on the ground, but instead of hitting the ground, she just vanished! Like poof!¡± Addie gestured wildly with her hands as she explained.

    For a moment, her dad sat up straight in surprise, ¡°Christena definitely doesn¡¯t have the power necessary for an ability like that, but if what you are saying is true I can¡¯t just ignore it.¡± But then his tone took on a hint of disbelief, ¡°Someone missing is supposed to be one of the very first things reported to an Area Lord. That helps us make sure dangerous magical beasts aren¡¯t near the town. If what you are saying is true, someone should have told me.¡± Her dad put his hand gently on Addie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You really aren¡¯t making this up? It seems suspicious to me, Addie, that you¡¯ve found an emergency all on your own.¡±

    Addie hopped off her dad¡¯s lap and turned around to face him. ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth! I swear.¡± With her firsts curled up at her sides, Addie tried to put on her best serious face and hoped to sound convincing, ¡°This isn¡¯t about me wanting a bond, Dad!¡± Some tears started pooling in the corners of her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want Christena to be killing people either, and you said there shouldn¡¯t be a reason for the villagers to be in the basement.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Well, your mother tells me the bauble you are talking about cannot be found?¡± Her dad¡¯s tone bore down on Addie, making her feel as if she had done something wrong. It was so frustrating. She wasn¡¯t making this up! And her dad wouldn¡¯t even believe her! She didn¡¯t want to believe it, either.

    Unable to maintain eye contact, Addie averted her gaze from her father¡¯s face, instead looking away at the floor. ¡°I¡¯m not lying,¡± she repeated.

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    Addie began to meander out of the room. Before she could finish exiting, her father¡¯s voice reached her again, prompting her to turn her head back and look.

    ¡°In either case, Addie, I can¡¯t leave such an accusation sitting idly. Though, Christena has been good to us, good to you as well. Let me look into it some more, in the meantime stay away from Christena.¡± His tone softened, and Addie heard him speak in a quieter tone, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine her doing something like that.¡±

    ¡°You promise you will look into things here?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°I promise. Remember what I said, stay away from Christena, ok?¡± He reminded her.

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie agreed.

    With a bit more hope in her step, Addie left her dad¡¯s office.

    Her dad had mentioned that the villagers should have told him by now if something was wrong. Maybe she should go into town. Dad told her to stay away from Christena, but he didn¡¯t tell her to stay away from the townsfolk. She just needed to speak with the villagers. They should easily be able to identify the missing woman. Who knows, maybe the woman wasn¡¯t even missing, and the whole thing in the basement was some piece of complicated movement magic that Addie didn¡¯t quite understand. Addie couldn¡¯t believe Christena would do something so evil, too. With a somewhat renewed spirit, Addie resolved to visit the village in the morning.

    The rest of Addie¡¯s night passed by in a flash. She had a quick dinner, where only her mother showed up at the table. It was a common occurrence due to her father¡¯s demanding schedule. His absence had long since stopped bothering Addie, but Mrs. Lomain still seemed troubled by it frequently. Addie didn¡¯t focus on that much though, as too many other thoughts of the past day were running rampant through her mind. The taste of dinner hardly registered as Addie felt eager to finish and retreat back to her room. For some reason, Christena also missed dinner, that night.

    Once she lay down into bed, the anticipation of the following morning kept her awake longer than she would have preferred. She thought about visiting the village in the morning. She hoped to find some clues about the missing woman from last night. She hoped to find out that Christena wasn¡¯t a murderer. She had a rough night trying to fall asleep.

    She tossed and turned as she found herself ensnared in a distressing dream. She envisioned malevolent spirits soaring through the air, leaving trails of bright lights in their wake as they chased down the elderly. Addie had to rouse herself from sleep multiple times, ensuring she was in her bed and not hiding within steel furnace walls.

    Due to her initial fitful sleep early in the night, Addie slept in late into the morning. After waking up, she ate a quick breakfast in the dining room with her mother, engaged in a brief conversation about her plans for the day, and then darted out of the house and into the surrounding village.

    Area Lords controlled acres upon acres of land. Mutually assured destruction deterred surrounding powers from invading each other''s territories, or so the dramatic old-world history books in Addie¡¯s dad¡¯s office claimed. In truth, intricate webs of blood ties and arranged marriages ensured that any warmonger would find himself facing his own kin on opposing sides of the battlefield¡ªan unsightly and bloody affair. This was something that hadn¡¯t happened for at least a century. There was also the fact that bloodthirsty Area Lords tended to make a lot of enemies very quickly.

    While Area Lords controlled extensive swathes of land, more often than not, a large portion of the territory remained unsettled. An Area Lord can only guarantee so much safety when villages start getting bigger, and only Lords and Ladies can create a magic bond, to begin with. The common villagers had no way to easily expand into the wilds without a bonded lord or lady to protect the surroundings. Like other Area Lords, her dad held a large amount of territory, but all the settlers lived within a single small town, not daring to brave the wilds without his direct magical protection.

    In her dad¡¯s case, the villagers lived directly near the main manor, with a population of less than two or three hundred. There were more benefits to living on an Area Lord¡¯s land other than just protection, though. It was always fascinating to go out into the village and see how the villagers worked the land. Though in some cases, it almost seemed like the land worked itself, with how her dad¡¯s powers worked.

    Addie ventured out of the main manor, strolling along the cobblestone road until she arrived at the main fields. The villagers all lived communally, with large houses interspersed with great swathes of farmland. Her dad secured a house for each family. One of his responsibilities was to create a new house and extra farmland every time a couple got married. Addie loved attending those celebrations, where she got to see her father¡¯s magic plow through the trees and create fertile soil with just a wave of his hand. The land was his in more than just name, after all.

    Though each family had their own home, the farmland itself was fairly communal. Everyone would leave their homes in the morning and work on the farmland together. Wives, fathers, and even the small children would work together to harvest food each day. They didn¡¯t have any animals to help with this process, and they didn¡¯t need any. The land itself was clever enough that no animals were needed, anyway. Addie even had to join in sometimes, under the guise of ¡®building character¡¯. She hated getting sweaty in the hot Binary but also liked playing in the fields with the rest of the village children.

    Most days, Addie would watch with wonder as long stalks of wheat would bend towards anyone walking by, allowing them to easily harvest the grains in great heaps. They didn¡¯t even need any special tools, as the wheat berries seemed to pop off all on their own when a villager¡¯s basket came near.

    The fruit trees and bushes would twist their branches down towards the ground and release their fruits all by themselves into pre-placed baskets near their trunks. The villagers merely had to retrieve the baskets by the end of the day.

    The main source of protein on the farms, the yolkulatch, would comb through all the fields with a cleverness unbefitting of their simple demeanor. These small, fat bird-like creatures with long beaks and stubby wings loved to eat any of the insects trying to harm the crops. Never once had Addie seen so much as a damaged leaf. In turn, their eggs would be harvested by the villagers, and the older birds would be slaughtered for their meat.

    However, today felt different. The fields seemed unusually quiet even though the same amount of people were out as usual. No one was engaged in conversation, which Addie thought would be impossible in this tight-knit community. Even the siblings harvesting wheat side by side didn¡¯t so much as look at each other. No children climbed the trees or played hide and seek in the fields. Addie didn¡¯t see any of the children, actually. Even the plants themselves seemed to sway lethargically¡ª as if the surrounding mood itself was poisonous.

    Slightly put off by the unusual atmosphere, Addie gathered up the sides of her skirt and started stepping over the fields of grain. She walked over to one of the men harvesting some kind of small leafy green vegetable. Probably some kind of cabbage, Addie thought. As Addie walked over, she noticed how the topmost leaves detached from the main plant all by themselves, and seemed propelled by the wind as they flew up and into the basket the man was holding. He hardly had to move as all the plants near him followed this pattern, and a great trailing swarm of leaves swirled around in the air to reach his basket.

    The man appeared caught off guard for a moment when he spotted Addie, but he quickly bowed from the waist, showing the top of his head, as he waited for Addie to finish approaching. Once she stopped in front of the man, he slowly came up out of the bow. She recognized his face, but couldn¡¯t quite recall his name. She often played with this man¡¯s younger son, who was about six years old. His son¡¯s name was Litan, if she remembered right.

    Addie felt slightly nervous, for a reason she couldn¡¯t place. Maybe just the feeling in the air was throwing her off. She swallowed, and asked the man, ¡°Do you know why everyone looks so down?¡±

 Chapter 5: Christena

    ¡°Do you know why everyone looks so down?¡± Addie asked.

    At her question, the man¡¯s face turned into an expression of relief¡ª a strong contrast from his earlier weariness.

    He replied, ¡°Miss Lorry went missing last night, and with the three other missing people from earlier this week, well,¡± He paused for a moment as Addie digested this, and then he continued, ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to tell someone at the manor for weeks, but every time anyone approaches, one of the maids forces us to leave. She wouldn¡¯t even listen to us! She just ignored everything we said. Yesterday, when Ms. Lorry went missing, a number of us decided to try and all approach the manor at the same time and beg the Lord for help, but somehow, we couldn¡¯t find the manor! We could see it in the distance, but every time we tried to approach it was like we took three steps backward for every one step we took forwards, even though we were certain we hadn¡¯t been turned around.

    ¡°We''re just scared.¡± The man admitted sincerely, ¡°You have no idea how good it is to see your face, <u>my lady</u>.¡± The man used the highest title of respect, forcing Addie to recall some of her etiquette lessons with Christena. Of the three titles used for a woman of higher status, he had just addressed Addie with the equivalent of kowtowing through words. The gravity of it was not lost on Addie.

    Horror filled Addie as she struggled to find a response. However, the man continued, ¡°I''m glad you came out here today, <u>my lady,</u>¡± Once again speaking with the utmost respect, ¡°We were worried that before long we would all vanish¡ª just like Miss Lorry.¡±

    ¡°That''s terrible!¡± Addie exclaimed, her voice filled with shock and concern. ¡°The maid who turned you away, did she have a fox-looking creature around her shoulders? And did she seem tall with black hair?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± The man stated grimly.

    Putting aside her suspicions and her dread, for a moment, Addie decided on a course of action, ¡°We need to talk to my dad. Follow me.¡± Addie grabbed the man¡¯s hands, forcing him to stumble a bit before he caught himself. Being of nobility, Addie was naturally stronger than most, even when comparing a ten-year-old girl to a fully grown man.

    The man caught himself and asked Addie to wait for a moment so he could put his basket full of leafy greens down. Then they started walking towards the manor.

    Addie felt a lot more confident now that she had such obvious proof of the missing villagers. She just hoped they could avoid Christena once they reached the manor. She didn¡¯t want to see her maid right now. A tight ball of anxiety seemed to throb in her chest, but it slowly started to untangle the closer they got to the manor. It had been surprisingly easy to convince the villager to accompany her. They also didn¡¯t have any trouble walking towards the manor like in the man¡¯s story, either.

    ¡°Excuse me, <u>Miss</u> <u>Lomain</u>¡ª¡±

    Addie interrupted the villager, not wanting to hear the formal address. ¡°Please, you don''t need to bother with honorifics and titles. I never liked my decorum lessons, and remembering all the different forms of ''miss'' is exhausting. You can just call me Addie!¡± Addie tried to speak with a cheer, but it came out as slightly forced given the situation.

    The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, then spoke up, ¡°Addie, then. I¡¯m worried the maid will turn us away at the front door.¡± The man seemed to rub the backs of his hands as his anxiety continued to grow the closer they neared the manor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You just need to reach my dad, and then everything will be fine. I¡¯ll distract Christena if I have to.¡± Addie tried to reassure the man with her brave face, but she didn¡¯t feel too successful. The man continued walking hesitatingly, the same way Addie imagined a man might walk towards the gallows. ¡°There¡¯s really no need to be so nervous.¡± Addie tried one more time to comfort him.

    When they reached the front door of the manor, through some miracle, Christena was nowhere to be seen. Before any of the other servants could come walking by and potentially report the pair to Christena, she ushered the villager inside, and Addie quickly but quietly shut the heavy wooden door behind them.

    To try and help calm the villager¡¯s nerves, Addie once again grabbed ahold of the man¡¯s hand as she led him towards her father¡¯s office. Though, the act might have calmed Addie more than the man.

    Addie let out a small sigh of relief when they reached her father¡¯s office door without running into anyone along the way. Still holding the villager''s hand, she knocked on her father¡¯s door with her other hand. When nothing but silence greeted them, she gulped. After another moment, Addie decided to slowly ease the door open and peek through the crack.

    ¡°Oh, who¡¯s that? Addie?¡± Her dad¡¯s voice brought so much relief to Addie in that moment that she began to feel silly for being worried in the first place. She dragged the villager into the office behind her and practically shoved him into one of the guest chairs.

    ¡°Um, sorry, what''s your name again?¡± Addie tried not to look too sheepish as she realized she hadn¡¯t asked the villager for his name. ¡°It''s Jorel.¡± Before Jorel could say another word, Addie exclaimed, ¡°Dad, people are going missing in the village! Jorel, tell my dad exactly what you told me.¡±

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    Slightly wringing his hands and avoiding eye contact, Jorel began to speak. ¡°Yes,¡± he cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Well, like I was telling your daughter in town, the villagers today have been worried about our safety. You see, just last night, Miss Lorry went missing, and it''s a terrible fright since she¡¯s the fourth person to go missing this week.¡±

    At this news, Addie''s father stood abruptly and placed his hands on the desk, leaning on it with his upper body. With alarm in his tone, he asked, ¡°Has anyone else been hurt? How come no one said anything?¡±

    ¡°We had trouble getting to the manor, <u>Mister Lomain.</u> Some kind of magic.¡±

    Addie¡¯s dad paced for a moment and then he addressed Jorel again, ¡°I give you my word as Lord that I will get to the bottom of this. Thank you for coming in today. I would like to talk to Addie in private. Please, hurry back to your family and tell the rest of the villagers to stay in their houses and lock the doors until further notice. I¡¯ll come out to the fields personally once I can confirm everyone¡¯s safety.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, <u>My Lord</u>,¡± Jorel addressed the Area Lord with the same honorific he had used for Addie earlier. ¡°I''ll take my leave then.¡± With a deep bow, he swiftly exited the room, surely hoping to safely return to his family.

    Now, with just Addie and her dad in the room, he asked, ¡°You said you saw Christena kill a woman last night?¡± Her dad¡¯s tone was harsh, with seething anger barely concealed.

    ¡°I think so...¡± Addie''s voice trailed off, her tone meek, even though she knew the anger wasn¡¯t directed at her. She didn¡¯t want to believe Christena could kill anyone, but after everything she had learned today... Well, the facts put a deep pit of dread inside of Addie as she considered everything.

    ¡°Okay, promise me you will stay in the office; I''ll be right back.¡± As he moved out from behind the desk, he held his arm out towards Dorple. Prompted by his bonded, Dorple jumped onto his outstretched arm, using his claws to climb onto his shoulder.

    Feeling satisfied with Dorple¡¯s position, Addie¡¯s father swiftly exited the room. Just before he finished entering the hall, he briefly turned his head towards Addie and addressed her, ¡°I¡¯m serious, promise to stay in my office while I¡¯m gone, Addie. No messing around right now.¡± Though he projected a stern and harsh tone, Addie felt safe and comforted by his words.

    While some part of her nature initially rebelled against the idea of just passively waiting, ultimately, Addie acquiesced, ¡°Okay, Dad. I¡¯ll wait here for you.¡± After he left and closed the door behind him, Addie felt a bit of the adrenaline from earlier fading into the background of her awareness, though she wasn¡¯t completely without nerves. She trusted her dad to take care of this, and quite frankly, she was glad that this would all be resolved soon. Some part of Addie still hoped Christena was the same comforting maid she had always been. Some part of Addie still hoped this was some kind of explainable misunderstanding. But it was hard for Addie to justify that idea.

    For the first ten or so minutes Addie had no trouble waiting patiently. By the time it felt like over half an hour had gone by, still sitting in her father¡¯s office, Addie began to worry. Once an hour had passed, Addie¡¯s adrenaline fueled state had completely returned, and her father¡¯s earlier words constantly repeated themselves in her head, ¡°You stay in the office, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Addie kept repeating that second half to herself, ¡®He¡¯ll be right back.¡¯ Though she thought the mantra should help ease her worries, Addie¡¯s sense of foreboding only continued to grow as the minutes ticked past.

    Finally, Addie heard heavy footsteps approaching the office door. Christena would never walk that heavily, and Addie felt tremendous relief realizing her dad was on his way back. She hurriedly stood up, wearing a big smile, ready to greet her father.

    Her father did not open that door. It only took a moment for Addie to recognize the stablehand from the incident she witnessed in the basement.

    Instinctively, Addie scanned the room for possible escape routes, her eyes landing on the windows behind her father¡¯s desk. But before she could act, she heard Christena''s voice outside, saying, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t try running that way, Addeline.¡± Christena spoke in a tone laced with poisonous honey.

    Addie snapped her head back to the entrance of the room. The stablehand¡¯s face was neutral, but behind him, Christena¡¯s smile made Addie¡¯s stomach churn.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Dad?¡± Addie blurted out, unable to hold back the question.

    ¡°Oh, you poor baby.¡± Christena gave a non-answer, accompanied by a fake empathetic face.

    ¡°Grab her,¡± Christena commanded the stablehand.

    Addie bolted toward the window and slammed into it as hard as she could, but the glass was fit for an Area Lord¡¯s office and thus did not shatter. A moment later, strong hands picked her up beneath the arms, and Addie shrieked, ¡°No!¡± Then, with more strength, Addie started flailing in the air and screamed, ¡°No!¡± She kicked and struggled, even attempting to bite her captor.

    ¡°Ow!¡± The man seemed more annoyed than injured by her resistance, but it didn¡¯t matter anyway, because within moments, Christena and Fluffy came into Addie¡¯s view.

    Defeated, Addie went limp, tears streaming down her face. Any hope of escape vanished as she realized she had to contend with a bonded pair. Christena had magic on her side. Addie just never thought she¡¯d see Christena¡¯s magic used against her.

    The stablehand, Jeff, roughly threw the still sobbing Addie over his shoulder and continued through the door. Christena led the way, with Fluffy walking behind Addie and Jeff.

    Instead of heading towards the basement as Addie expected, Christena seemed to be bringing Addie to her own room. They arrived, and her captor forcefully dropped Addie inside, knocking the wind out of her when she landed on the floor.

    As Addie stood up and turned to face them, Christena spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s just so sad leaving you in the dark about your poor dad.¡± Her words dripped with sarcasm and cruelty, but her next words took on a conspiratorial whisper. ¡°The Lord is currently fueling my recent ritual.¡± Christena pronounced the word ¡®Lord¡¯ as if she were speaking of an annoying insect buzzing around the room. ¡°He has a lot more juice than any of the peasants out in the village, so the ritual is still digesting him.¡±

    After Christena¡¯s pause, Addie spoke up in a hushed whisper, ¡°I thought we were friends,¡± she pleaded with her maid in a dejected tone, ¡°Yesterday, I thought we were going to play games together!¡± Addie all but shouted.

    Addie thought she saw Christena¡¯s face crack for a moment as if she almost came to her senses to stop this madness. But then, Christena¡¯s face steeled itself anew.

    ¡°In that case, I guess it¡¯s your lucky day, Addie!¡± Christena said with false exuberance, ¡°I¡¯ll at least let you have a good night¡¯s sleep before your turn with my ritual.¡±

    Addie did not get a good night¡¯s sleep.

 Chapter 6: I Am?

    I am running. Innate instinct says, run. Cognition is beyond my grasp. All I know is action. Running, unrelenting, and unstoppable. The branches and bushes yield under the force of my mad dash, leaving behind a trail of scratches and bruises that go unnoticed. A force beckons me forward, drawing me toward the imposing structure that my instincts have always warned me to avoid.

    Why do I approach this structure? The wisps of a question are formed, though in feelings and not true logical thoughts. The question is ignored. I simply obey my unspoken commands. Bushes and bramble have stopped scratching against me. My paws hit the ground outside the walls of my first obstacle. I sniff the air, detecting the scent of predators lurking nearby. Yet, I feel neither fear nor the instinct to flee. Odd. I am aware of my destination beyond the wall squashing my fear. This is where I am summoned.

    Though my thoughts are rudimentary, instinct and feeling guide me to understand that once I pass through those walls, I must be ready to sprint relentlessly toward my destination, overcoming any obstacle in my path.

    However, accessing the interior of the object is not straightforward. Access is closed off to me, no entrance is visible. It presents a puzzle, but I dismiss it. Instinct compels me forward. I make my own path to its interior. I step into the realm beyond space, where darkness reigns, extinguishing all traces of light. Yet, I can see. My time here is always brief, as it has been before. Half-formed flashes of memory assure me that this fleeting moment will suffice. I take four mighty leaps forward before being cast back into normal space.

    The sky disappears from view as towering structures and perplexing man-made objects surround me. I have drawn closer to the call of instinct, but time is of the essence. Whispers from the Realmspace warn of looming predators. Though behind a wall, and thus invisible to my eyes, I sense the vast proportions of a colossal being, towering over me. It charges on two legs, treating me as prey. I am not prey.

    My will is exhausted and I know I cannot enter Realmspace again, so soon. I must rely on my feline form and heightened agility while I wait to recharge. Digging my claws into the ground. I expect soil, but instead find wooden floor. I gain traction better than usual and swiftly maneuver through the area, eluding any potential captors. With every step, I inch closer to my destination.

    A formidable wall obstructs my path. I must find a way beyond this barrier to heed the call of instinct. Another predator, a human, similar yet distinct in scent, stands in my way, believing they can approach undetected while my gaze is elsewhere. It is mistaken. I abruptly change direction, eluding its grasp.

    Suddenly, the not-a-wall, door, before me retracts. A perplexing contraption. Another human emerges from its concealed recesses. They multiply like ants, swarming to defend their domain with fervor. The urgency to press forward intensifies within me.

    Regrettably, I must diverge from the call of instinct once again to avoid the intruder. As I pass it by, my tail becomes ensnared by its limb, hand. A warmth rises in my chest that is new to me, determination. I will a portion of my tail into the Realmspace, causing the human''s grasp to slip.

    My will wanes. I know I can no longer physically access Realmspace, even in part. Should capture be imminent, my claws will serve as my last line of defense, though I find myself reluctant to harm another life.

    I persist in my relentless run, fueled by exhaustion, covered in bruises, and propelled by an unyielding resolve. Obstacles, manifested as walls, impede my progress toward my ultimate destination. The enigmatic not-walls, doors, continue to confound me with their intricate mechanisms.

    Another human obstructs my path. For the first time since entering this realm of predators, a primal growl rumbles in my throat. Despite my clear warning, the human persists, reaching out toward me. I refuse to be seized, opting instead to pounce directly at the human. My claws meet flesh, and the scent of blood fills my nostrils. It is not my prey, a fact I must remind myself. I have a compunction, honor, that tells me not to consume, despite the right of conquest. I flee, as the human emits piercing wails assailing my sensitive ears.

    As I draw closer to where instinct calls me, questions begin to fully manifest within me. Who am I? What does it mean to be me? Stirrings of thought awaken within my mind, where once only instinct prevailed. Whatever those thoughts are, I must shove them aside to continue forward, inexorably, as instinct demands.

    I take a step, the questions growing harder to ignore as my goal draws nearer. Another step, and a dormant shard deep within my soul begins to call out. Another step, and consciousness burgeons within my mind. I take another step forward. I am. Then, I stop. I know I am less than a few leaps away from my destination, but I find myself stuck in this moment. The realization of selfhood washes over me, shattering my understanding of the world; expanding my scope of comprehension tenfold. I was an insect without eyes that learned to see, learned to hear, and learned to <u>feel.</u> All. At. Once. Awareness overwhelms me.

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    Though I am lost in my own blossoming mind, I still notice the presence of another creature coming down the hall, directly in my path. It sits on four legs, as I do, but its similarities end there. Its fur is orange whereas I am furless. Its color is vibrant, whereas mine is deep black. Its tail fluffy whereas mine is slender.

    Engulfed within the emergence of my own consciousness, I may have forgotten how to follow instinct¡¯s guidance. I must try to push this, selfhood, away if I am to fall into that old familiar dance of battle. I pounce forward, totally immersing myself in fight. The feeling of claws slicing straight through my foe assures me I have won. Wet blood spreads out on the floor, enveloping my paws.

    An attack from behind comes the whispers from Realmspace. I dodge to the right, but my overconfidence stunts my readiness to evade, and I take a small wound to my left flank, where a glancing blow grazes my hide.

    The sight of my unscathed foe, fur as pristine as before, reveals its trickery. Clever, frustrating little thing. I sense another attack coming from behind, and I know that once again, I am lost staring at an illusion. I evade once more, this time to the left, and take another glancing blow. My body is already exhausted. My will is battered, my hide bears wounds from both the forest and this skirmish. Regardless, I refuse to fall. Losing here would be infuriating.

    As if to challenge my determination, the room around me shifts and rotates. My eyes say the ground has become the ceiling, and dizziness causes my steps to falter. Realmspace whispers to me, no such change in gravity occurred. Logic interjects and I realize that fighting this foe with mundane senses would be foolish. Listening to the call of Realmspace, I close my eyes and finally begin to plan. No longer hindered by the deception of my foe, my legs steady, poise fully back under my control.

    Instinct calls me to my destination, but I now realize it is this aspect of myself I must control. Instinct alone will not allow me to defeat my foe. I embrace the changes from my newfound selfhood and use them to strategize. This orange creature thrives on deception, but it is predictable. I will outsmart it. I aim my body toward the manifested illusion of my foe. Realmspace reveals my adversary¡¯s position once more¡ªdirectly behind me. I flex my muscles and posture towards the illusion at the front, extending my claws and baring my fangs to lend weight to my feint. When the true form of the creature lunges at me from behind, with a crack and a snarl, I twist hard, turning completely around, reaching out with my fangs to latch onto its throat and slam it into the ground.

    It whimpers underneath me as I hold it steady, its lifeblood teetering on the brink of release. Victory. Yet, this is a defeated foe: Continuing to fight an already downed opponent is dishonorable. Gradually, I release my grip, allowing it to scurry away.

    Now, I stand just a short distance from my destination, yet I am troubled. Until now, my life has been dictated by instinct. I hunted, fled, and slept at the whims of forces beyond my control. A simple life, but not without its merits.

    I have changed, evolved¡ªnow capable of embracing greater complexities. However, uncertainty lingers. Do I continue on this path? Something tells me that by turning away now, I could return to the simplicity of my prior existence, these moments of selfhood forgotten.

    My memories from before are fragmented, simple, and very one-minded. However, within that simplicity, there existed a peacefulness. I did not have to delicately balance thought and instinct against each other. No battle took place choosing one or the other. It felt so easy to fall into that familiar routine dictated by instinct, to seamlessly flow from one action to the next without hesitation or deliberation. My life would surely be easier if I turned back now, no?

    But then, what about this new feeling? Honor never held a place within me before. In the primal frenzy of my instinct-driven rampage, I would rip and tear through adversaries without a second thought. Would it not be dishonorable knowing I would return to that if I changed course now?

    That tricky fox would have defeated me had I not awakened to selfhood. Can I embrace simplicity knowing that I would intentionally expose myself to greater vulnerability? Though my prior existence did not know thought, it certainly knew anger. The fusion of instinct and anger is a potent force, one that my soul refuses to be enslaved by. This last battle has taught me that to ensure victory, I must use this new tool, selfhood, to overcome obstacles. Otherwise, defeat and frustration surely await me.

    Looking back, it should have been obvious. The foe I confronted was never truly before me. The echoes of Realmspace reverberated, whispering the truth. Yet, I succumbed to the allure of the illusion, allowing instinct to override reason.

    Today marks the final day instinct controls me, as it bestows upon me its ultimate gift. I take a resolute step forward, towards the call that brought me here to begin with. Something within me, within my soul clicks into place. Selfhood becomes an integral part of my essence, an irreversible transformation. To turn back now would be annihilation. I continue forward and reach a door. A deep rumble begins in my throat, and I experience another novelty, amusement. This object is so simple! I push myself onto my hind legs, placing my front paws on the door handle in front of me. I lean my body weight into the lever. With this clever application of force, the door opens.

    Falling back down onto all fours, losing the support of the door, I glance around this new room. I see a few man-objects before my eyes lock straight onto my destination. This is where I am being called. Our eyes meet as we look into the windows of our respective souls. Silently judging one another.

    This human, yes, I approve of her. For the third time today, I feel a piece of my soul changing, rushing out to meet her, and in exchange, her soul rushes out to meet mine. Our souls intertwine, looping in on each other with increasing complexity, but the fusion is harmonious, without pain. Instead, I understand that I am home.

    I leap forward, but this time without any fangs bared, no claws extended. This girl, Addie, our bond tells me, has her arms outstretched to meet me. I land in her lap, and she squishes me tight. I nuzzle my head into her and relax my battered body.

    ¡°I am so, so glad to see you.¡± Whispers the girl, and to my surprise, I understand her.

 Chapter 7: Bond Ignition

    ¡°I am so, so glad to see you,¡± Addie whispered, her voice filled with joy and relief.

    Tears rolled down her cheek, but for the first time in seemingly forever, they were tears of happiness. Hope filled her, along with something else. The bond formed with this mini, furless, black panther-lizard creature flooded Addie¡¯s veins with power. She felt like she could climb into a thousand attics without growing tired. It was a feeling reminiscent of when she had picked up that strange bauble in Christena¡¯s room, but notched up a thousand fold.

    Something else tickled the edge of her mind, too, almost drowned out by the conventional power flowing through her. Though she couldn''t see beyond the room''s entrance, Addie had an uncanny sense that someone was standing in the hall. Regardless, Addie was quickly distracted by the veins of power coursing throughout her body. It expanded in tight coils of potential energy as her soul intertwined with her bonded companion. The knowledge of using this power became instinctual at the moment of the bond.

    ¡°With your first bond, you will experience a rush of power like you¡¯ve never known. Use those moments wisely, Addie. The first few seconds of power will burst throughout your being. Hold on to that feeling and act quickly, because you won¡¯t be able to accomplish those same feats until later, when you and your bonded naturally grow stronger together. We call these first few moments of power Bond Ignition.¡± Mr. Lomain¡¯s words echoed in Addie¡¯s memory, unbidden.

    Ropes of soul-power invigorated her, almost enough to forget the terror of the last few hours, but the urgency to leave still pounded on Addie¡¯s skull. With a moment of silent communication, she reached out her hand to her newly bonded, who responded eagerly, pressing its head against Addie''s palm. Together, the two of them tugged, and suddenly, Addie plunged into an eternal darkness.

    No pop resounded, no hole was left in their wake, one moment Addie saw her room around her, and the next was total darkness. Addie only realized the teleport ended when she saw the moon and stars above her. It took only a moment more for Addie to realize she was falling. She hit the ground in a heap, scraping her knees a bit, but mostly just tangling her long hair up in the dirt. A gurgling sound came from her bonded, and she realized that silly creature was laughing at her!

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me a look like that or I¡¯ll name you something silly, like Squishy.¡± Addie threatened. The moment of amusement passed quickly though, as both Addie and her bonded knew they had only a few fleeting moments to use the dregs of soul-power churned up through their Bond Ignition. They needed to be wise about using this power, and Addie intended to use it to escape. Again, the two of them pulled on the power, together, merging both of their beings to create a force greater than either had individually. These moments of power intoxicated Addie¡ªthey filled her with a profound excitement that came from the authority granted by her newfound powers.

    With each successive leap into Realmspace, the cords of power between them continued to pulse and writhe, like a living creature worming between the two of them. The energy seemed infinite, despite merely being the ignition of their soul entanglement. Addie had a bond! Her excitement bled over into her partner, and again the two of them leaped into Realmspace.

    When the pair reappeared in reality, the forest around Addie looked completely unfamiliar, though the early morning darkness wasn¡¯t helping. Finally out of her impromptu prison, Addie had a moment to examine her new partner. His black furless form lent grace to his panther-like musculature. Despite being thin, the creature was clearly strong for his size. Corded muscle encompassed most of his form, lending credence to his presumable lethality. His four legs led down to huge paws, much larger than a regular cat¡¯s paws. He spanned about 80 centimeters across, bigger than a cat but still quite a bit smaller than Addie. The triangular ears on his head led down to a pointed snout, with slits for nostrils instead of a traditional feline nose¡ªhis overall face somewhat lizard-like, with some spikes. What struck Addie the most, though, were his piercing blue eyes, in direct contrast to his otherwise entirely black body. Within those blue eyes, Addie saw a thousand night skies, with literal stars twinkling, never to reappear in exactly the same spot.

    Through their bond, Addie heard the creature speak, ¡°Isn¡¯t this enough? Surely we¡¯re plenty far from the manor by now.¡± Addie felt more than heard her new friend¡¯s meaning¡ª he didn¡¯t communicate in words alone.

    The power that once flowed between them in powerful torrents had begun to wane into a trickle. For a moment, Addie agreed with her partner¡¯s idea, but then, Addie remembered the panic from her previous few hours. The world around Addie went dark at the edges of her vision, and she put her hand over her chest. She slowly sat down in the dirt in an attempt to slow down her breathing.

    Absentmindedly, Addie realized she was hyperventilating. ¡®We need to move.¡¯ she thought.

    Though previous warps involved a partnership between Addie and her bonded, this time Addie desperately and forcefully tugged on her companion''s soul. Again. The pair entered Realmspace, and promptly exited. Addie saw the night sky above her and wished to avoid reality for just a bit longer, anything to continue her escape from Christena. Again. This time, upon reappearing, she felt her bonded¡¯s exhaustion as her own, headache, scrapes, and bruises overwhelming, though Addie felt a sort of detachment from these sensations. Again. Addie¡¯s panther-friend could hardly breathe, the final drops of power exhausted. Again. Addie felt a crack tear through her soul as the latest leap into Realmspace consumed their bond itself as fuel. Aga¡ª Stop! Addie looked over to the source of this denial, her bond locked by the other side of her partnership. Addie observed tears on her cheeks, but only passively, detached.

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    ¡°Stop, little one. Do not tear us apart so soon,¡± The panther thing gracefully leaped onto Addie¡¯s lap, and stared directly into Addie¡¯s eyes, just as they had when they first united. ¡°I am here, and our power is great, but we have exhausted it.¡± With that, Addie relaxed her grip on their bond, hurt, but not destroyed.

    Addie missed her dad. The raw, overwhelming feeling engulfed her, overshadowing any recent frustrations the two might have shared. In this moment, lost in the depths of the forest, all Addie longed for was to see her father''s face and know that he was safe. She''d gladly embrace any past annoyances if it meant having the comfort of his presence beside her now.

    Addie used the back of her hands to rub the tears off her cheeks. She had spent most of the night crying, and now her eyes felt uncomfortably puffy and sticky. Dirt covered her body, and the scrapes on her legs still bled, reminding Addie of her recent tumbles. All of this was overshadowed by a deeply unsettling ache itching up throughout her soul, making this moment truly miserable.

    Addie remembered how hard it was to fall asleep last night. In the past, if she had trouble going to sleep, she would just think about how her dad was right down the hall. His presence within the manor comforted her and allowed her to drift into a peaceful sleep. Now, Christena said he was gone. Addie couldn¡¯t even begin to fully comprehend what that would be like.

    Today seemed so fleeting. So impermanent. Addie had an irrational urge to call out for her dad, to ask for his help and have everything return to normal in an instant. A second part of Addie¡¯s mind intrusively reminded her that such a thing was now impossible. It felt worse than the time she dreamt Dorple had mauled her and chased her around the house. At least, back then, Addie just had to wake up.

    ¡°Hesitation is defeat,¡± echoed her new bonded through their connection. For a moment, Addie was taken aback that her companion could speak in complete sentences. She had always been told that bonded couldn¡¯t truly speak, only give vague impressions and feelings to their human counterparts.

    ¡°Parables? Really?¡± Addie asked incredulously. ¡°What does that even mean?¡±

    ¡°Do not dwell so much on the past. Focus on this moment.¡± Squishy advised.

    ¡°Well, what do you want from me? We¡¯re lost in the middle of the forest, at night mind you, my soul aches in a way I didn¡¯t even know was possible, you are covered in scratches and bruises, my dad is being eaten in some kind of horrible ritual, and did I mention that I have no idea where we are?

    ¡°We appear to be in the forest.¡± Squishy deadpanned.

    ¡°Yes, I know that!¡± Addie snapped, flustered. ¡°You are a silly cat!"

    ¡°I¡¯m not a cat,¡± Squishy retorted with dignity.

    ¡°You are a silly cat, and so I¡¯m naming you Squishy.¡±

    ¡°A name befitting a warrior.¡± Addie couldn¡¯t tell if Squishy was being sarcastic or serious.

    ¡°A silly name for a silly cat. You are silly and snuggly, so now your name is Squishy.¡±

    ¡°My foes will tremble at my paws when I announce myself,¡± Squishy replied.

    ¡°Do you even realize what you are saying?¡± Addie asked, incredulously.

    ¡°Of course, I know. I learned Borian through my bond with you, after all. Your language is my language. Squishy is a fitting name. I will carve it into the annals of history.¡± Somehow, someway, Squishy seemed pleased with his new name. ¡°It is the name given to me by my master, after all.¡± Through the bond, Addie felt numerous sensations cross over to her: Squishy felt puffed up, regal, as though a name had been bestowed befitting an honorable warrior. But also she felt his smugness, as if he could singlehandedly transform the meaning of ¡®squishy¡¯ to something fearsome.

    Then, Squishy focused back on Addie¡¯s earlier statement, ¡°Being in the forest seems perfectly reasonable to me. I never once worried about being ¡®lost¡¯ before. I would hunt, then I would sleep. Being lost is a decidedly foreign, human concept, to me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like your name,¡± Addie replied sheepishly. ¡°But of course, it¡¯s possible to be lost! Being lost is when you look around and realize you don¡¯t know how to get home.¡± Addie hoped this important concept was getting through to Squishy.

    ¡°I see. I never had a home before.¡± Squishy trailed off for a moment, then continued, ¡°But I do know what it means to be overwhelmed by your own mind.¡± At this admission, Addie looked back and focused on her companion¡¯s speech, ¡°If you lose track of your goals now and wallow in what could be, your father stands no chance. To hesitate about decisions here in the forest is to lose, whether mentally or physically. Christena has previously triumphed in the battle of mind. It is now up to us to overcome the mental hurdle and win utterly on the physical front.¡±

    At his words, Addie was reminded of a small hope. Christena had said last night that her dad was still being used as ¡®fuel¡¯ for the ritual. Addie clung to the idea that he could still be saved with all her heart. She did not want to live in a world where just the simple act of hearing her father¡¯s voice became impossible.

    ¡°You¡¯re right! We need to get back quickly. We need to save Dad!¡±

    Addie acted on impulse, tugging on the bond once more. She strained against her weathered soul, and with a great tear rippling through Addie, reality popped out of existence, only for Realmspace to immediately spit her back out with a whoosh of force, only a mere few steps away from her last position.

    Addie collapsed into the loam, unable to move. A great pain racked through her body, but that was nothing compared to the damage she felt inside. Her soul seemed like a fragile piece of paper, torn halfway down, teetering on the edge of oneness, barely held together by its untorn lower half. Why did I do that? That was so stupid.

    To her left, Squishy fared no better, completely sprawled out in the dirt. ¡°And I¡¯m the silly one, clearly.¡± Squishy huffed out. Addie¡¯s whole body hurt too much to bother with a response.

    With growing dread, Addie realized her dad would just have to stay alive long enough for her to make it through the forest intact¡ª survival becoming her focus. Though the outskirts of the village were regularly swept through for danger by Dorple and Rob, Addie had no idea just how far away from the village she was. To add to that, night was always filled with more dangers in the wilderness than daytime. It had been several hours since Christena locked Addie in her own room, so with any luck the sun would be rising soon, but another obstacle presented itself. Addie had yet to sleep.

    ¡°Rest, young one. I have good senses. I¡¯ll wake you if there¡¯s any danger. You may as well sleep where you lie. I doubt you¡¯ll be able to move anytime soon, anyways.¡± Though Addie didn¡¯t like it, Squishy was right. She was more worried that even if danger did come to them, they would both be too exhausted to escape.

    Addie closed her eyes, and though he wasn¡¯t her dad, being so close to Squishy did give Addie some sense of security. Enough to close her eyes at least. Serenaded by the sounds of owls and crickets, Addie drifted off.

 Chapter 8: Path to Recovery

    When Addie opened her eyes, a brief panic swept through her, making her think she might be late for her morning lessons. But that concern was quickly overshadowed by the harsh reality of the previous day flooding back into her memory. Through some miracle, Addie managed to sleep well past bi-rise. The Binary now shone directly into her eyes, fully waking her up. Her mouth was dry and her head slightly ached.

    Her soul felt a bit better, but also raw¡ªlike waking up after going to bed with a burnt tongue. Unlike a burnt tongue, this discomfort pervaded throughout her being with dull throbs. Though tolerable, it was highly unpleasant.

    ¡°It seems fate smiled upon us last night. I watched our impromptu camp throughout the night, and no creature dared set foot upon our territory. Not that I could have done much, regardless¡­¡±

    Squishy seemed a bit improved, but like Addie, he was still recovering from last night. He had scratches and bruises across his body, though the scratches had turned into long dark scabs, and the bruises tinged his black hide with splotches of dark green. At least he was healing, if not completely healed. Through their connection, Addie could tell that their bond was at least stable, though she wasn¡¯t willing to take any chances for at least another day.

    ¡°It was impressive, our feats together last night. Never before could I walk through Realmspace so freely. It was as if we belonged to an ancient order of nomads traveling through familiar well-trodden terrain.¡±

    ¡°Really? I know we moved really far, but was it more than normal?¡± Addie¡¯s eyes shone and curiosity bled through her tone. She always loved watching her dad work with Dorple in their crazy ways. Addie couldn¡¯t wait to learn how her new powers with Squishy worked.

    ¡°Indeed, before our bond, I could perhaps take four steps through Realmspace in a day. I used that ability to intrude into your ¡®manor¡¯ in the first place. Yesterday, we must have traveled more than a few hundred times that distance, all in short succession.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Addie¡¯s face beamed. ¡°You think our magic became that amazing?¡± Addie imagined what it would be like to suddenly grow muscles that allowed her to pick something up hundreds of times bigger than herself.

    Squishy huffed a bit in amusement, some of Addie¡¯s imagination bleeding through their bond.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited. I imagine our power will not reach those lofty heights again for a long time, though I do expect we will be able to travel further than four measly steps through Realmspace. We must practice restraint for now, but after we recover, we shall test our abilities and see just how far we can go.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal! We are definitely testing out our powers later, ok?¡±

    Squishy replied with a feeling of agreement through their bond.

    That being said, what exactly should they do now? Neither of them was in much of a state to use magic, and both of them were bruised and battered. Squishy, the poor thing, seemed to treat his back left leg tenderly, not quite limping as he moved along.

    Days spent camping with her dad flashed into Addie¡¯s mind:

    ¡°Addie cried as she held her scraped knee up to her chest. ¡®The streams and rivers in this forest are special, Addie.¡¯ Her dad had said, ¡®All you need to do is find one, and all your scrapes and pains will vanish like they never existed at all.¡¯ Her father gently laid Addie¡¯s leg into the stream, the brisk cold stinging against her bloody knee. Regardless, her father coaxed her into the water. He wiped some of the tears out of her eyes and said, ¡®Addie, watch.¡¯ Addie watched through the water, the sight slightly distorted through the imperfect lens. Though she couldn¡¯t see it too well, she did notice as the blood on her knee disappeared, and the skin turned smooth. Addie hiccupped, and moved her leg out of the water, staring at it in wonder. The pain was gone, and the wound was healed.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a stream.¡± Addie decided for them, ¡°It will help us, definitely.¡±

    ¡°A stream it shall be, then.¡± Squishy agreed easily since he had seen some of Addie¡¯s flashback through their soul bond.

    They just needed to find one before dark. It should be easy since her dad always found streams anytime they looked. Unfortunately, Addie was lost in this part of the forest, so they might have to search for a little while. As long as they got there before dark, it would be fine. Addie didn¡¯t want to think about what would happen if they couldn¡¯t get there before dark.

    Despite trying to suppress it, a bad memory flashed into Addie¡¯s mind: A hoarse scream echoed through her ears as she watched a canvas of blood.

    Addie shook her head. She really didn¡¯t want to think about it. They should hurry.

    <hr><hr>

    The two of them began their trek through the forest with no subtlety, Addie crashing and breaking through the flora. Neither of them had any idea where they were, though Squishy displayed a slightly less hopeless sense of direction and slightly better agility. For now, Addie made do following behind Squishy¡¯s steps.

    They tried to keep a pace of a gentle jog, but it was hard on both of them. Addie¡¯s knees threatened to give out, and she heaved with each breath, the force of it surprising her.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Squishy didn¡¯t seem much better. He still had open scratches on parts of him from the last day, and Addie had already noticed earlier about his back left foot.

    Normally, Addie would have cherished walking through the forest. When she was younger, her dad would take her hiking through trails. One of Addie¡¯s fondest memories involved a long hike with a small lake at the top of a mountain. The glacier melted into a spring, and when she dipped her toes in the water, it felt colder than snow.

    In comparison, this ordeal through the forest sucked. It felt nothing like the wonderful memories of riding on her dad¡¯s shoulders, gazing at the flowers, and picking clovers. Instead, thirst tugged at her throat as she trudged through mud in dirty, sweaty clothes. She spent her entire focus calculating each step to ensure she wouldn''t trip on some shrub or another. Thorns found a home persistently sticking to her skirt more times than Addie would have liked. Vines and bushes did their best to impede her, and in the worst cases, they thwacked her or got in her way.

    And somehow, through all this, Squishy marched forward without any fighting any surroundings. He walked lightly on top of the mud, sidestepped pernicious thorns, and carefully navigated around scraggly bushes while making it look easy and natural, even with his slight hobble. Addie couldn''t help but feel frustrated.

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± Addie demanded.

    ¡°Doing what exactly?¡± Squishy replied without even looking up, continuing to sniff the ground at a normal walking pace.

    ¡°Walk so easily through the forest! Every bush in here is hitting me in the face!¡± Walking in the forest off-trail was awful.

    ¡°I thought it obvious.¡±

    Addie scoffed, ¡°What¡¯s obvious?¡±

    ¡°Observing my surroundings, that is.¡±

    Addie scoffed, but she knew she had no time to interrogate the silly creature. Her breath was already spent just on keeping a good pace. She looked up into the sky and saw the Binary more than halfway across the sky already. Addie gulped in between breaths. They needed to find a stream, and soon, before nightfall.

    For a while, Addie got lost in the simple act of following Squishy¡¯s steps, pondering how he could move across the forest so easily. He thought it should be obvious, or so he had said.

    Addie went back to focusing on this ¡®obviousness¡¯ Squishy described. For some reason, her mind drifted back to the moment just before she escaped from her room in the manor. Though yesterday had passed in a blur of terror and then flight through the woods, Addie vaguely recalled someone standing outside her room, even though Addie knew she couldn¡¯t properly see outside into the hall.

    The person who had been in the hall... Addie wondered if that had been Christena. She still couldn¡¯t believe that Christena could be a murderer. She didn¡¯t want to believe it. Addie grew up with Christena always by her side. At the end of each week, they played board games, and in the mornings Christena taught Addie her lessons. Addie shook her head, she didn¡¯t want to think about Christena right now. She had barely escaped alive, and even then someone had been in the hallway moments before she escaped. Addie was certain someone had been there, she just didn¡¯t quite know how she knew.

    ¡°Hey, Squishy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lady?¡± Squishy replied, his use of the title not bothering Addie as much as she thought it would.

    ¡°Do you know where I am right now?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Would you still know where I am even if you couldn¡¯t see me?¡± Addie probed.

    ¡°I pride myself on knowing my lady¡¯s location at all times, so I may guard her with my life.¡±

    Blushing at his admittal, Addie responded with an undignified ¡°Oh¡±.

    With that confirmation, a sense of excitement began bubbling up deep in Addie¡¯s chest. She couldn¡¯t tell what yet, but something magical was happening. Maybe this was the first manifestation of her bond?

    Addie shook her head, though she was bubbling in excitement, she needed to focus. Her excitement vanished and was replaced by a bit of fear. She looked up to the sky and tried to see how close the Binary was to setting. They had to find a stream or river before then. But, wait? Maybe she could accomplish both at the same time.

    ¡°Squishy, if I¡¯m ¡®obvious¡¯ to you, what about everything else?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my surroundings are always apparent, regardless of my vision or hearing.¡±

    Addie smiled wide, ¡°Then, do you know where the closest river is?¡± she asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Unfortunately not.¡±

    Addie¡¯s heart dropped, her hope extinguished.

    ¡°I can only observe my surroundings within a few meters of myself. Anything outside of that I am blind to.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Addie said. Now, Squishy¡¯s ability to navigate through the forest so easily made more sense. If he could see everything around himself, that would make it easier to coordinate his body around all the random stuff in the forest.

    Addie wondered, how could she do what Squishy was doing? She had already done it once before, with the person from the hallway. Addie thought back to that moment when she knew someone was out in the hall without being able to see them. Once again, her thoughts drifted to Christena, sending a spike of fear through her heart, almost causing Addie to trip on a rock. A fear of someone Addie thought had loved her.

    With a force of will, Addie pushed those thoughts down. She didn¡¯t want to think about it. Instead, she managed to fully concentrate on that feeling she had back when someone was in the hallway¡ªshe hadn¡¯t been seeing anyone, it had been more like it was ¡®obvious¡¯ that someone stood outside her room.

    Something about that resonated in Addie, especially when she thought about how Squishy phrased it in the same way.

    Well, plenty of trees occupied the forest, providing Addie with plenty of test dummies. As the two of them walked forward endlessly, Addie tried to practice her new sense on Squishy, while also attempting to ¡®see¡¯ the trees around her as she went. She had little success and more than a few times Addie had to stop for a moment and take a deep breath. She was starting to get mad.

    She continued to grow more frustrated as they made it through the forest, and thirst started to crawl up her throat, becoming increasingly unbearable. The bugs weren¡¯t helping, either. She kept having to smack them away as they tried to steal Addie¡¯s personal space. One of them, Addie knew was flying right behind her head, and she managed to smack it satisfyingly.

    Wait a second, Addie knew there had been a gnat back there! How did she know that?

    A wolf¡¯s howl sounded in the distance, echoing across the forest in a wave. Even the bushes rattled at the noise¡ª interrupting Addie in the middle of her revelation about magic. Both Addie and Squishy halted their steps and listened to their surroundings.

    ¡°How close was that?¡± Addie had her eyes wide open, looking around the forest. She also glanced up at the sky to check on the Binary¡¯s position. Not good.

    ¡°In your human measurements, perhaps a kilometer or two. Not as far as I would want.¡±

    Addie quickly looked over to Squishy as he answered her question. Really not good.

 Chapter 9: Run

    Addie¡¯s desire to further examine her new powers ultimately lost to her intense need to find water.

    ¡°Squishy, I need to take a break,¡± Addie gasped, her voice parched. ¡°I think I''m starting to dry out.¡± The thirst in her throat from this morning had gradually built throughout the day, and Addie had even stopped sweating, despite the scorching heat from the entire day. Luckily, things were starting to cool down and night would be here soon. Unluckily, night would be here soon. Addie really hoped she could find the stream before that.

    At that thought, Addie checked the Binary¡¯s spot up in the sky, Addie swayed on her feet and eventually chose to sit down. Her surroundings seemed to blur and darken at the edges until an odd sense of humor overtook her.

    ¡°Why the laughter, little one?¡± Squishy inquired.

    ¡°It''s just... funny,¡± Addie managed between chuckles. ¡°A couple of days ago, I was at home, and now I''m out here completely lost!¡± Her laughter turned to a depressed sigh as she realized the gravity of her situation. ¡°We¡¯re going to die, aren¡¯t we? And why am I not sweating despite the heat?¡± She idly fanned herself with the collar of her shirt. She knew they needed to keep moving, to outpace the howling of the Aurwolf, but she couldn¡¯t find the energy to move.

    It was all Addie could do not to keel over right then and there. Addie felt something warm brush up against her leg, and when she looked down, she saw Squishy''s front paws resting on her leg. A small whimpering-keening sound came out of Squishy''s throat, a rare moment of vocalization from the small creature.

    Another howl sounded nearby, drawing Addie out of her stupor. Despite the weakness in her body, she stood up hastily as adrenaline started pumping through her blood.

    ¡°Squishy, I¡¯m scared,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, my lady. Let us continue moving toward the stream.¡±

    ¡°You know, if we make it to the stream, we¡¯ll be safe,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°I know. I grew up in these woods.¡± Squishy replied.

    All the water sources in this forest were unanimously treated as safe havens. Addie didn¡¯t know for sure why, but she did remember the time she scraped her knee and her dad brought her to the healing waters spread throughout this forest.

    Addie looked to her left, where a giant golden wolf, the same size as her dad rested beside them.

    ¡°Dad?¡± Addie had asked.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°How come the big wolfy isn¡¯t trying to eat us?¡±

    As if to punctuate Addie¡¯s question, a small silver rabbit walked right up to the golden wolf and continued past to drink at the stream.

    ¡°This entire Area is within my domain, Addie,¡± Her dad had said, ¡°I chose to make a town surrounded by these forests because of how peaceful the water is. I thought, if my town could drink such rejuvenating peaceful waters, wouldn¡¯t my people prosper? If the water is enough to even defang an Aurwolf, then surely it will allow for peace between my people. But, don¡¯t ever come out here by yourself, Addie. The Aurwolves come out at night, and will act viciously if you aren¡¯t near the water.¡±

    Addie shook her head, pushing away the memory. She needed to focus. They needed to find a source of water.

    The pair continued their jog, Addie glancing up at the sky to check on the Binary¡¯s position every so often.

    ¡°Have you found anything, yet?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°Not yet, but I think something is close. I am starting to recognize some of our surroundings.¡±

    The next time Addie looked up into the sky, she couldn¡¯t see the Binary anymore. It had gotten close enough to setting that the surrounding forest blocked Addie from seeing it.

    Then, there was a rustle not far from Addie, just a few meters behind her, punctuated by a howl.

    ¡°Squishy!¡± Addie cried out.

    ¡°Run, my lady.¡±

    She didn¡¯t need to be told twice. Addie started sprinting as fast as she could, forest detritus getting in her way and slowing her down.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you claw out its eyeballs or something?!¡± Addie ducked underneath a tree branch coming her way, then continued her sprint.

    ¡°Pay attention to your surroundings and run,¡± Squishy replied.

    Addie knew Squishy couldn¡¯t risk attacking their pursuer. From the few flashes she saw of it behind them, the gigantic wolf had golden fur, confirming all of Addie¡¯s worst fears from throughout the day. She could hear it even now pushing past the brambles in pursuit. The wolf punctuated its presence with near-constant ear-piercing howling.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    To find a stream and recover were the only two things Addie wanted. Instead, she had to run for her life from some terrifying monster. And these stupid thorn bushes were not making things better! One of them was still stuck on the skirt of her dress, slowing her down as the bottom half of the plant dragged in the dirt.

    With a loud tear, her skirt ripped, causing the thorny bramble to slide down her leg. Addie winced but somehow managed to keep running. She had to kick her leg out a few times to finish dislodging the thorns, but it managed to come free.

    Her throat burned as she sucked the air into her lungs. In between breaths, Addie half shouted, ¡°Maybe we can climb a tree or something!¡±

    Squishy responded with his normal direct mind-to-mind telepathy, ¡°If you slow down to make the attempt, I fear you will be caught.¡±

    It¡¯s easy for you to say. Addie thought to herself. The silly cat-lizard creature continued to show how adept he was at forest navigation. Where Addie picked up every bramble and ran into every little tree branch, or even tripped on the rocks, Squishy dodged each obstacle flawlessly.

    The two of them were running from the golden wolf monster, but it felt an awful lot more like Addie was running and Squishy was just lagging on purpose so they wouldn¡¯t be separated.

    She wanted to give up.

    The wolf pounced at Addie from behind, and she barely managed to detect it and move her leg out from its jaws just in time.

    She did not want to give up. In fact, the close brush with the jaws of death motivated Addie to run even faster. Her increased pace caused her to kick a small stone full force, stubbing her poor toes and squealing in the process.

    ¡°Run faster, my lady.¡± Despite the situation, Squishy¡¯s internal voice managed to come across as collected.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying over here!¡± Addie replied, with a lot less poise and a lot more hoarse screaming. She was parched.

    ¡°Focus your mind. I can evade this four-legged beast easily. You must learn to run with the forest instead of against it. If you stopped making an enemy of the trees you could escape just as easily as I.¡±

    Squishy¡¯s words filled Addie with a wrathful frustration. If she knew how to ¡®run with the forest¡¯ she¡¯d already be doing that!

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to run like you, Squishy!¡± Her next footfall landed on a twig, snapping it in two. The distraction cost her a few seconds as she had to readjust her footing.

    Addie looked behind her to check for the wolf. All she saw were a few patches of moving fur in between groups of bushes. She turned her head back around to face the front, only to see a big boulder revealed in front of her. She watched as Squishy expertly jumped straight up to the top, and presumably landed on the other side. Addie didn¡¯t have such agility, so she had to run around the massive thing.

    ¡°Remember the gnats from earlier?¡±

    She could see Squishy¡¯s triangular ears in front of her, leading the way.

    ¡°Gnats?¡± Addie puffed out each word with a pause in between, as she desperately searched for more air to fill her struggling lungs.

    ¡°Earlier, remember when you noticed the gnat without using your eyes?¡±

    ¡°I remember.¡± Another thorn nicked Addie¡¯s arm, causing her to swerve slightly to the left.

    It was starting to get dark out. The forest was already naturally darker due to the canopy above, and now, the binary had started to fall past the horizon. Dusk was only making it harder for Addie to avoid the forest obstacles. The Aurwolf had no such trouble. She felt, more than heard, it run up to her and nip the air just behind her, before slinking back into the bushes to continue the chase.

    ¡°I think..¡± Addie gulped in another breath of air, ¡°It¡¯s playing with me. Why hasn¡¯t it eaten me already!¡± Though she pushed out that last sentence in exasperation, Addie was glad the horrible thing was playing with her. That gave her more time to run.

    ¡°Close your eyes. Trust your new senses.¡±

    ¡°Are you... crazy?¡± Addie huffed out.

    Addie would sooner return to Realmspace to teleport away than try closing her eyes. Even if her soul was still recovering. Better a torn-up soul than becoming something else¡¯s dinner.

    Again, the wolf approached Addie from behind, but this time she could make out a slight difference in its posture. It seemed more serious, this time. Addie gulped and prepared to dodge.

    With a roar, the creature gunned straight for Addie¡¯s midsection, this time not bothering with her legs.

    A flash of black scales soared overhead for a moment, and Addie heard a tussle and a canine yelp.

    ¡°What. happened?¡± Addie looked to her left, where Squishy was already circling around her to again lead the way. She ducked underneath a branch at the same time.

    ¡°I ¡®scratched its eyes¡¯ as you so thoughtfully suggested earlier.¡± His tone sounded sarcastic, but Addie wasn¡¯t sure if the silly creature even could be sarcastic.

    ¡°You.. silly.. cat. How come... you didn¡¯t do.. that earlier?¡± She managed between huffing breaths. Her throat hurt so much it almost wasn¡¯t worth trying to talk. She needed water.

    Squishy responded with a question of his own, ¡°How come you didn¡¯t do that earlier?¡±

    ¡°Do what? I can¡¯t scratch out its eyes! I¡¯d die!¡± Somehow, Addie managed to shout the whole sentence without pausing for breath.

    ¡°Just now, you were looking at me with your eyes, but you ducked underneath a branch you could not have seen. Again, I ask, how come you didn¡¯t do that earlier?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Addie had to pause and think for a bit while she kept running. She did somehow dodge that branch without looking at it.

    Dusk was fleeting, and Addie guessed she had another five minutes at most until it was completely dark out.

    ¡°That most recent.. pounce.¡± The loam underneath Addie¡¯s right foot gave out for a moment, revealing some kind of burrowing animal¡¯s entrance. She stumbled, then caught herself and kept running. ¡°It was going for.. the kill.. wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Squishy¡¯s confirmation was punctuated by a ferocious growl just behind Addie, as the Aurwolf made its displeasure known. Again, Addie glanced behind her. She saw a series of three angry red slashes across the front of its face and over its right eyelid, the slashes across its face forcing the eye shut. The night started to get darker.

    Addie tried to focus and use the ability Squishy was so good at, but she just got flashes of leaves and tiny specks of dirt. Addie kept running, not daring to close her eyes. She focused on her magic again, but this time only ¡®saw¡¯ a random budding fern.

    Turning her head backward, she barely saw the Aurwolf¡¯s foaming mouth in the decreasing light. Despite her desperately pumping heart begging for rest, and her aching body begging for water, Addie somehow managed to speed up yet again.

    Her eyes had been adjusting to the increasing darkness, but by now, they had compensated as much as they could. She could only just barely continue making out Squishy¡¯s silhouette in front of her, and only because he was purposefully trying to stay in Addie¡¯s sight.

    The fear in Addie¡¯s heart tightened around her as she thought about closing her eyes. But, at this point, the fear didn¡¯t matter much. She wouldn¡¯t be able to see soon, anyway. Nightfall was here.

    It wasn¡¯t courage or bravery. Out of pure desperation, Addie closed her eyes.

 Chapter 10: Thirst

    After she closed her eyes, the world around Addie lit up, all of her surroundings becoming ¡®obvious¡¯ at the same time. Instead of just seeing in front of herself, like with her eyes, she could see most of the forest around her for more than a meter. She easily detected the closest obstacle and expertly dodged around the chest-level branch poised to whack into her.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing it, Squishy!¡± She shouted in hope.

    ¡°Do not slow down. The wolf is still in pursuit.¡±

    No response was needed. Squishy knew Addie had no intent to slow down. He was just trying to encourage her. Addie focused more on paying attention to her surroundings.

    A rock threatened to destabilize her running position, and Addie semi-unconsciously stepped ever so slightly to the right to avoid it. A moment later, a patch of pinecones attached to a hanging branch threatened to wack into her head. She weaved just enough to avoid it, trying not to waste any of her movements. A twig underneath a patch of dead leaves she never would have been able to see with her eyes became as obvious as something right in front of her face. She stepped over it and continued on.

    ¡°I¡¯m really doing it!¡± Hope filled Addie up. Or maybe that was just the adrenaline.

    The wolf, snarling, again pounced, this time aiming to finish things. She could almost feel how wrathful it was, and not just because of the claw marks marring its face. It was the beast¡¯s stance, its outstretched claws. The way it looked at Addie as if she were an annoying piece of food that just wouldn¡¯t give up. Mostly, it was the wolf¡¯s raised hackles and bared teeth. The wolf seemed to be saying, ¡®How dare my dinner fight back¡¯.

    Addie got ready to dodge, or in the worst case, jump into Realmspace to save herself.

    Protective fury flared up through the bond, and Addie knew it wasn¡¯t coming from her. Squishy abruptly skidded to a halt while turning his body around. Then with a powerful flexing of his muscles, he leapt into the air, past Addie¡¯s head, and jumped directly into the wolf¡¯s way. She sensed his jaw wrap around the wolf¡¯s throat, and his teeth tore away chunks of red flesh and a splattering of blood.

    He didn¡¯t get a free hit in though, the wolf yelped and whimpered as it reflexively twisted its head around and used its paw to thunk right into Squishy. Squishy hit the ground hard and rolled. The force of the blow easily sent the much smaller Squishy flying into the earth.

    ¡°Squishy!¡± Addie cried, her voice cracking into a high-pitched scream. She stopped her mad dash and turned around to grab Squishy behind her. She tried to pick him up, only to drop him again right away as his body was slick with blood. Hopefully not his own blood.

    In a final act of desperation, Addie hunched over Squishy, protecting him with her body. She curled around him right there in the dirt. She already lost too much family. She couldn¡¯t lose the other half of her soul, too.

    Addie braced herself, waiting for the final blow from the wolf as she tightly shut her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I appear mostly unharmed, though I suspect I will sport a rather nasty bruise in the morning.¡±

    Addie ignored him and continued to brace, how could he be joking about right now?

    ¡°You can let me go now, I can walk properly myself.¡±

    Addie scrunched up her face in confusion, then relaxed her body in relief a moment later. The wolf lay unmoving behind her, its eyes revealing only the stagnancy of death.

    ¡°Oh, we won.¡± Addie acknowledged.

    ¡°Surely, you knew this? You just started using your spatial sense effectively, did you not?¡±

    There was no stopping it. Addie laughed and rubbed the tears from her eyes. She hadn¡¯t even realized she¡¯d been crying, ¡°I guess I still haven¡¯t practiced enough.¡±

    The chortling sound Squishy sometimes made joined her as the two bonded laughed.

    Unfortunately, the night wasn¡¯t over. They had survived this Aurwolf, and luckily they were solitary predators. But, if they didn¡¯t hurry, another one could pop up at any moment. More than that, now that Addie was lying down in the dirt with Squishy, she didn¡¯t think she could get back up.

    The adrenaline crashed out of her system, only reminding Addie of how thirsty she was. All of a sudden, the dirt felt so comfortable, and Addie couldn¡¯t even think about getting up.

    ¡°Bide your time, my lady. I shall acquire the location of a stream or river with my senses. I ought to find something quickly. Then I will guide you to it. Please wait for me here.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Addie agreed easily. To be honest, she barely understood what her companion was even saying at this point. She had a brief urge to caution Squishy about using too much power in Realmspace, but the warning slipped away from her mind before she could even say it. She lay her head on the ground and tried not to fall unconscious. Lying in the dirt like this, she briefly contemplated drinking something revolting, and she quickly wished she hadn''t thought of it.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    It could have been five minutes or five hours; time morphing into a blur as Addie''s mind was in no shape to track time. Eventually, Squishy returned. In a fugue, Addie stood up and followed Squishy as best she could. By the end of it, Addie could hardly stand, but, somehow, she had made it. If asked how far she needed to walk to reach this small stream, she would not have been able to come close to a semblance of an answer.

    Addie practically fell on her face straight into the delectably cool stream. Vague recollections of her father telling her never to drink untreated water surfaced in Addie¡¯s mind. She ignored those completely as she took gulp after gulp of water. Eventually, Addie stopped. She could feel the water sloshing around in her otherwise empty stomach.

    Whipping her head out of the water, Addie paused to catch her breath. Addie had only a few moments before her stomach began to churn and the strong urge to vomit overwhelmed her. She retched up each mouthful she had just splurged on.

    Thoroughly miserable, and once again thirsty, Addie took a few smaller gulps from the stream, but she could barely stomach more than a couple of handfuls. Now with watery eyes and the taste of bile in her throat, Addie regretted her impulsiveness.

    ¡°Ugg, maybe that¡¯s why Dad said not to drink untreated water,¡± Addie grumbled aloud.

    ¡°I fear that you suffered from severe dehydration. Perhaps that is why you couldn¡¯t keep down all of the water at once?¡± Squishy mused. ¡°Your body may not have been ready to consume so much liquid after being totally dried out. Best keep it in moderation for now while you recover.¡± Addie winced slightly at Squishy¡¯s lecturing tone, but she didn¡¯t otherwise respond.

    Instead, Addie decided to sprawl out in the stream. At first glance, she thought it would be deep enough to swim, but once she lay on her back directly in the frigid water, she realized it only came halfway up her sprawled body. For a moment, she shivered at the icy caress of the water, but she was far too tired to vocalize a complaint. She lay down, her back pressed against the water''s surface, her limbs feeling unresponsive and limp, yet Addie knew she could move them if needed. After a few moments of adjusting to the temperature, she was able to relax even further and enjoy the stream¡¯s current flowing along her body, starting at her head and ending near her feet.

    Using her Spatial sense, she knew Squishy was walking into the stream, too. He waded over to Addie, and then climbed up onto her chest, lying down with his limbs sprawled out in the water.

    Slowly, all the aches and pains plaguing her body from the last few days drifted away in the stream. Addie watched as Squishy¡¯s deep purple bruises marring his black scales slowly started to fade. She saw as the scratches on his body closed, and healed before her very eyes.

    Some of the water lapped at the sides of Addie''s head, getting some water in her ears, but she didn¡¯t mind. This felt better than any massage.

    The relief of the situation finally caught up to Addie. With playfulness, Addie splashed some water on Squishy, causing him to shake his head, getting bits of water all over Addie¡¯s face. Not that it mattered, she was soaked anyway. Her hair was going to take forever to dry, especially since it was night.

    ¡°Silly... Cat.¡±

    ¡°While I am certain that I am no cat, I am glad you are feeling better. Your state of mind and body had begun to concern me. Though I won¡¯t be surprised if you complain about those wet clothes later.¡± Squishy remarked, his warm body comforting Addie.

    With Squishy diligently monitoring the area, Addie took the opportunity to unwind in the gentle embrace of the stream. Allowing the cool water to cascade over her, she felt the soothing relief seeping into her body. Amidst the tranquil flow, with time stretching lazily before her, Addie''s attention turned to the fluid dance around her. From head to feet, she became an observer of the liquid current, as if her very being merged with the stream''s rhythm. Gradually, a realization washed over her¡ªshe wasn''t just feeling the water''s touch; she was using her newly granted bonded power to sense the movements of the stream itself. Delving into this connection, she ¡®saw¡¯ the water before it hit her head and again noted when the current had left her feet. Lost in this almost meditative state her perception expanded beyond her own body and sense of touch, ¡®seeing¡¯ the water in a radius around her. In the gentle embrace of the flowing waters, all distractions melted away, leaving only Addie and the graceful stream, entwined in an unspoken conversation.

    By the time goose bumps had begun to pop up on her skin and her teeth started clattering, Addie decided to get out.

    As Addie emerged from the stream, Squishy perked up his ears, and hopped off of Addie¡¯s chest, back onto the forest loam. He did a full body stretch, solidifying in Addie''s mind the idea that, in some ways, Squishy was truly reminiscent of a cat.

    Feeling much better than earlier, Addie took another drink from the stream. Once she was out, her shivering got worse, the cool night air feeling even colder now that she was out of the water. Her wet hair bunched up uncomfortably against her back, and her sundress clung to her with extra water weight.

    ¡°You better not laugh at my wet clothes,¡± Addie commanded.

    ¡°Laugh at my lady? Never.¡± Squishy responded stoically.

    Despite the misery brought on by her wetness, Addie found solace in the fact that without the river, they might not be alive. She reflected on her experience in the stream.

    Her newly acquired spatial sense allowed her to actively sense everything around her: to an extent. She could ¡®see¡¯ her surroundings beyond the limits of her traditional senses. When centering the sense around herself, a sphere of insight unfolded about her, spanning a radius of perhaps one to two meters. She lost this ability if she tried to focus on any given object around her, though.

    Focusing on a single object was weird, and she wasn¡¯t sure exactly what she was seeing, yet. It was like a bunch of tiny little circles were all forced together to make up a whole leaf. Her skin was like that, too. In that sense, the water from the stream made more sense, as she could ¡®see¡¯ a bunch of tiny droplets making up the entire flow.

    Addie shook her head, she was getting distracted.

    ¡°I need to sleep. My brain is all foggy. We need to make a camp for warmth. It might be hard with just the two of us.¡± Addie was hopeful they could get warm.

    Squishy sent a feeling of agreement through their bond. ¡°Good idea. In my admittedly simple past memories, I never once ¡®made a camp¡¯ as you say. How shall I help?¡±

    ¡°We need to make a fire,¡± Addie decided. ¡°My dad always said it would help scare the animals off, and I don¡¯t know how to build a roof over us or anything like that. Without fire, we might still die from the cold.¡± Addie didn¡¯t want to survive the Aurwolf just to die of something silly like hypothermia.

    ¡°Can you collect some wood for us? I¡¯ll start on a fire pit. I can find tinder, too! Dad always had me do those jobs when we camped in the woods together.¡± With a better plan in mind, Addie felt more confident about spending the night in the forest.

 Chapter 11: Fire

    Addie easily remembered the steps for making a fire. The sequence was etched into her memory: dig a small hole, place stones around it for containment, and collect tinder for starting the fire. Her father had taught her these steps, and fire-making had become a well-practiced skill during their outdoor camping trips. Though the task of collecting and carrying the big pieces of firewood usually fell to her dad, Addie entrusted that task to Squishy this time. He could still see better in this darkness, anyway.

    Long practiced at fire-making, Addie finished her preparation long before Squishy returned, which seemed a bit off. She felt a small stab of worry pierce through her chest after Squishy still didn¡¯t return within a few minutes. What if another Aurwolf had found him? But, they were still near the stream, so that didn¡¯t quite make sense.

    Addie anxiously called for her companion, ¡°Squishy? Are you almost done?¡± Addie shouted into the woods.

    After a few seconds of silence, Addie¡¯s panic accelerated. Intrusive thoughts of losing her only companion in this forest conjured up fears of loneliness and vulnerability. Squishy acted as Addie¡¯s friend but also as a protector. Potentially being in the forest without him filled Addie with dread.

    Through the panic, a thought surfaced, Wait! I can still feel him through our bond. At that, relief flooded through her, and her earlier panic turned into a subdued giggle. He¡¯s not in danger.

    If she could feel him through their bond, Addie thought there should be a way to talk with him. It¡¯s not like he speaks to me using words. Addie focused back on the moments Squishy had communicated with her. She remembered how it felt to be contacted by her companion through the bond. She knew what receiving a message felt like, so maybe she could reverse it to send a message herself.

    Addie focused on that feeling of receiving, then pushed that feeling outward toward their bond. Sure enough, Addie knew instinctively that Squishy had felt her prod. However, in her haste to figure out how to communicate through their linked souls, Addie sent Squishy more of a figurative poke than true language.

    In response, Addie heard Squishy¡¯s disembodied voice, ¡°I am not far.¡±

    Hearing something talk without being nearby seemed sort of creepy to Addie, but she brushed it off since she knew it was just her Squishy, ¡°Just having some minor inconveniences.¡± Though he attempted to conceal it, Addie could still tell that Squishy felt a bit frustrated over something.

    To show that she heard him, Addie sent a feeling of acknowledgment through their bond and resolved to sit down and wait. No longer active, the shivering came back to Addie, as the night wind collided with her wet clothes.

    Soon, the rustling in the bushes heralded Squishy''s return. Strangely, she also heard intermittent sounds of dragging.

    When Squishy breached the other side of the bushes and came out into the clearing, he struggled with the task he¡¯d taken on. His mouth gripped the tip of a sizable log, leaving meandering furrows in the ground as he dragged it along. He huffed and puffed, trying to get what was essentially part of a medium-sized tree over to the campsite. Though he tried to look distinguished, Addie thought he looked like a dog trying to drag around an oversized toy.

    ¡°Fret not! I have... almost... arrived,¡± he got out, in between grunts and bursts of movement. Addie watched with growing hilarity as her sworn protector budged the tree slowly forward in stops and starts, struggling too much to move it continuously. Stop, grunt, go, but eventually, he made it to Addie¡¯s side. He dropped the log with a thud, panting for breath.

    ¡°I have completed the task given unto me by my lady.¡± He said with clear satisfaction and pride in his voice.

    After watching her usually composed companion exert himself to move that crazy log in fits and starts, Addie couldn¡¯t take it anymore and burst out laughing to the point of tears.

    ¡°What did you do? Cut down an entire tree and haul it over here?¡± Addie wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked right at her companion.

    ¡°Well, that is what you asked of me, was it not?¡± Squishy responded earnestly.

    ¡°No, you silly cat! Just getting some fallen branches would have been plenty. I don¡¯t even know what to do with this huge log! We¡¯d have to cut it to fit in the firepit I made.¡± Addie gestured toward the small stone-ringed pit.

    Pausing to examine the pit, Squishy seemed to realize that the log was far longer than the space available. ¡°Ah, yes. Perhaps there was a bit of miscommunication.¡± Somehow, Squishy managed to sound unfazed by the situation.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie took the time to instruct her decidedly-not-a-cat companion on proper firewood collection. Though Addie realized, Squishy never would have been the best fit for the task, due to his lack of hands. He could move a surprising amount of stuff around with just his mouth, but carrying multiple objects at once was simply impossible for the small creature.

    When she thought about his lack of opposable thumbs, it actually made some sense why Squishy thought to bring back such a huge piece of wood. From her human perspective, firewood would be gathered in a pile of multiple branches. But for Squishy, who could carry only one object at a time in his mouth, it made sense to fetch a single large piece.

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    After some self and dual examination, Squishy told Addie that he felt certain his language abilities were somehow transferred over to him while his mind expanded during their bond. Though the ability to speak transferred over, Addie¡¯s memories most certainly did not transfer to Squishy.

    Practically, this meant he only had the context of a forest fire to think of when Addie said she wanted to build a fire. He had never seen man-made fire before, only the wild uncontrolled kind during his previous life in the forest. His lack of context when combined with his lack of hands, led to the single big tree predicament.

    Regardless, now that Squishy knew the proper size to grab, and with Addie actively helping, a sizeable pile began to grow next to the pit. It was hard work to accomplish at night, especially since Addie still hadn¡¯t been able to properly dry off from her time in the river. The cold of night and her damp clothes were really starting to get to her. The worst part was her wet hair, all clumped together and dripping down her back.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough.¡± Addie declared, surveying the accumulation of their hard work. ¡°Let¡¯s make fire!¡± She really wanted to get warm.

    Addie took on the role of teacher as she built a teepee structure with the firewood branches. ¡°This is how it¡¯s done, Squishy. Look here, see how I lean all the branches against each other at the top? That¡¯s so that the pile doesn¡¯t all fall down,¡± Addie instructed, ¡°Once that is set up, we get to the fun part! But also, the hard part. Usually, my dad would do this, but he¡¯s shown me how enough times that I think I can do it.¡± Squishy sat and watched attentively but did not interrupt his impromptu tutor.

    Looking over to make sure he was paying attention, Addie then took off her left boot and plopped onto the ground, ¡°Since there isn¡¯t any string or rope around here, my dad always used to say shoelaces would work as a substitute.¡± After unthreading her shoelace, Addie grabbed the curved stick she picked out specially for this. It was about half the length of her forearm and curved like a bow. She attached each end of her shoelace to either side of the stick, completing the bow. She had to re-adjust the knots a few times to make sure the line was taut. Then, she grabbed another stick, straight this time, and held it against the middle of the line. She twisted the straight stick and wound the shoelace around it once, then firmly planted it in the ground to prevent unraveling.

    Placing her tinder pile beside her, she grabbed another piece of wood, this time slightly rotting, but perfect for the task because it was mostly flat. She retrieved her makeshift bow-drill and set the straight stick against the flat board. She picked up the flat stone she left sitting nearby and placed it at the top end of the straight stick. Now, she stuck the straight stick firmly in place perpendicular to the board. She angled the bowed stick parallel to the ground.

    Addie held the straight stick in place with a rock at the top using her right hand, and she used her left hand to push and pull the bow, causing the straight stick to twirl in place, generating friction against the board. What she didn¡¯t expect, was the spray of water hitting her face from her shoelace¡¯s rapid movement.

    ¡°Bleh,¡± She spat. Then, with her head slightly turned to avoid further disgusting shoelace water, she continued to push and pull on the bow-drill.

    Doing this herself seemed ridiculously more difficult than when Addie watched her dad do the same action. He could move the bow so fast that the stick would twirl incredibly fast, creating smoke on the flat board within just half a minute. Addie did not have as much luck. She kept losing her grip on the flat stone, or jabbing her hand and wrist against the straight stick when she lost leverage. Another frequent problem was the stick losing its place against the board, either from spinning away from the center into the dirt, or slipping around on the board as she yanked the bow. It didn¡¯t help that everything was slightly wet.

    After a concentrated effort lasting at least ten minutes, Addie finally saw a tiny ember forming on the board. Invigorated by the progress, her efforts renewed, back and forth she tugged on the bow, the stick twirling faster than ever.

    ¡°Quick, Squishy, pass me the tinder!¡± Addie prodded excitedly. Squishy stretched out his feline form, back arching, then plodded over to the tinder pile on Addie¡¯s right and gently scooped it up into his mouth. He dropped it down directly in front of Addie. She stopped using her left hand to move the bow, and grabbed the tinder pile, placing it directly onto the coal she just made. She patiently began to blow, feeding the fire with her lungs. Not wanting all her hard work to go to waste, she carefully cupped her hands around the tinder pile, trying to keep the wind off it.

    Continuously, she blew gently into her burgeoning fire, the smoke spreading and growing as it began eating away at the tinder. Finally, it ignited. Addie suppressed a whoop of joy, instead, she walked over to the firepit and put the tinder down underneath the teepee of firewood.

    ¡°Over here, Squishy! Help me blow on it. If the tinder doesn¡¯t spread to the logs, we¡¯ll have to start all over!¡± Addie hurried Squishy over in her urgency to not mess it up.

    The two of them alternated blowing on the firepit, giving the fire an unending supply of oxygen until, finally, fire.

    Without holding back, Addie whooped in celebration, no longer able to hold back. She had even managed to avoid most of the smoke, though her eyes were mildly watering.

    ¡°We did it, Squishy!,¡± Addie said to her companion with a big grin on her face. Then, she walked over and picked Squishy up underneath his front legs, causing his hind legs to dangle. Then, she squished him tight into her chest and nuzzled the side of her face into his head.

    ¡°Yes, a very exciting moment indeed. Although I admit, you must release me, you are wet. Squishy said patiently.

    Addie put her partner back on the ground and did a little spin in place before turning back to Squishy. ¡°I¡¯m so glad!¡± Addie scrunched up her face and sniffled, ¡°We¡¯re going to be ok.¡± She realized aloud.

    Squishy made his now familiar chortle and communicated through the bond, ¡°Yes, we will, my lady.¡±

    Finally, Addie plopped right down next to the fire. Then, she looked up at the sky. The clear night sky showed off the most naturally occurring beauty. The galaxy. Addie admired it as she relished the warmth of the fire. She was glad their campsite had a sparse canopy so she could see the stars.

    Next, Addie took off her boots and socks. She laid her boots about a foot away from the fire, and placed her socks on top of a stone near the fire. That should help dry them out. She didn¡¯t want to take off her dress. Even though it was wet, it was still better than lying on the dirt completely naked. Instead, she lay down next to the fire and looked back up at the twinkling sky. The warmth of the fire pleasantly licked the side of her that faced it. Unfortunately, she knew her hair was going to be disgusting after this.

    Regardless, she drifted off to sleep. Squishy would watch over her; for now, she was safe.

 Chapter 12: Impossible Deer and Colossal Trees

    Addie woke up to some rustling near her head but quickly realized it was just Squishy adding more wood onto the crackling fire. A soft giggle escaped her lips as she watched the small black creature nudge the branches forward with his snout. He had offered to wake up periodically to keep watch during the night, and apparently, that meant he would also make sure Addie stayed warm.

    Though she appreciated him doing that for her, Addie eagerly waited for him to curl back up and settle next to her. Turning onto her back, she looked up at the twinkling sky above. Night had long since fallen, and Addie looked up in awe as she imagined herself drifting amongst the dark spaces between stars. She had never seen this level of beauty from the night sky in her village. When Addie fell back asleep, she dreamed of spiraling galaxies and colorful nebulas.

    <hr><hr>

    Then, like a sudden lightning bolt of anxiety and urgency, Addie snapped awake. Something was close, something was sniffing her. She immediately knew it was not Squishy, since he was curled up near her feet, still asleep. She did not expect to wake up again in the same night.

    She gathered the courage to open her eyes and eventually mustered the willpower to take a peak. Towering over her appeared to be a common deer, though its majesty and form were incomparable to the common game she often ate from hunters in the village.

    She looked upon the deer with equal parts fear and awe, examining its beauty as she trembled underneath its massive size. Easily towering over the bushes near her, Addie suspected even her father would be tiny in comparison. From her perspective on the ground, its chest towered at least five meters above her, but its head angled into Addie, uncomfortably close, with a single ginormous eye staring straight into her. The rest of its body matched its massive proportions, with hooves next to her neck larger than her chest, and a long body that easily went back ten or more meters.

    Even in the fire''s orange flickering light, Addie could easily tell that the deer¡¯s coat was the finest white. The deer¡¯s entire head dwarfed Addie¡¯s body, with antlers towering so thick and long above its head that Addie wondered how its neck could support the massive weight. The giant pitch-black orb of an eye easily reflected Addie¡¯s entire body back at her.

    The deer exhaled, its nostrils flaring, practically causing a miniature wind to envelope Addie. In stark contrast to typical prey animals, this one didn''t shy away from locking eyes with her. Even amid her primal trembling fear, Addie recognized an unexpected gentleness in the creature''s demeanor, as it took deliberate care to ensure its imposing antlers didn¡¯t gore into her. The deer¡¯s curious eyes felt supremely eerie to Addie, the slitted eyeball looking so inhuman. The deer ran its eyes across Addie, examining her.

    After a moment, Addie realized the deer was just observing her peacefully. Addie¡¯s fear slowly but surely dissipated, replaced with an overwhelming appreciation of its beauty. All other thoughts left her mind, as she became totally captivated by its eyes.

    Finally, the deer began to gently walk away. Despite its massive size, it walked with careful precision, never a step out of place. In some impossible way, each step seemed to defy the laws of sound, leaving no trace of its passage. Not a rustle of leaves, not a snap of twigs ¨C it was as if the forest itself held its breath. As the deer faded from sight, Addie recognized that it had even remained invisible to her new spatial sense. If there were still creatures out there that could evade even Squishy¡¯s acute senses, Addie knew the two of them still had a long path of mastery ahead of them. Had Addie not woken up, she never would have even known it appeared, as it left absolutely no trace behind, elegantly stepping as if lighter than air and gentler than snow.

    It was still dark out, and Addie was still exhausted. The terror that had jolted her awake was now a distant memory. Perhaps that Impossible Deer had granted her one final gift, a tranquil goodnight that lulled her into peaceful, dreamless sleep.

    <hr><hr>

    With morning, came the binary rise. However, that had long passed, and now it was nearing noon based on its position in the sky. While walking through the trees, Addie could easily make it out overhead.

    The Binary painted the sky in an awe-inspiring swirl, a blue star gradually succumbing to the clutches of a diminutive black point. The pinpoint itself was only visible due to the large aurora surrounding it¡ªa luminous accretion disk that actually lit up the sky more than its partner blue star. Addie¡¯s eyes followed the Star¡¯s dance with its black hole partner. It reminded Addie of a flowing spring, blue starlight eddied and bobbed in a long trail slowly but inevitably flowing into a giant swirling whirlpool sucking the starlight into a tiny black speck. Following the whirlpool was strange as the motion and colors changed the closer things got to the black hole. The green edges of the pool spun quickly even to Addie¡¯s naked eye. The next arm of the spiral bled yellow and it swirled much slower though still obvious. The inner-most ring of the accretion disk sat a sinister red, completely motionless as if frozen in time. The ¡®drain¡¯ of the whirlpool culminated into a distorted tiny black point. According to her father, the black hole was named Servus and the star Aggan, but to Addie, they both remained simply the Binary.

    Her father always tried to impress the beauty and awe of the Binary onto Addie, but to someone who grew up seeing it every day, it seemed like nothing special. Sure, it lit up the sky, but how could something so mundane be beautiful? To Addie, it was as ordinary as a tree or a rock¡ªa part of the everyday tapestry of nature.

    Addie looked back to the forest floor, where Squishy lead the way.

    ¡°Are we there yet?¡± Addie asked, again.

    ¡°I am unsure why you persist inquiring this of me. The answer is no different than a few moments ago when you last asked,¡± Squishy responded neutrally as they continued through the underbrush.

    ¡°I¡¯m bo~red.¡± Addie dragged out the word as she grumbled.

    Squishy chose not to dignify her with a response.

    There was only so much magical practice Addie could do before the task became too much. Exploring her newfound magic was interesting, but one can only perform a task so many times in a row until it becomes dull. Addie compared it to reading: even avid readers don¡¯t spend all day each day reading.

    Addie knew she would go back to practicing, and soon too; but for now, she wanted something else to distract herself. Walking step by step through this forest had easily become just as boring as staring at a wall, as far as Addie was concerned. Thus, she bothered her companion, hoping he had some ideas for entertainment. Unfortunately, the small creature was impossible to tease, since he always replied to Addie¡¯s questions with sincerity, regardless of how silly of a question she directed at him.

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    To try and help pass the time, Addie looked at the bountiful scenery around her. The lush trees had grabbed her attention while she was practicing with her new spatial sense, and now she studied them again, but this time without her magic. Most of the trees were incredibly thin and spindly but impossibly tall all the same. Much taller than Addie, at least, and if she tried to look up at the top branches, she knew that she would never be able to accurately gauge just how far up it went. And those were just the small ones.

    Every now and again, Squishy and Addie would come upon a truly ginormous tree. So wide around that she couldn¡¯t tell the tree was round until she started walking around it. Perhaps one every kilometer or so, a king of behemoths stood, twice as tall and many times wider than its neighbors. Addie thought the giants may even brush up to the Binary, as crazy as it sounded.

    Even if it was the same size as the surrounding trees, it would still stand out due to its unique color amid the surrounding brown bark of most trees. Such trees almost seemed to glow with a spectacular silver amid unblemished bark. No cracks or grooves showed on the surface of their trunks, and when Addie placed her hand on one directly, it felt smooth to the touch. Addie wondered whether any creatures could inhabit such a tree, given the absence of handholds for climbing up its lower trunk.

    ¡°Hey, Squishy?¡± Addie called out.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Squishy turned his head to face her.

    ¡°Do you think you could climb up this tree?¡±

    Squishy paused for a moment to consider the idea, ¡°I do not believe so. Despite how soft it seems, the outer bark of those trees is impossible for my claws to penetrate.¡±

    Addie¡¯s mind began to churn with possible solutions, ¡°Do you think you could get up there if you traveled through Realmspace first?¡±

    Addie could feel Squishy¡¯s best impression of a raised eyebrow pushing toward her from their bond. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you noticed, but there would be nothing for me to climb in Realmspace, either. The ground there is relatively the same height as out here, so jumping here or jumping from Realmspace would make little difference, I am afraid.¡±

    ¡°What if I threw you up the tree?¡± Addie suggested with a half-smile.

    ¡°Are you asking because it would be helpful or amusing?¡±

    ¡°Why not both!¡± Addie excitedly exclaimed, ¡°Maybe from the vantage of up in the tree we can get a better idea of where the village is, too!¡±

    Squishy seemed to deflate in acceptance, ¡°Though your logic is sound I can¡¯t help but be skeptical due to your attitude.¡± Then he puffed up again while psyching himself up. ¡°Very well. Toss me to your heart¡¯s desire, and I shall report what I see.¡±

    Addie bounced over to Squishy with a malicious grin and reached out under his forelegs to hold him up, making him seem like a very long cat. Then, she unceremoniously turned around and with a great heave tossed him up and as high toward the top of the tree as she could.

    Addie¡¯s initial throw put Squishy at a disadvantage. She was certain his sideways positioning would lead to an ungraceful splat into the trunk. In reality, Squishy made up for Addie¡¯s lack of dexterity with his own. He expertly twisted midair aligning his four paws perfectly against the tree¡¯s surface. He hit the trunk running, using the leftover upward moment from Addie¡¯s throw to continue up the tree. As he said earlier, his claws made little difference, as Addie didn¡¯t see a single blemish on the tree as he ran up its trunk.

    Four steps became six, and six steps became eight. Just as he started to lose the fight against gravity, he blinked out of existence. Focusing on their bond, Addie could tell he was doing something, but she wasn¡¯t quite sure what. In the next moment, he reappeared higher up in the air than he had vanished from. With his forelegs just hooking over the top, his hind legs still dangling in the air, he managed to grab onto the lowest hanging branch.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Addie wondered what Squishy had discovered.

    He dangled for a moment, then pulled himself up by his forelegs¡ªhis hind legs scrambling to help. Once he was perched on the branch with proper footing, he bundled up his muscles with his tail straight up in the air. He put all his weight on his hind legs, winding up for a jump, with what to Addie, was a very familiar jumping pose anyone with a cat would recognize. He even completed the movement by bobbing his head forward and back. Finally, he leaped as powerfully as his small form allowed toward the next branch up.

    ¡°What was that!¡± Addie shouted in excitement. ¡°I thought you said going into Realmspace would be pointless?¡±

    ¡°Well, when I realized I wouldn¡¯t make it to the top branch, I thought about how Realmspace seems to forcefully eject us from its domain. I thought, if I could direct that ejection force, perhaps I could direct my momentum upon re-entering reality.¡±

    He quickly became a blur, leaping from branch to branch without pause. He easily made it so high up that eventually Addie only saw a small black dot moving up in the tree.

    As she marveled at Squishy¡¯s ascent and clever application of magic, an odd sensation coursed through Addie. Her spatial sense, which typically had limited range around her, now extended far enough to track Squishy¡¯s progress. What baffled her further was that she couldn''t sense any other objects around him. It was as if her spatial sense had selectively focused on Squishy, leaving everything else in the forest canopy undetected. In this case, he seemed more than fifty Addies away, a fun unit of measurement but still the one her brain defaulted to. Regardless, the distance at which her spatial sense detected him was far beyond anything she had noticed previously, and Addie idly wondered if there would ever be a time her spatial sense couldn¡¯t detect her soul-bonded companion.

    ¡°I can¡¯t reach the top,¡± came Squishy''s voice through their telepathic connection. He seemed to be panting out the words in exhaustion.

    Puzzled by this, Addie shouted up at him, ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t get to the top? You were jumping perfectly!¡±

    ¡°That is not the issue. I just had to climb back down a few branches. When I start ascending too high, the air becomes frigid and I lose the ability to breathe.¡± Squishy clarified.

    ¡°You can¡¯t breathe?¡± Addie felt skeptical at the claim of unbreathable air. Addie couldn¡¯t begin to guess why something as simple as breathing would be difficult up there.

    ¡°I know not why, but it appears as though the air loses substance as I climb. I can still inhale and exhale, but nonetheless, I feel almost as though I have breathed nothing at all. I was hoping to get higher to survey more land, but regardless, it matters not. I can still get higher than much of the surrounding forest. I see a break in the trees not too far from where we are now, with what seem like square plots of land. I am still not completely certain, since the ground is so far, but I believe that is where the village lies.¡±

    ¡°Will you be able to guide us over?¡±

    Squishy replied confidently, ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. I will come back down now to guide us.¡±

    Despite her hope of saving her father, a deep-seated fear gnawed at Addie¡¯s core at the thought of confronting Christena once more. Addie hoped she could sneak in and free her father without even seeing Christena, let alone confronting her.

    How had her loving maid turned into such a monster? Perhaps even worse, how had Christena turned into such a monster without anyone noticing? Addie loved Christena. They treated her well, and she even joined them at the dinner table like a family member rather than a servant. She helped Addie when her parents were busy and taught her all of her lessons. The Christena who killed an old woman in the basement was not the same Christena Addie had grown up loving.

    More importantly, Christena didn¡¯t have the kind of magical power necessary to beat an Area Lord. Not even close. Addie sighed. Thinking about it now wouldn¡¯t do her any good.

 Chapter 13: Hunger

    Addie had been trying to ignore the hunger panging into her gut for the last two days, subsisting entirely on water as she had been, but today it was finally too much. Honestly, Addie surprised herself by even lasting this long without solid food. Squishy had not eaten either, leading her to believe that the small creature''s body might partially supplement itself with magic¡ªa trait she suspected she had inherited as well.

    Even with that, today she had very little ability to move. Her limbs dragged like lead, and she felt abnormally tired. Her mind worked within a fog, and her stomach had long since moved past hunger. Now, it felt like her stomach twisted itself painfully, squeezing and digesting itself for any scrap of nutrition.

    It didn¡¯t matter that Squishy guided her forward, nor did it matter that she was so close to seeing her dad again. If she didn¡¯t eat something, after the last few days of constant travel through the forest, Addie worried she might actually die. At least, that¡¯s what her stomach told her. Addie tried to think back to the last time she ate and realized it was the morning she talked to that villager, almost an age ago.

    ¡°Squishy, I think I¡¯m dying.¡±

    ¡°I can sense your state, my lady. You are not dying, though perhaps I can try to find something for you. It is about time I found sustenance myself, after all. Though I will admit, I worry raw squirrel will be unappealing to you.¡±

    To Addie¡¯s surprise, the idea didn¡¯t immediately repulse her, ¡°I must be really starved, that image didn¡¯t even make me gag.¡±

    Addie would at least like to make a cooking fire first, but she didn¡¯t think she had enough energy to try one right now. The first time had been strenuous enough.

    Squishy felt her reluctant acquiescence to the idea of raw food and went scampering off. He returned shortly after, but with a fish instead of a squirrel (thank Aggan). He said there was a river not too far off, so Addie decided she might visit it later to get a drink, too.

    Addie had seen her fair share of game in the village but never unprepared like this. Seeing the scaly creature reduced to a limp body bothered Addie on a fundamental level. She felt awful about taking its tiny life. She thought how she would feel, chased by a scary creature much larger than herself, only to experience pain and fear when caught in the jaws of the predator¡ªa horrific final memory. Addie tried to shake the pity off; she needed to eat, and besides, she knew she only felt this way because it still looked like a fish. Addie hoped she would feel better when its skin was removed.

    However, Addie felt even worse once the skin was removed. Her unease intensified as she watched Squishy shred the fish with his claws to prepare it, trying to make it suitable for Addie.

    ¡°I can feel your sympathy for this prey through our bond strongly. A foreign feeling to me. I never gave my prey pity or empathy in the past. It is a new experience. To me, this is necessary, just food.¡± Squishy explained.

    ¡°I know that! It¡¯s just so...¡± Addie lost her words, but seeing the pitiful fishy shredded to pieces, and knowing she was directly responsible for it, touched Addie¡¯s feelings in all the worst ways.

    ¡°Other cultures eat raw fish all the time,¡± Addie tried to put on a brave face at it. She had never tried something like this herself, of course, but her dad did always say she ought to try new things.

    Squishy passed Addie a misshapen, half-shredded chunk of fish which she accepted with wide eyes. As she examined it, she tried to tell herself it was just a chef-prepared slice of fish, the same as what she often ate at the manor. The lie only worked until Addie looked over at the lifeless fish eyes, still freshly staring up into the sky. Addie looked back down in her hand and didn¡¯t see a cube of fish. She saw a shred of life, not even capable of begging for its life.

    Addie closed her eyes and quickly put it in her mouth. She chewed for a moment, then retched, struggling to keep her mouth closed to not waste it.

    The acrid pungency of raw fish invaded her nostrils. It reminded her a bit of eating seaweed, which she hated. Addie kept chewing, trying not to vomit. It was raw and cold. Addie gagged a few more times but managed to get it down. The strong flavor of fishiness still coated her tongue.

    <hr><hr>

    It was now well past afternoon. Addie had rested for a while after sating her hunger and overcoming the nausea, but now she was hoping they could resume the hike.

    ¡°You did good.¡± Squishy praised.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it. Don¡¯t mention it. I never want to remember that poor thing.¡± Addie declared sternly. ¡°It didn¡¯t happen.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    A few hours later, when her stomach and body begged for more, she ate another piece of fish.

    <hr><hr>

    Soon, the forest began to thin out. Addie''s hope of reaching the village increased, resonating through the bond with Squishy, who harbored his own aspiration of finding the village. Their combined hope seemed to flow between them in waves, somehow compounding with each move between them. The feeling was much stronger than just the sum of their parts¡ª it seemed as if the feeling resonated and multiplied.

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    Their spirits soon damped, as the Binary stopped being visible, resting behind dark puffy clouds.

    Squishy put his snout up in the air and gave a few huffs, looking at the sky. ¡°I smell rain,¡± he announced.

    And like that, their burgeoning hope wisped away.

    As the forest thinned, Addie knew that the canopy overhead would offer little protection from the impending rain. She hoped they could find the village before that, but just as that thought came to mind, a fat raindrop hit the tip of her nose, announcing an evening of misery.

    An hour later, Addie tromped through the frigid mud, one foot in front of the other. With the rain brought cold, and Addie had no way to stay warm other than to keep moving. To make matters worse, the binary had just finished its descent down the horizon.

    Addie thought back on the last few days, all the things she had overcome. Bond-exhaustion, thirst, then hunger. She also managed to escape from Christena, and she had even survived a number of nights in this forest. But out of all of that, the heat-sucking rain seemed most likely to end her.

    Her day boots were not designed with rain and mud in mind. With each squelching step, more and more muck seemed to pile up on the inside of her boots. For the last few hours, Addie had become accustomed to the sensation¡ª wet and goopy. Squishy frequently glanced back to check on her, but he knew any words here would be unnecessary. Addie just needed to keep moving if she wanted to survive the biting rain.

    She had actually gotten past caring. Her world was dark, wet, and miserable. At this point, she didn¡¯t particularly have a strong drive to survive, it just seemed like the only thing to do. So she kept on walking, doing the bare minimum to stay awake in the downpour.

    When Addie pushed her new bond to its limit those many days ago, she never realized it would mean a grueling survival trek through the forest. She hadn¡¯t even been thinking about her dad too much; Right now, Addie just focused on trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

    Over a particularly tricky root, Addie tripped and fell. She landed on her front and earned herself a mouth full of mud, barely managing not to swallow it on reflex. She spat the mud out best she could and used her sleeve to try to get rid of the rest. It didn¡¯t help much, though, basically just smearing the gritty texture around on her tongue due to her now muddy sleeves, but it was better than nothing. She put her hands down on the ground to push herself up and continue on, but soon realized she was stuck in some kind of bog. Face down in the mud, craning her neck out of the muck to breathe, Addie began to laugh.

    This really is the icing on the cake, huh? I¡¯m just trying to walk forward but the universe won¡¯t even let me do that properly.

    Somewhat lost in her thoughts and enveloped in darkness, Addie didn¡¯t even see Squishy approach until he stepped just in front of her face.

    ¡°At first I thought you had begun to cry, but it appears as though you are laughing. Why?¡± Squishy, being a newly awakened animal, sometimes seemed to have a hard time understanding Addie¡¯s emotions.

    ¡°It¡¯s just funny! I mean, how did I even get in this situation? It¡¯s so silly! I can¡¯t¡ª¡± Addie burst out with another fit of laughter, ¡°I¡¯m stuck!¡±

    ¡°I see. Think not as a human, little one. Now, you are special. Dip into Realmspace and, in words you might say, ¡®un-stuck yourself¡¯.¡±

    That actually seemed like a good idea to Addie. She didn¡¯t waste any time beating herself up for not thinking of that¡ª it had been days since she last used the ability, and she had been taking a break to make sure their bond healed properly.

    With a moment of will, she was no longer sinking into the bog, instead she lay face down on the cold, solid ground of Realmspace. She hurriedly rose to her feet, but only took a single step forward before being ejected back out into reality.

    She gasped upon her re-entry to the rain-filled forest, the shock and frigidity biting into her. For her brief moment in Realmspace, the universe spared her the wet and cold. Thinking on it for a moment, Addie realized Realmspace seemed different than she remembered. When compared to the frantic flight through the forest from a few days ago, this time, she had almost no control over her return to reality. Before, it seemed like she alone held authority over how long she decided to travel through Realmspace. This time, without the boost granted by bond ignition, Realmspace seemed to spit her back out into true reality the moment it noticed her alien presence.

    Unfortunately, Addie quickly realized that her single step forward in Realmspace only meant one of her feet made it outside the bog. Her back foot was quickly swallowed almost knee-deep into that gritty cold mud. She tried to yank her foot out, but it seemed to suck on her leg, trying to drag her back in.

    She panicked for a moment, thrashing her foot around before she heard Squishy¡¯s calming tone, ¡°Just move slowly, little one. The mud is no predator. Relax, and gently move your foot out. The mud will release should you cease your struggling.¡±

    Addie took a moment to take a deep breath, then she replied with a panic-restrained ¡®ok¡¯. To give herself a bit more leverage, she dropped onto all fours. Next, she did as Squishy instructed and slowly began lifting her foot, though it went against her instincts (she still wanted to yank her leg out as soon as possible away from the danger).

    Within just a few moments, Addie realized it was working. Using her good leg and now her two hands for better leverage, it became a simple thing to extricate her leg from the bog. She just needed to be a little bit patient.

    Her foot came out of the muck with a wet ¡®shlurp¡¯, and Addie felt more than a little relieved her foot was intact. Though, with dismay, she realized the stupid mud had eaten her boot. She dared not try to wade around in there to find it. She gave up on it with a sigh, trying to get the determination to make it through the forest with a bare foot. But then she realized she might not need to walk the whole way without a shoe. After all, she could use her ability to travel through Realmspace to avoid the forest at least partially.

    ¡°Squishy, let¡¯s travel using Realmspace for a bit,¡± Addie winced slightly, remembering the soul-ache she experienced after overdoing it during their bond ignition, ¡°But just a little bit since I don¡¯t want to tear up our bond again. That was awful.¡±

    ¡°Very well, my lady,¡± Squishy prowled over to her and leapt upwards. Addie could feel his intentions through their bond and immediately reached her arms out to meet him, where he jumped right into her arms. Then she squished him tight into her chest, enough so that he was secure but not anywhere close to hurting him. With their combined will and strength, they leaned back through the membrane of reality, dipping into Realmspace.

 Chapter 14: Night of Rainstorms

    With a flash of will, the pair stepped outside of reality, dipping into Realmspace. With their combined power, the two of them managed to take a whole five steps through the enigmatic space before it kicked them back out into the forest. Five steps did not seem like a lot to Addie. Squishy could already do almost that much even before they bonded. Their magic should have increased with their combined capacity, so Addie suspected they just needed more practice to reach their full potential. Next time, she resolved to pay attention to the way Realmspace ejected her from its domain and to attempt to counter it.

    Addie and Squishy immediately pulled on their power again, quickly re-entering Realmspace. Now that Addie had a bit more experience with it, they managed seven full steps to their name. Addie could even feel the membrane of the alternate dimension pushing against her this time, now that she was looking for it. The first step to increasing their capacity was understanding what exactly caused the limitation on their powers in the first place.

    ¡°Squishy, you felt that too, right?¡± Still holding him, Addie angled her chin down as she asked.

    ¡°Indeed. Prior to our bond, my limited intelligence never grasped what caused the ejection.¡± Looking into Squishy¡¯s eyes, Addie could tell he was deep in thought, ¡°Back then, only pure instinct guided my powers.¡±

    Addie quickly wanted to get back into Realmspace and avoid the rain, but then a thought came to her: what if she reappeared in reality directly inside a tree? The idea of being mixed into a tree like that made her cringe. Squishy sensed her unease through their bond and quickly reassured Addie, ¡°Worry not. I have been traveling through Realmspace for many seasons, and I have never materialized inside an obstacle. Some quirk of Realmspace, perhaps.¡± That made Addie feel better, but it also made her confused more than anything. It made little sense to Addie that Realmspace somehow cared enough to protect her by ejecting her away from objects in reality. There must be a better explanation than that, Addie thought to herself. Something to think about later.

    At least for now, she wasn¡¯t worried about becoming one with a tree. The pair quickly jumped back into Realmspace, Addie was happy to get out of the rain, even for just a few moments. Again after seven steps, Realmspace started to push them outside of its membrane, but this time Addie and Squishy were ready. The pair tugged on the now familiar part of their essence that facilitated traversal of Realmspace, and then they leveraged it against the force trying to eject them. The pair made it an additional three full steps before Realmspace inevitably won, forcing them back out into reality.

    The next fifteen or so minutes consisted of Addie and her companion alternating between Realmspace and reality, each time managing only about ten total steps while in Realmspace. Regardless, it still gave Addie some needed respite from the icy rain.

    Though Realmspace lacked even a sliver of light, Addie quickly realized that Squishy¡¯s powers came in a matching pair. His ability to sense the space around him allowed him to traverse Realmspace¡¯s terrain even without any light. That solved one mystery for Addie, who at first had no idea how his seemingly random powers were connected.

    Having figured that out, Addie also tried practicing with her spatial sense while in Realmspace. In the beginning, Addie had a difficult time interpreting the information her spatial sense gave her. In physical tangible reality, Addie had the advantage of comparing her spatial sense against her vision. She could look at a tree with her eyes, and then compare that with what she saw with her spatial sense. This allowed her to effectively ¡®focus¡¯ her spatial sense on her visual targets. In a land without light or vision, she lacked a reference point, making the information from her spatial sense hard to focus on. The images she saw with it were both confusing and nearly uninterpretable.

    If there were any objects other than just the ground somewhere, Addie certainly didn¡¯t sense any. It also didn¡¯t help that the terrain seemed so uniform. It made it even harder to interpret the signals from her spatial sense. At least if the terrain changed frequently she could use the landmarks to help orient her new sense. Instead, she felt like she stood in the middle of a giant lake of glass, while also not knowing where on that lake she stood. She could be on the spot here or over there, it didn¡¯t matter, she couldn¡¯t tell either way.

    Addie decided to observe the master. She reached out through their soul connection, and Squishy responded in turn. He let her in so she could observe the way he used his senses. Addie quickly realized that Squishy never used his sight to focus his spatial sense; instead, he focused his spatial sense around sensation alone. He could feel the ground underneath his feet with his paws easily enough, and by using that as an orientation point, he could channel his spatial sense at the ground around his feet, quickly interpreting the terrain far around him. Addie felt how he used his sense of touch to find a reference point on the ground underneath using his paws, then expanded his spatial sense in an impressively large radius to accurately view swathes of terrain immediately surrounding him.

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    She watched Squishy and observed the way he channeled his magic. By mimicking him, Addie quickly got the hang of it. She spent their short bursts in Realmspace trying to understand the terrain with her spatial sense. Best she could tell, they were on a completely flat plane of solid stone. There were grooves and small holes, sure, but best Addie could tell no incline or hills existed at all. She thought they might as well be walking on some kind of giant stone pancake. Slightly better than a lake of glass, since a pancake at least had pockmarks.

    Sensing Realmspace around her was made somewhat easier by the fact that the past few hours in the forest were such an ordeal. The cloud cover from the rain, the canopy of trees over her head, and just the simple fact that it was currently nighttime meant that, to some extent, Addie already had some practice using her spatial sense in vision-poor environments.

    Though she currently felt no soul pain, Addie began to worry about overusing their powers again. Exhaustion from the journey crept on her, though she couldn¡¯t tell if it was due to walking through the icy rain in the dark, or if it was because they kept jumping into Realmspace. Upon their next arrival in Reality, she voiced her concerns to Squishy, ¡°I think we should take a break from magic for a bit. Even without a shoe, I can make it through the forest for at least a little while.¡± Addie tried to smile at Squishy, but due to the circumstances, she just hoped it didn¡¯t look like a grimace.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Squishy began, ¡°Though, I do have good news. I believe you will not have to walk for long. I can see the village. We made it.¡± Squishy finished his thought and pushed feelings of warmth and pride at Addie through their bond.

    Addie looked where Squishy¡¯s snout pointed, and sure enough, she saw light just a few meters past the bushes in front of her. Addie had indeed made it, despite the circumstances. It was all she could do to keep from collapsing right then and there. She may have made it to the village, but she wasn¡¯t safe yet. She hadn¡¯t really thought this far ahead. Up until now, she had just been completely focused on getting out of the forest. Now that she had reached town, she obviously couldn¡¯t stay out here in the dark and rain, but it¡¯s not like she could go home either.

    Well, it had worked out this far, so Addie continued what she had been doing. She kept walking forward and prayed that she would find a solution.

    Addie continued walking past various buildings along the road. She found herself near the south side of the village, closer to where people lived. This area of the simple hamlet was a bit of a distance from the market.

    Suddenly, crackling disrupted the air, and echoing branches snapped above her. Twigs tumbled near her feet and Addie¡¯s gaze shot skyward to behold a tree in motion. Its twisting branches and leaning trunk created a makeshift rain shelter directly above her.

    She stayed still, dumbfounded by this tree''s intentional dance. Addie had never seen a tree move like that before. Sway in the wind, sure, but moving itself like it had a mind and purpose? Definitely not.

    Still staring up at the unusual tree, Addie quickly turned her head in response to someone¡¯s hurried footsteps squelching through the mud. Just behind the tree and to Addie¡¯s right, a figure emerged from a nearby house, the doorway backlit, outlining the approaching person.

    At first, she felt fear¡ªthe fear of something unknown approaching you from the darkest corners of the night. The sudden terror passed almost as quickly as it started when Addie¡¯s eyes adjusted to the bright light of the house.

    Approaching her was no shadowy demon. It was an old grandma, hurriedly coming to help a little girl stranded in a night of rainstorms. The portly woman bore a familiar stern expression, one that Addie dreaded ¡ª the harbinger of a forthcoming scolding. Besides the harsh frown, the woman had slightly above shoulder length gray hair and wore a humble linen dress normal for a villager. The strong lines in her face indicated a long life of hard village work.

    ¡°Young Lady!¡± Addie''s nobility did little to stave off the woman''s reprimand, ¡°You''re drenched! Come over here, out of the rain.¡± Despite her size, the woman, shorter than Addie, firmly grabbed her arm, guiding her toward the house.

    Addie heard more creaking overhead and dumbly looked up as the tree¡¯s limbs seemed to follow her, the protective canopy following Addie even as the woman dragged her onwards.¡°And you!¡± The woman suddenly angled her head down to Squishy. ¡°You ought to know better than to let your human out in such harsh conditions! Why, I expect better.¡± Squishy seemed to shrink at the woman¡¯s criticism.

    ¡°Little lady, we are going to get you dried off and then it¡¯s right to bed with you! I¡¯ll hear no arguments. If you so much as give me a single ¡®but,¡¯ then help me Binary, I¡¯ll find something for you to complain about.¡± The woman''s use of proper titles and addresses juxtaposed her stern words and tone.

    ¡°O-okay,¡± Addie hesitantly agreed. The promise of shelter reminded her of the bone-cold rain as she suppressed a shiver.

    The doorway creaked as Addie walked inside, Squishy right behind her. The woman ushered them inside, then shut the door behind her on the way in. She brushed at her skirt with a few pats, then looked up and focused her attention on the bonded pair.

    ¡°Well, you will just have to tell me everything,¡± said the woman, ¡°But that can wait until tomorrow. Second door, on your left. I don¡¯t want you to come out of that bathroom until you are completely thawed!¡± Addie moved to obey her but turned her head back again when the woman added. ¡°And don¡¯t think I just mean the Lady here, you too, mister!¡± Though Squishy didn¡¯t completely tuck his tail between his legs, it was a close thing as he hurried forward. The pair successfully made it into the bathroom, albeit trailing water and mud through the simple house. Steam already wafted from the tub, clearly waiting for them.

 Chapter 15: Witch Hospitality

    When Addie touched the water, the heat stung her, akin to hornets waking a sleepy limb. At first she only dared to dip her toes into the large round wooden tub. Next were her feet and lower legs as she stood in the water. When her legs stopped stinging, she finally eased her way down into the tub, slowing any time the warm water acted up against her cold body.

    Squishy lay down next to the tub on the bathroom floor, head down on his paws. He huffed as he seemed to relax. ¡°That old miser yelled at me for ¡®allowing¡¯ you to roam outside in the rain. Hmph! I did my best to guide you back to town, you know,¡± Squishy defended himself.

    ¡°I know, but I don¡¯t think the woman did. She must have thought I was gladly frolicking in the rain or something,¡± Addie sighed, then she leaned over the tub and gently scooped Squishy up. He flailed his paws for a moment, contorting his body as if attempting to make a quick escape, but that was Addie¡¯s cue to gently drop him into the tub with her.

    The small panther-like creature sunk for a moment, then as fast as he was able, resurfaced, then scrambled up into Addie¡¯s lap so he could keep his head above water. He breathed heavily for a moment, then paused, seemingly lost in thought.

    ¡°Well, my instincts certainly detested that, but now that I am in the water with control over my fear, it is actually somewhat cozy in here. Nothing like a river or lake. Though I must admit, the stinging bite of the water is unexpected.¡±

    Addie giggled at her friend, then remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that only happens when you¡¯re cold. Once you warm up, it will feel cozy without the sting.¡±

    Then she leaned further back into the water. Squishy half-walked, half-paddled over to rest on Addie¡¯s chest, then curled up and laid down. His head easily stayed above the water, with his lower body submerged.

    ¡°Oof, you¡¯re heavy.¡±

    ¡°Apologies, am I inhibiting your breathing?¡± Squishy angled his eye up at her.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Let me know if you want to get out.¡±

    The two of them relaxed for a time, just enjoying the warm water after their ordeal in the forest. The coziness of the bath never seemed to disappear, the warmth constantly hugging Addie. It almost seemed strange how the water never cooled. In previous baths, Addie remembered eventually getting used to the water, or, if she lingered too long, the water turned cold. She pushed aside the peculiarity and focused on the pleasure of the bath, Squishy¡¯s body rhythmically moving with his breath.

    Perhaps an hour or so later, Addie regretfully left the tub. While drying off with the towels so kindly provided by the grandma, Addie glanced back at the tub. Steam still rose from it after all this time. No obvious fire burned nearby, and no pipes connected to the tub, either. How odd, Addie thought to herself. But just as quick as the thought came, it slipped out of her mind.

    Her attention shifted to drying herself and her partner off, the tub now a distant thought. A spare pair of pajamas sat on the counter, probably left out for her by the old woman. She tried them on and found they hugged her form perfectly¡ª snug, warm, and soft. None of the fabric caught or pinched uncomfortably. Some cloth booties had even been left out for Squishy, which looked hilarious on the little¨C creature basically wearing thick oversized socks.

    ¡°You¡¯re adorable in those!¡± Addie gushed in between giggles. The fabric was dyed red, which seemed to pair well with Squishy¡¯s natural black skin.

    ¡°If the matron of the house requests I wear these, then I suppose I must comply.¡± Though Squishy tried to downplay it as unimportant, Addie had a strong suspicion he liked the booties, too. Addie¡¯s little warrior, all dressed up for bed. She couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    Now, that she wasn¡¯t completely on death¡¯s door, Addie¡¯s mind drifted back to her father. Could she really stay the night at this house while she knew her father to be in danger? The idea struck her so forcefully that she realized she couldn¡¯t linger in the house. Regardless of what the old woman said, Addie needed to get back out there and do what she could to help her family. She still didn¡¯t know what happened to her mother either, and that certainly opened a pit of dread inside her, too.

    She quickly exited the bathroom, with a new determination to leave the house and make it back to her father as soon as she could. Sleep would never come to her with this anxiety gnawing away at her from within.

    Walking to the front of the house, Addie and Squishy reached the exit, the same way she had come in. The entryway of the house doubled as a living room, with some simple wooden chairs cushioned by pillows. The old woman sat in a rocking chair. Next to the woman sat a magnificent fireplace, with an orderly fire filling the house with shielding warmth from the prior rain. The fire burned perfectly clean; no smoke in sight. The ornate brick chimney above, while aesthetically pleasing, seemed more decorative than functional.

    ¡°Thank you for the bath, but I really have to go! My dad is in danger, and I¡¯m really worried about him.¡± Now that Addie¡¯s mind was focused on the topic, she realized the amount of time she spent in the bath was totally unreasonable. She should have been moving much sooner, the moment she was warm. Instead, she wasted precious minutes relaxing, and every moment meant a higher chance she would never see her family again.

    ¡°Now, honey, you are in no condition to travel to the manor. Let me take care of you a little longer,¡± said the kindly woman with a friendly smile, clearly looking out for Addie¡¯s well-being.

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    ¡°Thank you again, but I probably shouldn¡¯t. It¡¯s urgent that I get to the manor,¡± Addie replied with a bit less certainty.

    ¡°Why, surely it¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t wait until after a good meal? Let¡¯s get some food in you and make sure you are fighting fit, alright?¡± Grandma gently rebutted. ¡°Why would you need to leave so soon, anyhow?¡±

    Why would Addie need to leave so soon? Well, that was obvious. She needed to get back to the manor! She needed to get back to the manor so that... she could... Huh? Why don¡¯t I stay at least for a meal? She¡¯s right about me starving. No, wait! Addie shook her head strongly, as if in a fog. There¡¯s no time for that, my family is in trouble!

    The noble lady within Addie puffed her chest out and declared, ¡°I am thankful for your hospitality, but I really must leave, thank you.¡±

    Addie made to grab the door again when the woman¡¯s sweet voice reached her ears once more. ¡°Now, now, growing girls need a proper meal each night. Come, gain your strength by joining me for dinner.¡± When Addie turned her head back and looked the woman in the eyes, she thought she saw a faint green sheen to them, but quickly dismissed it as a trick of the light.

    ¡°Just a quick meal? Of course, you¡¯re right.¡± Addie replied monotonously. A strong scent wafted to her nose, inviting aromas of some kind of meat and gravy, making her mouth water with anticipation. ¡°Yes, definitely,¡± Addie replied with a bit more excitement. ¡°I¡¯ll join you for dinner, at least.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    The food in front of Addie disappeared at an outrageous rate, the hunger of the last few days really catching up to her. The food was so much better than the raw fish, incomparably horrible now that she had a proper meal.

    But why did Addie eat that raw fish in the first place? Addie moved her fork around on her plate, lost in thought. Surely, a noble like herself wouldn¡¯t need to eat raw fish. Something about that seemed off.

    The fork in her hands clattered onto the plate in front of her, the chair screeching as Addie stood up with sudden force. How could I forget that! Addie thought to herself.

    ¡°Excuse me, but I have to go. Dinner is truly delicious, but¡ª¡±

    The woman interrupted Addie, ¡°Now, you know your proper manners, young lady. You cannot leave the table until you are excused,¡± said Grandma.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Addie sat back down, thoroughly chastised. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma.¡± Addie continued her meal, fully focused on the fowl, gravy, and green beans in front of her.

    The rest of the meal passed in silence, though Addie couldn¡¯t help but smile when she looked down at her feet and saw Squishy engrossed in his own meal of raw chicken.

    <hr><hr>

    Grandma showed Addie to her room for the night, then gave her a kiss on the cheek as a good-night charm. Once the door had closed, Addie didn¡¯t even have time to look around the room. A harrowing dread expanded in her stomach, swallowing any thoughts of staying in the house any longer. The old woman had been a great host, but Addie couldn¡¯t help criticizing herself for staying this long, risking her father¡¯s safety.

    I forgot about Dad! How could I do that... Addie¡¯s thoughts took a turn for the worse. What if he¡¯s dead, all because I stayed here so long? A desperate panic filled Addie, and her eyes began to water just imagining what it would be like if her Dad disappeared for good. Addie wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive herself.

    As Addie rushed back down the hall and into the house¡¯s main entryway, she saw the old woman again. The old woman herself leaned back in her rocking chair, the fireplace crackled as wood shifted and burned.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± The strange woman inquired neutrally. Her eyes shifted up to meet Addie¡¯s, temporarily moving away from the knitting in her hands.

    ¡°I¡¯m really thankful for your hospitality, and the meal, but I can¡¯t stay here! My dad¡ª¡±

    The woman interrupted Addie, ¡°Don¡¯t concern yourself with that for now, growing girls need proper sleep,¡± said Grandma, with a comforting matronly grin.

    The thoughts of her father slipped out of Addie¡¯s mind for a moment, absorbed by Grandma¡¯s warm expression.

    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re right,¡± said Addie, recognizing the need to get in bed like a proper lady. Why, Addie strongly remembered a time her mother said the same thing.

    Something about that memory stuck out at Addie like she needed to take urgent action or do something more, but again, the thought slipped through her mind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll head to bed now,¡± Addie said neutrally.

    Grandma walked Addie back down the hall, guiding her back into Addie¡¯s new lovely room. The sheets looked perfectly fluffy, and pink! Just the way Addie liked.

    She nestled into bed, and Squishy curled up beside her, still wearing his tiny booties, which Addie now guessed had been knitted by Grandma personally. Addie saw how content his face was, clearly enjoying the embrace of the sheets.

    Her soul bond with Squishy seemed unsettled though, making it hard to sleep. Why, it seemed like Squishy was terrified for some reason, but that didn¡¯t make any sense. His body was relaxed and clearly showed contentment. All thoughts on the strange discordance evaporated from her mind as she looked back up at Grandma, now in the doorway of the room.

    ¡°You get some proper sleep now, yes?¡± Her words comforted Addie to a great degree, her heart racing strongly as her mouth forced into the rictus of a happy smile. Something twisted in Addie¡¯s brain.

    The woman slowly left the room, her shadow stretching taller as it grew gnarled roots and craggily branches for limbs. This comforted Addie, knowing Grandma would be closely watching over her for the night.

    Once the door closed, the woman¡¯s presence slipped out of the room like a slimy grease. Panic engulfed Addie. Something wasn¡¯t right. Horror steeped into her from all sides, and she could sense how the feeling echoed through her bond with Squishy.

    The small, furless panther kicked the booties off his feet, the threads suddenly seeming to be woven of thorns. But why would Squishy take them off? Grandma only wanted what was best¡ªNo. That woman was doing something to Addie.

    But what? Grandma was so kind and even drew a bath

    The old woman wouldn¡¯t let Addie leave to save her dad.

    Grandma gave Addie a proper meal.

    The old woman ignored Addie when she said she needed to leave.

    Grandma knew Addie just needed a good night¡¯s rest to be productive in the morn¡ª

    Moonlight peaked out from behind a window on the side wall of the room. Addie rushed for it, Squishy on her heels. The woman slammed the door open from behind, wind buffeting Addie from the force of it. Addie slammed her fists into the window trying desperately to open it. Grandma spoke to Addie in a wonderfully kind tone, ¡°Now dear, please don¡¯t leave! You wouldn¡¯t leave Gramma all alone, would you?¡±

    Addie knew she needed to act; there existed something for her to use that would allow her to leave the room without opening the window. But acting on that power felt so difficult, muddy roots in her brain getting in the way. Why would she leave now? The woman-grandma-woman-witch-grandma-woman. Grandma would surely make Addie a delightful breakfast.

    Addie tugged on her soul magic, will half-formed, fed mostly by muscle memory and sheer desperation.

 Chapter 16: Dead Silent

    Realmspace wrapped around Addie and Squishy like a plunge into ice water. All influence from the old woman was now gone. Addie took less than a second to process her surroundings with her spatial sense and saw twisted roots trying to claw their way toward her. This likeness of a tree from another world tried to tie knots around the girl and her companion, its aim to drag them back into that witch¡¯s domain.

    Addie took ten steps in tandem with Squishy. Luckily, Realmspace was preoccupied with repelling those intruding fibrous roots. As such, Realmspace was momentarily unaware of the bonded pair, allowing them to walk through its domain far longer than normal. On the eleventh step, Realmspace thoroughly erased the witch¡¯s presence, and by the twelfth step, finally became aware of Addie and Squishy. On the thirteenth step, the pair were finally ejected from the dark of Realmspace.

    Through some twist of luck, the time spent in the witch¡¯s house had been long enough for the rain to ease up, and Addie now stood mostly dry upon slick mud. She looked behind her and saw the house. The once protective tree now menacing. No leaves adorned its form, and twisted branches led to spiked thorny twigs.

    The witch stood in the front doorway to the house and waved gently to Addie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you couldn¡¯t stay the night dearie, but please keep the clothes as a token of my hospitality! I¡¯ll leave your friend¡¯s booties here on the porch if you want to take them back sometime!¡± Called Grandma sweetly.¡®Perhaps at least a thank you for the bath?¡¯ Addie shook off a shiver and turned away from the house. No.

    The woman couldn¡¯t have been too dangerous, in retrospect. Her father, bound to the land itself, never would have missed her presence, since the tree was intermingled with the land. That, plus the fact that the woman could have directly harmed Addie at any time but notably hadn¡¯t, suggested she was most likely harmless, if a bit crazy. ¡°And terrifying,¡± Squishy chimed in through the bond.

    Addie looked down at herself and examined her new pajamas. They felt just as soft as they had when she first put them on. Besides the creepy tree motifs designed on the matching shirt-pants combo, Addie actually sort of liked the clothes. Knowing who knitted the clothes, however, made them feel somewhat unpleasant. Looking at her pants¡¯ cuffs, she noticed that mud seemed to repel off the fabric. Some form of enchantment, perhaps. Addie guessed that the woman must have bonded her soul to that tree in the yard, giving her some measure of power over anything wooden. Perhaps these clothes themselves were spun of that tree¡¯s fibers. Addie certainly wouldn¡¯t be asking anytime soon to find out.

    The memory of Addie¡¯s expensive dress left behind in the bathroom filled her with a degree of regret. That dress was as good as lost. Her bare feet didn¡¯t help matters, either. At least her current attire was enchanted against this wet muck. She sighed, determined to make it to the mansion, pajamas or not. Thoughts of her father were now solidly at the forefront of Addie¡¯s mind.

    Squishy¡¯s presence filled her soul, strengthening her resolve to rescue her dad. Addie wouldn¡¯t be alone this time. She took her first few steps forward, even as exhaustion clung to her. The old woman was right in the sense that Addie needed sleep, but she could sleep after she knew her father to be safe. If she slept now, Addie would risk never hearing her father¡¯s comforting voice ever again.

    As they walked in the pre-morning light, Squishy reached out telepathically, ¡°Do you believe that old woman had a name?¡± Squishy wondered.

    ¡°If she did, probably for the best we didn¡¯t find out.¡± A shiver ran through Addie, a guttural ¡°Ughh¡± of repulsion escaping her.

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Squishy continued, ¡°Or perhaps knowing her name could give us a certain power over the woman,¡± The cat-like creature mused.

    Addie left it at that as they wandered the road towards the mansion. No one seemed to be up this early in the morning. Addie thought some of the villagers would need to be up to attend to their small chickens or garden plots.

    Regardless of her assumptions, no one was out today, leaving the chilly morning air to just the duo as they walked toward their long-awaited destination. Addie knew it would be better to get there as fast as possible, either by running or traversing Realmspace, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. The closer they got, the more her nerves seemed to crash against her chest.

    Squishy spoke up, drawing Addie out of her thoughts, ¡°Let us decide on our course of action. While running in there and gambling on our success is certainly a strategy, it is not a winning one. Between the two of us, you are the thinker. What can we do to mitigate our chance of failure?¡±

    ¡°Chance of failure, huh? I think we should focus more on trying to win than trying to avoid failure. But alright, let me think,¡± Addie said, rubbing her face as they continued down the road, trying out different ideas in her head.

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    ¡°Ok, I think I have a plan. Let me know what you think.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    If the nerves eating away at Addie before had been intense, now they felt nigh unmanageable. Somehow, the pair had managed to reach the manor walls without seeing another soul in town. Normally, there would be all manner of servants hustling around the manor, drawing water for many daily needs, or tending to the plants in the garden. Today, it was dead silent.

    Addie thought little of it, as concerned as she was with her own plan and possible success. If there was no one out here to spot her, great. Addie paid it little mind.

    Following their plan, the pair stepped into Realmspace. Now, was the tricky part. They had agreed to manifest directly within the manor¡¯s wall cavity. That bit of space between the outer wall and the inner wall, which is often filled with insulation. That familiar cramped and musty place would be their perfect vantage point to scout the manor. With any luck, she might even encounter Rob in his usual hiding spot. Her grandfather¡¯s old bonded would be a great help if she could find him. Addie thought to check that area of the house first.

    In reality, Addie knew the chances of her father being in the upper levels of the house were slim. More likely, Addie would need to find a way into the basement. But if Rob could help them, it would be worth the detour upstairs.

    Before any of that, though, Addie and Squishy had to correctly judge the exact number of steps it would take from Realmspace to reappear inside the wall cavity. One misjudgment of distance, and they would be short, still outside the manor, or worse, they could overshoot and appear within the halls. The former would be a small annoyance, but the latter could be a deadly mistake if Christena had someone patrolling the inside of the mansion.

    Luckily, Squishy had many years of Realmspace traversal under his belt. Likely, there was no being on the planet better at traversing Realmspace than her little partner. Addie suspected he might be the only creature who could even access Realmspace at all. She¡¯d never heard of such a thing in all of her lessons.

    Addie walked parallel with Squishy, trying to mimic the exact distance he was going for. After just a few steps, Squishy stopped. Addie made sure she was exactly in position with him, and then she braced as Realmspace pushed them back out into reality, the pair no longer working their magic to stay.

    Upon their arrival back, Addie noticed she saw nothing but black. Then, after a little while, her eyes adjusted, and she saw the musty crawlspace from within the wall cavity. Some of Addie¡¯s tension released out of her, then.

    From here forward, the two of them had agreed that Addie would not speak aloud. From the first moment of their bonding, Squishy always communicated telepathically with Addie. Though the girl hadn¡¯t tried to do that herself, she had some experience sending Squishy rudimentary thoughts and feelings through their bond back in the forest, back when Addie worked on the fire.

    To continue with their plan successfully, Addie needed to figure out how to speak back to her companion without using words. To that end, she focused back on the time she sent Squishy a prodding feeling through their bond, those few nights ago. She remembered vividly how to send that feeling over to him. Now, it was just a matter of sending something a bit more complex.

    For now, she worked out a simple thought, ¡°Silly cat¡±. She focused on that mantra and bundled it up. Then, she attached it to that feeling of ¡®sending¡¯ something through their bond and sent the thought on its way.

    ¡°It appears that you have figured it out. Congratulations,¡± Squishy said genuinely, seeming to ignore the barbed statement.

    Addie slowly sent more words over, and even a couple of small sentences. The act still required quite a bit of concentration. It didn¡¯t take long though for her to figure it out. She had a decent amount of experience pulling on the magic interwoven between their souls. This method of communication was simply an extension of their bond, one Addie had been on the receiving end of for days now.

    Addie felt less pride in her accomplishment than she might otherwise have. The simplest step of their plan was successful, but the pair still had a long way ahead of them to save her father.

    They walked through the musty crawl space within the walls for a while. Even after her eyes fully adjusted, the location confused Addie for a moment, causing her to readjust and try to get her bearings straight. Normally, she entered the crawl space from the kitchen, using that starting point as the basis of her internal map. Now, she had to reorient herself and figure out where everything was in relation to her new starting position. She had never been able to enter the crawlspace from the front of the house before, so things didn¡¯t quite match her instinctive memory of the layout.

    It didn¡¯t take her long though; she had traversed all the crawl spaces between the walls since she first discovered it last summer. It took her only about two minutes to figure out exactly where she was given her mental model of the manor¡¯s crawlspace.

    Over the course of a few steps, using her mental map, Addie gained confidence as she continued. Soon, she knowingly led the way straight to the kitchen, hoping to find Rob. Getting the old werecat on their side would mean two against Christena¡¯s one. Addie prayed to the binary that Rob would be in his customary spot as she quickly but quietly got closer to the kitchen.

    Addie held her breath as she got closer¡ªfinding Rob might be the difference between saving her dad and abject failure. Nervous hopefulness built up in her chest. The odds were good; it was still early in the morning, and the likelihood that the old grump was avoiding the rest of the house seemed to increase during normal sleeping hours.

    Addie tip-toed along, placing her feet on the most stable boards, as she had learned which boards creaked and which did not long ago. Now, it was mostly second nature. Addie barely had to think about where to place each foot to maximize stealth. If Squishy was the master of forest navigation, then Addie was the master of mansion crawl space navigation. Normally, Addie would be happy to teach Squishy how and where to walk in here to avoid making noise, but for now, she held him tightly to her chest. It was better not to take risks for the time being.

    Her heart dropped as the familiar hideaway came into view. Rob''s blanket lay undisturbed, the familiar black feline missing. Addie tried not to let her confidence crumble.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Addie sent out telepathically, ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±

    Addie leaned over and looked down at the hole near her feet that led to the kitchen. It was so strange seeing it so empty. Usually, there would be a mass of servants bustling about preparing breakfast by now. Either Christena had given all the staff leave, or something worse had happened to them.

    Addie tried not to let the dark thoughts show on her face. She needed to be strong. Even without Rob, Addie felt she had good odds against Christena. After all, she didn¡¯t need to defeat Fluffy or Christena in combat; she just needed to be sneaky enough to save her dad without either of them immediately noticing. Still tightly holding Squishy, Addie began walking back through the crawl space to get to the basement entrance.

 Chapter 17: Cliff

    Chapter 17: Cliff

    Up to this point, everything had seemed so distant to Addie. Now though, she had to face reality. Even checking on Rob had just been a way to distance herself from the upcoming confrontation. It was time, and there would be no more delays.

    She crept back through the crawl space, again being so silent not even a mouse would hear her. Still holding Squishy tightly against her chest, Addie began exploring the manor. First, she confirmed there was no one in the kitchen by looking through the cracks between the wall boards. Just as she had seen before, no servants moved about. Addie even thought she saw some unwashed dishes in the sink, a travesty Addie¡¯s mother would never allow in normal circumstances.

    Moving on, Addie kept walking through the servant¡¯s quarters, checking for any signs of life. There was nothing¡ª no one. Addie¡¯s mind almost broke at that realization. What if Christena sacrificed everyone in the village to fuel her spell? What if even Rob had been sacrificed in Christena¡¯s crazy plan? Addie¡¯s thoughts spiraled down a dark path. The only thing keeping her from despair was her tiny hope that her father was still alive. If she saved him, everything would be alright. He would know what to do.

    Beyond the servants¡¯ quarters, Addie checked Christena¡¯s office and even continued past back to the main entryway and staircase. She didn¡¯t find a single sign of life on the entire first floor. Addie did have a small hope that Christena would be in her office by herself, leaving her dad unguarded. But no, she wasn¡¯t that lucky.

    Addie contemplated continuing to explore the upper floors. Moving up there unseen would be easy, due to how the crawlspaces connected throughout the manor. But Addie decided against it. She highly doubted Christena was up there. If the whole house followed the same pattern as the kitchen, it would be a waste of time, anyhow. Exploring empty rooms would be pointless.

    Addie did have a small ember of hope that her mother was hiding somewhere up there, but she tried not to think about that too much. The consequences of being wrong were too heavy. If she could just save her dad, he would easily be able to protect everyone else, Addie¡¯s mom included.

    Addie caught herself stalling. Of course, Christena wouldn¡¯t be in the upper floors of the manor. Addie at least knew that much. She had just held out a bit of hope that she could find her father somewhere up here. Anywhere would be better than the basement. With a sigh, Addie knew what she had to do. She didn¡¯t stall in the forest, and she would stop stalling now, too. Christena started all of this in the basement, it only made sense that was where Christena intended to finish her ritual.

    Once Addie and Squishy made it to the part of the crawl space adjacent to the basement entrance, Addie and Squishy again had to step into Realmspace. They teleported out from the wall and landed just in front of the basement door. They wouldn¡¯t be able to continue through the walls from this point onward. Addie¡¯s father didn¡¯t build the basement with any insulation, so there was no intermediary space between the inner basement walls and the dirt the basement had been dug from.

    Just like she had at the beginning of the week, Addie again crept down the candlelit staircase into the basement. She trailed her hand against the rough brick stone as she walked down. Her heart beat faster, pounding out against her ribs. She started breathing heavier, almost hyperventilating. She could do this. Addie tried to squash the fear that rose against her chest, she tried to take away its power over her. It didn¡¯t work. Her legs trembled and her nerves ate away at her psyche.

    ¡°I can do this.¡± Addie¡¯s thoughts rang out so loud within her mind, she thought Squishy overheard them. This was the moment she had been building towards. All the practice in the forest gave her at least some level of confidence. It would have to be enough. Now, she would save her dad. Surely, if she could escape from that witch, she could do this, too.

    Addie remembered back to her flight from the wolf, and how she got better with her spatial sense. She thought about the willpower she mustered up to fight off the witch¡¯s influence. She remembered how she learned to traverse Realmspace to avoid the rain.

    So then, why was it so hard to turn the corner? Surely, her dad was around the bend. She could save him. But her arms trembled. Her legs felt weak. Addie froze in the stairwell, not able to take another step forward. Her breaths came quickly, and it felt like her magic was so far away.

    Just a few steps from her longstanding goal, Addie sat down. Her eyes focused on the final bend as if staring would somehow solve all of her problems. Her eyes narrowed until the only thing she could see was that bend.

    But then, Squishy nudged at Addie¡¯s hands, moving them out of her lap. With her hands out of the way, he rested his head directly into her lap, and looked up at her with his eyes.

    Finally taken out of her panic, Addie looked down at her bonded partner, she looked into his eyes. Behind them she saw a distant galaxy, the black sclera of his eyes dotted with twinkling stars, each one unique and so impermanent. Each star would shine for a moment, and then go out, only to be replaced by a new star in a slightly different spot.

    ¡°You will not be alone.¡± Squishy¡¯s words were simple, but it was enough.

    She wouldn¡¯t be alone.

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    Finally, with new courage and determination, Addie peeked her head out and around from that final bend of the spiral stairs. She could just barely see into the room beyond. Addie gasped, and she unconsciously squeezed Squishy tighter against her chest in her excitement. Her dad was alive.

    The tiny moment of relief only lasted for a moment, the nerves once again surfacing and overwhelming her. If her father was still alive, that meant that Addie still had more to lose. She had to save him. They would save him, together.

    Impossibly, Mr. Lomain¡¯s figure seemed to be both in the middle of a movement and completely still. Addie could only see her dad¡¯s torso, the rest of him seeming to meld into the grey stone bricks of the ground. Her father¡¯s lips curled as if in the middle of a shout, and his hands seemed to be pushing against the floor. Addie could see his arms straining against the floor as it tried to swallow him whole. On her father¡¯s shoulder, Dorple shone with an ethereal bright blue light. Neither of them was moving, seemingly locked into a sort of stasis, delaying the apparent inevitable.

    They weren¡¯t alone. Christena seemed to be pointing, also mid-shout, right at Mr. Lomain. She too, appeared to be frozen. Along the far wall, Fluffy, Christena¡¯s ridiculously named Slyfox, was stuck mid-leap against the far wall with a trail of blue streaming behind her¡ª mid-ritual. The whole room stood frozen in time. Even the burning candles seemed more like a static painting than a living fire.

    Addie knew her dad was powerful; there was no such thing as a ¡®weak¡¯ Area Lord. But to be able to stop time? Addie had no idea anyone could do that. It seemed impossible. Sure, she knew her father had control over ice and snow, thanks to Dorple, but freezing time? Impossible.

    A jolt of fear ran through Addie as she observed Fluffy. The small Slyfox¡¯s eyes seemed to be ever so slightly shifting towards her. They moved so slowly that Addie first thought she might be mistaken, but no, she felt certain now. Fluffy was definitely beginning to move her eyes up toward Addie. Perhaps time wasn¡¯t frozen. Maybe it was just so slow as to appear frozen. That meant Addie actually did have a time limit. On one hand, she couldn¡¯t dawdle here forever praying for help or a miracle. On the other hand, it wasn¡¯t like her dad would be consumed in the next few seconds. Addie at least had some time to strategize.Fluffy seemed aware of the pair¡¯s presence, so any plans made now needed to keep that in mind. The time slow field seemed to be stronger closer to its origin point. Fluffy was at the edge of the room and thus seemed to be moving, even if only slightly.

    On the other hand, Christena was almost right next to Dorple¡¯s magic, so she still hadn¡¯t moved in the slightest. It may still be possible for Addie to evade Christena with her being none the wiser, Addie thought. A slim possibility, since Fluffy and Christena almost certainly shared a mental bond. If it was anything like Addie and Squishy¡¯s, they could share information at the speed of thought. Fluffy might have already alerted Christena, even.

    All of these thoughts ran through Addie¡¯s mind in what felt like just a few moments. Her first thought was that she didn¡¯t have to act immediately¡ª that fact brought both relief and stress. The urgency she felt egging her on, pushing her to act quickly and save her dad now warred against her desire to take her time and strategize. As long as she didn¡¯t take action, she didn¡¯t have to worry about failure. At the same time, if she waited too long, it would mean the end of an Area Lord.

    These conflicting feelings stressed her out. Running in with a half-baked plan due to an emergency was no longer necessary. She had at least some time to think about the best way to save her dad. Her father had done his part by temporarily halting the ritual. Now, it was time for Addie and Squishy to do their part. She just hoped she and her partner were up for the task.

    Addie examined the doorway directly in front of her, now seeing a sort of blue shimmer. An icy pane separated the stairwell from the basement, a crystalline blue surface, nearly unnoticeable because it was almost completely transparent.

    ¡°That is the same creature I once faced and defeated while trying to reach you those few days ago,¡± Squishy said, pointing his nose towards Fluffy.

    ¡°And you just let Fluffy escape?!¡± Addie nearly shouted out her thoughts, ¡°Now we might have to fight her again!¡±

    ¡°I realize our current predicament is unideal, but I stand by my actions. Attacking a surrendered foe would be despicable, dishonorable, anathema to my soul.¡± Squishy defended.

    Addie huffed but relented. She liked Squishy for how he was. Some frustration at him still lingered though. If Squishy had finished off Fluffy before... Well, perhaps best not to dwell on it. That would only stress her out more.

    Now that Addie had fully assessed the basement, she backed up a bit, no longer straining her head to peer around into the room. She sat down a few steps up the stairwell, out of sight, and placed Squishy back into her lap. She didn¡¯t want to just rush in there. She needed to think.

    Maybe, if she was lucky, the time-slow effect would only work on those already in the room. Perhaps, it would be as easy as walking over to her frozen dad and punting him into Realmspace. She kind of doubted it, though.

    Addie sat for what felt like another fifteen minutes, trying to wrap her head around the situation. Ultimately, she felt that she was just stalling. She didn¡¯t have much more to think about.

    Having read her thoughts up to this moment, Squishy gave Addie a nod, ¡°I believe in us,¡± He declared, ¡°I already defeated that poofy-tailed creature before. What is a second time? Remember what I told you when we first united¡ª Hesitation is defeat. Act with surety, believe we will win and we shall. Hold it in your mind. You are not alone. Fight alongside me. Fight to be victorious.¡±

    Addie huffed a tiny self-deprecating chuckle, ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± She responded through her thoughts, ¡°I need to focus and stop being so nervous. We can do this.¡±

    Addie slapped her cheeks twice in an attempt to hype herself up. ¡°You can do this.¡± She whispered to herself again. She stood up on shaky legs, and gently put Squishy down on the floor. She felt slightly more confident with Squishy¡¯s pep talk. He was right about at least one thing. Addie no longer had to be alone. She could lean on Squishy and he would support her.

    The tiny scaly panther was her little warrior¡ª powerful of body and spirit. Knowing he had defeated Fluffy before gave Addie hope.

    Yet, she didn¡¯t feel ready to take those first steps into the room. She still was afraid of failure. She didn¡¯t just want to save her dad, she wanted to save the whole village¡ª even that strange Witch. Despite all that, Addie still didn¡¯t feel ready. Despite all of her feelings and hesitations, she took a step forward.

    Her feet clomped down the staircase, causing her heart to pound harder¡ª each beat in rhythm with the passage down. Once she got to the bottom of the stairwell she faced the oncoming barrier. She looked down at Squishy standing on the floor next to her. He gave her a nod and sent her a feeling of determination. He was ready, Addie hoped she was, too.

    She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying one last time to get over her nerves. When her eyes opened, the almost unnoticeable translucent blue barrier stood between her and her father. She just needed to take one more step past the barrier.

    Once again, she muttered under her breath, ¡°I can do this.¡±

    Squishy looked up at Addie¡¯s face, then said telepathically, ¡°No, we can do this.¡± He emphasized.

    Addie smiled at him with genuine warmth in response to his correction. This time, she spoke with confidence, ¡°You¡¯re right, we can do this.¡± Some of her nervous energy for what she was about to do slid off her, but it didn¡¯t vanish completely. She shook her hands at her side as if to throw off any lingering doubts.

    In lockstep, Addie and Squishy stepped past the barrier, together.

 Chapter 18: Free Him! Part One

    Pandemonium, Addie did not expect. It¡¯s what she got.

    Her dad, screamed in front of her, pushing against the stone brick floor with all his might. His screams gave away his agony and effort in equal measure. His arms flailed with desperate strength¡ªhis will for survival fighting against impending doom, but the floor continued to consume him all the same.

    Directly to Addie¡¯s right, Christena seemed completely fixated on the task in front of her. She was whispering something under her breath, but best Addie could tell, her main effort was to continue the ritual. Her arms and body moved in a sickening conductor¡¯s dance, directing Fluffy across the room. For a moment, Fluffy stared directly at Addie and Squishy but decided to ignore them, for now. Fluffy, too, was focused on participating in the ritual in front of her. She bounced across the room, wall to wall, just as Addie had seen with the old woman those few days ago. Same as then, she unerringly landed in the center of each wall before kicking off and running to the next, residual blue magic trailing behind her as she went. When Fluffy ran in front of Addie, she snarled but continued without stopping.

    Squishy prodded Addie telepathically, then mentally shouted, ¡°Do not hesitate! Move!¡±

    Stupid. Addie thought to herself, even as she ran forward toward her dad. Stupid for just standing there without doing anything. Her dad was only a few steps away from her, but the closer she got, the more the floor consumed him. Dorple jumped off Mr. Lomain¡¯s shoulder and landed on the ground. During those brief moments of sprinting forward, Addie¡¯s panic overcame her: she might not make it.

    His head was the only remaining part of him above the stone tiles when Addie finally reached him. She put her hand directly on the top of his head, just about the only place she could touch him, then yanked with all her might upon her soul bond. Squishy responded and together, they fought.

    Christena began to laugh wildly even as magic pooled within Addie, unspent. ¡°My ritual is not so easily overcome, girl. Go ahead, try to fight it!¡± She confidently spat.

    Ignoring her, Addie continued to pull harder than she ever had before. If only she still had the power of her bond ignition.

    Something blocked her from entering Realmspace. A metaphorical unyielding stone wall obstructed her path. Or more accurately, held onto her father with unbreakable strength. Addie couldn¡¯t move him. The more effort Squishy and Addie poured into their soul magic, the harder Christena and her ritual resisted. Addie and Christena reached a deadlock, their souls fighting against each other.

    The floor covered her dad¡¯s mouth completely now, but he was still breathing from his nose. He stopped sinking¡ª Addie¡¯s magic resisted the floor¡¯s pull, trying to shove her dad out into Realmspace.

    Fluffy flashed in front of Addie, the blue trail behind her glowing much brighter than before. For a moment, it fiercely blinded Addie. Next to her, she heard Squishy growl.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t working.¡± Addie managed through gritted teeth, mentally talking with her partner.

    Trepidation and a slight bit of fear seeped through the bond. Addie wasn¡¯t sure if the fear belonged to her or Squishy.

    ¡°You are correct. Stay here and free your father. I will take the fox as my foe.¡± Squishy replied.

    Before Addie could say or even think, Squishy leaped away, crossing directly into Fluffy¡¯s path, stopping her cold. Addie took that in for only a moment, then focused her attention back on the building power coursing through her soul. Her job was to free her dad. She had to trust Squishy to perform his own role independently.

    Her focus moved back to the realm of her soul even as she continued to yank. The room around her fell away, Christena and Fluffy, Squishy, and the basement, it all fell away as she focused her intent entirely within the confines of her soul.

    Her soul felt astoundingly beautiful inside her. It glowed and pulsed, echoing down a pathway against which rested her bonded partner¡¯s soul. Her eyes did not see it. Addie closed her eyes as she focused. It could be her spatial sense, but Addie believed she could feel her soul, independent of the magic she shared with Squishy. Ever since her mad dash through the forest, if she focused, she could sense her soul and Squishy¡¯s too. From the first time she activated her magic, she could feel it coursing, flowing through her soul bond.

    Now, too, she felt her soul and visualized it. A point began within the center of her being: the beginning of intent. As her intent gained will and strength, it pulsed down, where it met Squishy¡¯s soul, forming a new point within him, too. These two points echoed off each other, built upon one another. Waves of power generated and flowed between the two.

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    Sometimes, it was just a single flash of will, a single intent passing from one soul to the other before their magic materialized.

    This time, Addie focused her intent and sharpened it. She gave it the will to grow. A pulse ran through her soul, beginning within her, then pulsing out towards Squishy. He reciprocated her intent, agreeing with her will. This generated another pulse of power which rippled back to its origin: the center of Addie¡¯s soul. Again and again, the two¡¯s intents overlapped and grew with each passage. The constant repetition soon turned Addie¡¯s initial pulse of will into a veritable torrent of magic.

    Still, it refused to be released. The waves of power crashed against her, every bit of her concentration used just to maintain the magic and keep it from bouncing around wildly. Addie knew Realmspace was only a moment away, a tiny fraction of her current power required to enter. Something blocked her. Christena¡¯s will battled against Addie¡¯s¡ª not fighting her, but denying her. A wall stood in between Addie and Realmspace. To break through that wall and drag her father out from the stone, she had to keep pushing her magic.

    <hr><hr>

    With our roles determined, I jumped away from Addie, sticking myself directly into the slyfox¡¯s path. I would protect my Lady. This orange fluffy-tailed creature would not surprise me again.

    Vaguely, I could feel Addie¡¯s battle of wills against Christena pushing through the bond. Addie reached out to me for power, and I reciprocated it, sending it back with an extra burst of energy. Then, I pushed that to the back of my mind. My duty was in front of me. I turned my focus away from the echoing power Addie continued to build within our souls, and I focused my attention fully back to my foe.

    The orange foe runs directly at me. I flex my claws against the hard unyielding bricks below me and my instincts begin to make themselves known once again as the drive to fight begins to envelop me. I bare my teeth. Perhaps it is a smile, anticipation to battle the orange one again. Perhaps I am revealing them as a threat. It matters little.

    The fox continues its run across the room as I prepare to intercept. I see the drive in its eyes, too.

    ¡°No, not it. Her.¡± I think vaguely to myself. To some extent, we are the same, both uplifted above our initial intelligence. I flex my muscles, ready to pounce on her all the same.

    She flies past me. She flew past me?

    I turn my whole body around. I swear her vulpine form is smirking at me. That dishonorable, wild animal. To flee from battle? Unthinkable.

    Still, in a bit of shock, I shake my whole body. If it is a chase she wants, then a chase she will have.

    I remember our previous battle, how the clever creature used fake images to fool my normal perceptions. Instead, I make sure my eyesight aligns with my spatial sense, confirming she is in fact where I expect her to be.

    My feet hit the ground, claws doing whatever they can to help with traction as I chase after my prey. She no longer deserves the title of foe. She is simply prey, now. I hear her chitter at me, and I realize she is laughing! My muscles pump even harder to catch the slippery fox as we run around and around the room. I close in on her slowly at first, then with a final push, I pounce. My mouth aimed for her hind leg.

    A moment of distraction, a loud bang sounds off just to my right: near my Lady. For a moment, I turn my head to confirm Addie¡¯s safety, but she seems unaffected by the noise, her eyes closed in concentration. My moment of hesitation is enough for the fox to capitalize on.

    She yips as she forces her extremely fluffy tail into my face, baiting me away from her leg even as I bite down. My teeth find fur instead of flesh, and she escapes once more, continuing her glowing run around the room.

    I pump all four of my legs even harder as I feel shame running up my neck. The timing of that was too perfect, I realize. Perhaps she doesn¡¯t just create fake images, perhaps fake sounds are within her skillset, too.

    Her trick of sound will not work on me a second time.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie¡¯s body knelt on the floor with both of her hands outstretched holding onto her dad¡¯s head. Her eyes remained closed in concentration as she delved deep into her well of power. Though she made constant and slow progress against Christena¡¯s will, Addie worried she wouldn¡¯t win fast enough.

    Compared to when she first entered the room, her father sank much slower into the earth now, remaining buoyant largely due to Addie¡¯s current efforts to push him into Realmspace.

    ¡°How is Christena blocking me!¡± Addie thought to herself, frustrated. In her mind¡¯s eye, a great stone wall separated Addie from properly affecting her father. Addie¡¯s power continued to build in great waves, echoing across her soul bond over to Squishy, where it was amplified and then sent back to her. Constantly growing and pounding against Christena¡¯s wall of will.

    But it didn¡¯t make any sense to Addie. In order to use her own magic, she had to know both how it worked and have experience using it. For Christena to block Addie¡¯s magic without even knowing what Addie was trying to accomplish seemed crazy. It maddened Addie. How could she block magic she didn¡¯t even understand?

    Addie¡¯s mind kept flickering to this frustration, even as she tried to focus on building the power to punt her dad into Realmspace. It seemed impossible for Christena to block Addie so thoroughly without even knowing what she was blocking Addie from doing.

    The power continued to pulse and grow in strength as Addie directed it, but she started to worry. Her magic was starting to grow beyond the limit of what was comfortable for her to manage. It started to hurt straining and opening up the bridge between her soul and Squishy¡¯s in its relentless torrent¡ª pushing past intent as it flooded from side to side without care.

    Addie almost lost her grip on its direction. She had no idea what would happen if she lost control now. She wanted to avoid damaging her soul-bond at all costs, wincing as she remembered the crack she created when she overused her then-new powers to escape the manor.

    The energy needed to go somewhere, and at this point, Addie felt certain that she couldn¡¯t break through Christena¡¯s wall.

    The magic moved once again to Squishy with a thwoom of energy, and Addie braced for it to come back and hit her again. This time, it needed to be released. The wall stood before her, as sturdy as ever¡ª unmoving.

    ¡°I can¡¯t free him!¡± Addie thought to herself, panic and desperation building inside her. She prepared herself to receive her magic even as she dreaded what would happen if she lost control of it.

    Then, in a moment of lucidity she realized, ¡°Maybe, I don¡¯t need to move Dad specifically.¡±

    In an instant, Addie split her focus, one path of her mind continuing to direct that unceasing energy flowing within her bond. The other half of her mind moved to her spatial sense, and through it, to Christena.

 Chapter 19: Free Him! Part Two

    My eyes lock back on to my target. Fluffy¡¯s snout is contorted in an infuriating smirk. I continue the chase. She is weak and slow, so I come up to her fast. I pay close attention to my spatial sense. I am ready if she tries to trick me again.

    As expected, I again hear a loud pinging noise, akin to metal striking the ground, but this time I know it for what it is: A trick from the devilish fox before me. I ignore the illusory sound and lunge towards her.

    As I close in on her flank, she once again attempts to use her tail as bait, the fluffy appendage acting as a pseudo-shield for her more vulnerable hind legs. But I am not aiming for her rear.

    I snarl, some of my saliva hitting her flank, and then I pump my muscles ever stronger to aim not for her legs, but her neck. She yips and makes a hard right, breaking from her pre-determined trail and moving away from the wall she was originally aiming for.

    The blue trail behind her does not abate, so I assume the minor setback to the ritual will not be devastating, but I also think knocking her off course won¡¯t be consequence-free for her. Sure enough, she can barely concentrate on avoiding me, as she spends a touch too long focusing on running around the room in her set path.

    I keep close behind her but become slightly distracted as my attention moves back to my soul-bond with Addie, she is sending me a pulse of magic¡ª attempting to send her dad out into Realmspace I am sure. I reciprocate, the magic sent back to her. It echoes back down our bond in a familiar distorted twisting shape attempting to send Addie out.

    I stumble for a moment, and to my surprise, the magic rebounds off me and hits Addie, to no effect.

    I notice that due to focusing on the magic, I have stopped in the middle of the room¡ªmy quarry momentarily forgotten. I renew my efforts and sprint forward to dispatch my foe. I strain my legs and claws harder for traction against the stone floor in my haste. I do my best to ignore Addie and leave the magic to her, but it is difficult to continue chasing down the Slyfox with this pulsing magic between Addie and me growing.

    Addie¡¯s accumulated power becomes a torrent even as I near Fluffy once again. I push the flow of strength to the back of my mind, basically turning the constant cycling of magic over to my subconscious mind as I try to focus.

    No warrior can win a battle of two fronts alone, even me. While our magic also relies on my reciprocation, Addie will have to make do with controlling it nearly by herself, so I can focus on catching Fluffy.

    The world becomes slightly strange, as I feel concentrated power leaking out from Addie. She barely contains it while it continues to grow. I know this much magical energy is impossible for Addie to maintain, and as a consequence, it starts warping the environment. The basement no longer seems like a perfect cube with four walls, but instead seems to distort and twist in minor but inconvenient ways. The wall to my left seems more sharply angled than before, and the back wall feels further away from me than it should be. Even the floor seems to dip and climb ever so slightly, easily throwing off one¡¯s footing if not careful.

    To my benefit, it seems Fluffy can¡¯t see the changes to space with her mundane senses. She yelps as she finds her body suddenly rotated. I, of course, can see the twist in space that caused it, my spatial sense easily making note of the world around me. With her unable to orient I huff out a guttural laugh as I close the distance.

    Capitalizing on her mistake, I am on her in moments. It is easy to aim for her neck now that she is facing towards me. In a last desperate attempt, she skitters on the floor, not having enough time to get proper traction her legs splay in all directions and she barely moves at all. I pounce, feeling the moment of victory upon me. She whimpers as she sees her inevitable defeat. Out of desperation, she attempts one final futile time to use her tail as a shield, but it does not matter. I dig my claws trailing into her back and bat her tail away with the side of my head. A tiny trickle of blood fills my mouth with the salty taste of copper as my jaws close around her neck. Not enough to kill, but enough to incapacitate and keep her from escaping.

    This time, I do not release my hold on her. My earlier mistake has not been forgotten. Addie would surely be upset with me if I let Fluffy go free again.

    I sense Addie¡¯s intent shift, and then she opens her eyes. She stares directly at Christena. In naught but a moment, then, Christena and Addie completely vanish. Now that Addie¡¯s magic has been enacted, large pockmarks are scored out of the ground¡ª perfect scoops cut out from the walls and floor. The angles of the walls snap back into their proper right angles, the room again seeming like a perfect cube. The air seems to woosh, and I feel a bit dizzy as I adjust to the room and floor regaining their normal dimensions from the twisted mess they had been only a moment ago.

    My eyes move over to the center of the basement floor. I look for Addie¡¯s father. Fluffy whimpers as I continue to trap her in my jaws.

    Oh.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie split her brain in two. One half of her mind focused completely on her spatial sense and the world around her. The other half of her mind continued to relay the overwhelming storm of magic pulsing between her and Squishy. She thought her brain would melt under the strain.

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    Despite the difficulty, Addie managed to use her spatial sense and locate. Luckily, she only had to maintain that split focus for a moment as she leveraged her spatial sense to aim her building magic. Now, with a target to rush towards, Addie¡¯s magic burst forward, impossible to stop. It moved faster than Addie could think. One moment, she was looking around the room spatially, the next her magic already finished being unleashed.

    Christena seemed surprised too, based on the panicked expression her face contorted into. In less than a single breath, Addie¡¯s magic locked onto Christena and violently ejected her out of the basement, forcing her into Realmspace. What Addie didn¡¯t expect, was the way the overload from the event also sucked herself through a tear in reality.

    With her feet on solid ground and her magic nearly all expended, some part of Addie¡¯s magic seemed to click within her soul in a way it never had before. Realmspace seemed to hold on to Addie, keeping her steady and firmly stabilized within the alternate realm. A far cry from how Realmspace normally tried to eject her as quickly as it could. With the remnants of Addie¡¯s built-up magic, she felt as though she could stay in Realmspace forever and Realmspace still wouldn¡¯t protest. There was only a slight problem.

    Her soul didn¡¯t just lock herself down into Realmspace, she could feel Christena still being targeted by her residual magic, too.

    ¡°You made a serious mistake there, little Addie.¡± Christena¡¯s voice reached Addie from all directions, emanating from no discernable source. The total darkness of Realmspace seemed to almost amplify her voice. ¡°You see, now you are trapped in this place, alone, with me.¡± Christena¡¯s final whisper of a word tickled against Addie¡¯s right ear as she felt Christena¡¯s breath on the side of her head. If the darkness bothered Christena, she made no tells of it.

    With a jerk, Addie whipped her head to the right, in the direction of Christena¡¯s last whispered breath, but she wasn¡¯t there. Nothing was only darkness. Addie frantically looked all around her, trying to spot Christena anywhere, but around her was nothing but the empty stone expanse and brooding darkness of Realmspace.

    A primal fear response welled up inside Addie. A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her to use her spatial sense, that her normal eyesight was useless, here, but it was so difficult. Addie¡¯s breath came in and out with panicked gulps, as though sucking down the air faster might save her somehow. Her eyes darted around, side to side trying to spot any hint of moment, any sign that Christena was nearby. Addie remembered what it felt like the last time she was cornered and Alone with that woman.

    Soon, Addie heard Christena¡¯s voice again from behind, ¡°Don¡¯t bother turning around, now. I¡¯m already gone.¡± Before Addie fully registered her words, she had already spun completely to check behind her. Christena wasn¡¯t there. Addie whimpered ever so slightly, just enough for her to hear herself.

    Addie tried to send a message through to Squishy. No matter the distance, Addie had always been able to reach him. Even now, Addie felt that her soul-bond was intact, Squishy an impossible distance away, but also right next to her. She sent a simple message to him, through their bond. ¡°Help.¡± In response, she felt Squishy¡¯s soul react, but she didn¡¯t get a message back, almost like he wanted to come but had no way to, stuck on the other side of reality against his desire to help his bonded human.

    Now truly alone, Addie¡¯s heart rate picked up, and she felt a cold sweat forming around her. Addie remembered the times she ran to her parents¡¯ bedroom after a horrible nightmare. She remembered not being able to wake up, to escape from the haunting monsters created by a child¡¯s subconscious. She remembered her dad tucking her into her blankets at night, the safety afforded by a parent¡¯s embrace. She remembered the panic of being alone in the dark after waking up in the middle of the night, the safety of her blankets barely keeping the darkness at bay. Mostly, Addie remembered how it felt to be alone and scared.

    Being in Realmspace with Christena was worse than that. Addie had nowhere to wake up to. No father to tuck her into bed, and no mother to find down the hall. Addie remembered the forced calm she felt while in the witch¡¯s house¡ªthe panic brewing under the surface of her conscious mind. At least that was subtle. Here, her panic fully blew out into dilated pupils and dripping sweat.

    But Addie remembered how she broke free from that witch¡¯s influence. Addie remembered that she had won. Won a battle of wills against a powerful bonded pair and escaped both the woman¡¯s mental influence and her tree¡¯s physical presence. She remembered staying calm underneath an impossible deer. She remembered learning to navigate the forest and develop her spatial awareness. She remembered how far she had come.

    With a deep breath, Addie closed her eyes and shut down her physical senses. She closed her mind¡¯s source of instinctual fear by blocking out sight and sound. Addie focused on her spatial sense. Realmspace exploded around her in all its simple glory. A radius of awareness opened up around her, and within that bubble defined by her spatial sense, Addie knew every micro movement that happened anywhere within her vicinity.

    But most importantly, now that she focused on her spatial sense instead of her mundane senses, Addie found Christena.

    <hr><hr>

    Squishy looked for Addie¡¯s dad in the middle of the stone floor of the basement. He stood tall, no part of him obviously injured.

    ¡°Are you alright? My lady worried for you.¡± Squishy asked earnestly.

    ¡°If you are attempting to communicate with me, sitting there with a funny look on your face won¡¯t be enough,¡± Addie¡¯s father said with mirth, ¡°Here, I¡¯ll have Dorple translate for us.¡±

    The strange long-eared rabbit thing hopped off of Mr. Lomain¡¯s shoulder and scampered over to Squishy, who proceeded to eye him skeptically. As if the scaled rabbit was suspicious in some way. Squishy hesitatingly allowed the odd scaly thing to approach.

    Now, with Squishy¡¯s hesitant and admittedly fragile permission, Dorple laid his body down near Squishy¡¯s front left paw. Then, he rested one of his long ears down against it, gently touching Squishy¡¯s paw.

    ¡°There, now I should be able to hear you.¡± Mr. Lomain announced with an introductory smile.

    ¡°I am glad you appear unharmed, though I worry for my lady. Do you require any aid before I rush off to Addie? I do not believe you are hurt.¡± Squishy declared telepathically, as the worry in his tone bled through. He could feel his thoughts travel through Dorple to Mr. Lomain, the process quite similar to the way he sent his thoughts to Addie through their bond.

    Mr. Lomain sat down next to Squishy¡¯s spot on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Addie.¡±

    Squishy¡¯s head turned towards Mr. Lomain with a bewildered expression. Nothing about that sentence made sense.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t look at me with that face! Christena practically played the role of Addie¡¯s second mother! She helped raise that girl, you know?¡± Mr. Lomain crossed his arms against his chest as he seemed to fall into a reminiscence of the past, a small and gentle smile on his face.

    ¡°I think I am still unsure what you mean by all this. Christena is evil, no? She attempted to murder you.¡± Squishy emphasized, confused. Mr. Lomain didn¡¯t comment, his smile just turning into a mysterious smirk. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t look like you are going to elaborate?¡± Squishy mostly thought aloud.

    For a moment, Squishy¡¯s soul pulsed, and he heard Addie calling out to him for help. He perked his ears up and prepared to jump into Realmspace.

    A hand gently touched down against his back, causing Squishy to bare his teeth in a threat display, and rip his head around to look at the offender.

    Mr. Lomain sat still, completely relaxed, one hand resting on Squishy¡¯s flank. ¡°Leave it to Addie. Trust her to win.¡±

 Chapter 20: Chase

    Without moving her body, Addie locked onto Christena¡¯s location. Christena seemed to be about ten meters behind Addie. Addie guessed that Christena was still unaware of the nature of Addie¡¯s magic since Christena still continued trying to use her illusion magic to hide herself in the darkness. Her attempts to hide were painfully obvious to Addie, who using her spatial sense, easily knew what was fake and what was real.

    Another illusory voice tickled Addie¡¯s ear, this time seeming to come from directly in front of her, ¡°I¡¯m right here, little Addie.¡±

    In response, Addie simply smirked. She knew for a fact that Christena was not ¡®right here¡¯. Without turning around, Addie pushed out a pulse of power from her soul. Addie didn¡¯t know how to fight. She never trained with a blade or shield. Even in the forest, she had never used her powers offensively, and she honestly didn¡¯t even know if she could use them offensively. At least, not directly.

    Addie fell back on her old plan, running away. But she wasn¡¯t scared or running out of desperation. She was playing to her strengths.

    Since Christena was still behind her, Addie sprinted forwards, in the opposite direction. She focused on her spatial sense, monitoring the space behind her.

    Without hesitation, Christena pursued.

    Each step followed the next as Addie sprinted forward, her breath started to come faster. She began to taste iron at the back of her throat as her lungs strained against her chest, but she didn¡¯t stop. She ran unceasingly and without fear. She led Christena further into Realmspace, and as far away from their entry space as she could.

    A clone of Christena popped up in front of Addie, all glowing light and no substance. The fake made to reach forward as if to catch Addie and stop her mad dash. For a moment, a bit of panic at the sudden appearance of the likeness caused Addie¡¯s breath to hitch in instinctual surprise. She quickly stamped down that feeling and closed her eyes once again. Her spatial sense knew that Christena wasn¡¯t actually in front of her, she was still trying to catch up to Addie from behind. She ran through the illusion without hesitation.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t abandon me here, would you, Addie? In this realm of cold and gray?¡± Christena¡¯s voice tickled her ear as if she were whispering right next to her left cheek. Addie ignored Christena¡¯s taunting and kept running.

    No matter how hard she ran, Addie could not possibly match Christena¡¯s adult strides. She was slowly catching up. It didn¡¯t matter though. Addie could feel her grip on Realmspace slowly beginning to fade. Though her powerful build-up of magic had locked both her and Christena down in this sub-reality, without Addie pumping magic in to constantly maintain the connection, her magic would slowly dissipate. Based on her personal experience, it wouldn¡¯t be long now until Realmspace itself noticed its intruders and forced them out.

    If Addie still had any semblance of orientation from when they first teleported in, she should currently be running perpendicular to the main village road. However, it felt impossible to know for sure when all her surroundings were bleak and monotonous gray. She hoped she was right about her directions because if she was, then she might be able to draw Christena quite far away from the village by the time her magical timer ran out and Realmspace noticed the pair.

    One moment, Addie was running, and the next...

    The walls around Addie were perfectly not out of place. She sat in her room, tea cups splayed out on the kiddie table in front of her. Mr. Wiggles, her stuffed bunny, sat elegantly in his personal tiny chair. She slowly sipped at her tea, enjoying the miniature, pristine peace of a tea party. Her dad even said he would join and was certainly only minutes away.

    But something was strange, Addie¡¯s heart beat as if she had just finished a marathon, and the tea somehow didn¡¯t taste like anything at all¡ª not even like water. Most strangely, she knew Christena was nearby, and approaching at quite a rapid pace. For a moment, that felt confusing. She didn¡¯t see Christena, after all. No this was something else, just at the tip of her tongue.

    It was her spatial sense.

    And everything around her wasn¡¯t real.

    Addie forced her eyes shut and fought against the small worm-like tendril of magic as Christena¡¯s illusions broadened out from the physical world into Addie¡¯s mind. Christena wasn¡¯t even close to being as strong with mind magic as the village witch, Addie found herself thinking derisively. Plus, her illusions forgot to add taste. No one drinks flavorless tea.

    Snapped back to reality, or in this case, Realmspace, Addie knew she had wasted precious seconds confused by Christena¡¯s illusionary room, and now Christena had practically caught up to Addie. The walls and setting still seemed to be around Addie, but now she knew they weren¡¯t real.

    She turned her head behind her just as Christena reached out to grab her from behind.

    ¡°I caught you,¡± Christena¡¯s grip was firm, but not nearly harsh enough to trap Addie. That seemed odd, it was almost like Christena¡¯s grip was playful, like when they used to play tag together. The discordance made Addie hesitate for a moment.

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    Luckily, that was when the magic cut out, and Realmspace forced them out. Addie smiled during the transition.

    In the confusion of the sudden deportation from Realmspace, Christena stumbled and nearly fell on her face, and her grip on Addie completely loosened.

    The forest surrounded the two of them, and Addie¡¯s heart soared with triumph. Addie hastily scrambled to her feet, using both her hands to push on the dirt floor to help her stand, and jumped away before Christena could gather her wits. Not only had she drawn Christena away from the village, but she had baited her into the forest.

    This time, Addie didn¡¯t hesitate. She took off at a sprint and closed her eyes. This felt familiar; however, something much more dangerous than a wolf was chasing her this time. Addie expanded her awareness out around herself, easily dodging the forest detritus.

    At the same time, she swept out her spatial sense behind herself, looking back towards Christena. Much like Addie, Christena hadn¡¯t hesitated at all upon reappearing in the forest. The chase was on. Addie hoped Christena didn¡¯t realize that she had a destination in mind.

    Glimpsing through the trees, Addie thought she could make out a big bramble patch. She could lead Christena over there.

    While still running, Addie looked up overhead towards the binary. She said a silent prayer and then moved her eyes back to her new destination.

    Some tension pulsed in Addie¡¯s chest as she realized Christena was faster than her. Addie never could beat Christena at tag, even when she tried her hardest. This time, she had an advantage though. Addie turned ever so slightly, moving into the thickest bushiest area nearby, and then continued her sprint. She easily dodged every single plant. Her spatial sense made it easy. She weaved through obstacles like she was born to it¡ª she dodged through the forest like Squishy would.

    Addie giggled as she watched Christena have a significantly harder time. She bumbled through the forest, crashing right through everything. Didn¡¯t she know it¡¯s easier to run with the forest than against it? That seemed obvious to Addie, at least.

    Why not make it even harder on her?

    Instead of ducking under an incoming tree branch, Addie grabbed a hold of it. She bent it forward as she continued to run. Then, she let go of it.

    With a thwoom the branch flew back into place, forcing Christena to flinch and duck underneath.

    Addie tore some vines off of a nearby tree when she ran past. She held onto the vines and jumped over an incoming prickly fern. When Christena got close to the same fern and prepared to jump over it, Addie threw her vines at the maid. She got a bit lucky, but the timing could not have been more perfect. At the apex of Christena¡¯s leap, the vines hit right into her, some of them tangling into Christena¡¯s legs. Instead of landing gracefully, the former maid tripped and fell face-first into the mud.

    The bramble field was close now, Addie could see the start of it. She glanced behind herself, and it looked like Christena had just finished standing back up and untangling herself.

    Without blinking, Addie ran head-first into the field of thorny brambles.

    Even as she dodged the spiky branch to her left, Addie bent down and reached her hand out to the ground. She grabbed another handful of small rocks and shoved them into her pockets.

    Behind her, Addie watched as Christena¡¯s maid uniform started picking up viny thorns. Christena put her left arm in front of her face and barreled through a particularly tall bush that would have scratched her face otherwise. Addie could see a few thin streams of blood start to trickle down Christena¡¯s arm and drip off her elbow.

    A few pieces of the branch still hung down her arm. Christena took a moment to scowl at the unwanted passenger, then she carefully grabbed the branch at a safe spot and threw it off herself.

    After getting through the bush, Christena seemed to pause and reconsider, ¡°Come here, Addie. You wanted to play games together, right?¡±

    Addie wouldn¡¯t fall for that. Instead, she took out some of the rocks she had hastily shoved into her pockets earlier and threw them at Christena¡¯s face.

    Christena waved her arm, causing a nearly transparent white barrier to appear in front of her. The first few stones reflected and bounced off the barrier. The last couple shattered the barrier as they bounced into it, but that was still enough to halt their momentum as they thumped back into the ground.

    In retaliation, Christena snapped her fingers, and several white-hot glowing stars orbited in a crescent above her head. They started to shoot out towards Addie, and she did the only thing she could think of to avoid them.

    Addie tugged on her soul and jumped into Realmspace. A moment later, she reappeared in reality a couple of feet from where she just was.

    Christena turned her head to Addie¡¯s newest location, but she seemed too worn out for the moment to use any more magic. The older woman sagged to catch her breath, giving Addie a bit of time to run and hide behind a large tree.

    Even behind the tree, Addie could easily use her spatial sense to see Christena¡¯s current location. Christena straightened her back and got ready to continue the chase.

    Christena was looking directly at Addie¡¯s current hiding place, and mumbling something under her breath while waving her hands around in random-seeming patterns. Not wanting to be on the other end of whatever that was, Addie looked for another good hiding place nearby.

    With a destination in mind, Addie dipped back into Realmspace and took a handful of steps angling to her right. She reappeared in reality almost directly inside of a normal-looking bush. Within the bush, Addie could easily see out of it, but she was camouflaged enough that she suspected anyone looking at the bush would have a hard time finding her.

    In line with her suspicions, Addie could now see Christena¡¯s confused-looking face. She was glancing all around, trying to pinpoint Addie¡¯s location with no luck.

    Christena sighed in frustration, then pointed at her feet. She waved her pointer finger out to Addie¡¯s old hiding place and back to her feet again. A luminous trail of blue light appeared between Christena¡¯s feet and the tree Addie was hiding behind before.

    The trail seemed to stop at the tree for a moment, and then it started pulsing. After a few moments, the pulsing ended, and it started creeping incredibly slowly towards Addie¡¯s new hiding place. After moving forward about an inch, the line of lights shot forward faster than Addie could react. They reached her almost instantaneously, lighting up the bush she was hiding behind so brightly it blinded Addie for a moment.

    The lights turned off just as quickly, and Christena was already doing something new. A giant ball of rolling red flames shot out towards the bush Addie was hiding in, and she had to jump back into Realmspace to avoid it.

    When Addie reappeared, the bush was completely charcoal, but it seemed like the flames hadn¡¯t spread out at all from there. Strangely, she didn¡¯t feel any heat from the flames at all, despite only being a couple of steps away.

    Regardless, Addie was glad she had avoided it. Time to try something different.

 Chapter 21: Fight

    Time to change things up. Running around and hoping the thorns would solve all of her problems wouldn¡¯t work. That was just scratching Christena.

    Changing her strategy was easier said than done, though. It¡¯s not like Addie could summon giant fireballs and fling them at Christena.

    Instead, Addie grabbed a stick on the ground. Then, she continued running. Addie easily dodged through the forest and the bramble patch until she reached a somewhat open clearing.

    As soon as she reached the clearing, Addie stopped and turned around. She brandished the stick in front of her.

    ¡°What are you going to do with that stick, Addie? Hit me with it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie responded with all the earnestness of a child. Then, she entered Realmspace.

    Before Christena had time to react, Addie was already behind Christena, swinging the branch right for her abdomen. It connected with Christena¡¯s side before she even noticed Addie was behind her, making a loud crack. Christena let out an ¡®oomph¡¯.

    Addie got ready to swing again and hit downwards towards Christena¡¯s head, but by then, Christena had already turned around completely. She didn¡¯t use magic to block the branch, instead, Christena dodged to the left. Addie still managed to clip a bit of her arm, but it didn¡¯t look like it did much.

    To avoid any retaliation, Addie jumped back into Realmspace, this time aiming to appear by Christena¡¯s side.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t she using any more of her magic?¡±

    As soon as Addie reappeared, it seemed Christena was a bit more ready this time, as she jumped back immediately before Addie even had a chance to swing the branch.

    Addie got ready to make another jump into Realmspace, but as she activated her magic, she felt a brick wall again, keeping her from pushing her magic outside of her soul. Addie bit her lip in frustration, she shouldn¡¯t be able to do that!

    It was fine, she already knew what to do to counter that. Addie pushed the building magic in her soul outwards, instead targeting Christena. The former maid poofed out of existence, and Addie stood by the spot where she disappeared.

    When Christena came back to reality, Addie was ready for it and swung the branch with all of her might. A few things happened at once.

    The stick hit Christena on the shoulder so hard that the stick broke in two. Addie noticed another white star floating near Christena, and it shot out towards Addie the moment Christena came back to reality. Christena shouted out in pain with a flinch from Addie¡¯s strike. The white star flew out and hit Addie on the forehead, knocking her to the ground. Strangely, it didn¡¯t burn at all, it felt more like a light shove unbalancing Addie and forcing her to fall down.

    Addie hit the ground harder than she would have liked, and she gasped as the wind was knocked out of her.

    Using her spatial sense, Addie could tell Christena was still recovering from the pain in her shoulder.

    With urgency, Addie took in a big gulp of air, forcing it back into her lungs. She sprang to her feet with a powerful jump while she still had the chance. Then, Addie reached out to the nearest branch of a tree, even though she had no hope of actually making the distance. So what? She didn¡¯t need to make the distance in this plane. She could climb even higher with magic.

    Addie passed into Realmspace and nudged the alternate dimension in just the right way. Realmspace wanted Addie out, and with a clever application of will, she convinced Realmspace to eject her out just ever so slightly higher up than where she entered from. With a vacuum of force, Realmspace sucked her up and out of its domain, tumbling her further into the sky out of gravity¡¯s reach¡ªrepeating the same trick she saw Squishy use when he climbed the massive tree in the forest.

    From Christena¡¯s perspective, Addie would have simply ceased to exist, then reappeared three meters higher, easily making the distance to the tree.

    Tree branches poked out at Addie when she came back to reality, scratching her torso as pine needles tickled her nose. She reached out quickly and held on to the first branch her hands found. She tumbled for a bit as gravity held her, and almost panicked when her first handful of tree only gave her sappy hands and spare pine needles. Luckily, it only took another moment to get a better grip on a stronger branch. Successfully ten meters up the tree, she took a moment to get her bearings.

    Easily keeping her balance in the canopy, Addie looked down towards the ground. Christena had recovered from the initial teleport and now used her hand to block out the morning Binary light as she stared directly up at Addie. In response, Addie stuck her tongue out at the former maid.

    Before Christena could so much as scold her rude behavior, Addie reached into her pocket and grabbed one of the tiny pebbles. She swung her arm as fast as she could, and at the apex of her throw, she willed her arm into Realmspace and let go. When her arm came back to reality, her hand was empty.

    For a moment, Christena stared at Addie, baffled, as seemingly nothing happened. Then, with a whistle, the thrown stone appeared mere inches away from Christena¡¯s face, causing her to flinch. Addie¡¯s aim wasn¡¯t that great though, and the rock missed by quite a margin. Either way, her proof of concept was sound, and Addie smirked.

    A huge smile adorned Addie¡¯s face as she grabbed two big handfuls of pebbles out of her pockets, and then threw them. Again, the rocks seemed to disappear entirely from existence, but their momentum was conserved as they reentered reality, and Christena was met with a dangerous shower of rocks.

    Christena quickly raised her arms up to shield her face in anticipation of the coming stone-fall.

    Seeing that Christena didn¡¯t use any magic to shield herself filled Addie with hope.

    While Christena was preoccupied with her unwanted shower, Addie let go of her tree and leaped towards the forest floor, aiming to land behind Christena. A meter before impact Addie tugged on that so familiar part of her soul and warped into Realmspace. The wind rushed by her as the cold stone floor rose up to meet her. Just before she crashed into the ground, she braced to re-enter reality, again directing Realmspace to suck her out and upwards upon re-entry.

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    Her crash landing on the forest floor was dampened by her efforts, though her ankles still had a moment of sharp pain when she actually landed. She was getting better at directing her momentum while in Realmspace.

    Christena¡¯s back was turned towards Addie. She took the opportunity to promptly kick out the back of Christena¡¯s legs as hard as she could, causing her to stumble and unceremoniously fall over in surprise, a mouth full of dirt her reward. Not one to let up, Addie jumped up and pushed back into Realmspace for only a moment, then directed her exit out of the alternate realm with extra force downwards. With supernatural acceleration, Addie plummeted right onto Christena¡¯s back, digging her heels directly into her back.

    The wind seemed knocked from Christena¡¯s lungs, as a wheezing ¡®oomph¡¯ of air escaped her mouth.

    Magical exhaustion crept in heavily now. Honestly, Addie was surprised it hadn¡¯t happened sooner¡ª that familiar ache of her soul stretched too thin trying to accommodate her will. Her soul didn¡¯t feel like it was in danger of cracking yet, though. She thought if she tried hard enough, she could probably make a couple more jumps into Realmspace.

    With that familiar push, she leaped into the air and passed back into Realmspace, this time aiming to ruthlessly come down on Christena¡¯s head and end this nightmare. When she re-entered reality, Christena rolled out of the way before Addie¡¯s heels could come crashing down on her skull.

    In a fluid motion that demonstrated clear training, Christena swept her leg out from the floor, tripping Addie into the dirt.

    Addie¡¯s first reaction was to lift her head up and try to wipe all the stinging, scratchy dirt from her eyes, but she quickly realized how vulnerable that left her. From her tripped position on the ground, she flexed her soul and pushed herself back into Realmspace. She could feel that Realmspace would only tolerate her presence for a few seconds, so she stood up and rubbed the dirt from her eyes as best she could.

    When Realmspace kicked her back out into reality, she wasn¡¯t quite ready. An image of Christena¡¯s arm thrown out in a precise backhand towards Addie¡¯s face caused her to recoil and take a step back. She bumped immediately into something behind her and then felt someone grabbing her arms from behind.

    The image in front of her was fake, and her spatial sense showed that Christena was directly behind Addie, holding her arm painfully up against her back.

    Instead of saying anything, Christena just let out a breath of exhaustion, as if she was glad to finally be done with all of this.

    Terror threatened to well up from Addie¡¯s chest, but she still had a bit of magic left. She got ready to pull on the last vestiges within herself¡ª

    Christena shoved Addie with more force than necessary, making Addie reach out instinctively to break her fall, her hands striking the earth hard. A sharp, jarring pain shot up her right wrist as it twisted under the weight of her fall.

    For a moment, Addie lay there, dazed, her breath knocked out of her. The forest seemed to spin around her, the trees blurring into streaks of green and brown. She tried to push herself up with her injured hand, but a nauseating wave of pain washed over her, so intense that her vision whited out for a second. Her wrist throbbed agonizingly, a hot, pulsating ache that made her stomach churn.

    With her good hand, Addie carefully cradled her wrist, the slightest movement sending fresh spikes of pain coursing through her arm. The bone felt wrong, unnaturally angled, and even the light touch of the cool air made her wince. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to steady her breathing, to manage the pain that seemed to echo through her whole body.

    Every heartbeat was a reminder of the injury, each throb a sharp stab that radiated up her arm. Addie fought the urge to cry out, her teeth gritted against the pain. Even Christena seemed to cringe slightly at the sound. For some reason, Christena was making a face that Addie knew well. That was the sympathetic expression Christena always used whenever Addie hurt herself on accident.

    In a last desperate attempt, for the final time today, while still lying on the ground, Addie moved outside the veil and into Realmspace.

    Her breath hitched in this other dimension. She had moments, maybe, before Realmspace punted her back out. On the ground, with the cool bleak stone beneath her for company, Addie despairingly thought of any possible way to turn things around¡ª to use any possible remaining bit of power to somehow turn the tide.

    ¡°Squishy, I need you¡± Addie sent out across the bond connecting the two of them. Addie could faintly feel his presence, but he seemed distracted or maybe preoccupied. Whatever was happening back in the basement, he couldn¡¯t make it to Addie in time.

    Addie thought she heard a whisper from him, an apology.

    Why won¡¯t he come? I thought we were going to do this together! My arm is broken! I have to do something.-- But I have no magic left.¡ªMaybe he¡¯s still fighting Fluffy. I don¡¯t want to lose. But I don¡¯t know what to do. She thought and argued within her mind, debating against her own overwhelmingly negative thoughts and sense of loss. She tried anything to think positively. In no more than a handful of seconds and self-recriminations, her time was up, and Realmspace kicked her back out into reality. She hadn¡¯t even managed to move a single inch.

    Totally exhausted magically, Addie felt desperation leak in as she realized there was absolutely no possibility of defending herself. She closed her eyes tight as tears began to leak out from them. She thought she could win too. The moment of her victory seemed so achievable, but in the end, she failed. She idly wondered if her dad would be ok, or if Squishy even won his battle against Fluffy. She thought about what the consequences of this loss would mean for her, and how Christena would take advantage of her defeat. She thought about what it would mean to be a sacrifice in Christena¡¯s ritual.

    Addie watched on in shivering fright as Christena started to close the distance, but for some reason, her face still looked empathetic and familiar. In response, Addie curled her body up in a ball, with the right side of her body pressed into the cool forest loam. She guarded her injured left arm into her chest carefully and shut her eyes tight.

    Christena slowly walked forward and kneeled down on both knees next to Addie. She reached out to where Addie lay knocked down on the cold stone. With her right hand, Christena gently pushed against Addie¡¯s right shoulder, turning her body slightly and exposing Addie¡¯s face.

    In response, Addie opened her eyes again just as Christena began to speak, ¡°You passed, Addie.¡± Then, she scooped Addie up with both hands, hugging her upper body. Somehow, it also felt like an embrace. ¡°You¡¯ve worked really hard and learned a lot about your new powers. You¡¯ve grown so strong.¡±

    Christena continued after a few seconds, ¡°It¡¯s ok. I know this was hard on you, but everyone¡¯s safe, even your dad, the villagers, and everyone else.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± At that moment, some of Addie¡¯s horror was pushed away by Christena¡¯s seemingly kind words, and replaced with a bit of hope. It didn¡¯t stop the tears, though. Addie sat on the floor, limply hugged by a kneeling Christena. They stayed like that for a while, Addie in shock, comforted by her waking nightmare as the last week¡¯s events replayed in her mind.

    Some of Addie¡¯s horror began to be replaced by memory. She remembered as a young child Christena¡¯s comforting embrace after she got hurt playing. Christena had always been around, often around much more than her constantly busy mother. Christena played with Addie and participated in her morning lessons. She was seemingly always there to hold her or wipe away her tears. These kinds of moments, being comforted by her were... familiar.

    After a few moments, as the hug continued and nothing horrible happened, Addie tentatively reached her uninjured right arm out and began to embrace Christena back. She curled her hand around some of the loose cloth of her maid outfit, bundling it in her hand. Finally, Addie began to cry anew, sobbing loudly into the surrounding forest.

 Chapter 22: A Conversation

    When her tears finally began to slow down, Addie meekly squeezed out a question, ¡°What now?¡±

    ¡°Now? I take you home.¡± Christena winced slightly, her chest seeming to be a bit sensitive after the beating Addie gave her on the ground and with the stick¡ªthough it seemed like she was trying to hide it. It was strange though, for her to do that, Addie thought.

    She finished adjusting her position and snaked her right arm underneath Addie¡¯s legs, then tightened her hold on Addie¡¯s back with her other arm. Christena then stood up with a slight hiss as she pulled Addie up into a princess carry.

    Addie didn¡¯t know what to feel. Everything was so weird and chaotic now. Was this the same Christena that Addie had grown up with, playing with, and loving? Or was this the Christena from the basement, who wanted to hurt her?

    For a while, the two of them were silent. Christena simply walked back to the village manor, and Addie watched the scenery pass by as she allowed herself to be carried. Exhaustion hit her now, and Addie had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She hadn¡¯t slept in nearly two Binary cycles, now¡ª two days of hardship. It was easy to fall back into this routine, the normalcy of just being carried by her maid.

    It also felt disjointed, like she shouldn¡¯t trust this woman or that she could be traumatized all over again any moment. That¡¯s what kept her from closing her eyes completely. A slight anxiety in the back of her head that whispered, what if things went wrong.

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Addie finally broke the silence after they had been walking for around ten minutes.

    ¡°Home now, little Addie,¡± Christena answered simply.

    ¡°You said everyone was safe, but I saw you kill an old woman in the basement,¡± Addie replied in the same simple tone, as if she simply pointed out trees were green: an observation without venom.

    ¡°Do you perhaps mean this woman?¡± At that, a few feet in front of them, the visage of the old woman came into view. The elder waved her hand at the two of them with a bright smile, then dramatically sunk into the floor. Addie swore she read her lips which silently said, ¡°I¡¯m melting.¡±

    ¡°A fake!¡± Addie cried out in surprise. ¡°But, I was hiding in the furnace! You knew I was there?¡±

    ¡°Oh, silly little Addie. Of course I knew you were in the basement with me. I baited you down there, after all.¡±

    Addie just opened her mouth, not quite sure how to react, and angry at how easily she had been deceived.

    ¡°You tricked me!¡± She accused.

    ¡°Of course, I tricked you. I am bonded to a Slyfox you know? The creatures known to be masters of deception? Even those ¡®fireballs¡¯ I was throwing around at you, don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t notice they had no actual heat? All of my magic is illusory.¡± Christena¡¯s foot crunched a leaf as they kept walking. They were nearing the village outskirts now, almost out of the forest completely.

    Addie had known that Christena¡¯s magic was illusory, she often teased Addie with it! But, Addie thought Christena had gained more power, or perhaps a second bond. Addie had been tricked from the beginning, she started to realize. But why? All of this hardship, for no reason? Somehow, that almost felt worse than Christena actually being evil.

    Addie¡¯s thoughts were interrupted as Christena started chuckling.

    ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± Addie frowned up at Christena.

    ¡°Nothing really. Just remembering how you are still a child. Though, maybe a bit too ruthless for one. You did nearly bash my brains out after all. That was not very childlike of you.¡±

    Addie¡¯s tone darkened, in direct contrast to Christena¡¯s seemingly upbeat sarcasm, ¡°I thought you were going to kill me.¡±

    That sobered Christena right up, ¡°Well, that would do it, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°If everything was just a big trick, how were you and Dad frozen in that big blue bubble?¡±

    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t want to spoil everything for you. I will tell you, though, your dad and I worked on this for months to come up with a good bonding initialization for you.¡± Christena¡¯s face smiled in reminiscence.

    Her dad had mentioned that, those many days ago when she begged him for a bond.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t forgive you by the way.¡± Addie looked away and scowled. ¡°I mean, I thought I was gonna die. I ran through the forest and a wolf almost ate me. If this was all just a big test, why did such awful things happen like that?¡± Addie felt a grudge forming.

    Christena frowned. ¡°When you bonded with that lizard-cat creature, your father and I were not expecting it. We had a separate bonded creature, a Krefft Mouse, ready for you. Sometimes, when a soul is in great turmoil, the strings of fate will unite a Lord or Lady with a bonded. In this case, it wasn¡¯t intentional, but that scaly creature came to you, and after that, your dad and I lost all track of you. Then, things became dangerous.¡± Christena paused for a moment, considering.

    ¡°You know about cascades, right Addie?¡±

    ¡°That awful bedtime story where bad bond ignitions can make monsters?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Christena took a moment to catch her breath, still wincing from the bruises on her sides, then she continued, ¡°Because your father and I didn¡¯t know that the scaly cat thing would find you, we didn¡¯t make it to your room in time to help with your bond ignition. We thought we had more time. I ran through the hallway, but you vanished just before I reached the room.¡±

    Christena paused for a moment, to catch some of her breath. She then readjusted her arms, jostling Addie just a little bit.

    ¡°Since you are so young, and because we weren¡¯t there to help you, we worried that the unexpected bond ignition with that other creature would cause you to cascade.¡±

    ¡°His name is Squishy.¡± Addie said, ¡°He¡¯s not ¡®that other creature¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Squishy, then,¡± Christena easily agreed.

    Christena stopped walking and gently sat down on the dirt, Addie still in her lap. She let out a big trembling breath.

    ¡°Originally, we planned to have you stay in your room overnight, we would have snuck the Krefft Mouse into your room, and in secret I would have monitored your bond ignition to make sure it went smoothly. Then, you would have solved a quick few puzzles to get used to your new bond. Lastly, you would have ¡®defeated me¡¯ and then your dad and I would have revealed that you had passed the test.

    ¡°Instead, you vanished from your room after the bond ignition with Squishy, and we couldn¡¯t find you for days. When we realized you were back in town, we hastily came up with a plan to make sure you hadn¡¯t cascaded. Your father and I tried to think of the best ways to test all of your new powers, and make sure you hadn¡¯t become something other than human.¡±

    ¡°Addie, I don¡¯t know if you can understand, since you are still so young. But if you had cascaded...¡± Christena trailed off. ¡°When you came back to town, it was more important that I tested your new powers, and made sure you hadn¡¯t cascaded, rather than welcome you home.¡±

    Addie flinched, that didn¡¯t make any sense! After all of the hardship in the forest, Christena still thought Addie needed more struggle before she could go home? Addie turned her head away from Christena sharply and hmphed.

    ¡°I want you to understand, Addie. You could have been a danger to the town.¡±

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    Maybe Christena was the one who didn¡¯t understand. Addie wouldn¡¯t ever be a danger to the town.

    Addie stewed with all of that information for a little while, refusing to speak or look at Christena.

    ¡°Addie...¡± Christena started.

    Addie interrupted her, ¡°So you didn¡¯t let me get chased by an Aurwolf for no reason?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°You were chased by!¡± Christena started to shout, with concern on her face. Then, she shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry you went through so much, Addie. It was my failure as your guardian... I¡¯m sorry.¡± The apology didn¡¯t really make Addie feel any better.

    They continued in silence for a little while; the entire time anger stirred in Addie¡¯s chest. ¡°Why did the test have to be so awful!? So many times, I thought I would die...¡± Before she knew it, Addie was crying again. Hot, ugly tears ran down her face.

    With her uninjured hand, Addie tightly bunched up some of Christena¡¯s maid uniform, trying to squeeze out all of her anger. That only made it worse, reminding Addie of her broken arm. ¡°You broke my arm!¡± She accused.

    Christena didn¡¯t respond for a little while, looking up at the sky. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she finally said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not okay.¡± Addie sniffled, ¡°It¡¯s really not okay.¡±

    She scrunched up her face tightly as more tears fell. At some point, Christena stood back up with Addie still in her arms and continued back toward the manor. After a little while, Addie finally stopped crying, and the anger slowly started to fade as it was replaced by exhaustion. She wanted to sleep for a week. But, she hadn¡¯t forgiven Christena, even if she was too tired to be angry.

    After some time, Addie still wanted more answers. ¡°How did you bait me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Christena replied.

    She turned her head a bit to look up at Christena, ¡°You said you baited me into the basement. How did you do that?¡± Addie looked up at Christena¡¯s face.

    Christena smiled, then stopped walking for a moment. She looked down at her chest for something, then replied to Addie, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll show you. My hands are a bit full carrying you at the moment, could you reach your hand up into my left chest pocket?¡±

    Without saying anything, Addie slowly used her uninjured right hand to reach up into Christena¡¯s only pocket on her entire maid uniform.

    Surprise filled Addie and her mouth formed into a shocked expression as her hands wrapped around something familiar. She finished pulling the item out from Christena¡¯s pocket, and with shining eyes, she nearly yelled out, ¡°It¡¯s that strange bauble I found on your desk! I knew it was real. Mom tried to say it was my imagination or something.¡±

    Addie admired the object in her hand and rotated it around. It looked exactly like it did the first time she saw it¡ª a pure red crystal figurine of a Slyfox. The color of the gemstone that made up the bauble the same exact color as Fluffy¡¯s eyes.

    Chuckling, Christena said, ¡°You can have it if you want. That item there was necessary as part of your bonding initialization, but all of its power has been used up, now. After you found that little trinket on my desk, it primed your soul to be ready for a bond ignition. Plus, after you found it, I knew you would keep investigating.¡± Christena¡¯s lips upturned into a sly smile, ¡°From there, it was just a matter of waiting until you came back and ¡®overheard¡¯ me talking about the basement.¡± Christena tilted and nodded her head a bit in acknowledgment, ¡°Though, spying on me using the crawlspace like that? You are a clever little girl, Addie.¡±

    Addie smiled genuinely for the first time all day, ¡°The crawlspace is my favorite.¡± Then a serious melancholy overtook her face again, ¡°But I guess you knew I was listening from the start anyways,¡± She grumbled.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Addie let out a frustrated sigh.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry little Addie, you still have plenty of time to learn.¡±

    ¡°What about the witch? And that giant deer, too!¡± Addie would be getting all the answers she wanted.

    Christena snorted, then smiled, ¡°It sounds like you had quite the adventure! And maybe encountered one of the only documented first-caste animals.¡± Christena said as she referenced the ranking of various magical creatures.

    ¡°Wow. I saw something like that?¡± Addie wondered aloud.

    ¡°Perhaps. You¡¯ll have to tell me more about it.¡±

    For a few minutes, Addie recounted her tale to Christena, about her rapid flight away from the manor and subsequent arrival deep in the forest. She complained about all the hardship she underwent, without sparing any of Christena¡¯s feelings.

    She told Christena about the massive trees, and about exploring her powers with Squishy. She talked about Realmspace and soul damage. She talked about the horror she felt when she thought the Aurwolf would eat her. She disgustingly recounted what it is like to eat raw fish. When she got to the tale of the witch and her bonded tree, Christena¡¯s face betrayed nothing, no hint of detail or intrigue to mystery. Christena accepted the tale and just let Addie talk as she recounted all of her fears, wonders, and more from the last few days.

    ¡°The witch really scared me, you know. I thought she would never let me leave, and if I couldn¡¯t leave, I worried if Dad would get hurt.¡±

    Unsaid between the two of them was the implication that at the time, Christena herself was the danger Addie was talking about. Christena seemed to deflate at that.

    ¡°Addie,¡± Christena looked at Addie¡¯s face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If only I had known a better way.¡±

    Silence passed awkwardly, for a time, but eventually, Christena started talking again, easily falling back into her role as Addie¡¯s teacher. ¡°That ancient witch is well known to us. She¡¯s lived in the village for nearly forty years. She looks just as old and scraggly now as she did back then, too. I was a tiny little girl when she moved in.¡± Christena explained.

    Confusion writ itself across Addie¡¯s face, ¡°You know about her and just let her stay?¡± Addie asked accusingly.

    ¡°Nothing is ever that simple. Besides, she¡¯s mostly harmless anyways.¡± Christena paused for a moment, considering how to explain, ¡°It can be dangerous bonding to something so alien as a tree. Those minds hold complexities¡ªwhile not necessarily more complex than you or I, so vastly different as to be nigh unfathomable¡ª¡±

    Addie interrupted, ¡°What does unfathomable mean?¡±

    ¡°It means hard or impossible to understand.¡± Christena continued her explanation as she walked, ¡°That witch¡¯s mind has been warped by the tree she bonded too. Her body as well. I¡¯m sure you yourself noticed changes when you bonded with Squishy.¡±

    ¡°When the witch bonded with her tree, she presumably slowed down her aging, mimicking the long lifespan of a tree. Her mind too, was changed. What is moral or immoral, just or unjust¡ª such things don¡¯t matter much to a tree. Minds? Minds can be changed and altered. What do you think does matter to a tree, Addie?¡± Christena questioned as she turned her lecture into a quiz.

    ¡°Uh, good sunlight or water?¡± Addie replied hesitatingly.

    ¡°Yes, but not exactly what I mean. Trees like hospitality. Now, the witch you met? She¡¯ll do anything to be hospitable. Even if it means twisting her guests¡¯ minds. Her very perception of hospitality is unquestionably alien. What is hospitable to a tree? I suspect, ¡®hospitable¡¯ might not even be the best word to use, as her view of it can trap us humans so easily. Trees share nutrients with their young, even commonly with saplings of other trees. Adult trees shade saplings from the harsh light until they mature, and the adults keep them alive with nutrients when they don¡¯t have enough light as a result. By nature, trees nourish their young, overbearingly and without question. Trees never move about, after all. So, if a tree wanted to leave? To escape the protection of the grove? Well, such a thing is crazy to a tree. Nothing wrong with altering your mind until you accept your very own reality as madness, so long as you remain protected. This is how the witch thinks, and how she has been twisted and shaped into what she is.

    She¡¯s dangerous for sure, but ultimately harmless. If you had gotten stuck in her trance, she probably would have let you go after a time, but only after you had been nourished to supreme health. Ultimately, leaving that old hag alone is easier than uprooting her. Names are meaningless to trees, so she never speaks of having one, but we call her Hagal, after a myth for a keeper of ancient trees.

    ¡°Hagal,¡± Addie spoke the name aloud, ¡°Huh. She really won¡¯t tell you her real name?.

    ¡°It¡¯s not so much that she won¡¯t tell us her real name, more like she doesn¡¯t even understand the concept of owning a name. Others can have names, she might even call you by yours. But the idea that she herself could have a name? That¡¯s alien to her mind, now. Trees don¡¯t communicate with names or sounds. Anything Hagal says to you as such should be remembered in this context: Hagal is only half human, now. She speaks to you in only half-remembered platitudes and as a vessel to work her magic on your mind. Trees communicate instantly, almost telepathically¡ª through their roots. Perhaps you even felt as though she planted a root within your mind as she tried to twist your perceptions. What Hagal needs to learn is, while people love to rest under a canopy of leaves, they still ought to have the freedom to come and go.¡±

    Addie thought about this for a while. It felt scarily accurate to the experience she had with Hagal the witch.

    After that, Addie simply watched the trees pass by. She was content to be carried in Christena¡¯s arms for now. Once they got home, though, Addie was going to take a long break from being around Christena.

    <hr><hr>

    Anticipation sparked inside Addie as she saw the manor come into sight. She couldn¡¯t wait to see Squishy.

    ¡°Hurry Christena! I want to see Squishy.¡± Addie started tapping Christena¡¯s shoulder with her uninjured hand, as she emphasized her excitement. ¡°Can¡¯t you walk any faster?¡± Addie groaned out as if she would die from impatience, ¡°I can see the door!¡±

    Christena laughed, ¡°Hold on for just a moment, we¡¯re almost there.¡±

    When they reached the door, Addie had a halting surge of anxiousness course through her. What if this was just another trap? Maybe Christena¡¯s sudden change of heart was just as suspicious as it seemed, and she did plan to do something terrible to Addie, after all. Her breath hitched in her throat as Christena walked up the front steps, still carrying Addie in her arms. Before they even reached it, the door opened.

    And Squishy jumped up from the entryway nigh instantaneously, while Addie¡¯s father held the door ajar with a big grin on his face. Squishy landed on top of Addie, adding more weight to Christena who now carried Squishy by proxy of him sitting on Addie¡¯s chest.

    In the forest, Addie had managed to convince herself she felt safe in Christena¡¯s arms. Despite that, only now did a certain weight fall off of Addie. She basked in the comfort only possible from the other half of her soul-bond. Her partner. Her magical companion. While she might have been before, now, she was truly safe, and all her doubts fell away.

    The welcome home was so warm.

 Chapter 23.1: Missing Resolution

    Her soul ached, her wrist ached and throbbed, and she hardly had the energy to move, but she was satisfied. Addie was safe. She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom and simply enjoyed the relaxing way she sunk deep into her mattress. It had been days since she had the luxury of a normal sleep schedule. It had been days since she last got to rest her head on a pillow. Now that she finally had the opportunity to lie in bed, Addie was loving it. She took full advantage of the lazy morning.

    Last night, she had made doubly sure that no one would disturb her come morning. She already had to deal with the giant fuss the manor healer spent on her left wrist last night. She certainly wasn¡¯t going to wake up for morning lessons. Today Addie would only rest. She wouldn¡¯t even leave the bed for the entire day. All of the house staff had been notified last night, as Addie made particularly sure that no maids would so much as clean the floor outside her room. She didn¡¯t want to get woken up by the noise.

    Lastly, Addie made sure her dad knew that she would be receiving all of her favorite meals for the day, even if the chef had to procure out-of-season ingredients. Mr. Lomain complied, as Addie knew he would.

    Thus, she stared up at her bedroom ceiling (which felt a bit unfamiliar after she forced the maids to move all her belongings to a new room in the house). She wouldn¡¯t ever step foot in her old room. The morning Binary light lazily drifted in, light beams tracing past the gaps in her curtains.

    Strawberries and whipped cream with powdered sugar sat on her nightstand directly to the left of her bed, within reaching distance.

    Addie would even have made Christena spoon-feed her breakfast too, just to knock her down a notch, but she ultimately decided she needed a break from all things maid, at least for a day. Probably even for a week.

    Unfortunately, all of this didn¡¯t stop Addie¡¯s mom from barging in, though, as the door flew open causing a slight breeze. Addie adjusted her position to sit up.

    ¡°Oh! My little girl is looking so adult! Bonded to her new friend.¡±

    Squishy preened at the foot of the bed, clearly soaking in the praise.

    ¡°Hi, Mom,¡± Addie spoke contritely, and a bit of her exhaustion seeped through. Her mom didn¡¯t seem to notice that at all, as she bulldozed right on ahead.

    ¡°Addie, sweetheart! How are you feeling? Doing okay? I heard you wouldn¡¯t be going to your morning lessons today.¡± Addie was about to speak, but her mom barely paused and instead kept talking, ¡°I heard you roughed it in the forest for a few days. My! Well, I¡¯m certain you are glad now that you had all those camping trips with your father! I don¡¯t know if I could have survived out there like that. I¡¯m an indoor girl through and through.¡± Her mom explained, waving her arms in small patterns to emphasize her points with her body language.

    That was seriously understating Addie¡¯s time in the forest. To be fair, no one had explained the full extent of things to Addie¡¯s mom. Even Addie didn¡¯t want to talk about it.

    Addie¡¯s mom had never received a bond, not out of injustice though. She simply waved away the opportunity as a child, something Addie could never understand. Addie wouldn¡¯t give up on the idea of using magic for anything, but she at least knew intellectually why her mom had that perspective: she hated danger.

    ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re safe,¡± Her mom¡¯s tone suddenly dropped and her face turned serious, ¡°I heard you ran into Hagal.¡± She paused for a moment and bit her lip, ¡°Your dad should have structured this better. Apparently, and he didn¡¯t want me to tell you this, but you teleporting through the forest like crazy was completely unexpected.¡± Her mom laughed deprecatingly for a moment, then continued, ¡°I mean¡ª¡± She huffed a small laugh out, ¡°Dimensional magic? Tom didn¡¯t even know there was such a thing. There were theories yes, stuff left over from the dragons. Ah, those theories are much better explained by your dad, anyways.¡±

    Her mom huffed and again smiled deprecatingly. Some of her frustration leaked through, obviously directed at her husband.

    ¡°Trust me when I say, if he had planned to just send you willy-nilly through the forest, and encounter Hagal, without some pre-planning on his part? Well, I never would have let it happen. That¡¯s all I¡¯ve heard though. For some reason, Christena isn¡¯t talking to me. She told me to tell you that she¡¯s sorry.¡± Her mom whispered that last bit like it was some kind of secret.

    Her mom¡¯s words spurred up a deep ache full of ugly resentment. Maybe, if her mom had known about the plan for her bonding initialization, her mom would have put a stop to it. Addie didn¡¯t know if she could ever forgive Christena or her dad. None of this was fair. Addie would never be a danger to the town.

    But, precisely because Addie had gone through all that hardship, she had learned so much about her magic, and how to survive. She had successfully escaped from the witch all on her own¡ª a point of pride. Her flight through the forest¡ª avoiding the Aurwolf and making her own fire, finding the river with Squishy, all of those were Addie¡¯s accomplishments, and no one could take that away from her.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    In all honesty, Addie was glad her mom had come to talk to her. Sure, she originally wanted to spend the morning alone, and she was more than a little miffed at her interrupted alone time, but the normalcy was nice. The company was nice. It just plain felt good to talk with her mom and be comforted by her presence.

    ¡°Mom, I have to tell you something,¡± Addie said. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of what she was about to share.

    ¡°Dad didn¡¯t just send me out willy-nilly into the forest. They made me think Christena was killing people. Killing everyone in town.¡± Addie explained in a whisper.

    Her mom¡¯s face grew into a new horrified expression with each new word.

    Tears started streaming down Addie¡¯s face, even without sobbing. She still managed to continue her explanation calmly, ¡°They... They made me think Christena was trying to kill me. I thought we were fighting to the death in the forest. I almost killed Christena.¡±

    Now Addie¡¯s mother started crying too. She jolted forward and wrapped Addie up in a crushing hug.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know. They keep me out of all the magical stuff, you know? I should have stopped it. It¡¯s my fault. I won¡¯t let anything like that happen to you again.¡± Her mom promised.

    Then, Addie finally sobbed. She became a blubbering mess, and couldn¡¯t speak more about it even if she wanted to. The sobs from mother and daughter filled the room for a time. Each new sob felt like Addie was letting out another piece of her trauma, another moment of bottled-up fear finally released back out into the world. Addie hugged her mom tighter.

    They cried together for a time, and slowly, the sobs came to a gradual stop. Then, they just hugged together in Addie¡¯s bedroom, silent for a time. Addie felt empty. The gentle embrace of her mother was the only sensation Addie felt, as all of her emotions were simply drained.

    Finally, within the embrace, her mom whispered into Addie¡¯s ear, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to them. We¡¯ll talk to them. This.. What you went through, Addie, it¡¯s unacceptable. Do you understand? What your dad did is absolutely unacceptable.¡±

    Even though it wasn¡¯t directed at her, a slight shiver went through Addie¡¯s spine. It was weird to hear her mom take that scolding tone with anyone other than her. She knew her dad deserved it. Whatever her mom would talk about with him, whatever kind of justice could be done for this situation. Addie would be there to witness it.

    After that, they continued to talk, for a time, about non-magical subjects. Just catching up, some mother-daughter-alone time. Addie enjoyed it. Her mom did, too.

    <hr><hr>

    Now that it was time to confront them, Addie¡¯s earlier angry feelings of retribution got pushed to the side as her nervousness consumed her. She wrung her hands and fiddled her toes on the leather armchair she was sitting on. It was slightly too tall for her, so her feet dangled into the air a bit. On her right, Addie¡¯s mom sat next to her in solidarity, the two of them holding hands.

    Across from them, in opposition, were Addie¡¯s dad and Christena. Christena seemed just as nervous as Addie, but Addie¡¯s dad had a hard look. He didn¡¯t seem angry, but Addie thought he might have been for a second. Instead, he just looked deep in thought.

    ¡°This ¡®plan¡¯ that you two went through¡ª it was unacceptable. I want explanations, right. Now.¡± Addie¡¯s mom said.

    Addie gave her mom¡¯s hand a quick squeeze.

    ¡°Love,¡± Her dad began.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®love¡¯ me!¡± Addie¡¯s mom said while symboling quotation marks with her fingers. ¡°Tom, what you did was liable to scar Addie for life!¡±

    Addie cupped her hand and put her mouth next to her mom¡¯s ear, ¡°What does liable mean?¡± Addie whispered.

    ¡°It means,¡± her mom started saying to the room, ¡°That your dad is the reason all of this horrible stuff happened to you. And Christena! How could you go along with all of this?¡±

    Christena put her eyes on the floor and didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°It¡¯s not her fault,¡± Addie¡¯s dad sighed. ¡°I made her go along with it. Love, I need you to understand¡ª¡±

    Her mom interrupted her dad again, ¡°What I understand is that you let our daughter get chased by an Aurwolf! She could have died!¡± her mom shouted.

    Addie wrung her hands together and uncrossed her legs, only to cross them again on the other side. Squishy whined.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Addie¡¯s dad said. ¡°Addie could have cascaded. The fact of the matter is that we did not lose Addie. But if she had cascaded, not even I could have saved her.¡±

    The room was quiet for a moment, and Addie¡¯s mom let out a shuddering breath.

    Monitoring the room, Addie¡¯s dad spoke up again, ¡°Addie, sweetheart,¡±

    Addie looked away from her dad.

    ¡°What you needed was purpose. Bonding initializations are dangerous. Leah, you know that.¡± Addie¡¯s dad looked at his wife. ¡°If Addie didn¡¯t have purpose from the first moment of her bonding initialization, she would have cascaded. We decided Addie was ready for magic, but still gave that power to a ten-year-old. No one can help with a bonding initialization, except for maybe the dragons of ancient lore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a dragon,¡± her dad emphasized. His eyes started going red. ¡°I never wanted Addie to get lost in the forest. I never expected her Squishy to find her through the strings of fate. I had another creature ready for her to bond with. When they disappeared into the forest, Christena and I searched for them for days. Somehow Hagal found Addie first. For all I knew, that crazy old woman could have caused Addie¡¯s already disturbed soul to cascade even further!¡± He gripped the handrest so tightly Addie could see his hands go white.

    ¡°Then how does letting her get defeated by Christena, helpless on the forest floor, help Addie¡¯s bonding initialization?¡± Addie¡¯s mom said coldly.

    ¡°We exhausted her magic. Then I confirmed her soul had not cascaded. Until then, Addie needed purpose. To ensure she didn¡¯t cascade further. We were lucky that she hadn¡¯t cascaded from the very beginning! But I had no way to know that. Not me, I¡¯m just a man.¡± A tear ran down his cheek.

    ¡°Addie, I¡¯m so sorry. Do you understand at all why we had you grow through all of this?¡± Her dad tried.

    Addie shook her head. She refused to look at him.

 Chapter 23.2: Reflection

    Sitting across from her dad and Christena, Addie started hiccupping as tears ran down her cheeks. Her mom pulled Addie closer to her side of the cushioned seat, wrapping one arm around her. ¡°Shh, it¡¯s ok.¡±

    ¡°Addie, all Area Lords give their children purpose. It¡¯s the only sure method we know of to keep a soul from cascading during their first bond. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t find you in the forest, but aren¡¯t you glad you found magic?¡± Her dad said.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie looked down at Squishy who sat on the floor near her dangling legs.

    ¡°We needed a villain. A make-believe villain. So that you could have purpose, so that you wouldn¡¯t die in a soul cascade. Christena agreed to the plan because she knew how much you wanted to find magic. Originally, we only were going to have you alone in your room for a few minutes while I prepared the Kreftt Mouse for you. Then, you would have ¡®defeated¡¯ Christena during your bond ignition, and afterward, we would have confirmed the ignition went smoothly¡ª without you cascading. Instead, we spent days looking for you in the forest, and then scrambling to figure out what to do when we noticed you outside Hagal¡¯s house. Our plan could have gone better. We didn¡¯t know if you were already cascaded. We didn¡¯t know anything about the current situation. All¡¯s we knew was that you needed purpose, immediately, and that we needed to exhaust all of your magic. We had no time to plan. I wish I could have done it better. I wish I could have done all of it better. Addie, I¡¯m sorry.¡± His hand went white on the armrest as he leaned forward with red teary eyes.

    ¡°Can you forgive me?¡± her dad asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Addie said as she looked away.

    ¡°Tom, I think that¡¯s enough for now,¡± Addie¡¯s mom said with a long sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s give Addie more time to rest.¡±

    Her mom turned her head to Christena, ¡°No lessons for the rest of the week. I want the healer to finish up with Addie¡¯s wrist. I can¡¯t believe you pushed Addie and broke her arm.¡±

    Christena winced, ¡°That, was my fault. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize to me. Look at Addie.¡± Her mom pulled Addie in tightly to her side again in emphasis.

    ¡°Addie, I¡¯m sorry I pushed you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ok,¡± Addie said. She still wouldn¡¯t look Christena in the eye, though.

    ¡°Come on, Addie,¡± her mom said as she stood up from the cushioned seat. She held Addie¡¯s uninjured hand and guided her out of the room.

    Addie took one last glance into the living room as she went through the doorway. She wouldn¡¯t ever forget her father leaning forward with red teary eyes, nor would she forget Christena¡¯s hunched shoulders as she bent forward in her seat and stared at the ground.

    Why was her dad crying? Addie thought all of the sad stuff had happened to her. So why was he so upset?

    Leading Addie through the halls back to her new room, her mom said, ¡°Do you still want to join your father and I for dinner?¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Addie said quietly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°You are a strong girl, you know that?¡± Her mom squeezed Addie¡¯s hand. ¡°You are my strongest, bravest girl. Okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    *Thunk!* Addie flinched, Christena¡¯s meter stick whacking harshly into the chalkboard at the front of the room.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Christena said a little harshly. A small trickle of fear dripped into Addie at Christena¡¯s apparent frustration, ¡°You don¡¯t want to listen to me? We¡¯ll move straight onto practical applications.¡±

    Addie hadn¡¯t been able to listen to anything Christena had been saying all morning. Too many thoughts and fears kept interrupting all of Addie¡¯s thinking.

    ¡°Alright, Squishy, you¡¯re coming too.¡± Christena glanced at the top of Addie¡¯s desk as she saw Squishy¡¯s ears perk up and his attention shift away from his nap.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re off the hook, either Fluffy.¡± The poor Slyfox looked absolutely miffed¡ª she was far too much of a precious beauty to be commanded around at will. Especially from her extremely comfortable fox-sized bed on Christena¡¯s desk.

    All of that went completely ignored by Addie, of course. She jumped out of her desk as quickly as she could, only turning back to check on Squishy. Behind her, Squishy stretched his whole body, front legs splayed out in front, back arched, exactly like a cat.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    An initial rush of excitement swept through Addie at the thought of ¡®practical applications¡¯. That meant they were going to practice magic!

    But, her enthusiasm dwindled almost immediately as she looked back at Christena from the doorway. Maybe Addie needed to find a new person to teach her lessons. A small pit of dread welled up inside her at the reminder of all the awful things that had happened because of Christena

    Christena reached her arm out toward the desk, where Fluffy quickly jumped up and climbed onto Christena¡¯s shoulders, looking not unlike a fancy orange fox scarf.

    The four of them all made their way towards the back of the giant building. Addie knew they would be practicing outside on the back lawn.

    The walk down the manor¡¯s hallways was labyrinthine, and Addie reflected on her father¡¯s words from earlier this week for quite a while, mostly spacing out as she remembered their conversation.

    Addie had done a lot of reflecting on the events that she was basically forced into. She had felt a lot better when her dad explained that this entire bonding initialization, had gone way off his original intended plan. During the planning process, as he explained, the confrontation with Christena should have happened minutes after Addie was ¡®captured¡¯, where, during the confrontation, her father had a Krefft Mouse prepared and ready to ¡®unexpectedly¡¯ turn the tides and allow Addie to win the fight. All of this would have happened in the span of single night, with a lot less time for traumatizing events. More importantly, she wouldn¡¯t have been lost stuck in the forest, or fighting through terror and magical exhaustion. At least, that¡¯s what Addie wanted to believe. Even after all of that, her dad was still her dad. And, she loved him. But, that didn¡¯t mean it would be easy to forgive him, either. Addie still didn¡¯t know if she forgave him.

    According to her dad, Squishy was a completely undocumented creature. He wasn¡¯t even sure where in the caste system the small and scaled cat-like creature would land. For all they knew, Squishy was as powerful as a caste two or three bonded. In fact, it wasn¡¯t impossible he was a caste one creature either, but considering only the likes of dragons tended to be that powerful, it was unlikely.

    For a moment, Addie¡¯s thoughts paused, and she looked up at Christena¡¯s face. Without realizing it, Addie¡¯s hand naturally held onto Christena¡¯s hand as they walked the hallways. Addie consciously looked down at their intertwined hands; and in a slight panic, she quickly released Christena¡¯s hand. Addie then wiped her own hand off on her skirt.

    Christena tried not to show any hurt on her face, but it was clear that she regretted things between the two of them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, things hadn¡¯t gone back to normal after the past week. They may never go back to normal completely ever again, Addie reflected. Maybe, if the original plan for her bonding initialization had gone perfectly, and Addie¡¯s fear had been stamped out on the original timeline her father prepared, things would have been different. As it was, Addie didn¡¯t know if she would ever be able to instinctually trust Christena ever again. It was hard, to see her maid¡¯s face hurt¡ª seeing what was essentially her second mother feel pain due to Addie¡¯s imposed distance. Though Addie knew it was hard on Christena, she was still glad that Christena respected Addie¡¯s choice for space.

    Addie wouldn¡¯t ever let herself feel guilty over this, though. Mostly, she just felt tired, and sometimes scared. It wasn¡¯t her fault that Christena¡¯s face sometimes looked more like a monster¡¯s than a person¡¯s.

    The nightmares agreed with Addie, too.

    After Addie let go of Christena¡¯s hand, the walk became a lot more subdued. Addie just watched her feet with her hands down at her sides. After some time of silence, she glanced up at Christena¡¯s face, but Addie found it somewhat hard to look at. Christena tried to outwardly project a professional and serious air, but mostly her expression came across as guilty and regretful.

    She would never bring it up aloud, but a few days ago Addie had heard distant shouting through the walls of her bedroom during the middle of the night. When she and Squishy got up to investigate, using their powers to enter the space between the walls, they came across Christena with tears streaming down her face. Addie would never forget those tears of furious anger streaking her makeup¡ª Christena¡¯s accusing, pointing finger aimed at Addie¡¯s dad, screaming at him.

    The words she screamed didn¡¯t matter. Addie knew why she was upset, why she was angry at her dad. He devised a plan where Christena had to be the villain, perhaps unnecessarily. This felt wrong, especially since Addie was still so young, only ten years old. Their relationship might never go back to how it once was, and Christena had seemingly lost a daughter in all but name.

    That shook Addie, and she couldn¡¯t keep listening after she discovered the source of the noise, so she quickly left and went back to bed. She wanted to forget she witnessed that, but the memory had kept her awake even after she tried to go to sleep.

    Addie didn¡¯t know if their relationship would ever go back to how it was before her Bonding Initialization, but she at least knew Christena was trying. She saw the effort Christena put in to try to make Addie feel safe by respecting her distance, and the effort she put in to be a responsible teacher for magic. Those efforts still made Addie feel warm inside, regardless of anything else.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped, Addie smiled to herself a bit and reached her hand back out to Christena, who looked surprised, but happy. Not one to miss an opportunity, she gently cusped Addie¡¯s hand back into her own, and Addie seriously led them the rest of the way out of the manor and into the yard. Addie couldn¡¯t help but notice the unshielded joy on Christena¡¯s face. Just this once, Addie would spoil her. Tomorrow, well, in time they would find out if Christena could be forgiven completely. Perhaps not, and perhaps tomorrow Addie wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable holding her hand. But for now, Addie could be strong. Maybe it would help the nightmares, too.

    Regardless, no amount of self-reflection would stop Addie from practicing her magic. Squishy seemed to vibrate as well. His excitement bled over to Addie from their bond, even as Addie¡¯s excitement did the same to him. Their emotions multiplied each other until both of them could hardly sit still.

    As they stepped out onto the lawn, Christena started to talk about ¡®safety¡¯ and ¡®following the rules our predecessors so diligently created for our benefit,¡¯ but Addie barely heard any of that.

    It was magic time.

 Chapter 24: Magic Time

    ¡°Magic can grow in two ways: upwards or sideways.¡± Christena tried to begin.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Addie interrupted, ¡°I thought we were going to do some practical magic, not talking!¡± Addie was adamant.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Christena said, bemused yet exasperated. ¡°Observe.¡± She stated primly.

    Colorful lights flooded through the sky: bubbles, butterflies, floating palm-sized rainbows, fluffy palm sized clouds, and multiple caricatures of Squishy and Fluffy pranced among the other illusions. Addie stood in amazement at the pretty colors and dancing lights. She had a particular fascination with the mini-Squishys and Fluffys. Christena did a fantastic job making all the slyfoxes move independently of one another. One Fluffy chased a floating bubble on the breeze, another Fluffy sniffed a rainbow, and yet another Fluffy swatted at a butterfly. Addie¡¯s favorite illusionary Fluffy just jumped from tiny cloud to tiny cloud, seemingly making a game out of landing on each and every one. Once it made a circuit jumping between all of them, it started jumping on the bubbles, too. Each time it landed on a bubble, the bubble quickly popped, forcing the fake Fluffy to move on to the next. On its final bubble, it jumped over one of the miniature rainbows, landing on a cloud on the other side, then, seemed to preen with accomplishment. It just continued to float up in the air prim and proper, mirroring the real Fluffy.

    The miniature Squishys, on the other hand, stood proud as warriors. One challenged an ethereal Fluffy to a duel, only to be danced around and ridiculed by the trickster fox. Another Squishy seemed to be having a silent debate with a bubble, seeming to decide if its presence offended him. None of the illusions compared to the real Squishy, though, who simply sat near Addie¡¯s feet on the grass, amused by the display overhead.

    ¡°I am not so easily bothered by something as simple as a bubble,¡± Squishy complained, ¡°But I suppose the impression is not too far off.¡± The words traveled to Addie through their bond, and, Christena seemed to smile in response, almost as though she had somehow predicted his criticism.

    While Addie was distracted observing the display, Christena took the opportunity to go back into teacher-mode, ¡°Like most all bonds between a bonded and a human, my powers manifest in precisely two admittedly simple ways.¡±

    All of the rainbows near Addie began to shine brightly, which forced Addie to close her eyes. But, even that wasn¡¯t enough, and she even had to put a hand over her eyes to shield herself.

    ¡°Light.¡± Christena said, with emphasis.

    The shining stopped as suddenly as it started; and in its stead, all of the bubbles floating around Addie started popping, each one creating the sound of a thunderclap. Addie had to shove her fingers into her ears to drown out the explosive sound. It still wasn¡¯t enough to stop her ears from ringing.

    ¡°And sound.¡± Christena finished.

    The last bubble popped. The burst, even muffled as it was by Addie¡¯s fingers, still made her jump. Such a tiny and silly thing like a bubble had no business being a targeted ear-weapon, or so Addie thought. She was impressed all the same.

    After the last bubble popped, Addie couldn¡¯t help herself, ¡°Ow, Christena!¡± Addie didn¡¯t even give Christena a chance to reply, ¡°You have to teach me how to do that!¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Christena tried to start.

    ¡°Teach me teach me teach me!¡± Addie¡¯s exuberance became excessive, and she started jumping up and down in excitement.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Addie, but,¡± Again, Christena didn¡¯t get a chance to finish her thought.

    Addie¡¯s face threatened to turn into a pout, ¡°You have to teach me that Christena! I want floating popping bubble weapons, too!¡± The little girl demanded.

    Christena had to fight against her own instincts not to facepalm. ¡°Addie, stop and listen for a second.¡± Christena paused for a moment. When she realized that she finally held Addie¡¯s attention, she continued, ¡°You¡¯ll never be able to do this.¡±

    Much to Christena¡¯s horror, Addie¡¯s face started to shift, the tells of a tantrum quickly and easily making their way across her face. Christena braced herself to withstand the oncoming storm, but through some miracle, Addie¡¯s outburst didn¡¯t come. Well, her face certainly contorted and twisted into an expression of barely concealed rage, but she managed to hold herself back from exploding.

    Tentatively, as though trying to avoid disturbing a napping dragon, Christena continued her explanation, ¡°Constructs of light and sound are the powers I gained from my bond with Fluffy when I was just a little girl. These are the two aspects absolutely quintessential to my magic.¡±

    During Christena¡¯s natural pause, Addie spoke up, and again, Addie noticed Christena seemed to be preparing for the verbal assault of the decade, but instead, Addie continued quietly, through clenched frustrated teeth, ¡°I don¡¯t know what quintessential means.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Christena said carefully as she tried not to laugh, ¡°It means that light and sound are my main sources of power.¡± Christena managed to relax a bit more after that, moving back into the role of a teacher.

    ¡°What I want to say, Addie, is that light and sound are the two aspects of my power, but that doesn¡¯t mean your powers aren¡¯t special on their own.

    ¡°What I would like you to do now is think about all the ways you¡¯ve used your powers. Did you notice that there are only two things your magic lets you do? If so, what are they?¡±

    At the impromptu quiz, Addie¡¯s first instinct was to get frustrated, but it only took her a moment to realize that at least this quiz was about magic. Her magic. No one knew it better than she herself. Her second instinct was to look at Squishy, as though his canine face may hold the answers, but he seemed to follow her train of thought, and quickly clamped down on their soul bond, not allowing his answers to Christena¡¯s questions to bias Addie¡¯s own answers.

    Her first instinct was to say that her first power was her ability to talk with Squishy through their bond, perhaps due to being reminded they could communicate telepathically just a moment ago. But Addie quickly realized that wasn¡¯t right. She knew that all bonded and their partner humans could communicate, even if it was just rudimentary. Since Christena didn¡¯t mention that part of her powers specifically, Addie knew she shouldn¡¯t, either.

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    The correct answer in truth didn¡¯t require much thinking, Addie realized. She was using one of her main two powers at this very moment.

    ¡°My spatial sense.¡± Addie declared.

    Christena nodded her head as if to prompt Addie to continue.

    ¡°I can see all around me without my eyes.¡± She clarified, ¡°That¡¯s how I knew you were behind me when we were in the forest.¡±

    In acknowledgment, Christena tilted her head. ¡°And can you remember your second main power?¡±

    ¡°That one¡¯s easy.¡± Addie declared. ¡°When I go into Realmspace.¡±

    ¡°Realmspace?¡± Christena seemed confused at that terminology, ¡°So that¡¯s where you sent us before. But why do you call it Realmspace?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s just what Squishy calls it.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± He chimed in through their bond. This time, Christena didn¡¯t seem to notice his words.

    ¡°Fascinating. Fluffy can be quite clever, and definitely egotistical¡ª

    The aforementioned orange Slyfox seemed to preen due to the praise.

    ¡°But she definitely isn¡¯t smart enough to communicate to me with actual human language.¡±

    Addie giggled, as she saw Fluffy make a faux offended expression, she even put her right paw up in front of her chest in mock outrage, very much like an overdramatic actress in a play.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Addie giggled a bit more, ¡°I think she¡¯s pretty smart.¡±

    The silly fox raised her chin up and grinned, ¡®of course I am¡¯ she seemed to say with body language.

    Putting aside the temporary distraction, Christena continued her explanation, ¡°So then, you have two main powers just as all bonded do. Your ability to enter Realmspace and your spatial sense,¡± Christena crossed her arms in thought. ¡°Next, I¡¯d like to teach you about how we can go about improving the magic you already have. Now, keep in mind, you¡¯ll never be able to do anything significantly different from your main two power sets, like make illusions of bubbles for instance, but there are two ways to grow your current abilities. You even demonstrated these to me during, ¡®our final confrontation,¡¯ so to speak.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start by having you demonstrate to me both of your current abilities in their base forms.¡±

    ¡°Well, moving into Realmspace would be pretty obvious, but how can I show you my spatial sense?¡± The question came out genuinely. It didn¡¯t seem like Addie could easily showcase her spatial sense since that particular ability worked internally.

    ¡°Oh, that one is easy.¡± Addie didn¡¯t like the smile on Christena¡¯s face at all, it was the face of a plotter, ¡°You, my dear, will wear this blindfold I just so happen to have conveniently in my pocket, and I will throw a pebble that you must dodge. You¡¯ll have to make good use of your spatial sense.¡± Christena¡¯s grin turned wicked, and Addie knew that this had to be revenge from when she threw all those rocks at Christena in the forest.

    Hesitatingly, Addie walked up to Christena and grabbed the blindfold out of her hands. Then, she walked ten paces backward from Christena. It was interesting, to focus on her spatial sense like this. Just like in the forest, she could see everything around her within a ten or so-meter radius around herself. When she ¡®relaxed¡¯ her spatial sense, so to speak, she could see a high volume of the world around her, but she couldn¡¯t make any one item out super clearly. When she ¡®focused¡¯ her spatial sense, she could see such fine details on a single object that she was constantly learning about how the things around her were made up of tiny little parts¡ª parts so small her eyes alone had never noticed.

    The rock came quicker than Addie expected. She thought Christena would at least give her a warning, even a simple, ¡®I¡¯m starting¡¯, but nothing of the sort happened. Without preamble, Christena simply threw the pebble at Addie. Just as simply, Addie stepped a bit to the right and easily dodged the pebble. Christena had tossed it pretty lightly.

    Addie was preparing herself to dodge another one when Christena said, ¡°You can take the blindfold off, that¡¯s enough for now.¡±

    ¡°That was quick,¡± Addie said in slight surprise, ¡°I thought you would throw rocks at me all day!¡±

    With a smile on her face, Christena replied, ¡°Maybe another time, that would be fun, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Before Addie had a chance to answer the rhetorical question, Christena finished explaining, ¡°Today I just need to get a quick sense of your base powers so we know how to move forward to develop them. That simple demonstration is enough for now.¡±

    Then, Christena paused for a moment, considering. ¡°No need to show me how you can traverse Realmspace today either. I got plenty of experience observing that one already.¡±

    Disappointment started to flood through Addie at not being able to continue showing off her magic, but Christena¡¯s next words mollified her.

    ¡°Instead, I¡¯d like to move back to where we started talking today. Your magic can grow in one of two ways: Upwards and Sideways.¡± With a wave of Christena¡¯s arms, the imaginary rainbows manifested above Addie¡¯s head once again. ¡°Upwards,¡± The rainbows once again grew in brightness, though, thankfully, not enough to blind Addie this time. ¡°This is often the easiest way to grow one¡¯s powers. You may use your soul bond with your bonded to brute force your magic¡¯s output to a higher threshold.¡±

    Christena paused as she noticed Addie raise her hand.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done that before, but I had a horrible pain in my soul when I did it too much.¡±

    ¡°I was going to bring that up, but yes, that¡¯s correct. When brute forcing your magic like this, you must be careful not to overdo things, or else you can damage your soul-bond with Squishy. However, with careful practice, and so long as you don¡¯t push yourself past that breaking point, you can reliably grow your soul with this method. Doing so will allow your total magical power output to grow.¡±

    All of the rainbows around Christena winked out of existence, and in their stead, a single small illusory cloud poofed into existence next to her. Christena placed her hand directly underneath the cloud and spoke, ¡°Sideways,¡± Rain began to fall from the cloud, and dripped onto Christena¡¯s hand. When Christena moved her hand out from underneath the cloud she flicked her fingertips towards the ground. Her hand had been sopping wet, and Addie could see each droplet fly off her fingertips.

    ¡°Is that real?¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Nothing is ever truly real when it comes to my magic. That being said, come here.¡± Christena beckoned Addie over with her dry hand.

    Once she stood in front of Christena, she grabbed Addie¡¯s hand with her wet one. Christena¡¯s hand felt far colder than Addie would have expected in this summer heat¡ª the illusory rain having seemed to seep a frigidness deep into Christena¡¯s hand.

    Christena released Addie¡¯s hand, causing Addie to look on at her own hand¡¯s dampness in surprise. ¡°Sideways is often harder to discover than upwards. Rather than using brute force, we must find clever ways to subtly shift our base two powers into something they are not. You can never force your two main magics to do something too inherently different than their base abilities, but you can branch out in a related way to give your magic more coverage than it normally can do naturally.

    ¡°The rain I summoned was illusory, yet I was able to manifest it as something ever so slightly more real. Now, if you were to put that water in a cup, you would learn within just a few minutes that the cup is empty. The water may be illusory, and as such, its effect on the real world only lasts for as long as I can focus my will. It also took me a long time to figure out that I could even do that. There are limits, of course. I could never make your hand wet with an illusion of a fireball, for example. Though, maybe I could convince your hand it had been burned. That burn, too, would only last as long as I could focus.¡±

    ¡°Magic is always give and take. Upwards is brute-force and its cost will tire your soul. Sideways is cleverness and its cost will tire your willpower. Not to mention it is generally much harder to figure out than simple brute force. You and I will explore both of these ways to expand your repertoire. By the end of our lessons together in a few years, someone like Hagal won¡¯t even register as a threat.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±

 Chapter 25: Training Arc

    Chapter 25: Training Arc

    The rest of the day was exhausting, and Christena didn¡¯t just focus on developing Addie¡¯s magic. Apparently, training one¡¯s body was just as important as training her soul, or so Christena said.

    ¡°Alright, Addie, you love playing in the forest, right?¡± Christena asked.

    Addie nodded her head with enthusiasm.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be a big fan of a recharging run in the forest with me!¡± Christena smiled.

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure she liked her smile, but this all sounded good to Addie so far. She did love playing in the forest, and she did love running around when she was full of energy.

    ¡°Follow me!¡± Christena commanded.

    Addie ran behind Christena, allowing her to lead them. At first Addie whooped and jumped as she released her energy. That was a mistake, and it only made her more tired later on. Somehow, Christena was sucking all of the fun out of running. She wasn¡¯t playing, or stopping to admire the bugs and play around with the trees. Christena was just running in a circle around the mansion! She didn¡¯t speed up, or slow down. She just constantly, without a word, ran and ran.

    The third lap around the mansion was harder than the first two. Addie''s legs felt heavy, her breath came in short, sharp gasps, and a stitch jabbed at her side with every step.

    ¡°When are we going to be done?¡± she panted more than whined, each word punctuated by her breathing.

    Her feet pounded against the earth, and a dull ache spread up from her soles to her calves. The initial fun of running had evaporated after just the first loop around the mansion.

    ¡°After another twenty-five loops,¡± Christena deadpanned.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying! This isn¡¯t fun. Why are we running?¡± Addie demanded an answer.

    Christena just stayed silent, allowing the run to fall back into silence.

    ¡°Christena,¡± Addie started, ¡°Why are we running?¡± she asked between breaths, ¡°I have a tummy ache.¡±

    Instead of responding, Christena started to sing, ¡°The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah.¡±

    Addie knew that song! She started to join in. The singing made it a bit better, but Addie still didn¡¯t understand what they were doing, or why they needed to run around the mansion again and again.

    What Addie did know, was that she didn¡¯t want to give up. Maybe, if she was better at running, she could have escaped the wolf from the forest better. Maybe Squishy wouldn¡¯t have gotten hurt.

    After another twenty-two loops around the mansion, when Christena finally let Addie take a break, she immediately ran inside to get a glass of water. Next time, Addie was going to make one of the other maids wait in the front yard with water so she wouldn¡¯t have to go get it herself.

    Christena found Addie in the kitchen and immediately started ushering Addie back out into the courtyard, ¡°Alright, I didn¡¯t say we were done, just that you could take a break. There¡¯s more to do.¡±

    Addie complained the whole way back out into the yard, but something kept her from running off. She decided to stick it out and continue the exercise.

    They did pushups and jumping jacks. They stretched their muscles in between ¡®sets¡¯ of exercises, as Christena called it. Christena even introduced Addie to some horrible torture routine called ¡®burpees¡¯. Christena taught Addie some ¡®forms¡¯¡ª movements involving blocking, punching, and kicking, for if she ever needed to fight someone after she exhausted her magic. They started with the most basic beginner form, mostly consisting of what Christena described as a ¡®middle punch¡¯ and a ¡®low block¡¯. It was tedious, and many of the moves repeated themselves, but Christena assured Addie the higher-level forms would be much more exciting. Fun, even.

    Meanwhile, Squishy did his best to participate, too. Addie would have laughed, watching his quadrupedal form attempting a pushup, or trying to use his paw to ¡®punch¡¯, but she didn¡¯t have the breath to spare. Mostly, she just passively observed her surroundings and wiped the stinging sweat from her eyes as she followed each successive set of instructions from her teacher.

    Christena somehow did everything without any difficulty. She wasn¡¯t even sweating in this summer heat. Addie suspected she might be pretending to look perfect by hiding behind some kind of illusion. There was no way Christena wasn¡¯t sweaty.

    ¡°Christena! I¡¯m sweaty! Are we going to be done soon?¡± Addie asked during one of their stretch breaks.

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    ¡°Addie,¡± Christena sighed as she tried not to lose her composure, ¡°I¡¯ve been pretty patient with you, but this is important. Can you keep up, or not? Do you want to be strong? Or do you want to quit and go inside? I could be easier on you if that¡¯s really what you want. But if you want to be strong, then let¡¯s get to work and stop complaining. You¡¯re really driving me up the wall.¡±

    The frustration in Christena¡¯s tone made Addie gulp, and really think. At that moment, Addie decided what she wanted to be.

    They kept at it, all the way until lunchtime. Since they had gotten up pretty early, Addie guessed they continued exercising like that for almost three hours. Apparently, Addie¡¯s body was ¡®malleable¡¯ and ¡®heals easily because you¡¯re young¡¯. Addie still didn¡¯t appreciate how sore everything was, even if she could recover quickly.

    Lunchtime came and went, and then it was right back into her lessons. She practically slept through the dreaded math and politics courses. She really hated that last one, especially.

    Finally, it was time again for more magic lessons. Christena was going to try and teach Addie how she could develop some of her powers to be ¡®sideways¡¯.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°The biggest breakthrough I had with my illusions was when I realized I could use them to affect the real world in a tangible way. With an illusion of water,¡± Christena summoned a floating ball of water, ¡°I can make something wet,¡± She dropped the water on the floor, causing it to splash into the dirt, darkening it.

    ¡°Of course, the illusion is still just that, an illusion.¡± Right after she finished speaking, the water from the dirt immediately began to fade away. In moments, the water was gone, never having truly existed at all.

    ¡°Its temporary nature doesn¡¯t stop me from using it to my advantage, though. But, enough with my demonstrations, I¡¯m here to help you develop a new technique.¡±

    Addie was in awe, watching Christena¡¯s magic never got boring. But, Addie was stumped. She didn¡¯t know how she wanted to improve her magic. She idly kicked at dirt in thought.

    ¡°How do you think I should improve my magic, Christena?¡± Addie looked at Christena with hopeful eyes.

    ¡°That is something you have to discover, Addie. I¡¯m just here to facilitate.¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t know what facilitate meant, but she understood that she needed to figure things out on her own. She closed her eyes in thought.

    ¡°Let¡¯s brainstorm together,¡± Christena suggested, ¡°Remember, what is it that your magic can do right now?¡±

    ¡°I can go into Realmspace and I can see with my spatial sense,¡± Addie looked up at Christena¡¯s face as she summarized.

    ¡°When I practice with my magic, I combine my light and sound illusions to create more advanced illusions. What ways can you think of to combine your two powers?¡± Christena prompted.

    Addie thought and thought some more. She thought so much, that she sat down.

    In the yard where the green grass did grow, sat Addie, in thought, her head bent low. Chin perched on her hand, still as a stone, Thinking deep thoughts, all on her own.

    The grass was really pretty. The morning dew still shined on a few of the blades, and the trees in the distance swayed in the wind.

    ¡°Addie?¡± Christena prompted, ¡°Did you think of anything?¡±

    Addie frowned, as she realized she had gotten distracted. She just couldn¡¯t keep her mind on the task, and each time she tried, she got distracted by the environment or started coming up with silly rhymes and other methods to entertain herself.

    But, she wasn¡¯t alone. She had an advantage that apparently, most bonded did not. She looked over to Squishy.

    Silently, across the bond, Addie prodded Squishy with her thoughts, ¡°What do you think, Squishy? How should we come up with new magic?¡± Addie asked. But, he didn¡¯t know either. So the two of them sat in thought.

    After a while, Christena decided it might be best to let Addie think on it some more and revisit the topic another time.

    <hr><hr>

    While Addie had worked hard during the day, especially for the morning exercises, she could tell that Christena was a little bit disappointed. It showed in her kind, encouraging smile.

    The disappointment bled into the rest of the week, as each time Addie tried to think of ways to help improve her magic, she was stumped, distracted, or otherwise unable to come up with any ideas. She tried hard though, every day, Addie tried to think of something.

    Every day, Christena¡¯s sad, encouraging smile appeared, and each day Addie watched Christena¡¯s patience grow weary. ¡®Another day¡¯ she would say. But another day turned into three, and then seven.

    At the beginning of the new week, Addie caught Christena in a conversation with her father just before bed. She had been coming to find her dad to try and convince him to read her a story, as he sometimes would before bed.

    She found the two talking in his office. Even with the doors closed Addie could easily see through the door and into the office with her spatial sense. Though, that didn¡¯t help her hear them. Instead, she tip-toed up to the door, with Squishy at her side, and put her ear up against the door. Addie couldn¡¯t help herself, she was curious.

    ¡°I know Addie... But I¡¯m worried that...¡± Addie couldn¡¯t quite make out what Christena was saying. She closed her eyes, and quieted her breathing, then focused as much as she could beyond the door.

    ¡°A trip? Now? You¡¯re right that we¡¯ve hit a roadblock in her training, but I¡¯m worried about sending her off so soon after her bonding initialization.¡± Christena said. ¡°You know how hard that was on her. How hard it was on me. Just, give me some time with her.¡±

    ¡°Christena, I don¡¯t think this roadblock is because of the bonding initialization, or at least, not the same reasons as you think. Addie is still only ten years old. She received her first bond two years early. Honestly, the fact that she¡¯s done all that she has in such a short amount of time is astounding. She¡¯s a prodigy.¡±

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure what prodigy meant, but based on her father¡¯s tone it sounded like a good thing. She focused back on the conversation.

    ¡°Despite that, it¡¯s a lot to ask her to come up with new magic ideas. I¡¯m not sure she has the mental capability to do so, yet. I think we should put her in an environment that will help facilitate her learning new ways to exploit her magic. Give her a push in the right direction.¡±

    ¡°And how is visiting your sister¡¯s swamp going to help with that? We are not making another fake ¡®bad guy¡¯.¡± Addie recognized Christena¡¯s serious tone when she heard it.

    ¡°No, nothing so dramatic. I think we learned our lesson the first time.¡± Her dad paused for a second, ¡°No, I think putting her in the same place as her cousin will act as the catalyst we need. Give her a friend, another girl her age to compete with. Aggan knows that I always thrived when I had friendly competition.¡±

    ¡°I see your point, I suppose. Though, I¡¯ll have to insist on joining. I don¡¯t want Addie to start slacking just because your Aunt is a more lenient teacher.¡± Christena decided.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± Addie could see her father¡¯s smile through the door.

    That night, lying awake in bed, Addie kept thinking about the talk between Christena and her dad. They called her a prodigy, which sounded good, but they also sounded worried. Why couldn''t she come up with new magic just because she was ten? It stung to be judged like that.

    She knew what ''prodigy'' meant now - it meant she was really good at something. But it also seemed to mean that a lot was expected of her. She was too young for some things, but she still wanted to show everyone what she could do with her magic. It wasn''t fair to think she couldn''t do it just because of her age.

    Pulling her blanket up to her chin, she tried to find a comfy spot. She thought about magic and what she could do with it.

    ¡°I can do this,¡± she whispered to herself.

    Even though it was hard, Addie didn''t want to give up. She closed her eyes and made a promise that she would keep trying, no matter what. She was going to figure it out. She knew she could, in her heart. It just wasn¡¯t easy.

 Chapter 26: Travel

    Chapter 26: Travel

    ¡°I think it will be good for you,¡± Her dad tried to explain.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to go to Auntie¡¯s land! Christena¡¯s lessons just started back up again and we were actually having fun.¡± Addie tried to counter her father¡¯s demands.

    Her dad frowned, ¡°Christena¡¯s father owns an Area nearby, and Christena wants to join the expedition. She¡¯ll spend some time visiting her father, and she¡¯ll be able to continue with your lessons.¡± Addie opened her mouth to reply, but didn¡¯t get the chance as her dad barreled on, ¡°It¡¯s tradition to spend four weeks as an exchange student within another Area Lord¡¯s domain. And in this case, you¡¯ll be quite close to two Area Lords at the same time. Christena¡¯s father and your Aunt share bordering pieces of land. You¡¯ll have the chance to meet your cousin, Nettal, too. She¡¯s your age so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fast friends.¡±

    While the idea of making friends did appeal to Addie, she didn¡¯t want to leave her home and lessons behind. Besides, she remembered Nettal from when she was younger, and not all of it was good. It was frustrating. She had even just committed to trying her best! In the end, the decision wasn¡¯t up to her, though.

    <hr><hr>

    The carriage ride was super boring. It would take them nearly two weeks to cross through the forest and enter the Area Auntie Lomain held command over. It was lucky, in the sense that Addie had gotten what she wanted, a way to continue her magic lessons. Unlucky, because she had to continue her other lessons, too. Whether or not Christena¡¯s presence was lucky or unlucky was still up in the air.

    ¡°Math is so boring~!¡± Addie declared with a huff and a cross of her arms. Obviously, her previous dedication didn¡¯t apply to math.

    ¡°When I heard you were coming I thought we were going to do something fun. Like magic!¡± Addie had to readjust her position in the cart. The wooden bench desperately needed some kind of pillow.

    From her position at the driver¡¯s seat, Christena held tightly to the reins of a pair of Gigantic Fillow. They were excellent magical creatures for driving a cart in rough terrain. The wilds between Areas had no roads to speak of, and the hardy nature of the overly huge moose-like creatures was perfect for walking the cart through the thick brush. At least the carriage could float somewhat decently and did not need wheels. That, combined with the towering height of the fillow meant that in the majority of cases, the passengers simply floated over all the wildlife¡ª the cart itself reaching the fillow¡¯s shoulders at nearly ten meters above the ground. The fillow themselves didn¡¯t get to just float over the forest floor, though. They had to practically trample everything underfoot¡ªwhich often meant the ride was slow-moving. With her practice traversing through the forest and learning from Squishy, Addie suspected she could run faster to their destination than the cart could carry her. It was fascinating to watch them walk, though. Instead of hooves, they had big paws, more like a giant cat, that they used to walk through the brush of the forest¡ª well, more like trample the forest underfoot. Addie admired the deep paw prints the fillow made each time they took a step. Addie thought she could lay down in one of the paw prints without so much as reaching any of the edges.

    ¡°I know you would ignore all subjects other than magic if you could Addie, but that would leave you a terribly unrounded individual.¡± Christena sighed yet again. ¡°Trust me when I tell you: math will help you with your magic too. Problem-solving is an important skill.¡±

    Addie rolled her eyes in response. Christena didn¡¯t notice, since she had to face the forest ahead of them due to her position as the driver holding the reins.

    Christena continued, ¡°Just be glad we are taking a break soon. We¡¯ll stop for lunch in about half an hour, so please try to be patient. These fillow are becoming increasingly frustrating to manage. I suspect they¡¯ve been spooked by something. Such excitable creatures. They weigh nearly ten tons! If these stupid things were any smarter they¡¯d realize nothing is big enough to threaten them.¡± Addie could hear her frustration.

    Addie diligently remained quiet after that, but regardless of the silly fillow, she wasn¡¯t worried in the slightest. Transport animals seemed to scare at the slightest provocation, and regardless, Christena was more than powerful enough to deal with anything in the surrounding lands.

    Sure, there was an occasional rustle in the surroundings, but both Addie and Squishy chalked that up to the wind. Neither of them saw anything with their spatial sense, after all.

    Soon enough, they stopped for lunch. Squishy tore into his dried meat voraciously, constantly going on about the ¡®mystical wonders of human food¡¯.

    Oppositely, Addie couldn¡¯t wait to be rid of the trail rations. The tough seasonless jerky and dry hardtack were only palatable if she forced them down with some water. At least it was better than raw rabbit. That wasn¡¯t saying much, though. Squishy would get tired of this ¡®fancy human food¡¯ too once the novelty wore off.

    The day went on much like this, with Christena and Addie talking from time to time. Squishy mostly just observed the forest around him as he got used to his newly enhanced cognition. It was hard to say since he used to be just a simple animal, but Squishy suspected he had lived for quite a long time before meeting Addie. Perhaps even decades.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Despite his possible age, this world of logic and thinking was entirely new to him. Whereas before he thought of things in terms of danger, not danger, or food, and not food, now he had a much broader perspective. Things like future planning and honing his battle sense were at the forefront of his mind. He still had to get used to complexities like problem-solving and multi-faceted emotions.

    While all of that was endlessly fascinating to Addie, she didn¡¯t understand his perspective all too well. For as long as she could remember, she could always reason and use logic. Even if it was pretty rudimentary when she was younger. She logically knew that when she was just a baby she wouldn¡¯t have had any developed sense of logic, or any kind of advanced thinking really, but Squishy¡¯s situation was entirely different. Addie never remembered her time as an undeveloped baby, but for Squishy, he magically received a brain and all that implied without warning. As such, his memories of his lesser advanced self still remained. He could easily compare the before and after in a way Addie couldn¡¯t.

    Other than those occasional conversations with Christena and Squishy, Addie mostly watched the scenery go by. She couldn¡¯t leave the cart due to it floating so high up in the air, so she had to occupy herself while remaining mostly immobile. She tried working on her spatial sense to an extent, but now that she somewhat knew where its limits lie, she tended to get bored of it after a little while. It didn¡¯t help that she couldn¡¯t sense anything smaller than the veins of a leaf, either. She knew there were smaller parts that made up the veins of the leaf, and even smaller parts yet that made up those parts, but she just couldn¡¯t get the hang of sensing those. Squishy gloated endlessly about how he could so obviously sense tiny little spheres making up the whole leaf, but Addie couldn¡¯t see that small down and only had his incessant bragging to know she was still missing details.

    Rather than focus on that frustration, she decided to take a break for a while. She wanted to practice going in and out of Realmspace some more, as well, but couldn¡¯t do it while on the cart for the same reasons she couldn¡¯t get off the cart mundanely¡ª

    she didn¡¯t want to plummet the ten or so meters down towards the floor. The pair of Fillow certainly had their uses, but they definitely didn¡¯t make it easy for her to explore.

    <hr><hr>

    Lunch passed like this, the party safely floating up and above the most obvious dangers of the forest. Even if something had tried to reach them, Christena would have bonked it back down to the forest floor. Nothing did, though.

    Their first night in the forest came soon enough, and with it, a welcome break from the cart travel. While the cart was remarkably steady, floating as it did, Addie still felt prone to motion sickness if she tried to sleep. Thus, Christena agreed they could make a proper camp on the forest floor. They used the cart as a pseudo roof over their heads, though it was too high up to properly block the elements, so they also set up a large tent for everyone to pack into.

    Christena laid down on Addie¡¯s left side, with Fluffy curled up into a ball reminiscent of her namesake near Christena¡¯s feet.

    Squishy, on the other hand, was enamored by the ¡®floating pieces of tree¡¯ they had ridden on during the day, and still couldn¡¯t get over how the humans managed to make the cart float up in the air. As such, he decided to study the cart for a while longer.

    He also mentioned that the significant height made for a perfect ¡®vantage point to guard the camp¡¯.

    At first, Addie thought she might feel lonely and unprotected since he wasn¡¯t sleeping next to her, but she actually felt reassured to know that Squishy would be guarding them tonight from overhead. It comforted her and reminded her a bit of how her dad would sometimes stay awake in his office during the night. She always felt comforted that he was still awake as he worked in the office, watching the house as she slept.

    The normal forest sounds serenaded her as Addie drifted off.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie really had to pee. No, she urgently had to get up right now and go to the bathroom. It was still pitch black in the tent, though, and she didn¡¯t want to have to wake up Christena in the middle of the night just so she could relieve herself.

    With those thoughts in mind, as quietly as she could, Addie wiggled out of the thin layer of furs they used to keep warm at night and reached for the tent flap. She didn¡¯t bother putting on any thicker clothes since it was still summer, and the night didn¡¯t feel too cold.

    Just before she could open the tent flap, Addie sent a quick soul ping to Squishy, the soul bond equivalent of a poke to get his attention.

    He was still awake, and pinged right back, then spoke telepathically, ¡°Everything still appears as normal, my lady.¡±

    With that reassurance from her partner, Addie finished moving the tent flap aside and stepped out of the tent.

    She took care of her business quickly, and the less said about that, the better. In this dark of night, with the rustling of bushes nearby, Addie felt increasingly eager to hurry back to her tent. She started with a quick walk, but she nearly broke into an all-out sprint by the time she was a few paces away from the tent.

    Squishy sent a bemused feeling out to her through their bond. Both of them knew nothing suspicious could possibly be nearby, otherwise they would have noticed it with their spatial senses.

    Addie closed the tent flap behind her, and let out a breath. She got comfortable back under the furs and wiggled herself until she got her position just right. She let out another breath and found that her breathing had increased its pace substantially. She giggled to herself a bit, with the sudden adrenaline rush getting to her head a bit. She was so silly for rushing back to the tent like that.

    Soon, her breaths slowed back down, and the dark edges of sleep started to overtake her once more.

    It felt like she was falling, and with a sudden jolt, Addie woke back up. Wide awake, her heart hammered against her ribs and pulsed in her ears. She frantically moved her eyes around the tent, but otherwise didn¡¯t move a single muscle. Nothing seemed to be amiss.

    Just for good measure, Addie prepared to send another telepathic ping to Squishy, and see if he was still awake and watching over the camp. Before she could, the rustling of the bushes started up again. Addie opened her mind to her spatial sense, which expanded even beyond the confines of the tent, but still, she didn¡¯t see anything. ¡®It must be the wind,¡¯ she tried to comfort herself.

    But the rustling didn¡¯t die down. It came closer and closer to the tent, seemingly every bush to the right of the tent gained a life of its own as she saw their tiny branches undulating through her spatial sense.

    Then, the right side of the tent, just next to Addie started to rustle. Addie froze completely, not even daring to take a single breath. She closed her eyes tightly and focused incredibly close on her spatial sense. Nothing was there.

    Finally, she sent a ping to Squishy, probing him to ask if he saw anything strange. He didn¡¯t bother with any words, instead, he sent over the feeling of a comforting embrace and reassurance. After that, he said simply, ¡°Nothing is amiss, little Addie. Worry not, if anything suspicious appears I shall alert you immediately.¡±

    The rustling died down, and Addie¡¯s heart rate once again started to calm. Between Squishy¡¯s reassurances and her own observations using her spatial sense, she knew nothing was out there. She let out a big sigh of relief, which slowly turned into an even bigger yawn. Then, Addie went back to sleep.

    By the time morning came around, and as she ate breakfast with Christena, Addie had completely forgotten about the mysterious rustling of the bushes. She logically decided it must have been the wind.

 Chapter 27: Nettal

    ¡°Christena! Squishy says he can see Auntie¡¯s house!¡±

    In response, Christena smiled a genuine smile. She seemed just as happy to be done traveling as Addie was.

    Squishy, on the other hand, had never grown tired of the novelty. He was a stoic creature, after all.

    Fluffy seemed just as prim and proper as the first moment they all left on this trip, but Addie knew better. Fluffy would be the first of them to jump into a soft and warm bed.

    Unfortunately for her, Addie also knew Christena was going to make Fluffy take a bath first thing. That fluffy tail certainly did seem to soak up all the dirt from their travels. Addie would let Christena fight that battle, though. Addie wanted nothing to do with forcing the ever-fluffy princess to take a bath.

    That would be for later, though. First would be greetings, and Addie wasn¡¯t looking forward to it. The last time she had a ¡®get-together¡¯ with her precocious cousin, Addie was five years old, and it was still one of Addie¡¯s clearest memories. Her cousin, Nettal, being the older of the two of them by nearly two years, had taken the lead and found a ¡®fun¡¯ place in the swamp to play. That was the exact moment a giant frog, nearly the size of a man, popped right out of the swamp and tried to swallow Addie whole. Luckily, Addie¡¯s dad had been supervising and he quickly dispatched the foul creature. Addie swore she smelled its rotten fluids in the back of her nose for weeks.

    Just like in Addie¡¯s memories, during their travel to her Aunt¡¯s Area, she slowly saw the scenery around her change. The earthy-scented forest of her home over the past two weeks slowly transitioned to the musky stench of swamp. Why her Aunt wanted to live in such a dreary place completely eluded Addie, but she suspected her Aunt enjoyed the isolation. Despite being an Area Lord, Ragnay Lomain had no interest in housing civilians. She lived with her daughter and no one else, and Nettal¡¯s father remained an unspoken mystery.

    The house slowly came into view as Addie and Christena got closer. She called it a house, but it actually seemed big enough to be called a mansion. A perk of being an Area Lord: Aunt Lomain often directed the flora to build structures out of themselves for her. It still was only about half the size of Addie¡¯s manor¡ªmaking the house too big would just make it unnecessarily empty. It fit in with the general colors of the swamp, being made of bulbous swamp trees itself.

    That didn¡¯t stick out to Addie nearly as much as Nettal did though. She could hear Nettal¡¯s excited pitter-patter squelches in the mud even though Addie was still so high up floating in the carriage. Addie watched as Nettal¡¯s long brown hair flapped in the wind. Her face was freckled, much like Addie¡¯s, and today she was wearing work pants and a simple brown shirt.

    ¡°Ohmygosh they¡¯re so huge!¡± Nettal screeched in delight at the fillow.

    This caused the excitable creatures to start pawing the ground nervously and twist their heads from side to side. Christena had to fight them as the reins were pulled along with their motions.

    Seemingly oblivious to her blunder, Nettal just continued to look up in awe at the creatures with stars in her eyes.

    ¡°Please, Nettal, they¡¯re just fillow. I see them all the time.¡± Addie mocked the older girl.

    Though Addie tried to sound blas¨¦, left unspoken was the fact that she had a similar reaction the first time she saw the fillow.

    ¡°Is that Addie? Hi Addie!¡± Nettal shouted and waved from below. It seemed she hadn¡¯t heard Addie¡¯s comment.

    This made Addie humph, drop her shoulders, and cross her arms. That girl was far too enthusiastic, anyway. Addie still hadn¡¯t forgotten the Super Frogs.

    ¡°I¡¯m lowering us down, now, Addie,¡± Christena spoke from the front of the cart.

    Fluffy ran down the lengths of the reins like a tightrope performer until she reached the place where they attached to the fillow¡¯s necks. While Fluffy unfastened the buckles, Christena started to fiddle with some kind of knobs in the driver¡¯s seat. Once Fluffy successfully finished unbuckling the fillow from the reins, she somehow walked back to the floating cart on a manifested transparent platform made of illusion. Meanwhile, Addie noticed the vines and trees start to come alive and gently usher the fillow towards a stable that constructed itself in real-time.

    Christena¡¯s voice broke Addie out of her observations, ¡°Addie, can you help me pull up the reins back into the cart? I can¡¯t finish lowering us down until I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t land on them.¡± As she spoke, Christena was hefting one of the thick lines of leather up into the cart.

    Instead of replying, Addie climbed into the driver¡¯s seat and began pulling up the other set of reins.

    Since Addie still had such a good view of the ground below, she thankfully noticed that Nettal was leaving, walking along with the fillow to the now nearly completed stables. It was truly fascinating to watch the swamp build the stables. Vines spun themselves into thick lines of rope and secured the newly growing logs into place. Rather than moving like an animal might, it seemed more like the plants were actually growing into the shape of the stables, just at an insanely accelerated pace.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    After the pair had finished pulling the reins back into the cart, Christena twisted one more dial and the cart started floating downwards towards the ground. It landed deceptively softly into the swampy mud floor.

    That¡¯s when Christena¡¯s father made his appearance, walking out from the surrounding swamp. At nearly the same time, Aunt Lomain exited the front door of her mansion and started making her way to greet the traveling pair. Christena¡¯s father and Addie¡¯s Aunt seemed to purposefully ignore one another, which Addie found a bit odd.

    Unlike Addie¡¯s father who wore practical clothing produced by the people working his land, Christena¡¯s father wore perfectly fitting high-class attire. Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s black and white suit was accompanied by a slick blue ascot tie. Addie was slightly amused at the efforts he was taking to keep the swamp gunk off of his shiny black shoes. This fully grown man seemed to elegantly tip-toe his way across the swamp.

    As he walked toward the cart where Christena and Addie were still standing nearby, a flat snake-like creature slithered between his two legs. Its body undulated in a mesmerizing pattern. Its underlying scales seemed to be pitch black but also somehow reflected the sunlight out in a kaleidoscope of colors. The snake-like creature was still mostly longer than it was wide. Although, it did have these weird fin-like edges on its sides, much like the top fin of some species of eel. It seemed almost as if someone took the crown of a cobra and stretched it down the entire length of the snake on both sides. Addie assumed the creature was Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s bonded.

    More in line with something her brother might wear, Aunt Lomain had on a simple wool tunic and rough linen pants. Her boots were covered in mud, and she didn¡¯t seem to care in the slightest.

    Unlike the shiny creature slithering between Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s legs, Addie¡¯s Aunt had a more mundane bonded perched on her shoulder. The vibrantly purple bird looked sparrow-shaped and sized. Addie knew from her previous visits that it was a caste four bonded called a Viollow. Addie wasn¡¯t sure what kind of power it had, but she definitely planned on asking at the first opportunity.

    The pair arrived in front of Addie and Christena¡¯s cart at about the same time.

    ¡°Ah, hello daughter.¡±

    ¡°Addeline, come give your Auntie a hug!¡±

    Christena¡¯s father and Addie¡¯s aunt spoke over each other since both of them spoke at the same time.

    Instead of responding to either, Addie decided to let Christena take the lead, here. Addie looked up at her face just in time to see Christena¡¯s normally impeccable smile crack for just a second.

    As if they hadn¡¯t just interrupted one another, the two Area Lords attempted to ignore the blunder with forced polite smiles.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you both come in and have some tea? I¡¯ve been researching this new plant that is just fascinating. It has such strange effects on the mind, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d both enjoy it.¡± Aunt Lomain waved her hands at Addie and Christena as if to welcome them over as she tried to break the awkwardness.

    Mr. Owlcharge had other ideas, and he spoke up before Addie or Christena could respond to Aunt Lomain. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would both rather spend the night in a more, shall we say, civilized location after your long voyage through the wilds. How about I offer you a nice soft bed and some cookies my wife baked in anticipation of your arrival?¡± Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s tone sounded innocent, but Addie knew full well he had just openly spited Aunt Lomain.

    Before anyone could respond, his finned snake slithered up his arm lightning quick, and let out a loud hiss and warning snap almost directly next to Aunt Lomain¡¯s shoulder¡ªthe same shoulder the viollow was perched on.

    In response, Aunt Lomain¡¯s viollow took to the air frantically and flapped its wings in clear agitation in the snake¡¯s face, pelting everyone with an irritable wind. Addie had to sweep her hair out of her eyes.

    The two Area Lords still hadn¡¯t so much as acknowledged one another¡¯s presence, but their bonded pairs certainly seemed up in arms against each other.

    Aunt Lomain waved her hand, telling the snake to bugger off. After it retreated its head a bit, she said, ¡°My mansion is hardly uncivilized, despite any, shall we say, rumors in the air about my living space. Please, I insist, I bet neither of you wants to travel more, even if only for twenty minutes. Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s Area is a bit of a walk. You¡¯re already right here near my place. Come on in.¡± Her warm and friendly tone contrasted heavily against the spiteful title she used in reference to Christena¡¯s father. She had given him the lowest of the three titles for a lord, as if he was a small child, much younger and lower down the hierarchy than her, despite the fact that the two of them should be peers.

    That remark caused Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s polite smile to falter. He caught himself just before a likely outburst, and instead cleared his throat and fidgeted as he adjusted his tie. His snake bonded slithered around to his other arm and stuck its tongue to taste the air. Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s smile renewed itself as if to say he wouldn¡¯t stoop down to Aunt Lomain¡¯s level.

    Aunt Lomain¡¯s viollow also settled back down on her shoulder, now that the snake had completely backed off.

    ¡°Please, Dad, Ms. Lomain. Addie and I are quite tired from our travels. Let¡¯s put aside the bickering for now, yes?¡± Christena was politely smiling herself, but Addie gulped regardless. Christena¡¯s expression seemed to promise divine retribution if she had to continue dealing with the two bickering Lords.

    Clearing his throat again, Mr. Owlcharge replied, ¡°Yes, well, in that case, I¡¯ll leave the decision up to you.¡± He said to Christena placatingly.

    Christena¡¯s posture relaxed and she spoke up, ¡°How about the two of us go over to your Manor, Dad?¡± Christena proposed, ¡°Let¡¯s leave Addie to catch up with her family alone.¡±

    Addie looked at Christena with a shocked expression. The betrayal! She didn¡¯t want to be left alone with her Aunt and Nettal! It was all for naught, though, as her pleading expression was thoroughly ignored.

    His snake still attached to his arm, Mr. Owlcharge led the way as he and Christena started walking away from Aunt Lomain¡¯s house. They left together back through the swamp. Christena followed her father as he took the same path out of Auntie¡¯s Area that he entered from. To join them, Fluffy ran off from the cart and jumped up onto her spot around Christena¡¯s shoulders.

    The crunch of boots on the swamp twigs was Addie¡¯s only warning before she was trapped in a ferocious hug. It would be a while before Auntie Lomain finished doting on her. She was being squished so tight against the woman¡¯s front that she couldn¡¯t speak up even if she wanted to. She couldn¡¯t even return the hug either, as her arms were locked into her sides by the other woman. Addie managed to pleadingly wheeze out, ¡®Auntie,¡¯ but she wasn¡¯t sure if she was heard or not.

    With the tiny bit of her face not trapped, Addie gave Squishy a pleading look to save her from this fate, but he simply made that odd gurgling noise he did when he found something amusing. Addie resigned herself.

    Aunt Lomain¡¯s viollow began idly pecking at Addie¡¯s hair.

    Addie started to wonder if she would have to unpack all the belongings in the cart by herself.

 Chapter 28: Friends

    Dinner passed by in a flash, and the less said about it, the better. Addie spent most of dinner trying to avoid the probing questions she kept getting from her Aunt and Nettal. Nettal was especially annoying since she kept trying to get Addie to spill all of the secrets about her new powers.

    Mostly though, Addie just wanted to be difficult. She was feeling especially irritated that she still hadn¡¯t gotten even a single apology from Nettal regarding the frog incident. To make matters worse, Addie¡¯s Aunt hadn¡¯t ever scolded Nettal about the incident. Instead, it was Addie who had to listen to a lecture about being more careful in the swamp.

    Her grudges didn¡¯t stop either her aunt or her cousin from being cheerful, though. Addie found herself slowly warming up to them, especially after seeing Nettal being so sweet to Squishy. He had spent most of dinner practically flopped out in Nettal¡¯s lap. Now and again, Addie felt a pulse of satisfaction ebb through him as Nettal fed him scraps of meat. His general contentment bled through their bond to the point Addie found herself smiling more often than not by the end of dinner.

    By the time night came around, Auntie ushered Addie and Nettal into their room for the night. Addie heard they would be sharing a large room with bunk beds. What hadn¡¯t been said though, was that the bunk beds didn¡¯t yet exist.

    Addie got to watch the top bunk get built in real time, as Nettal¡¯s normal bed frame started growing upwards. The four bedpost corners expanded thicker, then grew taller, eventually flattening off after about three feet. The tendrils started twisting in midair, and each branch wove itself into a sturdy flat structure above Nettal¡¯s primary bed. They crisscrossed, then tightened until there were no gaps at all. After that, Auntie Lomain came back to the room carrying a large cotton mattress which floated itself up onto the new bunk-bed frame. Sheets and a pillow grew out of the mattress, and then it was ready for Addie to hop right into bed.

    Instead of climbing up the still-growing ladder, Addie entered Realmspace, jumped, and altered her momentum further upwards. She then popped back into reality perfectly above the bed. She might have wanted to show off her powers to Nettal, a bit. Now, they were both lying in their respective beds, with the candles already extinguished.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± Nettal spoke from her bed underneath Addie¡¯s.

    ¡°Glad about what?¡± Though Nettal couldn¡¯t see it, Addie made a confused face.

    Nettal thought in silence for a moment or two, and then she clarified, ¡°I was so worried when you first got here. I thought maybe I did something to annoy you because you seemed so angry with me when you first got here.¡±

    Addie felt a pang of guilt for a moment, as she reflected on her earlier behavior.

    A crack of light entered their room from the hallway, and the door creaked open. Then, using her spatial sense, Addie noticed Squishy enter the room.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would have done if we weren¡¯t able to make you feel better at dinner.¡± Addie couldn¡¯t see Nettal¡¯s face, but she knew her cousin was being genuine.

    Squishy jumped up onto Addie¡¯s bed and lay down on top of the covers near her feet. She was a bit impressed he jumped all the way up.

    ¡°When Mom said you were coming to visit us soon, I got so excited. I remembered how we used to play together when we were littler. I felt like an adventurer when we went out into the swamp together.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long, and you haven¡¯t visited in years, so I worried we would stop being friends,¡± Nettal said, somberly. Using her spatial sense, Addie could see Nettal fidgeting in her bed below.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Addie mumbled. She never realized Nettal cherished her so much. A pang of hurt went through Addie now that she realized she had been pushing the girl away.

    ¡°I had fun playing in the swamp with you, too,¡± Addie adjusted her position slightly in the bed causing it to creak and sway, ¡°I was just upset at you. But, I still want to be friends, too.¡±

    Nettal¡¯s voice sounded surprised, ¡°You were upset with me? Why?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember the Super Frogs?¡± Addie asked hesitatingly.

    Suddenly, Nettal burst out laughing as she remembered. A bit of Addie¡¯s annoyance came back due to Nettal¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°You were so hilarious! Covered in slime like that. I thought for sure your glare alone was going to kill those things.¡± She laughed for a moment more, then tapered off after Addie continued to be silent.

    Then, Nettal continued in a more serious tone, ¡°I guess that¡¯s why you were mad, huh? All this time, you haven¡¯t visited because you were afraid of the frogs?¡± Nettal sounded a bit hurt.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t the Frogs, stupid.¡±

    Addie heard Nettal inhale, ready to possibly shout something at Addie.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m sorry for calling you stupid,¡± Addie hurriedly corrected herself and interrupted before Nettal could react, ¡°But it wasn¡¯t the frogs. I¡¯m upset because you¡¯ve always made fun of me for that, and you never said sorry. I¡¯m upset because you made me explore the dangerous part of the swamp and then laughed at me when I cried.¡± For some reason, Addie felt more vulnerable telling this to Nettal than she felt in the forest those weeks ago.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Nettal stayed quiet for a while after that.

    The bed was really comfortable, but Addie was feeling antsy, so she turned onto her side with her back facing the wall.

    Things stayed like that for a while. The awkward silence between the two started to disappear into the air as Addie began to drift off to sleep¡ª the outskirts of her mind started to turn off until she was but a step away from slumber.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Nettal sniffed. The apology was fairly loud in the cramped room.

    That jolted Addie back into full awareness. Nettal must have been crying. Addie could still hear her sniffing slightly, and she could sense Nettal wiping her face with her sleeves.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± replied Addie.

    ¡°Can we still be friends?¡± Nettal¡¯s voice sounded hopeful.

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you get eaten by the Super Frogs again. I promise.¡±

    That made Addie feel better, ¡°I believe you,¡± Addie thought to herself for a moment, ¡°I won¡¯t let one eat you either.¡±

    Nettal snorted.

    ¡°If it sticks out that long disgusting tongue, I¡¯ll whack it off. Or, since I don¡¯t want to touch it, I¡¯ll make Squishy whack it off.¡± Addie promised.

    ¡°If that must be my duty.¡±

    Both girls laughed.

    ¡°Goodnight, Nettal.¡±

    ¡°Goodnight, Addie. Let¡¯s play a lot tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°Girls! Come down for breakfast!¡± Addie had still been dozing on and off until late this morning, but Auntie¡¯s shout finished waking her up completely.

    If the rustling was anything to go by, Nettal was already getting out of bed. Addie took a moment to activate her spatial sense, and sure enough, Nettal had already thrown the sheets off and was rapidly running to the bathroom.

    Last night, Addie discovered that the bathroom in Auntie¡¯s house was similar to her dad¡¯s in the fact that the plants seemed to automatically take care of all the waste for them, but it was weird to see the swamp mushrooms in the toilet pit so enthusiastically and rapidly moving onto and throughout Addie¡¯s business after she went.

    Addie repressed a shiver at the thought. The toilets at the manor had some kind of ferns living at the bottom of the pit, and Addie had never noticed them doing anything obvious. Though, in both places, the bathroom never so much as had a hint of smell. That was nice. A lot nicer than having to go in the wild.

    ¡°Girls! Did you hear me?¡± Auntie was shouting again.

    Repressing a sigh, Addie threw her blankets off, jumped off the bed, and entered into Realmspace. She used her exit from Realmspace to cushion her landing on the floor next to the entrance to the bathroom.

    ¡°Gah! It¡¯s so weird seeing you do that!¡± Nettal had a hand over her chest in surprise, but she also smiled.

    She couldn¡¯t help herself, Addie smiled, too. She may have reappeared right in front of Nettal on purpose to scare her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll race you down the stairs!¡± Addie had already broken out into a run before she even finished the sentence.

    ¡°Hey! I wasn¡¯t ready! And I have to go to the bathroom!¡± Despite her protests, Nettal¡¯s footsteps pounded on the hardwood as she followed behind Addie.

    When Addie reached the kitchen, she nearly crashed directly into her aunt.

    ¡°I win!¡±

    A crash sounded behind Addie, and she dared not glance with her spatial sense. She didn¡¯t want to know.

    ¡°Addie! You¡¯ve ruined the milk!¡± Addie winced at the scolding.

    She turned around slowly and came face to face with the disaster she had caused. She could sense Nettal behind her, trying to act innocently. In front of her, the floor was covered in milk and there was an empty flagon on its side. The living floorboards seemed to appreciate it just fine, as the wood started slowly absorbing the milk, effectively eliminating the mess.

    Auntie sighed, ¡°I guess we won¡¯t be having any milk this morning. Addie, you¡¯re going to have to go to Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s Area later to pick me up new milk. You have no idea how much of a hassle it is to walk all the way over there and barter with his villagers for things.

    ¡°And you, Nettal! Don¡¯t encourage her! No running in the house.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Nettal replied demurely.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Addie felt like she had done a lot of apologizing these last two days.

    Aunt Lomain sighed again, but this time it was out of acceptance rather than frustration. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fine. You two go sit at the table. Christena and her father will be here shortly to join us for breakfast. I heard they¡¯re bringing someone with them, but I won¡¯t spoil the surprise.¡±

    ¡°Do we need to wait for them or can we start eating now?¡± Nettal couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°You can be patient for two minutes while they arrive. I can feel them walking on the path up here already, that¡¯s why I called you two down for breakfast. Just go sit down and I¡¯ll start bringing the food over.¡±

    True to her prediction, it didn¡¯t take long for the Owlcharges to arrive. Christena opened the door for her father, who came in behind her. Since Addie was still sitting in her chair in the kitchen, she only sensed this by extending her spatial sense past the walls.

    To her surprise, the additional guest was shorter than she expected. Much shorter. The tiny little girl must have been no older than four or five.

    When they turned the corner from the main entryway of the house and entered the kitchen, Addie twisted in her seat to get a good look at them.

    Christena wasn¡¯t wearing her normal maid outfit, and it was discordant to see her in such casual wear. She sported a simple but elegant blue skirt that went past her knees, with a simple but pristine and unwrinkled long-sleeved shirt.

    Her father, much like yesterday, wore a dapper suit. This time, he had on an orange Ascot tie, which appeared to be accented with tiny white stars.

    Most adorably, a little girl was hiding behind her father¡¯s leg as they walked into the kitchen. Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s height became apparent with his tiny little daughter hiding behind him. Her little hand held tightly onto his pant leg at knee height. Her head didn¡¯t go up much higher than that, either. She looked much like Christena, with perfectly brushed long black hair; however, unlike Christena, she had her hair down at her shoulders instead of in a neat bun.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this!¡± Addie had to jump down from her seat to get a closer look. She was just like a miniature Christena!

    As she approached, the little girl shied away from Addie. Addie tried to walk around Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s leg, but that just caused the skittish girl to scoot herself opposite of Addie all over again, her father¡¯s leg again acting as a barrier between the two.

    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be shy! My name is Addie.¡± She stopped trying to get closer to the girl and instead stood confidently with a smile on her face.

    The little girl mumbled something, but Addie couldn¡¯t hear.

    Addie spoke in a soft tone, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Lily,¡± her voice only came across since Addie had paid special attention to listening.

    ¡°It¡¯s very nice to meet you.¡±

    Mr. Owlcharge spoke up, ¡°I decided to bring Lily here along with me to give her a break from the house. My twin boys are teenagers now, and they¡¯ve been causing quite the ruckus lately. Lily doesn¡¯t do so well in such a loud environment, so I was hoping this might be a good break for her.¡±

    That was all he got to say as Christena spoke up, ¡°Ms. Lomain, thank you for having us for Breakfast. Addie, please return to your seat. My sister can be shy around strangers.¡±

    Only now did Addie remember Nettal. She was still sitting in her seat, not nearly as distracted by the new face as Addie had been, though she was looking on at the commotion in curiosity.

    That caused Addie to blush in embarrassment. She walked back to her seat.

 Chapter 29: Breakfast

    Addie noticed Lily did not walk to the table right away. She looked up at her father to see what he would do. Only after her dad started walking to the table, did Lily follow his lead. Nettal and Addie sat on one side, while Christena and her little sister sat on the other side. Mr. Owlcharge and Aunt Lomain sat on either end of the table.

    The tiny girl across from Addie was still acting shy, fidgeting in her seat and only looking up at people¡¯s faces sparingly.

    Mr. Owlcharge unfolded the paper napkin in front of him, and then expertly tucked it into the front of his suit, using it like a bib. Addie didn¡¯t know people actually did that in real life.

    Aunt Lomain, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to care about her napkin much at all and just left it on the table. She started passing the platters of food to either side of her, ¡°Girls, Mr. Owlcharge, feel free to grab however much you would like.¡± It seemed Auntie wanted to at least be nicer today, as she used the middle title for a lord. Unlike yesterday, she addressed Mr. Owlcharge not as someone of lower station than her but as a peer.

    Addie still made sure to use the highest form of address when speaking to Mr. Owlcharge. His snake thing was scary.

    For breakfast, Auntie had prepared something simple, but delicious. She had made some pancakes with fruit for toppings on the side. An easy-to-cook and homey meal.

    After everyone had their food, Addie dug right in. The adults started talking together, mostly small talk that Addie tried to ignore. The pancakes were really good. At some point, Christena brought up the topic of Auntie¡¯s viollow. It wasn¡¯t native to the region, and she was curious if there was a story behind it.

    That attracted Addie¡¯s attention. She wanted to know more about the viollow too, so she started paying attention to the conversation.

    Aunt Lomain smiled in nostalgia for a moment, then she began, ¡°My pretty birdie here,¡± She glanced to where the viollow rested on her shoulder, and it preened, ¡°I call Darla. I received her as a gift. My late grandmother,¡± Auntie looked at Nettal, ¡°Your great grandmother, Nettal¡ª she always found birds fascinating. She had an almost religious obsession with meticulously finding and documenting the powers of every single bond-touched bird in the world. She explored the Icy Wastes in the south and traveled north to the ocean. She documented an incredible amount of birds, and brought her favorites home with her, either by bonding them to herself or by more mundanely catching them. We don¡¯t know what happened to her, in the end. She may have cascaded her soul into oblivion, or maybe she adventured into a place too dangerous. All I know is that she left one day on a trip and never came back. Since she never became an Area Lord, it¡¯s also possible she died of old age somewhere out there, I suppose. However, I do doubt that last theory. She was quite powerful magically and old age shouldn¡¯t have come for her for many years yet.¡±

    Everyone at the table had been silent and attentively listening to Auntie¡¯s story, even Mr. Owlcharge.

    ¡°What does it mean for someone to die of a cascade?¡± Nettal asked.

    Addie knew the answer to this one, but she let Nettal¡¯s mom answer the question.

    ¡°Death by cascade is one of the main reasons we don¡¯t allow our children to form a bond until at least twelve years of age,¡± Auntie made a point to look knowingly right at Addie.

    Addie shrunk under the gaze for a moment, chastised.

    Auntie continued, ¡°And it¡¯s also the reason we highly discourage ever forming more than two bonds. At the height of her power, Nettal, your great-grandmother had at least twelve bonded birds to her soul, and it always made her a bit cuckoo, but also exciting to be around.¡± Aunt Lomain paused for a second and chuckled.

    Addie caught Christena rolling her eyes at the pun.

    Aunt Lomain went on, ¡°In essence, death by cascade is when too many souls push an influence on yours. This can cause a cascade of sorts, where all of the souls accidentally merge too far into the bonded human¡¯s soul. From there, one of two things will usually happen. Either this will forever change the person to exhibit the traits of all the creatures within the cascade, often tainting or even destroying their humanity in the process. When Area Lords catch wind of this happening, we usually give the resulting creature a quick end. Nasty business and given the company at the table I¡¯ll spare any further details.

    ¡°The next most likely outcome is that the cascade will outright kill the person by irreparably damaging all of the souls involved. That¡¯s also the reason Area Lords never bond to more than one bond-touched animal. Bonding to the land around us is dangerous enough without also having to manage multiple animal souls at the same time.¡±

    After this explanation, Addie suspected Witch Hagal had cascaded with her tree. A question to ask Christena about later.

    From his position underneath the table, Squishy rubbed up against Addie¡¯s legs reassuringly. It seemed he had been paying attention to the story as well. Addie appreciated the gesture. She felt that he was trying to tell her that he wouldn¡¯t let a cascade happen.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Since Addie already knew the general premise behind a multisoul cascade, she wasn¡¯t too worried about it, but she decided to ask something anyway, ¡°Is there a way to practice with our bonded animals to help prevent a cascade?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a great question, Addie.¡± Christena praised Addie. It seemed Christena wanted to answer this one, ¡°As a natural part of your lessons I will be slowly introducing soul exercises to help you control your bond better. Do you remember when I was able to prevent you from using your magic in the basement?¡± Christena asked.

    ¡°I do remember! That made me so mad because I thought you shouldn¡¯t be able to stop me, since you didn¡¯t even know what my magic did!¡±

    Christena smiled, ¡°If you become adept at soul exercises, you won¡¯t need to know anything about your opponent¡¯s magic, Addie. You will be able to exert your will on one¡¯s soul itself, largely preventing him or her from manifesting magic. Stopping a soul is equivalent to stopping the expression of magic itself. If you become a master of manipulating your soul, you won¡¯t have to worry about a cascade.¡± Christena leaned back in her chair and brought more pancakes to her mouth using her fork.

    Mr. Owlcharge raised his finger into the air, ¡°While Christena¡¯s explanation is mostly correct, I would like to point out that even if you become adept at soul manipulation, it is still not a good idea to bond to more than one animal if you wish to become an Area Lord. Bonding to the land itself takes far more soul mastery than bonding to an animal, if you wish to prevent cascade.¡± Addie appreciated the clarification but also felt like Mr. Owlcharge just wanted to be pedantic. Auntie had already mentioned that part at least briefly.

    Addie scrunched up her face in thought, ¡°But, if I can just learn how to use my soul, why would I ever need to bond? Couldn¡¯t I just exert my soul on the world and prevent other people from using bonded magic on me?¡±

    Christena responded with a question of her own, ¡°That¡¯s a good question, Addie. Why do you think bonding is still so prevalent if many accomplished lords use soul exercises?¡±

    It took her a moment to sit back and think, and then she thought of a possible answer, ¡°Well, I guess I can use my bonded¡¯s magic for things other than fighting people. Even just last night I used my bonded magic to more easily climb into the bunk-bed.¡±

    While that seemed like a good answer to Addie, she could tell it wasn¡¯t quite right, since Christena still had that ¡®I¡¯m wiser than you¡¯ face on. ¡°That is a good reason Addie, but it still doesn¡¯t solve your initial question. Why should we develop battle skills with our bonded magic if we can shut down threats with our own souls directly?¡± Christena asked rhetorically, ¡°Well, Addie, what if both you and your opponent have the same level of skill at using your souls?¡±

    Nettal finished the thought before Addie could respond, ¡°Then the person with the more skill at bonded magic will win the fight.¡±

    Aunt Lomain smiled at her daughter, ¡°That is correct,¡± Auntie added to Christena¡¯s explanation, ¡°If two lords come to clash, and they reach a stalemate with their soul battle, and neither can force the other to stop using magic, then the one with more skill at bonded magic will win.¡±

    The nostalgia in Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s voice bled through the room, ¡°I remember a time back when I was still in training. Thinking back to the time of our youths is quite fascinating, I say. How about I tell you all how I came to be bonded to Arlie, here?¡± He nodded his head towards the snake-like creature which was curled around his left arm.

    Instead of waiting to gauge their interest, he just started talking. He didn¡¯t even wait to see if they were all listening to him, ¡°When I was but a wee young lad¡ª¡±

    Christena interrupted him, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t exaggerate. You were nearly eighteen for your first bond.¡±

    His face seemed to flush a bit in embarrassment, but nonetheless, Mr. Owlcharge continued, ¡°Yes, well, when you get to be my age, eighteen years old seems incredibly young, even almost baby-like if you ask me, but that¡¯s beside the point. When I was but a slightly older lad, if you will, I went out on my own to establish myself. As the first-born son of an Area Lord, my family had certain expectations of me, you see.¡±

    Again, Christena butted in, ¡°By that, he means he got kicked out because he had been relying on his family¡¯s goodwill for too long.¡±

    Addie and Nettal giggled. Even little Lily gave a quiet laugh.

    This time, even Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s ears seemed to turn red from the embarrassed blush on his face, ¡°Yes, well, sometimes people need a little, shall we say, encouragement to get out on their own.¡± He cleared his throat, ¡°Regardless, I did set out alone, which I am quite proud of thank you Christena for your input, and I made a commitment to myself not to return until I had established a proper bond. I also had goals to find a powerful bonded, which I think I accomplished quite well. Arlie is a caste two creature with a very unique set of powers. It took me quite a while to get the hang of that power, indeed.¡±

    ¡°Daddy, is Arlie sweet to people?¡± Lily seemingly had other ideas for what constituted a ¡®powerful bonded¡¯.

    ¡°Well, my dear, being sweet is not always the most useful¡ª"

    ¡°I want my bonded to be sweet to me.¡± Lily interrupted.

    ¡°Aw!¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help herself. That girl was too precious! Now Addie knew they had to be friends.

    ¡°Hm, I suppose Arlie could be sweet, in his own way.¡±

    ¡°You told me he¡¯s fewoshus,¡±

    ¡°Ferocious, yes he can be that too.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want my bonded to be fewoshus.¡± Lily punctuated her statement by putting a strawberry in her mouth.

    Mr. Owlcharge didn¡¯t seem to know what to say to that. But Addie had some thoughts and questions of her own, ¡°Where did you find him? His scales sort of remind me of Squishy¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Funny thing, that. I guess, the correct thing to say is that he found me while I was in great distress.¡±

    Something about that resonated in Addie. Squishy had found her while she was trapped in the mansion, back when she thought her future was to be fuel for the ritual. He had recounted the story from his perspective, of course. He described it as something calling out to him, asking him to join a purpose more than himself¡ª A soul calling out for help. And he answered.

    Addie paid rapt attention to Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s next words, ¡°When I brought him home, I thought to discover his species. Alas, my father¡¯s libraries were surprisingly not up to the task. No book speaks of his past, and no other creature seems quite like him.¡± Mr. Owlcharge took a bite of pancake, swallowed, and then continued, ¡°Arlie can¡¯t speak to me with words, the same as most bonded, but he can send me images and memories through our bond. When we bonded, he showed me that he came from a place wreathed in the blackest of nights, with naught but flat boring stone in all directions.¡±

    Addie dropped her fork.

 Chapter 30: Market Day

    Learning about Arlie during breakfast came as a real shock. Later in the morning, when Auntie had gone to clean the dishes, Addie had shared her suspicions with Nettal, about how Squishy came from a place much like the one Mr. Owlcharge had described while they were eating.

    ¡°Realmspace? Never heard of it before.¡± Nettal commented.

    ¡°It¡¯s what Squishy calls it. I hadn¡¯t heard of it, either,¡± Addie whispered back.

    They were still sitting at the breakfast table, though the adults had all gone off to the kitchen to chat while cleaning up. Lily still sat across the table from Addie and Nettal.

    Seeing the two older girls whisper to one another, Lily seemed to get curious. She scooted out of her chair and hopped onto the ground, drawing Addie and Nettal¡¯s attention. She carefully and quietly walked over to Addie¡¯s place at the table and then grabbed onto Addie¡¯s sleeve with hopeful eyes.

    That was just precious, Addie thought. But she didn¡¯t know what the girl wanted, silent as she was. Addie looked over at Nettal for help. She just shrugged. Seems like Nettal didn¡¯t know what to do either.

    ¡°Do you want something, Lily?¡±

    Lily just nodded her head rapidly, still silent.

    Somewhat more familiar with the little girl, Nettal got out of her seat and crouched over next to Lily. Then, with a bit of a heave, Nettal picked Lily up, walked back to her seat, and put the girl in her lap.

    Now with Lily in Nettal¡¯s lap, Nettal asked, ¡°What did you want, Lily?¡± Nettal asked kindly.

    After a few moments of silence, Addie spoke up, ¡°Maybe she just wanted to hear what we were saying?¡±

    At that, Lily nodded her head again, rapidly and with a smile.

    Addie smiled having guessed correctly, ¡°We were talking about Arlie and where he might be from,¡± Addie supplied.

    ¡°Hm,¡± Lily vocalized. It was the first thing Addie heard from the quiet girl since Breakfast.

    Now back on topic, Addie looked at Nettal again, ¡°Maybe Arlie is from Realmspace.¡±

    ¡°And if Arlie is from Realmspace, it might mean he¡¯s related to Squishy somehow.¡± Nettal surmised.

    That was when Auntie Lomain walked back into the room, with Mr. Owlcharge right behind her.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about Realmspace?¡± Auntie asked as she finished walking back to the table.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Addie said quickly. She wanted to keep her magic secret.

    Looking at Addie¡¯s pleading look, Nettal caught on quickly, ¡°Nothing!¡± Nettal mirrored.

    Auntie seemed amused, but she must have realized it was harmless, so she let it go.

    ¡°Well, come on girls! Let¡¯s head into town. You owe me new milk, Addie!¡±

    At first, Addie grew concerned, remembering how she spilled all the milk that morning, but after everyone started laughing, she realized Auntie was just joking.

    <hr><hr>

    This was the first time Addie had gone into Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s area. Unlike Auntie¡¯s Area, which was barren except for her house, there was a large population of villagers. In fact, the entire Area even put Addie¡¯s Area to shame. Rather than just some farmers and communal living, it seemed like Mr. Owlcharge had put a lot of effort into developing the town.

    Addie and Nettal walked down the main path, side by side, following behind Auntie and Mr. Owlcharge who walked in the front. Lily had gotten too tired to walk, so she was being carried by her dad.

    Even the main path was crazy, they had even wasted quarried stone to make the path smooth, even though gravel would have worked just fine. The differences between Addie¡¯s home and Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s didn¡¯t stop there, though.

    As they walked down the main road, for it was more a road than a path, Addie saw heaps upon heaps of buildings. Far more than her home. There were so many buildings down the road, and to the sides of the road, that Addie couldn¡¯t possibly count them all. And this wasn¡¯t even the only road, either! Some roads split off from the main road on either side. Apparently, those places where more roads met the main road were called ¡®blocks¡¯. Each time they came to another block, Addie tried to look down the connecting road to see the end, but she never did. In all directions, there were buildings upon buildings, at every block.

    Every few meters, there was a tree on the side of the road, with a special circular plot just for it, but beyond that, Addie didn¡¯t see any plants in the whole Area.

    It wasn¡¯t just full of buildings, either. There were more people in this Area than Addie had seen in her entire life. Most of them rushed past, perhaps busy trying to get somewhere. Addie didn¡¯t know.

    Occasionally, the townsfolk would recognize Mr. Owlcharge, at which point they would stop and bow at the waist as they waited for him to pass. Addie felt something like a proper Lady when that happened, watching the various townsfolk get out of their way like that.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    The various townsfolk had a variety of different dress, most of the women wore modest dresses with light fabric for the summer, and the men tended to wear thin work pants and button-up shirts with the sleeves rolled up. Most of the fabric was fairly basic, linen or cotton, and mostly browns or grays.

    Addie didn¡¯t see any of the rough fabric pants or hardy pullover shirts she was used to seeing from the farmers. Auntie almost seemed poor in comparison to all of these townsfolk, with her simple dress. She wasn¡¯t embarrassed though, in fact, most of the townsfolk seemed to recognize Auntie Lomain and treat her with as much respect as Mr. Owlcharge. They probably knew she was an Area Lord, Addie guessed.

    ¡°Auntie, how come you look like a bumpkin?¡± Addie asked bluntly.

    Mr. Owlcharge looked at Addie with wide eyes and covered his mouth to suppress a laugh.

    Auntie looked scandalized, ¡°Who taught you that word?¡± she demanded.

    ¡°My dad sometimes says I¡¯ll look like a bumpkin if I get mud on my dresses. You have mud all over your pants,¡± Addie pointed out.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to talk to my brother about the choice of vocabulary he is teaching you!¡±

    ¡°Mom, what does bumpkin mean?¡± Nettal asked.

    Auntie ignored Nettal, ¡°Addie, I wear these kinds of clothes because I work outside in the swamp a lot of the time, and it wouldn¡¯t do to get fancy clothes all messed up. If I need to go out into town for a fancy dinner or something, I might put on a nice dress. But right now, just for a quick shopping trip? My normal clothes will do just fine.¡± Auntie defended herself.

    Addie took that in. Maybe next time she could tell her dad she didn¡¯t need to worry about getting mud on her clothes since she liked to play outside. Something about that didn¡¯t quite seem right to Addie, but if it made sense for Auntie then it should work on her dad, too.

    With all of the roads and the buildings (sometimes even with a second story!) Addie wasn¡¯t sure where the market was supposed to be.

    ¡°Mr. Owlcharge?¡± Addie asked. Once Addie saw she had his attention, she continued, ¡°Do the townsfolk all gather somewhere for market day today and put the stalls away later?¡±

    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s been a misconception,¡± Before Addie could ask what that meant, he continued, ¡°We don¡¯t have a ¡®market day¡¯ in my Area, Addie.¡±

    That explanation gave Addie a confused look, ¡°I thought we were going shopping?¡±

    ¡°You see, in my Area, with all of these people and all of the industry we have going on around here, it wouldn¡¯t do to have just a single market day. No one would be able to get the things they need on time. In my Area, we have dedicated merchants who sell various products every single day.¡±

    ¡°You mean, you can buy stuff whenever you want?¡± Addie asked with a sparkle in her eye.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m bringing you to Merchant Street right now. There, we can buy some milk and any other items you could need.

    Addie guessed the milk must come from some of the farms they passed on the way into town. Overall, Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s Area was very different than what Addie was used to.

    When they got to Market Street, all of the buildings had glass on the outside, allowing Addie to see into the stores. They passed by a tailor with racks of colorful sheets of cloth, a store that looked like it had different kinds of toys, Addie even saw a full set of sparkling armor in one of the stores.

    They passed by all of those, and eventually reached a store that was freezing cold the moment they walked in. There were racks of vegetables and fruits all around, even some fruits that weren¡¯t in season!

    Addie shivered as she waited for Aunt Lomain to pick up some milk. Mr. Owlcharge left some kind of metal circle on the counter and then turned to the girls.

    ¡°Do you want to try some ice cream?¡± He asked them.

    Addie didn¡¯t know what ice cream was, but she saw Lily nodding her head frantically, and even Nettal seemed excited.

    They left the store with frozen white ice cream on top of a cone made out of some kind of sweet cracker. The man in the store called it a ¡®waffle cone¡¯. Addie thought it was the best thing she had ever eaten in her entire life. It was refreshingly cold in the hot summer binary, and tasted of sugar and cream, along with some kind of flavor she had never had before. Nettal said it tasted like ¡®vanilla¡¯.

    Everyone walked back onto the road, now on their way back to Auntie¡¯s Area, but Addie was distracted by her new treat. She idly walked behind everyone as she stared down at the ice cream in her hand, giving it her undivided attention.

    A large crowd of people started exiting one of the buildings nearby, and a few of them bumped into Addie, causing her to stop and stagger. Luckily, she managed to protect her ice cream without dropping it. In the corner of her eye, Addie saw a man with a tiny hawk perched on his shoulder. It was odd, though. No hawk should be that small, let alone have white feathers tipped in purple. Addie watched the man turn the corner at one of the next blocks. He had seemed somewhat strange since he wore a black cloak¡ª not something she would expect someone to wear during the summer.

    No longer distracted by the crowd, Addie looked back up to search for Auntie and Nettal, or even Mr. Owlcharge, but she didn¡¯t see any of them. Just a large crowd of people bustling this way and that, trying to get wherever they were going.

    No big deal, Addie remembered the direction they were going and continued walking down the path. She reached the end of the block and was able to pick out Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s form again, his head above most of the crowd. Addie hurried over to get back with the group and immediately grabbed onto Nettal¡¯s hand once she reached her.

    Noticing Addie, Nettal glanced over at her and then back to Mr. Owlcharge, who had been stopped by that same man in the odd black cloak from just a moment ago. This time, the tiny hawk was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°M¡¯lord,¡± he said with a bow and a smile. Addie could see his crooked brown stained teeth, ¡°could you spare a moment of your time?¡±

    ¡°Apologies, friend,¡± despite his choice of dress, Mr. Owlcharge spoke to him with dignity, ¡°If you have need of me, my manor is open to dispute settlements and landmark agreements once a week when I hold council. If you have need of me, I¡¯ll have to ask you come during one of those times.¡±

    ¡°It is urgent, M¡¯lord,¡± He spoke again, Addie noticed he used the highest form of address out of the three, but spoke with a bit of a slur of his words, making the title sound a bit disjointed, ¡°Please, if you..¡±

    Mr. Owlcharge cut him off, ¡°I listen to all of the concerns of each of my citizens. Rest assured, if you make an appearance at the end of this week, I¡¯ll be sure to hear you out. Right now, I¡¯m escorting these girls back home, and as such I cannot attend to civilian matters. Is anyone in imminent danger?¡±

    ¡°Well, not exactly, but¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to see you in three days from now. Good day.¡±

    After that, Mr. Owlcharge continued walking down the street, with everyone following behind him.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have heard him out?¡± Auntie asked Mr. Owlcharge.

    ¡°If I let everyone stop me on the street for their urgent matters, I would never have time to myself. Besides, I make time for everyone each week, he can wait two or three days. He¡¯ll get his chance.¡± Mr. Owlcharge explained.

    The rest of the walk back to Auntie¡¯s was uneventful and most of the rest of the day was, too. In the morning, it sounded like Christena planned on giving Nettal and Addie shared lessons.

 Chapter 31: Realmspace

    ¡°Addie,¡± Nettal whispered, ¡°Where do you want to go play today after lessons?¡±

    Christena stood in the front of the room, with her back turned to the girls. She was sketching something out at the front of the room¡¯s wall using her illusion magic. She traced her finger along the wall, and blue lines lit up to form a complex diagram.

    Turning her head and leaning over to whisper back, Addie asked a question of her own, ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±

    As she traced the last bits of the diagram, Christena resumed her lecture, ¡°I already explained the two disciplines of magical improvement to Addie before we came on our trip. Before your sparring lessons with my father tomorrow, I would like to explain the basics of soul manipulation...¡± Christena kept droning on about this and that, but with her back turned, she couldn¡¯t tell that her two students weren¡¯t exactly paying diligent attention to the lesson.

    In fact, Nettal and Addie hadn¡¯t been listening to her ever since she began drawing the diagram.

    ¡°I¡¯ve explored most of the swamp already. Let¡¯s do something different today.¡± Nettal suggested.

    That made Addie pause to think. To her, it seemed like there wasn¡¯t anywhere to explore but the swamp, ¡°Where else could we go? There¡¯s nothing but this swamp for kilometers all around.¡±

    Both girls sat in silence for a beat, stumped, but then Addie leaned in again with an idea, ¡°What if we go to Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s Area and explore the town?¡±

    At the beginning of Addie¡¯s thought, Nettal leaned in, also interested, but by the word ¡®town¡¯ she rolled her eyes and spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ve already been to town like a billion times.¡±

    Well, that wouldn¡¯t work, then, Addie supposed.

    Nettal cupped her hand around her mouth to whisper again, ¡°When you disappear and reappear, like when you hop into bed, where do you go?¡±

    ¡°Girls?¡± Christena turned around and nearly shouted, ¡°Are you listening to me?¡±

    Both girls nodded their heads frantically.

    Christena crossed her arms, ¡°Good. Then, Addie, you won¡¯t have a problem giving a short recap of my explanation? What is the transcendent loop exercise and how does one perform it?¡± Christena gave Addie a prompting look.

    Panic overcame Addie¡¯s features, and she gulped. Then, just as she was about to admit defeat, Squishy perked up his ears and spoke up through their bond, causing Addie to move her eyes to where he sat on top of her desk, ¡°The transcendent loop exercise is the most basic soul exercise, often taught to beginners. It requires one to enter a meditative state and then attempt to map out the ¡®loop¡¯ of one¡¯s soul. Which really means it is a technique to learn how to feel the outer boundary of one¡¯s soul.¡± Squishy finished. He must have been listening to Christena¡¯s lecture.

    Addie somehow managed to repeat what he told her without bungling it.

    Christena¡¯s face showed a surprised and impressed expression, ¡®Well, I guess you were listening to me. Very well, where was I,¡± Christena once again turned her back towards the girls as she continued with her illusory diagrams, ¡°Ah, yes, the next piece to remember about the transcendent loop is...¡±

    ¡°What did you ask me earlier?¡± Addie prompted Nettal with another whisper.

    Nettal leaned back over her desk and cupped her hands around Addie¡¯s ear, ¡°Where do you go when you disappear, like when you poof out of existence and then reappear above your bed?¡±

    That was a thought. Addie supposed they could go exploring in Realmspace, but for the most part, Realmspace was fantastically boring. It was dark so you couldn¡¯t see, and even if Nettal somehow could see, the only thing in there was a flat stone ground for miles all around. Even when entering Realmspace from the swamp, it was the same boring monotony as always.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just Realmspace. It¡¯s pretty boring in there. There¡¯s no Binary so you can¡¯t see anything, anyways.¡±

    Despite Addie attempting to wave it off, a twinkle shined in Nettal¡¯s eyes, ¡°Total darkness, huh?¡± she murmured, almost to herself. Addie watched a shiver dance down Nettal¡¯s spine. Nettal¡¯s eyes were wide, but some of her fear looked more like a morbid fascination, ¡°Well, that¡¯s just another reason to go, isn¡¯t it?¡± Nettal¡¯s voice wavered, but her excitement and interest outweighed the fear. ¡°We can bring a candle, or maybe, one of those oil lamps from my mom. Besides, didn¡¯t you want to find out if Arlie came from there?¡±

    In all the time Addie had gone to Realmspace, she never once thought to bring a light source along with her. She had always just relied on her spatial sense. Not that there even was much in there to navigate around, anyway.

    Could Addie even bring a lamp with her into Realmspace? She supposed she always brought her clothes along with her just fine, and she had even pushed Christena in there a few times. Christena didn¡¯t lose her clothes at those times, either.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    It was also true that Addie wanted to explore Realmspace further. She had been shocked to find out that Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s bonded might have come from the same place as Squishy. Addie was doubtful that they¡¯d find anything in there, though.

    ¡°I think I could bring you into Realmspace with me, and bring a lantern along, too.¡± Addie scratched her head, ¡°But we wouldn¡¯t be able to stay too long. I¡¯ll have to spend a few minutes building up my magic so I can bring you with me.¡±

    ¡°How come we wouldn¡¯t be able to stay for long?¡± Nettal whispered back.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how, but Realmspace always notices me, and it kicks me out after a little while. If I really spend some time building up my magic with Squishy, we could probably explore Realmspace for longer, but definitely not more than an hour.¡±

    ¡°Girls!¡± Christena snapped, ¡°I know you two are talking back there!¡±

    ¡°No, we were listening! Right, Nettal?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we were listening.¡± Nettal nodded her head in agreement.

    Christena¡¯s face became skeptical, ¡°Really? Then, tell me the biggest point of failure for the transcendent loop exercise.¡±

    Addie looked to Squishy desperately, he surely knew the answer.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my lady. I was also listening to your conversation with Nettal.¡± His eyes drooped.

    ¡°Um.¡± Addie flailed for a moment.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Christena sighed in annoyance and pinched her brow, ¡°Very well, I suppose I¡¯ll start back from the beginning. You two better pay attention this time!¡±

    The two girls, plus Squishy, nodded their heads.

    <hr><hr>

    With a quick sweep of their gathered supplies, Addie reviewed everything and felt content. There was one thing, though.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should at least tell Auntie where we¡¯re going?¡± Addie asked.

    Nettal rolled her eyes, annoyed that Addie kept asking that, ¡°We don¡¯t have to tell my mom every little detail about what we¡¯re up to.¡±

    ¡°I still think it¡¯s a good idea to at least let them know where we¡¯re going. Christena always wanted me to tell her where I was going before leaving the manor so she could find me, ¡®just in case¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Oh please, I run wherever I want and my mom never seems to care. Let¡¯s go already!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Addie hesitantly agreed.

    With Squishy on her shoulder, and her small canvas bag of supplies, Addie and Squishy began to build up their magic.

    ¡°This might take a while,¡± Addie said.

    The familiar pulse between their souls started up, the magic cycling between the two, growing in strength each cycle. Within a few minutes, the magic built up until it was nearly overflowing, and Addie grabbed a hold of Nettal¡¯s hand. One second, the trio were in Reality, the next, they were in Realmspace.

    At the sudden darkness, Nettal clenched Addie¡¯s hand, ¡°It¡¯s so dark,¡± she whispered aloud.

    To Addie, the darkness hardly mattered. She could see just fine with her spatial sense. To make it easier on Nettal, Addie pulled the hand lamp out of her canvas bag and turned the crank. A spark ignited the oil, causing it to illuminate their surroundings in a slight orange afterglow.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Addie didn¡¯t know what else to say. She had never seen the floor before with her eyes. With the light provided by the lamp, the cold stone of the ground revealed to be less monotonous than Addie first thought. The floor was pitch black and almost didn¡¯t look like a real substance at all. Addie imagined she was standing on the top of a giant black lake, where she could fall in at any moment. The part that interested her the most was the way the floor seemed to have shining stars, almost exactly like Squishy¡¯s eyes. Tiny dots of white appeared and then snuffed out, only to be replaced a moment later by a new white speck in a different spot.

    Addie turned the lamp back off and looked at the floor again. Without the light, she couldn¡¯t see the white specks at all.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you turn it off!¡± Nettal rushed out the words with some urgency, ¡°You know I don¡¯t like the dark!¡±

    ¡°Just, look at the floor.¡±

    When Addie turned the lamp back on, the strange white flecks became visible again. Even though they looked luminous with the lamp on, they must have been purely reflective since Addie couldn¡¯t see them without the lamp.

    ¡°It looks like the stars at night.¡± Nettal said, ¡°But only if, like, the stars were vanishing and coming back over and over again.¡±

    The pair just stood there silently for a moment and looked at the otherworldly strangeness of it all for a while.

    Nettal nudged Addie¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You said Realmspace will kick us out after a while, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie replied.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± Nettal tugged on Addie¡¯s sleeve, pulling them into some random direction.

    Squishy jumped off Addie¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll guard from the front.¡± He told Addie through their bond.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Squishy going?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°He¡¯ll watch from the front, he said.¡±

    Nettal nodded her head.

    Ultimately, the place wasn¡¯t too interesting. Beyond the floor that Addie only now realized was more than just boring stone, Realmspace didn¡¯t really have anything interesting to look at. The excursion nearly shaped up to be one of the most boring hikes of Addie¡¯s life. Once Addie was able to ignore the feeling that she might fall through the floor, at least.

    Just as Addie adjusted to the monotony, Nettal spoke up.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s what?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°Look! Over there.¡± Nettal pointed in the far distance with her finger.

    Except for the area right near Addie (and her lamp) all of Realmspace was empty. She couldn¡¯t see anything more than a few feet around. The same was true for what Nettal was pointing at. It looked like a whole lot of black nothing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Instead of responding, Nettal grabbed onto Addie¡¯s hand and started pulling her in that direction. Squishy noticed the two changing course and followed after them.

    ¡°Seriously Nettal, how can you see anything? It¡¯s pitch black in here!¡± Though Addie complained, she didn¡¯t struggle against Nettal. Instead, she let her cousin pull her along. No harm in it, Realmspace always seemed so barren as to be completely safe.

    There was only one small problem.

    ¡°Nettal,¡± Addie tried to get her attention.

    ¡°Do you see it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything. But Nettal, I think my magic is about to run out.¡± Addie could feel Realmspace¡¯s attention start to shift onto her. It wouldn¡¯t be long now before it forced them back out into reality. Maybe next time, Addie could build up her magic for even longer before releasing it. This hardly felt like her magic even lasted ten minutes.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°What is what?¡± Addie still couldn¡¯t see anything. Her eyes and her spatial sense were in agreement. The area was just as vacuous as ever.

    Nettal dropped Addie¡¯s hand, then she crouched and screamed so loud it hurt Addie¡¯s ears. After Addie was done flinching, she noticed Nettal was hiding behind her.

    Addie turned her head around to look at Nettal with confusion, ¡°That hurt my ears!¡± she accused.

    Then, Addie felt something¡¯s breath on the back of her neck. She turned her head around slowly and came face to face with some kind of creature she had never seen before. This time, it was Addie¡¯s turn to scream.

    That was when the magic ran out.

 Chapter 32: Gone

    Addie¡¯s magic cut out, and she and Squishy were abruptly forced out of Realmspace. Addie was still screaming when she reappeared in Auntie¡¯s living room.

    Upon noticing the familiarity of Auntie¡¯s living room, Addie put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath as she started to control her breathing again.

    ¡°That was crazy! Did you see that thing, Squishy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my lady, but neither my eyes nor my spatial sense detected anything unusual.¡±

    Addie¡¯s heartbeat began to slow and her adrenaline began to fade, yet the silhouette of the monster still stood out in her memory. It had stood on two legs like a man, but that was about where the similarities ended. It had been hunched over, with a curve of its spine, and it had dark green skin. The face had looked more like a pig with razor-sharp teeth, and it didn¡¯t have any hair on its body. Addie remembered its yellow eyes staring directly into her soul just before Realmspace pushed her out. Reappearing in reality reminded Addie of escaping a stressful dream by forcing herself to wake up.

    ¡°It was really disgusting looking.¡± Addie decided aloud.

    ¡°Nettal, are you ok?¡± Addie turned her head around and looked behind her.

    The empty living room rug greeted her. Addie looked all around the room, at the two couches, and the various lamps around the room, but she didn¡¯t see Nettal anywhere.

    ¡°Uh oh.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    At first, Addie didn¡¯t understand the full scope of the problem. In the first place, they hadn¡¯t walked very far. This was reflected by the fact that Addie reappeared in the living room after the trio had started in Nettal¡¯s bedroom. Addie thought that maybe Nettal had just reappeared somewhere else nearby, maybe she had run off in the time Addie wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    Addie searched throughout the whole house, the bathroom, their bedroom, the kitchen¡ª Addie even checked all the closets, but she didn¡¯t see Nettal anywhere. The longer she couldn¡¯t find Nettal, the more stressed out Addie became.

    It started as a slight worry, that maybe Nettal wasn¡¯t back in reality. But the slight worry grew and grew until Addie was frantically running all around looking everywhere she could think of.

    With a slam of the door, Addie barged into Auntie¡¯s office, ¡°Have you seen Nettal?¡±

    ¡°I thought you girls were playing together?¡±

    ¡°Um, yeah, but I can¡¯t find her.¡±

    ¡°Well, she¡¯s not in here. Is everything ok?¡± Auntie must have picked up on Addie¡¯s concern.

    Addie gulped, ¡°Uh, hmhm,¡± she nodded her head, ¡°Everything¡¯s ok.¡± Addie felt guilty about lying, but she still felt that Nettal was probably nearby. That¡¯s what she told herself, at least.

    Addie sprinted out of the room without bothering to close the door. Christena was off visiting her dad right now, so she couldn¡¯t ask her maid if she¡¯d seen Nettal, either. Addie ran out of the house and started searching the nearby swamp, just the outer perimeter near the mansion. She sent Squishy off to scout out a bit deeper into the swamp, but by then, it seemed pointless. There¡¯s no way Nettal could have run off so far during the brief moment that Addie had been distracted and screaming at the weird creature.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Addie repeated.

    With a small tug on her soul bond, she told Squishy to come back.

    She started talking the second Squishy was back, ¡°She¡¯s still in Realmspace! She has to be. But, that doesn¡¯t make any sense! My magic completely ran out!¡± Addie was pacing as she vented.

    Squishy sat patiently and just listened.

    ¡°We have to help her! She hates the dark. I can¡¯t imagine being alone with that thing and not being able to see! Oh no. This is really bad.¡±

    Squishy rubbed his side up against Addie¡¯s leg, ¡°Fret not, little one. Let¡¯s go save her.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Ok. Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± Addie shook out her whole body and then started to focus on her soul.

    The pair put their whole effort into building up their magic, just like that time Addie forced Christena out of the basement and into Realmspace. She built and built the magic until her soul strained against the rebound pressure, and then she built the magic even more.

    Their magic seemed to click into place, and the duo were forced out of reality.

    Realmspace was as dark as ever, and Addie realized she had forgotten the stupid lamp.

    They didn¡¯t find her.

    <hr><hr>

    With a heavy heart and strong feelings of guilt, Addie prepared to knock on Auntie¡¯s office door. Even Squishy seemed to be drooping.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I blame my own lack of foresight,¡± Squishy had said.

    Addie blamed herself for not keeping a hold of Nettal¡¯s hand. If she had just kept holding on tight, they wouldn¡¯t have gotten separated. If she had told Auntie right away instead of scrambling all around trying to find Nettal herself, maybe Nettal would have been home by now. Addie blamed her own selfishness for not wanting to get in trouble.

    Now, it was only going to be worse. She should have been honest from the moment she realized something had gone wrong. Only now, about two hours after Nettal disappeared, was Addie finally going to tell Auntie the truth.

    Addie¡¯s hands shook as she reached out to knock on the door, her palms slick with sweat. Each beat of her heart thundered in her ears, louder than she ever remembered it being. She didn¡¯t know how Auntie would react when she learned it was Addie¡¯s fault that Nettal was missing. But it hurt her so much more inside knowing that Nettal was scared and all alone without any help.

    Addie knocked on the door to Auntie¡¯s office.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Auntie projected through the door.

    Addie shuffled her feet inside, with her eyes downcast.

    ¡°Oh sweetie, why are you crying? Do I need to give Nettal a stern talking to?¡±

    Addie sobbed. This wasn¡¯t the time for Auntie to be concerned about Addie.

    ¡°Nettal,¡± Addie hiccupped, ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡±

    Auntie stood up and ushered Addie into the room, ¡°What do you mean, she¡¯s gone? I thought you two were playing?¡± Auntie seemed concerned about Nettal being gone, but she was also surprisingly tender with Addie, kneeling in front of her and holding her hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault,¡± Addie rubbed her eyes and looked away, ¡°We went into Realmspace together, but she got stuck there and now I can¡¯t find her.¡±

    The concern on Auntie¡¯s face grew wider, ¡°Did you leave her there on purpose?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Addie nearly shouted at the thought, ¡°I thought she came back with me! But after a little bit, I realized she wasn¡¯t here. It¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have brought her there.¡±

    ¡°Did you know that Realmspace was dangerous?¡± Auntie asked.

    ¡°No.¡± Addie said simply, ¡°I thought it was empty.¡±

    ¡°Oh dear child, it¡¯s not your fault.¡± Auntie hugged Addie tightly, ¡°You did a good job coming here and telling me the truth.¡±

    A stab of pain pierced through Addie¡¯s heart. ¡®I should have told her about Nettal sooner. I shouldn¡¯t be the one getting comforted.¡¯ Addie thought morosely.

    She pushed against Auntie¡¯s shoulder and separated herself a bit, ¡°We have to find her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find her. You stay here and recover for a while.¡± Auntie put on a mask with a confident smile, but Addie could tell she was worried, too.

    ¡°What if you get stuck in Realmspace, too? Then I really won¡¯t know what to do! You have to take me with you so I can hold your hand and make sure you don¡¯t get lost.¡± Addie¡¯s sincerity bled through into her tone.

    ¡°When you told me about your powers the other day, you said that the amount of time you can spend in Realmspace is limited, is that correct? That after a little while, your magic runs out and you are forced back into reality?¡± Auntie asked.

    Addie nodded her head in confirmation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Nettal is in Realmspace. I¡¯m going to search through the swamp. It¡¯s my Area, after all. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find her quick.¡±

    ¡°You really think Nettal is in the swamp somewhere?¡± Addie was hopeful that Auntie was right. Nettal would hate being stuck in dark Realmspace.

    ¡°I started searching the swamp the moment you told me she was missing.¡± Auntie put on a gentle smile.

    Then, she put on a faraway look for a moment. ¡°I found her.¡±

    ¡°Really!¡± Addie was excited now.

    Auntie scrunched her face and Addie saw a flash of fear in her eyes. The next moment, Auntie turned her head back to Addie and put her gentle smile back on. Addie thought it looked fake. The same kind of face adults would give her when something is terribly wrong, but they don¡¯t want to upset the little child in the room.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found her. I¡¯m going to be right back while I get her, ok Addie? You stay here at the mansion.¡±

    Auntie¡¯s viollow flapped her wings from her position on Auntie¡¯s shoulder and flew out the window at a blindingly fast speed.

    Addie remembered the last time an adult told her to wait patiently. That was when she thought her dad would handle the situation in the basement by himself. That was an awful memory.

    ¡°No! Let me come. I want to help.¡±

    Impatience bore itself across Auntie¡¯s face, ¡°Addie, I need you to be a good girl and stay here now, ok? We don¡¯t have time to argue right now.¡±

    Addie agreed they couldn¡¯t waste time, but she still felt indignant. Addie had to help.

    ¡°I will join your Aunt for her search, Addie.¡± Squishy looked up at Addie with earnest eyes.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stay here.¡±

    A weight seemed to lift from Auntie¡¯s shoulders, her posture softening.

    ¡°But take Squishy with you. He can talk to me while you two get Nettal.¡± Addie crossed her arms as if to say ¡®I dare you to disagree.¡¯

    A bit of annoyance flashed back onto Auntie¡¯s face, but she acquiesced anyway.

    Auntie sighed, ¡°Alright. Come now Squishy. I won¡¯t have you fall behind.¡±

    Squishy jumped up onto Auntie¡¯s shoulders much like he would do for Addie. He really seemed like a cat up there, and Addie smiled a bit for the first time today.

    After Squishy was positioned, Auntie didn¡¯t even bother to walk out the door. Auntie left Addie gaping as she jumped out of the second-story window.

    Addie rushed over to the window to look down and already saw Auntie rushing off in a sprint. However, it felt like she was much faster than she ought to be. Her bare feet kicked up swamp mud leaving a giant trail of ick in her wake as she zoomed out of sight within just a few seconds.

    ¡°Wow.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Addie was waiting by the mansion door to greet Auntie and Nettal when they returned. Auntie had only been gone for around twenty minutes when Squishy told Addie over the bond that they had found her.

    According to Squishy, Nettal had just been lying in a random spot in the swamp, with mud all over herself. The plants nearby had taken on what Squishy called, ¡®an honor guard formation¡¯ and looked, ¡®intimidatingly strong and ready to ward off any potential foes¡¯.

    Auntie hadn¡¯t slowed down for even a moment before reaching Nettal.

    Now, watching Auntie approach the mansion at a fast walk while holding Nettal in her arms, Addie could tell something wasn¡¯t right. Nettal wasn¡¯t moving.

    ¡°Is she awake?¡± Addie shouted into the distance where Auntie was still approaching from.

    She heard Squishy over the bond, ¡°She has not stirred since we retrieved her.¡± Her companion was still standing on Auntie¡¯s shoulders, but after he started speaking he jumped down and started running ahead to Addie.

    Auntie¡¯s viollow was flying overhead; Addie guessed she was scouting the area.

    When Auntie finally got to the front door of the mansion, her face looked downcast, but not completely without hope.

    ¡°She¡¯s alive,¡± Auntie said, almost to herself. The confirmation relieved Addie.

    ¡°But, her soul has been damaged.¡±

    The worry came back.

 Chapter 33: Dreams

    That night, Auntie Lomain decided that Nettal should sleep by herself, and Addie had to sleep in a guest room. Auntie wanted to make sure Nettal had the space she needed to recover.

    Dinner had also been subdued, with strained smiles and awkward small talk all around. Addie didn¡¯t even know that some people actually talk about the weather.

    Christena had joined them that night, and taken a look at Nettal¡¯s condition as well. Her soul had been damaged, but she was still alive, at least. Neither Auntie nor Christena knew how long it would take Nettal to recover. Since Nettal didn¡¯t have any magic herself, she would have to rely on Christena and Auntie to heal her soul for her. Normally, a bonded pair would do magic exercises to heal and protect their souls. Nettal was unbonded, and couldn¡¯t do that herself. Having someone try and heal your soul from the outside in was incredibly difficult. Foreign magics never integrated perfectly with others, or at least that¡¯s what Christena told Addie. Addie would just have to wait and hope Nettal got better with time.

    To give Addie a head start on learning that herself, tomorrow¡¯s lessons were going to focus on healing and protecting soul exercises. Christena didn¡¯t want whatever happened to Nettal to happen to Addie, too.

    ¡°We¡¯ll start practicing with the transcendent loop tomorrow morning,¡± Christena had said earlier.

    Now, Addie was getting into bed, but it felt somewhat lonely in this unfamiliar house. She had Squishy sleeping at the foot of the bed with her, but sleeping in Auntie¡¯s house without the familiar chat with Nettal made the house seem bigger than it should be. The absence felt like a cold void, creeping along her skin.

    ¡°Squishy, it¡¯s cold in here! Come up closer to where I am.¡± Addie all but demanded.

    Rather than respond, Squishy stood up and stretched with his whole body, like a cat. He slowly walked over to the head of the bed, walked in a circle once, and then laid down in a ball next to Addie¡¯s side.

    Addie let out a shiver and then closed her eyes. Squishy was practically a little furnace next to her. A moment passed, as the house settled into a deep quiet, the shadows of the room stretching long and strange from the candlelight peeking in from beneath the door.

    Somehow, Addie still felt a cold breeze on her face. She opened her eyes again, and in her periphery, she could see the window was slightly open.

    ¡®Ugh. I guess I¡¯ll get up and close the window,¡¯ Addie thought to herself.

    Something was strange. Her body betrayed her with a sudden, unyielding heaviness. At first, Addie was just frustrated that she couldn¡¯t move. She couldn¡¯t even turn her head to look over at Squishy. She tried saying his name, but her mouth wouldn¡¯t work right. It almost seemed like she called out his name, anyway, but he didn¡¯t seem to stir.

    But then, the fear started. Her thoughts swam through a thickening fog, her limbs ensnared in invisible bonds. Panic whispered at the edges of her mind as she strained against the unseen force. It was like the blankets were heavily weighted, or maybe someone had glued her limbs to the bed. She was stuck there, impotent, staring at the ceiling, not able to move or even ask for help. She tried screaming, but it sounded quiet, distant, as if muddied.

    ¡®Get up!¡¯ Addie tried, ¡®Get up!¡¯

    With urgency, Addie tried to move her eyes to focus on the window, but she couldn¡¯t. She could only barely see the open window in the corner of her vision. She was unable to so much as check that the room was safe! Anything could be lurking, there.

    No, something was lurking there.

    Addie tried to scream again or to sit up. She tried nudging Squishy and moving her eyes from the spot on the ceiling.

    She saw the tip of a wing and a stray feather. She heard flapping near the window and saw tiny ghostly flames lick up the side of the wall.

    Her struggles rebounded, as Addie tried to escape the flames. They were growing, slowly spreading across the room. Instead of a normal red or orange color, the flames were gray with the peaks turning purple.

    Addie couldn¡¯t see the flames on the floor, with her vision stuck on the ceiling, but she could still feel their heat as they began to whisper up against her blankets. She was stuck there, watching the flames spread across the ceiling and desperately trying to get out of bed.

    ¡°Wake up.¡±

    The flames were touching her hand now. They were surely burning her, and the terror overcame Addie as the ghostly flames tried to devour her while she lay in the bed. She screamed.

    Squishy¡¯s warm paw was touching her face, and Addie sat up with a gasp.

    The room was fine. There were no flames, and the window was tightly shut.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. You were calling out for me across the bond while you slept. It took no small amount of effort to wake you.¡± The twinkling stars in Squishy''s eyes danced with relief.

    ¡®It was just a dream,¡¯ Addie realized.

    She let out a relieved breath and readjusted her sitting position in bed to be more comfortable.

    With a deep sigh, Addie tried to get her erratic breathing under control. She picked up Squishy from underneath and pulled him into her lap. She hugged him tight as she scanned the room, still nervous from the night terror.

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    ¡°You were calling out to me across our bond while you were asleep. I felt your distress, so I thought to wake you.¡±

    ¡°I had an awful dream,¡± Addie explained, ¡°There was gray fire everywhere, and I couldn¡¯t run away.¡±

    ¡°Be not afraid, little one. If it makes you feel at ease, I shall guard you as you sleep.¡±

    ¡°Can you check the window for me?¡±

    ¡°Consider it done.¡±

    Squishy hopped out of bed and ran over to the window on the side of the room. He hopped up onto the window sill and looked outside.

    ¡°Do you see anything?¡± Addie whispered. She gripped the sheets tighter.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Well! What is it?¡± Addie demanded.

    ¡°Swamp and swamp trees.¡±

    ¡°Geez, don¡¯t scare me like that! That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    Squishy started chortling. Addie threw her pillow out at him, causing him to yip and jump off the window sill. Then, he looked at her a bit more seriously.

    ¡°The window is locked and secure. Nothing lurks out beyond the swamp, either. Even if something did, Aunt Lomain controls this Area. We are enfolded in safety, little one, as sure as the stars that blanket the sky.¡±

    Even if Squishy said that it didn¡¯t mean Addie could just easily fall back to sleep. She laid back down, but her mind was still active. The details from the dream were dissipating, but the broad strokes still lingered.

    Squishy curled back up against Addie¡¯s side, and she felt secure enough to close her eyes again. It took her longer than normal, and a few tosses and turns, but she did eventually fall back asleep.

    She had another dream. This time, she dreamt of Realmspace.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie was an observer, a spectral point of view as she saw the boring stone that marked Realmspace¡¯s ground.

    An idle thought, but she knew the floor would look prettier if there was light to see it with.

    Instead, she observed less physically. She saw Realmspace by watching it from above, her point of view somewhere in the sky. She saw a big spread of Realmspace below her with her spatial sense.

    Slowly, she drifted. She allowed the weight of the dream to push and pull her around as it would, naturally.

    She observed Realmspace as it is, without blemish. Just simple flat ground in all directions. Addie was a leaf in the wind, and she slowly but surely flew from blank location to blank location, as the dream carried her across Realmspace.

    She drifted like that until she saw a blemish.

    There was a... cave? Maybe, at least. She couldn¡¯t see too well from her current vantage so far away in the sky.

    Without even a thought, she drifted lower, the dream carrying her down more and more until she could make it out. There was a giant hole in the ground, breaking up the same monotony that Addie had become so accustomed to. An unusual break in the landscape. She drifted lower, gliding down into the hole. Addie supposed it must be dark in here, but it didn¡¯t matter. All of Realmspace was equally dark. That¡¯s what her spatial sense was for.

    As she drifted lower, the hole branched off into a few tunnels. They seemed chipped, dug out by hand. Each tunnel was just large enough for someone her size to fit through. Not that it mattered right now. Addie was no more than a perspective, an observer without a body. She could have fit in the tunnel even if it was ten times smaller.

    Addie was drawn into one of the tunnels in particular. She felt the Heart of Flame resting nearby. It called out to her. It spoke of loneliness and immortality.

    She floated on the waves of the dream without anxiousness. There were no worries. She simply drifted along, pulled in by the Heart of Flame, until she reached a large chamber lit by an amber glow.

    A creature, much like the one Addie encountered earlier during the day, dug through a giant pile of gold coins. The green-skinned, pig-faced humanoid crouched down as it dug. Eventually, it found two coins it particularly liked, and held one each in its two three-fingered hands. It pocketed one of the coins and began polishing the other coin with a torn rag it pulled from a pouch.

    A giant red tail, six times wider and dozens of times longer than the pigling slithered between the giant piles of gold. Addie hadn¡¯t noticed it at first. Its size was so huge she thought it was part of the room: until it started moving at least.

    Addie¡¯s floating perspective followed the tail up and up. Then, her perspective followed it some more. The amber glow of the room easily allowed her to see with her eyes and not just her spatial sense. The tail grew thicker as she followed it, and the scales slowly shifted to a darker red.

    Finally, Addie¡¯s gaze came to the base of the tail, where the scales turned burnt black. She followed the wide body, as large as a small house, to two large hind legs, each of the three-fingered lizard toes ending in a spiked claw. Each claw was at least as big as Addie was tall.

    Only then, did her perspective shift enough to take in the enormity of the creature. A truly huge black dragon, with wings folded neatly against its back, slept among piles of gold. Except, it was stirring. An intruder in its lair bothered the dragon enough that he was waking up.

    His spiky back led up to a muscular neck, with a powerfully elegant head. He had two horns on the back of his head instead of ears, and each black scale shone with iridescence. Only the accents of his body bled into a red color, the end of his tale, and portions of his underside.

    The dragon opened his eyes and stared directly into Addie. Behind his eyelids sat a thousand galaxies, swirling and twinkling, only to disappear after a moment, and be replaced by another the next.

    No, he wasn¡¯t staring at Addie, she realized. He was staring at the pigling she floated next to.

    ¡°You annoying pest.¡± Despite his gargantuan size, the dragon¡¯s voice came out relatively normal. Deep and masculine, but he didn¡¯t sound distorted or growly. Just powerful.

    ¡°I told you to stop taking things from here!¡± And, perhaps surprisingly whiny.

    The pigling stopped, realizing it had been caught, it slowly and obviously brandished one of the two coins it had taken, and then it placed it carefully back onto the pile of gold.

    It made some noises as if to communicate something, but it was unintelligible pig noises to Addie. Then, it made a kind of half-hearted attempt to bow in supplication and waited in that position.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you go, this time. But next time, I¡¯ll make sure you remember the wrath of a dragon!¡± Addie wasn¡¯t sure if he really meant the threat.

    The pigling made some kind of noise in agreement, then quickly scampered out of the dragon¡¯s cavern.

    The dragon took a big deep breath, then exhaled, with smoke coming out of his nostrils. Despite being a dreaming specter, Addie could almost smell the burning eye-watering smoke.

    ¡°Oh, good to see you all-mighty one,¡± The dragon muttered with a tinge of sarcasm, his voice echoing in the hollow cavern of time. ¡°If only they came seeking the wisdom of eons, or even just to chat and give me company. But no, it¡¯s always to steal all my gold.¡± Despite it all, he didn¡¯t seem angry. Just tired and upset.

    Then, his face changed, and in that moment Addie saw not a dragon, but the face of an old man. He was so, very old. And he was... lonely.

    The Heart of Flame sighed, and readjusted his position, ¡°Fine. Intrude, then leave. Steal my gold.¡± He rested his head back down on his front legs, and weary, closed his eyes.

    ¡°Mortals,¡± He sighed, ¡°Never here for more than themselves. Perhaps one day...¡± he whispered, a word lost to time and Addie¡¯s grasp, a flicker of nostalgia and hope, ¡°...A true visitor. But no... Oh, It¡¯s been so very long.¡± His words were a tapestry of countless ages and endless heartbreak. He huffed and lay back down.

    In the morning, Addie woke up, with a tear running down her cheek. The dragon¡¯s loneliness bled into her, and it persisted for the rest of the day.

 Chapter 34: Soul Damage

    Addie hit the floor with a loud thunk, but her body was so tired and numb she didn¡¯t even feel it. It sure sounded bad, though. She tried to push herself up off the floor, it was already morning and she wanted to do well in her lessons today. Addie didn¡¯t want to break the promise she had made to herself. Though, it shouldn¡¯t have been this hard to get out of bed this morning. Her arms struggled against the floor for a moment, then gave out as Addie hit the unyielding wooden planks a second time. It wasn¡¯t just her body that was weak, either. Her spatial sense seemed oddly distorted and fuzzy like her magic wasn¡¯t quite responding correctly.

    ¡°Oh goodness,¡± Christena hustled over, ¡°What is the matter with you, today?¡± Christena touched Addie¡¯s shoulder and gasped.

    ¡°By the binary! You are burning up!¡± Christena quickly scooped Addie up and put her back into bed. Addie didn¡¯t even have the strength to reply.

    Passively, she let Christena tuck her back into bed and then closed her eyes.

    The next time she woke up, Christena was sitting on a chair, reading next to Addie¡¯s bed. Addie could feel something damp and cool on her forehead.

    Idly reaching up, Addie pushed her hand out of the blankets, which was more effort than it should have been, and then touched the wet thing on her head. It seemed like Christena had put a wet towel on her forehead to help cool down Addie¡¯s scalding temperature.

    ¡°Ugg,¡± Addie groaned, long and sickeningly. Her mouth was dry.

    ¡°Water,¡± Addie¡¯s hoarse voice came out.

    Christena gently placed the book on her lap, face down, and then grabbed the cup on Addie¡¯s nightstand, passing it to her.

    The water hurt on the way down, her sore throat fighting the liquid. She managed to gulp it down, anyway. Addie was too thirsty not to.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Christena asked.

    ¡°My head hurts,¡± Addie replied, ¡°I feel pretty bad.¡±

    Christena placed the book down at the foot of Addie¡¯s bed and stood up. She walked a few steps and bent over to pick up the cloth from Addie¡¯s head. She wiped some of Addie¡¯s sweat off. Addie couldn¡¯t see over the edge of the bed, but Christena wrung the rag out over the side making a dripping sound that Addie knew meant there was a bucket of water. Christena re-wet the cloth and then placed it back onto Addie¡¯s head. It was refreshingly cool.

    ¡°After I saw you collapse this morning, and with the scare we had with Nettal, Fluffy and I examined your soul. Addie, I¡¯m not sure how, but you¡¯ve suffered soul damage.¡±

    That didn¡¯t make any sense. This didn¡¯t feel anything like the time she overused her magic. Her soul didn¡¯t feel cracked or overused.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel soul damage. I just feel sick,¡± Addie said with confusion on her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s a minor thing, but it almost seems like the outer core of your soul has been singed.¡±

    Flashes of purple ghostly flame rose up at the edges of Addie¡¯s vision. A flashback from her nightmare yesterday.

    ¡°You¡¯re still learning, so it might not be so obvious to you, yet. Not to mention I haven¡¯t taught you any soul practices, yet. We were supposed to start those today, but not with your soul in this state. It will have to wait until after you¡¯ve healed.¡± Christena smiled down at Addie.

    ¡°Is Nettal doing better?¡± A stab of worry flashed through Addie as she asked the question. She still blamed herself for getting Nettal hurt. The regret-filled Addie up until there wasn¡¯t any room for any other emotions.

    ¡°She¡¯s still in bed, asleep. She hasn¡¯t woken up yet.¡± Christena¡¯s face suddenly became hard.

    Addie was wrong, there was still more room for disappointment to run through her, too.

    ¡°Was her soul singed, too?¡±

    ¡°Addie, I¡¯m not sure how to tell you this, but her soul has been damaged a lot more seriously than yours is. I..¡± Christena trailed off, difficulty warring across her face.

    ¡°Listen, Addie, do you remember what exactly hurt your soul?¡± Though Christena asked the question softly, Addie had never seen her face so intense.

    The first thing that flashed through Addie¡¯s mind was the green pig creature she came face to face within Realmspace. After all, it was that creature that must have hurt Nettal.

    Addie recounted her experience to Christena again. She described how she and Nettal had gone into Realmspace to explore and ran into the ugly green pig-thing. Christena should already know the story, though. She had told Christena last night, after all.

    Hearing the story again, Christena¡¯s face fell into deep thought, her mouth and eyebrows scrunched and her eyes stared off into the distance. Then, she stood up, her face decided.

    ¡°Addie, it¡¯s not just you and Nettal. There have been a few reports in town of children with symptoms like yours and Nettal¡¯s. We think someone or something is targeting children of bonding age within these two Areas.¡±

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    That didn¡¯t sound good. Addie was still trying to figure out what to say when Christena spoke up again.

    ¡°Ok, Addie. I¡¯m going to talk with Ms. Lomain, now. How about you try and get some more rest?¡±

    Christena left the room and gently closed the door behind her. The curtains were drawn across the windows, but regardless, the room was still quite bright from the daylight. It didn¡¯t matter though. Squishy walked over from the foot of the bed and got closer to Addie as he curled up against her side. He huffed out and relaxed. His warmth seeped into Addie, and she felt content. She fell back asleep shortly after.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie slept on and off for much of the day, with Christena checking in on her throughout. The day passed like this, and most of the following night, as well. At the normal meal times, Christena brought in some clear broth or porridge, but Addie didn¡¯t eat much.

    Like that, the night went by and the next morning came.

    Addie felt a bit better the next morning, but there wasn¡¯t a lot of change overall. Addie was just staring up at the ceiling of the room, observing the shadows the binary cast through the window curtains when Christena came into the room to check in on her again.

    With a small squeak, the door opened slowly, and Christena carefully entered into the room with a bowl of porridge. She walked over to the bed and sat the porridge on the nightstand.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Auntie?¡± Addie croaked out. Auntie hadn¡¯t come to visit her once.

    ¡°She¡¯s busy trying to track down whoever caused the soul damage,¡± Christena answered.

    That wouldn¡¯t help, Addie knew. Only Addie could get into Realmspace.

    Seeing Addie¡¯s roll of the eyes, Christena gave some more context, ¡°Your Auntie and I think whoever is responsible is still somewhere in the Area, either this one or the bordering one, my father¡¯s.¡±

    That made Addie frustrated. The Pigling obviously wouldn¡¯t be in reality.

    Picking up on Addie¡¯s frustration, Christena added, ¡°Ms. Lomain and I both believe your story, Addie.¡±

    That mollified Addie, a bit.

    ¡°But, if you can travel between here and ¡®Realmspace¡¯ as you call it, we believe there¡¯s no reason that pig-like creature you described can¡¯t also do the same thing.¡±

    That made sense, Addie guessed.

    ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m not here to talk about that.¡± Christena pulled up a chair and sat down next to Addie¡¯s bed, ¡°We need to start teaching you how to defend your soul. The events of the last couple of days have made that very clear to me.¡± Christena pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

    ¡°But I¡¯m sick,¡± Addie never had to go to lessons when she was sick.

    ¡°I know, Addie. But you need to start today. I won¡¯t risk you getting even more injured. Besides, this will actually help you recover faster.¡± Christena sounded worried and her words felt urgent.

    Well, Addie did want to get better soon. ¡°What do I do?¡±

    ¡°Start by closing your eyes and focusing on your soul bond with Squishy. He will need to help with this part, too.¡± Christena sat up straight as she instructed Addie.

    That made Addie start thinking, ¡°Since we are bonded, how come Squishy isn¡¯t feeling sick, too?¡±

    ¡°Right now I want you to try and focus on the lessons, ok?¡± Christena said gently, ¡°But I will give you a quick answer, I suppose. You two are connected at the soul, but you still have two distinct souls. Your soul bond itself looks perfectly intact, which is probably what you are most familiar with sensing.¡±

    Addie was following the explanation so far.

    ¡°When you strained your soul bond by overusing your magic, this is the part of your soul that hurt, and the same part that started ¡®cracking¡¯ as you described it to me. Today, we are going to focus on your soul, and specifically just your soul. Once you become adept at this, we¡¯ll work on some gentle applications of the transcendent loop to help the burns on the outer shell of your soul.

    ¡°Be sure not to activate any of your magic. Using magic right now improperly will just hurt your soul more. Close your eyes, and follow my voice,¡± Christena instructed, ¡°Simply observe the connection you have with Squishy.¡±

    Christena waited a moment as Addie focused. Addie could feel the connection she shared with Squishy, just one prod away from activating magic. Through the bond, she could sense Squishy¡¯s emotions and thoughts. Right now, she could tell he was just as focused on the exercise as Addie was.

    ¡°Can you feel it?¡± Christena asked.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Good, now follow that connection backward. Go up the link until your focus is as far away from Squishy¡¯s soul as you can.¡±

    It felt so dark, this far away from Squishy. Like, Addie was in a bubble, all alone, with Squishy¡¯s distant light reaching out to her from far away. Focusing on just her soul like this, Addie could almost start making out the edges¡ª the round shell containing her very being.

    The room, the bed, any sounds being made in the room, that all fell away, and Addie was left with just.. herself. A giant empty ball of pure essence, the color of Addie.

    Still in the trance, somehow, Addie was able to make out Christena¡¯s voice, though it sounded almost hollow, distant.

    ¡°You are doing a good job, Addie,¡± came Christena¡¯s ethereal voice, ¡°I want you to focus on the outer shell of your soul. The container holding you inside.¡±

    Addie moved her perspective as Christena instructed, focusing on the hard boundary of her soul.

    ¡°Now, just observe the outer parts of your soul. Let me know when you can find the burns.¡±

    Even though she was trying sincerely to focus, it was hard not to get distracted. A stray thought, here or there threatened to break the trance. Despite her wandering mind, Addie managed to slowly map out the outer parts of her soul through observation. One step at a time, she moved a trickle of her awareness throughout the outside, noticing small patches of damage occasionally. Those must have been the burns Christena was talking about.

    ¡°Very carefully, I would like you to channel some of your magic to those burns. Squishy will help you. Take a small amount of the magic from your soul-bond and start applying it to those burns. Move only a small bit of magic if you can, Addie.¡±

    A tiny tendril of magic extended out from Squishy and reached into Addie¡¯s soul. Once there, Addie grabbed a hold of it and broke off as little of a piece as she could manage. Then, she pushed it up and up until it hit the top of her soul-shell. She moved it around and spread it out to a few of the burns. The magic slowly but surely wove into the damage, and started to mend it. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but Addie felt as though a few of the burns had healed much faster. It was quite interesting, the magic just needed to be directed to the right location, and her soul knew what to do instinctively. It gathered up the magic Addie supplied, and transformed it into new soul-shell, minutely reversing the damage from the burns.

    That was all that Addie had the concentration for, though. As she lost ahold of her focus, the bedroom started coming back into view, with Christena still sitting on the chair near her bed.

    ¡°Excellent work, Addie.¡± Christena praised.

    Squishy, too, seemed quite proud.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to leave you to rest up a bit more, Addie. When you can, try to work on repairing your soul. Squishy will be practicing, as well.¡±

    ¡°Though, since he doesn¡¯t have any damage to his soul, it will be more of a training exercise for him.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Christena. I¡¯m already feeling a lot better,¡± Addie said.

    Now that she could feel her soul-shell, it was hard not to notice the discomfort from the burns. It made her antsy and want to get back to healing. She would work hard until she felt better.

 Chapter 35: The Transcendent Loop

    The next three days were all the same. Addie woke up, ate porridge, worked on her soul damage, and slept. Mostly, she slept, really. Christena continued to check on her throughout those three days, too.

    By the second day, her fever had finally broken, and by the third day, she was feeling well enough to get around the mansion and eat normal food again.

    Addie felt she had gotten quite good at the simple soul exercise Christena had taught her, though according to Christena, it was only the very first step of the transcendent loop. Additionally, almost all of the burns on Addie¡¯s soul-shell had been mended. With one more good session tonight and tomorrow morning, she would be fully recovered. Christena agreed, too.

    Unfortunately, Nettal still didn¡¯t show many signs of getting better, and Auntie still hadn¡¯t tracked down the evil Pigling. Not that Addie was surprised. Auntie just wouldn¡¯t listen when Addie tried to explain that the Pigling was still in Realmspace. Auntie was stubborn.

    Mr. Owlcharge hadn¡¯t visited these last few days, either. He was busy trying to appease the townsfolk in his Area and generally keep the panic down for all of the other children who had been targeted.

    The days seemed to drag on, with everyone in a poor mood. Auntie constantly talked about being unable to find the ¡®culprit¡¯ as she said, and Addie thought she saw Auntie¡¯s face break more than once. It was hard on Addie, both losing her friend and seeing her stuck asleep in bed like that, but Addie knew it was even harder on Auntie.

    To try and distract herself, Addie threw herself into the lessons with Christena, doing her best just to focus on the soul exercises. Once her soul was completely better, Christena promised to teach Addie the next step in the transcendent loop.

    It didn¡¯t take her long, either. Christena said Addie had completely finished healing by the next day, causing her to mumble something or another about ¡®prodigies¡¯ which slightly dampened the mood. Addie didn¡¯t want to be a prodigy if it meant Nettal couldn¡¯t be here learning, too.

    Today, Christena was teaching Addie the next step, which involved cycling her magic all around her soul, instead of just targeting the magic to specific points.

    Christena had laid her hand against Addie¡¯s front, helping her learn how to move her magic. They both sat with their eyes closed in concentration.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start by having you show me what you already know,¡± Christena instructed.

    Addie¡¯s easily followed along, as she withdrew her focus from her soul bond and traveled up towards her core just like Christena had initially taught her earlier. Then, with Squishy¡¯s help, she pulled on some of their magic, and directed it up towards the surface of her soul shell.

    Then, an unfamiliar presence grabbed ahold of her magic, but not in a forceful or frightening way. It felt like a guiding hand, showing her what to do.

    ¡°Flatten out the strand of magic like a sheet of paper.¡±

    Without Addie¡¯s instruction, her magic started flattening out. It felt something like when her father taught her to build a fire. It was like someone was grabbing onto her hands, and teaching her what motions to perform, except instead of grabbing her hands and moving them about, Christena was grabbing Addie¡¯s magic and moving it.

    ¡°After you flatten out your magic, you wrap it all the way around your soul shell, like this.¡± Christena demonstrated again by grabbing Addie¡¯s magic and wrapping her soul shell in her own magic. It kind of felt like Addie was being hugged by her own magic. Addie giggled at the sensation.

    Christena abruptly let go of her hold on Addie¡¯s magic, causing the construct to withdraw back into Addie¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Once you have this mastered, it will help protect your soul against attack. Each layer of the transcendent loop you can create will guard your soul from direct attack.

    ¡°Now you try.¡±

    After that, it was a long session, where Christena kept saying ¡®start over¡¯ each time Addie failed. But it didn¡¯t matter. Addie had promised herself to take these magic lessons seriously.

    Though, Addie discovered something strange, enveloping her soul with magic like that. By focusing so much on her soul shell, she became aware of her soul in a way she hadn¡¯t before. Targeting specific sections had helped too, but there was something unique about feeling the entirety of her soul shell all at once.

    She found a strand, a tiny piece of magic touching her soul shell. It didn¡¯t go any farther into her soul than that, though. And she could tell that it wasn¡¯t her magic, either. It almost felt like a string of fate. She felt a peculiar tug from it, almost trying to guide her towards something. She had shared her observations with Squishy.

    ¡°That does sound odd,¡± Squishy passed the message threw their bond, ¡°I am familiar with such a feeling. I felt it once, when I was guided to you, in fact. I had not the sapience needed to understand it like you do now, but indeed, it is familiar.¡±

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    At first, that worried Addie. She didn¡¯t want to be bonded to someone else, regardless of what the string of fate hoped for. She ruminated for a while and shared her concerns with Squishy.

    ¡°It is as simple as not acting, no?¡± Squishy suggested, ¡°If you do not like it, hold strong and refuse to act.¡±

    Luckily, it seemed that the string of power was directing her towards Realmspace, so she could probably ignore it fairly safely while in reality. She would have to be more careful when she went into Realmspace, now though. Maybe it had influenced her all along, guiding her towards something she would rather avoid. Maybe it had guided her towards the pigling that hurt Nettal.

    That thought stung. Addie resolved to ignore the string and figure out a way to get rid of it, if she could. She was happy with her bond with Squishy, anyway. She didn¡¯t need to find the other side of the string.

    Before long, the day was over, yet again.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Squishy, do you hear that?¡± Addie asked aloud.

    ¡°I hear only the rustling of sheets and the murmur of snores.¡±

    ¡°You silly cat, no, there¡¯s something else! I think it¡¯s coming from outside.¡±

    From the outer reaches of her bedroom window, Addie heard a whisper. No, it was more than that. A plea, a cry for help.

    ¡°Someone needs our help!¡± Addie started scrambling out of bed. She didn¡¯t care that it was the middle of the night, she loved the night. And more than that, she could hear the voice, a distant call for aid. It was a boy¡¯s voice, Addie thought. Younger than her. Actually, a lot younger than her.

    ¡°We need to hurry, he can¡¯t be older than a tiny baby.¡± Addie communicated to Squishy.

    Now Addie was in a real panic. She could tell something was disastrously wrong, and it was more than just the distant whisper coming from outside. She quickly checked the soul thread she found attached to herself earlier in the day, but it still felt inert, calling to her from Realmspace. Then, the thread must have nothing to do with the current situation, Addie assumed. The crying voice wasn¡¯t coming from Realmspace, after all.

    Squishy was rushing around too, running to the entrance of the guest room and scooting Addie¡¯s boots over to save her some time. Addie pulled her pajamas off as fast as possible and quickly grabbed a warm dress with long sleeves and a turtle neck. Just because she liked the darkness of night, didn¡¯t mean she wanted to be cold.

    It was a totally frantic rush out the door, as Addie ran through the halls towards the western wing of the mansion. In normal circumstances, Addie would have laughed at Squishy when his paws didn¡¯t get traction on the hard wood floor causing him to scramble, but now wasn¡¯t the time. They had a mission!

    Luckily, Addie didn¡¯t need to reach the front door of Auntie¡¯s mansion. In fact, she didn¡¯t even need to go downstairs. Addie rushed through the mansion at full speed until she hit the far side wall on the western wing. The only thing that witnessed Addie¡¯s departure into Realmspace was a statue bust of some great Area Lord or another placed at the end of the hall.

    Entering Realmspace from the second story of the mansion meant that Addie¡¯s stomach dropped and she nearly flipped at the loss of footing as she plummeted towards the ground. With a pull on her well-practiced ability to change her momentum, she launched herself forward through the alternate dimension. Now tumbling forward and down towards the floor at an alarming rate, Addie exited Realmspace just before she met a painful crunch on the hard stone floor of Realmspace. During her exit from Realmspace, Addie and Squishy again pulled on their magic, forcing their momentum upwards as they exited back into reality.

    The pair landed softly in the swampy muck, and Addie immediately took off in a run, not even bothering to glance at the Mansion behind her. Addie glanced over to her side, and she saw Squishy running alongside her, always the diligent friend.

    They rushed through the swamp vegetation, both of them experts at traveling through difficult terrain by utilizing their spatial sense. It was dark, and she couldn¡¯t see with her eyes in the dense brush anyways. Addie closed her eyes and basked in the feel of her spatial sense¡ªthe flex of exerting her soul on the world and using it to so easily rush past obstacles and keep steady footing. She felt the cool summer night wind brush past her as they made their way through the swamp.

    As they rushed towards the cry for help, Addie thought she noticed a splash in the muck and directed her spatial sense to the disturbance. She could see what looked like a boot print in the mud. She and Squishy ran past the boot print quickly, and both of them kept their eyes out for who created it.

    The two of them communicated silently, using their bond to speak telepathically.

    ¡°You saw it, too, right?¡± Addie asked.

    Squishy sent a feeling of confirmation through the bond.

    They kept running occasionally seeing more boot prints, but Addie didn¡¯t see any more splashes. Whoever was creating the boot prints must have been running much faster and had probably gotten ahead of her and Squishy.

    As Addie turned the bend of a particularly gnarly swamp tree, the cries for help became much stronger, and she saw something alive at the edge of her spatial sense.

    Laying side down in the mud, was a baby deer. Still a tiny fawn, only slightly bigger than Squishy. She could see it was covered in the swamp mud, and it lay there in an awkward position, with its back legs draped over a rotting log. Maybe it had been running away and tripped. Addie knew he was where she had been feeling the cries for help from.

    She only glanced briefly at the fawn though. Towering above him, was a man with a cloak over his features. Addie couldn¡¯t make out his face, in the night swamp like this, and she hadn¡¯t practiced using her spatial sense to look at people¡¯s faces yet. Her spatial sense wasn¡¯t like seeing with her eyes, after all. Despite not being able to see his features, he seemed slightly familiar.

    Suddenly, eerily, he turned his head ninety degrees with a snap, looking directly at Addie. Addie almost called out to him, or otherwise ordered Squishy to attack, but before she could, the figure ran away as fast as he could. His adult strides were much faster than Addie¡¯s, but she didn¡¯t want to chase him, anyway.

    Addie cautiously walked over to the fawn. He was breathing heavily, and it looked like some mud had made it into his mouth. His eyes were closed, and Addie wasn¡¯t sure if he was even awake.

    She tried shaking him, but the fawn was unresponsive. Addie closed her eyes, and extended her magic out to his soul, in much the same way Christena did for Addie during their transcendent loop practice. She probed around his soul shell and quickly realized that his soul had been burned, much like Addie¡¯s had been a few days ago. Exactly the same as Nettal¡¯s soul was now.

 Chapter 36: Healing

    Addie reached out her hand to the small baby deer and lay it on him. The action got her hand muddy, but she didn¡¯t care. Gently, carefully, Addie closed her eyes and reached her magic out to him, and she felt the internal structure of his soul.

    She gasped, as she was flooded with new sensory information: for a moment, Addie was the deer fawn laying on the ground, with broken ribs and wheezing lungs desperate for air. She was the animal lying side down in the cold mud, shivering as it sapped away her strength as mud started getting into her mouth.

    With a deep breath in, Addie separated herself from the fawn¡¯s senses. Instead, she focused solely on his soul. Addie knew what to do. Carefully, she used her own magic to probe his soul shell, again checking all of the burns. They were bad, but not as much as Addie¡¯s had been after the nightmare from a few days ago. Addie expected the baby fawn would be better in just a few days.

    Though, he wouldn¡¯t get any better without some help.

    Addie grabbed onto the magic within his soul and gently guided it up toward his soul shell. Addie played the role of instructor, much as Christena still did for her, as she helped the fawn¡¯s magic up to his soul shell, teaching him how to heal his soul shell. A tiny trickle of his magic flowed smoothly into one of the burns and began to mend it.

    She couldn¡¯t leave him lying here like this, though. He needed a safe place to recover and fix his soul shell. Staying out in the swamp muck like this would weaken his body.

    Luckily for both of them, the fawn was still a newborn. He looked so tiny, only barely bigger than Squishy. She picked him up under his front legs and began to lift.

    ¡°Addie,¡± Squishy prodded.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m trying to lift the baby deer.¡± Even though he looked small, the deer was difficult to get ahold of. The wet mud was making his coat slick, and his body was limp and hard to move around. Addie felt like she was trying to lift a particularly large and slimy set of noodles.

    ¡°My lady,¡± Squishy prodded again, ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to lift him.¡±

    Ignoring her silly companion, Addie continued trying to get the fawn¡¯s body up into the air so she could carry him home. Maybe Auntie would let her put a blanket over him. Maybe he could sleep in her room? He was really muddy though.

    ¡°Squishy, what is that bright light?¡± Addie started to open her eyes, no longer just using her spatial sense. It seemed like the sun was somehow rising, though that didn¡¯t make sense. It should still be the middle of the night.

    After she finished opening her eyes, she realized the light wasn¡¯t coming from directly above her. It seemed to be shining in from above and behind her.

    Gently, she lay the fawn back onto the swampy ground completely and turned her head around to investigate.

    Towering over her was a deer of impossible size. Pure white, and in some cases taller than even the twisted swamp trees. Above its tree branch-like antlers, lay a miniature sun, though this one shined pure white, instead of the dark blue Addie was used to seeing from the binary.

    The Impossible Deer¡¯s ginormous head patiently but persistently moved down towards Addie. A big black eyeball bigger than Addie¡¯s head looked right into her and blinked slowly. A hot wind blew out from its nostrils, buffeting Addie and making her take a halting step back as she shielded her face. It smelled of earth and cut grass.

    Stupefied, Addie just stood there passively observing the giant creature, as it too did the same to her.

    The moment passed, and the deer lifted its giant corded neck, putting its head back into the air. It walked over to the fawn. No, the mother walked over to her son, and she licked the side facing the air. The baby glowed for a moment, the same blindingly white as the sun in between her antlers. Then, the baby stood up, as if nothing had happened.

    Silently, without a bush so much as moving, or a twig so much as cracking, the pair walked a few paces away from Addie and Squishy, disappearing unnaturally into the swamp¡ª almost fading away.

    ¡°Well, I think I know what you mean about not needing to carry the baby home, now,¡± Addie said.

    Squishy and Addie walked back to Auntie¡¯s mansion. It was a lot more subdued, now that they weren¡¯t rushing off to save someone. They didn¡¯t talk, and they didn¡¯t run home, either. Something about the encounter had left Addie feeling quiet, but not in an unpleasant way. Just in the sense that she ought to take her time to peacefully go home. Nothing else would bother them tonight, Addie knew.

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    They reached the mansion after a nice stroll through the dark swampy night. When they returned to Addie¡¯s bedroom, the pair collapsed into bed. Addie didn¡¯t even bother to take off her warm dress. She just fell right to sleep.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just heal Nettal¡¯s soul from the burns like we did for mine?¡± Addie grabbed onto Christena¡¯s sleeve, interrupting their lessons.

    Addie hadn¡¯t been able to focus all day long, still thinking about the encounter with the fawn from earlier, and about ways to help Nettal.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Christena replied as she furrowed her brow. Addie knew Christena never liked it when she interrupted lessons, but she thought Christena would be patient with her for questions like this, so Addie had taken the risk.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    Christena sighed as she rubbed her brow, ¡°Do you remember how ¡®we¡¯ healed your soul, Addie?¡± Christena emphasized the word ''we'' oddly.

    Addie nodded her head.

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t heal you directly at all. I simply guided your magic and taught you how to heal your soul yourself. Everything after that was your own effort.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Well, why don¡¯t we just do that?¡± Addie was confused. It seemed like an obvious solution.

    ¡°The short answer is, we can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Addie was starting to get frustrated.

    ¡°Addie, Nettal doesn¡¯t have any magic. There¡¯s nothing for me to teach her. Even if I could teach her the technique beyond just the theoretical, it would be useless to her, since she has no magic to call on.¡± Christena explained patiently.

    In hindsight, Addie should have known that. She knew Nettal didn¡¯t have a bonded yet, so of course she didn¡¯t have any magic to draw on.

    ¡°Well, how about we just get a bonded for her, then?¡±

    ¡°Before Nettal was hurt, I believe Ms. Lomain had a plan to begin Nettal¡¯s first bonding initialization this summer, but if we tried to do that now, we would risk hurting Nettal even more. It¡¯s a terrible idea to force someone¡¯s soul to begin a magic bond while damaged like Nettal¡¯s is. We would just risk throwing her into a cascade.¡±

    ¡°Addie, listen to me. Never attempt a soul bond while your soul is hurt. You¡¯ll probably irreparably damage or even destroy your soul.¡±

    That sounded really bad.

    ¡°I won¡¯t try it.¡± Addie promised, ¡°But there has to be a way to help Nettal! She¡¯s just sleeping in bed all the time.¡± Addie wondered if it was even possible for her to get better without help. Right now, Nettal just seemed to be sleeping without getting better.

    The rest of the lessons for that day were strained, and Addie could hardly pay attention. She was too focused on trying to think of ways to help Nettal.

    After another few minutes, Christena ended lessons early, noticing that Addie wasn¡¯t paying attention. It was a good thing for today, Addie thought. Neither of them was in the mood to keep practicing, anyway.

    Later, Addie reflected back on her night in the swamp, the way the mother deer had glowed so fiercely and healed her son in a moment. It had taken Addie nearly a week to heal herself, but the mother had healed her son in less than a second. She knew there must be something she could do to help Nettal. She just wasn¡¯t sure what.

    Maybe the deer could help Nettal, too? But even if that impossible deer could help, Addie had no idea where to find it. She suspected the deer wouldn¡¯t allow itself to be found easily. Earlier, she had found the fawn by following its pleas for help, but Addie didn¡¯t hear anything from it right now, so that wouldn¡¯t help. Randomly searching the swamp would be barely better than doing nothing with how huge it was, and it didn¡¯t leave behind any kind of footprints either. Addie had checked.

    How such a massive creature didn¡¯t make footprints was beyond Addie¡ª probably magic, though.

    There was one other thing Addie could try maybe. But she didn¡¯t really want to. It might be her only choice, though. If she wanted to help Nettal, at least.

    Back in her bedroom, Addie closed her eyes tight and focused on her inner soul. She layered a single sheet of magic all around the outside of her soul shell, practicing the transcendent loop again. After a few moments of holding her magic like that, Addie let it go, allowing it to be reabsorbed into herself. Then, she observed her soul shell and found the tiny tendril of fate still poking at her from the outside.

    It hadn¡¯t gone away in the day or so she had been trying to ignore it. On some level, Addie wondered if it had always been there ever since she was born.

    The string hadn¡¯t become any stronger since she last noticed it, and it still didn¡¯t seem to have any direct effect on Addie, either.

    It seemed to just point her in the ¡®right direction¡¯, whatever that meant. It wanted to guide her towards something that might make Addie ¡®more¡¯. She didn¡¯t know if she wanted to be ¡®more¡¯.

    There wasn¡¯t a lot of choice, Addie felt. If it meant finding someone to help Nettal, then it would be worth it. Addie didn¡¯t know why she assumed the person on the other side of the string could help Nettal, it just felt right, in a way.

    She was scared, though. Squishy was, too.

    ¡°You know that I will always stand by your side, regardless of who you are or may become.¡± Squishy had said.

    But it didn¡¯t really make Addie feel any better. If Addie was no longer herself, what use would it be if Squishy was there or not? She often thought about how the bonding initialization had affected Squishy. It had turned him from a non-thinking magical animal into a fully sapient thinking person. Would whatever was at the end of the string do the same thing to Addie but at a higher level? It scared her, even if Addie didn¡¯t fully know why.

    It couldn¡¯t hurt to at least investigate it, or at least Addie tried to convince herself that. If it turned out to be super dangerous or scary, couldn¡¯t she just run away? Reality was never more than a hop away for Addie, after all.

    That night, Addie packed up a small leather shoulder pack, full of dried crackers and some meats for Squishy. Auntie didn¡¯t even notice, as busy as she was running from this place to that trying to find the one responsible for hurting Nettal. Christena also was not currently at the mansion, since she tended to stay the night in her father¡¯s Area.

    It was just Addie and Squishy. And tonight, they were going to figure out where the string led. If they were lucky, they would find someone to help Nettal.

    With that determination in mind, the pair spent more than ten minutes building and cycling their magic. Each cycle between either of them increased the power by double, until finally, the pair stepped into Realmspace.

 Chapter 37: Rescue Mission

    The cold hard ground of Realmspace greeted the pair, no different than Addie remembered. However, it was slightly jarring, in a strange way. Now that Addie knew the floor sparkled like the stars in the night, the ground teetered between solid and dreamlike. Addie put the thought out of mind. It didn¡¯t matter right now anyway. The darkness of Realmspace obscured all. She closed her eyes and focused on her spatial sense, confirming nothing was nearby.

    It hadn¡¯t helped her last time, Addie remembered. The pigling somehow never appeared in her spatial sense. Maybe she should have brought a lantern.

    Addie shook her head, it was too late for that. She and Squishy had already expended a significant amount of magic, if they turned back now, they wouldn¡¯t be able to try again anytime soon. Nettal needed help right now¡ª not later.

    ¡°Squishy?¡± Addie called out.

    ¡°Yes, my lady?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Addie took off at a run, Squishy right beside her.

    As she absently observed the passing surroundings, Addie was simultaneously feeling around her soul shell and prodding at the string of fate.

    It seemed to poke her from the outside, a tiny string coming from who knows where¡ª barely touching the outside surface of her soul shell.

    But it wasn¡¯t just attached to her soul shell, the string was pointing her in a direction.

    As she ran forward, the string would subtly shift direction, telling Addie which way to continue running. It acted as a compass, but instead of pointing north, it was pointing her towards a person. Or at least, that¡¯s the feeling she seemed to get from it.

    By her side, Squishy was panting. His legs were a lot shorter than Addie¡¯s so he had to run twice as hard to keep up with Addie¡¯s full-on sprint.

    ¡°So you have decided, then?¡± Squishy asked as they ran, ¡°To pursue this fate?¡±

    ¡°I want to help Nettal,¡± Addie huffed out between breaths.

    ¡°And if this fate leads you to a soul bond? If it leads you to a creature beyond yourself, as it did me?¡±

    ¡°What... about it?¡± Running and talking was harder than Addie would have thought.

    ¡°Will you have no regrets, if the bond turns you into something you are not?¡±

    This time, Addie responded to Squishy over the soul link, without speaking aloud, ¡°I am scared,¡± Addie admitted, ¡°But I am more scared that Nettal will be hurt forever.¡± Speaking over the soul bond was so much easier than trying to huff out her words in between breaths.

    ¡°Then let us find the source of your string of fate.¡±

    They ran hard after that. Everything was sweating. Even her lungs were sweating, so much so that she tasted blood at the back of her throat. They had to make it to their destination before their magic ran out.

    Based on past experience, Addie suspected she had no more than an hour to traverse Realmspace. Anything more than that and Realmspace was likely to discover them and kick them out.

    So, they ran hard. At some point, Squishy couldn¡¯t continue. He was never built for long-distance running. In his own words, Squishy was more of a sneak-up-behind-something-and-pounce predator than a chase-after-something predator.

    At that point, Addie had to pick the silly cat up and carry him, making it even harder to run.

    Addie never knew her body could sweat so much. Her hair was sweating, her hands were sweating, and even her sweat was sweating. Her heart beat up against her ribcage, ready to get out. And the bones in her feet were creaking.

    Regardless, she kept running. With Squishy in her arms, she ran. With Squishy balanced on her shoulders, she ran. Eventually, she ran so much that Squishy was done taking a break, and went back on the ground to continue running himself.

    Then, they kept running.

    If Addie appeared back in reality now, she was quite certain she would have run past the swamp, past the forest, and way out into the fabled desert in the north. Maybe even past the desert.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Addie thought aloud to Squishy, ¡°Maybe I just figured out a way to get across the desert without any of the heat. Plus, I hate sand. It gets everywhere.¡±

    Squishy said Addie was ¡®delirious¡¯ but that didn¡¯t matter since Addie didn¡¯t know what that meant.

    After what must have been thirty hours but felt like thirty minutes¡ªAddie shook her head, or was it supposed to be the other way around?

    After what must have been thirty minutes but felt like thirty hours, the fated compass needle poking into her soul began to angle itself subtly shifting down. It wasn¡¯t pointed down enough that Addie needed to stop running forward and start digging, but it was pointing down enough that Addie worried she should have brought a shovel.

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    As they kept running, the angle of the needle continued to droop down, slowly but surely. Luckily, her fears about needing a shovel were unnecessary.

    Soon enough, Addie and Squishy reached a giant ominous pit in the ground, and luckily for them, the needle pointed directly into the spiky circular crevasse.

    Addie recognized it. And now, she was pretty sure where the needle pointed to.

    The pair stopped at the edge of the pit and stared down into it. Not that it helped much. Realmspace was still just as dark as ever, and her spatial sense barely reached a few meters around herself.

    For a while, they just sat at the lip and caught their breath.

    She hadn¡¯t brought a watch or anything (something to fix next time), but Addie guessed they had maybe ten minutes before their magic ran out and Realmspace pushed them back into reality.

    With only ten minutes, Addie and Squishy had to safely climb down the pit, explore the tunnels, and bargain with a Dragon.

    ¡°Squishy, you go first.¡±

    ¡°Your wish is my command.¡± Squishy didn¡¯t even hesitate at Addie¡¯s joking tone.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not really..¡±

    He positioned himself perfectly to leap down into the pit below, but just before he did, Addie yanked on their soul bond with a strong, ¡®stop!¡¯

    But it was too late, Squishy had already launched himself off the edge.

    Addie rushed to the edge of the pit and focused her spatial sense. She narrowed down its effect, condensing the normal spherical sense down until it was just a wide cone out in front of her. The attempt at magic was instinctual, done out of a need to find out what happened to Squishy. She noticed, though, that by narrowing down her spatial sense into a cone in front of her, she had far more range than normal. It was like all of the area she could usually see had all been shoved forward and elongated. Overall, the total volume of space she could ¡®see¡¯ was unchanged, the focus was just different.

    By stretching her spatial sense in this way, Addie was surprised to find out she could see all the way to the bottom of the pit. It wasn¡¯t as far down as she thought, maybe just four or five meters. Squishy was at the bottom of the pit, already walking around and sniffing at the ground.

    Addie let out a sigh of relief. He looked fine.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Addie asked telepathically, just to make sure.

    ¡°Perhaps some minor bruising on my paw pads. Nothing major.¡± He replied.

    Addie let out another sigh. He was fine. She would have to be a lot more careful with the commands she gave him. He really didn¡¯t seem to understand teasing. This was way worse than the ¡®would you jump off a bridge if your friends did it¡¯ thing her mom sometimes scolded her about.

    Four or five meters was still a longer distance than Addie wanted to jump down, herself. She could easily twist and break an ankle, and her normal trick of dampening her momentum wouldn¡¯t work in this instance. If she left Realmspace right now it would undo all the magic they spent earlier.

    Or maybe, that actually was a better plan. She and Squishy could go back into reality, charge up their magic a second time, and then have more time to explore the pit without having to worry about getting kicked out of Realmspace before they were finished.

    Addie sat down in thought at the idea. She was silly, she realized. Why did she run so hard all that entire way if she could have just gone back to reality to recharge for a little while?

    Whatever, Addie scrunched her face. It¡¯s fine. She tried to brush off the embarrassment. At least Squishy wouldn¡¯t make fun of her. He¡¯d only laugh at her. Maybe that was worse.

    <hr><hr>

    It was weird, when they reappeared in reality. Even though Squishy was down in the ground, he appeared on the surface just the same as Addie did. From one perspective, he was just as far away as he had been before they came back to reality. He was a number of paces forward and left of Addie. On the other hand, he stood on the same level of dirt as Addie, such that she could easily just walk over to him without needing to jump into a pit or anything.

    She had a brief moment of panic when the magic ran out in Realmspace that Squishy would be buried alive when they came back to reality, but nope. Here he was, on top of the same dirt as Addie. Maybe it was similar to how she had never reappeared inside of an object. Never once did she reappear inside of a tree while she was in the forest. Maybe something about Realmspace prevented her from teleporting inside of other things? Something to ask Christena about later, maybe.

    And Addie had also been wrong about making it to the desert. They were still in the swamp, though this particular area was a bit more dry with less mud. The swamp must have been a lot bigger than she thought.

    The two of them sat in the surprisingly dry patch of swamp dirt and simply rested. While they caught their breath, the two of them mostly stayed silent. They both knew what to do. After a few minutes, Addie felt their souls were sufficiently rested.

    They began cycling their magic again. It rushed into Addie¡¯s soul, then she cycled the current back over to Squishy¡¯s side. Soon enough, Squishy finished processing the magic, and sent it back to Addie¡¯s side of the soul bond. Back and forth the magic cycled, each time gaining in strength.

    Eventually, they unleashed the magic, and reality distorted sharply, until both of them were back in Realmspace. Oh, and they were falling.

    <hr><hr>

    The sudden drop pushed Addie¡¯s stomach into her brains, making her feel like the whole world was upside down for just a moment, then Addie remembered the giant pit. In a split second, she turned her spatial sense back into a cone and saw the ground rushing up to meet her.

    If Addie went back into reality right now, all the hard work of cycling their magic would go to waste. That thought flashed through Addie¡¯s mind at the speed of thought. She had no more time to think though.

    Together, Addie and Squishy pulled on their magic, just barely dipping their toes into its power. Not enough to send them back into reality and waste their earlier hard work, but enough that they could trick Realmspace for a moment into getting ready to push them back out into reality.

    Somehow, it worked. Realmspace pushed the two up into the air just before they hit the ground, letting them take a soft landing.

    Addie couldn¡¯t help herself. She started laughing. ¡°That fall really surprised me!¡± Addie kept laughing, the adrenaline getting to her.

    Despite being safe on the ground, Addie¡¯s heart ran around inside her chest, throwing dancing nerves throughout her body. She really thought they were about to splat on the ground.

    After a few moments, Addie got her breathing back under control. She still felt a bit of the adrenaline, though. It seemed to make everything so much sharper.

    Once she sufficiently got her bearings, Addie and Squishy started investigating around the pit. She recognized it, but only in that half-remembered way after waking up from a dream.

    They couldn¡¯t just retrace the path she used to find the dragon from her dream. They would have to explore the area and figure it out the hard way. Well, maybe not too hard. She did still have the string of fate guiding her along, afterall.

 Chapter 38: Molten Gold

    The bottom of the pit had the same exact floor as Realmspace¡¯s main surface, glossy smooth cold hard stone. Despite the apparent evenness of the ground, the walls around the outside of the pit were full of jagged edges and wide sharp spikes. It looked like someone had smashed out the pit by hammering on it, causing the normally smooth stone to become sharp and jagged like volcanic glass. It would have been such a pain to climb down.

    It wasn¡¯t all jagged walls though. Addie knew there was a complex system of tunnels around here. She swept her cone of spatial sense all around the room, looking for an opening.

    There were three, in total. One really small, Addie suspected only an ant could fit through it in the first place. The hole was so small Addie thought she wouldn¡¯t have been able to notice it if she was using her eyes, only her spatial sense made the spiraling pinhole tunnel obvious.

    The other two were both quite a bit bigger, one about roughly Addie-sized, though she knew from her dream that tunnel became narrower the longer you traveled through it. Instead, Addie turned her spatial sense over to the dragon-sized tunnel on the far right wall.

    That was where she and Squishy would begin walking down. She couldn¡¯t help but be worried she would bump into some kind of spatial sense-evading creature like the Pigling. It really made Addie wish she had a light of some kind. If she ever came back here, she would definitely bring one.

    Together, Squishy and Addie began walking down the tunnel. Addie hugged up against the far right wall and trailed her hand against the cold smooth rock that made up the inside of the tunnel. It felt like chilled glass. Unlike the entrance to the massive pit, this particular tunnel seemed to be carved out with diligent care. Addie didn¡¯t want to do math right now, but she suspected the large tunnel was carved out in a perfectly circular shape, and each wall was similarly perfectly carved such that not a single jagged edge remained.

    Squishy walked slightly in front of Addie, and he was similarly walking along the right side wall. Addie narrowed her spatial sense down just in front of her as much as possible, but she still couldn¡¯t see the end of the tunnel.

    They just walked like that, for a time. Addie knew if their magic ran out, the would likely have to start over at the start of the tunnel entrance since Realmspace would punt them out into Reality back on the surface. She didn¡¯t particularly want to start walking from the beginning again, but she also didn¡¯t want to run into a giant dragon headfirst if her spatial sense was blind to it.

    She needn¡¯t have worried so much. Soon, she saw a distant glow. She hurried a bit closer to the light and came across a marvelous sight.

    Trails of glowing melted gold started embroidering themselves into the tunnel walls the further she walked. She didn¡¯t remember that from her dream.

    She watched them wriggle inside the walls. It was enchanting, watching the glowing gold spin itself into fantastic geometric patterns.

    Idly, Addie traced her finger against one of the lines of gold, but it felt just as smooth and cold as the rest of the wall. If Addie had been using touch alone, she never would have noticed the gold was even there at all.

    As they advanced down the tunnel, the patterns became denser, until the regular twinkling Realmspace stone (Realmstone?), until the twinkling Realmstone became nigh non-existent. At this point, it was more like the walls were gold and the Realmstone was drawing the patterns in the stone, though Addie knew from earlier it was actually the opposite.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Addie to notice the first creature. It wasn¡¯t paying any attention to her. The sickly green Pigling looked exactly how she remembered it. It was doing something to the wall. At first glance, Addie thought maybe it was studying the golden designs, but as she got closer and closer to it, she realized it looked more like the creature was pressing its three stubby fingers against the gold and mumbling under its breath. For what purpose, Addie had no idea.

    Addie gulped, now that she was getting fairly close to it. She hoped it might just ignore her and let her pass by peacefully, but just as she had that thought its head turned sharply. Its surprisingly human-looking eyes stared straight into Addie, causing her to freeze in place. After a few moments of studying her, the pigling went back to its earlier task, just prodding the wall in seemingly random locations.

    Since it was so content to ignore her, Addie just kept walking past it until it was so far behind her that it went out of sight.

    ¡°That was weird,¡± Addie vocalized aloud, ¡°I thought it would attack more or something at least.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t the pigling what had hurt her and Nettal¡¯s soul in the first place? It didn¡¯t make sense to Addie that it was content to simply ignore her.

    ¡°Indeed, if some random monkey creature intruded upon my home, I would not be so willing to leave it to its own devices.¡± Squishy agreed.

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    Addie wrinkled her nose, ¡°I¡¯m not some random monkey!¡± She protested.

    ¡°Truly? Odd.¡± Squishy seemed surprised.

    Addie huffed out in mild outrage, ¡°You know I¡¯m human!¡± She tried to defend herself.

    ¡°Well, yes, but I assumed humans were some kind of subspecies of monkey. You look exactly the same to me.¡± Squishy spoke without any shame. His matter-of-fact attitude was like a splash of cold water directly in Addie¡¯s face.

    ¡°Monkey? I don¡¯t look like a monkey at all!¡± Addie half-shouted.

    ¡°And I do not look like a cat.¡± Squishy rebutted. Addie could even see a little smirk on his face.

    Addie crossed her arms against her chest. Maybe Addie could kind of see his point.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a monkey, but you are definitely a silly cat.¡±

    ¡°Of course, my lady.¡± His smirk was still there.

    The rest of the walk was mostly uneventful, although the gold on the walls seemed to become more and more active the deeper they went into the tunnel. Where before it had seemed like trails of gold wriggling around, now it looked like giant sheets and ropes of gold undulated and in some cases crested into waves reminiscent of a small pond being disturbed by wind.

    Another, what Addie guessed, twenty minutes passed by just like that. No more Piglings, just Addie and Squishy walking through an undulating golden tunnel. No matter how much it seemed to be moving, each time Addie pressed her fingers into it, it felt just as smooth to the touch as always.

    They walked for so long, in fact, that Addie began to wonder just how long this tunnel was, anyway. She felt certain that each new expanse of the tunnel was different than the last, with the patterns on the walls being so different, but it almost felt like she would be all grown up by the time the tunnel ended.

    What was stranger, every time she checked on the magic within her soul, the same magic holding her and Squishy in Realmspace, it never seemed to diminish. Even though she suspected it was getting close to an hour, the magic holding them within Realmspace was nearly as strong as it had been when they started down the tunnel.

    After another boring twenty minutes, Addie began to grow frustrated. Even if her magic wasn¡¯t going to disappear anytime soon, she didn¡¯t want to keep walking down this tunnel forever.

    ¡°Squishy, can you claw at the wall a bit? Let¡¯s make a mark on it.¡±

    Without replying, Squishy went up on his hind legs and started to paw at the wall. Each time he raked his claws against the stone, the gold seemed to predict his movement and get out of the way before he dug in. Since all the gold seemed to evade his efforts, he was only able to leave big furrows in the cold smooth Realmstone of the walls. The gold avoided that area even as it writhed and undulated.

    ¡°Fascinating,¡± Squishy started, ¡°Despite not making physical contact with it, I can almost feel the presence of the molten gold. Perhaps if I spend a bit more time digging at it I can figure out more.¡±

    Addie cut him off, ¡°Maybe later after we talk with the dragon.¡±

    At this point, there was no denying it. The string of fate clearly pulled her in the direction of the dragon she remembered from her dream.

    Though, like the strangely similar walls, the string of fate on her soul shell hadn¡¯t moved at all in the last hour or so. Usually, Addie had to make small adjustments to her course to keep in line with the changing needlepoint, but so far it had remained static.

    Then, they reached a part of the tunnel with thin clawed-out gouges in the Realmstone, and Addie realized it was the same exact spot Squishy had dug at earlier.

    ¡°What?¡± Addie looked all around the walls, but the golden patterns were completely different than how they were earlier. She had been paying special attention just to make sure they weren¡¯t going in circles, but somehow, they had been!

    ¡°That is certainly not what I expected,¡± Squishy mused over the bond, ¡°I believed we were progressing forward just as you did. The gold in the walls must be moving and changing the patterns more than we thought.¡±

    Addie huffed out in frustration and plopped herself right down on the ground legs crossed. On one hand, they weren¡¯t in a hurry. Their magic still wasn¡¯t close to running out (somehow). But on the other hand, they were wasting time. Walking through the tunnel had just proven to be pointless.

    Squishy walked over to Addie and prodded her knee with his snout. Then, he sighed and laid down on his stomach just next to her.

    It was so frustrating. Even with the string of fate guiding her in here, she was just wandering aimlessly!

    Even with the string of fate. Huh. Wait. Even with the string of fate? Addie put her attention back over to where it attached itself to her soul shell. Just as she had noticed earlier, it hadn¡¯t changed direction in quite some time. It wasn¡¯t so much as moving in the slightest.

    But it was still pulling on her, telling her to go out and find something, or someone. She focused on that feeling, the pull it seemed to have on her soul, and touched a bit of her magic into it. It reacted a bit, and Addie opened her eyes.

    The molten gold in the walls all at once halted its movement. The gentle rhythm of its undulations finally came to rest. Then, all at once, the gold rushed out of the walls so fast that the displaced air rushed against Addie¡¯s face as a gentle breeze.

    At first, the molten gold just pooled out on the ground a few paces in front of Addie, but then it started growing upward. Just as it did in the walls, the gold pulsed and writhed up into the air in front of Addie, forming a giant circular structure. As the entire structure grew upwards from the ground up, either side became entrancingly structured in the same patterns Addie had grown used to from walking down the tunnel. Geometric shapes of brilliantly shining molten gold formed into patterns like a carpenter might make to decorate a particularly ornate table or bed frame.

    And that is exactly what the gold was forming into, Addie realized. It was making a giant frame, a big archway frame that reminded Addie more and more of an ornate doorway as the patterns finished completion.

    Then, the top of the left and right sides of the golden archway met together, completing the impromptu entrance. The entire thing flashed once, blindingly bright golden light forcing Addie to turn her head and close her eyes. Then, the flash was over, and Addie looked back at the now completed archway.

    For the second time, the gold completely stopped moving, now looking as solid and sturdy as any normal metal. And past the archway, was a cavern filled with gold, books, and magical trinkets that Addie didn¡¯t recognize.

    Most strikingly of all, was a giant black dragon staring out from what Addie now knew was surely a doorway into his domain. The string of fate finally went taught, and then snapped and whisked away.

 Chapter 39: There Be Dragons

    ¡°Hmm, fascinating. So you are the creature that has been trying to access my hoard.¡±

    Addie¡¯s body locked up, leaving only a bit of wiggle room for her hands and toes and she started floating up towards the massive dragon¡¯s head. This caused Addie to yelp in surprise, as her body moved without her control.

    The dragon was even bigger in person. He was even bigger than the fillow. It made Addie think of what would happen if her manor suddenly got up and started talking to her. Except, the dragon was even bigger than that, too.

    Then, Addie¡¯s body started rotating in midair, and whatever magic had a hold of her started turning her upside down. Addie yelped again and used what little ability to move she had left to hold her skirt up so it wouldn¡¯t go flailing.

    ¡°A truly fascinating specimen. Some kind of hairless monkey?¡± The dragon wondered aloud.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Addie shouted, indignantly. She felt her face go red as she got mad, ¡°I¡¯m not a monkey!¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± The dragon seemed abashed by that, and the spell holding Addie aloft slowly brought her back down onto the ground.

    She stumbled for a moment, dizzy from the unwanted acrobatics.

    ¡°My apologies, I assumed you were no smarter than a common ape. It appears you have evolved some level of intelligence.¡±

    Quietly, just barely above a telepathic whisper, Squishy said, ¡°See, monkey-like.¡±

    Addie turned her head sharply over to Squishy with a harsh look.

    ¡°And you have figured out magical bonds as well? And with one of mine own experiments? Interesting.¡±

    ¡°Squishy was an experiment?¡± The duo both sent nearly identical messages to one another at the dragon¡¯s offhanded comment.

    ¡°And perhaps the source of growing disturbance in mine own domain as well.¡± The dragon observed again. It was strange, Addie couldn¡¯t see his mouth moving at all, but she heard him all the same.

    Well, now that Addie was here, she didn¡¯t really know what to do, and she ended up just kind of awkwardly staring up at the gigantic creature. He similarly stared back, and the vast room sat in silence for a while.

    ¡°Are you going to force a magic bond on me?¡± Addie spoke out her fears. It was harder than she thought it would be.

    ¡°Of course not. What magic have you to offer me?¡±

    Addie let out a breath of relief she didn¡¯t realize she had been holding.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t need random creatures wandering through my nest. It must be time for you to leave.¡±

    The dragon lifted up his tail and gently tried to usher Addie out of the doorway with the end of his tail. It pushed against Addie but not even enough to make her stumble. Then he curled his tail back over to the side of himself.

    He said he wanted Addie to leave, but it didn¡¯t seem like he actually intended to force the issue. Instead, he just curled up into one massive black oceanic ball and pretended to ignore Addie. She knew he was still looking at her, though, since every few moments she saw him glance back at where she stood near the entrance.

    Addie glanced over at Squishy with a confused expression, but he just did the four-legged equivalent of a shrug.

    The booming voice of the dragon sounded again, ¡°It¡¯s not like I want your company or anything.¡± Why did his eyes look so hopeful, then, if he really wanted Addie to leave?

    Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Addie spoke up again, ¡°Um, Mr. Dragon,¡± She paused, to wait and see if he would respond. After he took another glance toward Addie, she continued speaking, ¡°Do you know what those green pigling creatures are wandering around here?¡± She wasn¡¯t ready yet to ask if he could help Nettal.

    ¡°Ah, the Piglings. A failed experiment of mine from a few millennia ago. They¡¯ve been resilient enough to not get wiped out in the many years since. Ultimately harmless creatures, if slightly annoying when they disturb me.¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t harmless!¡± Addie shouted, ¡°They hurt my friend...¡± Addie trailed off at the end as she cast her eyes downward.

    The dragon snorted, ¡°I highly doubt that. Those things run in terror at the drop of a hat.¡± The dragon rolled his eyes.

    ¡°Maybe to a big scary dragon like you!¡± Addie screamed, ¡°But one of them did hurt my friend Nettal! You aren¡¯t listening.¡± Almost without realizing it, tears had started dripping down Addie¡¯s cheeks. This dragon wasn¡¯t listening! At all! He seemed so flippant it made Addie so angry. So angry at the dragon. Angry at herself.

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    Addie fell to her knees. Were the Piglings really such cowards that they would run at a moment¡¯s notice? If so, that meant they hadn¡¯t thought of Addie as a threat in even the slightest. She hadn¡¯t been even the bare minimum enough to protect Nettal.

    The dragon looked so awkward, with a crying girl at his feet.

    He uncurled from his position, and slowly moved a giant clawed hand up over to Addie. Somehow, against anything that should have been possible, one of his person-sized claws trailed up against Addie¡¯s cheek gently and wiped away a tear.

    Addie took a moment to glance over at Squishy, but he seemed to just be sitting on his haunches and watching over the interaction.

    ¡°Tell me your name, girl.¡±

    ¡°Addeline Lomain! But you have to call me Ms. Lomain!¡± Addie half shouted half grumbled. She was never one much for ¡®manners¡¯ but Addie decided that this dragon had to talk to her with the utmost respect and the highest title from now on.

    At her introduction, the dragon rose up to his full height and towered over her. Then he swished his head down and swung it outwards and sideways. He held the awkward position momentarily, and Addie realized he was bowing in some weird dragon-looking way.

    ¡°Senefex Immortalis, the Heart of Flame,¡± he intoned with formality, ¡°You may address me as Sen, but let it not dilute the reverence due to one of my stature.¡±

    Addie¡¯s breath hitched from her crying, and then she sighed. She wiped the tears off her cheek. After a deep breath, she straightened her back, and then dipped into a proper curtsy, exactly the way Christena had taught her, ¡°You can just call me Addie, I guess.¡± So much for manners.

    ¡°And this is Squishy,¡± She pointed at her small black panther-like friend.

    ¡°Yes, I am familiar with this ¡®Squishy¡¯ as you have named him.¡± The dragon¡¯s vast pupil constricted as he focused on Squishy. A moment later, his eye turned back to Addie.

    ¡°What do you know about him?¡± Addie could feel Squishy was just as curious as she was. ¡°None of the books on magical creatures I found said anything about him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder. He is the only specimen of his kind. An experiment I had a while back.¡± The dragon didn¡¯t seem to want to say anything more on the subject, but it was obvious he was holding something back from Addie. He surely knew more than that.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Addie rolled her eyes at this strange old dragon, ¡°Can you help me?¡± Addie¡¯s tone was sincere.

    ¡°Many mortals would have waited many moons and paid blood tithes just to have the slightest opportunity for my help.¡±

    ¡°That sounds awful! I¡¯ll just leave if you need my blood or something.¡± Addie turned around, she was just about ready to be done with this frustrating dragon.

    ¡°Wait!¡± His voice came out panicked. For some reason, he then decided to make the sound of clearing his throat, even though his voice seemed to come from some magical source rather than his actual body, ¡°Um yes, no need to be so hasty. What is it you need help with?¡± Sen looked at her desperately.

    For a second, Addie just looked at him confused. She had no idea what Sen wanted. One second, he seemed dismissive and the next second he seemed desperate for Addie¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Addie realized to herself, ¡°I forgot! He¡¯s lonely.¡±

    Now it made a bit more sense. During her dream, this dragon had seemed terribly old and alone. Maybe he just needed a friend?

    ¡°I need you to help my friend, Nettal. Her soul was hurt by one of your Piglings, so you have to heal her!¡± Addie demanded.

    Sen scoffed, ¡°Well, I highly doubt the Piglings inflicted soul damage on your friend, I am willing to at least take a look. Let¡¯s negotiate over price¡± Sen¡¯s huge lips curled up around his teeth into a smile that revealed jagged monstrous teeth. ¡°A dragon is never cheap.¡±

    ¡°How about, if you heal Nettal, I¡¯ll be your friend?¡±

    ¡°Be my friend! Preposterous, I¡¯ll have you know there are legions of mortals who desire to be my friend. I¡¯m the famous Heart of Flame!¡±

    Addie looked around the entirely empty room. She certainly didn¡¯t see any legions of friends around here. She also had never heard of this ¡®famous heart of flame¡¯ in her life.

    ¡°Take it or leave it.¡± Addie crossed her arms.

    Sen rested his head down against his front arms, causing a cascade of air to displace and slightly buffet Addie.

    ¡°You are a curious little mortal, aren¡¯t you? And an expert negotiator. Very well. Bring me your friend Nettal.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s right here. I¡¯ll have to come back later.¡±

    That had been both easier and harder than Addie thought it would be.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about coming back fast. I only have an eternity of patience.¡±

    Somehow, that sounded strange to Addie but she nodded her head anyway.

    ¡°Do you know how to get out of here?¡± Glancing behind her, it seemed the doorframe from earlier had disappeared, and the only thing behind her was more hoard.

    ¡°Where do you wish to go? This entire place is my Area, and I, its lord. I have full control, just tell me where to place you.¡±

    Addie had to stop and think for a second. She didn¡¯t remember where she first entered Realmspace from. Her sense of direction had been scrambled since she entered Sen¡¯s hoard. Not to mention all the running she had done earlier.

    ¡°Can you just bring me back out to the big pit?¡±

    Sen scrunched his face, ¡°That giant scar is still there? I keep meaning to fix it. Very well, to the giant ¡®pit¡¯ as you described it.¡±

    Addie felt Sen build up the most intense concentrated magic she had seen in her entire life, and it washed over her like an ocean. It scrambled her senses and left her spatial sense blinded by the torrential onslaught of magic.

    Just as the draconic magic was washing over her Addie remembered something he had said earlier. Realmspace was his Area, he had mentioned.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Addie shouted out, but her voice was pushed away by the magic flowing over her.

    The next moment, she was surrounded again by the jagged spikes all throughout the walls of the pit.

    ¡°Squishy?¡± Addie called out.

    ¡°Yes, my lady?¡±

    ¡°Oh! Good, you¡¯re fine, too. I was worried for a second.¡± Addie paused, ¡°Do you remember what he said about this being his Area?¡± Addie prompted Squishy.

    He nodded his head.

    ¡°Maybe he can help us stay in Realmspace for longer. I tried to ask him but he just whooshed us away before I could finish speaking!¡±

    Sen was a frustrating dragon, Addie decided.

    The walk back to Auntie¡¯s manor was uneventful, in comparison to the hurried run through Realmspace Addie had done earlier. It was morning now, back outside in reality. Which meant Addie and Squishy had probably missed breakfast. Auntie was going to be mad, Addie just knew it. Addie¡¯s mom always got upset when she went out all night long.

    There was one other minor problem, too. They might have been slightly lost. Addie thought she might recognize that swamp tree or this swamp rock, but it was hard to say.

    Addie rubbed the back of her head and shamelessly asked Squishy, ¡°Do you know where Auntie¡¯s mansion is?¡±

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

 Release schedule updates.

    Hi all, Author speaking!

    I will be updating the release schedule from this point forward to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday released at 9 AM EST. I''ve just about finished writing up what I needed to for the writathon, and I''m already way past the 30 day mark I promised to provide you all daily chapters. Quite honestly, between writing the book and my day job, I''ve barely had time for other pursuits. Now, don''t be worried! I am still committed to uploading three chapters a week for you all, it just won''t be the seven it has been prior to this. That being said, today''s chapter is going to be a bit later today, probably around 11 pm EST since I still have to finish the last half of today''s writing.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I also want to take this moment to thank everyone who has supported the story so far. Special thanks to Rafroad and AtsukeAxolotl who both joined the patreon page. Double shoutouts to AtsukeAxolotl for also writing a stellar review!

    Speaking of the Patreon, I will be getting that up to 10 advance chapters as soon as possible, probably sometime in a week or two. So if you''ve been enjoying the story, that''s something to look forward to. As always, please write a review if you can, even just one 5 star review can push this story up nearly a thousand spots in the rankings, and it really helps with the visibility the story receives. Thank you to all of you who enjoy the story. I look forward to writing for you all for a long time!

 Chapter 40: Children and Prodigies

    When Addie and Squishy reached the front yard of the mansion, Auntie was waiting right on the doorstep for the two of them. The second she spotted the duo, she ran over to them with supernatural speed, causing a riptide of air to whoosh past Addie the moment Auntie stopped in front of them. Without a preamble, Auntie immediately squeezed Addie tight into her chest.

    ¡°Thank the Binary you are alright!¡± She squeezed Addie so hard she thought her eyeballs would pop out.

    ¡°I can¡¯t breathe.¡± Addie managed to barely eke out.

    In response, Auntie kissed the top of Addie¡¯s head a few times.

    ¡°I thought I was going to have to explain to my brother how I lost you while you were on my watch! Oh, thank the Binary,¡± Auntie repeated. With force, Auntie quickly separated the two of them by grabbing onto Addie¡¯s shoulders at arm¡¯s length.

    And that¡¯s when her face turned from relief to anger. Addie was hoping the anger part wouldn¡¯t be coming.

    ¡°What were you two doing out all night?¡± Auntie¡¯s shout shoved into Addie with fearful force causing her to flinch.

    Addie glanced at Squishy, then moved her eyes to Auntie¡¯s feet.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to tell me either way, might as well spit it out now,¡± Auntie advised with a serious scowl.

    ¡°We were exploring in Realmspace.¡±

    ¡°You two got lucky, you know that? There¡¯s still some rampaging monster out there damaging children¡¯s souls. Next time you want to go out, you will. Tell. Me. First.¡±

    ¡°But¡ª¡± Addie tried.

    Auntie interrupted, ¡°Ahah! No buts! You will tell me first before you go out, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Auntie.¡±

    Auntie turned her head sharply to Squishy and pointed down at him on the ground. ¡°And you! You know better than that!¡± Squishy¡¯s ears drooped, and he made a quiet keening sound that Addie had never heard before.

    Auntie let out a deep sigh and all the tension went out of her body. ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to monitor your location at all times, Addie. I just need to know if you are leaving or going out. If you disappear without warning me first, then I start to worry about you. I was just a few minutes away from calling Christena to start a search for you. Just don¡¯t scare me like that again, ok?¡± Auntie¡¯s face turned gentle with a smile.

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°Good. Alright, let¡¯s get inside. I was halfway through cooking breakfast when I realized you were missing so there¡¯s plenty of food.¡± Auntie ushered Addie back to the mansion, where they enjoyed a subdued breakfast.

    After breakfast, Addie took a much-needed nap. She had stayed awake through the night, after all.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie walked into the dimly lit room and looked at Nettal¡¯s sleeping form. The light was slowly darkening now that it was getting close to binaryset.

    Auntie had made Addie promise to tell her if she was going out in advance, so she couldn¡¯t just take Nettal to Sen right now, even if she wanted to.

    Addie exited Nettal¡¯s room and walked down the hall to one of the mansion¡¯s living rooms. Christena and Auntie were talking together, so Addie just entered the room and waited patiently for a moment. She knew from experience that it was better to let them finish rather than just interrupt their conversation.

    Just as she predicted, eventually Auntie and Christena¡¯s conversation came to a pause.

    Christena turned her head toward Addie and said, ¡°Do you need something, Addie?¡±

    ¡°Auntie told me I have to tell her when I¡¯m going out, so I came to do that.¡±

    From the leather couch opposite Christena, Auntie asked, ¡°Why do you need to go out so late? How about you and Squishy go out in the morning,¡± she suggested.

    ¡°That won¡¯t work. I have to help Nettal as fast as I can, so Squishy and I are taking her to see our friend right now.¡± Addie didn¡¯t see anything wrong with what she had just said, but for some reason that caused Auntie to sit up tall with an aghast expression.

    Christena turned her head between Addie and Auntie a couple of times, then cleared her throat and spoke up, ¡°Addie, I think your aunt and I are confused about what you plan to do with Nettal. Could you explain to us a bit more about what you hope to do?¡±

    ¡°That would be good, yes. Nettal most certainly isn¡¯t leaving her room.¡±

    Hearing Auntie¡¯s declaration made Addie¡¯s heart drop. She was certain Sen could help Nettal. What couldn¡¯t a dragon do? There¡¯s a reason dragons are always the most powerful creatures in stories.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°I have to take Nettal! Sen can help her!¡±

    Christena gently put her hand on Addie¡¯s shoulder, causing Addie to turn her head over. ¡°And who is Sen?¡±

    ¡°The Realmspace Dragon. He promised to help Nettal,¡± Addie said simply.

    Squishy had to jump back as Auntie spat out some tea and nearly sprayed him.

    ¡°Oh dear.¡±

    Auntie sat forward in her seat and rested her chin in her hand. ¡°By Aggan¡¯s name, how did you find a dragon? This somehow keeps getting worse.¡± Addie was worried Auntie would keel over and pass out, her face was so pale.

    Christena wasn¡¯t looking much better. Neither of them knew what to say.

    Finally, after a long pause, ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Auntie nearly shouted. ¡°We are not bringing my dear daughter to a dragon of all things. If you are telling the truth, and you really found a dragon, there is no way we are putting Nettal¡¯s fate in the hands of some unscrupulous beast.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not unscroopluss!¡± Addie said, ¡°We promised to be friends.¡±

    ¡°Somehow, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Christena cut in. ¡°Addie, can this at least wait until morning? Nettal isn¡¯t going anywhere and she¡¯s stable for now, you don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡±

    But that was the thing. Addie did have to worry about Nettal. It was Addie¡¯s fault that Nettal got hurt in the first place. It was Addie¡¯s responsibility to help Nettal get better.

    Addie stomped her foot on the ground, ¡°It can¡¯t wait. Nettal could be better right now! You just have to let me take her to Sen.¡±

    Under her breath, Christena said to herself, ¡°I never thought I¡¯d have to argue about letting a child into a Dragon¡¯s lair.¡± Squishy heard it anyway with his sensitive ears, and Addie knew he heard it through their bond.

    ¡°Sen doesn¡¯t have a lair. He calls it a hoard.¡±

    Christena put her palm in her face. ¡°Look, Addie. Nettal isn¡¯t going to get any worse tonight. Let your Aunt and I talk this over, and you get some rest.¡±

    ¡°But,¡± Addie tried.

    Aunt Lomain spoke up, and her normally mellow purple eyes grew in intensity until the whole room lit up at their glow. A presence weighed down on Addie, making it hard to breathe.

    ¡°Go to bed, Addie. We will talk about this in the morning.¡±

    The pressure on Addie¡¯s soul relented. She looked at Auntie for a moment, horrified and scared. That had been way worse than the times her father did something similar. At least he never made it hard to breathe.

    With tears forming in the corners of her eyes, Addie rushed off and slammed the door behind her.

    She sat in bed, and Squishy jumped up beside her. He curled up into his customary position and huffed out a sigh as he got ready to go to bed.

    Addie picked him up, causing his legs to dangle in the air for a moment. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to bed.¡± Addie decided aloud.

    ¡°I shall follow you into any situation, my lady, but your Aunt was very clear.¡±

    ¡°So what? She¡¯s stupid.¡± Addie said. She was just so angry. ¡°We could help Nettal right now but she won¡¯t even let me talk to her about it! Christena still says I¡¯m a child, too.¡±

    Addie relaxed a bit and sighed into the soft mattress. ¡°Squishy, how can I be a prodigy and a child at the same time? It¡¯s so hard when Christena says I¡¯m amazing one second, then calls me a baby the next!¡± Addie let gravity take hold of her, and flopped onto her side, causing the bed frame to squeak and sway a bit.

    ¡°I understand your frustration as my own. We are one. Though I must ask, can you release me? I am a bit squished between you and the bed, as it were.¡±

    Addie shot up quickly, releasing Squishy from between her and the bed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Squishy stood up and shook his whole body like a wet dog. ¡°That¡¯s alright, my lady.¡±

    ¡°We have to help Nettal,¡± Addie spoke up again. ¡°What if we wait to talk to talk to them tomorrow, but they still won¡¯t listen? We have to help her tonight. Will you help me?¡± Addie¡¯s tone came out pleading.

    ¡°As I said, you and I are one in soul. I will always aid you. What do you suggest?¡±

    Addie let out a huff of frustration and waved her arms around, ¡°I don¡¯t know! Maybe carry Nettal all the way to Sen?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid she may be too heavy for that,¡± Squishy advised.

    ¡°Yeah, that is a problem,¡± Addie flopped back down onto her bed, this time back first, and stared up at her ceiling. ¡°Maybe we really do need to wait until tomorrow.¡± She was kind of tired.

    Addie felt herself drifting off, then rapidly shook her head to stay awake. No, it had to be tonight, Addie decided. She didn¡¯t want to fight with Christena and Auntie anymore, and she knew Sen could help.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just push Nettal right into Realmspace and shout for Sen. Maybe he¡¯ll hear us.¡±

    Squishy jumped down off the bed and went back over to the door. ¡°I would open the door for you, but I appear to be small and cannot reach the doorknob.¡±

    Addie giggled, ¡°You silly cat.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    They hadn¡¯t yet mapped out the guts of the mansion like Addie had back at home. In fact, Addie wasn¡¯t even sure if there was a space between the inner and outer walls of Auntie¡¯s mansion, since the whole thing seemed to be made from one slab of wood without planks. She probably grew the mansion as one solid piece rather than building it from lumber and stone. Addie didn¡¯t even try to enter a possible crawlspace.

    Instead, she and Squishy waited for about an hour, hopefully long enough that Christena and Auntie would have gone to bed by now.

    They crept along the dark mansion halls. Luckily, they didn¡¯t have to worry about any floorboards creaking since there weren¡¯t floorboards. Auntie¡¯s mansion had been grown rather than built, as Addie was learning. Thus, the floor was one solid slab of wood. It was super easy to walk silently on it. The mansion¡¯s normal hallway decorations of paintings and end tables with flowers seemed strangely different in the middle of the night. Rather than inviting and pretty, to Addie, they seemed almost mysterious, like they would keep her midnight snooping a secret.

    Slowly, and checking every corner, they tip-toed their way over to Nettal¡¯s room. It wasn¡¯t far, just across the hall.

    The door was shut, so Addie put her hand up on the doorknob and turned the metal slowly, to not make a sound. She opened the door just a crack and slipped her way inside. Squishy followed close behind her. Then she shut the door just as silently.

    It was darker in Nettal¡¯s room. The outside hallways had been lit with faint candlelight, so it took Addie a moment to adjust to the darkness.

    As she waited for her eyesight to adjust, she felt her heartbeat start to slow down since she had made it to Nettal¡¯s room without getting caught. It was super dark, so Addie decided to sweep the room with her spatial sense. It felt kind of like reaching her hands out around the room to better navigate the darkness, except her spatial sense didn¡¯t require hands, only magic.

    Addie stopped breathing and completely froze. Auntie was in the room, too.

 Chapter 41: Promises

    Auntie Lomain was sitting in a chair with her back turned towards Addie. She was facing Nettal¡¯s bed while holding onto her hand.

    Only after Addie got all of that information from her spatial sense, did her eyes finally adjust to the darkness. Auntie was wearing a modest nightgown, and Addie could barely see the left side of her face. It looked like she had been crying.

    ¡°You know, Addie, when we first found Nettal and she was still alive, I was so grateful. But now that we know the full extent of her soul damage, I just want my little girl to wake up again.¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t know what to say, so she just remained quiet.

    After a moment of silence, Auntie laughed. It was a sad laugh, one only given at the desperation and ridiculousness of the situation. She took a handkerchief out of one of her pockets and used it to wipe her face. Then, she turned halfway to look at Addie and beckoned her over.

    In moments, a simple wooden chair grew out of the floor next to Auntie, and she waved at Addie to sit down.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do with you, child?¡± Auntie asked.

    Addie got the feeling she wasn¡¯t really supposed to answer the question, so instead she just sat there and curled her fingers around her skirt in tense anticipation.

    ¡°How do you go off and find a dragon in a single night? No, how do you get soul damage, recover, encounter inhuman monsters, and then top off the night by telling me you befriended a dragon?¡±

    Auntie paused and her face turned upset. Then, she stood up and got in Addie¡¯s face, pointing down at her. ¡°You! Why you...¡± all of the tension released from Auntie at once, and she flopped bonelessly back into her chair, then covered her face with both hands. ¡°Why do you remind me so much of my grandmother?¡±

    ¡°Is she the lady who bonded with all those birdies?¡±

    ¡°You remembered. Yes, that¡¯s her. Do you remember what else I said about her?¡±

    ¡°You said one day she went on an adventure and never returned.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Addie. She never came back. Your father and I never learned what happened to her.¡± Auntie sighed, ¡°People like you, people like my grandmother, they live brightly. Addie, can you tell me what happens when someone who shines so brightly in your life, and brings so much happiness and true adventure everywhere she goes; what happens when someone like that disappears from your life?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Addie replied.

    ¡°All of the light she shined on you is lost, revealing all of the darkness left in her absence.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Addie didn¡¯t want to make anyone sad. She didn¡¯t want to go away and leave behind a bunch of darkness.

    Squishy, up until now just observing the conversation, walked forward to Auntie and stood up on his hind legs. He placed his front paws on Auntie¡¯s leg, and spoke, ¡°Your grandmother didn¡¯t leave behind darkness when she disappeared. She left you with memories full of true wonder and joy for life. Dwell not on what has been lost, but on what she gave you while she was here. It is up to those left behind to cherish her memory.¡±

    At first, Addie wasn¡¯t sure if Auntie could hear Squishy since she could only hear him over their shared soul bond. But, Auntie seemed to react to his words and tears began to stream down her face.

    ¡°You... I never expected to be lectured by a cat!¡± Auntie laughed, her mood already brightening.

    Quietly, just a mumble really, Squishy said, ¡°Not a cat.¡±

    Auntie turned her head away from Squishy and grabbed onto Addie¡¯s hand, ¡°Addie, can you truly save Nettal?¡±

    ¡°Sen promised to help.¡±

    ¡°Sen, he¡¯s the dragon you¡¯ve been talking about?¡±

    ¡°Hmhm,¡± Addie vocalized as she nodded her head.

    ¡°Nettal, she¡¯s... I¡¯m afraid, Addie. I¡¯m just afraid. You know what it¡¯s like to be afraid, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Addie silently nodded her head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything more for her. I can¡¯t heal her. She needs to heal her soul herself, but she doesn¡¯t have the magic to even attempt it herself. Even if she did have magic, she can¡¯t heal herself if she¡¯s unconscious. We were still planning her bond initialization.¡± Auntie looked at Nettal¡¯s sleeping form with a sad smile.

    ¡°Sen can heal her. He promised.¡±

    ¡°Take me to him.¡± Auntie turned back to Addie with all the seriousness she could muster. ¡°I¡¯ll carry Nettal. Let¡¯s go meet this dragon.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    It had been quite unexpected, in Addie¡¯s opinion. She thought Auntie would yell at her and tell her to go back to bed. Instead, she got an Area Lord intent on following her into Realmspace to save her daughter.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do? Do we need to hold hands or something to go to Realmspace?¡±

    ¡°Not really. As long as you aren¡¯t too far away I¡¯ll bring both of us to Realmspace. Just stand next to me while Squishy and I focus.¡±

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Auntie was holding Nettal¡¯s limp form in a princess carry. She also had an unlit oil lantern attached to a belt at her hip.

    ¡°This might take a while. Squishy and I need to concentrate.¡± Addie closed her eyes and started pulsing her magic in that familiar way, cycling it between herself and her partner over and over again, building it up. She had gotten a lot better at it, now, and she found her thoughts slowly drifting as she cycled her magic with the back of her mind.

    She thought about the conversation with Auntie just a few minutes ago. Addie wasn¡¯t sure if Auntie was right, or if Squishy was right. Maybe, both of them were right in different ways. At least, it made sense to Addie that people would be sad when you died. She was sad when Nettal¡¯s light left Addie¡¯s life. But Squishy was right too, she thought. Addie would certainly rather remember the good things that happened than the bad things after all. It wasn¡¯t easy coming to an answer.

    With just a few minutes of focus, eventually, the cycling magic became too much, and Addie had to put her full attention on it or else she would release it too early on accident.

    Soon, the trio teleported out of reality and entered the familiar dark of Realmspace. Upon the transition, Auntie¡¯s viollow started chattering wildly, the little bird not used to the overwhelming darkness of Realmspace.

    Calmly, Addie walked a step closer to Auntie and turned the knob on the oil lamp for her, since she was using both hands to carry Nettal. She gasped at the sight of the twinkling floor, a lake of black glass reflecting the night sky. She seemed just as surprised by the sight as Addie had been the first time she saw it with her eyes.

    ¡°This is Realmspace?¡± Before Addie could answer, Auntie continued, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Squishy used to live here. I think.¡± Addie stated simply.

    ¡°You think?¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember things from before our bond too well. He wasn¡¯t smart then.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Well, show me where the dragon is.¡±

    Addie looked at her soul shell and focused all around it. But the compass needle was gone. She had remembered it disappearing after she entered the golden archway, but she didn¡¯t realize it would be gone forever.

    ¡°Um. I¡¯m not sure where Sen is anymore.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Auntie looked over to Addie with a baffled expression.

    ¡°The stringy of fate on my soul shell is gone now.¡±

    Auntie just looked confused.

    ¡°This was a waste of time, after all.¡± Auntie rolled her eyes. ¡°Take me back.¡±

    ¡°No! Wait. Let¡¯s at least try first!¡±

    ¡°Try what? Wandering around aimlessly?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Addie looked at Squishy desperately. He always knew where to go.

    He looked back at her with a blank expression.

    ¡°I use landmarks, foliage, and scents to figure out where to go. Realmspace has none of those things.¡±

    Addie looked around in a panic, desperate to figure out what to do. Without any better ideas, she screamed at the top of her lungs, ¡°Senefex Immortalis! Heart of Flaaaaaame!¡± She screamed it so hard and so long that she ran out of breath, and her throat felt raw. His name had been burned into her memory.

    Throughout the black glassy ground, the twinkling stars vanished as one. Then, just as suddenly the stars reappeared as they grew in brightness, no longer just passively reflecting light, they began to shine as a source of light themselves.

    Each star shone brighter and shifted its color from white to amber. Soon, all of the normally white twinkling stars had become thick droplets of molten gold. The droplets formed into one another, and the biggest drops soon turned into undulating puddles.

    Addie stared at it in wonder and trailed her hand across the ground. It must have all been happening under the surface, she thought. The Realmstone felt just as smooth and chilled to the touch as ever.

    The molten gold oozed out of the ground and up into the air, forming another glowing archway. The geometric patterns adorning the frame looked similar, but not quite the same as last time.

    When the archway finished forming, Addie saw the giant cavern with the Sen¡¯s hoard behind it. Addie quickly and easily stepped through the doorway with Squishy equally unfazed right behind her.

    Looking behind her, Auntie seemed a lot less enthusiastic. She seemed to hesitate at the doorway, and Addie thought she might turn around right there, not willing to walk into the dragon¡¯s den.

    ¡°Come on, Auntie! Sen won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    Tentatively, Auntie stepped beyond the threshold with Nettal in her arms. With everyone now past the barrier, the golden archway immediately started flowing back into the ground¡ªdeconstructing in an exact mirroring of how it built itself in the first place.

    Addie turned her head back toward the spacious cavern but didn¡¯t see Sen anywhere yet. It didn¡¯t take long, though. Soon, another archway formed, this time up in the air away from Addie and way bigger than the simple archway they had stepped through. The new archway forming in the center of the room was sized for a dragon.

    Seeing it up in the air like that, Addie realized the cavern was even bigger than she first realized. That thought was only confirmed more when the archway finished building, and Sen flew into the cavern through it. Despite being bigger than a mansion, he still had plenty of space to fly.

    His flight caused a localized storm, forcing Addie to put her hand in front of her face and shield her eyes. Sen must have noticed the humans¡¯ discomfort, because a golden-tinged transparent dome materialized over them, protecting them from the wind.

    The dragon landed close by, causing the ground to rumble. Somehow, not a single one of the precariously stacked magical trinkets, books, or gold shifted in the slightest. Auntie looked ready to run away or puke. Addie knew Sen wouldn¡¯t hurt them, though.

    Sen got comfortable, laying his gargantuan head down on his front legs. ¡°You have returned, Addie. And this time, with two others.¡±

    Auntie stepped forward and introduced herself, ¡°I am Stella Lomain. Area Lord of the swamp.¡± She bowed her head slightly in greeting.

    ¡°I assume, then, the little one you are carrying is Nettal? Hmm. Yes, she does appear to have some level of soul damage. Place her on the ground so I may inspect her.¡± He seemed to dismiss Auntie, as he focused on Nettal.

    Auntie tensed up, her knuckles going white. ¡°You promise not to hurt her?¡±

    ¡°If I wanted to hurt any of you, you would already be ash.¡± Somehow, that didn¡¯t reassure Addie at all. It didn¡¯t seem to reassure Auntie, either, since that only made her face even paler.

    Despite that, Auntie still managed to slowly lower Nettal down onto the ground in front of her.

    The way Nettal¡¯s body became gently locked in unseen magic reminded Addie of the first time Sen grabbed her up to inspect her. Slowly, Nettal floated up closer to the dragon¡¯s face. He turned her this way and that for a bit, then simply placed the tip of a person-sized claw on Nettal¡¯s chest.

    Auntie tensed up even more, looking just about ready to leap up there and bring Nettal back to safety, but once she realized Sen was keeping his word and only gently touching Nettal, Auntie temporarily settled back down.

    Auntie¡¯s body language hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed by Sen, either. As soon as Auntie had tensed up, Sen had paused and glanced at her until she settled down.

    Sen¡¯s eyes closed, the myriad scales on his eyelids catching the faint light as he contemplated the soul before him. There was a timeless quality to his silence, as he carefully weighed the soul in his grasp.

    When at last he spoke, his voice echoed not just through the cavern but seemed to resonate with a profound depth that rumbled through Addie¡¯s being. ¡°As you said, this child bears the scars of a grievous assault upon her very essence,¡± Sen¡¯s voice was a low rumble, each word patient and deliberate. ¡°Such a wound is not to be taken lightly, and it speaks to the resilience of her spirit that she yet clings to life.¡±

 Chapter 42: Aurocondite

    ¡°Such a wound is not to be taken lightly, and it speaks to the resilience of her spirit that she yet clings to the threads of life.¡± Sen¡¯s words bit deep into Addie.

    ¡°She had good caretakers,¡± Auntie replied.

    Opening his eyes and focusing in on Auntie, he paused for a moment then said, ¡°So it is.¡± Then, he closed his eyes to focus on Nettal again. He rotated her body a few more times as if the different perspectives would give him new insights. ¡°Now that I have inspected her closely, I am certain my Piglings could not have caused this damage.¡±

    If it wasn¡¯t the Pigling, then who? Maybe the man in the black cloak wasn¡¯t a Pigling. If that was the case, how did Nettal get hurt? Everyone sat in silence for a bit, even Auntie¡¯s viollow stopped her incessant chattering.

    Finally, Sen spoke, ¡°To mine eyes, Nettal has no magic to speak of, and therefore little ways to heal herself. Had she magic, I could have grabbed it and guided it to help her heal. As it is, Nettal is crippled with nothing to be done.¡±

    ¡°She can¡¯t be crippled!¡± Addie yelled. Her heart was falling and there was no net to catch it. ¡°She just can¡¯t... Sen you Promised!¡± she pleaded.

    Addie looked right into Sen¡¯s massive glassy eyeball. Even from this far away, she knew that single eye was larger than she was tall. How much of the world could he see with that eye; how much of Nettal¡¯s soul could he see?

    She let her legs go limp, and Addie clattered onto the ground, her knees painfully smacking into the hard Realmstone below. She didn¡¯t even care about the pain. She preferred it to the pain she felt on the inside.

    Sen watched a tear trickle down Addie¡¯s face, ¡°You! Are a... bad dragon.¡± Addie said in between hiccups.

    Auntie ran over to Addie, and pushed her into her chest, causing Addie¡¯s face to be muffled in the fabric of her tunic for a moment. She held onto Addie tight, and Addie soon realized Auntie was crying, too.

    Maybe losing a light in your life really did make the darkness that much harder to bear.

    ¡°Initialize her,¡± Sen¡¯s deep thrum reverberated throughout the cavern. ¡°Give her the only chance left at life. Give her magic.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Addie moved her gaze away from Sen and looked over to Auntie. Auntie¡¯s face was conflicted, but Addie wasn¡¯t sure why. Sen¡¯s idea gave Addie hope.

    ¡°Trying to initialize her now will doom her just the same as doing nothing at all will.¡± Auntie rebutted.

    ¡°What is better? To take a risk and live or die in glory, or to slowly waste away into oblivion?¡±

    ¡°It is my duty as an Area Lord to hunt down errant cascades. To end the danger they pose to others with their madness. Would you have me kill my own daughter if she turns into a monster?¡±

    ¡°She is dead in either case,¡± Sen spoke bluntly, ¡°Give her the option with a chance at recovery.¡±

    Auntie just scoffed.

    Before she could say anything more, Sen spoke again. ¡°Find a source of magic for Nettal, then bring her to me. I will monitor the bonding process.¡±

    ¡°And that will save her soul from cascading?¡± Addie questioned, with brightness in her tone.

    ¡°Perhaps it may succeed, or it may not. Mighty though I am, Nettal is but frail, and the might of a dragon is a vast tempest. With all the powers at my command, I shall strive to safeguard her essence, yet the crux of her healing lies within her own will to cling to life.¡±

    Sen¡¯s voice changed, taking on a lilting cadence as he spoke, ¡°Should you dare try, to my sanctum return her, While strength yet flows and in her veins does stir. Anon she''ll fade, as hourglass sands do fall, Till naught but shadows cross her chamber''s wall.¡±

    At the end of his poem, the cave rumbled as Sen stood up on his back legs while displaying his wings. She felt and heard Sen¡¯s powerful wings beat once, nearly knocking Addie down and forcing her to grab onto Auntie for stability. Auntie gasped as she dug her heels into the floor, and moved her arms out for balance.

    Then, some of the gold coins around Sen¡¯s hoard melted, creating a radiant heat that touched upon Addie¡¯s skin. Within moments, the liquid metal shone brightly all across the room, forcing Addie to squint as she watched the molten gold soar through the air. The massive quantity of gold formed into a ring, and a harmonic resonance whispered through the cavern, a sound between a bell¡¯s chime and a choir¡¯s hum. The ring moved above Sen rivaling him in size. The ring spun and undulated in waves. After a moment, it wobbled precariously, then forcefully shrunk into itself. The ring of molten gold started to repeatedly expand and then collapse inward, pulsing, and reminding Addie of a beating heart. This process of expansion and compression sped up, and within seconds the ring began to shrink insanely fast. When the ring had reached half of its original size, a fundamental change occurred and the entire ring abruptly collapsed inward, shining so brightly Addie had to close her eyes. The brightness slowly diminished, until Addie felt comfortable opening her eyes again.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Above Sen¡¯s head shone a beautifully golden ring sized for a human. The ring effortlessly glided down until it stopped just above Nettal¡¯s floating body. Nettal¡¯s arm splayed out, and the ring slowly moved onto Nettal¡¯s right ring finger. After it finished placing itself, Nettal and the ring simultaneously lit up one last time, then faded.

    As Addie watched the golden ring settle upon Nettal¡¯s finger, Addie stared on in wonder, allowing the moment to fill her up with hope. Surely, if anyone could help Nettal, it would be a dragon.

    She glanced at Auntie, her eyes, normally so steady, flickered in the golden light, betraying a storm of emotion. ¡°This magic, why does it carry the weight of a mountain?¡± she murmured, her voice barely rising above the ethereal hum that filled the cavern.

    Sen allowed Nettal¡¯s body to start slowly floating back down. Quickly, Auntie separated herself from Addie and sprinted to her daughter with the might of an Area Lord. She moved so fast that Addie was surprised she didn¡¯t crack the ground.

    Once she reached Nettal, Auntie tenderly, with more care than one person should be capable of, brushed some of Nettal¡¯s hair out of her face. She bent over and took a moment to pick up Nettal¡¯s hand and inspect the ring. After a moment, she put both hands under Nettal, and then she lifted her up.

    Auntie walked back to Addie¡¯s position in the cave, and Addie looked curiously upon the new adornment on Nettal¡¯s finger. Geometric shapes and runic patterns adorned the ring, reminding Addie of the gateways Sen used to enter his hoard.

    ¡°I was there when Servus first tore into Aggan, as mighty and infinite as I may be. Be grateful then, fleeting mortals, that I part with my hoarded treasure freely,¡± Sen proclaimed. With a much lighter flap, Sen gently landed his front legs back onto the ground and looked through Addie into her heart.

    ¡°Let Nettal take this Aurocondite jewelry, made of compressed gold, and named the Heartgold Ring. I shall ensure the weight of a dragon watches upon her soul such that no more harm may come to her. Leave now, and return her to me with magic bonded to her soul. Should she be strong, I can save her.¡±

    Some of the gold piles began to shift, and Addie braced herself for something dangerous to happen again, but instead, a blue ribbon displaced itself from Sen¡¯s hoard and floated over to Addie. It stopped just in front of her, and Addie gently tugged it out of the air.

    ¡°Go now, little mortals. Addie, should you wish to return to my domain, simply whisper a thought of magic into this ribbon, and so long as you be in Realmspace, I shall hear you. Be warned, I shall not interfere in squabbles between mortals, but if you need a place for rest, be afraid not to call upon mine hospitality.¡±

    She looked down at the blue ribbon in her hands and smiled. He must have made it just for Addie, she realized, since the color matched her eyes perfectly. It wasn¡¯t a protective Heartgold ring, but the ribbon gave Addie a reason to smile anyway.

    Soon after, Sen teleported them back to their starting location in Realmspace, such that the mansion was still in view when they re-entered into reality.

    Addie¡¯s boots sloshed in the mud as she and Auntie walked back to the mansion together. Addie noticed she was being extra careful to not splash any stray mud onto Nettal while carrying her.

    After a few steps, Addie had to ask, ¡°We are going to try, right? Sen said we need to give her magic to help her.¡±

    Auntie¡¯s silence lingered heavily in the swampy air. Her gaze was distant, lost in some unseen labyrinth of thought, her brow creased with weight. When she finally spoke, her voice was a whisper, carried away by the wind as if she was speaking more to herself than to Addie. ¡°Perhaps, Addie. Give me time... to think.¡± Her words trailed off, leaving a silence that spoke volumes.

    As they reached the steps to the door, Addie hurried up and opened the door. Auntie just walked through the doorway without a word, refusing to make eye contact with Addie. She watched Auntie go, and instead of following them up to Nettal¡¯s room, Addie dejectedly walked back to her own room.

    They had been in Realmspace for about an hour, Addie guessed, and the sun hadn¡¯t risen yet. Addie was exhausted, so she hoped that maybe she could still get a little bit of sleep.

    <hr><hr>

    A little bit of sleep turned into a lot, and Addie didn¡¯t get out of bed until it was late morning. Normally, Christena would have woken her up for their morning lessons, but she must have learned from Auntie about their adventure last night since Addie had been allowed to sleep undisturbed.

    She sat up in bed and leaned against the backboard. Squishy tilted his eye up at Addie watching her move. Maybe Sen was right, and the Piglings weren¡¯t responsible for hurting Nettal.

    Flashes of ghostly white-purple flames intruded into Addie¡¯s consciousness, as she abruptly remembered the night she got soul damage. Her soul had been singed after she woke up from that nightmare. Singed in just the same way the fawn¡¯s soul had been, too. Singed in the same way the fawn had been after the person with the black cloak fled from the area.

    Addie shook her head, now thinking that she had been pursuing the wrong leads the whole time. If the Piglings weren¡¯t responsible, then who was the person in the black cloak? And how was she supposed to find them? She hadn¡¯t seen a face, and she didn¡¯t even know if it was a man or a woman.

    Addie poked Squishy in the side, ¡°Squishy, do you remember the person with the black cloak who hurt the fawn?¡±

    ¡°I remember.¡± He stated simply. He looked slightly offended at her poke, but apparently not enough to complain.

    ¡°Good. We are going to track them down.¡± Addie began to throw the sheets off of her lap when she paused halfway off the bed and spoke again, ¡°You didn¡¯t happen to see a face beneath the cloak, did you?¡±

    ¡°I did not.¡±

    Addie sighed, then flopped back onto the bed laying across it at an angle. She bounced once, and then the bed stilled. ¡°Ugh, how are we supposed to find them!¡± she kicked her legs up and down and the bed shook, causing Squishy to nearly slide off the end of the bed.

    Squishy stood up, walked over to Addie, and gently laid his right forepaw upon her stomach. ¡°I remember his scent.¡±

    The bed creaked and swayed as Addie jumped out of it, and landed with both feet on the hardwood floor.

    Addie spun around and rushed over to Squishy¡¯s place on the bed. She scooped him up into her arms, and then spun them both around in place, causing Squishy¡¯s body to arc from the force. She stopped just as suddenly as she started, and then swayed on her feet for a moment. A moment of nausea hit her as her head swam. She tried to put Squishy back down on the ground and nearly fell over from the effort. She watched Squishy walk unsteadily for a moment and had to giggle.

    ¡°You are a good kitty!¡± Addie declared, ¡°We are gonna track black cloak down!¡±

    ¡°First, allow me a moment to recover from this ceaseless spinning.¡±

 Chapter 43: Ruins

    Addie rushed out of her room, and Squishy scrambled out of the doorway behind her. Christena was on her way up the stairs, probably to wake Addie up for breakfast. ¡°No time to talk gotta go!¡± Addie squeezed past the surprised maid and hit the lower floor running.

    Behind her, she heard Christena yell after her, ¡°There¡¯s breakfast on the dining table!¡±

    Addie turned around in the hallway, running off to the dining room to grab food as fast as possible. In a rush to get outside as soon as possible, she quickly swiped some boiled eggs off the table, letting them fall down. Squishy ate them before they hit the ground. Equally fast, she grabbed up a pastry in each hand, then ran out of the room, heading for the front door. She nibbled on the pastry while running through the halls. It tasted too much like strawberry jam, but she gobbled it down anyway.

    She reached the main entryway and then scarfed down the remaining pastry before slowly opening the door. Squishy ran through her legs and was the first to get outside. He turned his head around to look at Addie, prompting her to follow him. Without a moment to spare, she walked outside and shut the door behind herself. Then, they took off at a sprint, something Addie idly realized they tended to do a lot these days.

    As they sprinted through the swamp, flinging mud everywhere, Addie shouted through the rushing air, ¡°Do you remember where to go?¡±

    A mud-coated Squishy responded through their bond, ¡°I remember well where we first encountered the fawn. Let us return to that clearing, and I shall attempt to track black cloak¡¯s scent.¡±

    Addie shivered, as some stray mud splashed up her leg, but she didn¡¯t stop running. Her boot squelched particularly loud into a deeper bog, causing her to stumble and then nearly fall flat on her face. She was able to get her other foot in front of her for balance in time, luckily, and yanked her stuck foot out of the bog.

    It didn¡¯t take long to reach the clearing from the other night. Addie recognized the log that the fawn had been awkwardly resting on. It looked to be just the right height for sitting, so Addie did just that. After a moment, damp coldness started spreading through her skirt, causing Addie to jump back up onto her feet. She tried to wipe the back of her dress with her hand a bit, but it didn¡¯t really make a difference. She should have realized a swamp log would be wet...

    Meanwhile, Squishy seemed to be circling the outside of the clearing. For a second, Addie thought maybe he was just wandering aimlessly, but as she observed him, she realized he was doing more than just walking the perimeter.

    As his paws padded through the cold mud, Squishy walked around the clearing while moving his head up and down. Sometimes, he trailed the ground with his snout, sniffing as he went. At other times, he would follow an invisible trail off the ground and up into the air. This pattern repeated a few times, until finally, Squishy stopped.

    ¡°I smell the fawn, but I cannot sense a trace of its mother, nor the man in the black cloak. I remember his scent, but all traces of it have vanished. But it¡¯s more than that. Certain areas of this clearing have been completely wiped of all scents. In certain patches of the air, I can¡¯t even sense the ever-pervasive scent of the swamp. There¡¯s a pattern of sections in the air with no smell at all.¡± In emphasis, Squishy stood on his hind legs and angled his snout up and slightly to the right, sniffing at a patch of air. He dropped back down, then shook his head a few times.

    At the mention of the fawn, Addie brightened up. Maybe the fawn would be a good bonded for Nettal! ¡°Where does the fawn¡¯s scent lead to?¡±

    Addie watched Squishy as he followed a wandering path, visible only to his senses. He was still tracking the scent when Addie¡¯s pacing stopped as she focused on her thoughts. She had become so one-minded earlier, wanting to track down the person responsible for hurting Nettal, but maybe that wasn¡¯t the right thing to do. The universe almost seemed to agree with her, too, since black cloak¡¯s scent was missing. But, at the same time, the fawn¡¯s scent was still trackable.

    Addie¡¯s mood darkened as she remembered the last time she saw Auntie. She had avoided eye contact and didn¡¯t want to talk about Sen¡¯s idea. Auntie had brushed Addie off and even argued with Sen about giving Nettal a bond in the first place. She had also been against the idea from the very start. Maybe she was right, and it was too dangerous for Nettal¡¯s soul.

    Addie frowned in thought. They were so close she knew it. ¡°Ugh! Why is it so hard just to try and help Nettal!¡± Addie complained aloud. First, it had been her dad, and now, it was her cousin. Except, this time Nettal was actually hurt, not fake hurt like her dad had been.

    ¡°I have discovered the path we should take if you wish to pursue the fawn,¡± Squishy said. His telepathic thoughts interrupted Addie¡¯s negative spiral.

    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think Auntie will let us bring the fawn back.¡± Addie closed her eyes and sighed, frustrated.

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    Sitting here and doing nothing wasn¡¯t helping, Addie decided. She wanted to help Nettal. If Auntie refused to let Nettal get a bond, then at least Addie could find the person who hurt Nettal¡¯s soul. Addie¡¯s thoughts drifted to little Lily and all the other children in Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s Area who were suffering from soul damage. Black cloak wasn¡¯t going to stop hurting people, Addie realized, and more kids were in danger than just the ones she knew. Addie made up her mind. Auntie wasn¡¯t going to listen to her today either way. But Addie could find black cloak. She could make sure no other kids got hurt.

    With her mind now made up, Addie¡¯s heart once again beat with urgency. ¡°Maybe we should find black cloak.¡± She said to herself more than to Squishy. She began pacing through the muggy swampy air. She knew they were close, the answer to finding black cloak just beyond reach. As Squishy circled the clearing searching for black cloak¡¯s scent once more, Addie¡¯s mind churned.

    What if we''re too late to pick up the scent? No, Addie thought, It doesn¡¯t make sense for the scent to have just gone away. If that were true, there wouldn¡¯t be spots of air without smell. Normally, the air would at least smell like normal swamp. There were patterns, specific identifiable places without any smells... and Squishy could find those places.. oh!

    Addie¡¯s eyes lit up as she spoke excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s ok that there are places without any smells! We can just follow that! You said there¡¯s a ¡®pattern¡¯ to the spots of air without any smell, right? Let¡¯s figure out if those spots go in the same direction!¡±

    Squishy opened his eyes wide, ¡°Cleverly thought!¡± Then, he hurried about the clearing, sniffing this way and that with renewed purpose. At first, he searched in a wide area, but soon enough, he narrowed the search down to a single path leading away from the clearing.

    ¡°Well, I find this rather odd,¡± Squishy began, ¡°Both the conspicuously scentless trail and the fawn¡¯s trail appear to follow in the same direction.¡±

    That made Addie smile. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t have to choose between finding one or the other. She and Squishy could find both black cloak and the fawn at the same time. ¡°Alright Squishy, lead the way!¡±

    All at once his body language shifted, his head came up confidently pointing his snout, and he flexed his legs in anticipation. Squishy paused for a moment and glanced back at Addie, ¡°Keep up with me, my lady. I will not tarry.¡±

    He took off, specks of mud kicking up behind him. Addie didn¡¯t hesitate either. She began to run, too, easily keeping up with the much shorter Squishy. Again, they ran through the swamp, the pair of them easily navigating through the wilderness and avoiding any obstacles with their spatial senses. She felt the warm muggy air in her hair while hopping over rocks and twisting around bushes.

    Occasionally, Squishy would pause to sniff at the air again, to make sure he continued to accurately follow the dual trail. He didn¡¯t need to pause for long, just enough to correct the direction they ran in with some small adjustments. Addie took those opportunities to take a small break and catch her breath.

    By their third break, Addie noticed that the swamp was starting to thin out, the insects and swamp creatures¡¯ sounds becoming distant. Addie thought for a second that maybe she saw a stone path to their left, but she dismissed it since the stones weren¡¯t following any pattern, and just seemed to be randomly there.

    Though she had dismissed it as some slightly unusual natural rocky patch at first, after the fourth break, it became increasingly obvious that they were running alongside a broken down man-made stone brick road.

    As they ran up alongside it, the road slowly became less and less overgrown with plants, until, eventually it looked, if not well maintained, then at least walkable.  After another few minutes of running, Addie realized she recognized this road. Well, maybe not this specific road, actually. But the stonework did seem familiar, even if it was cracked and patchy. It looked like the same general design as the stonework used in Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s Area, just a lot older and abandoned.

    Addie¡¯s suspicions grew when she started seeing broken-down houses a bit further down the road, and the swamp started thinning out to make place for the ruins. None of the buildings here could be lived in now, but once, they might have made decent homes for the common folk. Regardless, Addie wouldn¡¯t ever live in something that small.

    There were some black ravens on the various rooftops, Addie noticed. She spotted one in particular out of the crowd. It was the same size as the rest of the birds, but it looked more like a hawk than a raven, and it had a white feathered head. None of the birds were so much as moving or making a sound. They stared at Addie as one. Seeing them up there made Addie uneasy like staring would give her bad luck. She quickly glanced away, not willing to keep her eyes on the birds.

    ¡°Squishy,¡± Addie whispered as she blindly pointed her finger at the birds, ¡°Can you look up on that rooftop over there?¡±

    She watched Squishy turn his head to look, and it gave Addie enough courage to glance back up too. She quickly scanned the rooftop, but this time she didn¡¯t see the odd white-headed bird. Now, there were only the regular ravens on the rooftop, and they seemed to be pecking and otherwise moving about as she might expect.

    ¡°What shall I look for?¡± Addie watched him move his eyes across the rooftop, but he didn¡¯t see anything irregular, either.

    ¡°Huh. Never mind, I guess.¡± Whatever that strange white-headed bird had been, Addie was just glad that the ravens were acting normally again.

    Almost right after that, Squishy led them onto the road directly, whereas before they had only been walking next to it. The dilapidated houses were getting closer now, too. Maybe it hadn¡¯t been the strange bird that made Addie uneasy, she decided. This whole place was creepy, the ruined road, broken buildings, and the ravens on the rooftops were more than enough to make Addie hesitant. As if in tune with her thoughts, the temperature shifted and Addie watched in dismay as the bright and sunny day began to turn cloudy and cold. The shadows cast by the buildings elongated, and Addie started rubbing her arms to hold back the shivers. Somehow, the ruins dampened all sound. The only thing she could hear was her breathing, and to a lesser extent, her heartbeat.

 Chapter 44: The Tavern

    The buildings gave off an ominous feeling, and even Squishy seemed to be looking around with worry in his eyes.

    ¡°Maybe we should go home and tell Auntie about this.¡± Addie tried. But no, she knew it was just an idle suggestion. She had more determination than that. She didn¡¯t want to come all this way just to give up.

    Squishy looked up into her eyes, and Addie sighed. She knew that look. ¡°You¡¯re right. We can¡¯t just stop now. Can you keep following the trail?¡±

    ¡°I never stopped.¡±

    ¡°Good, let¡¯s go.¡±

    They continued on the broken-down road, and more buildings gradually came into sight. It was possible these ruins connected up to Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s main town, and that was Addie¡¯s first assumption, but the further down they went, the less certain of that guess Addie became. She didn¡¯t see any evidence that this crumbling ruin connected to Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s town. She wouldn¡¯t have even known the two places were related if the stonework hadn¡¯t matched the same style as the town.

    A cool breeze drifted out between the buildings and crawled up the back of Addie¡¯s neck, forcing her to shiver. She rubbed at her neck, trying to wipe away the unpleasant feeling it left behind. Her feelings bled over into the bond, and she watched as Squishy lowered his ears against his skull in reaction. Without turning his head, she saw his little eye glance up at her from an angle. ¡°Is this location really so dangerous? Shall I scout the area for you?¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t like the idea of her little protector wandering away by himself where he couldn¡¯t easily protect her. Addie shook her head viscerally at the idea, ¡°No, let¡¯s stay together.¡±

    A crunching sound drifted down to Addie¡¯s ears, and she looked back up at the rooftop with the birds. There, one of the ravens was tearing into a piece of meat with its talons and scarfing it down mostly whole. It looked directly into her eyes the entire time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hurry up and follow the trail,¡± Addie said as her pace quickened.

    Squishy didn¡¯t follow immediately, with his gaze also on the roof ravens once again. She ushered him out of his trance with a few soul prods to get him moving. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she repeated.

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Squishy hurried back up to Addie, then took the lead once again as they followed the scent trail.

    A few more steps up the road, Addie saw a hoofprint in one of the many mud puddles forming within the stone road. It was small, perfectly sized for the fawn, but not nearly big enough to have come from its mother. Besides, the fawn¡¯s mother hadn¡¯t ever left hoof prints behind before.

    She pointed it out to Squishy, who nodded his head, but otherwise continued them on the trail.

    Maybe the swamp had already reclaimed most of these ruins, and this single road was all that was left. The only buildings were on either side of the road, most of them looking like houses, but a few might have once been shops, and one even looked like it could have been an inn or tavern a bit ahead. Addie had only seen one of those before though, so she wasn¡¯t sure.

    Most of them were just made of crumbling stone. The tavern did too, it just also had wooded boards across its windows, something Addie found completely out of place, especially since they weren¡¯t rotting. They didn¡¯t even look old. So when Squishy turned his body and started leading them closer to the tavern, Addie wasn¡¯t too surprised. Someone must have put the boards there otherwise they would be rotten or crumbling just like the rest of this small town.

    Squishy led them up to the doorway, which was also boarded up. The boards had been placed so tightly together, that Addie couldn¡¯t so much as squeeze a finger between them. Since this place was boarded up so securely, Addie wondered how black cloak got inside.

    Squishy stopped at the barrier and turned his head up to look at Addie. ¡°How do we proceed, my lady?¡±

    Addie put her hands up against the board, confirming her earlier suspicion. There was no getting past this with her strength alone. She didn¡¯t have to tell Squishy her plan, he felt the magic in their soul churning just as much as Addie did. One moment, they were behind the barricade, and the next, they were in Realmspace. Addie took another step forward, and then she and Squishy let the magic fall apart, forcing them both back into reality and beyond the boarded-up doorway.

    The tavern was pitch black inside, no wonder with all the windows and the door boarded up. Addie quickly swept the room with her spatial sense, targeting it outward from herself in a cone. Other than some crumbling stone tables, the entire lower floor was empty.

    Something light, maybe a spider web, brushed against Addie¡¯s exposed shoulder, causing her to idly brush it off herself. The moment her fingers made contact with the object, it burned the back of her fingers and stung as it fell down off her shoulder onto the floor. The burning feeling caused her to jump away in pure instinct, as well as suck on her poor fingers.

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    She glanced at her fingers, and it was too dark to see how bad the burn was, but she had been pretty quick to move her fingers away so it probably wasn¡¯t too bad. She angled her head down to the left to look at what had hurt her and saw a pale white, nearly ghostly purple, feather glowing on the ground.

    Now on high alert, Addie swept her spatial sense through the room again, this time including the ceilings in her search.

    Nothing. It was still just an empty room.

    Addie moved to pick up the feather, then she thought better of it. It might burn her again. Instead, she swept the room one last time, if for no other reason than to ease her mind. It was still empty of anything alive, but there was an area in the back of the tavern with a staircase: one leading down and one leading up.

    Since they were soul-bound, it was easy to tell Squishy everything she saw. After that, she asked, ¡°Does the trail go up or down the stairs?¡±

    ¡°One goes up, and the other down. I suspect Black Cloak is upstairs since the blank scent trail follows there, but perhaps the fawn is somewhere else. I don¡¯t smell it in this building at all. I do smell something much more sinister, I¡¯m afraid. There are children in this building, down the stairs.¡±

    No fawn? Maybe, she had really already saved him the other day. She hadn¡¯t heard his cries for help again, after all. Maybe, black cloak had followed the fawn out to the clearing from these ruins just by chance. And she and Squishy were just following the trail backward. That would make more sense, especially since she didn¡¯t think the Impossible Deer mother would have let her baby off on his own again after that.

    The order of events was starting to match up in Addie¡¯s mind, now. Perhaps, black cloak stayed in this ruin, and the fawn happened to be nearby one day. He followed the fawn out to the clearing and attacked it there. After Addie came, he ran back to his hideout in the ruins. That explanation would explain the scent trails, at least. It would also explain why Addie didn¡¯t hear the fawn calling for help anymore. Perhaps he was still safe with his mother at this very moment.

    That still left the other problem. How many children were in the building, and could Addie help them without getting into danger herself?

    She had three options here, in her mind. She could run away, and try to tell Mr. Owlcharge or Auntie about the ruins. But if she did that, what if black cloak ran away or hurt the children while she was gone? She dismissed this option right away.

    Another option was to go down the stairs and help the children immediately. Addie liked this idea because she knew how scary it was to be trapped and have dangerous magic threatening her. Sometimes, she still dreamed about Christena¡¯s ritual, except in her dreams, it was a real ritual and not just a fake illusion.

    The last option was to go straight up the stairs and deal with black cloak before helping the children. If she did this, it meant a lot of risk to herself, but it also might mean that no more children would be hurt by black cloak again.

    ¡°What do you think, Squishy?¡± Addie spoke telepathically, so she wouldn¡¯t have to make any sound. It made her scrunch her face up in concentration since she still didn¡¯t use this technique too often.

    ¡°I believe we should make haste and attack black cloak. Always go for the throat. Saving the children now will only force him to find new ones. Besides, I like not the idea of leaving behind a future enemy.¡±

    Addie still preferred saving the children first, but that was just her heart speaking. Logically, she also agreed with Squishy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill him,¡± Addie said. ¡°There has to be another way. What if we take away his magic?¡±

    ¡°I know not such a technique, and I don¡¯t believe Christena has taught you hers yet, either. Even so, Christena¡¯s soul-dampening ability is only temporary, something she has to constantly maintain focus on. It would be impermanent, such a solution.¡±

    Squishy always listened to their lessons better than Addie did. If anyone remembered Christena¡¯s words, it would be Squishy.

    ¡°What if we tie him up and take him to Auntie?¡± Addie tried. She had never killed someone before and she didn¡¯t think she could do it. She didn¡¯t want Squishy to do it, either.

    ¡°Perhaps. Or perhaps he will use his magic to annihilate us while we try to bind him.¡± Addie wasn¡¯t quite sure what annihilate meant, but she got the gist of it through the feeling of total defeat that Squishy pushed through the bond alongside the word. He must have been learning new words with Christena.

    Addie frowned. Whatever choice they made, it wouldn¡¯t be perfect. She did have another idea, though. One she thought might be much more likely to succeed than tying him up with something would be.

    <hr><hr>

    After opening the door to one of the rooms upstairs, Addie¡¯s first thought was that they got lucky. Someone was lying down on the floor in a pile of furs, completely asleep. That gave her a big advantage.

    With a questioning glance over to her partner, Squishy nodded his head, confirming this was black cloak.

    Without any further delay, Addie walked up to the sleeping man and got a closer look at him. She recognized this man. It was the same guy who had bothered Mr. Owlcharge right after she got her vanilla ice cream. Now that she knew this guy was black cloak, it soured her memory of the otherwise fun-filled day. Back then, he had been bothering Mr. Owlcharge about helping out with something, but Mr. Owlcharge had told him to go to the community meetings just like everyone else. She remembered him so strongly because he had been wearing a black cloak on an otherwise hot summer day.

    Addie had to resist the urge to hit herself for not realizing it sooner. No one walked around with black cloaks during the day, and this guy had been doing it for a while now, multiple times even. Now that she could see his face, she was quite certain he wasn¡¯t a pigling. Sen was right from the beginning. His hair shined due to the grease, and his messy black hair complemented his patchy unshaven face. He also smelled really bad. Way worse than Addie smelled after she had been lost in the forest. She wanted to plug her nose, but couldn¡¯t since she needed both hands.

    Next came the hard part. Tiptoeing here was fairly easy since the floor was made of stone. Wood was way worse, and you always had to watch out for creaking. Stone was easy, she just had to put her feet down gently. She had done this tons of times snooping around at home without getting caught.

    Once she was close enough, she kneeled down right next to the man and ever so gently, ever so slowly, put both of her hands hovering just above his chest. She was going to dive into his soul shell.

 Chapter 45: Soul Attack

    Addie had been lucky, finding the man as he slept. His scraggly appearance was just as disgusting as the first time she saw him. Beneath the black cloak, he wore torn-up linens. Addie was just glad he had anything on underneath his cloak.

    Sitting on the hard stone floor with her knees, Addie hovered her hands over black cloak¡¯s chest and closed her eyes. She took a silent deep breath, then dove into her shared soul bond with Squishy.

    She started by observing her own soul shell, and the connecting tunnel to Squishy¡¯s soul as well. The ethereal tunnel existed somewhere between either of them, sturdy yet almost transparent in the way she envisioned it. From there, she allowed a small trickle of magic to flow up through the bond directly to Addie. Then, she used all of her focus and learning from the transcendent loop exercise, and brought her magic outside of her soul, just above the outside of her soul shell.

    From this point forward, everything she did would be guesswork. She had never tried to touch another person¡¯s soul before. In the past, Christena had manipulated Addie¡¯s magic for her, helping her learn how to do it. Now, Addie needed to try doing what Christena had done. She moved that tendril out from her soul shell, out and out, blindly wiggling it around trying to search for something. Addie thought about where her hands were, and where the man lay below her outstretched hands. She tried to envision that location while she wiggled her magic tendril around, but it didn¡¯t seem to help so much. The space that her soul shell occupied almost seemed unrelated to her body.

    Frustration started to build up in Addie, forcing her to hold back a huff. If she couldn¡¯t break the magic in his soul, would it be her fault if more children got hurt? She shook her head, trying to push the thought away and force her frustration down. She focused back on her magic tendril as it extended out from her soul shell.

    With a great deal of focus, she split her magic into two tendrils, and then four, but by having so many different tendrils outside of herself, it became hard to focus on all of them at the same time. She did her best though, and wiggled them around all over, just trying to find anything.

    Fleetingly, Addie brushed against something. It had been so slight, that she almost thought she imagined it. She moved all four of her magic tendrils over in a direction that wasn¡¯t truly a direction¡ªthe spiritual place in between magic and reality. Then, all four tendrils grabbed ahold of something, strong and sturdy. Most importantly, it was round, the shape of a soul shell.

    One of her tendrils, then two, and rapidly all four of the magic tendrils started burning, putting an ache in her soul that went beyond the soreness of her body. It felt like a taste of soul damage¡ªreminding her of those days she had spent healing the burns on her soul shell.

    Addie gasped, and cut the magic tendrils away from her core, simply letting them fall away from her soul shell to stop the spreading flames. The magic tendrils, now separated from her core, dissolved into nothingness, and she lost all awareness of them. She opened her eyes hastily and looked down at black cloak before her.

    A sigh of relief began to make its way to the front of her lungs, but then her breath hitched. The man¡¯s eyes were still closed, but coming out from his chest was the head of a white bird, the same one from the rooftops. It extended out of his chest like a disgusting growth, bubbling up and out from his skin. Ghostly flames licked the top of the bird¡¯s crown, shading its white feathers in pale purple.

    The flames started spreading, forcing Addie to hurriedly stand up and take a hesitant step backward. The flames spread all over black cloak¡¯s chest and then stopped. He looked like the victim of a funeral pyre¡ª though, his clothes did not burn, and the room did not smell like smoke.

    Squishy started rumbling something deep within his chest, deeper than something as small as he should be capable of. Then, black cloak¡¯s eyes opened frighteningly quick, and he snapped his head over to look at Addie.

    The protruding white-headed hawk gave a quick squawk, then the situation caught up to it, and it screamed piercingly into Addie¡¯s ears. Addie flinched but knew better than to close her eyes in front of an enemy. She had already made that mistake once before.

    Squishy¡¯s ears came down flat against his skull, and without hesitation, he ran toward the bird, Addie feeling his intentions as he aimed to chomp the bird¡¯s head right off. His powerful protective instinct bled over through their bond.

    The bird¡®s head dropped back into black cloak¡¯s chest fully, diving as if into a puddle. At the same time, black cloak himself rolled backward and jumped up before Squishy could reach them.

    He sunk into the shadows for a moment, and Addie gulped down some musty stale air. Both of them stared at each other for a moment in shock, but Squishy would never be distracted like that. He jumped at black cloak, spiky dragon-like teeth bared as his claws gripped the stone flooring for traction. Squishy¡¯s teeth made contact with black cloak¡¯s leg, causing him to yelp and stumble a moment before catching himself.

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    For a second, black cloak flailed his leg wildly as Squishy held on even as he was shaken around.

    ¡°Get off me you weird lizard!¡± black cloak¡¯s voice was high-pitched, and squeal-y, especially in the way he pronounced ¡®lizard¡¯.

    Addie wouldn¡¯t let Squishy do all of the work, she started to build her magic, to punt everyone out into Realmspace.

    Black cloak must have known Addie was doing something, as Addie felt a pressure on her soul, much the same as in her exercises with Christena. He pushed his soul out onto Addie¡¯s, attempting to force her magic to stop early.

    Amusement crawled up Addie¡¯s chest since she knew that wouldn¡¯t work on her. Immediately, she channeled her magic all around her soul shell, protecting it fully from black cloak¡¯s influence and shoving his magic away from her in the process.

    Then, Addie retaliated with her own attack, and their surroundings went dark as everyone entered Realmspace.

    Black cloak cursed loudly, something about Aggan. If Addie had spoken those words, she would have gotten in trouble.

    Squishy was still attached to black cloak¡¯s leg, digging his teeth into him. Addie wanted to help too, so she ran forward right into black cloak, bowling him over onto the ground, making him curse again¡ª this time much louder.

    Addie tried to push her magic out into his soul again, but like before, she was blindly flailing her magic around just trying to find black cloak¡¯s soul. She had never done this in lessons, before, and she found it to be more difficult than she would have thought.

    Like before, her magic tendril once again started burning, forcing her to let the magic go before it would spread to her soul shell. This idea wasn¡¯t going to work.

    She opened her eyes, and the black hawk was in the middle of pushing its head out of black cloak¡¯s chest. Then, the hawk pushed its wings out of his chest, too: rippling out as if surfacing from a still pond.

    Ghostly flames ignited on the tips of its feathers, and then it flapped its wings once. The wisps flew out from the hawk and spread all over.

    Addie watched in fear as two landed right on her skirt, and another one ignited on Squishy¡¯s paw. Hurriedly, Addie ejected black cloak from Realmspace and practiced the transcendent loop exercise Christena taught her. It wasn¡¯t enough though, and she felt the flames start licking against her legs.

    Addie pulled her dress off as fast as possible and dropped it on the ground. She grimaced as her limbs became exposed to the cold air. That seemed to work, though, and the white-purple flames stayed on her dress, without spreading to the ground. She only took a second to glance at herself and confirm the flames hadn¡¯t spread to her underclothes. Then, she ran over to Squishy.

    His paw was still burning, and it was slowly spread up his arm. Due to their shared soul connection, she knew he was using the transcendent loop, so at least they didn¡¯t need to worry about his soul.

    He looked up at Addie and whimpered. It was more in fear than pain. The flames didn¡¯t seem to burn his arm, they were only spreading across his body. Addie turned her head over to her dress for a moment and saw the same thing over there. The dress had flames all over it now, but it wasn¡¯t turning to ash, or even smoking.

    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Addie asked, ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    ¡°This is most certainly not ideal, and I can feel the flames attempting to attack my soul shell, but they have been unsuccessful thus far.¡± His tone sounded brave, but she could see his body trembling. ¡°I am worried, however. The more the flames spread across my body, the stronger the bombardment against my soul.¡±

    That worried Addie, too. She didn¡¯t have much time to think about it, though. Unfortunately for them, by now, their earlier magic ran out, and Realmspace seemed to be displeased with their presence as it swiftly punted them back to reality.

    The world snapped back with the sharpness of a slammed door, leaving Addie blinking against the gray light that now filled the room. She was on guard the moment they reentered reality. She waved her head around, wildly scanning the room, looking for black cloak.

    She didn¡¯t see him anywhere within the room, but she did see her discarded dress on the floor not too far away from her, so at least she wouldn¡¯t need to retrieve it later. She did have a thin undershirt on, but without her dress, the damp breeze snuck right up against her back, making her feel exposed. Unfortunately, there was no time to deal with her currently burning dress.

    She looked back over to Squishy, ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±

    ¡°That is for the best. Allow me to concentrate. I must protect my soul.¡± Addie watched as the nearly transparent flames danced across his black scales.

    ¡°Let me help.¡± Addie grabbed onto their shared magic bond and pushed some of the magic over towards Squishy. Now, with her focus within his soul shell, she could see the magic he was cycling over his core, keeping the sinister flames at bay. She wrapped an additional layer of their magic over his shell, allowing him a moment to rest. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you. Can you try to get rid of the other fire?¡± Addie spoke within the soul bond.

    Still focused on protecting Squishy¡¯s soul shell, Addie watched as her little warrior dropped onto the ground and started rolling all over. Luckily, that did not cause the flames to spread to the stone ground. Unluckily, it didn¡¯t seem to help Squishy at all either. He rubbed at his face and whimpered. Addie noticed that his eyes were closed, too. She wouldn¡¯t want her eyes to be open while her face burned, either.

    Squishy quit whimpering and sat on his haunches. She felt him draw on some of their magic, and push it outside of his soul shell. The next thing Addie knew, the fire started getting smaller, and gradually, over about a minute, the flames completely extinguished. Squishy huffed out a big breath, and then flopped down onto his stomach, with his black paws sprawled out.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Addie asked excitedly.

    ¡°I simply extended our magic out from my soul shell, and used it to protect my physical body.¡±

    ¡°Teach me to do that!¡± Addie exclaimed. But right after she said it, she thought better of it. ¡°Not right now. Where did black cloak go?¡±

    ¡°The obscure absence of smell has spread throughout the entire room. We will have to exit it before I can begin tracking.¡±

    Before that, how was Addie going to save her poor dress?

 Chapter 46: Violet

    ¡°How did you stop the fire?¡± Addie asked. She wanted to know how to do that in case her body caught on flame, too. Also, maybe she could do something similar for her dress. Luckily, it still wasn¡¯t turning to ash or even smoking. The flames didn¡¯t seem to be doing much to her dress directly, at least.

    Luckily, the blue ribbon Sen gifted her sat snugly, safe, and secure in her hair. It would have been tragic if that had gotten flames on it, too.

    ¡°I simply pushed our magic out from my soul shell and used it to encompass my physical form.¡±

    ¡°When I tried that, I couldn¡¯t see my body! Only my magic. How¡¯d you see where to put the magic?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. It came to me more on instinct. I felt myself in danger and acted quickly.¡±

    Addie shook her head, there was more time to figure that out later. Night was close, and her clothes were still on the floor, burning brightly.

    ¡°Do you think you can do that for my dress, too?¡±

    In response, Squishy padded softly over to her dress and stopped about a step away from it. He inspected it, with a few good sniffs, his snout moving up and down.

    ¡°I am afraid not. This is beyond me.¡±

    This was not right. Addie had no time to fix her stupid clothes! Black cloak might be leagues away by now! Addie turned her head to the side, where a broken-down wooden table sat.

    ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    The tabletop clattered, causing the ground to rumble and the nearby dust to cloud into the air. Addie coughed the irritants out of her lungs and then looked down at the tabletop. She picked it up with a heave and scooted it off to the side where it fell with a bang, revealing her dress underneath.

    ¡°Well, that worked,¡± Addie observed. Sweat dripped down her brow, and she wiped it off. She and Squishy had been dragging it over to her dress for maybe ten minutes now. She couldn¡¯t just pick up her dress and move it while on fire. Her father always said you could smother a fire if there was no water around.

    Addie looked at her dress in dismay, it had a few small rips at the bottom of the skirt. Since the flames were gone, Addie decided not to spend any more time thinking about it. She picked it up and pulled it back over her head.

    Squishy spent a moment sniffing at Addie. ¡°Interesting, your dress smells odd.¡±

    Addie looked over at Squishy, with her eyebrows raised and her face outraged. ¡°You can¡¯t just say that to a lady!¡±

    ¡°No, that isn¡¯t what I meant,¡± Squishy hurried to correct himself, ¡°I mean that your dress has no smell at all.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Maybe the flames burn up smells?¡± It was a thought for later. For now, they had a bad guy to catch.

    The pair began running back down the stairs, trying to exit the tavern.

    They came face to face with the boarded-up door, and they wasted no time bypassing it by using Realmspace.

    When they reappeared on the other side of the door, the ruins greeted them, the crumbling buildings looking the same as before.

    Something flashed into Addie¡¯s vision, and within a moment, a purple bird was hovering in wait. It chirped once, and then Addie focused her eyes behind the viollow. There was Auntie, tapping her foot against the ground and glaring right at Addie only a meter away.

    ¡°Christena told me you ran off this morning, barely grabbing breakfast on your way out. I thought you promised me you would let me know if you were going out? It¡¯s nearly dark out. And how did you destroy your dress?¡±

    Addie hesitated, not sure what to say. The moment from a few days ago when she came home late flashed through her brain.

    Auntie sighed and rubbed her nose, ¡°I think it might be time for you to go home, Addie.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Addie shouted. Those words felt like the cold shock of betrayal. She thought Auntie liked her, but now she wanted to send her away.

    ¡°I think it might be for the best.¡±

    Addie quickly shook her head, side to side, ¡°No. I haven¡¯t helped Nettal, yet.¡±

    Auntie looked away, then closed her eyes for a moment. ¡°Come on Addie, let¡¯s go back to the mansion for now.¡± She reached her hand out, waiting for Addie to take it.

    Demurely, Addie walked up to Auntie, but she ignored her outstretched hand. After a moment, Auntie dropped her arm, and the two of them started walking back to the mansion. Auntie¡¯s viollow flew over and perched on her shoulder, while Squishy followed them from behind.

    ¡°Your father and I thought it would be good for you and Nettal to have someone close in age to one another for your lessons. Especially so after you got your bond. We were planning to initialize Nettal soon, too, and we hoped you two could encourage each other to get better at using your new bonds.¡±

    Addie was only half listening to Auntie as they walked side by side. She mostly kept her eyes on the ground. She didn¡¯t want to look at Auntie right now. How could she send Addie away right now, when she was so close to finding black cloak? Auntie definitely wouldn¡¯t listen if Addie tried to talk to her. She never listened, most adults didn¡¯t. Auntie didn¡¯t even listen to Sen. Addie held herself back from yelling since it wouldn¡¯t do any good anyway.

    Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°There¡¯s too much danger around here, unexpectedly.¡± Auntie huffed out a laugh at that, bitterly. ¡°And I can¡¯t keep my eyes on you very easily if you keep running off at every waking hour. How am I supposed to focus on catching whoever is hurting all of these children if I have to run off every second to make sure you come home safely?¡±

    Addie just kept putting one step in front of the other. Quietly, almost under her breath, Addie couldn¡¯t hold herself back from shouting, ¡°I found the bad guy; we can still get him!¡± Addie stared up at Auntie, determination in her eyes. She tugged on Auntie¡¯s pant leg, ¡°Squishy and I really found him, and we were winning, too!¡±

    Auntie stopped walking and looked into Addie¡¯s eyes. Somehow, Addie managed to hold the gaze without looking away. ¡°Squishy can still find him! We were fighting him, but then he ran away!¡±

    Something sparked in Auntie¡¯s eyes. ¡°Is that right? You aren¡¯t lying?¡±

    Her eyes stared right into Auntie¡¯s, and Addie tried to make her most sincere face, ¡°I¡¯m not lying.¡±

    Auntie tapped her foot against the ground for a moment as she bit her lip. Then she seemed to deflate, but she still looked angry. ¡°This better be a real emergency, Addie. If you aren¡¯t being honest right now I¡¯m going to be. Very. Upset.¡± Auntie¡¯s tone made Addie gulp and second-guess herself for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m really not lying,¡± Addie repeated, ¡°It¡¯s definitely the bad guy.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Auntie let out a breath, ¡°Show me.¡±

    Squishy perked his ears up in understanding, and ran off, back down the ruined road. Auntie¡¯s viollow flapped her wings and raced after him.

    ¡°You listened?¡± Addie asked shock in her voice.

    ¡°Well, you were right about that dragon. And this is too important to ignore if it really is the person who hurt my Nettal.¡± Auntie¡¯s stern eyes promised justice and retribution.

    Addie pulled on Auntie¡¯s sleeve, trying to drag her down the road after Squishy. ¡°Let¡¯s go! He¡¯ll get away!¡±

    Auntie shook her head as she allowed herself to be dragged along. ¡°You really do remind me of your grandmother, in some strange way, Addie. Dragging me off on an adventure.¡±

    They raced through the ruins, Squishy and Auntie¡¯s viollow far ahead. Addie had trouble keeping them in sight. It didn¡¯t help that Auntie wouldn¡¯t run fast enough to keep up with them.

    ¡°Woah, Addie,¡± Auntie said after a particularly harsh tug from Addie. ¡°We don¡¯t need to run so fast. Close your eyes for a second. Can¡¯t you sense Squishy? No matter how far he runs, you¡¯ll never lose him. You two are bonded.¡±

    She was right. Addie could feel Squishy¡¯s location. Actually, Addie remembered sensing him like this in the forest, too. She could feel him even when he moved outside of her spatial sense. Auntie¡¯s advice was a good reminder. Even still, Addie wanted to hurry. Urgency vibrated through her bones. She needed to find black cloak before he got away.

    The cracks in the chiseled stone-brick road disrupted Auntie¡¯s footing for a moment, so Addie decided to slow down. Auntie was right. They could let their bonded follow hot on the trail, and she and Auntie could catch up a little slower. It almost physically hurt to not be hurrying more, but she didn¡¯t want Auntie to trip and fall.

    Finally, with a moment to acknowledge the scenery, Auntie said, ¡°What is this? These ruins, what happened?¡±

    Turning her head, Addie replied, ¡°I thought you¡¯d know.¡±

    ¡°No. This place isn¡¯t quite within my Area, otherwise I would know about it.¡±

    ¡°I thought the road looked like the one in town,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right. Good catch, Addie.¡±

    Addie beamed at the praise.

    ¡°Violet sees something,¡± Auntie¡¯s gaze became distant.

    She had never heard that name before, but Addie guessed that must be Auntie¡¯s viollow.

    ¡°Can we walk a little faster?¡±

    ¡°Ok, but let go of my sleeve. You can hold my hand, instead.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t time for either! Addie let go of Auntie completely and started running after Squishy. She heard Auntie chuckle from behind her, then, Auntie raced way ahead with a powerful sprint, leaving Addie completely behind.

    ¡°Hey! Wait for me!¡± In response, Auntie just laughed some more and continued running. She ran faster than anyone Addie had ever seen. She was swift as a sparrow, and Addie realized, maybe that was part of her magic. She didn¡¯t even make so much as a sound while her feet hit the stone road.

    <hr><hr>

    Finally, Addie caught up to everyone. She never lost her way, since she could just focus on her soul bond with Squishy and find out where he went.

    Auntie¡¯s purple viollow flew around a ruined building, dropping a few purple feathers on the ground. Violet circled the building once but stayed plenty far away from it.

    Flames engulfed the entire wooden structure, ethereal, and ghostly white. Occasionally, the flames peeked in their motion to a muted indigo. Addie felt an otherworldly heat on her skin, and she instinctively raised her magic in defense of her soul, completing a layer of the transcendent loop. No wonder Violet didn¡¯t want to get close. Her poor little birdie feathers would burn right up.

    Despite the strange emanating heat, it had no smell whatsoever. Addie never knew she could miss the smell of smoke. At least if it smelled like smoke, it wouldn¡¯t feel so unnatural. For the first time, Addie understood what Squishy meant when he said there was no smell.

    The building itself stayed completely intact, a simple wooden house with humble ornamentation. It had been left in ruins, and even now seemed to sink ever so slightly into the swampy mud. Addie guessed it might be suitable for a regular small family of townsfolk, though now, anyone trying to live in it would burn out their very souls.

    Addie shivered, despite the strange heat, and looked at Squishy. ¡°He¡¯s here?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Squishy and Auntie replied at the same time. Then, Auntie continued, ¡°I would never mistake these flames. I¡¯m certain of it. This is the cause of my little girl¡¯s suffering. You were right, Addie.¡±

    Looking at all those flames, it didn¡¯t seem like they could easily walk inside.

    ¡°How are we supposed to get in there? The whole building is on fire! I don¡¯t think I can protect myself from that,¡± Addie said, ¡°It¡¯s going to be way harder than dropping a table on some clothes.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t have to. I¡¯m going to set up a perimeter¡ª¡± At Addie¡¯s confused look, Auntie clarified, ¡°Prevent him from leaving. Then, we¡¯ll go talk to Mr. Owlcharge.¡±

    Closing her eyes, Auntie took a deep breath. Then, her body exploded out into action. She stomped her foot deep into the mud, splashing a few flecks up into the air. She didn¡¯t react to the mud that hit her face. Then, she twisted her foot, gaining traction in the slippery muck. She raised her hands up to her waist and then heaved with effort. Her eyes glowed vibrant green, the color of the swamp, Addie realized, and the ground shook. Addie nearly lost her footing and slipped into the mud.

    More wood than Addie had ever seen started growing right before her eyes. A gigantic wall of wood encircled the burning house but didn¡¯t fully cover the top. Auntie heaved again, this time pushing her arms up straight into the air, palms facing up. The wood creaked and groaned, and at last succumbed to Auntie¡¯s might. It grew fully and melded at the top, forming a giant sphere of wood, almost bigger than Auntie¡¯s mansion. There were no branches, and no flowers growing from this deformed bulb of wood. It had twisting knots and fully grown bark splattered it in ugly patches. The structure would complement Hagal the witch, Addie thought.

    Addie looked at Auntie, her normally neat ponytail coming undone at the sides, strands of her brown hair flowing in the breeze. Sweat glistened off her brow, and she took forceful deep breaths. ¡°That will hold him, for now.¡±

 Chapter 47: Area Lords

    Addie had been distracted watching Auntie build the barrier around black cloak¡¯s hideout, so it surprised her when Squishy reached out through the bond.

    ¡°My lady, the children from the tavern are most likely still trapped.¡±

    Uh oh. Addie thought, eyes wide open in panic. She had completely forgotten about those poor kids while she was distracted chasing black cloak! Guilt ate away at her, and shame. Honestly, it was mostly shame. How could she have forgotten about them for this long? What if some of them never recovered because she didn¡¯t tell Auntie sooner?

    No, Addie decided. This course of action had been correct. Cornering black cloak was the most important thing. Now, no more children would get hurt due to him. That didn¡¯t mean Addie could dawdle around though.

    ¡°Auntie?¡± Addie hastily tugged on Auntie¡¯s pant leg.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Auntie was still gasping for breath, the exertion of magic taking its toll on her.

    ¡°I think we need to go back to the tavern,¡± Addie said.

    Auntie¡¯s incredulous face stared back at Addie. ¡°Give me five minutes to recover. That took a lot out of me.¡±

    ¡°There are other children still trapped over there.¡±

    At first, Auntie sighed in frustration, but then Addie¡¯s words caught up to her and she immediately stood taut. ¡°You¡¯re worse than your grandmother. Let¡¯s go!¡± Without even taking a much-needed moment to catch her breath, Auntie started run-hobbling back to the ruins. Addie followed after her.

    This time, getting back to the ruins felt more subdued to Addie. Auntie was still recovering, so they couldn¡¯t fully run. At the same time, Both Auntie and Addie knew the stakes involved. Leaving the soul-burned children alone in the basement of the tavern... Well, Addie didn¡¯t want to think about the worst-case scenario. She just hoped they could help those children. Without magic of their own, well, even Sen hadn¡¯t been able to heal Nettal in that situation.

    When they arrived, the ruins looked just as Addie remembered¡ª completely worn down. Addie thought she saw one of the roofs crumble a bit with a piece of stone falling to the floor. Soon, they walked up to the tavern.

    They all stopped at the entrance to the boarded-up doorway. Before Addie could suggest using Realmspace to bypass it, Auntie lifted up one leg and kicked straight through the boards. They shattered on impact, sending splinters flying everywhere. A few of them hit Addie¡¯s skirt, causing her to jump back in surprise. Squishy jumped straight into the air by instinct, then glared at Auntie. In response, Auntie just winked at Addie. Auntie used her hands to tear away all the remaining broken pieces of wood, and then stepped past the threshold.

    ¡°I could have just teleported us in there,¡± Addie said with sass.

    Ignoring Addie¡¯s sarcasm, Auntie asked, ¡°Which way?¡±

    Addie pointed to the staircase in the back, ¡°Squishy says in the basement.¡± She relayed.

    ¡°To the basement, then.¡± Auntie marched forward, each step more assured than the last. One day, Addie hoped she could be as powerful as Auntie. Maybe then, she could have the same level of confidence, too.

    They walked down the staircase, with Auntie in the lead and Squishy trailing behind Addie. He wanted to ¡®protect the flank.¡¯¡ªwhatever that meant.

    Addie expected Auntie to rush down the stairs and start helping the other children right away, but she didn¡¯t for some reason. She took her time going down the stairs and often paused to listen for sounds. If it had been Addie, she would have just rushed straight down there to help everyone quickly. Auntie had a different method though, a more careful one. Auntie paused to inspect the stairs a few times by tapping at them with her foot, sending dust careening into the air.

    ¡°Why are you doing that? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Auntie¡¯s face turned fierce and she glared at Addie. ¡°Be quiet!¡± she whispered. ¡°Think before you speak. There could be someone else dangerous down here. And I¡¯m checking the stairs because this entire building looks like it could collapse at any moment.¡±

    Violet seemed to think so too, giving a quiet chirp of agreement.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Addie mouthed, not daring to speak aloud anymore. Auntie was right, these stairs probably hadn¡¯t been maintained in ages, with half of the steps being more of a crumbled ramp than polished stone. The walls didn¡¯t look much better, the grey stone-brick walls showing cracks spiderwebbing out every which way. Addie just hoped the ceiling wouldn¡¯t collapse on them. With a new understanding of her surroundings, Addie followed Auntie down patiently. She didn¡¯t want the stairway to break apart and crush her, either.

    They reached the bottom of the stairwell and came to another open doorway. Rusted hinges sat half destroyed on the sides of the wall, but if there had been a door at one point, it was long gone now.

    Neither of them had a light, to see in the basement with, but that didn¡¯t matter to Addie or Squishy. Auntie must have had her own way of sensing their surroundings, since she didn¡¯t seem to be bothered, either.

    The basement was a simple affair, a simple stone square, with no separating walls for additional rooms. There was a single unoccupied wooden chair as the only furnishing. Most importantly, five children, all younger than Addie, lay on the bare floor. Two of them were girls and the rest were boys. Even in their unconscious state, they seemed to huddle up for warmth instinctively. Amazingly, they seemed cleaner than Addie did. Looking down at herself, the skirt part of her dress had been all torn up, and her legs were almost completely covered in dry flaking mud. In comparison, the children in front of her looked pristine: if Addie didn¡¯t know any better, she would say the children were sleeping peacefully, free of worries.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    A few more moments passed as Auntie checked the room for danger, her head moving side to side. After confirming no one other than the children was in there, she relaxed some, and sent Violet out flying into the room first. After nothing happened further, Auntie relaxed even more, though Addie noticed her shoulders still seemed tenser than normal, and she kept her eyes open wide.

    Squishy walked over to one of the boys and inspected him. ¡°Soul damage,¡± He said telepathically.

    ¡°They¡¯re hurt, just like Nettal,¡± Addie said aloud.

    ¡°There are too many for me to carry.¡± In response to Auntie¡¯s words, Violet flew out of the room faster than lightning. Addie heard a few flaps as the tiny bird raced back up the stairwell, and then nothing. ¡°Violet is going to inform Mr. Owlcharge. These are his people, the children he has the responsibility to protect. He can take things from here on.¡±

    And so, they waited. Surprisingly to Addie, the wait didn¡¯t last long, no more than a few minutes.

    The walls started shaking, and Addie watched as a few large cracks began forming in the inlaid stone wall. Sunlight started creeping through the splitting ceiling, and Addie feared she would soon find out what dead people felt like when they were buried.

    She closed her eyes and screamed, while Squishy ran over to her side and shouted at her, ¡°To Realmspace!¡±

    She was too afraid to move, though, and by the time she gathered her wits enough, she saw Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s face peeking through the damage in the ceiling. A desperate moment passed through Addie as she wondered why Mr. Owlcharge would be attacking.

    The walls continued to shake, but miraculously, none of the rubble so much as came close to Addie. She glanced to her side, and Auntie still seemed perfectly calm, as well. The ceiling folded away from the sides of the room, revealing the tavern above had been split open through the middle like a walnut. The bright light from the sky flooded into the room, making Addie blink as her eyes adjusted to the light. Everything made sense, as Addie realized Mr. Owlcharge wasn¡¯t attacking at all. He was just moving all the stone and earth away from the area to easily reach the children.

    With a final burst of magic, Addie watched Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s eyes become shadow, as they drank in the light around him, the color matching Arlie¡¯s scales perfectly. His snake-like companion wrapped around his right arm. Addie heard a loud crash, and the ground shook once more, as the entire upper level of the tavern finished collapsing on either side of the basement, reuniting with the swamp.

    He hopped down into what was now just a stone pit in the ground and brushed some of the rocky dust off his impeccable suit.

    ¡°You found some of the children. My gratitude, Miss Lomain.¡± He said to Auntie.

    ¡°Thank little Addie, here. She and Squishy found them. Before that, there¡¯s more. We found the culprit.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Addie laid down in her bed, facing the ceiling. It would be a few days before they could deal with black cloak. Auntie and Mr. Owlcharge needed time to prepare, or so they said. The children they found in the basement had been returned to their families, but just like Addie had feared, there was little hope of healing them without forcing them to undergo a dangerous initialization they had no way to prepare for.

    Luckily, no more children had been hurt since Auntie trapped black cloak in the giant wooden sphere, so they were now even more certain that he had been the cause. Three days had passed since then, and impatience and unease started worming into Addie¡¯s mind. The longer they waited to confront him, the more bad feelings started grabbing onto Addie. It felt like waiting only made it more likely for black cloak to escape, or hurt someone. She felt like a storm was coming, but instead of preemptively finding shelter, they were just waiting to be rained on.

    Until then, Auntie was busy planning with Mr. Owlcharge. At first, Addie worried about the whole situation. She wanted to help, too! And it seemed to her like the adults were going to defeat black cloak without involving Addie. But, after Addie confronted the adults, Auntie assured Addie that she would be needed for the plan. That eased Addie somewhat, but the adults still wouldn¡¯t tell her what the plan actually was. She wanted to know too!

    For now, Addie passed the days in boredom, just waiting for Auntie to tell her more about the plan. However, there was some fun lately with her lessons. Christena had started teaching Addie more soul techniques. For now, lessons were still focused on defense. Christena had shown Addie how to form a second layer of the transcendent loop, which offered even more soul protection than just a single layer. Addie felt that it was too easy. She moved her magic in exactly the same ways as before, just with an extra layer added on top. It was slightly difficult when she had to hold both layers at the same time since it required multitasking. Or, she could just let Squishy hold one layer while she held the other layer. That was much easier.

    Christena kept telling Addie that once she mastered defense, she would start teaching offense, too. Addie wanted to learn offense, too, but Christena wouldn¡¯t teach her no matter how much Addie pleaded. For now, Addie gave up on it, even though Christena also agreed Addie had the second layer mastered. ¡°At least teach me the next layer!¡± Addie thought to herself. Though, maybe she could figure it out herself? Something to think about later.

    Since Auntie was so busy, Addie walked up to Christena after lessons, letting her know that she planned to go outside the mansion for a while. Addie wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake a third time.

    ¡°I want to find that Impossible deer. I did some reading about it, and it says that, ¡®thou who the hoofed one shalt mark may ask for a blessing,¡¯ though Squishy had to explain what that meant.¡± Addie was just proud she memorized that passage from the encyclopedia. It used some strange old words. ¡°I think the mommy deer would help fight black cloak if I ask her nicely.¡±

    Christena considered for a moment, then said, ¡°That seems like a reasonable idea to me. Make sure you eat the lunch I prepared for you before you leave. I don¡¯t want it to go to waste since I went to so much trouble making it for you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Christena! I¡¯ll be home before dark!¡±

    And like that, Addie once again explored deep into the swamp. She and Squishy stopped by the clearing where they had first rescued the fawn and tried to track its scent again. But it seemed that the scents had faded by now, or so Squishy said.

    Addie plopped her boots through the mud, purposefully making squelching splashes as she paced in a circle. It helped her think. Up until now, they had always relied on Squishy¡¯s sense of smell to track things.

    The connection Addie had felt to the fawn the day it cried for help was also long gone, faded into the wind just as surely as its scent.

    A bit of mud splattered into a rock after Addie kicked at the ground. ¡°What should we do?¡± She thought aloud.

    It¡¯s not like the Impossible Deer left any tracks behind either. Left without any ideas, Addie and Squishy went back to the mansion for the day.

    Christena joined them for dinner, but Auntie was too busy, so Christena had brought food directly to Auntie a little bit earlier. Dinner tasted bland tonight, even though she knew it ought to be delicious.

    Normally, Addie would be quite talkative, happy to tell Christena all about her adventures.

    Tonight, though, Addie had her dinner in subdued silence. Christena seemed to pick up on it, after Addie started swinging her feet underneath the table while looking at the floor. The chair was slightly too high up for Addie to reach the floor. She could see Squishy¡¯s galaxy laden eyes looking up at her from below, begging for meat. He already had too much, though, and his stomach was bulging. So, she didn¡¯t give in to his pleas.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Addie? You really came home with your boots absolutely caked in mud. I have to clean up after you, you know?¡± Addie would have apologized, except Christena¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t scolding, it was just conversational.

    ¡°Squishy and I tried to find the Impossible deer but we had to give up. I hate giving up.¡± Addie played with the food on her plate by squishing it with her fork.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s think together,¡± Christena suggested.

 Chapter 48: Under the Stars

    ¡°Why did you have to give up?¡± Christena asked.

    ¡°Squishy couldn¡¯t smell the Impossible Deer, and she doesn¡¯t leave any footprints.¡± Addie looked up at Christena¡¯s face. Fluffy was wrapped around Christena¡¯s shoulders, like usual. When Addie glanced at her, Fluffy gave her a vulpine grin and a half-skittered mischievous laugh.

    Christena glanced at Fluffy, ¡°Hush you,¡± then booped her on the snoot, making the orange Slyfox hackles raise and chitter in outrage.

    Addie used her hand to cover up her giggling.

    Christena smiled, ¡°I¡¯m glad that cheered you up.¡± Fluffy seemed smug, too. ¡°Let¡¯s think for a moment. You said the deer had no scent or tracks... Hmm. I can see how that would make it hard to find. If that is the case, how did you find it, before?¡± Christena took another bite of dinner.

    Well, most recently Addie saw the mother deer after she saved her baby. Before that, the Impossible Deer had snuck up on her while she was sleeping and sniffed her a few times before wandering off. Addie explained this all to Christena, who nodded her head, slightly dislodging her frilled bonnet before she used her hand to adjust it.

    ¡°Well, maybe you don¡¯t need to find the Impossible Deer. In both situations, it came to you,¡± Christena pointed out. ¡°What if you go camp under the stars again? Maybe she¡¯ll find you.¡±

    If only it were that easy, Addie thought. Out of all the times she camped out in the night, it had only appeared once.

    ¡°Are you certain it was only the one time, my lady? Perhaps she watched over us frequently. I could not sense her, either way.¡± Squishy said.

    Addie nodded her head. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. I¡¯m going to try sleeping outside tonight, thanks Christena!¡±

    ¡°I hope it works out for you. Do you want me to prepare a tent?¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± Addie wanted to be directly under the stars.

    ¡°At least allow me to prepare a tarp for the mud, and a sleeping roll so you don¡¯t get cold.¡±

    Christena had a point. Sleeping in the cold mud didn¡¯t sound fun at all.

    After that, Addie had a much better dinner, and all of the flavors that had seemed so muted earlier on now tasted full of life and wonder.

    <hr><hr>

    This would be the first night Addie camped outside without her dad. Christena had brought the tarp, just like she suggested, and they found a good spot out of sight from the mansion. Despite that, Addie still generally knew where she was and could probably make it home by herself if she had to. Either way, Squishy wouldn¡¯t ever get lost.

    They laid the tarp out on the driest piece of the swamp they could find, which still meant when Addie sat down on it, the tarp sunk a few centimeters into the earth. It felt oddly cold on her backside, as if the ground was wet even though she knew the tarp was actually dry. As she lay down, she could hear the cool night breeze rustling through the swamp grasses and bushes. A few of the scraggly trees swayed in the wind, too.

    Christena lay down on the tarp next to Addie, crinkling it a bit. They both looked up at the stars. Squishy and Fluffy were off in the bushes somewhere, play fighting. Addie could hear Fluffy¡¯s chittering laughter echoing in the distance.

    Addie pulled the front of her bedroll up higher, just over her chin. That felt much better. The inside was lined with fluffy wool, which was pleasantly soft. Despite it being late summer, the nights still got surprisingly cold. All the moisture in the swamp seemed to reach up and touch Addie, keeping her cool even when she wanted to snuggle into the warm sleeping roll. She could hear the frogs croaking nearby, and she hoped none of them would try to join her near the tarp.

    ¡°Why are there so many stars?¡± Addie asked. Christena always knew the answers to Addie¡¯s questions.

    ¡°Some say the stars are fragments from the clash between Aggan and Servus.¡± Christena began. ¡°Long ago, before the advent of magic, it¡¯s said that Aggan and Servus were both stars themselves, bonded to each other like you are to Squishy. They circled one another in an eternal dance. But one day, Servus became greedy and tried to suck up all the magic from Aggan, turning into a black devouring pit. To this day, we see the Binary in the sky this way. The history books from this time are all but lost, now. And there are so many accounts of other intelligent species other than humans who are all dead now. Those peoples called it the great cataclysm¡ªWhere the Gods in the sky turned on each other and caused great chaos for our planet.¡±

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    ¡°Wow. So the stars are left over from that?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°At least, that¡¯s what our oldest history and religious texts say. All the tiny pieces of Aggan that escape from Servus go off to become tiny twinkling stars. You can only see them at night when they aren¡¯t afraid that Servus will find them.¡± Christena answered.

    Addie always loved looking at the stars. They brought things into perspective for her, that no matter where she went, there was always something grand out there, beyond her grasp. It was a feeling, more than a thought. A sense of awe that came only from the beauty of the night sky.

    Squishy walked back into their camp, with Fluffy dangling from his jaws by the scruff of her neck. ¡°I am superior, as always,¡± Squishy declared, posture impeccable.

    In response, Fluffy swatted him in the face with her giant tail, making him drop her and recoil. She yipped while Squishy was still recovering, and ran over to Christena¡¯s side, unharmed. From behind Christena¡¯s leg, Fluffy ground her teeth together and chittered at Squishy.

    Addie and Christena laughed. How a black-scaly creature like Squishy could be flushed, Addie didn¡¯t know, but he looked embarrassed nonetheless.

    The tarp to the right of Addie started rustling, and a bit of cold air intruded up into her face as Christena stood up. Squishy took that as his cue, and he walked over to the now empty spot conveniently pre-warmed by Christena. Unceremoniously, he sat down. Somehow, he didn¡¯t have a trace of mud on him. Addie hoped that wasn¡¯t just because she couldn¡¯t see properly in the dark. If he got her muddy she would be really upset. At least he was just on the tarp.

    Christena patted down the sides of her maid uniform¡¯s skirt. ¡°Well, good luck, Addie. Are you sure that you don¡¯t want me to at least leave Fluffy here with you?¡±

    ¡°Definitely no. The Impossible Deer only ever showed up when it was just me and Squishy.¡±

    ¡°Ok, well, the mansion is only a few minutes¡¯ walk from here, if you need anything,¡± Christena replied.

    Addie and Squishy watched as Christena walked away from the clearing. Fluffy tried to jump onto Christena¡¯s shoulders for her customary spot, but Christena swiftly dodged her Slyfox and pushed her away and back onto the ground. She would never let that muddy fox ruin her uniform. Addie listened as Fluffy¡¯s chittering faded while they walked into the distance.

    ¡°Did you hear what Christena said?¡±

    ¡°I am afraid not. That precocious vixen decided to spar, and I spent my focus thoroughly trouncing her. What did Christena tell you?¡±

    ¡°She said all these stars in the sky are tiny pieces of Aggan that ran away from Servus so they wouldn¡¯t be eaten.¡±

    ¡°That would certainly make sense to me, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s what would happen to us if I tried to take too much magic from our bond? Would I become a giant hole in the sky, too? And bits of your soul would try to run away?¡±

    ¡°Do not worry so, little one. I told you back in the forest what I will say now. I shall not let you destroy our bond so soon. Surely Servus is insatiable, but perhaps Aggan is too kind and giving.¡±

    That made Addie think. Her bond with Squishy was a partnership. She couldn¡¯t just use their magic by herself, it required that both she and Squishy willed it to work. In that sense, perhaps Servus was more like a cascade. His soul tearing itself apart as it grabbed hungrily for power.

    Addie shivered, she definitely didn¡¯t want to become like that. It warmed her heart, that Squishy was her bonded. As long as they were together, she knew they wouldn¡¯t ever cascade.

    Maybe Addie didn¡¯t need to be out here, asking the mommy deer for help. Of course, Addie had thought about asking Sen for help instead. If a mighty dragon like Sen swooped in, he could certainly save the day without a problem. But Sen had told Addie that he wouldn¡¯t ¡®interfere in squabbles between mortals¡¯, so she was afraid to ask him. Maybe that made her weak, but Squishy thought it made her respectful of Sen¡¯s wishes. Regardless, Sen couldn¡¯t help give Nettal magic. She needed a bonded.

    Before closing her eyes under this night sky, Addie put a thought out there, to the stars above. ¡°Mommy deer, please come find me tonight. Nettal needs a bonded to help her, and you could have the chance to fight the bad guy who hurt your baby.¡± Addie repeated these thoughts in her head, ¡°Please come,¡± the more she thought about it, the more she imagined how the universe might accept her pleas. Laying snug and warm in her bed roll, the cool air touching Addie¡¯s face and ears felt comparatively pleasant. She drifted off as the stars lulled her to sleep.

    The Binary had risen, but Addie didn¡¯t want to open her eyes just yet. She stretched her whole body as she yawned deeply and then sat up. It was still cold out for some reason. Finally, she blearily blinked her eyes. At first, she was confused. The sky was still dark, and she could still see the twinkling stars. Yet somehow, the entire clearing had lit up as if the Binary had risen.

    She started to push the sleeping roll down off her shoulders. Looking at the shadow she cast, she realized the light source must be behind her. She turned her head around, and behind her was a giant furry leg that ended in a hoof. The hoof scraped against the ground, and somewhere far above her head, Addie heard the Impossible Deer snort. Her warm breath cascaded down across Addie¡¯s head and face, smelling somewhat like musty grass.

    ¡°Oh. It worked,¡± Addie said, dumbfounded.

    The plan had certainly been to get the Impossible Deer¡¯s attention, but now Addie was at a loss. She hadn¡¯t actually thought this far ahead. Addie gulped.

    ¡°We need your help. Well, Nettal does. I mean, we found black cloak!¡± Addie shook her head, she was rambling, ¡°Um if you don¡¯t know that¡¯s the man who hurt your baby. Oh also Nettal and the other children need magic to help heal their souls.¡± That hadn¡¯t exactly been the way Addie wanted to phrase things, so it kind of came out as a jumbled mess, and even Addie realized she didn¡¯t do a great job of explaining anything.

    Addie raised her head up to look at the deer¡¯s face, and atop its monstrously huge head sat milky yellow glowing antlers. Specks of light peeled off them occasionally, and flew up into the air, reminding Addie of the embers from a campfire.

    ¡°Um, can you help Auntie fight the bad guy? And maybe help Nettal, too?¡± Addie repeated after a minute of silence.

    The deer just huffed out another breath of warm air. Addie didn¡¯t know if it understood her or not.

 Chapter 49: Just in Time

    As the mother deer¡¯s warm breath washed over Addie, she looked over to her partner. His side of the tarp was still undisturbed, and she had no idea how he could still be sleeping so peacefully.

    She flicked his tail with her hand, ¡°Squishy wake up,¡± Addie whispered harshly. Her voice stood out to her, and she realized how quiet it was. Insect chirps, frog croaks, all sounds were paused as the swamp held its breath, watching what would happen next.

    He raised his head into the air and scrambled to take in his surroundings. Then, he caught up to the situation and walked closer to Addie¡¯s side, giving solidarity to the moment.

    Addie looked back over to the mother deer, slightly unsure what to say. Her last attempt at communication had been pretty terrible, so this time she slowed down her words, ¡°Can you help us?¡±

    The mother deer''s antlers shone brighter, yet the light was soothing, not blinding. It felt, nice, and the glow warmed Addie from the inside.

    Addie remembered back to the time she saved the fawn. At that time, the mother¡¯s antlers had glowed and lit up the clearing just like she was doing now. After that, the fawn had seemed completely healed, despite his half-broken state over the log.

    With that memory at the forefront of her mind, Addie realized something. The mother deer did understand Addie¡¯s request. Those antlers of hers, they healed. They soothed.

    Turning her awareness inward, Addie inspected her soul shell and noticed another being¡¯s magic acting upon her, reinforcing her soul, healing tiny cuts and minuscule bruises that Addie hadn¡¯t even realized were there.

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to bond all of the children,¡± Addie said aloud, ¡°You want to help us, don¡¯t you? You want to heal everyone just like you healed your son.¡± As she spoke, her conviction grew.

    She looked into the mother deer¡¯s eyes and saw The Healer of the Forest within those green irises. She could do something even The Heart of Flame said was impossible. She could help heal the children.

    The glowing increased brightness until it seemed like the binary itself had descended. Though it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, in some strange twist of logic, Addie still had to close her eyes against the bright light.

    As fast as it came, the brightness vanished, and darkness returned to the night once more. Addie opened her eyes again and blinked a few times as her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. Everything seemed so black, now. She waved her hand in front of her face just to make sure she could still see.

    While she waited for her eyes to adjust, she swept out her spatial sense again and found that only she and Squishy remained in the clearing.

    Confusion swelled up inside Addie; she thought that the mother deer understood what Addie wanted, to help the other children, but it had just vanished. She breathed faster as panic started creeping up into the bottom of her awareness¡ª Addie didn¡¯t need to be healed! Those scratches would have cleared up on their own. She needed the deer to help Nettal!

    But it seemed the mother deer had misunderstood, after all, and now Addie was left in despair as she realized her chance had been blundered. She clenched her eyes, tightly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

    When she reopened them, she looked down at her clenched hands, hoping that the mother deer would return. Maybe if Addie just went back to sleep, she would come back? That felt like a far-fetched hope to Addie, and she hiccupped as her thoughts spiraled downward.

    ¡°Do not despair so soon, my lady, look.¡±

    Temporarily pulled out of her negative thoughts, Addie looked in the direction Squishy¡¯s snout was pointing toward.

    There, in the bushes, was a familiar friend. This time, his head showed two new nubs growing up out of his skull. The fawn had returned! And he had cute little baby antlers, just beginning to sprout.

    He walked over to their temporary camp, and Addie reached out to him with her hand. He nuzzled his head right into Addie¡¯s palm, and for a moment, just a moment, for the tiniest of brief seconds, his antler nubs glowed yellow, and Addie¡¯s soul felt soothed. It happened so quickly that Addie wondered if she had dreamed it.

    The mother deer had understood. She had understood from the beginning. It was Addie who had all the misconceptions, and Addie who had doubted her. This fawn, Addie knew he was the key.

    She looked him over. The fawn seemed the same as last time, though much healthier. Last time, he had been emaciated and weak. Now though, while Addie still wouldn¡¯t exactly call his body powerfully built, he radiated an elegant dexterity. Impossibly, his hoofs didn¡¯t leave footprints in the mud, just like his mother. Most importantly his green eyes were full of vitality and life. Addie ran her thumb over the nubs growing from the top of his head. She had thought antlers would feel like hard cold bone, but no. Addie felt the warmth emanating from his antlers, and tiny bits of hair fuzz growing all around it. He had a darker patch on his back, and his head seemed lighter colored. His underside looked completely white, now that the swamp mud didn¡¯t cling to him.

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    A smile came to her, then. Somehow, her plan had worked without going wrong along the way. It was the first time something really good had happened in a while. Maybe the fawn¡¯s magic was affecting Addie, but she felt rejuvenated and happy. Like for once, everything could work out.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the mansion.¡± As far as Addie was concerned, the night was over. Successful, sure, but also she felt no more reason to be out here in the mud.

    <hr><hr>

    As Addie stood outside the front door to the mansion, she hesitated for a moment. Would Auntie just let him into her house? Last time, Auntie had gotten really mad at Addie for doing things without getting permission first.

    Looking over the fawn, his sleek brown fur was pristine, not a drop of mud on him. If that was the case, surely it would be fine to let him in the house? There wasn¡¯t any danger of him spreading dirt around.

    In the past, as long as Addie had been clean, she never got in trouble for going inside. This would probably be the same, she decided.

    Her logic feeling completely sound, Addie led this unbonded magical creature into Auntie¡¯s house. Right past the doorway, Addie stopped walking, and her previous thoughts caught up to her. Maybe she better get permission from Auntie before letting the fawn in, after all.

    ¡°Squishy, you stay here with the fawn. I¡¯m gonna go get Auntie.¡± Without waiting for a response, Addie hurried out of the entranceway, kicking her muddy shoes off by the rack. Her socks caused her to slide on the wooden floor a bit, but she managed to get up to a run as the white mansion walls flashed by her. She ran up the carpeted stairs, barely noticing the orange light coming from the wall candles, and used the railing to speed up her ascent.

    She ran straight toward the end of the next hallway and knocked on Auntie¡¯s door twice. After nothing happened for a moment, Addie banged on the sturdy brown ornate wood three more times. Addie barely waited a second before she started knocking again, this time picking up speed and relentlessly echoing the sound of her banging across the hallway. Still, no one came to the door.

    Frustrated, Addie turned around abruptly and saw Christena hurrying from the other end of the hall over to Addie.

    ¡°Is everything ok?¡± Christena asked. ¡°It¡¯s still the middle of the night, how come you¡¯re banging the door so loud? What happened with the Impossible Deer?¡± Christena started brushing some of Addie¡¯s frazzled red hair out of her face, not even giving Addie a chance to reply. ¡°Well, you look just fine, if a bit tired, so that¡¯s good. Now, what¡¯s all this ruckus about?¡±

    ¡°I think everything went well, Christena! Where¡¯s Auntie? I need to talk to her.¡± Addie said.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad everything¡¯s alright,¡± Christena let out a breath. ¡°Auntie is out with Mr. Owlcharge right now, checking on the wooden dome. They¡¯ve been watching it on and off to make sure the culprit hasn¡¯t escaped.¡± Christena smiled, ¡°So far, things have been stable there, too.¡±

    That made Addie feel better, too.

    ¡°You still didn¡¯t answer my question, what happened?¡± Christena repeated.

    ¡°It was amazing! The mommy deer glowed super bright like ¡®woosh¡¯,¡± Addie gestured, ¡°And then I got sad because I couldn¡¯t tell if she understood me, but then her baby came out of the bushes and now he¡¯s downstairs. I think he can heal Nettal!¡±

    Christena looked taken aback, and she shook her head to clear it, ¡°That was a lot of information. He can heal Nettal? Wait, is he here right now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let me show you,¡± Addie started pulling Christena¡¯s sleeve, leading her to the stairs.

    Despite Addie¡¯s instructions to wait for her, Squishy and the fawn were already at the base of the stairs, starting to climb up. Christena gave Addie a look, and then hurried down. Both parties met each other halfway, everyone kind of just standing awkwardly on the stairs looking at one another.

    ¡°I tried to keep him at the doorway, as you instructed, but he insisted on following you, my lady.¡± Squishy drooped his head.

    After smelling Christena¡¯s hand a bit, he kept climbing up the stairs, marching right past everyone.

    Christena turned her head around to watch him climb, then glanced back at Addie with another look. Then, she started following after the fawn, and Addie kept up close behind her.

    At first, the fawn walked down the hallway randomly, pausing every few moments to glance about. For whatever reason, Christena seemed content to just allow the fawn to keep walking around freely. Well, if it was fine with Christena, it was fine with Addie, too.

    Soon, though, Addie realized he wasn¡¯t just walking around randomly, he was leading them toward Nettal¡¯s room. Each step the fawn took grew more confident, his steps more measured. Over time, his hooves became gentler, no longer clacking loudly against the stone floor.

    Then, his baby antlers started to glow. At first, so faintly Addie couldn¡¯t be sure if it was just the candle light reflecting off them. But she gradually became more sure about it, as the antler nubs soon started to glow even brighter than the candles.

    That soothing presence Addie had felt in the forest returned, and she allowed his magic to touch upon her soul. The magic wasn¡¯t focused on her, Addie realized. It merely brushed up against her soul gently, without actually acting upon her.

    A few steps away from Nettal¡¯s doorway, a multitude of thick branches sprouted out from the walls, and grew rapidly to completely cover the fawn in twisting restraints. Despite being completely stuck, the fawn didn¡¯t seem to struggle or worry at all.

    Before Addie could try and figure out what had happened, his antlers became even brighter, and somehow, the branches that had been tying him down unwound, and retreated into the wall from where they had come. His antlers were nearly blinding, now, but just like in the swamp, Addie didn¡¯t feel discomforted from the brightness.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Addie whispered up at Christena.

    ¡°I think that was Auntie¡¯s magic responding to an intruder,¡± Christena answered.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t really work,¡± Addie observed.

    Addie looked over to Christena, ¡°Is that ok?¡±

    ¡°I think so. I think it¡¯s precisely because it¡¯s the fawn that Auntie¡¯s magic let him through.¡±

    Indeed, the fawn took the last few steps toward Nettal¡¯s room, unobstructed. Addie watched as his antlers flashed brightly again, and the doorknob twisted as the door to Nettal¡¯s room opened on its own.

 Chapter 50: A Dragonâ€™s Protection

    Addie trailed into the room behind the fawn, with Christena following them in from close behind. The candlelight from the hallway competed with the fawn¡¯s glowing antler nubs to illuminate Nettal¡¯s room. Addie looked at the empty top bunk for a moment. Then glanced back down at the bottom bunk, where at first glance, Nettal seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Some strands of her long brown hair rested messily on her face. Nettal couldn¡¯t so much as idly brush the stray hair out of her face, so it must have gotten messier than normal.

    The bed sat flush against the room¡¯s right-hand wall, such that you could only get into the bed from the left side. The sheets were undisturbed, even though Addie knew Nettal usually messed the blankets up in her sleep... A simple window adorned the left-hand wall, and Addie could see the dark night sky beyond. Nettal¡¯s desk was placed on the far side of the room, with one of Auntie¡¯s homegrown chairs accompanying it. The desk was almost depressingly empty when Addie knew there should be toys and Nettal¡¯s drawings scattered haphazardly on top of it. Unlike the wooden floor in the hallway, Nettal¡¯s room had a big wooly rug across the entire floor that looked like a fillow pelt. No wonder the rug filled the entire room, the giant moose-like fillow were almost as tall as Auntie¡¯s mansion.

    Addie shook her head, to try and brush away some of those distracting thoughts. She shouldn¡¯t be thinking about fillow right now. She brought her attention back to Nettal and the fawn standing just a few inches away from her.

    Nettal¡¯s hand started raising all on its own, and Addie started to get excited. She didn¡¯t think Nettal would be able to get better so soon! But her hopes were dashed, as she realized the ring was pulling Nettal¡¯s hand up.

    As Addie watched, the ring¡ªa gift from Sen meant as a safeguard¡ªbegan to glow a fiery red, as if thrust back into a smith¡¯s forge. It slid off of Nettal¡¯s finger, causing her arm to flop back onto the bed. With an almost sentient urgency, the ring expanded rapidly, encircling Nettal''s bed like a protective barrier, emitting a high-pitched keening sound that vibrated through the room. The heat of summer manifested within Nettal¡¯s room, as waves of warmth from the ring crashed into Addie.

    Frozen, Addie''s heart pounded as she remembered Sen¡¯s warning: the ring was designed to protect Nettal from any further threats of soul damage. It was meant to act as a last line of defense, fiercely guarding against anything it perceived as a threat.

    Unperturbed by the dramatic display, the fawn approached the spinning ring nonchalantly. With the grace of a well-trained circus animal, he leaped into the fiery hoop, walking to Nettal¡¯s side. To Addie''s amazement, as soon as the fawn passed through, the ring ceased its violent spinning, and the alarming sound cut off abruptly. The fawn, seemingly oblivious to the magical chaos it had navigated, gently sniffed Nettal¡¯s hand and tenderly licked it.

    The ring seemed to recognize the fawn¡¯s benign intent. It floated upwards, aligning itself horizontally above the bed. It then expanded once more, growing until it formed a large, molten loop, hovering protectively.

    The engraved runes along the ring¡¯s surface ignited, and inside the loop, the space darkened dramatically, resembling a portal more than a piece of jewelry. Without hesitation, the ring descended to the floor, swallowing up the bunk bed, Nettal, and the fawn in a swift, fluid motion of light and shadow.

    Behind her, Addie heard Christena gasp.

    Addie could only watch in awe as the ring shrank rapidly, pulling the scene into itself until it snapped back to the size of a simple finger ring. It spun and turned for a moment more, rotating rapidly such that the air hummed and the ring looked like a blurry sphere. Then, it vanished into thin air, leaving behind nothing but the faint afterimage of its glow.

    The sudden return to darkness was disorienting. Addie blinked away the spots in her vision, her mind reeling from the rapid sequence of events. The room was silent now, the only sound being her and Christena¡¯s uneven breathing.

    There was hardly any time to understand what had happened before Addie started hearing pounding footsteps from down the hall.

    Addie turned around just as Auntie burst into the room, her presence like a storm. Her eyes darted around, taking in the missing bed. "What. Happened?" she demanded, her commanding tone touched with a hint of fear. She started pointing right at Christena as she advanced.

    For the first time that Addie had ever seen, Christena stammered and didn¡¯t seem to know what to say.

    In her place, Addie spoke up, ¡°I think, Sen protected Nettal?¡± Despite being a statement, Addie¡¯s voice came out as a question.

    ¡°What do you mean protected? My Nettal was in danger? What. Happened!¡± Auntie repeated. Her hair looked frizzy, Addie noticed.

    ¡°<u>Miss</u> Lomain¡ª¡± Christena began.

    ¡°Don¡¯t <u>Miss</u> Lomain me, Christena. Tell me what happened. Where is my daughter? Why did she need protection? How did my protections fail!¡± Auntie started growing hysterical, a side of her Addie had never seen before as she chastised Christena.

    ¡°Well, I think... Somehow. Well, it was magic, to be honest,¡± Christena sputtered, and couldn¡¯t finish explaining. Her hands uselessly waved in the air gesturing as her expression turned meeker than Addie expected from her. She seemed to shrink in on herself with each pointed question Auntie spat at her.

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    ¡°How did you two let whatever stormed through here kidnap Nettal!? I ran here as soon as I realized, but obviously I was too late! And you two are just sitting around here watching it happen?! By the Binary.¡± Auntie¡¯s curse came out as a shout, making Addie and Christena flinch. Auntie¡¯s eyes started glowing purple, and her hair started rising into the air of its own volition, the brown strands almost seeming like plant fibers ready to tear everything to shreds. Violet, the poor bird, also seemed to flitter back from Auntie¡¯s shouting, but she had nowhere to go since she was perched on Auntie¡¯s shoulder.

    She wouldn¡¯t have even noticed Fluffy if it weren¡¯t for her spatial sense, but the Slyfox seemed to be using illusions to make herself invisible and escape. So much for solidarity with Christena, Addie thought.

    ¡°Um. Auntie,¡± Addie whispered, barely able to get her voice out. ¡°I think she¡¯s safe with Sen.¡±

    Auntie took a deep breath focusing her wide open eyes on Addie, ¡°In simple words, explain to me what. Happened.¡± Her hair slowly succumbed to gravity, though her eyes kept glowing purple. ¡°Explain it to me from the beginning.¡±

    Addie gulped. Auntie still looked livid. Like a teakettle barely able to hold back the pressure from bursting. Her arms were trembling, and her hands shaking. Her voice broke, ¡°Where is my little girl?¡±

    Christena hunched back on herself, slightly in shock, so Addie decided to take the lead on the explanation. Auntie started growing chairs out of the ground for everyone to sit on.

    The more Addie told Auntie about the events from the past few hours, the more Auntie seemed to if not quite relax, at least keep calm enough to stop trembling. At the mention of the Impossible Deer¡¯s healing abilities her eyes lit up with hope, for what to Addie seemed like the first time in weeks. When Addie started telling Auntie about how the fawn seemed to pacify Auntie¡¯s powers and move the tree branches away from itself, Auntie¡¯s face looked lost in thought, considering, as she tapped her finger against an armrest.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Auntie chuckled self-deprecatingly, ¡°I created the magic in this house as an extension of myself. A place where my will could act to protect those I hold dear and fulfill my intentions,¡± She explained, almost to herself. ¡°No wonder this house let the fawn straight through.¡± Auntie shook her head.

    Addie explained how the HeartFlame ring from Sen activated when the fawn entered Nettal¡¯s room, and how it seemed to teleport them away into Realmspace.

    Finally, at the end of the recap of the night¡¯s events, Auntie¡¯s eyes stopped glowing, and Violet relaxed, too, her purple chest feathers poofing out as she rested her head down.

    Everyone sat in silence for a moment after Addie¡¯s explanation came to an end. A few times throughout it, Christena had jumped in for places that needed clarification, or when Addie rushed along a bit too fast without explaining something clearly.

    ¡°Alright, I think I more or less understand the situation.¡± Auntie looked calmer now that she knew Nettal was just with Sen, though a level of impatience remained. ¡°That being said, Addie, it¡¯s time to visit that dragon.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    A few last-minute preparations were made, and Auntie decided that Christena should join them, too. She and Fluffy would be back up and ¡®moral support¡¯ though Addie wasn¡¯t sure that Fluffy tended to be an ethical creature so that last part confused her.

    Holding both Christena and Auntie¡¯s hands in either of her own, Addie and Squishy began building up their magic to enter Realmspace. The magic came easily to them, a well-practiced skill by this point. However, when it came time to actually teleport everyone into Realmspace, Addie felt resistance¡ª different than when someone tried to prevent her from using magic. This felt like no matter how much magical power she poured into the working, it just wouldn¡¯t click. She and Squishy worked together to build their magic and figuratively slot it into place, but the working just kept demanding more and more power. After what felt like forever to Addie, the working snapped into place, finally satisfying its hunger.

    All six of them popped into Realmspace, Addie, Christena, Auntie, and everyone¡¯s bonded companions.

    Without further ado, Addie grabbed the loose part of her ribbon, untangling the knot and pulling it out from her hair in one smooth motion. She lifted it up near her face, and said, ¡°Sen, we¡¯re here.¡±

    Christena gasped as the twinkling lights suddenly turned on beneath their feet, and the molten gold flowed up to form a now familiar doorway with archaic runes.

    ¡°Crazy, isn¡¯t it?¡± Auntie said to Christena. ¡°To see such wonders? I used to feel like this all the time when I was a girl. My mother, Addie¡¯s grandmother, used to drag me out on such grand adventures.¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯m getting too old for all this excitement.

    Addie had been listening attentively. ¡°But Auntie, you don¡¯t look old at all! Your hair isn¡¯t even gray.¡±

    She just shook her head and laughed gently. ¡°All Area Lords are old, Addie. Remember that.¡±

    Addie took a moment to take that in. Then she said, ¡°Christena, Auntie, let¡¯s go! I¡¯m sure Sen is waiting for us.¡± While she dragged both forward by the wrists through the portal.

    Just a step before it, Auntie¡¯s viollow, Violet, started chirping like crazy, but everyone ignored it and walked through anyway.

    The moment they made it into Sen¡¯s hoard, a warm gust buffeted against them, causing Christena¡¯s maid uniform to flap a bit. Addie watched her as she quickly held it down to try and maintain some level of primness

    Floating up near the ceiling was a familiar sight, Nettal lying horizontally almost as if she were on a sturdy bed of air. The fawn seemed to be curled up laying across her body, his antlers no longer glowing. On the ground, surprisingly close, was the black dragon Sen, his blood-red tail contrasting against the rest of his body as he moved it about in slow gentle motions.

    ¡°Welcome, mortals, to my domain. Splendid, is it not? Addie, I see you are enjoying your gift.¡± Despite being close enough for his head to tower above and cast a shadow on them, Addie wasn¡¯t intimidated. She smiled and started to tie her blue ribbon back into her hair.

    His voice emanated around the room, without a proper source. Even this close to his mouth, Addie could tell he definitely wasn¡¯t talking with his body. She had guessed at it before, but his speech must be some kind of magical effect. ¡°You bring another with you this time. Ah, an illusionist. I had a brother who performed those, once.¡± Sen huffed out a breath in remembrance, the warm air buffeting them again. Christena performed a respectful curtsy. Fluffy just chittered.

    Auntie spoke up, ¡°Is my little girl alright?¡±

    ¡°For now, I have her contained within a stasis. Somehow, her protective ring activated, so I decided to bring her here for safekeeping. Imagine my surprise, when along with Nettal came another child. Tell me, Nettal¡¯s mother, are you ready for me to weave magic into her soul such that I may heal her? You are lucky. The other child has magic uniquely suited for this purpose.¡±

 Chapter 51: Iâ€™m here, now.

    Auntie looked around with wild eyes, focused on her daughter.

    ¡°What shall be thine decision, mortal? Would thou have me heal her, or shall she continue to waste away until oblivion?¡±

    ¡°We have to heal her, Auntie!¡± Addie said while she tugged on Auntie¡¯s sleeve.

    In response, Auntie turned her head to Addie sharply and took in a big breath. ¡°This is happening so fast. Give me a second Addie.¡±

    Addie tugged on Auntie¡¯s sleeve a couple more times.

    ¡°Quit that!¡± Auntie forcefully pulled Addie¡¯s hand off her sleeve, then she put her face in her hands. ¡°Just, give me a moment. Everyone, just, give me a moment.¡± Auntie¡¯s breath hitched.

    ¡°<u>Miss</u> Lomain, if you may allow me to speak.¡± Addie had never heard Christena use that most formal address, speaking to Auntie as a respected superior rather than a peer. ¡°This is perhaps, Nettal¡¯s only chance. And it came to you through what I believe is worthy of being called a miracle. A dragon? And an Impossible deer? There are no stories in the modern era that speak of people meeting one of these creatures, let alone two. And here we stand before them, both with the single purpose of healing your daughter.¡±

    When she brought her face up, tears streaked down her face, pooling near her chin. ¡°What if they fail, Christena? My little girl, what will happen?¡±

    Christena reached out and tenderly but firmly grabbed Auntie¡¯s hands. ¡°Then we will be here to support you.¡± Christena smiled.

    ¡°Right now, she¡¯s still alive, we can see her breathing even from here,¡± Auntie whispered.

    Addie looked over to Sen, but he just seemed to be watching the scene quietly.

    ¡°She is alive right now, but if you do nothing, then as Sen already told us, she will waste away with no way to heal.¡± Christena gave Auntie¡¯s hand another squeeze.

    Addie had never seen an adult cry before, and she didn¡¯t quite know what to do watching Auntie. Addie kept looking between Christena and Auntie, but she didn¡¯t feel like this would be a good moment to speak, so she watched them talk patiently.

    Auntie lifted her right hand out of Christena¡¯s and used it to wipe across her face. She nodded and sobbed for a moment. Then, she raised her head and looked over to Sen.

    ¡°How likely is it?¡± Auntie all but demanded. ¡°Give me a reason to say yes.¡±

    A mountainous wing lifted up and readjusted as Sen seemed to fidget slightly. ¡°Do not bet against a Dragon¡¯s pride, mortal. I shall not endure the insult a second time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mean, Sen!¡± Addie scolded. If he wanted more friends, he couldn¡¯t say things like that.

    Christena looked over to Addie, aghast, and Sen lifted a clawed foot into the air. Christena gasped in reaction and tried to pull Addie back, but Addie didn¡¯t budge. She could tell Sen was actually just adjusting his toes a bit. He gently placed his foot back down.

    ¡°I meant no offense.¡± Sen apologized, and for some reason, his face turned slightly orange which made him look funny.

    His scales quickly turned black again, and he faced Auntie. ¡°No other being within either Realm could help thine daughter as I. Choose, for it takes magic to sustain thee within my domain such that Realmspace cannot discover your presence.¡±

    All of the tension released from Auntie in parts, her shoulders falling, her head drooping, and her arms going slack at her sides as she gave a long exhale. When she raised her head again, she looked over to Christena, who nodded, and then she looked at Addie who smiled.

    She stood up tall and wiped all of the tears off of her face. ¡°Sen, mighty Heart of Flame and Dragon of Realmspace. Please. Save my daughter.¡±

    Sen gave a dragon¡¯s grin, showing off teeth the size of spires. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his normally red eyes shone gold, brighter than any of the magical lights in his hoard. He flapped his wings once, then twice, and Addie heard the tornado of wind, but before it could hit them it broke apart on an invisible barrier protecting the three of them.

    The fawn, who until now had been sleeping peacefully, rose its head into the air, its antler nubs glowing a bright yellow. The color was different than Sen¡¯s magic, but somehow both colors melded together at the edges.

    Sen inhaled, a mighty wind rushing into his outstretched mouth. He held his breath for but a moment, and then opened his jaws wide and released a beam of golden light, completely encompassing Nettal and the fawn within itself.

    Both adults held their breath, and Addie watched with wonder in her eyes. For a moment, the only thing in the room was a giant sideways column, baptizing Nettal in its golden light. Addie couldn¡¯t see Nettal at all, though.

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    Somehow, the moment stretched, and even though he ought to have run out of breath by now, Sen continued to exhale the golden light.

    The radiant beam of golden light surged forth, initially casting a direct path to Nettal. The light enveloped her in a warm embrace, then soared beyond, only to arch gracefully back towards her, beginning its first orbit. Then, it continued on its path, once again looping in on itself and directing itself back towards Nettal. Each subsequent loop of the luminous stream adjusted subtly in angle, crafting an intricate spherical cage of light around her. The continuous flow of magic wove around Nettal like threads in a celestial tapestry, each gigantic strand glowing as it crossed one another until she was encased in a pulsating orb of protective energy.

    Sen stopped breathing out the light, but the now completed sphere remained behind, looking like a golden fractal pattern created expanded into the third dimension.

    Then, the sphere began to beat like a heart, but opposite to what Addie remembered from Nettal¡¯s ring, the sphere began to grow bigger after each contraction. As the sphere grew, the golden sphere slowly turned transparent despite how bright it looked. Interestingly, now that Addie could see inside, Nettal and the fawn also seemed to grow with the sphere. With just a handful of pulsing beats, the sphere grew large enough such that it would fit comfortably inside Sen¡¯s massive palm¡ªa miniature cosmos of intertwined light and energy.

    As it touched down on his palm, it landed with a surprising quiet. Addie had thought it would hum like the HeartFlame ring.

    No longer as distracted by the magical sight, Addie turned her head to look at Auntie, who stood mesmerized by the golden light and beautiful fractal pattern of the sphere.

    Addie quickly looked back over to the fractal sphere. Sen was doing something to Nettal, but it was hard for Addie¡¯s brain to make sense of what she was seeing. Nettal seemed completely huge, due to the expansion of the sphere, and Sen¡¯s finger went through the fractal sphere and poked around inside of Nettal¡¯s body, except it also wasn¡¯t Nettal¡¯s body.

    Her body within the sphere seemed to take on another direction, that wasn¡¯t up or down, left or right, or forward or backward. It looked like something within Nettal¡¯s body had been stretched into some direction that Addie could only barely understand the edge of, and she had no context for things in reality that looked like this. Sen pushed and prodded at Nettal¡¯s astral form in this other direction, making Addie¡¯s eyes hurt as her mind struggled to understand what she was seeing.

    ¡°Better for thou mortals to look away for this, now, lest thine minds pop like grapes.¡± Sen¡¯s emanating voice came to Addie and the others.

    Then, the barrier that had protected them from the wind earlier became opaque, and Addie couldn¡¯t see through it at all. The only thing she could see now was the Realmstone floor, Auntie on her right, and Christena standing beside her.

    Addie ran over to Christena¡¯s side, and pulled on her sleeve, ¡°Christena, Christena! What was that?¡± Addie asked with excitement. Every time they visited Sen, he did something interesting.

    Sen¡¯s laughter came to them, reminding Addie that he could still hear them, even if he was focused on Nettal.

    For once, Christena didn¡¯t seem to know what to say, ¡°I¡¯m.. not sure, Addie.¡± Christena shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s ask Sen once he¡¯s done, ok?¡±

    Addie dropped her jaw in shock. Christena always knew how to explain magic. Sen must be really amazing if even Christena didn¡¯t know, Addie thought.

    Though the magic really was amazing, Addie couldn¡¯t help but be a little nervous. Especially now that they were all in this opaque barrier. All of Addie¡¯s worries about healing Nettal came to the front of her mind, now that she had nothing to distract herself with.

    Looking at her, Auntie seemed nervous too. No more tears dripped down her face, but there were still streak marks down her cheeks from earlier. At some point, Auntie had walked forward to place her right hand flat against the barrier they were all in. Now, she was just leaning against it like that, with her head slightly down and her eyes closed. Her breathing seemed calm, but Addie could see that she was clenching her left fist at her side.

    ¡°Auntie?¡± Addie asked.

    Auntie exhaled, and then she said, ¡°Yes, Addie?¡±

    ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    For the first time since entering Sen¡¯s domain, Auntie smiled.

    ¡°Thank you for worrying about me, Addie. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be ok until we find out what happened with Nettal.¡±

    ¡°Can I do anything?¡± Addie asked.

    Auntie smiled again. This time it was tinged with a bit of melancholy. ¡°Maybe, Addie. Maybe.¡±

    They waited in silence for a while longer, though Addie couldn¡¯t tell how long exactly. Definitely, more than twenty minutes, if she had to guess. Christena seemed content to patiently wait, with her hands folded in front of her skirt. Auntie sat down on the floor after a while, and Addie sat down next to Auntie while holding her hand.

    Finally, the barrier around them turned translucent. Addie immediately focused her eyes on the fractal sphere, still within Sen¡¯s hand. Luckily, it no longer hurt her brain to look at it. It had also shrunk back down such that Nettal inside of it looked normal-sized. Addie tried to look and see if Nettal was breathing, but she couldn¡¯t see anything. Addie¡¯s breath hitched at the sight, but she didn¡¯t lose hope yet. After all, she couldn¡¯t quite confirm if Nettal was breathing since she was so far away.

    Auntie stood up with a start, causing her brown ponytail to jolt, and focused her whole attention on the fractal sphere, too.

    ¡°How is she?¡± Auntie¡¯s question came out in a rush.

    ¡°See with thine own eyes,¡± Sen said.

    Then, the fractal sphere exploded into motes of light, themselves all dissolving in moments. Nettal¡¯s sleeping form started to float back down toward the ground, with the small fawn still sleeping upon her chest.

    They both touched down on the ground, just in front of Auntie, who immediately rushed over and bent down to put her hands around Nettal¡¯s face. Addie still couldn¡¯t see Nettal¡¯s breathing.

    Auntie looked distraught, and put her hand over Nettal¡¯s mouth for a moment, maybe to check for any breaths. Auntie gasped and held her breath, her face tight.

    With a slow movement, the fawn moved his neck up and opened his green eyes. He unfolded his legs from underneath himself as he stepped off of Nettal and to the side.

    Auntie moved her ear up against Nettal¡¯s now vacant chest and listened.

    The fawn pushed his nose up against Nettal¡¯s cheek and gave a lick, his antler nubs flashing yellow for but a moment.

    Auntie finally released the big breath she had been holding in a controlled stutter, and Addie watched as Nettal¡¯s now shining green eyes opened.

    ¡°Mom?¡± Her voice came out hoarse and weary.

    A final tear ran down Auntie¡¯s cheek, pooling at her chin for a moment before falling.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Nettal. Mom¡¯s here.¡± Auntie said reassuringly as she cupped Nettal¡¯s face in her hands. With a slow, deliberate movement, Auntie kissed Nettal¡¯s forehead, then embraced her daughter tightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, now.¡±

 Chapter 52: Home and Uncertainty

    It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to leave Sen¡¯s hoard, as Auntie wanted to get Nettal back home and into bed to rest. So, Auntie picked Nettal up into a princess carry as they all made their way back to Auntie¡¯s mansion. Sen used a molten gold gate to teleport them back from where they came in, so the mansion wasn¡¯t far at all once they got back to reality.

    It made sense to Addie that they should get home since Nettal still didn¡¯t seem quite right. She answered questions with a delay, and each word she spoke seemed to drag on. Her eyes often closed all on their own, only to rapidly open back up after Auntie asked Nettal a question. However, sometimes, Auntie would say something to Nettal and she wouldn¡¯t respond at all. At those times, Nettal would just keep her eyes closed.

    Addie wanted to talk to Nettal too, but she held herself back. She remembered when she came back home after being lost in the forest. She remembered how special that moment was when she saw her dad again and he was healthy.

    Auntie must be feeling a similar way, Addie thought. So, Addie did her best to give them some space, but she couldn¡¯t help herself from hovering near them just a bit too close.

    Violet and Fluffy stayed mostly quiet as they walked back to the mansion. Addie was surprised that Fluffy had stayed quiet the entire time they had been in Sen¡¯s hoard. Looking at the Slyfox, Fluffy almost seemed to be lost in deep thought. Christena mirrored Fluffy, too. Since they were so similar, Addie guessed they both must be thinking about all the cool new magic they saw Sen use. Addie would have to ask Christena if she had figured anything out later.

    The fawn trailed behind and a bit to the right of Auntie, never letting Nettal get too far away. No one had said anything yet, but Nettal¡¯s eyes were now the same exact color as the fawn¡¯s, so Addie knew they had to be bonded now. Likely, the fawn wouldn¡¯t ever go too far away from Nettal from this point on.

    When they first came back to reality, the fawn had sniffed at Addie¡¯s hand, but then he mostly ignored her. However, she did see one of his eyes sometimes point in her direction in a sideways glance.

    Once the entryway to the mansion came into view, Addie could see Mr. Owlcharge sitting on one of the steps up to the doorway. Somehow, even in that position, his suit didn¡¯t have so much as a stray wrinkle.

    When Addie and everyone got closer to him, he dexterously stood up, and gave a bow.

    ¡°Miss Addie, Miss Lomain, I hope your ventures were fruitful,¡± He used the title for a noble of lesser status for Addie, and the title of a noble for peer status for Auntie. He quickly stood up from his bow.

    ¡°Hi!¡± Addie waved to him as they walked forward.

    Auntie didn¡¯t comment.

    ¡°Who... Who¡¯s that?¡± Nettal groggily opened her eyes for a moment and looked at Mr. Owlcharge, then her eyes forced themselves closed again.

    Mr. Owlcharge smiled, ¡°She lives! And with a new friend, too.¡± From his position on his arm, Arlie slithered his upper body forward a bit and stuck his tongue out in the air, pointing his forked tongue at the fawn.

    Violet took that as her cue and flew over to Arlie, then she proceeded to peck annoyingly at his face, making the flat snake-like creature whip at her with the tip of his tail.

    ¡°Shoo,¡± Mr. Owlcharge gently waved Violet off, who returned to Auntie¡¯s shoulder with a surprisingly smug look for a bird.

    Maybe one day Addie would grow big enough for Squishy to rest across her shoulders, too.

    Auntie sighed, ¡°I thought I would have a bit of time to rest after all of this, but if you are here something must have happened.¡±

    Mr. Owlcharge opened his mouth to begin speaking, but then Auntie cut him off with a swipe of ¡®Stop!¡¯.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t tell me right now,¡± Auntie said scolding, ¡°Let¡¯s get back inside and sit down at the table, at least.¡±

    Without further words, everyone walked into the mansion. Auntie sighed as they made it back, most of the tension in her shoulders easing up.

    <hr><hr>

    Everyone started to take their shoes off at the entranceway. After Addie had put her booties away, Auntie gestured her head toward the left hallway.

    ¡°You can all sit at the table. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Auntie started walking up the stairs just ahead, probably to put Nettal into bed.

    Then, she paused just before taking the first step up the stairs, ¡°Actually, Christena? Could you come with me in case Nettal needs anything?¡±

    Christena dipped her head, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Like that, Christena and Auntie disappeared up the stairs. Not that Addie stayed there to watch the whole time, she and Mr. Owlcharge walked to the dining room table, the only table in the mansion, and sat down on the wooden seats. It made a satisfying squish as Addie plopped down on the green cushion.

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    Looking her head up, Addie saw Mr. Owlcharge sitting across from her with a fake smile. ¡°So, the weather has been pretty good lately?¡± For some reason, it sounded like a question.

    Addie scrunched up her face, ¡°I guess.¡± She said.

    They both sat in silence for a minute.

    Mr. Owlcharge cleared his throat, ¡°Well, that is to say...¡± He trailed off while moving his hands about a bit in gesture.

    With a bang, he accidentally knocked over one of the salt shakers on the table and scrambled to pick it up before it rolled off. He placed it back down. Then, he folded his hand in front of him right on top of the dark wooden table¡ª keeping his hands really still.

    ¡°What I mean to say is, you must be enjoying summer, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Addie said. Why was he asking her such weird questions?

    ¡°I see, well, my daughter, Lily really loves the summer. I take her swimming sometimes.¡± Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s face looked relieved, like he had finally overcome some great difficulty.

    ¡°Unfortunately, she¡¯s a fish out of water, as it were.¡±

    ¡°Lily doesn¡¯t look like a fish to me at all,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°Well, actually that¡¯s just something that means¡ª¡±

    ¡°Do you like dragons?¡± Addie interrupted.

    ¡°Oh, uh. I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kinda weird,¡± Addie said bluntly, then she looked down at the cushion on the chair.

    ¡°Certainly odd,¡± Squishy chimed in. Not that Mr. Owlcharge could hear him.

    ¡°Oh.¡± He chuckled momentarily, then started trailing off as he rubbed at the back of his head.

    Ignoring him, Addie started pushing at the cushion on her chair. Maybe Auntie grew this spongy material out of some kind of plant? Addie poked into it and watched as the depression slowly pushed itself back up.

    The room stayed quiet for a while. For some reason, every time Addie looked up at Mr. Owlcharge his face had a strained smile. A few times, Addie looked at him and watched as he would open his mouth as if to say something, only to just close it again a moment later.

    Finally, Addie heard footsteps near the archway, and she twisted in her seat to watch Auntie and Christena walking back into the room.

    Mr. Owlcharge stood up in a hurry and said, ¡°Ah there you two are. Addie and I were just starting to wonder, weren¡¯t we, Addie?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Not really.¡± She said as she shook her head.

    His face turned red, and Mr. Owlcharge said almost under his breath, ¡°Just me then, ok. Annnnyway, I have news about our culprit.¡±

    Auntie sat down next to Addie, while Christena continued through the dining room into the kitchen, where Addie heard some clanging.

    ¡°I have some news, too.¡±

    Addie gently pulled on Auntie¡¯s sleeve, ¡°I want to hear too.¡±

    Turning her head to look at Addie, Auntie smiled. ¡°That¡¯s perfect Addie. Mr. Owlcharge and I will need you for our plan.¡±

    ¡°Really!¡± Addie asked, with a big smile on her face.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Mr. Owlcharge butted in, ¡°Miss Lomain,¡± he addressed Auntie, ¡°Would you like me to share first?¡±

    Christena took that moment to barge back into the dining room from the kitchen, an ornate water pitcher with pink flowers on the white ceramic in one hand, and a matching cup in the other hand. She swiftly walked through the room and continued out. Addie could hear her heading toward the stairs.

    Rubbing at her eyes, Auntie sighed, ¡°No, let me update you on my side of things first to get it out of the way.¡±

    Mr. Owlcharge nodded his head, agreeing.

    Addie scanned her eyes across the ground, looking for the familiar black scales of her partner. He was lying down just to the left of her chair. Noticing that Addie was looking for him, he had his ears perked up and his starry eyes looked up at Addie. Squishy looked cute like that, kind of like when a dog looks at you and you can see the edges of the whites in their eyes. She picked him up by the belly and placed him in her lap. He wasn¡¯t too much bigger than a cat, so he fit alright, but his legs still dangled off to the sides.

    ¡°...gon. It was terrifying, quite honestly. I thought...¡± Addie picked up a bit of what Auntie was telling to Mr. Owlcharge. Addie already knew all about the encounter with Sen, so she wasn¡¯t listening much to what Auntie was saying. She looked back down at Squishy.

    Through their soulbond, Addie silently prompted, ¡°You¡¯ve been really quiet ever since we came back from Sen¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Indeed?¡± Squishy seemed to close his eyes for a second and think, ¡°Yes, that is true, I suppose. Ever since we learned I was manufactured by Sen, I¡¯ve been thinking about existence.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about ¡®existence¡¯ before.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I wonder if Arlie was created by Sen, too?¡± Squishy trailed off.

    ¡°I forgot about that! That¡¯s right, Mr. Owlcharge said that Arlie came from a flat place of total darkness.¡± Now that her mind was on it, that was the entire reason she brought Nettal to Realmspace. It¡¯s because she wanted to try and investigate more about Realmspace and Arlie. That¡¯s why Nettal got hurt in the first place.

    Sensing her dropping mood, Squishy chimed in, ¡°Remember what Auntie said. Do not blame yourself, my lady. Blame black cloak for the evil he has done.¡±

    Squishy had a point, but Addie still wished she hadn¡¯t taken Nettal to Realmspace back then. The first thing Addie would do when Nettal got better would be to apologize, Addie decided.

    Thinking about black cloak, Addie lifted her head back up to the conversation going on at the table with the adults. Looked like Christena wasn¡¯t back yet.

    ¡°... in time. So, in summary, we were correct to think he could survive there. I think further action is needed.¡± Mr. Owlcharge said.

    ¡°Um!¡± Addie interrupted loudly, ¡°I wasn¡¯t listening. What further action?¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, let me explain from the beginning then.¡± Mr. Owlcharge paused for a moment and looked over to Auntie.

    In response, Auntie just nodded her head.

    ¡°When Miss Lomain entrapped our suspected culprit within that dome of wood, she and I began thinking of various solutions to deal with him. At first, we considered that maybe he would simply run out of water or food trapped like that, but since he is bonded it is quite likely he can continue living entirely on magic alone.¡± Mr. Owlcharge paused for a second and readjusted in his seat.

    Addie remembered something similar happening to her back when she was lost in the forest! Even though she hadn¡¯t eaten very much at all, or drunken any water, she could still keep moving for way longer than she should have.

    ¡°I have been monitoring the suspect for the last few days, and not only does he still seem completely fine, but his magical flames have spread to Miss Lomain''s structure enclosing him. He hasn¡¯t escaped for now, and the wooden sphere still seems perfectly intact despite burning for multiple days¡ª which I don¡¯t understand in the slightest ¡ªbut we think we need to move soon regardless."

    Auntie nodded her head, ¡°I agree. We should act soon. I don¡¯t like the idea of his cage being on fire. Even if it doesn¡¯t seem to be doing anything right now, that doesn¡¯t mean it won¡¯t do something in the future. Better to take care of things before we have an even worse situation to deal with.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s one other item, as well.¡± Mr. Owlcharge continued, ¡°A bird with ghostly flames has started perching on the rooftops of the soul-damaged children in my town.¡±

 Chapter 53: Proud of You

    ¡°I know that!¡± Addie stood up out of her seat and put her hands on the table. ¡°That¡¯s Black Cloak¡¯s bonded! I know for sure!¡±

    ¡°I presume this ¡®Black Cloak¡¯ is the suspected culprit we have trapped in the dome?¡± Mr. Owlcharge attempted to clarify.

    ¡°I already said that,¡± Addie said while wrinkling her nose. ¡°You don¡¯t have to repeat it.¡±

    This Mr. Owlcharge really did seem weird to Addie. Based on the feelings she was getting over the soulbond, Squishy agreed full-heartedly. Though, Mr. Owlcharge didn¡¯t seem like a bad guy, and he did have some cool magic¡ªnot to mention Arlie! Addie would have to ask him more about his bonded snake Arlie sometime.

    After Addie¡¯s quip, Mr. Owlcharge awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head again with a fake smile.

    ¡°I thought the ghostly flames of the white-headed bird matched our culprit, but I¡¯m glad to have confirmation. Addie, when did you see the ghost flame bird?¡± Auntie asked. Then, Auntie gestured for Addie to sit back down in her chair, which she did.

    ¡°I saw the birdie coming right out of Black Cloak¡¯s chest, like some kind of mole! It was disgusting and I bet that birdie loves to scare people. It goes ¡®caw¡¯ at the top of the roof and all the other children run away like ¡®ahhh!¡¯¡± Addie got very animated with her explanations. It made perfect sense to Addie, but the adults seemed to have confused faces.

    ¡°Regardless of what the ghost bird does or does not do, I believe this is a case of...¡± Mr. Owlcharge looked at Auntie, who nodded her head in understanding. The two nodded at each other with some hidden communication.

    ¡°A case of what?¡± The adults ignored Addie for a moment longer, ¡°A case of what?¡± Addie repeated.

    ¡°Addie, if you ever see a situation where a bonded can go inside of a human, you are looking directly at the result of a cascade. Stay away from anyone like that, since they are a danger to everyone.¡± Auntie explained.

    Addie opened her eyes wide in understanding. She let out a small, ¡®Oh,¡¯ and then crossed her arms in thought.

    So this was what a cascade looked like? Addie thought the bonded and the human would smash together into some kind of hybrid creature, but it seemed like it was a lot different than that.

    ¡°Either way, I think it¡¯s time we started to explain our current ideas to Addie. Normally, we wouldn¡¯t ever let someone so young help us defeat a cascade.¡± Mr. Owlcharge gestured to Addie.

    Addie stood up out of her seat once again. She felt her face going flush as indignation rushed up into her head, ¡°You promised I could help!¡± She accused. This was important to her: important to make things right for Nettal.

    Then, Auntie waved at Addie to sit down while she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Addie. We already promised to include you this time.¡± Auntie explained.

    ¡°In fact, our plan relies on you completely. I don¡¯t think we could defeat this ¡®Black Cloak¡¯ as you call him without your magic.¡± Mr. Owlcharge picked up where Auntie left off.

    ¡°Mom?¡± Nettal poked her head around the hallway entrance.

    Addie nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise, not expecting someone from behind her to speak up. Looking back, Christena stood tall right behind Nettal, her hands held gently in front of her.

    ¡°My apologies, I told Nettal to try and rest in bed, but, well as you can see...¡± Christena trailed off, gesturing toward Nettal.

    Nettal had changed out of the nightgown she had been wearing for days on end, now wearing proper brown exploring pants and a similar close-fitting green long-sleeved shirt. Her normally loose brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. Addie couldn¡¯t help but stare into Nettal¡¯s green eyes. They used to be brown but had changed to green after bonding with the fawn. Seeing the same person now with a different eye color was weird.

    ¡°Nettal!¡± Auntie stood up from her seat, causing it to scrape against the floor with a jarring sound. ¡°Sweetie, I thought you needed some rest?¡±

    Auntie walked over to Nettal, bent down, and gently cupped her hand around Nettal¡¯s face.

    The fawn walked out from behind Nettal, and bumped his head up into Nettal¡¯s hand, propping it up from underneath. His nubs glowed for a moment and then stopped.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to rest, Mom. I¡¯ve done enough resting already.¡± Nettal¡¯s words came out slightly mumbled due to Auntie¡¯s hand on her face.

    Nettal¡¯s words caused Auntie to flinch for a moment. Nettal had been resting for a long time, so, honestly, Addie agreed with her.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    For a second, Addie almost shouted out to Nettal, ¡®Let¡¯s go outside and play!¡¯ But thought better of it after a few moments. They were talking about finding Black Cloak. Addie couldn¡¯t get distracted from that.

    Still, it was nice to see Nettal feeling better. Addie hopped out of her chair at the dining table and pattered over to Nettal. She reached her arms out for a hug and Auntie stepped out of the way. Nettal walked a step over to Addie and they shared a hug.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better,¡± Addie blurted out, her voice catching as she stepped forward. The words felt small, barely good enough for the torrent of emotions she felt. She reached out, her small arms pulling Nettal into a hug.

    ¡°That¡¯s ok. I don¡¯t really remember what happened too well.¡± Nettal whispered back, her voice muffled against Addie¡¯s shoulder. Her arms tightened around Addie, strong yet trembling.

    After a few moments, Addie couldn¡¯t help herself and started crying.

    "We''re okay," Auntie murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "We''re all okay now."

    Addie¡¯s tears were of guilt, relief, and fear¡ª all pouring out at once. Addie¡¯s crying seemed to set off a cascade of emotions within everyone, as Nettal started crying, her body trembling. Then Auntie¡¯s shoulders began to shake, and though she was quiet, Addie knew she was crying too.

    Everyone embraced each other tighter, squeezing one another as a confirmation that things were going to be ok. Addie wasn¡¯t sure how long they stayed like that. It felt like it could have been twenty minutes, as Addie and Nettal held onto each other through their hot ugly tears and trembled, sobbing.

    Finally, the tears began to slow down, and the hug became more relaxed. The relief and comforting warmth of the hug finally broke past the sadness. Addie had to hold herself up to keep herself from bonelessly flopping and dragging the group hug down to the floor.

    Nettal sniffled and nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Addie mirrored her, feeling a mix of embarrassment and comfort from everyone¡¯s presence. It was a moment that seemed to mend something broken inside her. Nettal started laughing, just a bit, which spread infectiously to Addie and even Auntie.

    <hr><hr>

    Now everyone sat at the table, including Christena. However, Addie could still see the red tear streaks down Auntie and Nettal¡¯s faces. Addie''s eyes also felt puffy and her face slightly dry from rubbing so many tears away. Despite all that, Addie felt good. The crying released all of her tension and fear, and now the only thing left behind was a sort of satisfying relief.

    Mr. Owlcharge had remained quiet throughout the entire spectacle, but each time Addie tried to make eye contact with him, he turned his head away slightly with a bit of an awkward smile. Addie honestly had no idea what was going on in his head.

    Addie looked over to her left, where Auntie was sitting down in the chair next to her. Right on Auntie¡¯s lap, Nettal was sitting down with a happy smile. Christena and Mr. Owlcharge were directly across from Addie on the other side of the table.

    The emotions from today were far too much to handle alone, so Addie reached down underneath the table once again and scooped her best friend in the whole world up with one hand, and placed him on her lap. His black scaly, cat-like paws dangled off the sides of her legs. Addie idly played with his triangular ears, causing him to flick his ears away in agitation from time to time. It was a fun game, and he wasn¡¯t complaining so she thought it was fine. Probably. He was a patient Squishy.

    ¡°Ser Fourths a lot the Fifth thinks we can help in town,¡± Nettal said.

    Everyone looked over to Nettal, and at the very least, Addie was confused.

    ¡°Who?¡± Auntie asked from right above Nettal.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not really sure what¡¯s been going on, but Lotty thinks we can help heal everyone.¡±

    ¡°Before that,¡± Christena started, ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±

    Nettal smiled and pointed down a bit to the left, where the fawn lay down with his hooves folded up underneath himself. ¡°His name is Ser Fourths a lot the Fifth because he¡¯s a knight in shining armor who comes to the rescue of all children. That¡¯s too long of a name though so he goes by ¡®Lotty¡¯ but you have to call him ¡®Ser Lotty¡¯ since that¡¯s respectful.¡± Nettal explained.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to call him ¡®Lotty¡¯, too.¡± Addie decided.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s ok,¡± Nettal said with a slight frown and shuffling her hands.

    ¡°Is someone other than me hurt?¡± Nettal asked, ¡°Lotty says there are lots of children who need help.¡±

    Nettal¡¯s words brightened up the room, as a long-standing problem seemed to finally have a solution. Mr. Owlcharge, in particular, had the first genuine smile on his face that Addie had seen all day.

    ¡°Can you heal them even if they don¡¯t have any of their own magic?¡± Christena asked.

    Nettal looked down at Lotty, and they shared a moment of silent communication. ¡°He says probably, but he¡¯ll have to try first to find out.¡±

    ¡°A caste one bonded. Amazing.¡± Mr. Owlcharge said. ¡°I think this upcoming generation is going to astound us with their magic.¡±

    Auntie nodded her head along, as if to say, ¡®Of course¡¯.

    ¡°We want to help in town, but I feel like all my magic has been used up. But, we haven¡¯t used up any of the magic from our bond ignition! I was kind of frustrated when I realized that.¡± Nettal complained.

    ¡°Where did the magic go?¡± Christena wondered aloud, ¡°When Fluffy and I bonded, our magic went wild with shining light and banging sounds.¡±

    ¡°When Squishy and I bonded, I had control over the ignition, but it still wanted to burst out of me and it was hard to control,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°It seems you still have much to learn, daughter, despite being a teacher yourself.¡± Mr. Owlcharge nodded his head smugly.

    In retaliation, Christena smacked his arm a bit.

    ¡°Ow!¡± He rubbed at his arm while frowning at Christena. After a moment, he regained his posture and cleared his throat, ¡°Obviously, the dragon used her bond ignition as fuel to heal Nettal¡¯s soul.¡±

    Everyone around the table nodded. That made sense.

    ¡°The children in town are not as hurt as Nettal was, so there is still some time.¡± Mr. Owlcharge began. Then, his face turned completely serious, all hints of awkwardness vanishing without a trace, ¡°Nettal, may I ask that you come to the rescue of the children in my town? That you aid them, heal them, and help bring the worries of my people to rest?¡± His words reminded Addie of a priest of Aggan asking for a vow.

    ¡°I promise,¡± Nettal said. ¡°Can I rest some more first? Lotty and I need to build up more magic.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you can rest,¡± Auntie said gently and smiled. Then she patted Nettal¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡±

 Chapter 54: Before the End

    ¡°Tomorrow, then.¡± Mr. Owlcharge decided. ¡°Tomorrow, Christena and I will bring the children to the manor first thing in the morning,¡± He nodded toward his daughter, ¡°Then, once we transport them all to the mansion, Addie, Christena and I will confront Black Cloak while Miss Lomain watches over Nettal as she heals the children.

    ¡°I will finally have some good news to tell the townsfolk. They¡¯ve been gathering in force around my house for over a week to petition. I was worried they would start rioting soon.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s no wonder,¡± Auntie began, ¡°You are their Area Lord. It¡¯s your responsibility to ensure their safety. Besides, as everyone in this room knows, I would stop at nothing to help my little girl.¡± Auntie looked over at Nettal with a gentle smile. ¡°Imagine all those mothers with sick children¡± Auntie shook her head, causing her brown ponytail to sway.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten in days, are you hungry?¡± Auntie asked Nettal.

    ¡°A little bit. I still feel kind of dizzy, but I think food would be nice.¡± Nettal replied.

    Addie¡¯s stomach rumbled, causing her face to flush. ¡°Um, I¡¯m starving too.¡±

    A few chuckles went around the room.

    ¡°Alright, Christena, can you help me in the kitchen?¡± Auntie asked.

    Christena nodded her head and elegantly stood up from her seat. Afterward, she patted down her maid uniform¡¯s skirt and followed Auntie into the kitchen.

    ¡°Nettal, I really am glad you are ok,¡± Addie said again. Though they had hugged earlier, and Addie was feeling a lot better, knowing that Nettal was healthy again filled her up to the brim with relief.

    Nettal smiled a big smile. It was nice to see her so energetic again.

    Dinner came and went, but there was very little conversation. Everyone seemed to droop in their seats and inhale the food. The past day had been far too eventful to have a bustling dinner conversation.

    Christena and Mr. Owlcharge went back home together. They needed some time to explain things to the townsfolk and arrange everything for the morning.

    Just before bed, Auntie explained Addie¡¯s role in the plan to face Black Cloak, and Addie was excited. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t ever let a child participate in taking down a cascade, but since Addie¡¯s powers were so special they needed her this time.

    On their way to bed, Addie made to turn left at the top of the stairs to go to her guest room, but Nettal called out, ¡°Where are you going? My room is over here,¡± Nettal said, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember?¡±

    Addie smiled. That was right! Now that Nettal was feeling better, they could probably sleep in the same room together. Addie looked up pleadingly toward Auntie, who had followed them up the stairs.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. You two make sure to get a proper amount of sleep, alright? If you both stay up talking all night, then neither of you will be able to help the townsfolk properly.¡± Auntie¡¯s tone turned serious, ¡°Do you both promise to go right to bed?¡±

    ¡°I promise,¡± Addie and Nettal said at almost the same time.

    ¡°Good. Let me walk you to bed.¡±

    Once Nettal lay down in her bed, Auntie gave her one more hug and a kiss on the forehead, then she sat down on the edge of the bed. ¡°Are you sure you can handle healing all of the children? You only just got better today.¡±

    ¡°I want to help them. Lotty and I can do it.¡±

    Auntie let out a big sigh. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you. I¡¯ll be by your side the whole time if you get too tired, ok? And we¡¯ll have all the townsfolk come here into your room so you can rest in between healing sessions.¡±

    ¡°Ok, Mom,¡± Nettal said.

    Lotty took that as his cue and walked past Auntie to lie down on the floor just to the left of Nettal¡¯s bed.

    After that, Addie and Squishy teleported up into their bunk bed, Squishy sitting at the foot of the bed in his customary spot. Their landing caused the top bunk to rattle around and shake a bit, and for one terrifying moment, Addie thought the whole thing would come crashing down. But, she should have known better. Auntie made it really strong, after all.

    Auntie left the room and closed the door behind her, the candlelight from the hallway outside slowly disappearing until the room was left in total darkness. For a moment, the only sound Addie could hear was her breathing.

    ¡°Mom said we can¡¯t talk tonight,¡± Nettal reminded them.

    ¡°Yeah, we have to go to bed tonight,¡± Addie agreed.

    For a few minutes, both girls remained silent. But, Addie¡¯s thoughts kept jumping all around, making her toss and turn in the bed, restless. She couldn¡¯t fall asleep.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°What does it feel like when you use your magic?¡± Addie asked after a little while.

    Addie heard rustling from the bunk below, then Nettal said, ¡°It feels like Lotty and I push our souls together and then energy starts flowing out.¡±

    Turning to her side, Addie said, ¡°That¡¯s what it feels like when me and Squishy use our magic, too!¡±

    ¡°Squishy and I,¡± Nettal said.

    Addie scrunched up her nose, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You are supposed to say, ¡®Squishy and I¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Whatever.¡±

    ¡°We need to go to bed,¡± Nettal said.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    With a strong tug, Addie pulled more blankets up near her chin, also causing Squishy to scoot closer to her feet since he was lying on the blankets. Addie wiggled deeper into the mattress, and the top bunk wiggled along with her.

    For a minute, both girls remained silent.

    ¡°Addie?¡± Nettal¡¯s voice came out as a whisper.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°How long did it take you to figure out how to use your magic?¡±

    Addie opened her eyes and moved them across the dark ceiling.

    ¡°Two days for my spatial sense, I think. But, the same day my bond ignition started I figured out how to go to Realmspace. That part was easy.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    For about a minute, both girls remained silent.

    ¡°What about you? Have you figured out how to use all of your magic already?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Nettal began, this time her voice was a little bit louder than a whisper, ¡°Healing seems really easy, but Lotty keeps saying I need to figure out how to use ¡®empathy¡¯ but I can¡¯t really get what he means.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. When Squishy told me about his spatial sense he just said it was ¡®obvious¡¯ even though it took me so long to figure it out.¡± Addie gave the silly cat a gentle kick with her foot, causing him to get up and settle down a bit further away.

    ¡°Should we go to bed now?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    This time, it wasn¡¯t even a minute before the silence was interrupted.

    Nettal spoke up in a loud voice, ¡°When you use your magic do you¡ª¡±

    The door flew open, and Addie quickly pulled the blanket up over her head and shut her eyes.

    ¡°Go to bed!¡± Addie heard Auntie¡¯s voice. ¡°Don¡¯t make me separate you two.¡±

    No one said anything. After a few seconds, the door to Nettal¡¯s room started to close again.

    After the door shut, Addie whispered, ¡°Can I come down to your bunk?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Nettal agreed, voice also in a whisper.

    Addie moved into Realmspace with the ease born of practice, allowing her body to start falling while she stayed in a horizontal position. When she came back to reality, Nettal¡¯s mattress bounced underneath Addie, causing Nettal to say ¡®ow¡¯ though it seemed more out of surprise than pain. Addie had not landed on Nettal directly, instead, she had perfectly aimed and landed just next to her cousin.

    ¡°Are you ready for tomorrow?¡± Addie asked as she started moving the blankets to get under them.

    ¡°I think so. It¡¯s still a little bit hard for me to walk. Just getting up the stairs earlier made me dizzy. Hopefully, I¡¯ll be ok. Mom said I should stay in bed while I heal everyone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Addie agreed.

    ¡°We should eat a big breakfast tomorrow, too,¡± Addie suggested. Christena always told her she had to eat well in the morning.

    ¡°Are you scared about tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Not really. I fought Black Cloak once and he¡¯s really weak.¡±

    ¡°Is he the person that hurt me?¡± Nettal asked.

    That made Addie stop and think for a second. Nettal had been asleep most of the time that everything had been happening for the last week or so. She didn¡¯t know anything about Black Cloak, or Addie¡¯s recent adventures.

    ¡°Yeah. At first, I thought it was that green pigling in Realmspace, though.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Nettal said quite loudly. Then, she quieted down completely, and with wide eyes, both girls looked over to the doorway. After a few moments when Auntie didn¡¯t come to check on them, they both let out big breaths.

    Continuing in a whisper, Nettal asked, ¡°What was that pig-thing?¡±

    ¡°Sen told me he was some kind of ¡®experiment¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Sen?¡±

    Addie opened her mouth wide, Nettal didn¡¯t remember Sen!? No wait, she wasn¡¯t awake, then.

    ¡°He¡¯s the big dragon that helped heal you. I found him and asked him for help.¡±

    ¡°You found a dragon! Wow.¡± Nettal only barely managed to keep her voice to a whisper.

    Addie moved her hand down and reached out for Nettal¡¯s hand. Then, she pulled it up out from the blankets. After Nettal¡¯s hand was out, Addie traced her fingers around the ring on Nettal¡¯s right ring finger.

    ¡°He made this ring for you. He said it would protect you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where this came from. I tried to take it off earlier but it wouldn¡¯t come off. It¡¯s like, glued on there or something.¡±

    ¡°He really wanted to protect you. The ring even tried to protect you from Lotty, and he just wanted to help you!¡±

    Both girls giggled.

    Nettal slowly moved her hand back underneath the blankets, but the girls kept holding hands.

    With a deep breath in, Addie let out a big yawn.

    ¡°Maybe we should go to bed,¡± Addie suggested.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Nettal agreed.

    This time, Addie¡¯s thoughts seemed to settle right down. Holding Nettal¡¯s hand comforted Addie, and helped her relax. Slowly, her mind began to settle down. One moment, the blankets surrounded Addie in their comforting embrace, and the darkness eased her mind into quiet. The next moment, Addie¡¯s mind fully fell off the edge of wakefulness and right into a deep sleep.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie stood in front of the mansion¡¯s front door, looking out the side window. She saw Mr. Owlcharge flying through the air on a giant platform made of stone, with Christena standing next to him. Addie could also make out a few heads of hair lying on the stone, but she couldn¡¯t see the children too well since they weren¡¯t standing up on the stone like the adults.

    The massive stone platform slowed down as it got closer to the front door until it settled into a hover right above the main entryway. Mr. Owlcharge settled the platform down on the swampy mud, just a meter or so away from the doorway. He and Christena stepped off the platform, and Addie opened the door immediately.

    Auntie grabbed onto Addie¡¯s shoulder from behind, making her wait before running out the door.

    ¡°Let me help them, Addie. Can you move out of the doorway?¡±

    Even though Addie wanted to run outside as soon as she could, she did her best to listen to Auntie and stepped away from the doorway. Auntie walked over to the children, still on the stone platform. She gestured with her hands, and a ton of swamp vines began gently sprouting up from the mud and wrapped all the children into individual cocoons.

    One by one, the children started floating into the air, the swamp vines detaching from the ground as they did so. After the first child was wrapped, a boy with black hair who Addie thought couldn¡¯t be too much older than four, Auntie made him start floating inside the mansion and up the stairs.

    ¡°Addie,¡± hearing her name, Addie turned her head over to Christena, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

 Chapter 55: Greed

    ¡°Aggan is the life-giver, Addie.¡± Addie looked up at her father¡¯s face from his lap. She remembered the black stubble dotting at his chin. He smiled down at her and rustled the hair on her head. ¡°Servus takes advantage of him. Once, they lived together peacefully, each giving light and life to our world. But Servus was corrupted by greed. Even now, you can look up at the sky and watch as he devours his brother. All bonds can be like this if we aren¡¯t careful.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Mr. Owlcharge led the way, with Christena walking alongside Addie. It had rained the night before, so Addie constantly had to avoid particularly troublesome puddles in the mud. They were walking through a relative clearing. What should have been wet swamp mud had been packed down into an established dirt trail leading into Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s area. Most of the swamp plants were growing off to the sides, though occasionally some grasses or other swamp weeds grew in the path. Addie wondered if Mr. Owlcharge maintained it.

    Clouds had started rolling in, and the darkness of the sky made Addie wonder if it would rain again today.

    ¡°Are you ready, Addie?¡± Christena asked.

    Though she had been confident the night before, now that their plan was getting closer, Addie started to feel the nerves getting to her. Her hands were slightly shaky, and she felt like she needed to jump around just to burn off the extra energy.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± she said. A bit of nervousness wasn¡¯t going to stop her.

    Together, she and Christena had gone over the plan a dozen times. Addie had the whole thing memorized. It would be easy.

    ¡°Hey, Christena?¡± Addie started.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that some cascades are like the Binary? When one side of the bond just keeps using up all the magic?¡±

    Addie watched as Squishy pointed his ears toward the conversation.

    Instead of Christena answering, Mr. Owlcharge spoke up, ¡°That¡¯s exactly right, Addie. You are a smart girl, figuring that out. Do you know why only the sons and daughters of Area Lords can become bonded?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Addie answered.

    Addie looked up at Mr. Owlcharge. Since she wasn¡¯t paying attention to her footing, she got caught by surprise for a moment when her foot fell into a particularly deep puddle, splashing a bit of mud up around her booties.

    ¡°Those at the age of twelve should get their first bond,¡± Mr. Owlcharge began.

    But, Addie knew about this already, ¡°That¡¯s because if you get a bond too early you could cascade, right?¡± Addie said.

    ¡°That is part of it, but it¡¯s also true that it¡¯s best to get bonded when you are young, while your soul is still growing. Adults have very rigid souls, and while not impossible to do so, it is very difficult to have a successful bond once you reach your twenties, and your soul is fully developed.¡±

    ¡°But why can only Area Lords get bonds?¡±

    From ahead of them, Mr. Owlcharge nodded his head. ¡°Another problem with children getting bonds is that without a guiding hand, it is very likely for their first bond to end in a cascade. Bonded create bonded, and only bonded can become Area Lords. Does that make sense, Addie?¡±

    Addie had to think for a bit. Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s explanation seemed to make sense, but Addie wasn¡¯t sure if she fully understood it.

    ¡°What I believe he is saying, Addie, is that it is best for a bonded adult to help the next generation receive their bonds, rather than letting children do it unsupervised. And since only bonded can become Area Lords, naturally, it is the nobility that make up most bonded.¡± Squishy¡¯s ethereal voice came across their soul bond.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that regular people can still become bonded too?¡± Addie asked.

    This time, Christena spoke up, ¡°Correct, it is just much more dangerous for them to do so without someone experienced to guide them.¡±

    Something about that explanation really bothered Addie. ¡°But why don¡¯t Area Lords or other Bonded help more regular children become bonded?¡±

    Christena sighed, ¡°Unfortunately, Addie, I think you will learn that in this world, families do not want to give up their power to outsiders so easily.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if everyone could use magic?¡± Addie frowned.

    ¡°Maybe, Addie. Maybe, you could be the one to help spread more magic when you are older, if you still feel the same way.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you do it?¡± Addie asked, probably in a sharper tone than she wanted to.

    Christena didn¡¯t seem to have an easy answer ready for Addie.

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    ¡°Ask me again when you are older.¡±

    Addie hated it when adults told her that.

    But, her original question hadn¡¯t really been answered, Addie thought.

    ¡°Why do cascades happen? Squishy wouldn¡¯t ever want to suck away all of our magic, and I love him too much to hurt him.¡±

    ¡°Not all people are as kind as you,¡± Christena answered immediately, ¡°There are those out there who follow in Servus¡¯ footsteps, and want nothing but power, and to take and take.¡± Christena paused for a moment and looked up at the thunderclouds forming overhead.

    ¡°Sometimes, cascades are accidents¡ª human children trying to bond with a magical creature who has little intelligence and overwhelms them by taking over the bond. Even in that case, one side of the bond is forcefully taking more than they should.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie said. There wasn¡¯t much else to say.

    <hr><hr>

    When they reached the wooden dome that Auntie made, the scenery looked even worse than Addie thought could be possible.

    ¡°How come the trees are on fire?¡± Christena asked hurriedly, ¡°I thought you said it was just the barrier?¡±

    ¡°It was just the barrier,¡± Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s tone turned dark.

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to delay. One last time, Addie, are you ready?¡± Mr. Owlcharge looked her right in the eye

    Addie nodded her head.

    ¡°Good. Give me five minutes, then go.¡±

    ¡°Hesitation means defeat, my lady.¡± Squishy reminded her.

    Addie plopped right down into a crossed-legged sitting position and focused on her soul.

    Together, she and Squishy began forming a layer of the transcendent loop around Addie¡¯s soul. Then, they moved onto Squishy¡¯s soul and formed a separate layer around him.

    Passingly, barely on the edge of Addie¡¯s perception, she felt Christena¡¯s palm on her back, and with it came Christena¡¯s dexterous magical help. After Addie and Squishy finished forming the transcendent loop, Addie followed along as Christena grabbed onto Addie¡¯s soul and cocooned Squishy and Addie¡¯s entire soul bond in another layer of magic. This was different than normal, though. The layer of magic extended even across their soulbond, not just limited to either Addie or Squishy¡¯s soul.

    After Christena withdrew her influence, Addie formed a third layer around her soul, and then she and Squishy worked together to form one last layer around Squishy, too.

    Addie opened her eyes. Christena was holding onto Addie¡¯s shoulder, so Addie turned slightly to look over at her.

    ¡°Fluffy and I will put one last layer of magic around you, to protect your body too. Next time, I¡¯ll teach you how to do it yourself, ok?¡±

    ¡°Squishy figured out how to do it. I can figure it out too.¡±

    ¡°But for today, Fluffy and I will take care of it, ok?¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Christena let go of Addie¡¯s shoulder and stood up tall. Fluffy chittered for a moment, and then the pair of them both exhaled in unison and closed their eyes in concentration.

    Fluffy and Christena opened their eyes together, both sets of eyes glowing a brilliantly ruby red. Then, Christena waved her hand at Addie, in much the same way as she often did when casting illusions. An ethereal red cloak with a matching hood formed around Addie. Running her fingers along the fabric, Addie was amazed at how real the fabric felt, even though she knew it was magic.

    ¡°That will last you for the whole time you are in the dome. I¡¯ll keep concentrating on it to make sure it doesn¡¯t run out of magic. Do you have your ribbon?¡±

    Addie moved her hand up into her hair to feel where Sen¡¯s blue ribbon tied it up into a neat ponytail.

    ¡°I have it.¡±

    ¡°Good. If you need help, go to Realmspace and call for Sen.¡± Christena didn¡¯t need to remind Addie about that.

    ¡°I will. But, you are coming too, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Christena confirmed.

    Moving her gaze over, she saw that Auntie¡¯s wooden dome could no longer be seen. Instead, a solid stone dome covered all of the wood, which also meant that the ghostly flames that infected the wood had been smothered out, or at least that¡¯s what Addie assumed since the rock dome was not on fire.

    Mr. Owlcharge wiped away a bit of sweat from his forehead, ¡°I haven¡¯t used that much magic in years! Ok you two, I¡¯ll keep everything contained from the outside.¡±

    Christena grabbed onto Addie¡¯s hand and gave her a nod. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Those sudden words jolted Addie. The nervousness was coming back with a vengeance. She wiggled her toes because they had gone numb out of nervousness. She wiggled her fingers too, just to make sure. Then, she clenched her hands into fists.

    ¡°Squishy, are you ready?¡± Addie asked over their bond.

    In response, he simply nuzzled his head against Addie¡¯s leg. He really was a silly cat.

    Fluffy chittered at Addie as if to tell her to hurry up.

    Together, the four of them walked up to the now stone dome, and Addie put her hand against it. She expected it to be warm, maybe from the ghostly flames. But it just felt like regular stone. Maybe a bit wet from being formed from the swamp.

    A crack of thunder shot through the clearing, reminding Addie of the coming storm. It was time to move, she decided.

    Despite the giant dome blocking her, Addie took a step forward while drawing on her bond and sending the four of them out to Realmspace. It took fifteen steps through Realmspace until it noticed the intruder¡¯s presence. Despite that, Addie held onto her magic for a moment longer, then let go.

    Returning to reality disoriented Addie, as her eyes struggled to understand what she was looking at. Luckily, Christena was still holding her hand, so she didn¡¯t fall over. Unluckily, Christena almost fell over too, stumbling probably due to the same strange, nauseating scenery that Addie was looking at.

    The entire space was blocked off from the Binary, but the ghostly flames seemed to light the area up in a pale glow, regardless. Now in enemy territory, Addie checked on her soul for just a moment, but she and Squishy¡¯s layers of the transcendent loop still held strong.

    With that confirmed, Addie once again tried to figure out what exactly she was looking at.

    Addie tried to contextualize the scenery with something she was familiar with. For starters, there were no plants, even though this should be mostly swamp. The dilapidated building that black cloak was hiding in had crumbled further, with the remaining structure looking as dark as charcoal, and all of the dirt on the ground had been replaced with ethereal ghostly purple clouds. No, those weren¡¯t clouds, Addie realized. She was standing on flames. Even now, their roiling nature made her balance feel unsteady. It was like standing on the ocean, if its tumultuous waves could be solid enough for that.

    The color coming up from the fires seemed to reflect harmoniously against the white floral patterns on Addie¡¯s dress, almost making them seem to have some kind of strange glow. Christena¡¯s maid uniform was even worse, all the white accents taking on an unearthly pale purple.

    ¡°Why are our clothes glowing?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure...¡±

    Fluffy began chittering again, almost incessantly, making it hard to think.

    ¡°Quiet, you,¡± Christena chastised her. ¡°We¡¯ve dealt with worse.¡±

    Ignoring them, Addie asked aloud, ¡°What even is this? What happened to the ground?¡±

    ¡°This, Addie, is what happens when an Area Lord cascades.¡±

 Chapter 56: Malicious Flames

    A crack of thunder sounded from outside, echoing around the inside of the dome¡ª a great rumbling that crashed through Addie¡¯s chest.

    Fluffy yipped at the sound and put her head underneath Christena¡¯s hair. In reaction, Christena nudged Fluffy¡¯s head out and back over to the side.

    The tell-tale pitter-patter sound of rain sounded against the dome, the roof surprisingly not that tall. The dome was only just barely tall enough to reach over the top of the dilapidated building Black Cloak was hiding in¡ª Maybe three meters taller than it at the highest peak in the center.

    Addie watched as the ghostly flames making up the floor undulated and crested. Some peaks licked up into the air much like a campfire would. In fact, the solid flames underneath Addie¡¯s feet seemed like one giant fire, stretched out to be wide and long instead of tall and rising in the way fire would want to do naturally. Even though it wasn¡¯t a lot, enough of the pale purple light made it onto the dome¡¯s ceiling that Addie could tell the entire thing was made of stone. Addie wondered if Mr. Owlcharge had completely encased Auntie¡¯s original wooden dome with stone, even on the inside.

    Squishy tried to take a tentative step forward, testing the moving ground with his front left paw. He tapped at it quickly, as if it might burn him, then rested his paw down on the ground. His shoulders and hips moved up and down with the waves of solid flame, as his leg muscles flexed beneath his black scales to accommodate his constantly shifting weight.c

    ¡°This is certainly unideal,¡± Squishy observed. ¡°Where is the ground? The mud of the swamp?¡±

    Despite not being able to hear him, Christena explained her earlier comment, ¡°This is the ground, or at least, what the ground has been forced to turn into. Remember well, Addie, never let a cascaded soul infect the earth with their rot of madness. This is what happens when those who fight under the sword of greed begin down the path of an Area Lord. This entire area is a man-made natural disaster. You and I are protected with our magic and our transcendent layers. If a common person walked here, their soul would be destroyed in seconds. Even now, I can feel the flames licking at our protections. Don¡¯t lose your hood.¡±

    Addie pinched the red magical fabric between her fingers. The hood and cloak pair gifted to her by Christena still held strong, protecting Addie from the worst of the flames. It¡¯s a good thing Squishy had figured out how to protect his body from the flames already, or else Christena would have had to give him a hood too.

    ¡°Last time, Black Cloak was really weak and I beat him right away,¡± Addie said aloud. ¡°Now he¡¯s an Area Lord? Can we beat him?¡±

    ¡°My father is outside preventing Black Cloak¡¯s domain from spreading. An Area Lord still in the infancy stages with such a small amount of land won¡¯t be too different than a normal bonded. Let¡¯s continue with our plan.¡± Christena decided.

    Addie tried to take a step forward, and she could do it, but it felt strange. She had almost gotten used to the ground roiling underneath her feet while standing, but walking was another thing entirely. Her steps had precarious footing, and she constantly had to bend her knees just to keep steady. It was like walking up and down the stairs but only if they were alive and trying to make you slip by moving around the entire time.

    Somehow, Addie managed to let go of Christena¡¯s hand and walk on her own regardless. They walked closer to the dilapidated building, with Squishy walking in the lead. Christena trailed just a bit behind Addie, but still close enough that Addie could reach her with her hand.

    A few times, Squishy moved his nose around to sniff at the air, and each time Addie felt his displeasure through the bond. ¡°The air feels sickeningly stale, all of the scents of nature have been purged. If I did not know better, I would say I lost my sense of smell, but I know it is just a consequence of these strange flames.¡±

    The dilapidated building didn¡¯t seem far away at all, and that made sense since Auntie should have only made the original dome cover up the building with a small amount of room to spare. Though that should have been the case, Addie noticed that no matter how much she walked forward, they never got any closer to the building.

    After roughly a minute of this, Addie looked behind herself to see Christena¡¯s scrunched-up face. Maybe she noticed it too. Regardless, Addie kept walking a little longer since she didn¡¯t seem to be saying anything yet. After another minute though, Addie knew this wouldn¡¯t work.

    Before Addie could say anything, Squishy spoke up across their soulbond, ¡°It¡¯s the flames.¡± Squishy observed. ¡°The floor itself is keeping us in place.¡±

    Addie looked down to watch her footsteps, and she realized Squishy was right. The waves were pushing them back. She glanced back over at Christena¡¯s face, and she looked really frustrated too. But, Addie wondered why she wasn¡¯t saying anything, yet.

    ¡°Squishy says the floor is pushing us back,¡± Addie relayed.

    Christena sighed with frustration, ¡°He¡¯s right. Fluffy and I have been trying to figure out what to do.¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy. We can just all walk through Realmspace,¡± Addie offered.

    ¡°I know, but we need to conserve as much of your magic as possible.¡±

    Well, that was true, but Addie didn¡¯t think it would use much just to walk a handful of meters.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Addie glanced back at Christena who seemed to have an idea, ¡°I¡¯ll use my magic to make us some platforms.¡±

    With a flash of red, Christena¡¯s eyes glowed for just a moment, then, some square panes of red light appeared in the air, each one big enough for two people to stand on with plenty of room.

    Since he was still in the front, Squishy jumped up onto the platform first, and then Addie took a really big step up to get on the platform herself. Christena followed behind them with a look of concentration.

    Addie knew that Christena had to put in extra effort when she made illusions that actually interacted with the physical world. It must have been hard for her to make them so solid.

    Almost the exact moment after Christena got onto the first platform, the floor of flames started rising up¡ª looking more like actual fire instead of a surface. They licked up against the bottom of the illusory platform, and Christena gasped in surprise as the flames started attacking it.

    Addie quickly jumped up onto the next platform which had been placed about another meter up in the air.

    The flames kept steadily rising and attaching themselves to the lower platform where Christena still stood. Before she could make it onto the next platform, the first one shattered, dropping her back onto the ground.

    Christena gasped loud enough for Addie to hear over the background noise, and Fluffy padded at Christena¡¯s shoulders nervously. At some point, the flames started making a low hum. It had started off so slight Addie didn¡¯t even realize it until Christena tried to talk and had to nearly shout to talk over the noise.

    ¡°Go! I¡¯ll concentrate on making you enough platforms!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to fight him together!¡± Addie shouted back. Now that he was an Area Lord, Addie didn¡¯t know if she could win alone.

    ¡°Just go! Before the flames reach your platform!¡±

    Addie looked down, underneath the slightly transparent red illusion, and saw exactly what Christena was worried about. The flames were steadily rising, a few of the peaks starting to lick up against the bottom of the platform.

    Squishy jumped to the next platform and Addie followed behind him without complaint.

    Addie took one last look back at Christena. Her eyes were glowing that strong ruby red, and she was single-mindedly focused on putting platform after platform in the air for Addie and Squishy.

    Turning around, Addie shouted back, ¡°What about you!¡±

    Christena didn¡¯t respond. She was too focused. The flames had started rising up around Christena too, no longer just rising up to get the platforms.

    Fluffy was running around near Christena¡¯s feet, putting up illusory barriers of her own, keeping the flames at bay while Christena focused on making the platforms for Addie.

    With the sound of breaking glass, the platform underneath Addie¡¯s feet cracked right down the middle. Addie jumped off as fast as she could and reached the next barrier, just as the one behind her fell apart into shards of light, before disappearing completely.

    She didn¡¯t even have time to get her bearings before the flames roared up against the new platform. Squishy opened his eyes wide and jumped to the next platform immediately, and so did Addie right behind him. With a mind of their own, the flames destroyed the old platform and quickly spread to the new platform.

    Not waiting this time, Addie ran forward and jumped onto the next platform, the flames following her closely from underneath. Addie had no time to sit on the platform, or to glance back at Christena. The flames were already damaging the platform she had just jumped to!

    She started at a run, with Squishy just a bit ahead of her. They ran from platform to platform. The flames became more incessant as they got closer to the building, more dangerous. Addie jumped onto the next platform, but the flames had already spread to it, cracks like broken glass already marring its surface even before Addie jumped onto it. She landed on the platform and the surface under her right foot finished cracking and snapped off.

    Her right foot dropped down into the hole. Surprised, she couldn¡¯t quite recover in time, and Addie felt the hard edges of the platform scrape up her leg drawing blood. She landed with an ¡®oomph, some of the weight on her left foot, but her right leg tripped her since it got trapped in the hole. She landed on her hands and knees, but she didn¡¯t have time to worry about the superficial gashes running down her leg. At least they were just minor scrapes. Some of the flames started tickling up against her exposed leg, but her red cloak gifted from Christena twisted with an intelligence of its own and wrapped around her leg.

    Quickly, she scrambled to get up, Squishy looking at her from ahead with worry bleeding over to her from across their bond. She pulled her leg out of the crack and ran forward to the edge of the next platform, the cloak going back to a neutral position.

    Addie jumped off the platform, and her legs were still swinging through the air when the platform behind her shattered into motes of red light.

    The next platform was already being attacked by the flames. Addie landed hard once again, not being able to keep her balance too well in all of her haste. The platform shattered the moment she landed, and her stomach dropped and she and Squishy were thrown into free-fall.

    More out of reaction than true intent, Squishy activated their magic and sent the two of them into Realmspace, directing their momentum upward and forward. They reentered reality and Addie used the entrance to push their momentum even further forward and upward. They pushed through the air just barely enough to make it to the roof of the building.

    Addie landed in an uncontrolled tumble, banging up her arms a bit as she protected her head. Christena¡¯s cloak tightened around her body, keeping her otherwise unbruised.

    She stood up slowly after coming to a stop and looked out over the edge of the roof. The roiling flames stood four or five meters tall now, completely enclosing the building within their walls. At some unseen command, the flames spread no further, perhaps not daring to touch the building itself that Black Cloak was hiding in. The flames danced and feinted at Addie, but none of them fully crossed into the building¡¯s territory.

    ¡°Are you ok, my lady?¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t answer him right away because she only barely heard him at the edge of her awareness. She was too busy looking for Christena. But, Addie couldn¡¯t see her through the walls of flames.

    Squishy walked over and rubbed his scaly head up against the back of Addie¡¯s uninjured leg. ¡°She allowed us this chance to defeat this nascent Area Lord. We¡¯ve beaten him before. Let us beat him again.¡±

 Chapter 57: Ghostly Firestorm

    ¡°If you want to help Christena, let us defeat Black Cloak and bring an end to all of this,¡± Squishy said.

    Though she still worried about Christena, Squishy was right. If they defeated Black Cloak now, then all of his magic would go away, too.

    Addie took one last glance across the landscape from the rooftop, but just like before, she couldn¡¯t see anything over the ghostly flames towering around the building like a giant wall. Christena was out there somewhere. But, she knew she could beat Black Cloak. She and Squishy had done it once before.

    She sighed, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The pair pushed into Realmspace and allowed themselves to fall for a few feet, effectively bypassing the ceiling of the building. They reappeared a few feet above the second-story floor and altered their momentum from exiting Realmspace to soften the landing. With a dull thud, Addie hit the ground, absorbing the impact by bending her knees. Beside her, Squishy landed much more silently.

    Unlike the outside, which at least had some amount of light from the ghostly pale fire, the inside of the building was entirely dark. In unspoken agreement, both Addie and Squishy scanned the second floor with their spatial sense, but they couldn¡¯t see the entire second story. Currently, they were in what appeared to be a bedroom. The floors were all made of wood, as were the walls. That made sense since it looked like a dilapidated stone house from the outside.

    Focusing her spatial sense upward, she saw the stone tiles making up the roof. Dust covered the entire floor¡ª appearing as tiny little specks from her spatial sense. The entire room was eerily empty. No furniture at all, just some particularly large piles of dust in some spots that almost looked more like ash. Maybe it was ash. Addie couldn¡¯t see it with her eyes so it was hard for her to decide.

    They turned toward the only door in the room and walked over to it. Using her spatial sense, Addie knew there wasn¡¯t anyone outside of the door. It just looked like a straight hallway running right to left. With confidence, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

    Squishy took a moment to sniff at the air. ¡°This way, my lady. The scentless air comes from this direction.¡±

    Addie trusted Squishy, but even if she didn¡¯t, he had tracked Black Cloak this way before.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll follow you.¡± She said.

    Squishy turned right out of the room and ran down the hall, abruptly stopping in front of a crumbling railway on the left. He turned and disappeared around the bend. When Addie reached it, she looked over and saw him running down some stairs. She trailed her hand on the stair rails and chased after him.

    Addie raced down the stairs after Squishy. At the final step down, Squishy¡¯s paws scratched at the uneven wood for a moment, sending tiny bits of rotting wood up in the air as he tried to gain traction.

    Following close behind, Addie jumped off the last two steps and allowed her feet to hit the ground hard, some of the rotting wood slightly buckling underneath her.

    They ran down another dark hallway, easily using their spatial senses to navigate.

    Then, Squishy came skittering to a halt, his short claws trying and failing to get traction on the floor, causing him to slide comically for a few moments before finally stopping.

    Addie recognized why he couldn¡¯t get traction immediately. A pale glow emanated up into the ground, almost too slight to notice. It seemed to turn the rotting wood into a polished ghostly purple, making Squishy lose his footing. Along the edges of the hallway, the ground had tiny pale purple wisps embering up.

    Across the bond, Addie felt a tiny pulse from Squishy. She moved her spatial sense down the hall another meter or so, and standing right there with his hood up around his head stood Black Cloak.

    For a moment, Addie just stood there in surprise. Why was he in the hallway? She thought he¡¯d be in a room or something. But she quickly shook off those intrusive thoughts. It didn¡¯t matter where he was or why.

    All Addie needed to do was place her palm on him one time, and she would win. She and Christena had gone over the plan many times. Addie knew what to do, and her confidence rose as she remembered how weak he had been last time.

    Squishy sprinted forward, his powerful legs propelling him swiftly across the hallway. Squishy soared through the air, razor-sharp teeth bared in anticipation. A snarl escaped from his chest¡ª a deep rumbling that Addie had never heard him make before.

    Squishy collided against Black Cloak with a fierce impact, sending them tumbling to the ground. Squishy snapped at Black Cloak¡¯s arm, trying to keep him down. Addie seized the opportunity, darting forward with her hand outstretched, aiming for Black Cloak¡¯s chest.

    She reached her hand out to make contact, but Black Cloak¡¯s bonded moved faster than Addie could. The white-headed bird pushed itself out of Black Cloak¡¯s chest and pecked at Squishy¡¯s eye with a flaming beak, forcing him to jump backward or get hit.

    Flames erupted out of the bird¡¯s beak. The ghostly flames exploded upward in a pillar, and for the first time ever, the flames felt hot. They exploded upward, breaking apart the ceiling and causing bits of wood to rain down.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Addie put her hand up over her face to guard herself from both the heat and raining debris.

    The flames stopped going up in a pillar. Instead, all of the fire pouring out from the bird¡¯s beak started condensing in a sphere just above its head. Black Cloak turned his head away from the sight and put his arm over his face.

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure if it was because she saw Black Cloak guarding himself, or if it was because she felt unbridled terror emanating out from the bird, but she took immediate action. All in less than a second, she took a step forward, dropped herself right on top of Squishy, and curled up into a ball while hugging him tightly to her chest. She watched with her spatial sense as Christena¡¯s cloak wrapped around them both in a protective embrace.

    Then, the world erupted in fire. A colossal explosion shattered the silence, a blinding flash that left Addie temporarily sightless and deaf. The force of the blast sent her reeling, her senses overwhelmed by sheer intensity. Everything seemed to spin wildly, and she realized the breath had been knocked from her lungs.

    Blinking rapidly, she fought to clear her vision. Her eyes stung fiercely, and tears streamed down her cheeks, unbidden. She wiped at them frantically, her hands trembling. After a few agonizing moments, her vision began to clear, and the blurry shapes around her slowly came back into focus.

    Christena¡¯s cloak was completely gone. Addie watched as the last bit of the magical fabric burned away from ghostly purple flames. The building was gone. Not damaged, just completely gone.

    Addie shuddered, as she wondered for a moment what would have happened if she hadn¡¯t protected Squishy from that explosion. What would have happened if Christena hadn¡¯t helped protect Addie from the soul-damaging flames with her cloak?

    She was back to where they had all started, kneeling in a field of solid ghostly flames. No longer protected by Christena¡¯s cloak, the flames had enough access to start licking at Addie. Still holding Squishy, she stood up quickly to try and keep it off of her upper body. They still tried to burn at her booties, but she just hardened the layers of the transcendent loop around her soul and ignored the flames.

    Like before, the Area was lit up in that pale ghostly way. The light strangely reflected off the flowers on her dress making it seem to glow.

    Addie looked all around, both with her eyes and with her spatial sense. Black Cloak was still lying down on the ground just a meter or so away from Addie, looking the same as he did when Squishy tackled him.

    The bird must have gone back inside of Black Cloak since Addie couldn¡¯t see it poking out of his chest. That¡¯s for the better, Addie thought. Seeing it push up out of Black Cloak¡¯s chest like that was disturbing¡ª even if it did so magically rather than physically.

    ¡°You may now release me at your leisure, my lady.¡±

    He was kind of heavy. Addie gently put Squishy back down on the ground. Neither of them could do anything if she kept holding him like that anyway.

    Together, they cautiously approached Black Cloak, but he didn¡¯t seem to be reacting to them at all. Getting a bit closer, Addie saw that whatever that attack was had also left its mark on him, too. His bare feet seemed shriveled and blackened, with ridges reminding Addie of charcoal. His signature black cloak also seemed frayed at the edges. Looking at it, Addie wondered if it was only black because of how burnt it was, or if it had always been that color.

    Addie walked right next to him and poked at him with her foot. Nothing happened. Addie took a deep breath, then she let it go. Just like the first time she saw him unconscious those many days ago, Addie kneeled next to him. This time, instead of putting her hands over his body, she put her hand right on his chest. Squishy put himself right underneath Addie¡¯s legs, his whole body tensed and ready to catch that ghost bird if it showed itself.

    After so much prep with Christena, Addie knew exactly what her role was. She grabbed ahold of the source of her magic¡ª that place where her soul met Squishy¡¯s. She drew out a large amount of it and held it within her core. She pushed it down her arm and out through her hand, making contact with Black Cloak¡¯s soul bond. One day, she might be able to do this without touching someone -like Christena- but she needed more practice before that.

    She started wrapping his soul up in her magic, cutting him off from using his magic in the outside world. This wouldn¡¯t stop any internal magic, like Addie¡¯s spatial sense, but it should stop him from using external magic, like his flames.

    The white-headed bird flew out of Black Cloak¡¯s chest, its beak alight with ghostly flames. It swiped at Addie¡¯s face with its wings, flashing feathers and pain against her face making her recoil in surprise. Squishy jumped up from underneath her to try and catch the bird, but it flew down and disappeared back into the ground. Addie winced as she rubbed at her stinging face and saw blood on the back of her hand.

    During the bird¡¯s attack, Black Cloak used the opportunity to try and stand up.

    Squishy growled from underneath Addie¡¯s legs, then with a powerful flexing of his legs, he pounced onto Black Cloak, digging his claws into Black Cloak¡¯s chest and pushing him back down onto the ground.

    Scanning the inside of the dome, Addie looked all around for the bird, but she didn¡¯t see it anywhere.

    Looking back down she saw Squishy biting at Black Cloak¡¯s face, while he tried to ineffectually push Squishy off and guard his head with either arm.

    Addie ran a step forward trying to make contact with Black Cloak again, but the bird flew out of nowhere, Addie only realized it was back when it pecked at her back with furious intensity, each strike feeling like a searing brand on her soul.

    Reinforcing her layers of the transcendent loop, she felt a spike of adrenaline and turned around ready to whack the bird with her hand, but she wasn¡¯t fast enough. The bird swooped low and vanished back into the white flames making up the ground.

    This stupid bird was seriously agitating Addie! It annoyed her by flying in to attack only to vanish a moment later, out of her reach. Her back throbbed in pain for a moment due to where she had been pecked. At least, now that Addie knew it could come out of the ground anywhere, she tried to stay on high alert.

    She looked back over at Squishy and watched just as Black Cloak managed to shove him off and hurriedly stand back up. His charcoal-black legs looked like they would snap any moment, but somehow they managed to support his weight.

    ¡°You awful nobles!¡± He screamed.

    Black Cloak opened his mouth to say something more.

    But Squishy had other ideas than to chat. After all, Addie felt his intent through their bond¡ª any good warrior would know not to make themselves vulnerable in battle by talking. Squishy took advantage of Black Cloak¡¯s poor tactical awareness.

    Squishy pounced again, and Addie followed his lead. Squishy attached himself to his ashen leg, clamping down and shaking his head violently.

    ¡°Get off me!¡± Black Cloak shouted and flailed his leg to kick Squishy off.

    But before he could throw Squishy off, Addie tackled him. They both hit the ground hard, Black Cloak gasping out as Addie landed on top of him. Out of battle mania more than thought, Addie pushed everyone out into Realmspace, effectively separating Black Cloak from his bonded.

 Chapter 58: Greed and Bonds

    Black Cloak gasped as they entered Realmspace. The total darkness enveloped Addie in its familiarly gentle embrace.

    Addie didn¡¯t give him a moment to think. She dove into his soul with her magic, intending to wrap his soul in a layer of transcendent loop.

    If it was just this much, Christena could have done the same thing but even better than Addie. There was a reason it had to be Addie, though.

    She knew she only had a few moments to work before Realmspace would push them back out into reality, so Addie needed to work fast before his bonded could go back on the attack.

    Coordinating their thoughts, Addie and Squishy dove into their soul bond and released their magic out of their bodies, traveling down their limbs, until it reached Black Cloak. From there, keeping in mind all of Christena¡¯s lessons, Addie and Squishy guided their magic around Black Cloak¡¯s soul.

    Their connection to Black Cloak wavered, making Addie lose some of her focus on her magic and soul. She swept her spatial sense out into the physical world to see why that happened. Black Cloak was struggling, trying to throw Addie¡¯s limp body off of him. Luckily, he was really struggling since his limbs were so weak.

    ¡°Keep him from moving, I¡¯ll work on the transcendent loop,¡± Addie asked Squishy over the bond.

    Squishy sent back a feeling of agreement.

    Now able to focus solely on her task, Addie closed her eyes again and pulled on her magic, stretching it out like taffy. Using her will, she spread her magic out into a big sheet and gently laid it over Black Cloak¡¯s soul shell.

    Instantly, her magic caught fire, Black Cloak¡¯s soul inherently resisting Addie¡¯s attempt to stifle his soul¡¯s magic.

    But Addie had practiced this with Christena for days. She wouldn¡¯t lose to Black Cloak. Addie poured out more of her and Squishy¡¯s magic and used it to reinforce her will. Despite the inside layer of her magic still burning, she forcefully wrapped it around his soul shell. The flames around his soul smothered and died out.

    For a moment, everything calmed down, his magic contained to just the inside of his own soul shell. Addie let out a breath she didn¡¯t know she had been holding and scanned their surroundings with her spatial sense.

    Squishy had listened to Addie¡¯s wishes, and he had somehow managed to get both of Black Cloak¡¯s wrists in his jaws, getting slobber all over his chest in the process. Squishy pointed his pupil at Addie, revealing the whites of his eyes.

    ¡°You idiot girl,¡± Black Cloak said, ¡°Don¡¯t you realize they are training you to be a repressor?¡±

    Addie froze, something about his words hitting her far harder than she would have expected.

    ¡°These Area Lords,¡± He spat out the title with venom, ¡°They do nothing but hoard all of their power. And at what cost? We the people get nothing but scraps. Just trying to survive and barely getting enough food!¡±

    Addie¡¯s heart started racing, and her mind churned. She didn¡¯t want to hear this.

    ¡°When I asked the Lord for help with the children,¡± again he spat out the title with pure disdain, ¡°He tells me to come back in a few days and seek a proper audience. Disgusting.¡±

    Was Black Cloak right? Christena wouldn¡¯t even tell Addie why more people couldn¡¯t become bonded. Why Area Lords wouldn¡¯t share more of their magic with the people. Her magic around his soul wavered for a moment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, Addie.¡± Squishy could feel Addie¡¯s growing horror through their bond. ¡°This man talks about helping people, and yet he tried to destroy countless lives. Even something experimentally created like me can see that this man is barely a person.¡±

    ¡°Why did you hurt the children? The fawn?¡± Addie asked him, her voice barely a whisper.

    He was silent for a moment, and Addie wondered if he hadn¡¯t heard her.

    ¡°I was trying to save them, Addie. To give them the magic that is rightfully theirs,¡± He said, his voice quiet and slimy.

    Addie¡¯s heart pounded in her chest. She didn¡¯t want to believe him, but his words planted seeds of doubt.

    ¡°I was helping them, can¡¯t you see?¡± His voice softened, almost pleading. ¡°The power I sought wasn¡¯t for me. It was for them. For all of us.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s lying,¡± Squishy said. She could feel how strongly Squishy knew it was a lie, too. ¡°He almost killed Nettal.¡±

    During Addie¡¯s hesitancy to act, Realmspace finally recognized the intruders and moved to push them all back out into reality. Addie moved to touch the ribbon in her hair, but it was too late to call Sen. Realmspace¡¯s presence pushed against Addie¡¯s soul and ejected her out before she even put one finger on her ribbon.

    Addie¡¯s hold on Black Cloak broke, and so did her layers of magic suppressing his soul¡ª her opportunity lost.

    She blinked at the relative brightness of reality, even as her heart fell as she realized how indecisive she had been. She should have listened to Squishy.

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    Just as Addie started to get her bearings, a flash of feathers dove right in front of her face. She screamed in surprise and took a step back while bracing for impact. A flash of black scales soared up from underneath her, and Addie watched as Squishy trapped the bird in between his jaws before landing back on the ground.

    The bird squawked and struggled against his grip, but he held strong. The bird¡¯s feathers were torn apart in Squishy¡¯s mouth due to the bird¡¯s own actions trying to free itself, and it let out increasingly frantic squawking.

    Desperate, its wings and beak caught aflame, forcing Squishy to drop the impromptu chew toy.

    It flapped wildly on the ground, spinning and randomly turning its body. It flapped its wings, trying to take back off into the sky, but it was unable to due to one of its wings being bent at a gruesome angle. The bone stuck out slightly, and blood dribbled down the limb. It turned its head toward Addie with a vicious glare, its soulless white eyes bearing into her. Then, it sunk into the ghostly flaming floor.

    ¡°Perhaps I showed it too much mercy,¡± Squishy commented.

    Addie didn¡¯t have time to think about his words. Black Cloak had stood up during the commotion, Addie once again wondering how his spindly charcoal legs could support his weight without snapping.

    ¡°You killed him!¡± Black Cloak shouted.

    It was strange he thought that. The bird had clearly still been alive despite being injured.

    Regardless, in his madness, Black Cloak¡¯s eyes began to glow a pale white. He pointed his palm out toward Addie and a torrent of ghostly flames spat out. Addie felt it as a bright heat wave heading right for her face.

    They did the best thing they knew how to do. Addie and Squishy entered Realmspace, side by side.

    Addie wouldn¡¯t let his words get to her again. He never planned to help the children. He hurt the children, hurt Nettal.

    Addie and Squishy ran forward together with new determination, counting their steps. They ran as fast as they could, first three steps to the right, then eight steps forward. Lastly, Addie turned all the way around, now facing the opposite direction. Addie released her hold on their magic and allowed Realmspace to eject them back out into Reality.

    Before the transition had completed, Addie already had her arm out waiting to make contact. And contact, it did. She felt the signature black cloak underneath her palm and knew they had successfully gotten behind Black Cloak without him noticing.

    Squishy jumped forward and clomped onto Black Cloak¡¯s leg with his jaws, pinning Black Cloak to the ground.

    Addie reached her arm out a bit further and made contact with Black Cloak¡¯s back.

    Black Cloak tried to turn around, but Squishy dug all four of his paws down into the ground stabilizing himself so that he couldn¡¯t turn. Black Cloak stumbled and nearly fell down, but he re-balanced himself at the last moment.

    His new position pushed his back even further into Addie¡¯s hand. She dove right into her soulbond with Squishy. In a well-practice motion taking less than a second, Addie drew out the magic from her bond and flattened it out like a cloth. She wrapped it around Black Cloak¡¯s soul shell again and smothered all uses of his magic.

    Squishy sent a loud ¡®poke¡¯ through their soulbond, making Addie open her eyes in surprise.

    The bird was back. It had formed out of the ground just next to Black Cloak and was currently crawling the last few inches to reach his leg. It moved its unbroken wing forward and touched Black Cloak¡¯s right leg: the one Squishy wasn¡¯t biting.

    Black Cloak¡¯s leg seemed to suck up the bird as it was absorbed into his leg.

    That had been strange but shouldn¡¯t interfere with the magic Addie was working on.

    Black Cloak put his weight on his right leg, and lifted his left leg, bringing Squishy along with it. He flailed the leg around trying to shake him off, but Squishy held firm. Looked like Squishy was doing a good job distracting him.

    Addie focused on her magic again, her layer of transcendent loop smothering Black Cloak¡¯s soul and preventing him from using magic.

    ¡°I would have helped all of the children. I just need a bit of power, you see.¡± Black Cloak started whispering, but Addie tried to focus on what she was working on.

    Addie drew on the magic within herself and connected it against the barrier she now had sitting around Black Cloak¡¯s magical soul.

    ¡°If the Lord had listened to me in the first place, none of this would have happened, you see.¡± He almost seemed to be talking to himself more than Addie.

    ¡°But their magic, the power in their souls¡ª it was just too much to leave it alone! I needed it! To beat the Area Lords!¡±

    With her magic at the ready, and his soul fully wrapped up in her magic, she grabbed onto the most familiar power she had. Addie pushed his soul out into Realmspace.

    Just like Christena said would happen, all of the flames that had been within the dome immediately vanished, dropping Addie a few feet down back onto proper swampy mud. Her boots squelched as she landed, her knees bending to absorb the impact.

    Without the flames to see by, the inside of the dome was entirely dark. With her spatial sense, Addie watched as Black Cloak fell limp and dropped down onto the ground.

    Squishy was right. Black Cloak didn¡¯t want to help anyone but himself. He had even admitted it. He was just sucking up the magic from different souls, trying to gain power for himself at the cost of innocent kids. At the cost of Addie and Auntie almost losing Nettal forever. For a moment, Addie wondered how Nettal was doing, healing all of the other children.

    Black Cloak¡¯s body shuddered for a moment, pulling Addie back into the present moment. She heard him groan in pain as he writhed in the mud, getting it all over his shirt. Then, his charcoal legs fully turned to ash. Whatever magic had been holding them together was gone, forever.

    This won¡¯t kill him, Addie comforted herself. Even a person like this, Addie wouldn¡¯t want to kill. Separating his body from his soul like this would destroy the soul bond holding him together with his bonded. Much like holding your breath for a few moments, as long as his soul returned in a few seconds, he would be fine. As soon as Addie¡¯s magic ran out, his soul would return from Realmspace and reunite with his body.

    Although Christena had told Addie about this, she had also warned Addie never to try it on anyone else. Snapping the bond with his bonded in this way would irreparably cripple Black Cloak, making it so he could never have a bond ever again.

    Something was weird though. The bird should have also been forced out of Black Cloak¡¯s body, now that he didn¡¯t have any more magic.

    Addie pushed at Black Cloak¡¯s body a bit with her leg, eliciting another groan from the man. He had been a selfish man, happy to destroy other people¡¯s souls for power¡ª just like Servus in the Binary, Addie thought. Despite that, some things he said resonated with Addie. She would have to think long and hard about everything he said.

    Why didn¡¯t more Area Lords share magic? Even Christena didn¡¯t want to answer that question.

    Addie leaned over his body, examining his chest area. The bird still hadn¡¯t come out for some reason. Addie reached her hand out toward his chest.

    Like a ripple disturbing the surface of a lake, but far more disgusting, the bird pushed its head out from Black Cloak¡¯s body. Before Squishy could come over to grab it again, the bird locked eyes with Addie and leaped out of Black Cloak¡¯s chest. It had just enough strength to flap its wings once, despite how broken one of them was.

    Addie started to back up, but it made contact with her upper body regardless. Addie prepared her layers of the transcendent loop, ready to fend off its ghostly flame attack, but no flames came.

    Its beak touched Addie¡¯s chest, and the bird dove into her body.

 Chapter 59: Cascade

    The bird flew into Addie¡¯s chest, faster than she could possibly react.

    She touched her chest, and it felt completely normal. Then, she looked down at Squishy next to her feet. She could feel the fear, no, the worry pulsing through his soul as it bled into their soulbond.

    Addie fell to the floor, but she wasn¡¯t quite sure why. The world started spinning around her, and she felt her face against the swampy mud.

    Huh. Addie wasn¡¯t breathing. She should probably do that. Addie commanded her body, one breath at a time¡ª inhale, then exhale. She kept that up. It seemed like a good idea.

    Somewhere far in the distance, a keening sound wailed out. Oh, wait, no. That sound was right next to her ear. It was Squishy, whining. She wondered why he was doing that. Addie felt fine. The cold mud felt good on her face like this. It really cooled her down.

    She felt really hot. So, the cold mud was nice.

    ¡°My Lady.¡±

    Idly, Addie wondered if Nettal had healed all the children.

    ¡°Addie.¡±

    Well, that was weird. Addie could have sworn she was lying on her side in the mud, but now she seemed to be looking up into total darkness.

    A crack split through the sky, Binary light shining down into the dome. Oh, maybe they were tearing the dome down now that Black Cloak had been defeated.

    But he hadn¡¯t really been defeated, had he? Or, maybe he had been. Addie wasn¡¯t sure. At least the cold mud on her back felt good. She had really started sweating for some reason.

    ¡°Addie, look at me.¡±

    It got a little bit harder to breathe, Addie thought. She slowly moved her eyes down away from the crumbling sky. Squishy was standing on her chest. Huh.

    But she wasn¡¯t really thinking about Squishy right now. Something was weird with her magic.

    It was roiling in stormy turbulence. Her magic seemed to be responding to something extremely hot. So hot, that her soul seemed to be boiling. That probably wasn¡¯t good. Maybe she should sink further into the mud to cool down. That seemed like a good idea.

    ¡°Addie! By the Binary.¡±

    Oh, it looked like Christena was ok. Her hair looked disheveled¡ª far messier than she preferred it. And her maid uniform seemed a bit burnt. That¡¯s right, they had been fighting Black Cloak, maybe that¡¯s why Christena¡¯s hair was so messy.

    Addie had defeated Black Cloak, right? What about¡ª

    THE BIRD

    Addie groaned and grasped at her chest, bunching some of her dress¡¯s fabric into a ball with her fist. She turned back onto her side and rolled up into a ball. A moment later, a firm hand pushed her forcing her onto her back again.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t good. She¡¯s losing consciousness.¡±

    Who was Christena talking to? And where was Squishy? Oh, he was still on her chest, but he seemed to be sleeping. Silly cat. This wasn¡¯t a good time to sleep.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what more we can...¡±

    That kind of sounded like Mr. Owlcharge. But Addie was too sleepy to pay much attention to him or Christena.

    The world around Addie went black. But, she was still aware. Not of the world, or anything else on the outside.

    Addie was a soul: A boiling soul due to the flames around it.

    Nothing else existed.

    The soul writhed and ached in pain. The soul was on fire. Its layers of transcendent loop bypassed, the flames sneaking directly from within the soul. There, the flames manifested ignoring all barriers completely. Then the barriers collapsed and shattered into motes of light.

    The ghostly flames consumed the soul like ravenous beasts, feeding and growing stronger with each moment. They sought not just destruction, but complete obliteration, aiming to transform the soul into something unrecognizable. The soul, once full of hope and light, was now a battleground of searing pain and desperate resistance.

    Agonizingly, the flames spread, devouring more of the soul. It writhed under the relentless assault, tiny cracks forming along its radiant crystalline surface. Despair set in, as the soul realized its fate. The flames slithered into these cracks, forcing their tendrils inside and taking root. Each crack felt like another memory lost, a touch of hope destroyed. With each fiery invader, the soul felt its individuality being torn away, bit by bit.

    A cherished memory, a girl with bright red hair eating the first harvest of spring cherries. The initial tartness and subsequent sweetness. The crunch as her teeth pierced the skin. This memory came and went, forever gone in the destruction. A cherished memory turned to ash.

    The soul roiled in reaction to the flame. It tried to pull away from the flames like a hand recoiling from a hot stove. But the flames pursued relentlessly, their hunger insatiable. They encircled the soul, drawing in its essence from every side.

    The soul¡¯s shell superheated and cracked, and the magic within the shell boiled. The tumultuous boiling caused the magic to push up against the sides of its shell, making it feel as if it would burst from the pressure. The soul superheated, spreading the cracks. Panic set in, as the soul desperately tried to contain the boiling magic, without letting it overflow and destroy the shell. But each time the soul pushed down on its magic, the pressure increased, putting even more stress on the fragile shell.

    The stress created more fractures and more opportunities for the flames to invade. The flames heated the shell, which boiled the magic. The boiling magic increased pressure within the soul, which in turn created more cracks. Each malicious flame created more fearful searing pain, and each searing pain created more agonizing cracks. The spreading cracks made more uncontrollable, panic-inducing pressure. And the panic-inducing pressure allowed the flames to continue terrorizing the soul. On and on it went, in a cycle of blinding pain and horrifying uncontrollable aversion. The soul writhed. And like this, each step of the process led to the next¡ª the soul cascading further and further into what might soon be total unrecognizabilty.

    The flames spread, snaking down the soul along a connection.

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    Slithering down, flowing along the river the flames sought to touch the soul on the other side. Reaching out for that soul covered in galaxies and flowing magic.

    But that other soul fought back. The soul of swirling galaxies and twisting nebulas pushed up against the flames, overcoming them in twirling scenes of splendor and magnificence.

    The crystalline blue soul watched as its partner soul battled the flames. In its twinkling stars, the blue soul saw its determination and pride.

    Addie saw the hints of pride in Squishy¡¯s soul only spoken of in the legends of dragons.

    And the crystalline soul saw its partner soul¡¯s determination, and how it used its magic not just to recoil or attempt to run away, but she saw how it actively defended against the flames, fought back against the flames. She saw how Squishy¡¯s soul was winning against the flames.

    A ghostly ember would strike up against that galaxy soul, and the soul would wrap that ember up in magic, and send it away. The joy of battle flowed through the galaxy soul, and whispers of that magnificence and triumph bled up through the connection to the crystalline soul. The crystalline soul watched as those Whispers from Realmspace rose up through sheer discipline and sheer will. The crystalline soul watched as its partner pulled on their magic, and used it to form stalwart barricades, and looping barriers to protect itself from those flames.

    But the galaxy soul was too overwhelmed just trying to defend itself.

    Despite being unable to give its aid, the galaxy soul showed the crystalline soul how to fight back, how to defend without recoiling in pure reactionary pain.

    Despite the pain, the crystalline soul made a strong determination, it would work to defend itself even in the face of the burning flames.

    As the cracks spread across its surface, the soul grabbed ahold of its boiling magic. It expelled that boiling magic, while still keeping total control over it. The writhing magic tried to twist and turn, to bubble up and evaporate. But the soul kept the magic in place and flattened it out.

    The searing pain of the flames made the soul wince in pain, again the craving to recoil and flee flooded through it. But despite wanting to run away, the soul held onto its magic firmly and spread it out into a sheet.

    Still superheated beyond normal, the magic stung the soul as it wrapped itself up in that protective layer. The magic felt like a blanket that had been sitting next to a campfire for too long. But the initial heat and pain from the boiling magic cooled down after settling across the soul. Still warm, but not so much to burn.

    The ghostly flames burning on the outside of the soul were smothered, which allowed the crystalline soul a moment of recovery. It allowed Addie to become aware, and finally take a breath and get control of herself.

    But those insidious flames infected her soul to its deepest layers. The ghostly flames had rooted down and settled into the cracks in her soul, which Addie did not know how to heal.

    Additionally, past the soul shell, the source of those flames raged on, still pulsing out from something that had clawed its way inside the soul¡¯s deepest center.

    Though the cracks could not be healed, perhaps they could be soothed. And although the source of the flames clawed and scraped to stay rooted, perhaps it could be calmed down.

    Despite the pain, Addie flooded her soul bond with Squishy using all the rest of the magic she still had. The flames on their bond extinguished, and Squishy sent a feeling of relief up through their bond.

    With new freedom, Squishy sent more magic up coursing through the bond, giving Addie more ability to act.

    But also giving the flames more fuel to burn.

    Addie took that magic and tried to smother the flames in those tiny ravines marring the surface of her soul shell. She tried to shove it down there, but it slipped from her control. Those cracks were smaller than hairline fractures, and Addie had never manipulated her magic into such tiny spaces.

    A torrent of flames pulsed out from the center of her soul, sending Addie reeling. Despite the searing heat, she kept the layer around her soul strong, and the torrent of flames had nowhere to spread.

    The cracks in her soul would have to wait. She needed to do something about the source of the flames deep within her soul. Trying to smother the flames by themselves would go on forever if she didn¡¯t do something about the fuel.

    Addie reached a tendril of her magic deep into her soul. The tendril pushed up against another soul¡ªa burning soul full of fear and regret.

    The burning soul lashed out at Addie, spreading ghostly flames up her tendril, almost causing her hold on the magic to collapse. But her magic had the intent of two, now. Squishy pulsed his will down their bond and helped reinforce Addie¡¯s magic.

    Together, Squishy and Addie flattened out their tendril of magic and spread it over the burning soul like a blanket. The blanket caught aflame, sending out vibrations of terror and burning. Despite the terror, Addie and Squishy¡¯s hold on the blanket stayed firm. They activated the magic within the blanket, and Addie thought about Christena¡¯s warning.

    When you send Black Cloak¡¯s soul out into Realmspace, he¡¯ll never be able to bond again.

    What if sending the bird¡¯s flaming soul out into Realmspace hurt Addie? It was inside of her soul now, did that not mean it was already bonded, or perhaps, bonding to her?

    She didn¡¯t want to take the risk of losing all of her magic, and she knew Squishy agreed by reading his emotions traveling up through their bond.

    Instead, Addie and Squishy held onto that tightly wrapped blanket, and pulled on it, tugging the burning soul out from the deepest layers of Addie¡¯s soul.

    On her side, Addie pushed the blanket-wrapped soul forward, and on the other side, Squishy pulled the blanket-wrapped soul toward the connection of roping power that formed their soul bond. With the force of two, the soul rapidly moved away from Addie¡¯s soul and began traveling down Squishy and Addie¡¯s soul bond.

    Halfway down the bond, Addie and Squishy stopped moving that burning soul. They moved it up against the edge of the starry tunnel formed from Addie and Squishy¡¯s shared magic.

    Then, gently, Addie lifted up the tiniest portion of the blanket, allowing a tiny bit of the burning soul to be exposed.

    Immediately, a ghostly torrent of flames roared out from the bird¡¯s soul. The flames burned against a circular portion of the tunnel wall, creating a hole in Addie and Squishy¡¯s soul bond.

    The entire tunnel rumbled and nearly tore itself apart, the forces on either side becoming unstable with a hole in its side.

    Addie stabilized the tunnel on her side by using more of her magic to hold it firm and stop it from moving. The other side of the bond also settled down, and Addie knew Squishy had done the same thing on his side.

    Quickly, before the burning soul could escape or worse, cause more damage, Addie wrapped the blanket back around the burning soul, smothering it again. Then, she pushed it into the opening the burning soul itself had formed in the soul tunnel connecting Addie and Squishy.

    Addie held the burning soul in place and unwrapped the front and back of the blanket. Now, the burning soul was held in place from the sides, connecting it to either side of Addie and Squishy¡¯s soul tunnel connection. They held it there in place, firmly.

    The burning soul roiled and wiggled for a moment. Addie could feel its confusion at its new location. From her side, Addie sent a feeling of acceptance and kindness down the tunnel, directed at the burning soul. From his side, Squishy sent a feeling of protectiveness and sturdiness down the tunnel to the burning soul.

    Now connected to Addie and Squishy, magically and emotionally, it felt all of the damage it had inflicted across Addie¡¯s soul shell. Each crack the flames had caused, each burn that had manifested, the bird¡¯s soul felt Addie¡¯s injuries in full as its own. It experienced all of the sufferings it had pushed onto Addie as its own, each ache and pain Addie felt traveling down the connection where they now shared a bond.

    It became aware then, that all of the damage it was causing to Addie¡¯s soul for its own gain was self-destructive. Consuming Addie¡¯s soul in its greedy flames and devouring her soul as nothing more than a source of magic would not just destroy Addie. It would destroy the bird, too.

    The soul stopped, aware of all the hurt it had caused. Finally aware that its selfishness caused nothing but suffering. For a moment, Addie felt vindicated, tempted to push all of her suffering onto the one that had caused her harm. But, she didn¡¯t. She knew her new bonded¡¯s soul was already suffering, as she was. And she felt compassion for it. Just as Addie herself didn¡¯t want to have aching burns, she didn¡¯t want her new bonded¡¯s soul to have aching burns.

    The cracks in Addie¡¯s soul shell were still there, marring its surface, but no longer did tendrils of flames wriggle in deeper to take root.

    The new, three-way connection between Addie, Squishy, and the ghostly bird relaxed. Their connection was damaged but not cascaded¡ª Weak, but stable. The magic from the bird flooded out into the bond. It tasted of spice and smoke. The idea of a shadowy fire, but all magical potential¡ª not manifested as true flames since it lacked ill-intent.

    The bird¡¯s magic mixed inside the tunnel with Squishy¡¯s magic. The three-way bond felt like spiraling galaxies and passive ghostly flames, with a hint of a young girl¡¯s excitement for magic.

 Chapter 60: To Be a Healer

    ¡°Are you sure you can do it?¡± Nettal¡¯s mom asked. ¡°You are still getting better yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine already,¡± Nettal responded. ¡°You just said those kids won¡¯t be able to get better without me and Lotty¡¯s help.¡±

    Her mom sighed and brushed some of Nettal¡¯s brown hair out of her face. ¡°I know. I¡¯m proud of you, you know that?¡±

    Nettal smiled and looked away as the tips of her ears started heating up. ¡°I know,¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Ok, Addie is about to leave with Christena and Mr. Owlcharge. Once they do, I¡¯ll start bringing the town¡¯s children up here, one at a time. Make sure you drink the water I brought up!¡± Her mom¡¯s purple Viollow tweeted in agreement, puffing out her chest feathers in the process.

    ¡°I will,¡± Nettal replied.

    After that, her mom left the room, and Nettal watched as the door gently clicked and closed.

    ¡°Are you ready, Lotty?¡± Nettal looked into her bonded¡¯s sparkling green eyes, full with the promise of life.

    In response, he sent Nettal a series of feelings and images, they consisted of Lotty watching his mother heal him all the times he got hurt in the forest or swamp. Then, the feeling of determination bled through their bond.

    Though it wasn¡¯t proper language, Nettal was already starting to understand the way her new bonded communicated. This time, he seemed to be saying that he had watched many different types of injuries being healed, and he felt confident they could use those lessons to heal everyone today, too.

    Nettal nodded her head. Even though he didn¡¯t speak the Borian language, he still seemed just as smart as any other person she¡¯d met. He just talked differently.

    Sometimes, Nettal wished he could talk more properly, like the way Addie said Squishy could talk. But, Nettal tried to push away those intrusive thoughts. Even though they had only been together for a few days, she already loved Lotty¡ª they already shared a soul bond, after all. It would be best if she didn¡¯t compare him to Squishy due to some silly jealousy.

    Closing her eyes, Nettal focused on the new magic coursing through her soul bond from Lotty. She was still new to it, so she wanted to make sure everything was still running smoothly before she healed the first child.

    If it was just observing her soul shell, her mom had taught her how to do that in preparation for her bonding initialization ages ago. She watched the green magic flow up and down her soul bond. Some of the green motes of light traveled up into her soul shell, and some of them traveled back down over to Lotty¡¯s side. The ones that moved back and forth between the two of them seemed to grow and become stronger.

    Her thoughts drifted, and Nettal¡¯s left hand moved over to her right ring finger. She played with the ring on her hand, spinning the cool metal around gently. She had tried taking it off a while ago, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. She almost would have thought the ring symbolized something more, but it was on the wrong hand for that¡ª which was relieving. Nettal didn¡¯t know what she would do if a dragon was trying to steal her away like in the fairytales. She was curious about this Dragon, Sen. He seemed like an interesting fellow.

    The door cracked open, and Nettal opened her eyes and watched as her mom walked back into the room. Trailing behind her was a child wrapped up in a bunch of plant fibers, floating up off the ground and suspended in midair.

    Somehow, Nettal wasn¡¯t nervous, a fact that she was grateful for. In her spare time, she would often go to the town¡¯s clinic and help out around there as a sort of nurse in training. She often helped out the nurses with various small tasks and the occasional broken bone or pregnancy. So, this situation actually wasn¡¯t so strange to her. She had been around sick patients several times; however, this would be her first time treating a patient without any professional supervision. Well, if she went there now, she and Lotty could certainly do a lot more than just help set a few broken bones.

    The child started floating over to Nettal from her mom¡¯s direction. Her mom placed him down gently at the foot of Nettal¡¯s bed, where all the vines started unraveling, the smell of earth and grass floating up as they moved. It revealed a young boy, perhaps six or seven with short brown hair and peacefully closed eyes.

    For a moment, Nettal paused and wondered why she hadn¡¯t ever told Addie that she liked to help in the clinic.

    Then, Nettal continued reaching her hand out to place on the boy¡¯s forehead.

    Maybe she felt a bit embarrassed about going to the clinic, and that¡¯s why she¡¯d never talked to Addie about it.

    Nettal gently placed her hand down on the boy¡¯s forehead. She gasped as images, sensations, and emotions all flooded into Nettal at once, and she withdrew her hand hastily. She cradled her hand against her chest as she breathed heavily.

    What was that?

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Taking a moment to calm her breathing, Nettal again forced her hand down to touch the boy¡¯s brow.

    All at once, an overwhelming torrent of sensations flooded back into Nettal. It felt like the anxious tossing and turning that happens when you can¡¯t go to sleep. It felt like being in an uncomfortably warm room. It felt like having your insides baked without being able to run away.

    Just as suddenly as they had started, the sensations stopped, and the room around her came back into focus. She hadn¡¯t even realized the room had seemed to disappear for a moment.

    She followed her extended arm out with her eyes and saw her hand being held up in the air by her mom.

    ¡°Are you ok? Are you sure you can do this?¡±

    Nettal released a shuddering breath. ¡°I can do this, Mom.¡±

    ¡°Your whole body was shaking.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Even Violet seemed to be looking at Nettal with concerned eyes.

    Lotty stood up from where he was lying at the side of the bed and gently hopped up into Nettal¡¯s bed. His hooves depressed deeply into the blankets and mattress. He walked over to Nettal and laid down right by her side.

    ¡°Reassurance. Images of a gigantic deer remaining calm regardless of her emotions. A bridge, connecting the healer to the patient. Reassurance.¡±

    ¡°Lotty says I¡¯m feeling the emotions of this boy when I try to heal him. He thinks I should just try to stay calm through it all.¡± Nettal said.

    That must be Nettal¡¯s other power, she realized. Some kind of empathic connection with those she was trying to heal. But that was so odd. These kinds of powers were supposed to work together. How was she supposed to heal someone if she was distracted by all of their pain and suffering?

    ¡°That must be hard. How about you take a break?¡± Her mom asked her with concern.

    Nettal tried to straighten her spine and readjust the pillow she was leaning back against. She crossed her legs underneath the bed¡¯s blankets and brushed the hair out of her face.

    She could do this. It would be just like helping a patient while he screamed in her ear due to the pain. No problem.

    Nettal took a deep breath in, then put her hand back down on the boy¡¯s head.

    Immediately she felt the boy¡¯s emotions as her own. She felt singes across her very being and winced in sympathetic pain.

    Nettal called on her magic, trying to fight through all of the pain. It wasn¡¯t her pain she tried to tell herself. But, the restlessness from the boy bled over to her¡ª like a feverish sleepless night.

    She pushed her magic out through her bond and down into the boy. That part, at least, was easy. The process came instinctually to her, no different than moving an arm or a leg. She willed it, and the magic responded. She watched as the first motes of her magic coursed through her and began to touch upon the boy¡¯s soul.

    Aching burns coursed through her soul, but she couldn¡¯t move. There was nowhere to escape. The burns writhed almost with a mind of their own, and no matter how hard she tried, her body sat paralyzed. She was trapped in a nightmare, without the relief of being able to wake up.

    Consciousness slipped away from Nettal¡¯s mind, and the torrent of pain ended.

    She blinked her eyes and found that her upper body had bonelessly flopped down onto the bed. Her hand was no longer touching the boy. She groggily sat up and slowly straightened her posture, using her hands to push on the mattress and stay upright.

    ¡°Nettal!¡± Her mom rubbed Nettal¡¯s hunched back in soothing circular motions. ¡°Are you ok?¡± she said more gently.

    ¡°I¡¯m ok. How long did I pass out?¡±

    ¡°Just for a second or two. Just catch your breath for a moment.¡±

    Relaxing into the soothing rubs on her back, Nettal just focused on breathing for a bit. She felt something wet rub against her right hand, and she looked over to see Lotty bumping his wet nose against her.

    There was something incredibly warm about having Lotty and her mom in here with her.

    Alright, if she had this much support, there was no excuse not to do her best. Nettal began moving her hand toward the boy again, determined to help him as fast as possible.

    Her mom caught Nettal¡¯s shaking, outstretched hand and stopped it. ¡°Nettal, stop for a second.¡±

    She looked up at her mom¡¯s face.

    ¡°You are still recovering. You can¡¯t help any of these kids if you don¡¯t take care of yourself, too.¡±

    Except, Nettal had already had more than two days to recover. These other children were still suffering and she was the only one who could help them.

    ¡°I can do it, Mom.¡±

    Nettal¡¯s mom sighed. ¡°I¡¯m proud of that determination you have, but stop being stubborn.¡± The last few words came out in a harsh whisper.

    ¡°Just slow it down. When you feel like you are about to pass out, take a break. You can heal them over a few minutes. They aren¡¯t going anywhere.¡± Her mom squeezed Nettal¡¯s hand.

    Frustration welled up in Nettal and she bit her lip. She had to do better than this.

    Lotty sent more reassurance through their bond. ¡°Magic moving slowly. The body healing steadily with diligent care.¡±

    Nettal closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them again she said, ¡°You two are right. I¡¯m sorry for rushing into things.¡±

    Her mom smiled. ¡°No need to apologize, let¡¯s just take it slowly, one healing session at a time, ok?¡±

    ¡°Ok, Mom.¡±

    No longer in a desperate rush, Nettal took her time and moved her hand directly above the boy¡¯s head. She took in a deep breath and readied her magic. Then, she slowly brought her hand down, touching against the boy¡¯s clammy forehead.

    Again the torrent of burning aches and pains pushed their way into Nettal¡¯s mind, but she slowly, calmly pushed her magic out and into the boy. She kept that up for a few moments, but his pain became too much for her and she moved her hand away.

    She closed her eyes and nodded her head while she tried to catch her breath. This would work. Just taking it one step at a time.

    Though his face didn¡¯t change, Nettal got the feeling that Lotty was smiling at her with his eyes.

    ¡°Good, just keep it slow and steady,¡± Her mom reminded her.

    Once she was ready, Nettal put her hand back on the boy and poured a bit more magic into him. This time, his pains seemed to be a lot better. Though he was still aching, it was more of a sore ache than the biting deep pain of a fresh burn.

    After that, it didn¡¯t take long to fully heal the first child. The more healing she gave to him, the less feedback pain Nettal felt. In fact, she realized that by feeling his pains, she could more easily pinpoint where all the damage was. She felt a burn on the surface of his soul shell and directed her healing magic to that spot. Through the emotional and physical feedback, she watched as his soul healed in real-time. Maybe that¡¯s what the point of her second power was! To find the pain and direct the healing in those spots.

    She started to feel the boy¡¯s restlessness turn into a gentle sleep once his soul finished healing. Like this, Nettal would heal the children. One at a time, without rushing. She was still recovering herself, after all.

 Chapter 61: Scars

    ¡°Addie wake up.¡±

    Addie groaned and turned over onto her side, ignoring the voice talking to her. Then, she hissed as her sore chest stung from the new position. The soreness wouldn¡¯t go away, so she had to turn onto her back again. She was still exhausted and tried to stretch, but her chest also felt tight, and she stopped preemptively when it started hurting.

    ¡°Addie, can you open your eyes for me?¡±

    ¡°Ugg,¡± Addie groaned. She tried to pull the bed¡¯s blankets up to cover her face from the room¡¯s brightness, but her arms wouldn¡¯t quite listen to her. Her arms themselves felt fine, and she could move her fingers. But, her chest muscles protested in soreness when she tried to push her arms past her chest. She had to give up halfway since her arms wouldn¡¯t listen. Next, she tried to awkwardly scoot the blanket up by just moving her arms up against the soft fabric of the sheets near her waist, but it kind of just bunched the blankets there instead of pushing them anywhere higher than they already were.

    ¡°Addie, open your eyes, sweetie.¡±

    Addie gave up and finally moved her head in the direction of the annoying voice. Finally, she opened her eyes. Binary light flooded into the room from the window on the far wall since the curtains were all drawn to the sides. Christena was standing over Addie¡¯s bed with a cup in her hand.

    ¡°Let me sleep a little longer.¡± She protested with a hoarse voice. ¡°I¡¯m still sleepy.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want some water?¡± Christena asked with a neutral expression.

    Addie moved her swollen tongue around her dry mouth.

    ¡°Yes, please.¡± Addie tried to do a sit-up without using her arms, but she winced as a sharp spike of pain ran down her stomach muscles. ¡°I can¡¯t sit up.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t do much of anything if both her arms and her stomach were this sore.

    ¡°That¡¯s ok,¡± Christena said. Then, Christena put her hand behind Addie¡¯s back and gently eased her up into a sitting position.

    Addie yawned and tried to push her arms out of the blankets to stretch up into the air. But, her arms met resistance as they tried to push the blanket aside, and her arms quickly collapsed back down into the mattress.

    Huffing out a breath, ¡°I hurt all over!¡± Addie complained.

    ¡°That¡¯s ok,¡± Christena gently said again, ¡°Here, try to drink some water.¡± She brought the cup up to Addie¡¯s mouth and slowly tilted it just enough for Addie to wet her lips.

    Then, Christena tilted the cup a bit more so Addie could drink a small gulp. The water went down stinging her dry throat, making Addie wince slightly and turn her head away from the cup¡ª a bit of water dribbling down her cheek.

    This was way worse than the time she broke her arm. Addie looked down at her chest expecting to see bandages or something wrapping around her torso. Instead, it looked like someone had put a soft pajama shirt on her.

    She tried to move her arms up, but she couldn¡¯t move them up at all using her shoulders. She flexed her hands a bit, and that worked fine. Gently, she bent her elbow so she could reach up to her chest without using her shoulders. That seemed to work just fine, as her lower arms weren¡¯t sore.

    Carefully, only using her lower arm, she pulled at the collar of her pajama shirt to look down at her body. Long jagged lines of charcoal ash skin crossed through her pale flesh. Though she couldn¡¯t move her shoulders, she was able to bend her elbow just enough to touch her collar. Addie ran a finger across one of the dark lines near her neckline, expecting it to feel like old campfire coals, but somehow it felt like regular smooth skin. The lines especially seemed to concentrate around her heart and pulsed out in wavy jagged lines to the right and left side of her chest stretching to her shoulders. A few smaller lines even branched all the way down to her stomach. She watched the black lines move in accordance with her breathing.

    Addie¡¯s heart pounded as she stared at the thick jagged lines marring her once smooth skin. The sight of the jagged charcoal marks made her chest tighten. She felt a wave of fear and sadness wash over her. She didn''t want to look different. The thought made her feel sick.

    ¡°What happened to me?¡± she whispered, her voice trembling. Her fingers traced one of the lines again, trying to understand how something so terrible could happen. Her skin felt sore on those lines, the source of all of her pains and aches. She glanced up at Christena, ¡°Did the healer see it?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she¡¯d ever feel normal again¡ª if she¡¯d ever be able to run and play with those jagged marks across her skin. for a moment, she just wanted to disappear under the blankets and pretend her body hadn¡¯t changed.

    She looked away from it, and down at the blankets on her lap. Then, she fidgeted with the hem of her pajama shirt.

    ¡°We had a healer from town come and take a look, but she didn¡¯t know what to do about it since the lines are magical in nature.¡± Christena said hesitantly. She looked down away from Addie at the floor, as if sharing the news made her feel guilty.

    Addie¡¯s heart dropped. She didn¡¯t want to have these marks at all. She followed the blanket¡¯s pattern with her eyes over to the foot of the bed, expecting to see Squishy¡¯s comforting presence. He still looked to be asleep. A couple of similar markings swirled around on his chest area too, but they were so small and so few that no one else would notice them standing out against his black scales.

    ¡°But we had Nettal and Lotty take a look at them.¡±

    Addie turned back to look at Christena¡¯s gently reassuring smile. Surely, that meant she had some good news, right?

    ¡°Nettal has already healed you a bit, and based on her current progress, she thinks most of it will heal eventually. Particularly she is confident about healing all of the muscle soreness.¡± Christena smiled brightly, putting the entire room into a better mood.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Addie let out a breath of relief. So they would heal after all.

    ¡°But she does think you¡¯ll still have some scars left over, even if they are only on the skin. Addie, more importantly,¡± Christena¡¯s face turned grim, and small tears began to pool in her eyes. She continued in a whisper, ¡°You cascaded Addie.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Addie said. She didn¡¯t know what to think. Her mind felt like a jumbled swirl of thoughts and emotions.

    Christena had to pause for a moment and take a deep breath. ¡°Your soul was really badly damaged, Addie. It¡¯s a miracle you didn¡¯t fully cascade. Despite that, your soul still has a lot of burn scars and cracks, just like the ones on your body.¡± Christena sounded choked up, ¡°But it¡¯s ok, we¡¯ll heal you as much as we can, ok?¡±

    Christena put the glass of water down on the nightstand by Addie¡¯s bed, then she sat on the bed right next to Addie. She put her hand on top of Addie¡¯s hand over the blanket, and she looked into her eyes.

    ¡°Addie, even if you and Squishy somehow stopped the process halfway, the fact is that your soul did experience a cascade. You¡¯ll be changed by that forever.¡±

    ¡°Forever?¡± That couldn¡¯t be right. Addie had stopped the cascade from completing. She had beaten the bird during the soul battle. She wasn¡¯t sure if she really understood why she¡¯d be hurt forever, or what forever even meant. Anytime she got hurt in the past, it always got better after some time. She scrunched up her eyebrows in thought. A dark weight settled across her chest, a heavy feeling that almost made it hard to breathe. Regret flooded throughout her body. She should have been smarter. It was stupid to be so close to Black Cloak after she beat him. She should have stayed away.

    ¡°Am I damaged? Will my body hurt like this forever?¡± Addie asked.

    Christena pulled Addie up into a tight hug. Addie just kept her sore arms limp at her sides¡ª not even able to return a simple hug. She tried not to wince in pain as Christena¡¯s hug was just a bit too strong for Addie¡¯s sore body.

    ¡°You¡¯re just different now, sweetie. It¡¯s ok.¡± Christena whispered into Addie¡¯s ear. Christena¡¯s voice hitched, ¡°You¡¯ll still be able to run and play, and the pain will go away soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just have black lines over my body?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°They may fade with time.¡± She let go of the hug and held Addie at arm¡¯s length. Christena¡¯s eyes looked red and puffy. ¡°Do you want any food or more water?¡± Christena wiped at her face and sniffed.

    ¡°No,¡± Addie said. ¡°What about Squishy?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s doing better. He woke up a bit earlier, but I think he¡¯s trying to get some rest now. Nettal says his soul only had some minor burns.¡± Christena explained with her hand still holding Addie¡¯s.

    Hearing his name, Squishy¡¯s ears seemed to perk up a bit, but his eyes remained closed.

    ¡°I want to be by myself,¡± Addie said.

    Christena¡¯s hand tightened around Addie¡¯s. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want any food, Addie? It will help you heal.¡±

    ¡°I wanna be alone,¡± Addie repeated. She felt ugly saying those words. She felt ugly having those black marks on her chest. The thought of everyone seeing the marks, of seeing her as a Cascade made her want to hide.

    Christena stayed in the room for a little bit longer, opening and closing her mouth a few times. Then, she sighed and turned around. ¡°It¡¯s ok to be sad, Addie. I¡¯ll be back to check on you soon.¡± Then, she left the room.

    Addie collapsed backward against the bed frame¡¯s backboard and looked up at the ceiling.

    She prodded at her new three-way soul-bond. Addie could feel her connection to the bird, but the bird didn¡¯t seem to be anywhere in the room. Probably for the best, since Addie didn¡¯t want to see her right now.

    Her depressed feelings flickered down across the bond. She couldn¡¯t control it. Those strong feelings seemed to wake Squishy up, and he turned his head over to look at Addie. Then, he padded his way across the bed closer to her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, my lady?¡±

    Instead of using words, Addie carefully lifted the hem of her pajama shirt just enough to show her stomach and the black lines etched into her skin. Then, she let it fall back down onto the bed.

    ¡°A warrior¡¯s scars. Bear them with dignity and remember how they represent a battle won.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that at all!¡± Addie flailed her limp arm into the bed with a soft ¡®thwump¡¯.

    Even though she was angry at the scars, and frustrated with Squishy¡¯s response, somehow she couldn¡¯t get angry at the bird. They were soul bonded, now. That meant something, even if Addie was angry.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be ugly now, Squishy,¡± Addie spoke quietly, her tone just above a whisper. ¡°And even worse¡ª Christena says I¡¯m cascaded. And your soul is hurt, too."

    Squishy sat as he listened patiently.

    ¡°What if we could just go back in time a bit? I¡¯d never stand around Black Cloak like that again. Why did I have to stand there?¡± Addie put her face in her hands.

    ¡°When Sen revealed that I am but a created existence, ¡®some experiment¡¯, I thought long and deep about what that meant.¡± Squishy began. He padded forward a bit more and rested his chin down on Addie¡¯s leg.

    ¡°So what? You¡¯re still a person,¡± Addie said. ¡°Auntie has to hunt cascades down since they¡¯re dangerous. Maybe they aren¡¯t even people.¡±

    She tried to move her arms over to lift Squishy into the air, but once again her arms failed her. Frustration began to boil up inside of her chest at the reminder of how sore and useless they were, but it quickly became exasperation, ¡°I can¡¯t even move my arms right!¡± She complained aloud.

    Despite her frustrations, Squishy felt her desires through their bond and took a couple of steps forward to fully place himself in Addie¡¯s crossed lap. He curled up into a ball like a cat, with his front paws splayed out sideways over her legs.

    ¡°Do you want to go around hurting kids?¡± Squishy asked.

    Why would he ask her that? ¡°Obviously no!¡± Addie denied as she shook her head.

    ¡°Do you want to one-sidedly steal all the magic we create and consume my soul as fuel?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Addie shouted and slightly shoved at Squishy¡¯s stomach¡ª the motion making it depress for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me that. I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone.¡±

    Squishy huffed out a breath, and she could feel his cool slick scales rub against her leg as his body deflated.

    ¡°Then you have not cascaded.¡± Squishy declared confidently. ¡°When I found out I was nothing more than an experiment, I had to think deeply. Did my origins make me lesser?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re lesser,¡± Addie grumbled at Squishy.

    ¡°I had to figure that out myself. Do you know how I decided?¡± Squishy asked.

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°It is my thoughts, words, and deeds that make up my character. It is those that decide if I am a person or not.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Addie asked. Something about that idea made Addie sit up more and pay attention.

    Squishy pointed his starry eyes up at Addie. ¡°I am a person, an honorable person. Regardless of my origins, I wish to do good in this world, Addie. I want to protect you, learn magic, and go on adventures with you, yes. But I also want to help those we come across, like Nettal and the hurt fawn. Those moments made me feel special.¡±

    ¡°They made me feel special, too.¡± Addie decided. Maybe Squishy was right about all of this.

    ¡°So, do not destroy yourself with thoughts about lacking personhood. We will do good deeds together, Addie. Your soul is hurt, yes. But your soul is good.¡±

    Maybe being cascaded didn¡¯t matter as long as her intentions were good. She wanted to help people. Being partly cascaded didn¡¯t change that.

    ¡°Addie, there is something else about this new soul bond. I can feel it, deep within us. Yes, we may be hurt and scarred, for now, but I can feel a deep power within us. Shared with us from the bird. It will not be all bad. I believe this experience will make us stronger than ever.¡±

    ¡°What about the black marks?¡±

    Squishy sat up on his haunches and looked down pointedly at his own chest. ¡°Then our scars will match.¡± She could feel his pride over their bond. He seemed to like his own scars for some silly reason.

    Addie giggled, ¡°Only you would think our scars are cool, you silly cat."

 Chapter 62: Mini-Vacation

    Nettal closed the door behind her and walked over to Addie¡¯s bed. She moved a couple of the dirty dishes off of Addie¡¯s bed and put them onto the nightstand, clattering them a bit as the utensils jostled in the bowls. Auntie walked into the room behind Nettal and gently closed the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking after you again today too, huh?¡± Nettal said teasingly.

    ¡°Why do you say that every time you come in here!¡± Addie rolled her eyes.

    Nettal covered her mouth and laughed quietly. Lotty looked up curiously, his slitted eyes looking up at Nettal.

    Auntie was looking at the interaction with a bright smile on her face.

    ¡°Well, before you were taking care of me, so now it¡¯s my turn to take care of you, of course!¡± Nettal proudly put her fists on her hips and raised her head up to the right.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you two are feeling so much better. Addie, how are you doing?¡± Auntie asked sincerely. ¡°Are you still sore?¡±

    ¡°Just a little bit. I can sit up fine now, and mostly move my arms again.¡± Addie explained simply.

    ¡°Can I take a look?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie replied.

    Walking closer to the bed, Nettal put her hand over Addie¡¯s chest. Her hand hovered there for a moment without moving.

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Addie asked bluntly.

    Nettal took in a deep breath and smiled, ¡°Still getting used to my powers, I guess.¡±

    Her hand touched down on Addie¡¯s midsection, and Addie felt a stream of soothing warmth flood into her body. Addie relaxed into it, closing her eyes to enjoy the feeling. This was her third healing session with Nettal, though she had apparently been asleep the first time. So she only remembered Nettal coming in yesterday. After the healing session yesterday, Addie felt way better.

    The healing ended quickly, much more quickly than yesterday. Then, Nettal leaned over a bit farther and did the same to Squishy. A handful of thin charcoal-looking jagged lines remained near his heart, but a couple of really small lines of soul damage faded near the edges.

    Addie looked down her pajama shirt and at her own scars. She had a matching set congregated around her heart, making her frown for a moment. At least all of the dark jagged lines near her shoulders and stomach were gone now. Addie sighed and stopped looking. She was still getting used to the markings.

    Nettal hopped up to sit on the bed. While she was still in the air, Addie quickly moved her legs over a bit to make room before Nettal landed.

    The bed shook and creaked for a moment due to Nettal¡¯s momentum, jostling the bed and Addie side to side just a bit before settling down.

    ¡°So, what are you going to name him?¡± Nettal asked.

    She could only be talking about one thing.

    ¡°She¡¯s a girl.¡±

    Nettal tilted her head a bit.

    ¡°The bird is a girl. I figured it out once we bonded.¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s her name?¡± Nettal repeated.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you know?¡±

    Addie thought about it for a moment. Then she shrugged. ¡°I dunno.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think you should give her a pretty name.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie said. She hadn¡¯t thought too much about the bird lately. She could feel a lot of affection for the bird¡ª a byproduct of their soul bond. It would be impossible not to be attached to the bird emotionally since they were attached spiritually. But, she still had a lot of other strong feelings about the bird, due to all the ways she had hurt Addie and the other children.

    Looking into herself, Addie could feel it sitting within the cracked scars of her partly cascaded soul shell. It liked to sit in there, surrounded by Addie¡¯s soul like that. It felt a bit uncomfortable for Addie, but she couldn¡¯t make it leave. She had tried quite a lot. Her sitting there made the soul scars impossible to ignore.

    During their bonding initialization, Addie knew that the bird had wanted Addie¡¯s soul to cascade. It wanted to hurt Addie on purpose and use her soul as magical fuel to create something monstrous and powerful for its own selfish gain.

    At that memory, she felt a whisper of regret from somewhere deep down her soul bond. That was probably the bird trying to talk to Addie. She talked using pure feelings and images like that every now and again. But, Addie still hadn¡¯t seen the bird physically. For now, she was sitting in Addie¡¯s soul, dormant.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Well, it looks like you don¡¯t really wanna talk about it.¡± Nettal huffed out a breath and looked away for a moment. Then, she turned back to Addie, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t you think Addie should be okay to start moving around again tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°I think so. How about you, Addie? Are you ready to get a bit more active again tomorrow?¡±

    Smiling, Addie nodded her head up and down so fast she nearly got dizzy. ¡°Yeah!¡±

    With a big genuine smile, Auntie let out a relieved breath. ¡°I¡¯m just so glad you both are alright.¡±

    ¡°Aw, Mom! Don¡¯t cry or you¡¯ll start making me cry!¡± Nettal pouted.

    Auntie sniffed, looked up, and wiped at her eyes. ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to let you two girls reconnect. Call for Christena if you two need anything. I need to go help out in town a bit. Addie, I¡¯ll have Christena come in and check on you again before bed.¡±

    Addie nodded her head in acknowledgment. ¡°Auntie?¡± Addie said to get her attention.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you aren¡¯t sad anymore.¡±

    ¡°Me too, Addie.¡±

    As Auntie slowly left the room and closed the door behind her, Addie turned her head over to Nettal.

    ¡°Does it still hurt when you heal people?¡± Addie asked. Nettal had told Addie some of the basics about her magic, but not too much. Addie had still been resting and even sleeping most of the day yesterday, so she didn¡¯t get to spend much time with Nettal. According to Christena, sleeping for a long time often happens when someone suffers from soul damage.

    ¡°It does hurt, but I think I¡¯m starting to figure it out. It was really scary at first to feel everyone¡¯s pain when I tried to heal them. But, it actually helps me figure out where to heal them, if that makes sense.¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± Addie nodded her head. ¡°Thank you for healing me, even though it hurts.¡±

    ¡°Aw!¡± Nettal squeaked and then wrapped Addie up in a big hug.

    Addie winced, expecting her sore muscles to hurt, but actually, they seemed fine now. People had been hugging her a lot lately.

    Still hugging Addie, Nettal whispered into her ear, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go. Christena says you two have to leave soon.¡±

    With wide eyes, Addie frantically pulled away from Nettal and looked her in the eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave yet either!¡±

    Nettal frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s convince them together.¡± She suggested in a whisper. ¡°But Christena already started packing up the cart and preparing the fillow.¡±

    That meant Addie and Nettal were on a time limit to convince the adults to let Addie stay.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back home yet,¡± Addie said.

    Christena was sitting on a living couch on the far side of the light room, and Auntie was on a chair off to the right side. The left wall of the light room was mostly glass, allowing for tons of Binary light to flow into the room, hence the name of the room. The couches and chairs were made of living plants woven together into an artful tapestry depicting various magical animals. A neat coffee table made of living wood sat in the middle of the room, with Addie standing just behind it. The binary light supported all of the furniture in the room, allowing it to also act as an artistic garden for Auntie.

    Addie surveyed the two adults in the room, who were giving her pitying looks. Addie glanced to her right, where Nettal stood by her side reassuringly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want Addie to go yet, either. We¡¯ve barely had any time together since we¡¯ve both gotten better.¡± Nettal reached out to hold onto Addie¡¯s hand.

    Christena sighed, ¡°I¡¯m glad you are feeling better, Addie. That¡¯s why your father is now asking for you to return. We had to talk him down from rushing over here immediately after he heard about everything. I understand wanting to stay, but it¡¯s out of my control.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Addie furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth in outrage. ¡°You told him?¡± She asked accusingly.

    Christena sighed again, ¡°Addie, as your responsible guardian at the moment, it¡¯s my duty to tell your dad about you, especially since you¡¯ve been hurt so much. He¡¯s given you this much time so far because I convinced him that Nettal should finish healing you first.¡± Her tone was gentle, but firm.

    ¡°Just tell him I need more time healing!¡± Addie waved her arms around frantically.

    ¡°I could keep on giving Addie¡¯s soul checkups for a little longer. Just in case,¡± Nettal added in a pleading tone.

    Auntie stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll convince my brother, Addie. Violet, let me attach another note to your leg to send to Tom, alright?¡± Auntie looked over to Violet who was perched on her shoulder.

    Violet chirped in agreement while nodding her tiny feathered head.

    Christena seemed to relax in her seat and began to pet Fluffy at her side. perhaps relieved that Auntie would take care of it. Fluffy preened into the touch.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Tom?¡± Addie asked. She didn¡¯t know how some guy named Tom was going to help.

    Auntie suddenly guffawed and looked at Addie in shock. ¡°You don¡¯t know your own father¡¯s first name? What does your mom call him? Surely not something silly like Mr. Lomain?¡± Auntie continued laughing.

    It wasn¡¯t funny though. Addie just frowned at Auntie until she finally stopped laughing.

    ¡°She does call him Mr. Lomain,¡± Addie said seriously.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting sidetracked,¡± Christena cut in, ¡°Addie, it is extremely strange that you don¡¯t know your dad¡¯s name. I¡¯ll talk to him about that later. Regardless¡ª¡±

    Addie interrupted Christena and turned to Nettal, ¡°Do you know Auntie¡¯s first name?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Stella,¡± Nettal answered. ¡°I think they are right. It¡¯s weird, Addie.¡±

    Glancing down at the floor, she gave Squishy a questioning look.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me about human social dynamics. I¡¯m just a silly cat.¡±

    ¡°Look!¡± Christena clapped her hands once to get everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°Since <u>Miss</u> Lomain will talk to your dad about letting you stay longer, I¡¯d like to focus this next week on training and stabilizing your new powers and bonded. For both of you.¡±

    Auntie nodded her head and crossed her legs, ¡°I¡¯ll also attend a few of the sessions, but I still have fallout to clean up in town with Mr. Owlcharge. So don¡¯t expect me to be around too much.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help herself, she pumped her arm in the air, and then she turned around to face Nettal with her hand facing up.

    Nettal smacked Addie¡¯s hand in a satisfyingly perfect high five.

    ¡°But tomorrow I don¡¯t want either of you two to be too active without supervision! Nettal, I¡¯d like you to think of a good place where we can all go tomorrow to have a vacation in a relaxing environment. We can do more magic training after Addie gets another day of rest.¡± Auntie said.

    Addie rolled her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m already feeling better.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask if you were feeling better,¡± Auntie rebutted patronizingly.

    Her tone made Addie look down at the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that came out wrong.¡± Addie looked back up at Auntie¡¯s sincere face, ¡°I¡¯m still worried about you two,¡± Auntie said more sincerely. ¡°Can you both promise me to take one more rest day tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie said.

    For a moment, Nettal didn¡¯t respond. She looked deep in thought with her hand on her cheek and her eyes staring into the distance.

    ¡°I know where we can go,¡± Nettal said after a moment. ¡°I¡¯d like to spend our mini-vacation at the library.¡±

 Chapter 63: Trip to Town

    ¡°Are you girls getting ready?¡± Auntie walked into the room with Violet on her shoulder, the door swinging in and causing a small gust of air to hit Addie¡¯s back.

    Addie turned around to look over at Auntie.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± Nettal said.

    ¡°She¡¯s not ready!¡± Addie protested. ¡°I want to go out looking pretty but Nettal is wearing shorts.¡±

    Addie always wore proper dresses. So Nettal wearing shorts out into town was scandalous. That was her new favorite word, too. Christena had just taught it to her.

    Auntie stifled a chuckle, ¡°Addie, sometimes you have to be alright with letting other people make their own decisions.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Addie! Besides, these shorts have pockets! Besides, if I wear a dress I might get swamp mud on it. Shorts are better for adventuring.¡± Nettal crossed her arms and nodded her head in agreement with herself.

    Sharply, Addie turned her head back to Nettal who was farther into the room near the bunk bed. ¡°We aren¡¯t going adventuring. We are going into town.¡± Addie raised her chin up smugly.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s true I guess. But I¡¯m still wearing shorts.¡± Her tone sounded final like the decision wouldn¡¯t be overturned by even the most powerful of dictators.

    And Addie certainly was feeling a bit dictator-y. ¡°I think we should both wear dresses.¡±

    Auntie walked a bit further into the room and stood in between the two girls, ¡°Addie, how about you wear a pretty dress and we let Nettal wear her own choice of clothes?¡± Auntie tried with a calm tone.

    Squishy bumped his cool scaly head up against Addie¡¯s leg in a comforting motion. A feeling of acquiescence pushed into Addie from their bond, ¡°Not you too, Squishy!" Addie rolled her eyes, "Fine!¡±

    ¡°That is very mature of you, Addie,¡± Auntie praised her, making her feel good inside.

    ¡°Addie, I actually wanted to talk to you a bit before we go, is it alright if we talk now?¡± Auntie bent down a bit with her hands on her waist.

    ¡°Sure, I guess,¡± Addie shrugged.

    Auntie stood back up tall and then walked over to Nettal¡¯s bed and sat down on the lower bunk. ¡°Nettal can stay too since she¡¯s been helping to heal your soul.¡±

    At the mention of healing, Lotty perked up his ears and moved his head, looking more involved in the conversation. While Addie and Nettal had been getting ready, he had just been resting on the floor near Nettal¡¯s simple wooden desk by the window. The morning binary light streamed gently into the room, giving him a nice sun-bathe.

    ¡°Christena and I were talking last night about the conversation we had about you staying for another week.¡±

    Before Auntie could continue, Addie spoke up, ¡°I thought you said you were going to let me stay!¡± Panic pushed its way down Addie¡¯s throat, filling her up with fears of being forced to leave early.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can still stay for this week as we discussed."

    Addie let out a breath she hadn¡¯t known she was holding. Then she asked, ¡°So what is it?¡±

    From her position on Nettal¡¯s bed, she waved her hand gesturing for Addie to come closer.

    Once she made it closer to the bed, Auntie held onto Addie¡¯s hand, ¡°Simply put, we are still a bit concerned about your soul. You said there are still cracks in it, right?¡±

    Addie glanced at Nettal and then back to Auntie as she nodded her head.

    ¡°Well, Christena and I are worried about your mind.¡± Auntie crossed one leg over the other and squeezed Addie¡¯s hand reassuringly.

    Addie tilted her head in thought. She didn¡¯t really remember anything like that, but the thought of it scared her.

    ¡°We think you might have suffered some memory loss from the cascade. It¡¯s just too strange that you couldn¡¯t remember your father¡¯s name last night. Violet got a message off to Tom last night, and he agreed with us. We¡¯ll need to figure out if there are any other gaps in your memory.¡±

    The next few seconds of Auntie¡¯s talking barely registered for Addie. She heard the words fine, but a blanket of fog seemed to cover her mind, forcing the meaning to take a moment to get past a fuzzy barrier.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I said, I think you may still be under some mental effects from the bird. In the first place, we are having trouble understanding how you two bonded in the first place, since all bonding initializations, even ones that result in a cascade, usually require some level of consent from both parties. Is it possible you can bring the bird out?¡±

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    Looking deep within herself, Addie felt around her soul shell. It looked like her bird was still spread out deep within the scarred cracks of her soul shell.

    She dropped her head then, Addie said glumly, ¡°I can¡¯t. She¡¯s hiding right now.¡±

    In sympathy, Auntie reached out a bit and gently stroked Addie¡¯s head. Her fingers broke apart some of the tangles in Addie¡¯s long red hair. ¡°That¡¯s alright. She¡¯s not in trouble, not now at least. When she¡¯s feeling more comfortable, can you bring her to me?¡±

    Despite Auntie¡¯s soft and kind tone, her words made Addie shrink back as her bird¡¯s fearful emotions bounced around the inside of Addie¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Maybe.¡±

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry about it too much right now. I don¡¯t want you to use any of your new magic until after Christena can give you some lessons, though. Alright?¡± Auntie¡¯s tone was gentle but firm.

    Addie nodded her head.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Auntie let go of Addie¡¯s hand and leaned back as she relaxed a bit more. Then, she moved her eyes between Nettal and Addie a few times. ¡°You girls finish up soon, and then Christena and I will take you to the library. Mr. Owlcharge wants to bring Lily along too.¡±

    The previous dark mood instantly lightened and Addie smiled wide, ¡°Great! I can¡¯t wait.¡±

    Auntie chuckled. Then she moved on, ¡°After we get to the library, Christena will stay with you while Mr. Owlcharge and I take care of some things in town.¡±

    After that, it didn¡¯t take long to finish getting ready to go out to the library.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Shall we proceed to town hall?¡± Mr. Owlcharge gestured down the street while looking at Auntie. Arlie was wrapped around his pointing arm.

    By his side, Lily let go of her dad¡¯s hand and started walking over to Nettal¡¯s side.

    ¡°Yes, in a moment.¡± Auntie glanced over to the girls standing in front of the library entrance, with Christena just off to the side. ¡°You three be good and listen to Christena.¡±

    The girls nodded their heads.

    ¡°Mr. Owlcharge and I have been looking into ¡®Black Cloak¡¯, as you call him, Addie. We¡¯ll have some more news for you soon.¡±

    The two adults turned around, but before they could walk on Addie asked, ¡°What happened to Black Cloak after...¡± She trailed off.

    Auntie turned her head back to answer quickly, ¡°We have him in custody right now, but he isn¡¯t telling us much. Let¡¯s talk more later, ok? I¡¯ll answer all your questions.¡±

    ¡°Ok, Auntie,¡± Addie agreed.

    Addie watched for a moment as the two adults walked off, but her sightseeing was interrupted when she heard the skidding sound of the massive library doors opening. She turned around to take a look, and Nettal was pushing with her whole body weight to try and open the massive ornamented wooden doors.

    From the outside, the library looked almost like a big white-gold soup bowl turned upside down with a longer rectangular piece leading into it. The structure was made from white stone-bricks, with golden paint making up various mythological and historical symbols across the building. Addie recognized Aggan and Servus and various depictions of flying golden dragons, but none of them looked like Sen.

    Christena walked over to help open up the massive double doors, and they finally made their way inside. The doors slowly began to shut on their own once everyone made it into the reception area.

    The long rectangular hallway had some brown leather couches on one side, and a reception desk on the other side. The four of them made their way over to the reception desk, with Squishy and Lotty following close behind them¡ª Lotty¡¯s hoofs making clacking sounds as he walked on the stone floor. Fluffy looked around the somewhat dark room, from her position on Christena¡¯s shoulders, and sniffed at the air a bit.

    The few candles on the desk lit up the room in a much darker contrast to outside, and Addie watched as her shadow danced along the far wall.

    Lily walked forward closer to Christena, and held onto the back of Christena¡¯s skirt, making her turn around briefly to look at Lily. After a moment of silence, it seemed like Lily didn¡¯t have anything to say, so Christena turned toward the man at the reception desk

    ¡°We would like four library passes for the day,¡± Christena spoke to the man at the desk. He had black hair and some strange device on his face.

    ¡°Why is that weird thing on your face?¡± Addie spoke louder than she intended to, her voice echoing down the otherwise quiet hallway.

    ¡°Use a softer voice in the library,¡± Christena reminded Addie.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright,¡± The man started, his voice upbeat and his face smiling, ¡°These are called ¡®spectacles¡¯ and they help me with my poor eyesight.¡±

    ¡°Oh cool! I use my spatial sense to help me when I can¡¯t see very well, too! Why don¡¯t you add some windows so it¡¯s easier to see in here?¡± Addie suggested.

    The man laughed, but he was still careful to keep his volume low. ¡°The glasses aren¡¯t for when it¡¯s too dark. I need them all the time, even when there¡¯s plenty of light. Otherwise, things look blurry.¡± Then, he started shuffling around some small wooden cards on the desk.

    He turned back to Christena, ¡°Four library passes for the day, correct?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    The wooden cards clattered on his desk for a moment as he piled them up on one another. Then, the man gathered them up into a single pile and passed it to Christena.

    ¡°Make sure you bring those back before you leave. Also, just a quick reminder on the rules. No taking anything out of the library. Additionally, no damaging any of our books. All books you take out to read should be returned to one of our book carts by the end of the day. If there¡¯s something on one of the high shelves, make sure to ask one of the wandering librarians to help you get it down.¡±

    ¡°What happens if I accidentally break one of the books?¡± Nettal raised her hand into the air to ask her question.

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to pay a repair fee.¡±

    Nettal nodded her head in acknowledgment.

    Addie would try her best not to damage one of the books. They didn¡¯t use any money in her small village so she didn¡¯t have any now, either

    They started walking down the reception hall to enter into the library. Lotty seemed interested in Lily, maybe because he had never seen her before, and so he walked up to the tiny girl and started sniffing her.

    The shy girl turned around with a bit of panic on her face, and she walked around Christena to hide behind her.

    ¡°He¡¯s friendly!¡± Nettal said. ¡°He just wants to say hi.¡±

    Still hiding behind Christena¡¯s leg, Lily moved her head around to glance at Lotty. She held onto Christena¡¯s dress with one hand and quickly waved with her other hand before dropping it.

    Christena scooped Lily up from under her arms and then readjusted Lily¡¯s position so that her small body rested securely against Christena¡¯s chest with her left arm supporting Lily¡¯s legs from underneath. Lily instinctively grabbed onto some of the fabric on the front of Christena¡¯s maid uniform. The sudden motion spooked Fluffy, who jumped off Christena¡¯s shoulders and started chittering by her feet.

    ¡°We have a nice garden for your bonded if they need space to sit out in the sun. Just keep walking toward the back doors of the library and it opens out into our fenced garden.¡± The man spoke up from behind them.

    ¡°Thank you for all of your help,¡± Christena said. Then, everyone started walking into the library proper.

 Chapter 64: The Library (1)

    Addie walked to the end of the entrance hallway and took in the sights. At the end of the hallway, the library opened up into the main dome that Addie had seen from the outside. On the inside, Addie looked up at the curving glass supported by crisscrossing segments of brass. She could see the Binary way up overhead. The ceiling reached so high that Addie wondered if Sen could fit inside the library. It hadn¡¯t seemed quite so big from the outside, but being directly underneath it like this made Addie wonder how the whole thing could stay up without toppling over in the wind.

    That wasn¡¯t even close to the most amazing part, though. On the outer edges of the entire dome lay bookcases reaching up along the wall, leaning precariously as they got close to the natural curvature of the dome walls. The books on those shelves should have fallen down from gravity, but somehow they stayed perfectly tucked into their spots. Another layer of bookcases formed a ring around the outer wall, with just enough space to walk between the two sides. This pattern repeated itself, with bookcases forming rings around the entire room, each bookcase just as tall as the last. However, only the bookcases touching the curving wall of the dome leaned in that strange way.

    Around all of the bookcases, halfway up the shelves, was a horizontal brass pole following the curvature of the room. At first, Addie thought it was something like a pole to grab onto to help people walk, but it was way too high for that. Instead, off to Addie¡¯s right, was a wheeled ladder attached to the pole, using it as a railway to circle all around the room. It also attached to the ceiling with some kind of mechanism in the brass supports of the ceiling. That must be how people got books from the top shelf, but Addie wasn¡¯t quite sure how it worked since it was only on one side. Just like the bookcases, the ladder curved as it neared the top shelf, so anyone standing on it would be leaning precariously backward over the edge if they tried to climb that far up.

    ¡°Christena,¡± Addie pointed at the ladder, ¡°How come people don¡¯t fall off that?¡±

    ¡°How about you ask one of the wandering librarians to ask if they can take you up the ladder?¡± Christena smiled. She wouldn¡¯t suggest that if it was dangerous.

    ¡°Yeah, I want to try! Nettal, let''s go together!¡±

    A look of panic marred Nettal¡¯s face as she frantically shook her head from side to side. ¡°I don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s too high up. You don¡¯t want to go up there either, do you, Lily?¡±

    From her position where Christena was holding her against her chest, Lily also shook her head.

    Addie puffed up her cheeks and pouted. ¡°I¡¯ll do it by myself then.¡±

    ¡°If you walk around intending to find one of the librarians, you¡¯ll find one,¡± Christena explained simply. ¡°Lily, Nettal, how about I show you both to the children¡¯s fiction sections? We¡¯ll take a look at the mechanical engineering section with Addie later.¡±

    Addie decided to split off first, to look for one of the librarians. She took just a few steps forward, and immediately around the bend she spotted a young woman with blonde hair transferring books from a cart back onto one of the shelves. That seemed so quick!

    Addie glanced behind herself to tell Christena and Nettal that they could watch her climb the ladder since the librarian was so close by. The moment Addie turned around, though, Christena and Nettal were gone. She didn¡¯t see them at all. In their place, Squishy looked up at Addie with curious eyes.

    ¡°Where¡¯d they go? It¡¯s only been a few seconds.¡± Instead of waiting for Squishy to answer, Addie walked back around to find them herself. Within just a few steps, Christena¡¯s maid uniform came back into view and Addie nearly walked right into her¡ª surprised that she just appeared out of nowhere.

    Immediately, Addie turned her head back around to look for the librarian, but she was gone again. The ladder was still there, though.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Huh, well I was going to ask if you would watch me climb up the ladder, but now the librarian is gone again.¡±

    Addie turned her head as Christena started chuckling. ¡°What? Why are you laughing?¡±

    ¡°Well, it would be no fun at all if I just explained it to you, would it? Explore! Let me know what you discover.¡± Fluffy nodded her head sagely from Christena¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°You are playing a trick on me!¡± Addie accused while pointing at Christena. ¡°You hid behind an illusion, and the librarian was also an illusion too!¡±

    ¡°Well, if that was the case your spatial sense could tell you if she was real, right?¡± Christena suggested with a sly smirk.

    ¡°Maybe I will try that.¡±

    Nettal looked back and forth between Addie and Christena for a moment, and then she seemed to smile in understanding.

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    ¡°Why are you smiling?¡± Addie asked.

    Nettal shrugged, ¡°No reason.¡±

    Addie narrowed her eyes at Nettal.

    ¡°I¡¯m not telling!¡±

    ¡°Fine. Don¡¯t move I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Without waiting for a response, Addie turned around and started walking back toward the librarian, with Squishy following close behind her.

    Again, the librarian seemed to appear out of nowhere, just a few steps around the bend, still putting books up on the shelf. Addie took a moment to confirm she could still see the ladder, and then she focused on her passive spatial sense. She was real! Just to confirm, Addie focused her spatial sense into a cone, but that also showed that she was a real, living person.

    Maybe Christena had figured out a way to counter Addie¡¯s spatial sense. If that was the case, Addie knew what to do. She walked forward a couple of steps, and the librarian looked up at Addie as she noticed her coming down the hall.

    ¡°Hi, can I help you?¡±

    Addie ignored her, and instead walked right up next to the librarian.

    The librarian bent her back to meet Addie¡¯s eye level and asked again, ¡°Hi! I¡¯m one of the librarians here. Were you looking for me?¡±

    Since she had such a perfect target, Addie poked her right in the forehead. Addie¡¯s finger met resistance. Her head was solid. Then, the woman stood up straight in surprise.

    ¡°What was that for?¡± The woman half shouted in the otherwise peaceful library, reminding Addie of the tone her dad might use when she got in trouble.

    Addie decided to explain before the woman got any more upset, ¡°I thought you were fake.¡±

    The woman let out a huff, ¡°Well, I¡¯m plenty real. Didn¡¯t anyone tell you not to poke people?¡±

    Addie decided not to respond.

    ¡°Well, if you have no other business with me, I have a job to do here.¡± The woman looked back down at the book in her hand and started to find the right shelf to put it on.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    The woman turned back to Addie, ¡°Well, at least you have proper manners.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Addie. Can you show me the ladder?¡±

    She glared at Addie for a moment. ¡°I suppose I could. We don¡¯t want people messing around with it by themselves. Can you promise to listen to all of my instructions?¡±

    Addie nodded her head.

    ¡°Ok, good.¡± The woman let a breath. Then, she put the book in her hand back down on the cart. In the same motion, she pushed the cart away from them, and it vanished almost immediately.

    ¡°Wait, where did it go?¡± Addie looked around the woman to try and see it.

    ¡°No one told you? This is the Library of Intentions. To a certain extent, it listens to what we request of it. Do you still want to go up the ladder or should I call someone over to give you a history lesson instead?¡±

    Addie hated history lessons. They might even be worse than etiquette. But, this was magical history, so maybe she could ask about it again later.

    ¡°That¡¯s ok. Can you show me the ladder please?¡±

    ¡°Follow me,¡± The woman commanded neutrally.

    She took a few steps forward to the ladder and placed her hand at the base of it.

    ¡°These ladders are quite useful if you know how to use them. Don¡¯t ever climb one without librarian supervision, though. There¡¯s a certain amount of magic to them and we don¡¯t want anyone getting hurt. Alright, go on then. Start with just four steps up the ladder. Remember, you can come down any time you want if you think it¡¯s too high.¡± The woman put her hand at the base of the ladder, stabilizing it.

    Addie had climbed trees ten times as tall as this ladder. She wanted to go to the top. Addie reached out her hands to grab onto the outer rails and stepped up onto the first step. After that, she took it one step at a time until she was four steps up. Already, her head was slightly higher than the librarian¡¯s, so she had to angle her head upward to look at Addie.

    ¡°Good, now we will try some of the more basic maneuvers. Do you see that book with the red cover off to your right?¡±

    Moving her eyes to the right, it didn¡¯t take long for Addie to find the book. ¡°I see it. But I can¡¯t reach it. It¡¯s too far.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. Try reaching for it anyway.¡±

    Using a secure grip on the ladder with one hand, Addie reached her other out to the book. With a smooth gliding motion, the ladder moved along the rails to the right, perfectly positioning itself so that Addie didn¡¯t even have to move her arm. Her outstretched hand perfectly met with the spine of the red book. Addie put her arm back down so she could look at the ground. The librarian was still standing at the base of the ladder, supporting it from underneath. Squishy was sitting down next to her.

    ¡°Woah! It moved!¡±

    The librarian smiled.

    ¡°Did you walk with it while it moved?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t want to walk, so I¡¯ve just been standing here holding onto the ladder.¡±

    ¡°But it moved for me!¡± Addie looked at Squishy, ¡°Did you see it move?¡±

    ¡°It was strange. The librarian is correct in that the two of us on the ground did not move at all. From my perspective, it almost seemed like the floor underneath us rotated alongside the ladder, but that¡¯s not quite right either since the floor did not physically move. It is hard to describe.¡±

    For a second, Addie wondered if she could ¡®poke Nettal¡¯s nose¡¯ from up on the ladder as long as she intended to do so. Addie reached her finger out and mentally commanded the library: poke Nettal¡¯s nose!

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    Seeing how nothing happened, the librarian explained, ¡°The ladder will only move if you are trying to do something related to the library. Do you want to try climbing toward the top? I can show you how it moves to the other side.¡±

    Addie looked up the ladder to the very top. She saw how it bowed outward in line with the ceiling. By the time she got to the top, she wouldn¡¯t be standing on the ladder, she¡¯d be hanging from the rungs. The thought of it exhilarated her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to try now.¡± Addie declared. Even if she fell, she could always just use Realmspace to help her land.

    She started climbing up the ladder, expecting gravity to start changing as she reached the bending section near the top, but nothing happened. She got to the very top, and she was still standing on it just as surely as she had been at the bottom.

    ¡°Squishy, can you see me?¡± Addie let go of both hands and waved. Still, it felt like she was standing on a regular surface.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    From Addie¡¯s perspective, it almost looked like Squishy was standing on a wall instead of the floor. Addie shared the image of it over their bond so Squishy could see it, too.

    In response, almost right away, Squishy sent an image from his perspective. According to him, it looked almost like Addie¡¯s feet were comically glued to the top step of the ladder and somehow balancing herself entirely by her ankles so she wouldn¡¯t fall over. The image made Addie laugh.

    Despite being so far away down on the ground, Addie could hear the librarian¡¯s soft-speaking voice normally.

    ¡°Do you see the lever on the left side? Try pulling it."

 Chapter 65: The Library (2)

    Addie looked up where the top of the ladder attached to the ceiling. Just like the librarian said, she could see a lever on the left side of the mechanism. She reached her hand up to pull the lever.

    The mechanism started unfolding at the place the ladder connected to the ceiling, various long pieces of metal unfolding. The ladder started moving with a lurch, and a spike of adrenaline shot through Addie¡¯s chest making her reflexively grab onto the ladder with both hands. The ladder changed orientation until it was completely perpendicular to the ground and no longer at an angle. Then, in motion with the gears and bits of metal at the top, the ladder turned around 180 degrees causing it to now face the other side¡¯s bookshelves. The ladder lurched, making Addie¡¯s stomach drop momentarily as its angle changed again, so the top of the ladder leaned against the top of the bookshelves. Finally, the ladder quit moving as the mechanism at the top folded back into itself.

    ¡°That was wild!¡± Addie shouted.

    ¡°Quiet in the library!¡± The librarian whisper-shouted up at Addie.

    Addie flinched at the reprimand. ¡°Sorry.¡± She said demurely.

    ¡°That was so fun!¡± Despite whispering, the excitement from her tone carried her voice all the way down to the librarian and Squishy.

    The librarian smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you had fun.¡±

    Glancing back up at the mechanism at the top, Addie decided to inspect it with her spatial sense to see if she could understand it.

    She could see through the mechanism¡¯s internals with her spatial sense, but she decided it didn¡¯t make it any easier to understand. It was just full of gears, metal rods, and other flat pieces of brassy metal.

    But beyond the ladder¡¯s mechanism, something interesting revealed itself. The glass dome ceiling wasn¡¯t actually a ceiling at all! Addie could see through it with her spatial sense, and there was some kind of hidden attic up there.

    Addie briefly shared the image with Squishy, and she spoke silently to him over their bond, ¡°I¡¯m gonna go up there.¡± The mystery was eating away at her. She couldn¡¯t possibly leave it unexplored.

    ¡°Wait for me,¡± Squish responded. His ears angled up toward her, and then he broke out at a run, quickly leaping up each rung of the ladder with the same ease he climbed a tree.

    ¡°No bonded animals on the ladder!¡± The librarian insisted from down below.

    Her command didn¡¯t matter at all though. Addie and Squishy were already exiting reality.

    With little fanfare, the duo arrived in a dimly lit room. Now that they were in the dome, surprisingly, the floor underneath Addie¡¯s feet was not made of glass. Instead, the same stone architecture used by most of the town made up the flooring.

    It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting. Addie expected the new ceiling to be made of glass, but it was stone too. Addie spared a moment to wonder how the library could look like it had a glass ceiling, even though it couldn¡¯t be. She could even see the binary through the fake skylight!

    A voice reached out through the room just as Addie was inspecting the ceiling, jolting her out of her thoughts. ¡°Come here, girl,¡± A man¡¯s voice commanded.

    Addie looked up and saw an old man hunched over with a cane. He wore similar librarian robes as the wandering librarian ran into earlier, but his robes had various adornments that made it seem fancier. He had gray hair and a long beard with a matching color.

    ¡°Don¡¯t keep me waiting. Come here,¡± He waved Addie over.

    Despite his eerily flat yet commanding tone, for some reason, Addie didn¡¯t feel the least bit alarmed. He almost seemed familiar, somehow. She walked up closer to him.

    As soon as Addie got within arm¡¯s reach, the man pulled out a book from within his robes along with a feather pen. Addie didn¡¯t see any inkwell at all, yet the tip of the feather glistened wet with black ink.

    He started writing down in the book while he mumbled, ¡°Red hair, blue¡ª no scratch that out, twinkling starry eyes upon a blue canvas. Yes, that¡¯s better.¡± He looked back up at Addie¡¯s face for a moment, then returned to the book, ¡°Round unassuming face.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Addie protested.

    He ignored her and continued writing, ¡°Freckles on both cheeks, gentle jawline, small nose, and slightly abnormal looking ears.¡±

    Addie hurriedly reached up and touched her ears. They felt normal to her!

    Still hunched over his book, the old man moved his eyes back up to Addie, ¡°Name?¡± He asked simply.

    ¡°Um, Addie I guess.¡±

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    ¡°No family name? What about middle names or titles?¡±

    ¡°Addeline Lomain, but I prefer just Addie.¡±

    He looked back down to the book and started writing again, ¡°Addeline ¡®Addie¡¯ Lomain. Has insecurities about her name and prefers people use ¡®Addie,¡±

    ¡°Hey! I don¡¯t have insecurities about my name! I just like Addie more,¡± she grumbled.

    The man looked back up at Addie with a scrunched nose. Then he crossed something out.

    ¡°May have a habit of lying to herself. More observation needed.¡±

    Addie huffed and crossed her arms.

    ¡°Exactly 34 soul cracks, two bonded animals¡ª spatial attributed and soul attributed magics. Soul cracks may be indicative of a greater potential for powerful soul melding. More observation needed.¡±

    ¡°Soul melding? What does that mean? And how do you know all that about me just from looking at me!?¡± Addie nearly shouted as she narrowed her eyebrows and frowned in outrage.

    Again, he ignored her and instead asked a question of his own, ¡°Tell me, does your second bonded use those soul cracks to live within your soul?¡± Before Addie could even answer, he started writing something down in his book as he murmured, ¡°Fascinating.¡±

    ¡°Record indicates that specimen is¡ª¡± he paused for a moment and leafed backward a few pages, ¡°¡ªHuman number three thousand, eight hundred and sixty-four to reach hidden library.¡±

    With a slam, he closed the book shut. Then, he tucked away the book and pen back into his robes.

    Finally done with all of that writing, the man put his full attention on Addie¡¯s increasingly upset frown and body language.

    ¡°Well go on then,¡± He said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You must have questions, yes? Go ahead, ask.¡± He clarified.

    ¡°Why are you so rude? I don¡¯t like you.¡±

    ¡°I am rude because knowledge has no feelings. Your second sentence wasn¡¯t a question.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Addie turned her chin up at him.

    ¡°Fine, who are you, anyway?¡±

    ¡°The librarian.¡± He said simply.

    ¡°I already knew you were a librarian. You¡¯re wearing the same clothes as the last one I saw.¡± Maybe coming into this attic was a mistake. This weird old guy really bothered Addie.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not ¡®a¡¯ librarian. I¡¯m ¡®the¡¯ librarian. The Grand Librarian.¡± He once again stated with fanfare, no emotion in his tone at all despite the grandiose-sounding title.

    ¡°Huh. Well, that¡¯s still not what I meant. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I forgot.¡±

    Addie shook her head slightly, baffled. ¡°You forgot? How? How do you forget your name?¡±

    ¡°You must have forgotten some things too, no? Otherwise, you would not have those cracks in your soul.¡± He waved at her, ¡°Come, sit. Ask me all your questions whether it be about fact or fiction, I will answer.¡±

    Where there hadn¡¯t been one before, a simple wooden chair sprang into existence just as the grand librarian tried to sit down.

    After he finished sitting, a small table, just wide enough for two people appeared in front of him. Even though Addie should have been standing right next to him, somehow, when the table appeared it didn¡¯t crash into Addie. Instead, it moved in between the two of them as if there was always enough space for it.

    Then, another chair sprang into existence right behind her legs, causing her knees to buckle and forcing her to sit down.

    Although it surprised Addie, the chair didn¡¯t hurt her at all, and she landed on the soft cushion upon the wooden surface deceptively gently.

    Addie sent a quick soul ping to Squishy, and he rebounded one to her. She instantly knew where he was from that. She looked just underneath her chair and reached out to scoop Squishy up. She put him in her lap, his stomach and chest against her lap with his front paws dangling off.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to ask.¡± Addie frowned and looked down at Squishy in her lap. Maybe she just didn¡¯t know where to start.

    ¡°Perhaps, it would ease you if I started by answering something you already asked. You are interested in soul melding.¡± He spoke that last sentence like a fact, not a question.

    Addie cautiously nodded her head.

    ¡°Very well. Particularly powerful bonded pairs may develop a technique as soul melding. It requires delicate control and absolute trust in one another to successfully manage. However, in your case, it looks like a hack job brute force attempt by someone barely managing to avoid a cascade. Rest assured, it may aid you in the future. Perhaps it is aiding you right now, as I suspect. Tell me, where is your second bonded?¡± His tone was flat throughout the entire explanation, making his various points feel disjointed.

    Addie didn¡¯t want to think about her bird right now. She felt her bird flinch at Addie¡¯s thought, still deep within her soul cracks. It didn¡¯t matter to Addie at all if the soul cracks somehow could aid her. She just wished she hadn¡¯t been hurt in the first place.

    ¡°If you won¡¯t ask me a question, I will ask you one. If you could reverse time, would you?¡±

    Scrunching up her nose, Addie asked, ¡°Why would I do that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Since you seem so upset by your new soul markings, would you get rid of your second bonded if you had the chance?¡± It almost sounded like the strange old man was talking about something as simple as the weather. He didn¡¯t care one way or another at all.

    Addie could feel her bird¡¯s fear at the question. Unspoken, but understood, the bird seemed to ask, would you get rid of me?

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Addie said tersely. This callous man didn¡¯t care that she had been hurt at all. ¡°I don¡¯t like you.¡± She repeated.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t a question.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°You say you wouldn¡¯t go back and get rid of your current bonded, so why are you upset? Things worked out, did they not.¡± Somehow, that last sentence didn¡¯t feel like a question with his flat tone.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t work out. I could have been bonded to birdie and my soul could be healed like normal.¡±

    ¡°But you gained power from it, did you not? Tell me, where is the bird right now? I don¡¯t see her.¡±

    Addie pointed into her chest, ¡°She¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Correct. She is melded within you. Can she leave? Does her being hidden within you give a certain tactical advantage? What about a magical one?¡±

    Addie ignored him.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you tried? Think on it and tell me when you find the answer.¡±

    Just as suddenly as they had first appeared, the table and chairs vanished. Somehow, the chair disappearing underneath Addie didn¡¯t cause her to fall, instead, it was as if she had been standing all along¡ª with Squishy displaced near her feet.

    She looked back over to where the old man had been, but he was gone.

    Then, as suddenly as she arrived, Addie was cast out from the library¡¯s attic through no magic of her own. For a brief moment, she recognized the sensation as being similar to when Realmspace ejected her from its domain. Then, the sensation passed as she returned to reality.

    Her footing wobbled for a moment as Addie reappeared on the top rung of the ladder with Squishy right next to her.

    The young woman wandering librarian commanded Addie from down below, ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself! No bonded on the ladders! Both of you, get down!¡±

    That was weird. Did she not see Addie disappear for half an hour? Addie was surprised the woman was still there.

 Chapter 66: The Library (3)

    ¡°Both of you, get down!¡± The librarian demanded.

    ¡°How long were we gone?¡± Addie whisper-shouted from up the ladder.

    ¡°What do you mean gone? You¡¯ve been here the whole time. Now get down!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re coming!¡± Addie said hastily. She still wasn¡¯t sure how the librarian hadn¡¯t noticed Addie disappearing after her teleport. She¡¯d make sure to ask the Grand Librarian about it later.

    She and Squishy started rushing down the ladder when the wandering librarian¡¯s voice interrupted them again.

    ¡°Woah, slow down! I don¡¯t want you to get hurt. You have to get down, but do it safely!¡± She called up the ladder.

    After that, Addie and Squishy climbed down more intentionally, watching their footing instead of rushing.

    ¡°Good, you both got down safely.¡± She sighed, ¡°Geez, you worried me for a second! We don¡¯t let bonded up there for a reason, you both could have gotten seriously hurt.¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t quite get what the big deal was. Squishy never fell down from anything. He was more agile than she was!

    The woman rubbed her face for a moment and exhaled. ¡°Alright. No going up the ladder without another librarian to supervise you, ok?¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie easily agreed.

    She pointed at Addie, ¡°I¡¯m serious! If you don¡¯t listen to us, we won¡¯t let you use the ladder at all. Here, let me show you something.¡±

    She started walking a few paces away then gestured for Addie to come over, ¡°Come here.¡±

    Once the woman and Addie were a few dozen paces away from the ladder, the woman gently grabbed onto her shoulders and positioned Addie right in front of her.

    ¡°Watch.¡±

    She held her hand out as if to grab onto something. Then, the ladder a few dozen paces away vanished, only to reappear right next to Addie almost making her jump up in surprise. The ladder frame perfectly positioned itself so that the side of it landed right into the librarian¡¯s outstretched palm. ¡°If you need the ladder, you can bring it anywhere you might be in the library. This will let you move it even to the inner rings of the library instead of just the outer ring. But if you break the rules, the ladder will stop responding to you completely. In fact, you won¡¯t ever see it again.¡±

    Addie gulped. She didn¡¯t want that at all. She wanted to be able to keep using the magic ladder.

    ¡°Ok, off you go now. Only use the ladder with adult supervision.¡±

    ¡°Does it have to be a wandering librarian or can Christena watch me use it?¡±

    ¡°Your guardian can supervise, too.¡±

    ¡°Oh good.¡±

    ¡°I need to get back to putting books away now, so off you go.¡± She started ushering Addie off, not giving her a chance to ask more questions. She must be really busy.

    After Addie was ushered a few steps away, she turned back around to look at the librarian, but she was gone without a trace.

    ¡°What was your impression of the Grand Librarian?¡±

    It looked like Squishy was still thinking about the old man in the attic. ¡°I don¡¯t like him.¡±

    ¡°What he said about soul melding fascinated me. Do you think one day we could meld our souls, too?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe.¡± Addie scrunched up her face. ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± he agreed.

    Together, they walked through the massive rings of bookshelves. At some point, they drifted off from the outer ring, but Addie couldn¡¯t say when that happened. They just suddenly weren¡¯t on the outer ring anymore.

    The enormously tall shelves in the center of the library felt somehow more gargantuan now. When she walked next to a shelf, she couldn¡¯t even see the top of it. She had to walk to the other side just to see the top of the opposite side¡¯s bookshelf.

    Although Addie had first thought to maybe go and find Christena and Nettal, right now she was actually having fun just wandering aimlessly.

    She trailed her fingers along the shelves, bumping them against the alternating spines of the books. She felt the leathery covers as her fingertips tapped against them, whiffing in the faint scent of paper as she did so.

    Squishy followed along behind her, cat-like in how his paws didn¡¯t make a sound against the hard floor; That was in direct contrast to the clomp of Addie¡¯s favorite booties hitting the floor as she walked along.

    Addie walked endlessly forward as she swept through ring after ring of bookshelves with her eyes. Somehow, despite never purposefully straying off the ring on purpose, no two shelves looked alike, and she didn¡¯t once read the same book title again on the endless shelves.

    During the peaceful walk, her soul bird didn¡¯t make so much as a tiny disturbance within Addie¡¯s soul. Even her emotions were quiet.

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    That¡¯s why, when she felt a soul ping from the birdie it shocked Addie and made her come to a complete stop.

    On a shelf to her left, at a height she could easily reach, one of the tomes glowed a ghostly purple, white ashen embers drifting off of it in a slow and steady pattern. It drew in Addie¡¯s eyes almost against her will¡ª fascinating her with its mesmerizing patterns.

    She started walking toward it with her hand outstretched. In a swift but steady motion, the book ejected from the shelf and landed perfectly against her outstretched hand with a satisfying thump. Addie brought it in closer so she could read it, and the spine unfolded all on its own opening to the first page.

    Kingdom: Animalia

    Phylum: Cordata

    Class: Aves

    Order: Accipitriformes

    Family: Pandionidae

    Genus: Animae

    Species: Flamma Phantasma

    Castus: III

    Summary:

    The Flamma Phantasma, colloquially known as Soul Hunters, are a breed of soul eagle with the ability to manipulate spectral flames. This bonded creature with a caste three classification is known for its great ability to harm the souls of those it possesses. It uses its mastery over soul magic to forcefully break down any attempt at bonding and force a cascade upon its victim. After which, the Soul Hunter will burn up the target¡¯s soul to fuel their own growth. Their victim is left as a soulless husk at the end of the process, with the processes itself sometimes taking several weeks.

    Description:

    A very small bird with a skeletal and musculature system reminiscent of its larger eagle cousins. This bird has brown to black body feathers with a white feathered head. Its claws are known to be sharp enough to tear through hardened leather.

    Instructions for soul bonding:

    Due to the Soul Hunter¡¯s notoriety for destroying those who attempt to bond with it, no known successful instances of

    The line began to cross itself out, ink drawing across the page, but still allowing Addie to read the underlying words. Then, new words began to draw themselves on the paper.

    Only one known instance of successful bonding is recorded¡ª in the year of 408 A.S.

    That was this year! Addie kept reading.

    A young girl is recorded to have taken on a bond with a Soul Hunter as her second bonded. Miraculously, the bonding was successful, due in part to her first soul bond being a Caste I creature of unknown origin with powerful magic.

    Due to the catastrophic danger of attempting to bond with a Soul Hunter, the reader is advised to never seek out a bond with one. Below is an excerpt from an Area Lord who lost her son to the process and described it in excruciating detail.

    ¡°I watched as his life force was burned away before my eyes. He couldn¡¯t even scream. That¡¯s what I remember the most. His pale face and¡ª

    Addie turned away from the book and stopped reading. She didn¡¯t want to know. She didn¡¯t want to experience that pain again, even just from reading about it in a book.

    Instead, her attention moved to a few lines back, ¡°Squishy! This book has information about us in it! It says you are an ¡®unknown creature¡¯ but it also says you are within the first Caste!¡± She said excitedly.

    Addie felt Squishy¡¯s pride through their bond. ¡°As powerful as a dragon? Hmm.¡±

    Squishy paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°What else does it say? Surely something about the bird, no? Why else would the book catch aflame in that manner?¡±

    Despite Squishy¡¯s words, looking down at it in her hand, the book wasn¡¯t on fire anymore.

    ¡°Well, it used to be on fire, at least. Let¡¯s keep reading.¡± Addie decided. She skipped over the ¡®instructions¡¯ section since it wouldn¡¯t say anything she didn¡¯t already know, anyway.

    Known Magics and First-Hand Accounts

    <ol>

    <li> This bird is known to use white-purple transparent flames to attack the souls of its victims. The flames can become more powerful if a Soul Hunter is allowed to grow from its victims unchecked.</li>

    <li> Due to the volatile nature of attempting a bond with this creature, the second facet of their powers remains unknown. There has been speculation that their ability to ¡®dive¡¯ into the body of their target and disappear is one of their abilities, but Sargus, 398 A.S. argues this is most likely the effect of another ability known as soul merging, which any two bonded could accomplish with diligent practice. If you want to read more about Soul Mergers, see Francis, 402 A.S. </li>

    </ol>

    WARNING: any attempts at soul magic should always be preceded by adequate knowledge of the transcendent loop.

    Well, that was boring, Addie thought. It didn¡¯t say anything she didn¡¯t already know. Plus, this was like reading a book for one of her lessons. Addie moved to close it and put the book back on the shelf, but before she could, all the letters on the page suddenly dissolved into nothing. Then, a single sentence began to write itself on the page and draw her attention.

    If you are reading this, then you must have learned the secret to bonding successfully with a Soul Hunter.

    My name is Lahar. Let me tell you about the day I bonded with Sax the Soul Hunter.

    The ink drew out the skull of a bird, with undulating patterns of ink above the skull creating the illusion of a burning fire.

    Addie felt the magic within her soul resonate with the flames on the page in longing. Her bird wanted Addie to do this, too. She put her finger on the symbol, and the words changed.

    Prove your intent by burning this symbol, and nothing else.

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure if she could. She hadn¡¯t tried using any of her new magic yet, and she wasn¡¯t sure if she even wanted to use it.

    ¡°I believe in you, my lady.¡± Squishy tried to assuage Addie¡¯s worries by supplementing their wills with his magic. ¡°I want to know more about our new partner, too.¡±

    Squishy was right. Addie let out a breath and focused on the symbol beneath her fingers. Then, she drew upon her three-directional soul bond. Squishy¡¯s magic was easy to grab onto, and equally ready to be used. But she passed over it this time. Instead, she poked at the newest direction in her soul bond. Let¡¯s use our magic, Addie suggested in emotions more than words. The bird¡¯s magic eagerly roared to life and flooded down Addie¡¯s soul as it filled her with power.

    She flinched at the sensation as if turning away from an out-of-control bonfire. Fear sprung up from somewhere deep within her¡ª learned from all those nights thinking about these very same flames being used against her.

    But, this was her magic now. Addie observed her fear, without letting it control her actions. She was still hesitant though, so she only allowed the smallest trickle of magic to flow out through her hand and down onto the page. Her finger lit up with a ghostly flame, and the symbol followed.

    Then, the symbol on the page glowed bright white for a moment. Once it stopped glowing, the whole page turned blank. The next moment, another sentence began to write itself out.

    You have successfully proven yourself worthy of the knowledge contained within this tome. I¡¯m honestly surprised, but it looks like someone else was able to have a successful bonding initialization, too. Take this book with you, and over time I will share with you the secrets I have discovered about the Soul Hunters¡¯ magic.

 Chapter 67: Watchers of Servus

    Addie stared at the words on the page, Take me with you, It said.

    Her heart started racing, and her eyes quickly darted side to side. Squishy bumped his snout into her leg causing her whole body to jolt.

    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked curiously.

    After she recovered from his surprise attack, Addie crouched down and cupped her hand around Squishy¡¯s floppy triangular ear so she could whisper, ¡°The book says I should take it.¡±

    Squishy repeated the action Addie had done just moments ago, quickly looking side to side.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch,¡± he said seriously.

    Taking one last glance at the words on the page, Addie gently closed the book without a sound. Then, she ran into a problem. There wasn¡¯t anywhere to hide it! She felt her hands become slick with sweat as her beating heart started thumping out of her chest. If she tried to walk out of the library with the giant book in her hand, she would definitely get caught. She had to hide it somewhere. But her dress didn¡¯t have any pockets!

    Just as her worries started to cause her to panic, the entire book burst into bright white flames and instantly turned to ash, scattering on and dirtying the floor and her hand.

    Addie opened and closed her now empty hand, then she opened her mouth in shock as her heart dropped. She accidentally destroyed it somehow! But, how? She hadn¡¯t done that on purpose! Oh no, she was going to get in so much trouble with the library.

    Call upon me.

    ¡°Squishy, it¡¯s gone!¡± Addie whispered frantically, ¡°I burnt it!¡±

    Call upon me.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking to you right now!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Call upon me.

    Addie looked at Squishy with bafflement while squinting her eyes at him. She didn¡¯t get this situation at all! First, the book poofs into flames somehow, and now she¡¯s hearing fake voices? It had to be Squishy.

    ¡°Seriously Squishy, stop it!¡±

    ¡°I have done nothing.¡± Addie could feel his confusion and sincerity through their bond. But that was so strange.

    The words were coming from soul telepathy, and Squishy was the only one who should be able to do that. What was that voice if it wasn¡¯t Squishy?

    Call upon me.

    Addie grabbed onto the source of that voice and pulled at the magic connecting it to her. She felt something pour out from one of the cracks in her soul, and within moments a book manifested directly in her hand. The title read, ¡°Techniques of the Soul Hunter¡±.

    Her heart started calming down, and she looked at the book in her hand with relief. The nerves began to fade as she realized the book was fine after all, and her confusion vanished once it became obvious that the second voice was coming from the book.

    Squishy angled his head slightly as he asked Addie, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Squishy¡¯s question jolted Addie out of her thoughts, and she dropped the book out of her hands in surprise. Before it could hit the floor, it transformed into soul flames and rushed back inside Addie¡¯s soul shell. This time, it didn¡¯t leave any ashes behind.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure,¡± Addie answered. ¡°I guess we¡¯re bonded to a book now?¡± Addie asked with a frown¡ª equal parts disgust and confusion rising up at the thought of being bonded to a book. Wasting a soul bond on a book would be awful, but also it should have been impossible since she didn¡¯t want the bond in the first place.

    Except, when Addie inspected her soul, she didn¡¯t feel a third soul bond. Based on the empathic connection she had with Squishy, it felt like he didn¡¯t notice a third soul bond, either. Maybe she would ask Christena about the book later. Addie felt slightly better that she couldn¡¯t see a soul bond with the book, but she wasn¡¯t entirely convinced about what exactly had happened yet.

    ¡°And how come it didn¡¯t leave ashes behind this time? Why couldn¡¯t it have done that last time?¡± Addie grumbled. Now she would have to figure out where to hide the ashes all over the floor.

    ¡°An odd book, for certain,¡± Squishy agreed.

    Addie scanned to the left and right of the bookshelf rings she was currently standing in one last time. When she didn¡¯t see anyone, she wiped her hands against each other to get all of the ashes off. Then, she started pushing the pile of ashes underneath the bookshelves with her foot. Hopefully, no one would find them. For some reason, she still felt sort of bad, hiding the ashes like this. Getting caught stealing a book from the library would be worse though, so she definitely needed to hide them. On the other hand, as long as she wasn¡¯t caught breaking the rules about taking things home, she would probably be ok. She didn¡¯t have a choice, anyway. It wasn¡¯t her fault the book decided to burst into flames and hide out in her soul.

    With some weird combination of guilt and relief pervading through Addie, she started walking away from the area to look for Christena and Nettal.

    <hr><hr>

    It didn¡¯t take long to find them. As Addie expected, the library seemed to understand her intent and immediately brought her to Christena and Nettal. Over the course of just a few steps, Addie quickly found herself in an entirely new area of the library. Looking up at the ceiling, she was probably somewhere near the middle of the building.

    She walked up to a small alcove surrounded by bookshelves on all sides. The inside of the alcove was furnished with a couple of small desks and super comfy-looking loungers. Christena was fully reclined in one of the loungers with Fluffy asleep in her lap and a book in her hand, while Nettal seemed to be writing on something at one of the desks.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Christena glanced up at Addie as she walked into the alcove, but soon moved her eyes back to her book once she noticed Addie wasn¡¯t walking toward her.

    Silently, Addie began to creep up behind Nettal who was too focused on her writing to pay attention to her surroundings. Lotty was facing toward Addie though. She looked at him with pleading eyes and a finger at her lips to try and tell him not to tell Nettal about the impending surprise.

    A few steps behind the chair, Addie positioned herself behind Nettal and slowly moved her hands up into position. Then, all at once, Addie exploded forward with a loud ¡®Boo!¡¯ and lightly pushed her outstretched fingers into Nettal¡¯s shoulders.

    Nettal screeched and tried to jump out of the desk chair, flailing her hair around wildly in the process. But, her seat got caught in a seam on the hardwood floor and barely slid a few centimeters before the entire chair started tipping backward. Addie hurriedly pushed the chair back forward so it wouldn¡¯t fall on top of her, saving Nettal from falling backward on her head in the process.

    No longer in any danger of falling, Nettal turned her whole body around on the chair to glare at Addie with an icy look.

    In response, Addie couldn¡¯t help but laugh. In the corner of her eye, she saw Christena trying to stifle her chuckles, too.

    ¡°I thought the chair was going to tip backward!¡± Nettal protested.

    That only made Addie laugh harder.

    ¡°It¡¯s not funny! I could have hit my head you know? Plus, look at this page! You¡¯ve ruined it. I¡¯ll have to start all over.¡±

    Nettal held the piece of paper up in the air so Addie could see it. It looked like Nettal had drawn a big thick line right up the text-covered page when Addie surprised her.

    ¡°What are you working on anyway?¡± Addie asked.

    Nettal crumpled up the ruined piece of paper and threw it onto the floor. Addie watched it curve through the air and then completely vanish before it could land.

    ¡°I¡¯m working on a couple of things, actually. First, I tried to see if I could teach Lotty some letters, but that didn¡¯t really work out at all. He just can¡¯t remember the meaning of the symbols for some reason.

    Addie looked at the floor to the left of the desk and saw the baby fawn staring up at her with his eerily impassive eyes.

    Nettal opened one of the drawers on the right side of the desk and pulled out a piece of paper. Then, she started writing again.

    ¡°What are you writing now?¡± Addie leaned over Nettal¡¯s shoulder to try and read her writing.

    Nettal looked at Addie for a moment, but she didn¡¯t try to stop her from reading it. ¡°I¡¯m trying to write down the causes for a few diseases. Lotty keeps sharing all kinds of images and feelings about some of the diseases we don¡¯t know very much about, but none of it makes sense to me. I thought writing it down with words might help me figure it out. I decided to start small, so I¡¯m starting with the common cold.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± Addie started reading along as Nettal wrote:

    He keeps showing me images of these weird blob-looking things. He shows me the blob growing in size and then eventually splitting itself right in half to make two of itself. After that, both blobs grow until those ones split off. When I asked him why people get colds, he showed me an image of a different blob flying around and then entering the main blob. After the smaller blob enters the bigger blob, the bigger blob explodes! When the bigger blob explodes, it shoots off tons of copies of the smaller blob.

    Nettal scratched at her head for a moment, ¡°I really don¡¯t understand what these blobs have to do with anything at all. Apparently, this is something he learned from his mother. If I can figure out what all of this means, then the doctors at the clinic will be able to heal people with colds even if I¡¯m not there to use magic.¡± She explained.

    Then Nettal let go of her pen, causing it to clatter around on the desk. She fell in her seat and draped her body over the desk with a slight thud. ¡°Ugg! It doesn¡¯t make sense! Christena doesn¡¯t get it either.¡±

    ¡°Can you draw one of the blobs?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°I think so.¡± Nettal straightened her back again and picked up her pen. She drew a blobby circle, with another smaller circle on the inside which she colored in fully. Then, she drew a bunch of other weird shapes with the big blob. Addie stared at it for a moment and then realized something.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Nettal looked at Addie with suspicion as she crossed her arms. ¡°Where?¡±

    Addie focused really hard on her spatial sense. She used it to inspect Nettal¡¯s face, just like she did with the tree leaves in the forest. She narrowed her spatial perception until she could only see the tiniest section of Nettal¡¯s face.

    ¡°Those blobs look just like your face.¡±

    With outrage, Nettal mock slapped Addie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be mean if you aren¡¯t trying to help.¡± She huffed and turned her head away.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious! When I use my spatial sense to look at the tiniest part of your face, it¡¯s got tons of those blobs! Just like the one you drew. I recognized it because I saw similar blobs inside of some tree leaves before. I was wondering what that was. Do you know?¡± Addie asked.

    Nettal turned her gaze over to Lotty. From Addie¡¯s perspective, he didn¡¯t seem to respond to Nettal¡¯s look, but he must have since Nettal started to explain, ¡°Lotty says you¡¯re right. That¡¯s so weird. I guess you and me, and also all the tree leaves are just made out of these funny-looking blobs? Huh.¡±

    Addie heard the sound of a pen scratching on the page as Nettal started writing down what they figured out.

    Behind her, Addie heard the sound of a book being slammed shut, causing her to turn around and see what caused it.

    Christena was standing up tall, looking out of the alcove. Addie noticed the book she had been reading was no longer in her hands. Scanning her eyes toward the entrance of the alcove, she saw Mr. Owlcharge walking into the area followed by Auntie and their respective bonded.

    ¡°Looks like you two girls had some fun!¡± Auntie said with a bright smile.

    Nettal got out of her seat and ran up to Auntie, then she gave her a big hug. ¡°Mom!¡± Nettal said with joy. ¡°Come look at what I¡¯ve been working on!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to!¡± Auntie allowed herself to be dragged over to the desk, where she stood as Nettal started explaining the blobs to her.

    ¡°And that¡¯s when Addie said we all have these blobs all over us! How weird is that!¡± Nettal explained with excitement pouring out from her tone.

    For a brief moment, Addie and Auntie made eye contact, allowing Addie to see Auntie¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up with her eyes narrowed in confusion. ¡°I see.¡±

    Auntie remained quiet for a few seconds, but Nettal didn¡¯t say anything more. She reached out to ruffle the top of Nettal¡¯s head and said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you are having fun with your magic.¡±

    Then, Auntie repositioned herself to face both Addie and Nettal at the same time. ¡°There¡¯s something Mr. Owlcharge and I discovered while investigating our former adversary.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Addie asked. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what ¡®former adversary¡¯ meant.

    ¡°We are talking about the man you called, ¡®Black Cloak¡¯. Well, you see, as we investigated my Area for this once beloved community member we found out he wasn¡¯t at all!¡± Mr. Owlcharge said with his usual exuberance.

    Auntie must have seen the confusion on Addie¡¯s face, as she quickly clarified, ¡°What Mr. Owlcharge is trying to say is that, there are no records of Black Cloak ever living in his town. He wasn¡¯t on the citizen registry.¡±

    "After we discovered he didn¡¯t grow up here, we decided to investigate his residence.¡± Auntie¡¯s tone darkened as she continued with a harsh face,  ¡°In there, we found letters and objects of worship dedicated to the Watchers of Servus.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Addie asked with a frown.

    ¡°We normally try to avoid the subject,¡± Mr. Owlcharge began with a serious edge to his tone, ¡°But in this case, we decided you and Nettal needed to know so you could defend yourselves if something like this happened again. In short, the Watchers of Servus seek to destroy all things, and ¡®return¡¯ our planet to the ¡®loving and dark embrace¡¯ of Servus. They seek to destroy everything.¡±

 Authors update and Q&A (NOT a chapter)

    Hi all!

    We got a huge boost in following last night. Thank you to everyone who''s joining the series.

    Funny side note-- I had a beta reader tell me that ''order of servus'' sounds an awful lot like ''Hello, service industry, how may I take your order?" and I thought that was hilarious. I will have to retcon that name now though. I''m going to change it to "Watchers of Servus" which should sound better. You''ll see last chapter is already fixed.

    That being said, the above issue is a symptom of a larger problem. I''m rushing too much to get chapters out to help the story grow, but it''s actually hurting the story instead. I need more time to edit. Because of that, I will now only be posting two times a week on Tuesday and Thursday.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    Here''s some questions you might have:

    Will you be writing less content, now? A: No, I''ll be hopefully writing MORE content, I just need the weekends to edit all of that content and get it beta read for the overall health of the story.

    Will you be doing only 2 chapters a week forever? A: No, I will go back to 3 chapters a week once I fix my backlog issue. I''m aiming for early July.

    Will you still release a chapter this Tuesday? A: Yes. There will be a chapter on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

    Are you experiencing burnout? Is the story in danger of being dropped? A: No and No. I love writing and I''m not worried about stopping anytime soon. Like I said, I just need time to actually edit.

    That being said, you can use this post as a sort of question forum, and I''ll answer all the comments on here for anyone who does have questions. It can be questions about anything, not just related to this post. A fun Author''s Q&A!

 Chapter 68: Finding Space

    Mr. Owlcharge continued explaining what he had learned, ¡°The Watchers want to plunge our planet into the black hole in the binary, and to meet their goals they will gain power in whatever dangerous way they can think of. We think that ¡®Black Cloak¡¯, true name Iyak, was causing all of that chaos on purpose, in some bid to gain power for the Watchers.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Addie knew she had something to share on this topic, too. ¡°I found a book here that talks about my birdie. She¡¯s called a Soul Hunter. She uses souls as fuel to gain more magical power. At least, that¡¯s what the book said.¡± Addie smiled at the opportunity to be helpful.

    Auntie rounded on Addie with an intrigued stare, ¡°Where is that book now? It¡¯s way past time to do some research and figure out what exactly happened.¡±

    Addie shuffled her feet. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t find it anymore.¡± If the librarians found out she destroyed the book, and now it was sitting in her soul somehow, she¡¯d surely get in a lot of trouble.

    ¡°A shame,¡± Mr. Owlcharge said obliviously.

    He was about to continue when Christena interrupted. ¡°Addie? Are you telling us the truth? You know how important this is right?¡±

    A nervous tingling panic started to set in. ¡°I really don¡¯t know!¡± Addie tried to sound as genuine as she knew how. But this usually never worked. Christena somehow always knew when Addie was lying. So, maybe it would be better to say something small at least. The panic at getting caught lying warred with the panic of getting caught taking the book from the library. ¡°Maybe we can find it later!¡± Addie said, desperate to change the topic.

    ¡°Tonight. You will tell us what you found, tonight.¡± Auntie commanded with narrowed eyes.

    Addie let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you tonight,¡± she agreed easily.

    That seemed to appease Auntie and Christena, though Mr. Owlcharge still had a funny look that Addie couldn¡¯t quite figure out.

    Actually, he wasn¡¯t looking at Addie at all. Instead, he seemed to be surveying the alcove for some reason.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Lily?¡±

    That should have been a simple question, with an easy answer. Lily had come into the library with everyone, so she should be here with Nettal and Christena, right?

    Everyone started looking around the alcove. For every moment no one found the tiny girl, Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s worried expression seemed to deepen.

    Christena¡¯s face looked just about blue. Last Addie had seen, Christena had been holding Lily.

    Addie hated herself for it just a bit, but she had some level of relief at the fact that it wasn¡¯t her fault if Lily had gone missing. That responsibility was Christena¡¯s, and the total dread on her paling face meant that she realized it too. She tramped all thoughts about that down though, since thinking about fault was both unhelpful and mean.

    ¡°It¡¯s really easy to find stuff in the library!¡± Addie tried to sound helpful, ¡°I bet if you just walk around a little bit trying to find her, you¡¯ll find her easily.¡±

    Addie turned around to test her theory, but even after a couple of steps, she was still in the alcove.

    ¡°Maybe we need to leave the alcove first,¡± she said as a blush started warming her cheeks. Addie felt a bit ridiculous, but she shook it off quickly. Embarrassment could wait, for now, she was determined to help find Lily.

    Everyone began to file out of the alcove with concerned looks on their faces.

    Addie started to walk away from the group, and within moments she was entirely alone. She¡¯d never get used to that. The way the library seemed to shift her around without jarring her or making it obvious seemed so eerie when she thought about it. But, actually experiencing the shift felt natural, no different than walking through town normally would. The only indication that she had even changed locations was the subtle differences she noticed in the book titles around her, and the slightly changing angles of the ring depending on how deep in the library she was. Necessarily, the angle of the bookshelves became more noticeable toward the center of the library as the rings became smaller.

    But how did the library work, anyway? That thought ate away at Addie as she continued to look around and search for Lily. She started to pay attention to her spatial sense to see what the library might be doing. Nothing stood out to her as odd, though. She could see the bookshelves around her just fine, and the space beyond them also seemed normal enough. The floor and as far upward as she could see also seemed normal. However, Addie knew that if the ceiling was within her spatial sense¡¯s reach, she would be able to see that area where she found the Grand Librarian.

    At first, she just thought her spatial sense couldn¡¯t detect whatever was happening, but as she started walking around she realized the library wasn¡¯t actually displacing her right now. She was just walking through the ring normally.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Addie focused her intent on one idea: finding Lily. She pushed that intent out into the world through sheer force of will while concentrating on her spatial sense. Maybe she could see how the library moved her around. After a few steps, she saw the book spines all change topics to geology. Addie didn¡¯t remember much about that boring topic. More interestingly was the way the library shifted her without being able to notice it.

    According to her eyes, nothing had changed. Even her footsteps came easily and normally. But to her spatial sense, the hallway somehow pulled itself in, each one of Addie¡¯s normal footsteps now covering twenty or more steps. Addie stopped in wonder for a moment. She took another step and followed along as the floor squished so tightly into itself that Addie couldn¡¯t resist hopping forward. During her brief flight through the air, Addie watched in amazement as the space around her seemed to collapse and fling her through space. To her ordinary senses, it just seemed like a regular hop!

    She landed back down on the ground with a bright smile and glanced over at Squishy, who looked back at her with his head slightly tilted in shining curiosity. He was panting slightly from trying to keep up with her.

    ¡°What have you discovered?¡±

    ¡°Let me show you!¡±

    Addie picked Squishy up from underneath his legs, and she took a great leap forward while cradling him against her side. The air wooshed by according to her spatial sense, sending them to a brand new location of the library. Addie¡¯s booties hit the floor, and they both shared a touch of excitement through their bond with one another.

    With her mind back on topic, Addie willed the library to send her to Lily again. This time, the ring she was running through seemed to flip-flop in her spatial sense, redirecting her back to the geology section she had just tried to sprint past. To her eyes and everything else, it felt no different than walking through a regular building. Only her spatial sense picked up on that moment where the front of the ring somehow reversed with the back of the ring, re-orienting itself after it finished placing Addie in the correct spot.

    Looking around the area, they were right back in the geology section from before. With one final gleeful moment, Addie jumped forward through the air again, still willing the library to help her find Lily.

    Still holding Squishy, she felt the air fly past her face and scramble her long hair, but according to her spatial sense, she just floated in the air without moving. For that brief moment, Addie was a bird caught stationary in the gentle embrace of the wind. In reality, she knew it was actually just library shenanigans messing around with space. That logic didn¡¯t dispel the illusion of flight and excitement, though.

    ¡°Wow! Do you think we can do that with Realmspace?¡± Addie asked Squishy with a wide smile.

    Saying that idea out loud gave it a certain amount of weight, only making Addie want to try it even more.

    ¡°I am glad you are having fun, but I would like to redirect you back to our current pursuit. Where is Lily?¡±  Squishy sent through feelings of amusement and Addie saw a small quirk of his lips.

    Addie sighed and rolled her eyes. She wanted to play with the magic in the library some more! But Squishy was right.

    ¡°Ok, I think we¡¯ve already found her though. The library keeps bringing us back to this spot!¡± A hint of her excitement from a moment ago crept back into her words.

    With her spatial sense more than her eyes, Addie scanned the area. If Lily was really in this area, where was everyone else? They were all looking for her, too.

    Despite her wandering questions, Addie did see something she couldn¡¯t believe she had missed the first time. Just a few paces over to her right, was a small stack of books, just tall enough for one small shy girl to hide behind.

    Addie walked up to the impromptu book-fort and looked over the chest-high walls. Sure enough, leaning against the bookshelf on the other side of the book-fort was a tiny girl with shoulder-length black hair. She held a book completely oversized for her; It dwarfed her head, looking almost comically big, but not so big that she would have trouble holding it. Addie read the cover, ¡®Igneous formations and their uses¡¯.

    ¡°Hi Lily,¡± Addie said with a bit of trepidation. She had never successfully befriended the incredibly shy little girl.

    Lily looked away from her book with wide eyes staring up at Addie.

    ¡°What are you reading?¡± Addie asked as she began to climb over the book walls. She sat down next to Lily, also resting her back against the bookshelf.

    ¡°Cool rocks. This one has holes.¡± Lily pointed to a picture of a bright orange rock with tons of tiny pockmarks.

    ¡°Are you ready to go home yet? Everyone¡¯s looking for you.¡±

    ¡°I guess,¡± Lily said with a frown. Then she turned her back slightly to Addie and looked back down at her book.

    Addie winced as she realized how she messed up. Lily must have been having fun with those books. In a brief flash of memory, Addie remembered how Mr. Owlcharge always seemed to be reshaping stone and even using it to fly around.

    ¡°Rocks are pretty cool, huh? Even your dad uses them to fly around and fight bad guys!¡± Addie said with some cheer.

    Lily turned back around with sparkling eyes. ¡°Yeah. So cool. Daddy shoots rocks around like ¡®pow pow¡¯ and then ¡®dodo dodo¡¯ they fly out!¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help herself, a bright smile made its way across Addie¡¯s face. That was the most words she¡¯d ever gotten out of Lily before!

    ¡°You know, your daddy is looking for you right now. I bet he¡¯d find you some really cool rocks to play with if we go find him.¡± If this idea didn¡¯t work, nothing would.

    ¡°Daddy?¡± Lily blinked her big eyes. ¡°Yeah let¡¯s go.¡± She started to stand up.

    Just as she did, Mr. Owlcharge, Christena, and Nettal all walked right into the area.

    ¡°There¡¯s my girl!¡± Mr. Owlcharge reached his hands out toward Lily and lightly ran over to the book fort.

    Lily quickly jumped up into his arms. From there, Mr. Owlcharge picked her up and cradled her against his hip. Lily still held onto the book with one hand, dangling along with her arm. Her father quickly picked up the book and placed it back down.

    ¡°Lily said she wants some cool rocks.¡± Addie helpfully chimed in.

    In response, Lily rapidly nodded her head up and down.

    Mr. Owlcharge laughed and patted Lily on the head. ¡°When we get home I¡¯ll find you the best rock, how about that?¡± He smiled gently at Lily.

    At nearly the same time, Christena walked up to Addie and started to ask her a question, ¡°How did you get here faster than us? We all just left the alcove at the same time, didn¡¯t we? It couldn¡¯t have been more than just a couple of seconds.¡±

    Addie stared at Christena blankly.

    In the attic, an incredibly old man laughed at Christena¡¯s question. Not that anyone heard it.

 Chapter 69: Spar!

    She was waiting¡ª waiting for the little girl and her carriage.

    Idly, she glanced at her claws shining in the Binary light. Her golden paws reflected that light so beautifully.

    Last time the little girl went past the trails in such a hurry! She never even had time to properly get to know the nascent lordling. Soon. Less than a week now, she knew. It was so exciting! After all¡ª

    She had never known defeat.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie left the library with one last glance behind her. She watched as the darkness behind those doors slowly closed. She thought she saw a brief flash of someone smiling before they shut with a sense of finality.

    Shaking off that creepy image, Addie walked alongside her group. A bit toward the front of the group, Nettal was holding Lotty up against her chest by wrapping her arms around his upper body. But, the fawn had long legs, and his back hooves almost scraped against the ground while his front hooves sort of dangled over Nettal¡¯s shoulder.

    Addie hurried up to get beside Nettal and asked, ¡°Why are you holding him? Isn¡¯t he too big?¡±

    With a huff, Nettal rolled her eyes. ¡°He said he was ¡®too tired¡¯ to walk and somehow convinced me to carry him.¡± In a quiet whisper, Nettal leaned in to share a secret, ¡°Luckily, I figured out that I can use magic to heal my arms when they get tired.¡±

    In shock, Addie¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°What!¡± she said just a bit too loudly, ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I wish I could do that.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I wish I had your magic sometimes too. Especially the way you can talk to Squishy.¡± Nettal trailed off wistfully for a moment. ¡°Sometimes, I can¡¯t quite understand the images and feelings Lotty sends me over our bond. I¡¯m getting better at it though!¡±

    ¡°My birdie is like that,¡± Addie said as they continued walking down the path, ¡°She can¡¯t speak like Squishy either.¡± Maybe she could ask Sen about it later? He was a magical creature that could speak in words, too.

    Like that, Addie and Nettal talked about whatever came to mind for a while, sharing their different viewpoints on magic. Addie thought Nettal¡¯s healing magic was cool, but in the end, Addie still preferred the powers she got from Squishy. He sent a feeling of content agreement at that last part, too.

    Once Addie, Christena, Auntie, and Nettal got close to the town border, Mr. Owlcharge said goodbye to everyone. Even little Lily gave a small wave before burying her head back into her dad¡¯s chest.

    It didn¡¯t take long to get home after that. They ate dinner, and both girls recounted all the different, yet similar adventures they had in the library¡¯s constantly shifting space.

    After bringing all the food out of the kitchen, Christena sat down next to Addie to join them for the meal. No one batted an eye at her joining them, even if she was Addie¡¯s maid.

    ¡°Ever since I was a girl, the library has been just like that,¡± Christena began, ¡°Shifting people around to help them find any book they could need. But, I think even I learned something new about that mysterious place today. Addie, how did you manage to get to Lily before we did?¡±

    Scrunching her face, Addie thought for a moment, and then she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re asking. We all split up to look for her, and I just found her first. You were slower than me.¡±

    Christena tilted her head at Addie. ¡°When we separated, you couldn¡¯t have been gone for more than just a few seconds.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    The dinner table went quiet for a moment after Addie¡¯s response. Her thoughts wandered to the time she climbed the ladder.

    ¡°I think something like that happened to me when we first got to the library, too,¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°Like how?¡± Christena leaned forward in interest.

    ¡°Well, Squishy and I climbed the ladder, and then we went into the attic. We chatted with a super duper grumpy old man for a while. But, when we came back, the librarian with the ladder acted like we hadn¡¯t disappeared at all!¡± Addie waved her hands in emphasis.

    ¡°What!?¡± Christena suddenly yelled, startling everyone at the table. ¡°Sorry, did the old man do anything to you?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Addie replied.

    Christena visibly relaxed and ate another bite of dinner before placing her fork back down with a slight clatter. ¡°Well, your little story seems to confirm my theory even more. I don¡¯t think the library shifts us around. Or at least, just shifts us around. I wonder if it¡¯s also doing something to tamper with time?¡±

    Auntie interjected with a thought of her own, ¡°Curious. I¡¯d love to find out what manner of creature the owner of that library bonded with.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you can ask the library to help you find a book on creatures that can control time!¡± Nettal suggested, ¡°Every time I asked for help with healing magic, it gave me all sorts of useful books! I couldn¡¯t understand much of it though. One book had only a single sentence in it! ¡®The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.¡¯ That¡¯s all it said! I don¡¯t even know what a ¡®cell¡¯ is. No one else seemed to understand that sentence, either. A bunch of books speculated on what that one sentence meant, but apparently, the knowledge was lost After Servus.¡±

    ¡°After Servus?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s 408 A.S. this year. That means ¡®After Servus¡¯, according to the books in the library.¡± Nettal explained.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Christena confirmed. ¡°Remember when I told you about the Great Cascade, Addie? When Servus finally succumbed to greed and began to devour Aggan?¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I thought that happened super long ago!¡± Addie exclaimed.

    ¡°400 years is a long time,¡± Auntie trailed off and her eyes stared up at the ceiling with an emotion Addie couldn¡¯t quite place. Addie wondered what she might be thinking. Before Addie could ask, Auntie continued, ¡°A lot can happen in 400 years. A lot has happened.¡±

    The table was quiet for a bit after that.

    Addie took the time to get some food in her stomach. She hardly tasted the meat and root vegetables. Addie was too busy thinking about all that had happened at the library, like the way its mysterious halls seemed to be ever-changing. It would be a great place for hide and seek!

    Christena spoke up again, this time changing the topic and drawing Addie¡¯s attention again, ¡°Tomorrow, you girls are going to go through some training. I¡¯m tired of finding out Addie has gone off and found danger once again without proper preparation. Nettal, your mother has agreed for you to join us as well. Make sure you both get plenty of sleep!¡±

    Those words excited Addie, but the way Christena seemed to smirk in delight also scared her a bit. That mischievous smile on Christena was never a good sign.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie walked out onto a field of sand. The heat from the Binary beat down on her from overhead, and she frowned since her pale freckled skin would probably be bright red in the morning. Usually, she could keep some shade in the more forested areas at home, and even to a similar extent in the swamp. But this clearing behind Auntie¡¯s mansion didn¡¯t have even the tiniest bit of shade.

    She pinched at the skin-fitting leather pants Christena made her wear. Addie usually refused to wear pants, and for good reason! They weren¡¯t pretty at all. These pants were particularly awful, since they tugged on her skin, making her want to constantly shift her posture around to try and reduce the friction.

    Nettal stood off to the side, looking at Addie with amusement plainly on her face.

    Across from her, on the other side of the sanded field, Christena stood with her hands against her hips. The normally tidy maid was wearing a similar pair of brown leather pants. Christena never wore pants. Addie gulped as she realized Christena must be deadly serious about this sparring session if she was willing to take off her maid uniform. Similarly, Christena¡¯s top was also fit for a workout, consisting of a cotton smock covering her torso but leaving her arms and shoulders bare and hanging on by two small straps.

    Addie stared at Christena¡¯s tightly packed and corded muscles, then gulped. She never knew Christena had such a powerful yet lean build underneath that frilly maid uniform. Each of Christena¡¯s muscles were densely packed with undisguised power.

    ¡°Nettal will just be here to observe our lessons, today,¡± Christena said with a slight gesture in Nettal¡¯s direction.

    Glancing at her cousin, Addie saw Nettal contentedly sitting in the sand watching the arena. Fluffy and Lotty were competing for the limited space to rest in Nettal¡¯s lap. It looked like Fluffy was winning, but only because she kept using her giant fluffy tail to bother Lotty¡¯s eyes.

    Focusing back on her ¡®opponent¡¯, Addie demurely glanced back at Christena and said, ¡°Are you sure we have to ¡®spar¡¯? last time you taught me magic, we just talked about things and you showed me all kinds of ways to use illusions.¡± She hoped this was all just some big trick, like Christena often tried to pull.

    ¡°Ah, but today we aren¡¯t practicing magic. We¡¯ll do more of that tomorrow. Today, I¡¯m going to begin the basics of teaching you how to fight. Based on my observations, you are woefully unprepared for all of the dangers that keep making their way into your life. I won¡¯t stand for it any longer. What would you do if you got into a magical fight that ended with both you and your opponent locking each other¡¯s magic behind hostile transcendent loops? How would you defend yourself without any magic at your disposal? You¡¯re just a small girl. The following physical confrontation would not go well for you. I¡¯m going to fix that.¡± Christena cracked her knuckles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nettal can heal all of your bruises once we¡¯re done.¡±

    This all seemed extreme to Addie. She¡¯d never fought someone without magic before! It sounded crazy.

    Noticing Addie¡¯s hesitation, Squishy chimed in with his thoughts. Addie turned her head to look at him where he sat behind Addie to watch. ¡°I believe Christena is correct. It is only right that you learn to fight with physical superiority.¡±

    Addie almost felt betrayed, he was always supposed to be on her side! But, instead, Addie rolled her eyes. Of course, he would say that. He loved fighting.

    ¡°I also worry for you. The wilderness is only going to keep chasing you. My intuition is that we will surely encounter more of these ¡®Watchers of Servus¡¯. You must learn to defend yourself during the moments when I am busy with another opponent.¡±

    Addie let out a shaky breath as she turned back toward Christena. Though, Addie wasn¡¯t yet sure if she could trust Christena like this. It made her feel exposed. Not too long ago she and Christena had been fighting for real¡ª or so Addie thought at the time. Addie shook the thought off. She had promised herself to do her very best during her lessons, hadn¡¯t she? Plus, Squishy agreed with this idea, too. And Nettal would be watching the entire time. Addie wasn¡¯t in any real danger, but that thought still didn¡¯t entirely shake off the jitters.

    ¡°Fine. If you are going to teach me how to fight, I¡¯m going to learn how to beat you every single time!¡± Addie intended to sound confident, but her words trembled as they left her lips.

    Christena snorted and smiled with far too many teeth. ¡°Prepare yourself!¡± She launched forward¡ªthere was no other word to describe it. Sand flew through the air as Christena¡¯s powerful legs sent her flying with each leaping step. Despite all of the sand flying around, Addie kept her eyes wide open, determined to keep watch on her opponent.

    Instinctively, Addie started to pull on her magic, to punt herself into Realmspace to gain an advantage. But another thought stopped her: She had strong determination to do this¡ªto win this. Maybe the feeling was emotional bleed over from Squishy¡¯s longing for battle, but she didn¡¯t think so. Addie wanted to learn, she wanted to do well, and she wanted to be strong enough that a cascade could never hurt her ever again.

    Addie stood firm and dug her feet into the sand. Her spatial sense alerted her to Christena flying in with a jab aimed at her shoulder. Addie dodged to the side, just like all those times she practiced dodging plants while running through the forest. Christena¡¯s jab rushed right past Addie¡¯s shoulder, barely a finger width away, but still not touching her.

    A moment of excitement coursed through Addie, she did it! She managed to avoid a punch from Christena! But, the excitement died completely in the next moment.

    Christena quickly threw a second jab, curving in and giving Addie a decent thump on the left side of her upper chest. The force of the blow spun Addie around in a circle before she twisted and somehow fell both with her bum and face down on the sand, and some of it got into her mouth. She desperately tried to spit out the disgusting grains. Somehow, despite her whole body being jostled around, her shoulder didn¡¯t hurt much. It felt like Christena softened the blow to be more of a shove at the end there. At most, her bum hurt a bit from the hard landing.

    Even if it didn¡¯t hurt as much as she expected, her shoulder still stung, forcing Addie to wince and rub at it for a moment. Christena leaned down over Addie and reached out a hand.

    ¡°That was a good first attempt! Especially since I haven¡¯t given you any hand-to-hand training yet. But remember, even if this is a training session, you won¡¯t have time to get sand out of your mouth in a real fight.¡±

    Addie grabbed onto Christena¡¯s outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled up onto her feet.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do a few more quick sparring rounds and then I¡¯m going to teach you some of the proper forms for basic blocks and punches.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we do that first?¡± Addie complained as she rolled her left shoulder a bit.

    ¡°Because I need to figure out your current level of skill. I also want to find all the bad habits you¡¯ve surely made without realizing while learning to fight so haphazardly in recent weeks.¡± Christena paused for a moment and smirked, then continued, ¡°Besides, this way is way more fun, don¡¯t you think?¡±

 Chapter 70: Smirk

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Nettal called from across the sparring field, with her hands cupped around her mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m ok!¡± Addie dusted off the remaining sand sticking to her pants. She spat a bit to get some of the granules out of her mouth, but it didn¡¯t help. She tried to close her jaw and unpleasantly crunched down on one of the pieces of grit.

    ¡°Here,¡± Christena offered Addie what looked like a suspiciously solid, yet roiling bubble of flowing water. Seeing Addie¡¯s hesitant face, Christena clarified, ¡°It¡¯s illusory water. Good enough to wash your mouth but not enough to actually help any thirst. If you get thirsty, let me know and I¡¯ll quickly grab you some real water.¡±

    Addie looked into Christena¡¯s gentle face for a moment longer, trying to determine if her intentions were sincere.

    In response, Christena simply used her hand to usher forward the offering.

    With suspicion in her eyes, Addie hesitantly reached out to grab the water bubble. Luckily, it didn¡¯t explode or anything when she finally grabbed it. It felt strange. There was something off-putting about being able to hold water even though it was still liquid. She squished and pulled at it, the texture almost like dough. ¡°Ew,¡± Addie mumbled with morbid fascination. She pulled on it even harder, and the whole thing burst all over her hands. Her hands got soaked but dried off almost immediately as the magic dissipated.

    Despite the weirdness of it all, there was still sand in her mouth. ¡°Can I have another one?¡± Addie asked.

    Christena snorted, ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t break this one. Right after this, We are getting back into it.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    This time, Addie put the offered water bubble directly into her mouth. It didn¡¯t burst like it had when it was in her hands. Instead, the moment it entered her mouth it felt no different than regular water. She swished it about, feeling some grains of sand unpleasantly get in between her teeth. Once she got as much of the sand as she could, Addie spat the water out, where it dissolved into nothing before it even hit the ground.

    ¡°Ok Addie, are you ready?¡± Christena prompted as she got into some kind of fighting stance.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Christena came at her like a whirlwind. Addie didn¡¯t have time to think about counterattack, all she could do was dodge.

    Christena¡¯s right fist came at Addie in a jab, just like last time. Addie dodged the same direction, and then when Christena¡¯s follow-up hook started coming in, it felt like an exact repeat of last time. This time knowing what was coming, Addie jumped backward to get out of Christena¡¯s range.

    Addie felt her feet stumble in the sand for a moment, as she slid more than she expected. Christena whipped her front leg out at Addie while she was still recovering from being slightly off-balance.

    The kick landed on Addie¡¯s upper chest, again feeling more like a shove since Christena slowed her kick down just before impact. Addie wheeled her arms around in the air for a moment and then toppled backward, her bum planted firmly back in the sand. Luckily, her face didn¡¯t hit the ground at all this time, so at least she wouldn¡¯t get more sand in her mouth.

    ¡°That was better Addie!¡± Christena praised with a bright smile. ¡°You¡¯ve got really good instincts. Now, we just need to sharpen them with better technique.¡±

    Addie turned her head as Squishy spoke up through the bond, ¡°Can you ask Christena if she can teach me, too?¡±

    ¡°Um, Squishy wants to learn too,¡± Addie said as she stood back up from the sand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Fluffy can help him. I wouldn¡¯t know where to begin trying to teach Squishy martial arts!¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    Christena frowned, almost as if Addie asked a silly question, ¡°Well, he¡¯s got a different type of body than us, doesn¡¯t he? I¡¯m not sure how best to make use of his claws and such. Fluffy will be able to train him much better than I can.¡±

    Addie nodded her head, ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Christena clapped her hands together, ¡°I think that¡¯s good enough for the warmup. I¡¯ve got a general idea of your current progress. Let¡¯s start learning some drills and exercises I want you to practice each day.

    ¡°Nettal, can you come over here? I want you and Addie to practice together.¡± Christena called out.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Nettal hurriedly picked an indignant Fluffy up under the arms and put her on the ground. Lotty lifted his head up out of Nettal¡¯s lap, and Nettal stood up. She jogged over to stand next to Addie, with Lotty following close behind her.

    ¡°Alright, girls! Has anyone ever taught you how to punch?¡±

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Dread wormed its way inside Addie at Christena¡¯s malicious-looking smirk. That was the smile Christena made when she was plotting.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Five more!¡± Christena barked out. Despite her stern tone, she was still smirking. She had been smirking for the past hour.

    Addie¡¯s arms trembled as she tried to push her body up for the tenth time. How could she possibly do five more! She had only done ten, and she was already at her limit. Addie gritted her teeth and groaned as she pushed against the gritting sand with her hands as hard as she could. Her arms shook, and her entire body wobbled as she came to the top of the push-up. She finally reached the top and just about let out a big breath.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t keep your back straight enough, and you still aren¡¯t going all the way down. Start over.¡±

    Addie completely collapsed into the sand. ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± Before this, they had already gone on a thirty-minute run, and done plenty of other exercises. None of them had anything to do with fighting!

    The Binary beat down on Addie¡¯s back as she lay her stomach down in the sand. She didn¡¯t even care if it got in her mouth anymore. She was just focused on pulling in one gasping breath at a time.

    Turning her head to the other side, Nettal didn¡¯t look much better. She hadn¡¯t collapsed yet, but based on the shakiness of her arms Addie didn¡¯t think she could last too much longer.

    ¡°Come. On, Addie.¡± Nettal paused for a moment as she pushed herself to the top of the pushup, ¡°You,¡± she gasped out a shaky breath, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want... to lose. To me, would you?¡± She managed out.

    Of course, she didn¡¯t want to get beaten by Nettal! But, the sand somehow felt so comfortable now. It spread out around her aching body in a gentle embrace. Maybe Addie actually loved sand, after all.

    ¡°Get up!¡± Christena barked, ¡°Look at Squishy, he¡¯s still doing his best.¡±

    Addie dragged her chin through the sand so she could look behind Christena. Squishy also looked worn down and rugged, with Fluffy constantly nipping at him or pushing him around. She could feel how exhausted he was through their bond. But something else rose up within him even stronger than the exhaustion. His entire spirit resounded with determination. He jumped out at Fluffy again, only to burst through another illusion. How did she fool his spatial sense?

    Didn¡¯t matter. Addie shook her head. She put her hands down into the sand again and bent her elbows. She dug the toes of her boots into the sand and kept her back as straight as she could as she pushed her body up.

    She made it to the top of the pushup with pride and a smile.

    ¡°Good, now do five more.¡±

    Her smile faltered.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie walked into the mansion right behind Nettal. Christena held the door open for them, which was a good thing since Addie¡¯s arms might as well have been jelly.

    Not only were her arms unbelievably exhausted, but they were also bright red binaryburnt.

    ¡°Hi, girls!¡± Auntie called out from the living room. ¡°How was your day?¡±

    Nettal grunted but didn¡¯t say anything. Neither did Addie.

    They both walked into the living room with Auntie. Nettal somehow managed to make it to the couch and sit next to her mom, but Addie just bonelessly flopped right down on the rug.

    She felt the cool soft touch of the furs up against her cheek as she laid down stomach first.

    Addie heard Christena walk into the room behind her. Without moving her head, she glanced her eyes up, but Christena was too far behind her to see.

    ¡°You girls make sure to eat a lot tonight, ok? You¡¯ll have to get something in to help those tired muscles.¡± Auntie declared.

    ¡°Nettal¡¯s a cheater,¡± Addie mumbled into the rug.

    ¡°I am not!¡± Nettal rebutted. ¡°You are just jealous that I can heal my muscles so they aren¡¯t sore.¡± Addie heard the smugness in her tone. Then, in a quieter voice, Nettal continued, ¡°Doesn¡¯t help with the tiredness, though. Lotty says it¡¯s because our muscles are all out of energy.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you heal my muscles too!¡± Addie glared up at Nettal.

    ¡°I already told you! I¡¯m all out of magic...¡± She trailed off and looked at the floor.

    Addie just huffed again.

    ¡°So, Christena and I have been talking,¡± Auntie began to say, ¡°And Addie has to go home in just three days.¡±

    Addie¡¯s heart dropped.

    ¡°But Christena and I were thinking¡ª Nettal, would you want to go with them?¡±

    All of the tiredness in Addie¡¯s body washed away in an instant. She jerked her head up and scrambled off of the floor to fully face Auntie. She scanned Auntie¡¯s face for any hint that she wasn¡¯t being serious but didn¡¯t find any.

    ¡°Really?¡± Addie and Nettal asked almost at the same time.

    ¡°That would be great!¡± Addie said.

    Surely, Nettal would be just as excited, too! But when she looked over, Nettal had a thoughtful expression as she stared off into the distance.

    Addie felt like she had to act immediately, ¡°Nettal, you¡¯ll come too, right?¡± Addie walked over to her and held onto one of her hands with shining eyes.

    Nettal moved her eyes to meet Addie¡¯s and gently smiled, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll come.¡± She nodded her head.

    She didn¡¯t seem as excited as Addie would have hoped for, but at least she would be coming!

    ¡°I¡¯ll send a letter to <u>Mr</u>. Lomain,¡± Christena said as she began to leave the living room.

    That prompted Nettal to jump off the couch and follow Christena out. Addie just stood there in the living room watching them go. She idly wondered for a moment why Nettal needed to follow Christena to write the letter.

    ¡°It will be lonely here, all by myself,¡± Auntie spoke up, grabbing onto Addie¡¯s attention. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have to go bother Mr. Owlcharge some more to stave off the boredom.¡± She mumbled, almost to herself.

    ¡°I thought you always got into fights with him,¡± Addie remembered how they wouldn¡¯t ever use the proper titles for each other, always being so rude.

    A boisterous laugh escaped from Auntie, ¡°That might be true! Even more reason to go pester him, then!¡± She continued laughing for a bit, but Addie didn¡¯t really get why.

    She stopped laughing with a long drawn-out breath. ¡°Have you been practicing your transcendent loop?¡± Auntie asked.

    That felt abrupt, and Addie had to process the subject change for a moment, ¡°Not that much.¡± She eventually answered.

    ¡°You should. Christena will work on it with you and Nettal some more this coming week. Have you ever wondered what keeps Area Lords so powerful?¡±

    ¡°Bonding with the land?¡± Addie thought she knew the answer, but didn¡¯t see how it related to the transcendent loop.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but we must first temper our souls to be strong enough to withstand it. Your first goal will be to keep one layer of the transcendent loop active at all times, even when you are sleeping, or resting.¡±

    ¡°How many layers do you have?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s a great question! I¡¯m glad you caught on to the fact that I may have more than one. It¡¯s tough and takes a lot of willpower, but I can have nine layers of transcendent loop simultaneously.¡± A glint caught the corner of Auntie¡¯s eye, ¡°Will you have the strength to get past nine, I wonder?¡±

 Chapter 71: Friendly Competition

    Yesterday had been pretty frustrating. Christena hadn¡¯t even taught Addie anything about fighting! She had just forced Addie to exercise all day until she couldn¡¯t move. Luckily, Nettal¡¯s magic had recovered enough this morning to heal all of Addie¡¯s sore muscles and binaryburnt skin.

    Today was just as hot as yesterday though, so Addie knew she¡¯d have to ask Nettal for more healing again tomorrow.

    Christena had run Addie and Nettal through more exercises until both of them were close to passing out. Now, all three of them were sitting in the sand listening to Christena¡¯s instructions.

    Addie¡¯s eyes were closed as she sat in the sand with her legs crossed.

    ¡°Addie, I know you can make two layers of transcendent loop, but I want you to go back to focusing on just one layer. Nettal, you are doing a good job following along keep it up.¡±

    Doing her best not to open her eyes or pay too much attention to her spatial sense, Addie focused on the inner world of her soul. With well-practiced ease, she formed that magical layer around her soul shell. She could feel Squishy¡¯s measured breathing from his position in her lap.

    The bird¡¯s interested attention focused on Addie¡¯s magical working, but Addie tried not to let the disruption distract her. The bird seemed to be poking around from within the cracks in Addie¡¯s soul, but not doing enough to actually break Addie¡¯s layer of magic.

    ¡°The goal of this exercise is to learn how to keep that layer around your soul at all times, even when you are asleep or unconscious. It will act as a permanent safety blanket and stabilizing force around your soul, which will indirectly help your magic become stronger. Have you got it stable?¡± Christena finished with a question.

    ¡°Yes.¡±/¡±No.¡± Addie and Nettal said at the same time.

    ¡°That¡¯s ok Nettal, keep sitting here and working on it, ok?¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Nettal said.

    ¡°Addie, you come here while Nettal works on that.¡±

    Addie opened her eyes to see Christena gesturing her over back to the ¡®sparring ring¡¯.

    ¡°We are going to start working on some basic martial instruction. Your main goal is going to be keeping that transcendent loop layer active the entire time.¡±

    Addie stood up and tried to trudge her way over to the other side of the sand field. She was still dead tired and sore from their earlier workout! Her feet dragged along the sand, each step seeming to take extra effort as the sand absorbed all of the energy from her legs.

    ¡°Come on Addie ¡ªyou¡¯re doing good¡ª keep it up!¡± Christena waved Addie over with a bounce to her step.

    ¡°How aren¡¯t you tired!¡± Addie complained more than asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t whine. Focus. Stand here,¡± Christena pointed right next to her.

    Addie shuffled over.

    ¡°Good, now spread your legs shoulder width apart¡ª good that¡¯s perfect. Put your left leg slightly in front of your right. No, move it a bit higher up. That¡¯s good, stop. Okay, now put your hands up in front of your chest into a guard. See how I¡¯m doing it?¡± Christena stood right next to Addie, demonstrating where to put her hands. ¡°No, don¡¯t put your thumb inside your fist. That could break it. Wrap your thumb around your knuckles like this,¡± Christena made a tight fist. ¡°Good, just like that!¡± Christena walked around to stand in front of Addie. ¡°Now I want you to punch my open hand; Stop! Not yet, listen to me first. When I tell you to, punch this hand¡ª¡± She waved her left hand, ¡°¡ªWith your right hand. I¡¯m going to be moving my hand around a little bit, so you¡¯ll have to adjust your aim as you go. Okay, try punching my hand once, now.¡±

    Addie threw out a limp punch, smacking Christena¡¯s hand with a sound not unlike a high five.

    ¡°Alright, that was a decent first attempt. This time, imagine you are punching something behind my hand, instead of just stopping at my hand. Go ahead.¡± Christena nodded her head.

    This time, Addie aimed to punch the air behind Christena¡¯s hand, and her fist thumped into Christena¡¯s palm, forcing her hand back a little bit.

    ¡°Much better! Remember, if you want to punch something, you have to punch it hard enough to do damage. That means you can¡¯t just stop your punch at the surface. You did really good this time,¡± Christena praised, ¡°Throw another one just like that¡ªaim to punch past my hand instead of just stopping at my hand.¡±

    Again, Addie threw a punch which thumped satisfyingly into Christena¡¯s palm, forcing it back a little.

    ¡°That¡¯s good! Ok, now watch me for a second,¡± Christena got back into a fighting stance and was just about to demonstrate something.

    ¡°Christena!¡± Nettal hollered from the other side of the field, ¡°I think I figured it out!¡±

    Turning her head and putting her hands back down at her sides, Christena turned her head to reply, ¡°Great job! Come over here.¡± Then, Christena turned her head back to Addie.

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    ¡°You¡¯ve got the basics down for a solid forward punch. I want you to practice that for a while. I¡¯m going to show Nettal the same things I just showed you.¡± Christena began to walk toward Nettal.

    ¡°How long should I do it?¡±

    Christena just kept walking, but Addie could see just the corner of her mouth upturned into that annoying smirk.

    ¡°Christena, how long!?¡±

    ¡°Make sure to really put your strength into each punch! Try rotating your shoulder to get more power.¡± She called back

    It was going to be a long day.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Alright, you two have been doing a good job! Now, I think it¡¯s time to move away from drills.¡±

    Addie just about collapsed in relief, her whole body sagging but still managing to stay upright somehow.

    ¡°Now, it¡¯s a good time for you two girls to spar each other!¡± Christena said with exuberance. ¡°A little bit of ¡®friendly competition¡¯ never hurt anybody.¡± She crossed her arms and nodded her head, agreeing with herself.

    ¡°Nettal wouldn¡¯t want to fight!¡± Addie protested, ¡°She¡¯s a healer, not a fighter.¡± She tried to defend Nettal.

    ¡°What does that mean??¡± Nettal¡¯s tone made Addie realize she had offended her somehow. Nettal continued with wrinkled eyebrows and a frown, ¡°I can fight if I want to!¡±

    ¡°Well, I just thought,¡± Addie tried to backpedal.

    ¡°You thought wrong!¡± Nettal interrupted, ¡°Fight me! I¡¯m going to win.¡±

    ¡°No, you aren¡¯t! I¡¯ve fought way more than you have! I¡¯m going to win.¡± Addie raised her chin up with confidence. ¡°Plus, I¡¯ve been practicing with Christena for longer, too!¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m older and taller so I¡¯m going to win.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re only taller by like a tiny bit!¡± Addie spaced out her thumb and finger to demonstrate the difference.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Nettal repeated, ¡°Still bigger.¡±

    Before Addie could shout out her next response, Christena chimed in, ¡°I love the enthusiasm, girls! Let¡¯s save it for the ring. Ok, Nettal, you go to the other side of the field over there. Addie, you stay here. I¡¯m going to walk to the middle of the ring to referee. Don¡¯t worry about hurting each other! I¡¯ll use magic to protect both of you from anything more serious than a minor bruise.

    ¡°Wait a second Nettal, let me explain one more thing to both of you. You two are still new to fighting in general, but I want you to do your best to use the punches I just taught you today. No kicking for now. I¡¯m hoping you can both learn more about how to react to an opponent. Alright, Nettal off you go!¡± Christena gestured toward the other side of the field.

    Then, Christena walked away from Addie and moved closer to the middle of the sandy field.

    In the corner of her eye, Addie also saw Squishy finish his exercises with Fluffy and walk closer to the sandy ring. He plopped down and sat at the edge of the sand so he could also watch the spar.

    Christena put her fingers to her mouth and let out a sharp whistle, which was so loud Addie thought it must have been from her sound magic.

    For a second, both girls stared dumbly at Christena, neither quite knowing what to do or why she had whistled like that.

    Christena turned her head from side to side for a moment looking at either girl, and then she shouted, ¡°The whistle means go!¡±

    Trying to mimic Christena from earlier, Addie launched herself forward through the sand. She tried to perfectly replicate Christena¡¯s movements and used her right fist to throw out a jab toward Nettal¡¯s shoulder once she got into range.

    In an almost perfect recreation of the fight from earlier, but with the roles reversed, Nettal sidestepped away from Addie¡¯s first punch, only to get caught perfectly by Addie¡¯s second jab aimed for her shoulder.

    A bright blue panel of illusory magic lit up at the place Addie¡¯s fist made contact and then forced Addie¡¯s fist away. The force of the magic must have been stronger on Nettal since it sent her sprawling into the sand landing right on her bum.

    Neither girl was sure what to do at this point, so Addie just stood there while Nettal looked up with a sour face.

    ¡°One point to Addie!¡± Christena shouted. ¡°Girls, go back to your starting positions! Time for round two!¡±

    Nettal scrambled off her bum while glaring at Addie. A deep red rose up on her cheeks, and she opened her mouth to say something, but instead, she turned around and walked three steps backward to her starting location.

    Addie moved back to her side and got ready. It only took a moment for Christena to let out that ear-piercing whistle again.

    Something about Nettal¡¯s face had changed, making Addie approach a bit more cautiously this time. She shuffled forward on the balls of her feet, ready to move in any direction.

    Nettal did similarly, some note of hesitancy reaching out through her eyes. In just two long steps, Nettal reached Addie.

    All of a sudden, Addie¡¯s body felt kind of disjointed and awkward, she didn¡¯t really know where to try and hit Nettal. A brief thought of just trying the exact same thing flashed through her mind, but she didn¡¯t think the same thing would work twice.

    In the instant that Addie was hesitating, Nettal¡¯s eyes sparked and she punched Addie¡¯s stomach. Addie hopped backward quickly, then rushed back into Nettal¡¯s open guard, landing another punch on Nettal¡¯s chest.

    Another circular panel of illusory blue light lit up on Nettal¡¯s chest, at the point of impact, forcing Addie¡¯s fist away and pushing Nettal backward.

    This time, Nettal had been ready for it and stepped backward with the force. Then, she darted back in and managed to land a hit on Addie¡¯s stomach.

    Addie dropped her arms, ¡°Hey! You can¡¯t do that. I already scored!¡± Addie turned her head to look at Christena.

    ¡°She never said to stop!¡± Nettal¡¯s excited tone forced Addie¡¯s attention back into the fight.

    Addie barely had time to think before Nettal threw a wild punch in her direction. Somehow, Addie managed to put her hands up to defend and even managed to halfway block Nettal¡¯s punch. It didn¡¯t stop it entirely though, as her fist glanced off of Addie¡¯s guard and kept moving forward to tag Addie¡¯s chest this time. The blue panel lit up and shoved Addie backward.

    She immediately lost her balance and felt her stomach drop for one terrifying moment before flopping hard onto the sand. The impact sent a bit of it spraying up into the air.

    ¡°Point to Nettal!¡± Christena cheered from her referee position.

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair! I hit her first.¡± Addie protested with her bum still sitting in the warm sand.

    She looked over to Nettal with a hot glare.

    ¡°You¡¯re just a sore loser,¡± Nettal said smugly.

    ¡°Am not.¡±

    Christena walked over to the pair of them. ¡°Good job you two! Let¡¯s stop here for today. Tomorrow you two can fight for the tiebreaker!¡± She smiled.

    Addie just huffed and crossed her arms.

    ¡°Did you at least learn anything, Addie?¡± Christena prompted.

    Addie ignored her, making Christena look intently as she waited for a response. When Addie still didn¡¯t want to reply, Squishy finally began to walk over from where he had been observing the spar.

    He approached Addie¡¯s lap and placed his paw on her leg. ¡°Never take your eyes off your opponent. Take this loss with grace, and tomorrow¡¯s victory shall be even sweeter.¡±

    Nettal reached down to offer Addie a hand. ¡°Truce for now?¡± She offered.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Addie said. Then, she reached up to grab Nettal¡¯s hand so she could help her up.

 Chapter 72: Warmth

    Tonight was a bit colder than Addie was used to, reminding her that fall would be starting soon. They were all sitting up cozy next to the fireplace. Addie and Nettal were snuggled together under a blanket on the couch, and Auntie was sitting in a single comfy chair just off to the left side. Christena sat in the other comfy chair on the right. No one was talking, they were all just enjoying the warm glow of the fire. Addie liked indoor fires even better than outdoor ones since the smoke never got in her face.

    To her left, Nettal uncrossed her legs and instead tucked them against her chest forming into a ball. Her sudden motion forced Addie to lean forward momentarily while adjusting. Once she finally settled, Addie leaned back against Nettal¡¯s side with her legs splayed out over the other side of the couch. Addie had to pull the blanket back a little bit over to the right since it had been disturbed. She could feel Squishy reposition his scaly body near her feet, producing a constant warmth.

    Christena sat up out of her chair and wandered closer to the fire. Hanging next to the fireplace, she grabbed one of the pokers and took it off its hook. She used it to topple over the top most log, which looked more like charcoal than wood. A spray of ashes and sparks flew up into the chimney for a moment. Then, she placed a fresh log on the fire.

    Still kneeling next to the fire, she splayed her hands out for warmth, then spoke up, ¡°You know how I got to be so strong, Addie?¡±

    Out of reflex, Addie shook her head but realized a second later that Christena wasn¡¯t looking at her. ¡°No,¡± she said.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same reason why I put so much effort into training you girls¡ª if I¡¯m being honest.¡± She stood up and dusted her hands off on the lower apron part of her uniform. She turned around and sat back in her cushioned seat, causing it to squeak and deflate a bit as it adjusted to the sudden weight. Fluffy scuttled up the chair and settled into her lap. ¡°I¡¯ll never be an Area Lord.¡±

    Her sudden change in demeanor demanded silence from the room, and even Auntie paused her reading to look up and listen.

    ¡°I was a rebellious child. I loved my dad¡ªI still do¡ªbut at the time I just loved to get into trouble.¡± She laughed at herself for a moment. ¡°You remind me of myself, Addie. Always running off and finding danger. That¡¯s how I met Fluffy, here.¡± She scratched Fluffy under the chin causing her to preen in happiness. ¡°You can imagine my dad¡¯s frustration when he found out his little prankster bonded to a Slyfox. You should have seen his face.

    ¡°Those were good times. Did I ever tell you I¡¯m the seventh child? Little Lily is his eleventh. But that¡¯s a tangent. Well, it does matter though,¡± she doubled back, ¡°My older brother was often in charge of keeping me in line. But I started pulling ahead of him in everything. Magic, training, martial arts. He couldn¡¯t keep up. It felt great to be better than him! At least, at first.¡±

    She looked Addie in the eye, ¡°Do you know what the most magical part of it all was, Addie?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°He never once resented me for it. Here I was, surpassing him in everything, and yet, somehow, he remained my biggest supporter. He loved me more than I even know, I think.¡± Christena let out a long sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not a great story, to be honest. I got overconfident, complacent. Fluffy and I were going on hunts with our father and brother, to protect the village and bring back game at the same time.¡± Christena looked up at the ceiling. ¡°It should have been simple, just another Cywolf hunt. But, I wasn¡¯t paying attention. Fluffy and I were too focused on blinding a Cywolf sitting in front of us, we weren¡¯t bothering to think about the rest of our surroundings. The pack leader, an Aurwolf lunged at me, teeth bared and saliva hitting the side of my face. My brother jumped in the way¡ª stabbed the wolf right in the heart. At first, I was just glad we were all ok. I¡¯d made it out of a near-death experience and was just catching my breath¡ª getting my bearings. Then my brother collapsed right in front of me. The wolf¡¯s claws had swiped him. I couldn¡¯t see it until after he was already on the floor, bleeding out. I don¡¯t remember how it happened, or the steps it took to get there, but I do remember cradling his head in my lap, listening to his last words. ¡®Be great,¡¯ he wheezed out. His next words, ¡®I¡¯m sorry,¡¯ is what he said. I still remember that. Despite everything, he was apologizing to me.¡±

    The room descended into silence, the crackling of the fire its only company.

    ¡°Why did he apologize?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°You tell me, Addie,¡± Christena replied simply. ¡°Think on it. Maybe you¡¯ll figure out the same answer I did.¡±

    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t answer why you can¡¯t be an Area Lord,¡± Nettal pointed out.

    Addie nodded her head; that was true.

    From the other side of the room, Auntie gasped and then spoke up, ¡°You didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I did, or, at least, I tried. Unsuccessfully, obviously.¡± Christena waved it off.

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    ¡°What? Tried what?¡± Addie moved her head rapidly between the two older women.

    ¡°I think, Christena tried to bond to her brother¡¯s soul.¡± Auntie guessed.

    ¡°I tried to bond his soul, to keep him from passing on. I wanted to save him, I wanted to keep away his death.¡± Christena sighed. ¡°The only thing my ¡®genius¡¯ talent managed to do was cripple myself. Didn¡¯t even save my brother, either. He¡¯s gone.¡± Fluffy perked up and started licking Christena¡¯s face, causing her to smile and pet the vulpine. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ve still got you!¡±

    After Fluffy settled down a bit, Christena continued, ¡°I can¡¯t get any stronger than I am right now. This is my limit. But you two girls, Addie, Nettal. I see so much potential in you two. I think that potential is something even that ancient dragon saw in both of you, too.¡±

    Addie absently reached up to touch her ribbon at the reminder.

    ¡°I will make you both strong. Strong enough you¡¯ll never have to lose anyone.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean I have to do more burpees?¡±

    Christena¡¯s eyebrow twitched.

    <hr><hr>

    Everyone was eating breakfast when Violet, Auntie¡¯s Viollow, flew into the room and dropped a small bit of purple feather fuzz on the way in. She perched on the counter next to Auntie¡¯s position by the stove. Addie noticed a tiny curled-up piece of paper attached to her leg, which Auntie quickly untied and began to read.

    ¡°Tom has agreed to let Nettal stay for a few weeks. He also thinks he has some ideas on Addie¡¯s fragmented memories.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± That was great news! ¡°But who¡¯s Tom?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s precisely why we need to get your memories looked at. Tom is your father¡¯s name, remember?¡± Auntie prompted.

    ¡°Oh, that. Right.¡± Addie moved the food around on her plate with her fork. She just listlessly pushed it around without actually eating anything.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± Nettal said from right next to Addie, ¡°I¡¯ll help you get your memories back. I¡¯m going to be the best healer on the planet, after all,¡± she declared as she puffed out her chest.

    Auntie offered the bit of paper back to Violet, who grabbed it in her beak and flew it over to the trash. ¡°The three of you will be heading out tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°This will be our last day of training before travel. Let¡¯s make it count.¡± Christena said.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie was really starting to get tired of all this sand. Tomorrow, they¡¯d be setting back out to Addie¡¯s home, but today was dedicated to magic practice.

    Christena sat in the sand just a couple of feet away from Addie, and both of them were focusing on their layers of transcendent loop. Addie had managed to keep it active during all the sparring sessions, but it always collapsed when she fell asleep for the night.

    Apparently, the best way for Nettal to focus on her magic was to go to the clinic and heal people for real there. Today, it would only be Addie and Christena in the sand field behind Auntie¡¯s mansion.

    Standing up, Christena gestured for Addie to stand as well. ¡°Good work, Addie. We¡¯ll do more endurance and muscle training once we get back to <u>Mr</u>. Lomain¡¯s Area. I don¡¯t want you to be too exhausted before traveling, so let¡¯s get to our magic.

    ¡°Addie, I know it might be hard for you, but I think we need to start working with your Soul Hunter.¡±

    Addie started to protest, but Christena quickly interrupted her before she could get a word out.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious, Addie! I know you probably don¡¯t think of her this way, but right now you basically have an untested weapon sitting dormant within you.¡±

    Indignant anger rose up with Addie as she said, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault! It just happened to me.¡±

    ¡°I know it¡¯s not your fault, sweetie.¡± Christena sighed, ¡°Maybe that was too harsh, but this is reality. Reality as it is¡ª there is a creature capable of directly attacking souls sitting within you, and you have to learn how to control that power before someone gets hurt. You wouldn¡¯t want to accidentally hurt Nettal during sparring, right?

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t hurt Nettal.¡± Addie denied with a frown.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, Addie! Can you ask your Soul Hunter to come out? Maybe we can start small. Have you been thinking about a name for her?¡±

    Addie just turned her head away from Christena. She hadn¡¯t been thinking about a name for the bird. It still felt so odd just feeling her sitting within the cracks inside her soul.

    ¡°Addie,¡± Christena sighed, ¡°In some ways, you are lucky. You didn¡¯t lose any pieces of your soul shell, even if they are fragmented. This means your memories can be restored.¡±

    That grabbed Addie¡¯s attention, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And you will be stronger for it. You are already stronger. Bring her out, let¡¯s give your new birdie a name.¡± Christena smiled.

    Taking a deep breath in, Addie let the breath go and finally nodded her head in agreement.

    She used her soul bond with the birdie and sent her images and thoughts of coming out from her place in Addie¡¯s soul shell.

    Perhaps it was the small level of acceptance Addie attached to the message, or maybe it had been the way Addie latched onto those words from Christena¡ª that together, they could be stronger. Whatever it had been, the message pushed through Addie¡¯s soul shell, getting past both the bird¡¯s and Addie¡¯s flightiness over the situation.

    The bird peeked her head out from Addie¡¯s chest. With feelings of warmth, Addie cupped her hands up to her chest and petted the bird¡¯s head with a single finger. Then, the bird fully jumped out of her chest and landed in the palms of Addie¡¯s cupped hands.

    Those ever-familiar ghostly flames revealed themselves in the bird¡¯s eyes, making them a whitish, pale purple color without pupils. The bird was light enough that Addie had no trouble holding her aloft, and smaller than even Auntie¡¯s Viollow.

    Addie saw herself in the reflection of those pale eyes. For once, the flames didn¡¯t bother Addie. Some of the flames spread from the bird¡¯s wingtips and slowly spread over to Addie¡¯s fingers, letting off a gentle warmth. She didn¡¯t even need to bother protecting her soul, these flames were Addie¡¯s. They couldn¡¯t hurt her by nature.

    She gently placed the bird down onto her lap and petted the bird¡¯s head as the flames continued to spread across Addie¡¯s body. She looked up to Christena and saw a gentle smile on her face. Addie watched the flames spread across her body, and stop completely before spreading any further. The grass remained untouched, as did Christena. Addie knew the flames wouldn¡¯t spread and cause chaos since she was controlling them alongside the bird.

    Finally, Addie looked down at her birdie with at least the beginning of acceptance in her heart. ¡°Ember. Your name is Ember, for warmth and strength.¡±

    The book that had been dormant until this moment ejected from Addie¡¯s soul and rapidly began to ruffle through its own pages.

 Chapter 73: Meet Ember

    The book flew out from Addie¡¯s chest and started rapidly turning its own pages. Each page flew by so fast that it produced a steady wind, which pushed Addie¡¯s hair back and up into the air. Ember, Addie¡¯s birdie, turned her head around to look at the book, and then she promptly flew out of Addie¡¯s lap and dove into the floating book faster than Addie could blink. In her absence, the flames that had been spread across Addie¡¯s body abruptly extinguished.

    The floating book shut with a loud clap then fell right down into the sand.

    ¡°Well, that was curious,¡± Christena said. ¡°Come to think of it, you never did tell us about that book you found that talks about Soul Hunters. That¡¯s partly both mine and your aunt¡¯s fault for forgetting, but honestly, I¡¯m not even surprised. Where did you find such a thing?¡± Christena shook her head with a slight smile.

    It didn¡¯t really sound like a proper question, so Addie didn¡¯t bother answering. ¡°The book said it would help me learn how to use Ember¡¯s magic.¡±

    ¡°Ah, well that¡¯s a relief. I¡¯m glad you have a book detailing the secrets to maiming people¡¯s souls.¡±

    Addie scrunched her face in confusion. For some reason, Christena¡¯s tone sounded so upbeat, and yet her words didn¡¯t match the tone at all.

    ¡°That, young Addie, was sarcasm,¡± Christena explained. ¡°Sorry, that might have been too harsh,¡± she winced.

    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m proud of you for giving Ember a name. Now, could you pick that book up? It appears to be aflame.¡±

    With a quick turning of her head, Addie locked onto the book and scrambled to pick it back up. The sand easily fell away from its cover and dropped back to the earth. The remainder Addie dusted off with her hand. The flames on the book didn¡¯t bother her one bit.

    She opened it to the first page and stared at the blank paper. Quickly, words began to scrawl along the page, Addie reading them as they appeared.

    -Whosoever can read these pages shall wield the power of a Soul Hunter.-

    *Congratulations, Addie, for clearing the first bottleneck. Ember here seems very pleased to be bonded to you.*

    The top and bottom lines were written in different fonts, the upper font looking more like classic text and the second line looking more like the looping lines of a handwritten note. Each sentence disappeared the precise moment after Addie finished reading it.

    *Don¡¯t worry about Ember, she¡¯ll come back out shortly. I¡¯m just teaching her a few things about human emotions and fragility. We don¡¯t need her going berserk.*

    Christena leaned over Addie¡¯s shoulder on one side to try and read the book from above, but the pages immediately stopped writing new text and the page blanked out.

    ¡°What did it say?¡± Christena asked. ¡°I know you weren¡¯t just staring at a blank page for a full minute.¡±

    ¡°It said it wanted to help me learn how to control my new power, and it said that it was helping Ember.¡±

    Then, even though Christena was watching, new text appeared

    *I will share more secrets with you at a later time¡ª when you learn to unlock them. Listen to your mentor for now. She will help you with your foundations.*

    ¡°Fascinating,¡± Christena began, ¡°I wonder how it knows I¡¯m here? Some kind of intelligent relic... Just what kind of treasure have you found this time, Addie?¡±

    Again, the question didn¡¯t seem like one that Christena actually expected an answer for, so Addie ignored it and said something else, ¡°Do you want me to practice with the flames today?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Christena quickly stopped Addie, ¡°Not yet. Let¡¯s keep it simpler for now.¡±

    Before Christena could continue, Ember flew out of the book, and Addie held her arm out so she could perch on it. She did just that, and together, Addie and Ember looked up at Christena.

    ¡°We already know its first power, those are obviously the soul flames. I want to know what other power it¡¯s been paired with. Have you figured it out, yet?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Addie answered.

    ¡°What about when you were fighting Black Cloak, did anything stand out?¡±

    ¡°Well, she can fly into people.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s something else, called Soul Melding, but I don¡¯t want to get into that right now. What else did you notice?¡±

    Addie put her fist underneath her chin and started thinking hard. Thinking back to when she fought Black Cloak, it didn¡¯t really seem like Ember had any other abilities. But something else stood out to Addie, just on the tip of her tongue.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    The first night she got soul damage.

    That had been a strange night. Her room had been on fire, at least in a nightmare, but after that, her dreams were what allowed her to find Sen¡¯s fortress.

    She had floated along, almost as a pure soul.

    ¡°I think I know what it is.¡± Based on the feedback she was getting from the soul bond, Addie felt that Ember agreed.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t just hurt souls. We can make them go on walks, too!¡±

    ¡°Go on, walks?¡± Christena asked with a pause. She idly shook her head, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to show you?¡± Addie started to innocently reach her hand out toward Christena, who took a step back.

    ¡°No! That¡¯s ok,¡± Christena put her hands palm up in front of herself as she backed up, ¡°Stop,¡± she commanded.

    Addie instantly complied.

    ¡°Listen, don¡¯t experiment with untested magic, alright? That¡¯s how people get hurt.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Addie¡¯s face fell.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok! You¡¯re still learning. Can you practice on yourself, or Squishy maybe if he¡¯s alright with it?¡±

    Addie turned her head around the sandy field. It looked like Squishy was off in the swamp somewhere still sparring with Fluffy.

    ¡°Squishy, can you come help me and Christena for a little bit?¡±

    Her soul bond was silent for a moment before she got a reply. A flash of intense fighting, claws attempting to gouge, and teeth trying to tear, flashed through their telepathic link, but Squishy managed to shut that off quickly and replied in words, ¡°My Lady summons me, and I listen.¡±

    ¡°Squishy¡¯s gonna help us.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Christena clapped her hands together once. ¡°This will be a learning experience for all of us.¡±

    Through the swamp foliage in the distance, Addie saw Squishy¡¯s shining black scales emerge as he padded his way through the mud. Fluffy followed him close behind with bits of fur tuffs missing or skiwompus. Squishy broke out into an all-out sprint, and Addie watched as his tongue lolled out of his mouth and his powerful leg muscles propelled him forward. He skidded to a halt just a meter or so away from Addie, drawing lines in the sand.

    Addie watched in the corner of her eye as Fluffy scampered up Christena¡¯s leather sparring pants and situated herself in her customary position on Christena¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°What can I assist you with?¡± Squishy tilted his head to the side.

    ¡°Christena wants to help us learn how to use Ember¡¯s magic.¡±

    ¡°So our third companion finally is awarded a name. Fitting, I think.¡± Squishy moved his head from side to side, letting out a few pops as his neck cracked. ¡°We shall grow strong indeed.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess. Can I try using magic on you? I think I know what to do and it shouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±

    ¡°I trust you with my very essence. Go ahead, I am ready.¡±

    ¡°Ember?¡± Addie asked.

    Ember took off from Addie¡¯s arm, and at the same time, the floating book burst into flames and flew back toward Addie, rushing back into her soul. Ember hovered next to Squishy.

    ¡°Ok, Squishy.¡± Using Ember¡¯s instinct as a guide, Addie pushed magic out from their soul bond and moved her hand toward Squishy. She reached her hand up to his chest and then pushed her hand through his chest.

    Squishy¡¯s body instantly slumped to the ground, unconscious. Addie stared at her hand for a moment, and then she admired Squishy¡¯s undamaged scales.

    ¡°What did you do? He¡¯s still breathing.¡± Christena walked over and started prodding at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure,¡± Addie said as she looked at Squishy¡¯s slumped body.

    Then, Squishy took a big deep breath and sat back up. He used both his front paws to rub his snout as he awkwardly stood on his hind legs.

    He looked like he was about to sneeze, ¡°Very strange, indeed.¡± He shook his whole body, like a dog trying to get dry.

    ¡°What was it like?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°I could see you and Christena. I could even hear you speak. And yet, I floated in the air like a specter, and regardless of where I moved to, my physical body remained on the ground. Perhaps we could use this new power for scouting applications...¡± After that, Addie stopped listening to him. She absently overheard words and terms like ¡®military applications¡¯ and ¡®defeating enemies¡¯ but Addie tried to tune it out since Christena was talking.

    ¡°At first, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but now that I¡¯ve also seen him wake back up, I think I have an idea of what¡¯s going on.¡± Christena scuffed her boot into the sand, digging her toe in a bit. ¡°I think you ejected his soul from his body!¡±

    ¡°It felt like pushing my hand through honey when I did it,¡± Addie said, then paused for half a second.

    ¡°Do you think I can try it on you?¡± Addie asked as she took a small step forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. I like my senses where they are, thank you very much. Though, if I¡¯m right, Squishy¡¯s soul didn¡¯t leave his body, so much as you stretched it away from his body and gave him a lens to look at the world from. Or, something like that. You said that when this happened to you, you were able to travel all over Realmspace? The magic must reinforce the soul tether to the body if you can stretch it out that far.¡± Christena bit her lip as she thought. ¡°Well, my goal is to teach you how to make use of your abilities for combat. The way I see it, there¡¯s at least two things you could use it for¡ª¡±

    Addie interrupted, ¡°Scouting around as a soul or stunning an enemy?¡± she guessed.

    ¡°That¡¯s,¡± Christena scrunched her face, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She looked skeptical.

    ¡°Squishy told me, he had the idea.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Clever Squishy. Alright, let me think.. What would be some good exercises to practice your magic?¡±

    ¡°No more burpees!¡± Addie demanded.

    ¡°Yes, yes. This is magic practice.¡± Then, Christena smirked her evil smirk. ¡°You know what Addie, that¡¯s actually a splendid idea!¡±

    ¡°No! No burpees!¡± Addie pleaded.

    ¡°I won¡¯t make you do burpees. We are going to do magic burpees instead!¡±

    The idea filled Addie with dread. How could Christena manage to make magic dreadful?

    Crossing her arms, Addie said, ¡°Magic¡¯s supposed to be fun.¡±

    ¡°Oh trust me, this will be fun.¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t believe her one bit. Christena still had that smirk.

    ¡°Here¡¯s what I want you to do. Channel your flames -just release it in the air-, then jump to Realmspace as fast as you can. Alternating your magical pathways like that over and over again will be good practice.¡±

    Well, that actually didn¡¯t seem too bad. ¡°Practice for what?¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Magical endurance. Since Ember and Squishy are two different sources of magic, you¡¯ll have to exhaust both of their powers to truly get a good ¡®magical¡¯ workout in. Alright, go! Push as many flames out as you can at once.¡± Christena waved off to the side.

    <hr><hr>

    A torrential outpouring of flames finished spitting out from Addie¡¯s outstretched palm. The moment she realized she couldn¡¯t let out one single more drop, she tugged on the soul-bond with Squishy and leaped into Realmspace. She quickly cut the magic off, and landed back in the sand in reality, panting. This level of magical workout wouldn¡¯t be enough to damage her soul bonds, but she did feel like keeping this up for the rest of the day would get her close to that point.

    Addie put her hands on her knees and just panted for a moment to try and catch her breath. Christena hovered over her with a critical eye.

    ¡°Good. Now, start over. Do five more.¡±

    Addie groaned.

 Not a chapter

    EDIT: I am fully back now and writing! Enjoy the ride.

    Hi everyone. I''m typing this with just my left hand at the moment. Unfortunately, I was making pizza today in 550 degree farenheit oven and I burned my right hand. The three main fingers on my right hand have varying burns-- some of them up to 3rd degree burns.

    So basically I can''t write. I mean, I kind of can with just my left hand, but that''s not fast or sustainable. I am going to have to take next week off completely, and there will not be any chapters. It really sucks. This is my passion, and I love it so much. There''s not much I can do, though. I might look into some speech to text software simply because taking a week off hurts my soul, but I can''t promise anything. I will be back the week of July 6th, with another update on my hand.

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    During this time, I will be active in my discord channel, and anyone who is looking for news can reach me there, daily.

    https://discord.gg/gTSEvwtap8</a>

    I''m young, so hopefully it will be healed by next week but I have no idea.

    Thank you all. I hope I can release something next week!

    Burn pics in Discord if anyone asks, lol

 Chapter 74: The Grand Librarian

    Addie watched as the Binary set outside her window. Aggan was in the forefront today, so today she couldn¡¯t see the black hole at all. Instead, she got to see Aggan set by itself on the horizon in all of his splendor, unmarred by black taint. Sunsets were always fast, just a few minutes, making this view a rare sight for Addie. She observed as Aggan¡¯s bright blue light dipped below the horizon, painting the sky dark purple as it descended. Aggan took on a white haloing effect, and the setting aurora clouds lazily drifted from the star, white hazes with green accents bouncing off. Soon, Aggan cleared the horizon, and the sky turned a deep red before fading to reveal the distant stars.

    It was time to go back to the library. The old man told her to come back after she made peace with her birdie, and while not everything felt perfect between them yet, things had progressed a lot since she first met that old man. Besides, she had to leave for home in the morning, so there wouldn¡¯t be another chance.

    <hr><hr>

    Christena facepalmed and then gently rubbed her eyes, ¡°No, Addie, you cannot go see the old man in the library in the middle of the night.¡±

    ¡°But, why?? I¡¯m even trying to listen to you better by getting permission first!¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± Christena sighed, ¡°Have you even finished packing yet?¡±

    Addie glanced off to the side and met eyes with Squishy. He seemed to shrug back at her telepathically.

    ¡°Not really,¡± Addie said quietly, but she quickly tried to gloss over it, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter! It¡¯s only going to take me like five minutes to get ready!¡± she pleaded.

    Addie held onto Christena¡¯s sleeve and lightly jumped in the air a few times, ¡°Please, please, pleeease!¡±

    Christena was about to say something, but based on the frown on her face Addie hadn¡¯t managed to convince her yet, so Addie quickly spoke up again before Christena had a chance to speak.

    ¡°He said he could help me with learning magic!¡± Addie desperately pleaded.

    Rolling her eyes and letting out a breath, Christena said, ¡°Well, based on how hyper you are right now, I¡¯m not going to have an easy time convincing you not to go tonight.¡±

    Addie started smiling as her hope grew.

    ¡°But I¡¯m coming with you! Aggan forbid I leave you with some random old man in the middle of the night.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Addie shouted into the empty halls.

    ¡°Shh! Your aunt and cousin are sleeping.¡± Christena commanded in a harsh whisper.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Addie whispered back.

    Christena sighed again, ¡°Alright, let me get my Slyfox scarf.¡±

    That silly comment made Addie giggle.

    <hr><hr>

    While standing in the brisk fall air, Addie reached her hand out toward the library door. She stopped her hand in front of it just before she could knock.

    Last time, that rude, annoying old man had really gotten on Addie¡¯s nerves, but this time Addie had a plan. This time, she was going to annoy him, instead!

    She shook her head. That wasn¡¯t important right now. No, she felt a sort of calling from within the library. The space magic throughout the library, the hidden room in the ceiling, and the snarky old man with his promises of sharing knowledge on soul melding¡ª Addie wanted those answers.

    And she was ready for them. She was ready to grow stronger, to move past all of the bad things that happened with Ember. She wasn¡¯t just ready to face the old man. She was ready to face herself.

    Addie gulped in one last big breath and then let it go as she knocked on the massively sturdy wooden doors.

    They started opening all on their own, revealing a pitch-black interior. Addie instinctively swept the area with her spatial sense, but it was like staring at a solid wall. According to her spatial sense, not only was the room empty, there wasn¡¯t even a room at all!

    Cautiously, Addie stuck her hand into the void. She expected to meet resistance, but instead, her hand passed through the pitch-black exterior like it was merely empty air.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not ominous,¡± Christena quipped. ¡°Alright, let me walk in first,¡± Christena started walking forward.

    Then, without warning, something on the other side of the void grabbed onto Addie¡¯s extended hand and pulled.

    In response, Christena started shouting, ¡°AADDI¡ª¡±

    Instantly, the force of the pull swept Addie off of her feet and quickly dragged her into its depths before Christena could even finish shouting.

    Addie took a deep gulp of air, as her bum gently sat down into the plain wooden chair underneath her.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Name and age?¡± The old librarian asked from across the familiar-looking coffee table.

    ¡°You already know that!¡± Addie shouted.

    Then, she swept her head from side to side, only just now taking in the sights. It looked exactly the same as the last time she was here, an endless void with nothing but Addie on the chair, the old man in a similar chair across the table, and Squishy standing next to Addie¡¯s chair acutely observing his surroundings.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Christena?¡± Addie asked a question of her own.

    ¡°Miss Owlcharge is perfectly safe.¡± Addie noticed the old man using the title for those of lower status while referring to Christena.

    ¡°Now, name and age?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Addie crossed her arms and glared at the rude old man.

    ¡°Name: Hmph. Age: ¡®Crossed Arms¡¯¡± the old man narrated as he began writing it down in his ledger.

    ¡°That¡¯s not my name! Or my age.¡± Addie corrected him with a deepening frown.

    The man looked over his glasses without moving his head.

    ¡°Name and age?¡± he repeated in that monotone tone that barely counted as questioning.

    ¡°Addie, Lomain. I¡¯m ten. But I¡¯ll be eleven this fall.

    ¡°Addie Lomain.¡± The man repeated while looking down at his ledger. ¡°Ah yes, I meet with you in the year 408 A.S.¡±

    The man shut the ledger with a loud crack, scattering dust into the air. He didn¡¯t seem to mind it. ¡°Very well then, Addie.¡± He placed the ledger down on the coffee table and then crossed his hands in his lap while staring at Addie. His eyes looked like blank voids.

    Addie fidgeted. Why did he phrase it like that? This year was 408 A.S., and they had just talked two days ago!

    ¡°Um,¡± Addie fidgeted more, ¡°I wanted to ask you some questions,¡± she said, suddenly feeling like coming here wasn¡¯t a good idea in the first place.

    ¡°Yes, this must be about the equations then? Ee equals emsee squared. Or wait, it¡¯s too early for that? Shoot.¡± He bent over and reached out to grab the ledger again, opening it to near the end pages. ¡°Oh yes, dreadfully early on that one, this will surely affect fate?¡± He flipped a few pages back, ¡°Ah, good. Nope, that won¡¯t put a dent in it.¡± He looked up at Addie, ¡°You must not be too bright. You¡¯ll have to excuse me, I¡¯m still getting used to¡ª¡± he gestured around the endless void, ¡°All of this.¡±

    Addie scrunched up her face in confusion and slight revulsion. She could feel Squishy¡¯s concern for the situation, too. This guy was crazy. Also, he felt like an entirely different person compared to before! But that creepy monotone voice of his sounded the same at least.

    ¡°Uhh,¡± Addie felt unsure of the situation but managed to continue ahead anyway, ¡°I wanted to ask about soul melding. Last time you said you would answer questions about it.¡±

    ¡°Last time?¡± His normally flat tone inflected just enough to qualify as a question. ¡°Perhaps I did. Alright then, ask away,¡± He waved his hand dismissively.

    Addie fidgeted. This felt completely different from last time. She couldn¡¯t decide if that was a good thing or not.

    ¡°Ember is in my soul right now. Is that soul melding?¡± she glanced up with insecurity.

    He gave her a blank look, ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ...

    ¡°Um,¡± Addie interrupted the silence.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I have more questions,¡± she started hesitantly.

    ¡°Well, go on then,¡± he waved his hand through the air.

    ¡°What even is soul melding?¡±

    ¡°Something you aren¡¯t ready to play around with. But I don¡¯t particularly care so I¡¯ll tell you anyway. Soul melding is a technique that allows one to increase power for the soul bonds with their bonded¡ª in some cases exponentially.¡±

    ¡°Ekuso-potentially?¡± Addie tried to repeat the unfamiliar word.

    ¡°Exponentially,¡± The old librarian corrected, ¡°Just think of it as meaning, ¡®a lot¡¯¡ª the full explanation would be beyond you I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Addie said with some venom, ¡°You are rude.¡±

    ¡°Then I suppose that means you are all done asking me questions and I can finally get back to work.¡± He began to stand up, scooting his chair back in the process.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Addie jumped out of her chair and put her hands in the air, ¡°How can I get better at it?¡±

    ¡°Truly powerful foes will use bursts of soul melding to increase their power in tough situations. First, you should better learn to protect your soul.¡± The grand librarian¡¯s body outline began to fade as he walked into the void.

    ¡°How do I do that?¡± Addie shouted into the encroaching darkness.

    ¡°Practice the transcendent loop. Master it. Learn. Heal your soul. Grow. Become powerful.¡± His voice faded into the distance.

    The library ejected Addie from its depths, pushing against her body gently but unyieldingly. She flew back so fast it felt like she was falling backward¡ª Her arms and legs flailing forward as her body arched with the force.

    Then, she stood before the library, hand outstretched into the void. Except, now it wasn¡¯t a void, but just a simple dark entryway.

    ¡°¡ªIIEE!¡± Christena shouted almost directly into Addie¡¯s ear from behind. ¡°Oh.¡± Addie noticed that Christena was panting.

    ¡°Why did you shout into my ear!¡± Addie complained.

    She shook her head, ¡°I could have sworn I saw you get sucked into the library!¡± Christena exclaimed. ¡°But, what? I need to get my eyes checked or something.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I talked to the librarian.¡±

    Christena¡¯s face contorted in confusion. ¡°From my perspective, you never left. It was like I saw you getting jerked around, first into the library and then right back out.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± Addie suggested, turning her head back in the direction of Auntie¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°Ok, but what did he say?¡±

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Get up! It¡¯s time to go.¡±

    Christena forcefully yanked all the blankets off of Addie, causing her to slide a little bit across the bed.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Addie¡¯s indignant frustration somehow pushed past the bleary grogginess still stuck behind her eyes. Now completely awake, Addie finished hopping out of bed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget anything!¡± Christena left the room with a sly smile, closing the door behind her before Addie could even get a single complaint out.

    Without too much thought behind it, Addie quickly grabbed all of her clothes out of the dresser, hurriedly snatched up all the stuff she had lying around in the bathroom, and rapidly changed out of her pajamas. She had just finished stuffing everything into her luggage when Christena came back to the room to check on her.

    She entered the room with an approving nod. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to double-check all the furniture for anything you missed!¡± Then, she exited the room to let Addie finish.

    Addie put the straps of her backpack over her shoulders, and she closed the buckles on her big carrying bag. She started leaving the room but took one last glance over her shoulder behind her.

    Even if Christena said to double-check, they had no time for that! It was time to go. Besides, she wouldn¡¯t forget anything, anyway. She left her room without a worry in the world, Squishy strutting along beside her.

    Soon, she would need to see her dad again, and that¡¯s what she thought about as she walked through the hallways and down the stairs to get to the front entrance.

    Nettal wasn¡¯t here yet, but she would be soon.

    ¡°Addie?¡± Christena called from outside the open entryway. ¡°Can you help me load up the cart?¡±

 Chapter 75: Whatâ€™s that sound?

    Fluffy held a tiny little fox-sized baggy in her mouth and jumped up from one illusory blue platform to the next. At the topmost platform, she gave the air a big sniff and then hopped down into the Fillow cart.

    Addie and Christena were already in the cart, packing up some of their last items. Nettal hadn¡¯t left the mansion yet, she was still getting her bags ready with Auntie helping her. The Fillow were already attached to the reins, and now Christena was just doing some last few checks on the floating cart before they left.

    Swinging her feet from the seat, Addie nervously thought about seeing her dad again. She still didn¡¯t know how to talk to him after everything. Auntie had taught Addie a new word, ¡®trauma¡¯. Apparently, what her dad did to Addie with the whole bond initialization plan had been traumatizing, and when Auntie heard about it, she said she would, ¡®tear my brother a new one.¡¯¡ª whatever that meant. Addie felt like she shouldn¡¯t ask.

    She was excited to be traveling again though! She had packed up first thing in the morning and rushed to get straight onto the cart. Christena had even given her permission to do some ¡®exploring¡¯ when they set up for camp at night, so long as Nettal came with her.

    And most of all, Addie was looking forward to being home again.

    Addie brushed some of her long red hair out of her face as it started tickling her nose. Looking to her left, Squishy rested on the edge of the cart with his front paws dangling into the air and his head facing toward the ground. That position reminded Addie of something. She couldn¡¯t put her finger on it, though. It seemed almost like he was watching over the ground protectively, or at least it reminded her of something like that.

    A bit of movement in the distance drew Addie¡¯s attention, and she watched just as Nettal and Auntie left the mansion and closed the door behind them. Something didn¡¯t seem right, though. Nettal still hadn¡¯t changed out of her pajamas! And, she didn¡¯t have any luggage with her

    Addie almost called out to them to tell them to hurry up and finish getting ready so everyone could leave, but the sorry expression on Nettal¡¯s face instead made Addie¡¯s heart drop.

    ¡°Nettal said she was coming, right?¡± Addie turned her head to Christena.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, why?¡± Christena stopped hunching over the control panel and stretched her back. Then, she looked in the direction of the mansion. ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°Addie!¡± Nettal shouted from a distance while waving.

    Auntie quickly whispered something in Nettal¡¯s ear though, and Nettal stopped shouting

    Addie watched in trepidation as the pair got closer to the cart. It didn¡¯t take long for them to get almost right underneath.

    ¡°Christena, do you want me to herd the Fillow over now?¡± Auntie asked, ignoring Addie¡¯s dismayed expression.

    ¡°What about Nettal?¡± Addie called down to the ground.

    Nettal shifted her feet nervously and looked away.

    ¡°Addie and I are ready for the Fillow, yes.¡±

    Christena might have been about to say something else, but Addie tugged on her sleeve and asked her, ¡°But what about Nettal?¡±

    ¡°I think,¡± Christena trailed off, and then she turned her head back to the ground. ¡°Have you changed your mind, Nettal?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Nettal said with guilt all over her features. ¡°I just got my powers! And, I need to practice them. Mr. Owlcharge¡¯s town has a clinic, and Mom said Uncle Lomain¡¯s doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Addie wanted to call down, to say she could practice anywhere she wanted to! Addie wanted to beg Nettal to come with them so she could keep playing with her friend.

    But instead, Addie swallowed the growing lump in her throat. If Nettal didn¡¯t want to go anymore... Could Addie really ask her to come anyway? She couldn¡¯t imagine herself doing it.

    ¡°The villagers in our community would greatly appreciate Nettal¡¯s help! They get hurt all the time, and our single healer never has enough manpower all by himself. He might be a great teacher for Nettal, too!¡± Christena hollered back down.

    Nettal¡¯s eyes perked up, and Addie saw her straighten her shoulders. Nettal whispered something into her mom¡¯s ear.

    Hope blossomed in Addie¡¯s chest, and she looked over to Christena to thank her. Christena winked at Addie before she could even say ¡®thank you¡¯.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if I send Mom messages while I¡¯m there, right?¡± Nettal hollered back up to the cart.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Christena replied, ¡°You can send <u>Ms</u>. Lomain messages whenever you want.¡± As always, Christena spoke about Auntie in a deferential way.

    Nettal didn¡¯t bother talking to Auntie, she turned around, quick as a rabbit, and sprinted through the swamp mud back to the mansion. Auntie watched her daughter go with a somewhat sad smile.

    ¡°Will you be lonely?¡± Addie called down to Auntie.

    ¡°Of course I will. But I¡¯m also glad she¡¯s getting this opportunity to explore more of the world, even if it is just my brother¡¯s tiny slice of land.¡± Auntie replied.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Addie saw Nettal hurrying back out the door, this time in some proper clothes and a big backpack. The backpack towered over her head, looking like it might topple over if she bent down the wrong way. She also wore her favorite exploration pants covered in pockets and a familiar green tunic. Lotty trotted through the mud directly behind her, impossibly keeping his hooves clean much like Addie remembered his mother could do, too.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Will that be enough for you?¡± Auntie asked as Nettal came into talking distance.

    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s got all my favorite pants.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t forget to bring underwear, did you?¡± Auntie asked.

    ¡°Wuh! Mom!¡± Nettal¡¯s face and the tips of her ears turned red.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that I remember that time¡ª¡± Auntie started to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid anymore! Geez.¡± Nettal rolled her eyes.

    Nettal switched her focus to the floating cart, ¡°I¡¯m ready! How am I supposed to get up?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that,¡± Auntie said.

    The mud around Nettal¡¯s feet started sloughing off to the sides as a rising platform began to appear, pushing Nettal up into the air. Once enough mud had fallen off, Addie started to make out a flat wooden platform growing upward from the ground. The amazingly stable living platform creaked, and some parts even sounded like they were snapping, yet it remained solid all the way to the top¡ª reminding Addie of a giant flat-topped tree stump.

    ¡°Thanks, Mom!¡± Nettal called down. Then, she stepped off of the impromptu platform and walked onto the cart, which jostled for just a moment as the magic adjusted to the added weight. No longer being used, the stump shrunk back down into the mud.

    After that, Auntie ushered the Fillow back over to the cart with her control over the plant-life. It was a matter of minutes until the reins were tied on properly to the Fillow, with Fluffy helping to latch on everything nice and secure.

    Nettal leaned over the edge and waved down to her mom, ¡°Bye Mom! I love you!¡± she called out.

    ¡°I love you, too! Make sure to listen to Christena, ok? The wilderness outside of an Area can be dangerous!¡±

    ¡°I know that already.¡± Nettal blew a raspberry.

    ¡°Bye Auntie!¡± Addie waved.

    ¡°Bye-bye!¡±

    With a lurch, the cart began to move, pulled away and into the treeline by the harnessed Fillow.

    ¡°Any last things either of you girls forgot to bring? This is your last chance to grab anything.¡± Christena said.

    Addie thought about it for a moment, but she had everything she needed. Sitting back against the seat, she felt the wind gently tug on her hair as it lifted the loose strands up into the breeze. Her thoughts moved back to Christena¡¯s question, something about the wind made Addie feel like she was forgetting something. After a few moments of nothing coming to mind, she dropped the thought. If she couldn¡¯t remember, it must not be important anyway. She just wanted to get on the road already!

    The swamp flora drifted past as the Fillow¡¯s smooth gait carried them across the forest. It always fascinated Addie to watch them walk across the land, trampling everything in their path. Despite only walking, the massive house-sized Fillow covered a great distance with each meandering step, easily walking faster than Addie could possibly run. Based on the mesmerized look on Nettal¡¯s face as she leaned forward to observe them, she must have been interested, too.

    ¡°Addie, what do you think would happen if I tried to bond to a Fillow? Would I become huge too?¡± Nettal suddenly asked.

    The cart continued forward through the swampy underbrush.

    Addie¡¯s first instinct was to tell Nettal off, no sane person would want to grow as big as a Fillow! She opened her mouth to say just that when Christena cut into the conversation.

    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting idea! But, I¡¯m afraid not. The Fillow only have body strengthening and weight-reducing magics, that¡¯s what allows them to grow so huge. But their actual size is just how they are naturally, no magic involved with their growth directly.¡±

    Christena¡¯s explanation made Addie nod her head. That made sense to her, at least. ¡°Besides, who would want to be as huge as the Fillow! Then you wouldn¡¯t even fit in your room, silly.¡±

    ¡°I think it would be cool!¡± Nettal started, ¡°Then I could just make a really big house. And, I would be taller than everyone. I could pick the trees up out of the ground and eat them like a broccoli!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t eat trees!¡± Addie exclaimed, ¡°They don¡¯t taste anything like broccoli.¡±

    ¡°How do you know? You¡¯ve never even eaten a tree before.¡±

    ¡°Neither have you!¡± Addie retorted.

    ¡°Nettal¡¯s right, Addie. Broccolis are just mini-trees, you know?¡± Christena added in with a sly smile.

    Addie looked at Christena in bafflement.

    ¡°See! Even Christena thinks so.¡± Nettal said smugly.

    ¡°You¡¯re teasing me!¡± Addie accused while scrunching her eyebrows and frowning.

    ¡°We¡¯re not teasing you at all,¡± Christena said while Nettal started giggling. ¡°See how happy these Fillow are to eat the underbrush?¡±

    Addie looked down to see how the Fillow occasionally grabbed a small swampy snack in passing.

    ¡°So? Trees still don¡¯t taste like broccoli.¡±

    Now, Christena was laughing along with Nettal. Even Fluffy seemed to be chittering now, and Squishy also was making his weird chortling sound. What a traitor.

    ¡°See! You¡¯re all laughing! That means you¡¯re lying.¡± Addie said.

    Over time, the laughter slowly died down, leaving the cart in the after-effects of the amusing mood. Even Addie had a small smile in the corner of her mouth at some point. But it all came to an end eventually, and Christena let out a long exhale as the cart continued through the swamp.

    It would be a long cart ride, but Addie felt glad that she got to spend the road trip with her cousin.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Addie, can you help me set up the tent?¡± Christena called from down below, ¡°Or would everyone rather sleep up in the cart tonight?¡±

    Addie took a moment to glance over at Nettal. Nettal looked back at her with uncertain eyes.

    ¡°Do you want to sleep up in the cart or down on the ground? The cart gets really cold up here in the air, so I usually sleep in the tent.¡±

    ¡°We can sleep in the tent, then.¡± Nettal decided.

    ¡°Ok!¡± Addie turned her head back to the ground and shouted down, ¡°We¡¯ll sleep in the tent, too! I¡¯ll come help.¡±

    Without fear, Addie quickly hopped off of the multi-story high cart and started plummeting down to the ground. Squishy jumped down after her, and together they entered into Realmspace. They used that transition between realms to slow their momentum upon re-entering reality, and landed gently in the soft forest loam, absorbing the rest of the impact with their knees.

    Addie ran over to the campsite and helped set up the tent with Christena¡¯s careful instructions.

    When they got close to finishing, Addie asked, ¡°Can we have a fire tonight?¡±

    It was starting to get dark, but not completely black outside yet. Christena looked up at the sky with a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°Not tonight, it looks like it might rain. I¡¯m seeing some low-hanging clouds coming in.¡±

    It was so dark Addie couldn¡¯t see anything, but she believed Christena.

    It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to bundle up into the tent. The tent had enough space for four people, so with just Addie, Nettal, and Christena there was plenty of room left. Squishy took up a bit more room by sleeping on Addie¡¯s feet, and Fluffy took up some space sleeping near the tent door. Lotty decided he wanted to sleep outside, though.

    Just as she was finally starting to drift off, Addie heard rustling in the bushes, and the sound instantly made her alert and fully awake. She scanned the outside of the tent with her spatial sense, but nothing was out there.

    ¡°Squishy, wake up,¡± Addie said telepathically. ¡°I¡¯m hearing that rustling again.¡± Addie idly noticed that her heart was racing.

    Squishy perked his ears up and did a big yawn before he started concentrating on his spatial sense. ¡°I do not detect anything either. Perhaps it is just the wind?¡±

    Her heart started calming down, and Addie gently rested her head back down on her mini camping pillow. The longer time went on without hearing that rustling, the more Addie was able to drift off, uneasily into the dark.

 Chapter 76: A Mist Flight

    Addie blearily opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was how dark it still was outside. She rolled over in her sleeping bag a bit and then sent Squishy a telepathic message, ¡°I have to go to the bathroom. Can you come with me?¡±

    Squishy suddenly stopped snoring and moved his head around with bleary eyes. His eyes landed on Addie, ¡°Yes, I shall accompany you.¡±

    Without even bothering to get out of her sleeping bag, Addie jumped into Realmspace and reoriented her body mid-transition so that she was standing up the moment she entered. Squishy popped into existence a brief moment later, and together they took a few steps forward. They re-entered reality with Addie¡¯s bare feet landing directly in the mud.

    ¡°Dang it!¡± Her loud voice echoed across the wilderness and she hesitantly glanced side to side after making that outburst. After nothing happened, she continued in a whisper, ¡°I forgot to put on my booties!¡±

    Squishy chortled for a moment. ¡°No matter, they will be clean once we enter back into Realmspace, should you desire not to bring the mud along. Let us finish up outside so we can return to camp.¡±

    Addie took one last glance back at the tent, but she didn¡¯t see anyone shifting around in the tent from her brief shout.

    Together, Addie and Squishy walked through the damp mud away from the campsite. She didn¡¯t want to attract animals near the tent area. It was highly unpleasant how her toes squelched through the wetlands, in that transitory area where the forest and swamp met up. A quick rustling sound passed through a bush to Addie¡¯s left, and her eyes snapped to it immediately.

    Whatever it had been, it was gone now, and the forest returned to normal. But it didn¡¯t stop Addie¡¯s heart from pumping faster. It felt like a good idea to open up her spatial sense, so Addie pulsed out her magic and started sweeping her surroundings¡ª just letting her awareness bubble grow all around her without directly controlling it in a specific direction.

    She couldn¡¯t detect anything except for various plants swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. Squishy pointed his snout in that direction sniffing the air. Addie gently prodded him through their bond, to ask him if he¡¯d smelled anything, but he just shook his head no.

    Well, Addie certainly couldn¡¯t do her business right here, next to that rustling bush. Even if she didn¡¯t see anything with her spatial sense, the rustling bushes were creepy! So, she walked a little bit farther away from camp. Just in case, Addie sent Ember out from her soul to sweep around the area and check for baddies, but Ember didn¡¯t find anything strange either. She stayed out of Addie¡¯s soul to help Squishy keep watch.

    A rustling sound. Addie froze. Her heart pounded in her chest. She scanned the darkness, eyes wide. All three of them turned their heads at the suspicious bush, Squishy¡¯s claws getting ready to pounce. She just started preparing her spatial sense when a head of brown hair pushed through the bushes.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you in bed?¡± Nettal walked out from the bushes and asked after a big yawn.

    Addie and her bonded all relaxed, Ember reducing the soul flames that she had been building up on her wings.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± Addie said in a harsh whisper. ¡°These stupid bushes have been rustling like crazy! Even last time Christena and I came through here. It¡¯s creepy!¡±

    The same bush Nettal had walked out from rustled a bit more, but it was just Lotty pushing his snout through the underbrush to walk into the clearing.

    ¡°If it¡¯s so creepy, why are you all the way out here?¡± Nettal asked. ¡°Your shouting woke me up earlier.¡±

    ¡°Well, I had to go to the bathroom. And I wanted to get away from camp for that.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Nettal squinted at Addie.

    With a smirk, Addie said, ¡°I forgot to bring shoes... Look at my toes!¡± Addie said as she lifted her foot and wiggled her toes.

    ¡°Ew! Disgusting! Why???¡± Nettal complained and recoiled from the dripping mud.

    A frigid breeze swept through the small clearing, rustling the bushes and making Addie shiver. Though fall was on its way, this chill felt unnaturally cold. She hugged herself tightly, trying to ward off the sudden bite in the air.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Nettal¡¯s voice trembled slightly.

    ¡°What?¡± Her eyes darted around, searching for the source of Nettal''s unease. Fear and unease dropped down into her stomach, thick and awful.

    A dense fog crept into the area and swirled around their ankles like probing tendrils. It was getting thicker.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to camp,¡± Addie whispered, her voice coming out smaller than she intended.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Nettal agreed quickly, nodding her head rapidly.

    They exchanged a fearful glance before turning back towards the camp, their steps quickening as the fog rose in height behind them.

    The girls started walking back the way they had come, but the fog seemed to chase them as they went.

    ¡°Let¡¯s run!¡± Addie suddenly decided aloud.

    The moment they got away from the ankle-high fog, it expanded into a dense wall behind them. It pursued them¡ª a massive wall that the two girls could only barely outrun.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Nettal and Lotty were barely keeping up from behind, but Addie was worried. She had to purposefully slow herself down so she wouldn¡¯t lose her older cousin. She watched in dismay as Nettal struggled to get through the forest.

    The fog was catching up to them. Nettal wasn¡¯t used to navigating in the forest! A branch that Addie had avoided smacked into Nettal. She tripped on a root and fell face-down into the mud. Lotty halted next to his bonded. Addie stopped in terror, but unwilling to leave Nettal behind. The fog wall was here.

    ¡°Ember!¡± Addie shouted.

    Addie imagined a torrent of flames pushing through and destroying the fog. Ember complied. Heat rushed out from Ember in a torrential stream going right above Nettal¡¯s head, blasting a giant hole through the fog. Addie ran to Nettal and held out a hand.

    ¡°We have to hurry! We need Christena!¡± Addie shouted.

    Nettal tried to untangle her shoe from the root but had wedged it in tight.

    ¡°Just take it off!¡± Addie screamed.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying!¡± Nettal turned her face back up to Addie with a tear of fear streaming down her cheek. ¡°Go get Christena!¡± Nettal shouted back.

    Addie looked up.

    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Addie said slowly.

    ¡°Just go!¡±

    ¡°No, look.¡±

    Nettal turned her head up, following Addie¡¯s eyes. The fog wall encircled the two girls and their bonded completely, only kept at bay by a steady stream of soul flames sweeping through the area by Ember. A branch of fog would try to creep closer to the two girls, only to be destroyed by a purple wave of flames sweeping out from Ember¡¯s wings as she beat them in the air.

    ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to go,¡± Addie observed, with almost a sense of detachment. They didn¡¯t get away in time.

    Nettal yanked on her foot with both her arms and grunted in pain. ¡°Just take us to Realmspace!¡± she shouted.

    That idea kicked Addie¡¯s brain back into gear, and she recalled Ember back into her soul. Squishy leaped closer to the two girls, and Addie put one hand on Lotty¡¯s head. She put her other hand on Nettal¡¯s shoulder and tugged on her space magic together with Squishy.

    The fog rushed into the vacated space, rushing past and just barely missing the girls.

    The moment Addie set foot into Realmspace, the suddenly loud beating of her heart filled her ears. She took deep breaths and strengthened the magic holding everyone in Realmspace.

    ¡°I think I twisted my ankle,¡± Nettal said quietly.

    Still in emergency mode, Addie bent down and helped Nettal take off her shoe. Just like she said, the ankle was red and swollen.

    ¡°Can you keep us in Realmspace while I heal it?¡±

    ¡°Definitely,¡± Addie tried to make her tone reassuring, but instead her voice came out shaky.

    Hurriedly, Nettal¡¯s eyes flashed green as she activated her magic, and in real-time Addie watched as her ankle transformed from swollen to normal.

    Breathing hard, Addie held her hand out for Nettal to hold, ¡°Let¡¯s get as far away in Realmspace as we can before it kicks us out.¡± Addie distractedly noticed how both her and Nettal¡¯s arms were shaky.

    ¡°Alright. I can walk¡ª¡± Nettal shook her head with a deep intake of breath, ¡°No, we better run,¡± she corrected.

    Addie was still breathing hard, making her dizzy, and stars danced in her vision as she tried to catch her breath.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Nettal asked.

    Nettal didn¡¯t look much better off than Addie. She could still see the terror behind Nettal¡¯s eyes and the streak marks from her earlier tears. And yet, Nettal had still taken the time to ask if Addie was ok.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to Christena.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Without even needing to be told, Squishy started leading the way. At first, they walked, but as all of their terror started to fade into the background, the girls were steady enough to start running. They were able to run for a few minutes before Realmspace kicked them back out into Reality.

    A cold breeze drifted past as everyone stepped foot back into reality. They all stared blankly at their surroundings, and for a moment, Addie had no idea what she was looking at.

    Addie ignored her cold bare feet and looked out at an expanse of snow blanketing the world in all directions. Somehow, it was daytime, and the Binary¡¯s light was the only thing providing even the slightest semblance of heat.

    Shaking her head, Addie scanned the area in bafflement. It looked like she was on a mountain range, with tall snow-blanketed peaks surrounding her on all sides. Her first thought was to see if Nettal was still next to her. Luckily, Addie spotted her right away, just next to her.

    Her next instinct was to question her reality: this certainly seemed like some baloney dream logic. But after a moment of introspection, Addie knew this definitely wasn¡¯t a dream.

    ¡°What?¡± Nettal voiced Addie¡¯s thought.

    <hr><hr>

    Back at camp, Christena banished a tendril of magical fog that had been dulling her senses. Someone had been casting magic near her, and that made her angry. She slowly sat up and looked around the tent, but didn¡¯t see Nettal or Addie anywhere.

    Christena sat in the silent tent for a few seconds, watching and listening for any clues. After a few moments of sitting up and waiting in silence, Christena finally started nudging Fluffy with her feet.

    ¡°Come on, we need to find the girls. I¡¯ll have to teach them not to play around at night time.¡± She tried to lighten the mood by joking around, but the pit of dread in her stomach didn¡¯t ease up at all. That fog hadn¡¯t seemed like Addie¡¯s magic, but there was still a small amount of hope it had come from the girls.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry just in case.¡±

    Using her illusion magic, Christena easily found and lit up each of Addie¡¯s footsteps a few paces from the tent. For some forsaken reason, that girl had left camp entirely barefoot. She could see her toeprints in the mud!

    She and Fluffy followed the trail to a small clearing, where Fluffy confirmed with a grimace that Addie had been using this spot.

    ¡°Then where¡¯d they go?¡±

    Fluffy pointed her snout in another direction. ¡°Fluffy, why did the girls run in the opposite direction from camp?¡± The pit of dread in her stomach crept upward into her chest. It was basically confirmed now that the fog hadn¡¯t come from Addie.

    Fluffy twitched her tail in the way Christena knew meant a shrug.

    With a wave of her hand, Christena lit up the entire clearing so brightly a few squirrels got spooked and ran away. She walked the perimeter, but she didn¡¯t see any footsteps other than those from Addie, Nettal, and their bonded.

    With her hand on her chin, Christena walked up to a swathe of bushes that had soul damage. Not many people could see the tiny souls of plants, but Christena had plenty of practice. This soul damage looked like it was from Ember.

    ¡°There was a fight here!¡± Christena shouted herself into action. ¡°Go, follow the trail!¡±

    Christena ran after Fluffy, dashing through the woods. They came to a skidding halt as the trail ended. Tons of the plant life in this area had soul damage.

    ¡°Can you smell them at all? Track them more?¡± Fluffy shook her head.

    Christena cursed and started pacing.

    ¡°They must have gone into Realmspace,¡± she thought aloud. ¡°Do we wait here, and see if they turn up, or rush back to <u>Ms</u>. Lomain¡¯s Area to ask for help?¡± Christena honestly didn¡¯t know what to do. The fear of losing both of the girls swirled around in her head, making it hard to think. Luckily, Fluffy had an idea.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We can do both. Ok, you run to <u>Ms</u>. Lomain¡¯s Area, fast as you can. You¡¯re faster than I am on foot. I¡¯ll camp here for a few hours and pray that the girls turn up.¡± Christena sighed heavily. ¡°What have they gotten themselves into this time? I just hope they are ok.¡±

 Chapter 77: Shelter

    Addie wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She had no words for their current situation. She just looked across the snow field dumbly.

    Nettal started shaking Addie¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Addie!¡±

    Addie moved her eyes over to Nettal.

    ¡°We have to find shelter. Didn¡¯t your dad teach you that? Come on! We¡¯ll freeze to death!¡±

    Flashes of moments camping with her dad passed through Addie¡¯s mind. Hadn¡¯t her dad taught her how to make fire? But she couldn¡¯t remember. Something about a drill? No, that didn¡¯t seem right. Besides, she didn¡¯t have her shoes or shoelaces. But why would she need shoelaces to make a fire? That didn¡¯t make sense. She couldn¡¯t remember.

    ¡°Addie!? Are you even listening to me?! Come on!¡± Nettal started roughly pulling on Addie¡¯s sleeve. ¡°You aren¡¯t even wearing shoes! You¡¯re toes are going to freeze! I¡¯ve seen villagers lose their toes to the cold, even when we were treating them in the clinic. Let¡¯s find shelter!¡± Nettal yanked on Addie¡¯s sleeve, causing her to stumble.

    ¡°Yeah, ok. Shelter,¡± Addie agreed.

    ¡°Squishy?¡± Addie called out.

    ¡°Yes, my lady?¡±

    ¡°Actually, never mind.¡±

    Pulsing magic through her soul, Addie called Ember out. She held the small eagle-looking bird in her palm for a moment, and then gently tossed her into the air. Ember immediately flew off, to help search the area for shelter.

    ¡°Ember will find shelter. I¡¯m pretty sure we aren¡¯t supposed to move.¡± Addie said as she planted her feet firmly in the icy slush. Her cold feet were melting the snow for now, but she could already feel pins and needles in her toes as they began to go numb.

    ¡°What? I just told you, we have to find shelter!¡± Nettal shouted.

    A bit of snowdrift in the distance started falling down one of the peaks surrounding them. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near them, luckily.

    ¡°No, when we get lost we are supposed to stay put and wait for someone to find us,¡± Addie remembered.

    ¡°Who told you that? That sounds like a stupid idea! Your feet are going to freeze, remember?¡±

    Who had told Addie that? All of her memories on survival and camping were all jumbled up, and she only remembered flashes and pieces of any given thing on the topic.

    ¡°I... can¡¯t remember,¡± Addie said. ¡°But I still think we should wait here for Ember. What if she finds shelter, and we walk in the wrong direction from it?¡± Addie nodded her head, that logic made sense to her.

    ¡°I agree. Let us wait for Ember to return.¡± Squishy then walked in front of Addie and plopped his warm body down right on top of her feet. Even more of the snow started melting then, but at least her toes were feeling warmer under Squishy¡¯s black scales. He soaked up the Binary light perfectly.

    Even if her toes were going to be fine, the rest of her might not be. Neither she nor Nettal had on more than some pajamas. Nettal was already shivering, and it was amazing that Addie hadn¡¯t started chattering her teeth yet, too.

    The ankle-deep snow melted the longer they waited until Addie was standing in a puddle of cold damp grassy mud. The tops of her feet felt warm from Squishy¡¯s body heat, but the soles of her feet had long since gone numb.

    Nettal suddenly perked up her head and stared at Addie. ¡°Where¡¯s your ribbon?¡±

    Addie hurriedly reached up to touch her hair, but Sen¡¯s ribbon wasn¡¯t there. Her heart dropped. ¡°I forgot it!¡±

    Nettal sighed. ¡°Maybe we can ask for Sen¡¯s help using the ring?¡± Nettal held her right hand up and looked at the ring still resting on her ring finger.

    ¡°Good idea!¡± Addie was mentally kicking herself over forgetting the ribbon; Christena had even asked her if she was forgetting anything before they left the mansion, and Addie had said no!

    Addie sighed and crouched down to hug her body for warmth. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until Ember comes back to try with the ring.¡±

    Nettal nodded her head in acknowledgment.

    Perhaps it was because Ember knew the girls were slowly freezing, or maybe it was because she had found something quickly, but Ember returned within just a few minutes. Addie watched the tiny bird flit back in from over the horizon in the distance, her wings sporting small purple embers.

    ¡°That was fast,¡± Nettal observed.

    ¡°She¡¯s a quick birdie,¡± Addie said proudly, teeth chattering.

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    Ember quickly flew over to Addie, and the moment she dove back into her chest, Addie already had the magic ready to send everyone out into Realmspace.

    She had never noticed it before, but Realmspace felt warm. So much warmer than the snowy frostland she had just escaped from. More than that, Realmspace was also pitch black, and these two factors had Addie ready to lie down for a nap. She had just gotten up to go to the bathroom less than an hour ago, in the middle of the night. No wonder she wanted to go to sleep. There was no time for that right now, though.

    Slowly, Addie allowed a wick of soul flames to erupt on the tip of her pointer finger, lighting up the space as a small candle would. Somehow, the tiny light only made Addie even more sleepy. It reminded her of a sparsely lit room in the middle of the night, and her body agreed with that assessment.

    Checking her left side, Nettal was inspecting the ring firmly stuck on her right ring finger.

    ¡°Try pulsing magic through it,¡± Addie suggested.

    ¡°I am!¡± Nettal frowned and furrowed her brow as she stared intensely at the ring.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy. When I wanted to use the ribbon to talk to Sen, it always went right through immediately.¡± Addie clarified.

    ¡°I said I¡¯m trying!¡± Nettal said with frustration. ¡°It just won¡¯t absorb!¡±

    ¡°Let me try.¡± Addie stomped over to Nettal and tried to reach for her ring.

    The second Addie made contact with the ring, it shone gold and a burst of magic violently slammed Addie¡¯s hand backward, pushing it away from Nettal.

    The force of it whipped her arm backward painfully. ¡°Ow!¡± Addie shouted as she twisted her body with the force.

    The magic surprised Addie, but after the pain from the initial impact went away, her arm seemed fine. She flexed it a few times to be sure, but it wasn¡¯t sore now so she would be fine.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that!¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t on purpose!¡± Nettal shouted back. ¡°The second you touched the ring, it finally absorbed my magic and just reacted like that on its own,¡± she explained a bit more quietly.

    Sen had told them that the ring would protect Nettal, while the ribbon he gave Addie would allow her to call for help. Fear started creeping in as Addie realized that they wouldn¡¯t be able to use the ring to call for Sen.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault!¡± Addie cried, ¡°I forgot Sen¡¯s ribbon!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± Nettal said nervously, ¡°We can just try the ring again, right?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Addie shook her head as the terror of the situation started dawning on her. ¡°It¡¯s,¡± Addie hiccupped, ¡°It¡¯s only for¡ªfor protection,¡± she stuttered.

    Addie saw the moment the hope drained away from Nettal¡¯s face. Or maybe that was just her cheeks going pale in fright.

    Nettal walked forward and reached out to Addie¡¯s hand, ¡°Addie, listen to me.¡±

    She looked her cousin in the eye, ¡°We¡¯re going to be fine, ok?¡± Nettal tried to say reassuringly.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna freeze.¡± Addie pointed out.

    ¡°What about Ember, did she find us some shelter?¡±

    Addie redirected the question to Ember, who sent a pulse of feeling ¨Cyes¨C she seemed to say in that empathic way.

    A tiny spark of hope reignited within Addie, and it must have shown on her face because Nettal¡¯s expression also brightened up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry! We can use Realmspace to get as close to the shelter Ember found before we get kicked out of here.¡± Nettal forced a smile.

    ¡°Mhmhm.¡± Addie agreed as she nodded her head.

    Addie and Squishy held onto their magic together for as long as possible, but they hadn¡¯t built it up enough to stay in Realmspace for more than a few minutes. A lot of her magic had already been used up, too. They could jump into Realmspace a few more times for a short period, or maybe one more jump if they built it up enough to stay for an hour or two.

    ¡°After we find shelter, I can move us into Realmspace one more time for about an hour. Then me and Squishy will need to take a break.¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Nettal said as she continued trudging forward. ¡°Will you be able to help make a fire?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember how,¡± Addie said with a sense of guilt creeping up. She tried to shake it off, telling herself it wasn¡¯t her fault that she halfway cascaded, but it didn¡¯t help much.

    ¡°What?¡± Nettal said with confusion across her face. ¡°You¡¯ve got a flame going on your finger right now!¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Addie looked at the ghostly flame above her fingertip. ¡°There¡¯s no heat, though. See?¡±

    Addie waved her finger near Nettal, who put her hand over the flame for a moment.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°The only thing I can do is burn souls.¡± Addie looked at her feet as they continued walking. She could feel more guilt welling up from her soul.

    Nettal briefly glanced behind her with pity across her face.

    ¡°That is incorrect, my lady.¡± Squishy stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly to look at Addie. ¡°Do not say such things about yourself. Are you not lighting the way for us now?¡±

    Addie smiled. She still felt somewhat sad about it all, but Squishy¡¯s words always had a way of filling her up with warmth.

    ¡°Besides, pay attention to where your emotions originate. They may not be coming from you as you might expect.¡±

    Squishy prodded at Addie¡¯s soul with a magic tendril, in that liminal space between magic and reality. He guided one of Addie¡¯s tendrils down into a crack in her soul shell, to meet up with Ember. There, all of the feelings of guilt originated.

    Squishy pulled his soul tendril away. ¡°Besides, there have been times these soul flames have felt hot. Maybe you just need to practice.¡±

    Addie prodded at Ember a bit. ¡°Oh,¡± she observed.

    ¡°What?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Just figuring stuff out I guess. My soul¡¯s a mess.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll heal you more tonight,¡± Nettal promised.

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie smiled, warmth rising up her face. For just a moment, she was able to forget about the situation they were in. But then, it all came rushing back.

    ¡°My magic is going to run out soon!¡± Addie warned as she hurried up the pace a bit. ¡°Let¡¯s run as far as we can before it kicks us out!¡±

    Within her soul, Addie could feel Ember pointing in a direction somewhere far out in front of them.

    Addie started running, and Nettal tripped over her feet for a second, trying to catch up.

    ¡°Wait up!¡± Nettal shouted from behind Addie.

    Addie paused for a moment, giving Nettal the time to catch up. ¡°Let¡¯s run fast!¡±

    Nettal gave Addie a determined nod, and together they ran as far as they could.

    By the end of the run, both girls were sweaty, a fact that became increasingly apparent when Realmspace finally kicked everyone back out into reality.

    The biting wind tore at Addie¡¯s sweaty face, and her bare feet started going numb again as she sank ankle-deep into the snow.

    But, it looked like Addie would be able to conserve her magic, for now at least. They had made it to shelter, as confirmed by Ember within Addie¡¯s soul.

    In front of her, Addie peered into the gaping mouth of a giant cave. Stalactites and stalagmites extruded out from the ceiling and floor, looking like sharp teeth.

 Chapter 78: The Cave

    Addie took a cautious step forward into the mouth of the cave, the howling wind from outside at her back. The silence within the cave seemed to amplify the crunch of her bare feet on the rocky ground. The stalactites above loomed over her like stone daggers. Despite its menacing appearance, the cave offered a glimmer of hope¡ª shelter from the relentless cold. She glanced back at Nettal, who gave a shivering nod, and together they ventured deeper into the cave, the shadows swallowing them as they sought refuge from the freezing wilderness.

    The further into the cave they went, the more it seemed to warm up. Though, still not nearly warm enough for the pajamas both girls wore. The small amount of freezing wind that made its way into the cave tore right through their thin clothes, and the hard rocky ground had patches of ice that Addie tried to avoid stepping on.

    Tentatively, Nettal reached her hand out to Addie, who quickly grabbed onto the offered hand in a moment of solidarity. Nettal¡¯s hand was warm.

    Letting out a shivering breath, Addie looked behind them to the mouth of the cave. They made it just in time since the howling wind outside was rapidly turning into a blizzard.

    ¡°My cheeks are cold.¡± Nettal¡¯s voice echoed down deeper into the cave.

    ¡°My whole body is cold,¡± Addie complained.

    ¡°Can we warm up some more in Realmspace?¡± Nettal asked.

    Addie firmly agreed with that idea, and she had just begun to tug on her magic when Squishy spoke up through their bond.

    ¡°I do not believe that is a good plan.¡± He tugged on their magic, halting it.

    Addie furrowed her brow at him.

    ¡°We should save our magic, and use it for night. We do not want to be freezing and tired at the same time. Best we use what magic we do have to sleep in Realmspace, at the time this area is coldest.¡±

    Squishy was right. If they used their magic to warm up now, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to warm up later.

    ¡°What?¡± Nettal looked between Addie and Squishy.

    ¡°He says we should save it for later.¡±

    Nettal let go of Addie¡¯s hand and wrapped her arms around herself. She shivered. ¡°It won¡¯t do us any good if we freeze to death right now.¡± She grumbled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go deeper into the cave,¡± Addie suggested.

    ¡°Why? It¡¯s already so dark!¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s warmer further down,¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°You¡¯re just guessing that.¡±

    ¡°No, underground is warmer.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Addie shook her head, ¡°I just know! It¡¯s warmer deeper in!¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Nettal¡¯s teeth started chattering again, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Pulling on her soul bond, Addie cupped her left hand and allowed it to alight with soul flames. Addie could already see with her spatial sense, so the purple flames were mostly for helping Nettal.

    ¡°It goes on forever,¡± Nettal said.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie agreed.

    ¡°Do you think this is a secret tunnel? Like, through the mountain, secret tunnel?¡± Nettal pointed ahead into the endless black.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Addie agreed tentatively.

    One thing was certain, the deeper they went into the cave the more it warmed up. Maybe they wouldn¡¯t need Realmspace to stay warm at night. There were other problems, though, like food.

    After about twenty minutes, without the cave walls changing in any significant way, Addie finally sat down right on the bare rock. It felt cool against her back, but not freezing like outside.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°My feet hurt. I¡¯m tired. It¡¯s dark in here.¡± Addie started to close her eyes.

    Something roughly grabbed Addie¡¯s shoulder and started shaking her.

    ¡°Stop it! You can¡¯t go to sleep right now!¡± Nettal basically shouted right into Addie¡¯s ear.

    Addie groaned, ¡°Let¡¯s just sleep a little! We barely slept at all, and my body¡¯s about to fall apart into a pile of sleepiness.¡±

    Squishy walked up and curled onto Addie¡¯s chest. His warm scales were infinitely better than any blanket.

    Nettal huffed, ¡°Fine!¡± She waved her hands up and then dropped them to her sides. After that, she sat down next to Addie, putting her face in her hands. ¡°When we wake up, we have to make a plan.¡±

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie easily agreed. Between the magical exhaustion, her aching feet, the lack of sleep, and finally the adrenaline crash¡ª Addie had no more energy to spare. Even if Nettal had wanted to keep going deeper into the cave, Addie would have just collapsed without being able to continue forward.

    The fear and nervousness from the last couple of hours all faded into the background, blanketed in a sleepy fog. Suddenly, she didn¡¯t care about the situation at all. Nothing mattered except for sleep. Even the thought of some kind of magical monster jumping out of the dark cave shadows didn¡¯t perturb Addie in the slightest. She fell fast asleep.

    Addie looked down at herself from above. Nettal was also sleeping next to Addie¡¯s still body, and at some point, both girls had snuggled up together for warmth.

    This was a dream. But it also wasn¡¯t a dream. Addie looked down at the tether connecting her to her body, then followed it back up to inspect her floating astral form. Addie was a blue ghost! She wiggled her toes in the air as she floated near the ceiling of the cave.

    But, she didn¡¯t remember activating her magic on purpose.

    The next thing she noticed was that she didn¡¯t feel tired at all. Perhaps it was because her physical body was still sleeping down on the ground, but Addie felt energized and ready to do anything.

    She thought about using this opportunity to ¡®scout¡¯ the area¡ª just like Squishy said this power would be good for. She turned around ready to get out of the cave, but immediately came face to face with her book, floating right at her face. She had almost walked right into it!

    The book also glowed blue, looking more like a floating soul than the physical version she had read before.

    *I¡¯ve pulled you into astral form with a warning.*

    Words on the page lit up, a darker ethereal blue than the pages.

    *If you continue further down this path, do not attempt to enter astral form.*

    Addie sputtered, ¡°Then why did you put us in it in the first place!¡±

    *I meant if you go deeper into the cave. There are Ennulic ruins past this point, and entering astral form in those ruins would be disastrous.*

    ¡°Just say that from the start! I thought you were being mephatorical.¡±

    *Metaphorical?*

    ¡°Yeah, that.¡±

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure how a book could possibly do so, but somehow the floating book managed to sigh and slump its pages.

    Without further warning, the book slammed shut, sending ethereal sparks into the air. Then, it extruded itself into a long blue stream, and Addie¡¯s soul sucked it up back into her soul shell.

    Now, it was just Addie floating in the cave by herself. Well, there was only one thing to do now really. Time for bed.

    <hr><hr>

    Her neck hurt, and her entire body shivered against the cold stone underneath her thin pajamas. The powerful sleep still sitting behind her eyes wasn¡¯t enough to keep Addie from fully waking up. The cold along with her sore body made her restless, so she finally sat up. Squishy slid down her chest and landed in her lap, while Addie had to pry Nettal and Lotty off of her. They had all been dogpiled into one big sleeping mass, everyone trying to gain any bit of warmth from each other that they could.

    Addie used her spatial sense to see up and through the top of the cave, to try and see if it was still daytime. But she quickly remembered her magic didn¡¯t work like that. Her spatial sense wouldn¡¯t be able to see the binary since it was too far away, so the only thing she saw above the cave was a whole lot of snow. To check the time, she would need to exit the cave.

    Idly, she lit up some soul flames in her hand, waking Nettal up and making her blink blearily.

    ¡°Addie? What time is it?¡± Nettal said groggily.

    Chuckling, since Nettal thought the same thing she had upon waking up, Addie said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    ¡°Ugg,¡± Nettal vocalized with a groan, ¡°My head hurts.¡± Nettal started sitting up and rubbing at the back of her head. Then, she turned to Lotty who had his head in her lap. ¡°Next time I¡¯m using you as a pillow, mister.¡±

    Lotty huffed, but Addie thought she saw amusement sparkling from his green eyes in the pale light of her flames.

    ¡°Should we go out and check the sky?¡± Nettal suggested.

    ¡°We could.¡± Addie said hesitantly, ¡°Or we could walk deeper into the cave.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Nettal said.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡°I could perhaps go exploring outside in search of game.¡± Squishy offered.

    ¡°Squishy says if we leave the cave he can find us some food.¡±

    ¡°No, you two should stay here where it is warmer. I mean to suggest that I can go outside alone in the hunt for food.¡± Squishy clarified.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°¡®Oh¡¯, what?¡± Nettal scrunched her face in confusion.

    ¡°Squishy meant to say that we can stay here while he finds some meat.¡± Addie clarified.

    Addie didn¡¯t love the idea of Squishy going out on his own, both because she would worry about him and because she didn¡¯t want him to leave her side.

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s food further in the cave?¡± Addie asked, hoping to find a solution that wouldn¡¯t send Squishy away.

    ¡°I dunno.¡± Nettal peered deep into the darkness. ¡°Maybe I guess. But I think he¡¯s more likely to find some meat outside, honestly.¡±

    Both girls sat in contemplation for a little bit.

    ¡°If Squishy finds some meat, would you be able to try making a fire?¡± Nettal asked.

    Addie frowned and looked down at the ground. ¡°It might not be hot,¡± she said quietly.

    ¡°Just try,¡± Nettal said, a hint of frustration leaking through her tone.

    Addie flinched, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°I should have stayed at home.¡± Nettal¡¯s words hammered into Addie. ¡°I could have been working at the clinic right now.¡±

    Before she could get another word in, Lotty nudged Nettal¡¯s shoulder with his head, giving her a reprimanding glare.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Nettal said contritely. Then, she walked a few steps away and sat down against the side of the cave

    To Addie, she didn¡¯t sound that sorry. She sounded upset, and a little bit angry.

    Squishy ran off, with promises of bringing back food, but Addie barely paid him any attention. Nettal¡¯s words kept bouncing around in Addie¡¯s head. If Addie hadn¡¯t asked Nettal to come with her, maybe she wouldn¡¯t be here. The idea filled Addie with fright, in some ways she was glad her cousin could be with her for this. But Nettal¡¯s words also ate away at Addie. She tried to tell herself that it was Nettal¡¯s decision to follow Addie out into the forest last night. Maybe it wasn¡¯t really Addie¡¯s fault that Nettal got dragged into this.

    ¡°I just want to get home,¡± Addie said into the dark cave. ¡°Will you help me?¡±

    Nettal turned to face Addie, ¡°Obviously,¡± she said shortly.

    Her frustrated tone filled Addie with a moment of guilt, but she pushed back against it, a little bit of her own frustration coming to bear, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault you followed me into the forest. You could have stayed at camp.¡±

    That must have been the wrong thing to say, and Addie regretted it immediately.

    Nettal stood up briskly and stomped over to Addie¡¯s area of the cave. ¡°I didn¡¯t even want to come! But it¡¯s my responsibility to watch over you! I¡¯m the oldest.¡±

    Turning her body slightly away from Nettal, Addie replied, ¡°Still not my fault.¡±

    ¡°You are such a kid!¡± Nettal shouted.

    ¡°Well, so are you!¡± Addie shouted right back. She heard her voice echo down the cave from the volume.

    Nettal gathered herself up to shout something more, but then she stopped with wide eyes. Addie realized Nettal was staring at something behind Addie.

    Addie glanced over her shoulder.

 Chapter 79: Creature

    Chapter warning: All events in this chapter are fictional. Do not attempt anything from this chapter in real life. Seriously. DO NOT try this at home.

    Nettal screamed. Addie screamed. The creature screamed.

    Addie¡¯s heart started racing in her chest. She glanced over her shoulder. Some kind of short furry man stood just a few steps behind Addie. His brown furry silhouette was accented by Addie¡¯s purple flames.

    Strangely, the furry man started cowering away from the two girls. He put his hands up in front of his face, then he started whooping. He quickly turned tail and ran back in the direction he had appeared from.

    Now out of sight, Nettal also stopped screaming. Addie felt like she could breathe again.

    ¡°What the heck was that!?¡± Nettal pointed down the cave.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Addie shouted back, scrambling to her feet. ¡°Stop shouting or it might come back!¡± She whispered harshly. Addie ignored the fact that Nettal had said a bad word.

    Squishy must have picked up on Addie¡¯s distress through their soul bond since she felt him talking to her, ¡°What happened? I shall hurry back.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re fine. Keep looking for food, but stay close.¡± Addie responded through their bond.

    ¡°Call for me without delay should you be in danger.¡±

    ¡°Whatever it was, it can¡¯t have been too dangerous. It ran away from us!¡± Addie said to Nettal and laughed a bit. Then, she repeated the message to Squishy through their bond.

    Nettal let out a big breath. ¡°I thought he was going to attack us!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡± Addie smiled.

    Both girls started chuckling, partly at the ridiculous situation they were in.

    ¡°Did you see his face?¡± Nettal got out between chuckles, ¡°I thought he was gonna poo himself!¡±

    Addie started laughing so hard that her chest hurt. She replayed the image in her mind over and over again, of the tiny furry man running away in terror. ¡°He did look like that!¡± Addie agreed.

    After a bit, the laughter petered out, and Nettal¡¯s expression turned serious again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the thing I said earlier. Let¡¯s work together and get home, ok?¡±

    Smiling, Addie replied, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m sorry too. We can definitely find a way home.¡±

    Nettal held her hand out, and Addie grabbed onto it. Together, they could accomplish anything.

    ¡°Maybe we can wait for Squishy to get back first. I¡¯m starving.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, ok.¡±

    Both girls sat back down.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°I found some kind of furry rabbit,¡± Squishy proclaimed as he dropped something that looked nothing like a rabbit.

    It hit the floor of the cave with a limp plop.

    ¡°That¡¯s a raccoon!¡± Nettal said. ¡°Ew, couldn¡¯t you have found literally anything else? These things eat garbage!¡±

    ¡°We had an honorable fight. It is only just that we consume the corpse in his honor.¡± Squishy flicked one of his ears.

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not eating that,¡± Addie agreed with Nettal.

    <hr><hr>

    Luckily, Nettal had a pocket knife, and Squishy even managed to find some trees to take some sticks from.

    Now, everyone was staring at meat cubes on a stick, mounted over a pile of firewood. It still looked half frozen, so Addie didn¡¯t know if it would burn. Well, everything always burned when she used her soul flames, it just might not be hot.

    With a flicker, she created a ball of flames in her right hand, and she reached down to spread the fire to the wood pile. The flames spread immediately, but just as she had feared, the ghostly purple-white flames didn¡¯t produce a lick of heat.

    Her training with Christena came to mind and all of their magic lessons together, too. Christena had talked about this, about using magic sideways. If her magic was suited toward it, she could alter her magic to do something outside of its main power.

    Addie furrowed her brow and concentrated. She remembered her fight with Black Cloak. At that time, his flames at the end of their battle had felt hot.

    If there was one thing Addie remembered from that fight, it was rage. She hated Black Cloak. All the children he hurt, and especially how he hurt Nettal.

    But there was more to it than that, wasn¡¯t there? She didn¡¯t want her soul flames to just be destructive. Flames could give warmth and life. Not just destruction.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Addie turned her head and looked at Nettal¡¯s ring, which started to glow all of a sudden.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nettal asked as she held her finger up in the air.

    The ring was talking to Addie. Then, the book flew out of Addie¡¯s soul and glowed the same color as Nettal¡¯s aurocondite ring. The golden hue lit up the cave in the majestic color of dragons.

    *Take the rage, remember your magic lessons with Christena. Feel the energy of dragons.*

    *Now! Combine those feelings! Create warmth, hatred, and glory! Fire!*

    Ember and Addie joined their intent. The sickly black scars on Addie¡¯s chest burned. Then, she released the fire from her hands.

    They burned white hot¡ª not a trace of ghostly purple in the mix. The flames roared out from her palms and scorched the stone underneath so hot everyone but Addie had to take a few steps back. She felt the stone warm up under her bare feet. The cave was bathed in blinding light, the stalactites and stalagmites casting shadows across the walls. Addie blinked as the heat pressed up against her face, but it didn¡¯t hurt. Her flames would never hurt her again.

    Finally, she stopped the magic and looked at the firewood, the cave suddenly becoming black once again. She had to use her spatial sense to look at the pile. Nothing remained but ash. A moment later, the mounted sticks with raw meat fell over, spreading ashes into the air when they landed in it.

    ¡°Well, that was a bit too much,¡± Addie observed.

    Nettal coughed a few times, ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t do that again near me, ok?¡± she said.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Addie rubbed at the back of her head as she turned to face Squishy. ¡°Can you get us more firewood?¡±

    Squishy chortled at her, but then he happily ran off to gather more wood.

    ¡°Will you be able to do that again, but with less fire?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Yeah. I get it now.¡± Addie said.

    One of the cracks in her soul slotted into place, like two jagged edges finally fitting perfectly back together in a puzzle. That section of her soul glowed for a moment, and then healed, smooth as it had ever been before. One of the black marks over her heart faded, gone forevermore.

    ¡°I can definitely do that again,¡± Addie said with confidence.

    With a decisive snap, the soul book slammed shut. Then it got sucked back into Addie¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Addie, what was that book?¡±

    Flicking her fingers, Addie ignited another soul flame on her pointer finger, just enough for a bit of light.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I haven¡¯t told you yet. I found this book in the library, and it¡¯s supposed to help me learn how to use Ember¡¯s magic.¡±

    ¡°Huh. How come you didn¡¯t tell me about that sooner?¡± Nettal put her fists on her hips.

    ¡°I forgot, I guess.¡±

    ¡°You forgot to tell me about the magical glowing book sitting inside of your soul?¡± Nettal cocked her head.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie replied.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Both girls just stared at each other for a bit. Addie thought Nettal was staring at her, but she realized after a moment that she was more likely just staring off into space.

    ¡°Oh, Squishy¡¯s back.¡± Addie could feel Squishy getting closer through their bond.

    Nettal turned around and watched as Squishy trotted back into the cave. After everyone noticed Squishy, he stopped making so much noise with his paws. He walked the last few steps silent as a hunter. Then, he unceremoniously dropped the giant branch he had dragged in behind him.

    Addie and Nettal worked together to stomp the giant branch into more manageable pieces of firewood, which was difficult due to how frozen the wood was.

    Finally, Addie pulled from her magic again, this time sending a steady stream of those hot white flames into the pile. It took longer than she expected, but soon the wood caught aflame, and Addie was able to stop using her magic. She admired the white flames coming from the logs, still the same color as she created them. For a moment, she expected it would look like a regular fire, orange or red. But actually, this made sense. Even if she wasn¡¯t using her magic at this exact moment, the flames were still hers.

    Taking a deep breath in, Addie smelled the nostalgic aroma of a campfire, and a brief flash of memory appeared in her mind. A moment, sitting on her father¡¯s lap, staring into the embers of a campfire. The memory faded away as fast as it came, though.

    Behind her, Nettal started coughing again.

    ¡°Ack. This¡ª¡± *cough* ¡°This smoke is worse in the cave!¡± Nettal started fanning around her face and backing up.

    Addie wanted to suggest that Nettal walk further away, but for some reason, her mouth wouldn¡¯t quite work right. Actually, her whole body seemed to be weird and tingly. The edges of her eyes were going black too.

    Like someone yanking a chain attached to her chest, something pulled strongly on her soul bonds and the next moment Addie was in Realmspace. Nettal and Lotty popped in a moment after, and finally Squishy at the very last.

    The edges of her vision were still dark, so Addie sat down on the floor for a moment and just caught her breath. Beside her, Nettal and Lotty were both coughing like crazy, also sitting down on the floor.

    ¡°What¡± *cough* ¡°Happened?¡± Nettal got out between hacks.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Addie said slowly, groggily.

    ¡°I pulled all of us into Realmspace. Something put poison in the air.¡± Squishy turned his angular cat-like face toward Addie.

    Addie just took a moment to get her breath. Once she felt well enough to stand, she spoke up to Nettal, ¡°Squishy said there was poison in the air.¡±

    Her coughing started to ease up, and Nettal just stared up at Addie¡¯s face. Then, she turned her head to Lotty with a concentrated look on her face.

    ¡°Oh, Lotty, you¡¯re right.¡± Nettal smacked her palm into her forehead. ¡°That was stupid! You can¡¯t light a fire in a cave! At least, not without some kind of chimney. We were choking on the smoke and other poisons from the fire.¡± she explained.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why Mom always said we can only have fire in the fireplace. Since, that makes a path for the smoke and poison.¡±

    ¡°Huh. That makes sense I guess.¡± Addie said.

    Still sitting, Nettal spread her legs out on the Realmstone. ¡°Well, we might as well sit here and wait until the food might be cooked anyway."

    ¡°It¡¯s so warm in here.¡± Nettal put her hands behind herself and used them to lean back a bit.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s ready yet?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s only been like ten seconds!¡± Nettal rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Since it would be a while, Addie also decided to sit back down.

    They waited for what felt like forever to Addie, but it probably wasn¡¯t more than ten minutes.

    ¡°I will check the meat.¡±

    Squishy pulled on their magic again and disappeared from Realmspace. A moment later, he returned, with three big cubes of meat already sitting in his jaws. He turned his head up in the air and gobbled the meat down like a bird, only barely chomping on it to help get it down. ¡°It is cooked.¡±

    Addie sucked in a breath and held it, then jumped back into reality. Upon reappearing in the cave, she held her hand out to the fire. The magic flames quickly smothered out under Addie¡¯s will. Then, still holding her breath, Addie walked over to the meat skewers, grabbed the five remaining ones, and teleported back into Realmspace. She handed two to Nettal, one to Squishy, and kept two for herself.

    Bland-cooked meat had never tasted so good.

 Chapter 80: Hold Your Breath

    Now with full bellies, the girls sat in silent contentment for a bit.

    ¡°We have perhaps an hour before Realmspace throws us out,¡± Squishy pointed out. ¡°I believe it would be wise if we return to reality now instead of later. We should conserve as much magic as possible for nightfall, should the cave become unbearably cold.¡±

    ¡°Hold my hand, we¡¯re going back to the cave. Squishy told me we should.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Addie, what? Why?¡±

    Addie reached forward and grabbed onto Nettal¡¯s hand. ¡°Hold your breath!¡±

    ¡°Ahh!!! Wait!¡±

    ¡°HOLD your breath!¡± Addie shouted in Nettal¡¯s ear.

    Addie sucked in a ginormous breath, and she saw that Nettal did, too. Then, she plunged everyone back out into reality.

    The darkness of the cave blinded Addie, but more importantly, it blinded Nettal. So, using her spatial sense, Addie held Nettal¡¯s hand tightly while she ran further down into the cave, away from the poisoned air created by their cooking fire. Squishy did something similar for Lotty, wrapping his tail around one of Lotty¡¯s front legs to guide him.

    Addie ran as much as she possibly could, but soon she started seeing stars in her vision from running so hard without breathing.

    Nettal tugged on Addie¡¯s arm hard, halting her instantly. The tug jarred Addie¡¯s shoulder joint, and she almost tripped and fell. With a gasp, Addie released the breath she had been holding while trying to regain her balance. She somehow managed not to fall, but it was close.

    Everyone stood still in the cave, panting to catch their breath. Addie put one hand on her knee and the other on the ground to help her sit down.

    Still breathing heavily, Nettal marched over to Addie¡¯s sitting spot. She towered over Addie with a stern face, reminding Addie of Auntie.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just do that!¡± Panting between words, Nettal sucked in another breath, ¡°Next time you have to warn me!¡±

    She tried not to laugh, since Nettal was shouting at the wall right next to Addie instead of directly at her. Addie bit her cheek and waited for the amusement to fade. Then, she summoned a few soul flames in her palm to light up the area. Nettal instantly turned to face Addie correctly.

    ¡°I did warn you, though? I told you to hold your breath. And I said we were leaving Realmspace.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, like way too all of a sudden!¡± Nettal glared. ¡°Remember, we promised to work together to get home? Can we please talk about plans before suddenly yanking people around with magic?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Sorry.¡±

    Nettal sighed, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Addie turned her head to the right and looked down the pathway out of the cave. ¡°The poison air will make it hard to leave. Do you want to go exploring?¡±

    ¡°How is that going to help us get home?¡± Nettal asked as she crossed her arms.

    ¡°Well, maybe those furry people can help us,¡± Addie suggested. ¡°The last one didn¡¯t seem that scary.¡±

    Nettal grimaced, ¡°It might be a better option than wandering around in the snow.¡±

    ¡°Also, if night has already fallen, we will not want to leave the warmth of the cave,¡± Squishy added.

    ¡°Good point,¡± Addie said to both thoughts, ¡°Then let¡¯s explore!¡±

    <hr><hr>

    From behind, Lotty¡¯s hooves clacked against the cave floor.

    ¡°When you said explore, I thought it was going to be a lot more interesting than this,¡± Nettal complained as they walked past yet another stalactite.

    Addie frowned, ¡°I thought so too.¡±

    They had been walking down the tunnel for forever, and yet absolutely nothing exciting had happened. It had just been a whole lot of cave, and a whole lot of black-colored rock as they slowly descended into the earth. Addie trailed her hand against the cave wall, and her fingers met smooth slightly damp stone. There had been more than a few puddles down here collecting what was presumably melting snow water from up on the surface. Addie would flash burn the puddle for just a second to boil it, then after it cooled everyone got to have a drink. Luckily, they hadn¡¯t had any issues with poisoned air. Probably she wasn¡¯t burning anything except her own magic. They would have to be careful if they wanted to make a cooking fire again.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± Nettal pointed off into the distance.

    Addie squinted her eyes but didn¡¯t notice anything too strange. It felt like they had done this before. Maybe Nettal had better eyesight than Addie?

    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything.¡±

    ¡°Here, turn off the fire for a sec.¡± Nettal nudged Addie¡¯s arm.

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    She let the arm drop, and the soul flames also went out. It took a bit for Addie¡¯s eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, but as they did, she thought she could see something glowing way off in the distance.

    ¡°How could you see that? I couldn¡¯t see it until just now.¡± Addie stopped walking and tried to make out what she was looking at.

    ¡°Is it, a mushroom?¡± Nettal asked herself. ¡°A really giant mushroom?¡±

    To Addie, it just looked like something way off in the distance glowed an off-blue color.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get closer,¡± Nettal grabbed onto Addie¡¯s hand and started pulling her forward.

    Since she couldn¡¯t see as well as Nettal, Addie focused and extended her spatial sense to only be in front of her. She pumped more magic into it, and let the cone of awareness extend out as far from her body as she could.

    ¡°I can see it now, too,¡± Addie said. Well, as long as she used her spatial sense. ¡°It is a mushroom,¡± she said aloud, agreeing with Nettal.

    ¡°Big glowy mushroom. Think we can eat it?¡± Nettal asked.

    Something about wild mushrooms stood out in Addie¡¯s mind, but she couldn¡¯t quite place what was special about them.

    Nettal turned her head to look behind herself at Lotty. ¡°Oh wait, never mind. Lotty says we should never eat random mushrooms.¡±

    Oh, that¡¯s what it was. Her dad used to tell Addie to never eat wild mushrooms when they went camping. The realization thrummed in her soul, and another tiny shard of her soul shell slid back into place. With it came a feeling of relief; that was two shards in one day! She was going to get better in no time.

    Only, like, ten thousand more to go.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a lot brighter than I thought!¡± Nettal exclaimed.

    She was right, too. The mushroom wasn¡¯t just bright, it was huge. It was easily taller than Addie, and the cap spanned across the entire width of the cave. The mushroom flesh undulated slowly. The brightness of its glow went up as the mushroom expanded, and the glow got dimmer as the mushroom contracted¡ª almost like it was breathing. It lit up the entire cave, even when the glow was at its darkest.

    They didn¡¯t stay staring at it for too long. Squishy mentally nudged Addie through their bond, prompting her to continue forward. Nettal followed along right after.

    ¡°Addie,¡± Nettal sounded nervous, ¡°Can you send Ember to scout out ahead?¡±

    That was actually a good idea.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Addie agreed easily.

    Since she had been paying attention to all of the conversation thus far, Ember flew out of Addie¡¯s soul all on her own. She quickly swept through the area, and then continued on further down into the darkness.

    The mushroom, which was now behind them, lit up the cave so well that Addie didn¡¯t need to keep her soul flames going, so she let them go out. She never had to relight them either, the deeper into the cave they went, the more those mushrooms started to appear. At first, it would just be one or two of those huge ones, but as they continued forward more variations of glowing mushrooms started to appear. There was blue glowing moss covering the walls and stalactites, giant mushrooms every fifty paces, and tons of little tiny and more normal-sized brown and red mushrooms interspersed throughout the cave floor. Baby glowing blue mushrooms were also here and there, especially near those small puddles of water that occasionally showed up.

    The gentle clacking rhythm of Lotty¡¯s hooves started to go quiet as the ground became covered in moss, muting the sound. The sudden silence as they walked forward felt strange after she had gotten so used to hearing those hoofbeats.

    ¡°What is this place?¡± Addie asked.

    Nettal didn¡¯t respond, but Addie hardly noticed. Everyone was too focused on admiring the scenery as they walked past.

    Soon, some pieces of broken down cave started coming into view. It looked like the rubble had long since been overgrown with glowing moss, though.

    Addie glanced over the piles of rubble with her spatial sense as they walked, interested in how the moss grew so stubbornly even without any dirt.

    Something about the rubble seemed a bit odd to Addie, but it didn¡¯t quite register what exactly was off about it at first. She figured it out pretty quickly though once they kept moving. The occasional piles of rubble didn¡¯t look natural. If anything, they reminded Addie more of the bricks used in ovens and fireplaces.

    Then, the girls came upon an entire wall of crumbling bricks, and Addie noticed something else too. The bricks weren¡¯t the same color as the cave stone. In fact, they almost seemed to dimly glow blue, too. At least, the bricks that weren¡¯t halfway broken and crumbling. The wall only blocked off part of the walkway, so the girls easily walked around it.

    ¡°Woah. Did people used to live here?¡± Nettal wondered aloud.

    ¡°Maybe they still live here. Like that fuzzy man.¡± Addie ducked slightly to walk underneath and through a hole in another wall, grabbing the top of the hole slightly as she maneuvered.

    Ember came flittering back, sending images of more broken-down buildings ahead. She hadn¡¯t gone any further though because Addie¡¯s theory was correct. Some of these ruins were still inhabited by those furry people.

    ¡°Ember says there are more of those furry people ahead,¡± Addie informed the group.

    Nettal gulped. ¡°Are they dangerous?¡±

    Using the soul bond, Ember sent an image of the dwellings and the people. None of them carried weapons. The group of two hundred or so furry people just looked to be living like anyone else would. Some of them had little gardens with some of the brown mushrooms Addie had seen earlier. Most of them were sitting around working on something or another, baskets woven with mushroom fiber, some string-looking things that might have been jewelry. A lot of the furry people were watching a group of children as they played in some puddles.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they are dangerous,¡± Addie said tentatively. ¡°At least, they don¡¯t have any weapons. I don¡¯t see any magical creatures either, so they might not have any bonds.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    Then, both girls heard a loud whooping sound, exactly like the scream that one furry man had made when he ran off in terror.

    ¡°Why are they doing that?¡± Nettal tugged on Addie¡¯s sleeve.

    Ember flitted back out of Addie¡¯s soul unprompted and came back swiftly after she checked on the situation, taking no more than a handful of seconds.

    ¡°It looks like one of the children playing got hurt. They aren¡¯t moving, just lying on the ground with their eyes closed. There¡¯s blood.¡±

    The second Addie mentioned blood, Nettal dashed out of their hiding place in the ruins and sprinted into the settlement.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Addie tried to reach forward and call out, too late.

    Slowly, Addie walked out to try and follow Nettal. Now, all of those furry people were whooping, not just the one adult from before. Nettal ignored them, and instead, her eyes started glowing a fierce green as she activated her magic. She kneeled down next to the child¡¯s head, and she placed one palm over its head. She closed her eyes, making the glowing stop.

    Addie watched in real-time as the adults all started screaming right at Nettal, some of them walking dangerously close just before backing away again. They didn¡¯t seem willing to interfere for some reason. Addie walked right up next to Nettal¡ª she and Squishy were ready to defend her if needed.

    The whooping quieted as the obvious wound on the child¡¯s head began to close, and the blood stopped pouring out. The distressed eyes from the adults turned curious and hesitant, instead of outright angry. Addie took that as a good sign.

 Chapter 81: New Culture

    The strange, fuzzy child, which Addie now noticed had hands for feet, slowly started opening its eyes. It whooped questioningly, once, then twice.

    A small, fully grown fuzzy person started running out of one of the ruined buildings. Addie noticed something; all of the fuzzy people in this village looked like women. The woman ran as fast as she could, pushing through the gathered crowd to reach Nettal and the baby fuzzy person. Once she got there, Squishy took up a defensive stance in front of Addie, baring his teeth.

    In response, the fuzzy woman looked at Squishy with dread in her eyes and her shoulders hunched. She walked more carefully after she spotted Squishy, but she fearfully walked past him anyway and got closer to the child Nettal was still healing. No, she got closer to her child, Addie realized. The mom spared Addie a sideways glance, but otherwise ignored her to continue closer to her child.

    ¡°There you go, you should be all healed up now,¡± Nettal said as she took her hand away from the child¡¯s head.

    Slowly, tentatively, the child began to sit up, and he toddled over to his mother with wide open arms. The mother reached out in response, and the two shared a hugging reunion.

    Then, all of the other fuzzy people started whooping again, but this time the atmosphere was different: it almost seemed like they were cheering!

    Rushing past Squishy, more and more of the fuzzy people started crowding around Addie and Nettal, all whooping and hollering. Addie felt awkward. She didn¡¯t know what to do in this situation at all, and neither did Squishy. He relaxed though, realizing there likely wouldn¡¯t be any attack.

    They obviously didn¡¯t speak her language, and yet they were all celebrating Nettal! They didn¡¯t seem dangerous at all, but their whooping was loud enough that it still made Addie uncomfortable.

    Finally, all of them quieted down. The reason became obvious soon enough, another one of those fuzzy people came out from around a corner. This one did not look like a woman, and he had some strange mushroom headdress on. It sort of reminded Addie of a crown, like the ones kings wore in her fairy tales, but it also was wider to look more like a sun hat. Addie quickly realized it was actually one of those blue mushroom caps, just dried and no longer glowing.

    The fuzzy man easily parted the crowd as he drew closer to Addie and Nettal. Once he got right up to the two of them, he bent over. At first, Addie was confused, wondering why the fuzzy man was bending over as if to grab something from the floor. But then he finished kneeling down on the floor with his hands and head splayed out on the ground in line with his knees. He was bowing. A strange bow, nothing like Area Lords might do. But Addie recognized it all the same. Then, like a wave, the bow spread out across the crowd, each fuzzy person bowing as they saw the person next to them bow.

    Now Addie really didn¡¯t know what to do. If the emotions bleeding over from their bond were anything to go by, Squishy loved the attention, but Addie just continued feeling awkward over the whole thing. Had they never seen a healer before?

    Squishy preened. ¡°It is correct for these furry not-men to bow to us. I would bow to me too. We are glorious warriors.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they are bowing because they think we are warriors, Squishy. They¡¯re happy that Nettal healed that child over there.¡± Addie spoke telepathically through their bond. Squishy was never good at understanding social stuff.

    ¡°Are they bowing at us?¡± Nettal asked incredulously, one brow upturned.

    ¡°Bowing at you more like,¡± Addie responded.

    Hearing the two girls talk, a few of the fuzzy people in the crowd started whooping again. Not many though, just one or two before the lead fuzzy person with the mushroom crown turned his head around and hissed at the crowd. That quieted everyone again instantly.

    ¡°Um,¡± Nettal started awkwardly, fidgeting. ¡°You can all stand up now.¡±

    No one moved.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they understand you,¡± Addie said, waving toward the crowd.

    Addie heard some hushed cooing and chattering from the mother-son duo sitting on the ground next to Nettal. When she looked over, the mother had her baby in her lap, gently rocking forward and back.

    Addie turned back to the crowd. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re still kneeling like that. It must be uncomfortable on the rocky ground.¡±

    Nettal just sighed. ¡°Ok! You all can stand up now.¡± Nettal called out to them, a bit louder.

    After no one moved, she started walking closer to the crowd.

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    ¡°Squishy, go with her just in case,¡± Addie told him.

    He quickly pattered over to catch up, and then he, Nettal, and Lotty all approached the crowd.

    Nettal herself kneeled down next to the lead fuzzy person, the only one who didn¡¯t look like a woman, and she gently helped pull him to his feet. He didn¡¯t resist at all as Nettal gently ushered him up into a standing position.

    Then, the lead fuzzy man whooped twice at the crowd, and they all began to hesitantly stand up.

    All of them started crowding around Nettal, everyone seemed to be in a gentle rush to touch her. Addie watched as tons of the fuzzy people crowded around, all trying to gently brush Nettal¡¯s head or shoulders.

    Squishy let out a few loud barks, which Addie had never heard him make before which surprised her, and the crowd flinched back, a few of the fuzzy people cowering and whooping quietly.

    ¡°Shh, no it¡¯s ok,¡± Nettal reassured Squishy. ¡°I think they¡¯re friendly.¡±

    Then, to help calm down the crowd, Nettal started walking back closer to all of them. She turned on her magic, as evidenced by her brightly glowing green eyes. She waded through the crowd, trying to touch every single fuzzy person she could. In turn, each fuzzy person tried to touch her as well. Again, Addie watched as fuzzy hands gently brushed against Nettal¡¯s head, hair, shoulders, or back. They were all slightly taller than Nettal, but it didn¡¯t feel like they were towering over her either. As Nettal waded through the crowd, no one tried to stop her. They parted before her like corn weaving out of the way.

    There were too many of them for Addie to make individual differences, but she did notice that the crowd as a whole stood straighter, their fur lustered more, and their muscles moved more smoothly as Nettal healed the crowd. What once had seemed like a weary worn down crowd of survivors, now looked more like a crowd of healthy thriving villagers to Addie. Everywhere Nettal moved, the fuzzy people perked up and became stronger¡ª the crowd gaining vitality everywhere Nettal waded through.

    Nettal didn¡¯t stop until she had weaved through the entire crowd, Squishy still standing next to her protectively. Though, he was hard to spot since he was so little. Lotty had decided to wait outside the crowd.

    Finally, Nettal came to rest. Her glowing eyes toned down to normal, and Addie saw her chest heave as she breathed deeply in exhaustion. Despite being tired, Nettal¡¯s eyes were bright and satisfied. Then, Nettal collapsed.

    All the nearest fuzzy people to her reacted faster than Addie thought possible, catching Nettal before she could hit the ground hard and hurt her head. The first few people who caught her began lifting her up into the air, and then the entire crowd pitched in. They gently passed her around the crowd toward the front¡ª toward Addie. Finally, Nettal¡¯s unconscious body reached the very front of the crowd and the man with the mushroom hat. He picked Nettal up last and walked the few steps needed to reach Addie. Carefully, tenderly, he placed Nettal down at Addie¡¯s feet, guarding her head and only slowly lowering her head down very last: careful to not bonk her on the hard rocky cave floor.

    Squishy quickly emerged from the feet of the crowd after that, moving back to Addie¡¯s side.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Addie stood over the bed of furs Nettal slept on. Rather than being one big rug, there were a whole bunch of tiny little furs all piled together to form something bigger. Most of the furs looked to be from Rabbits. Lotty rested his tiny head right on Nettal¡¯s gently moving chest, the rest of him also lying down horizontally from her.

    They were in one of those ruined buildings; this one was quite small, just a single room. The roof was surprisingly intact, though the walls were starting to crumble in some places, and there was glowing moss spreading its roots throughout the whole structure and messing it up. At least the moss helped to light everything up.

    A fuzzy hand passed through the doorway, pushing aside some kind of mushroom fiber woven cloth covering the entrance. Addie knew it must be mushroom fiber since the cloth was blue, though it wasn¡¯t glowing since it was dead.

    Addie recognized her; she was the mother whose son Nettal healed. In her other hand, she held a medium-sized dried-out mushroom cap in her palm. Addie quickly realized they had turned it into a bowl, since there was some kind of steaming broth in it. She paused at the doorway, glanced up at Addie¡¯s eyes, and then quickly turned her head and eyes back down to the floor in a half-bow.

    Addie already knew they couldn¡¯t understand her words, so instead, she gently ushered the furry woman into the small house by holding her hand while leading her to Nettal¡¯s bedside.

    After reaching Nettal, the woman placed the broth bowl down on the ground beside the furs.

    Addie''s stomach rumbled, and she realized she was hungry too. She¡¯d only had a few cubes of meat from a small game animal. That was maybe enough to qualify as breakfast, but now that it felt closer to lunchtime, Addie was starved.

    The fuzzy woman heard Addie¡¯s stomach, and she gave a genuine smile. Addie hadn¡¯t known they did that until now.

    The woman quickly left the small dwelling. Addie didn¡¯t have to wait long for the woman to return with two bowls in her hands, this time with her son next to her also carrying a bowl. She quickly passed one bowl to Addie, and then she and her son placed the last two bowls on the ground.

    Squishy and Lotty got up and walked over to sniff at their bowls.

    Addie curiously glanced down at her own bowl. It didn¡¯t come with a spoon, so Addie guessed she¡¯d have to slurp it instead. She brought it close to her face and took a big sniff. It didn¡¯t smell like much, not too different than trying to smell water.

    She tentatively slurped a bit of the liquid. Mushroom soup, why wasn¡¯t she surprised? It wasn¡¯t prepared well at all. It didn¡¯t have any salt, and the broth didn¡¯t have any herbs or seasoning. It was just chunks of mushroom in water basically. Despite all that, Addie was starving, and the soup was warm. She ate all of it pretty fast, burning her tongue slightly in the process. That would bother her tomorrow, she just knew.

    After they all finished eating, the woman-son duo picked up the empty bowls, only leaving Nettal¡¯s untouched bowl still in the building, and then they promptly left.

    Just after they left, the fiber cloth doorway fluttering as it dropped, Addie heard some whooping in the distance. This whooping felt slightly different than before, so Addie peeked her head around the doorway to figure out why.

    Not too far away out in the distance, a whole troop of fuzzy men was walking back to the ruins, and their whooping was much deeper than what she heard from the women earlier. They were carrying sharp pointy spears. The males were coming back.

    Addie hoped Nettal would wake up soon.

 Chapter 82: Mushroom Hats

    Slightly pushing the doorcloth out just enough to peek around it, Addie stared out of the ruined building to watch the oncoming procession of fuzzy men.

    She really needed to come up with a better name for them. Furmen? No definitely not. Fuzzers? Floofers? Poofy guys? No, that last one was worse than fuzzy men. Fluffykins?

    ¡°How about furhumes? Like a furry human?¡± Squishy suggested since he could hear Addie¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°No that won¡¯t work,¡± Addie whispered back. ¡°They don¡¯t look human, their feet look like hands and their head shape is all wrong.¡±

    ¡°Huh. They look the same to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re a silly cat. Now shush.¡± Addie put her finger up to her mouth and shushed him.

    She could see the old leader fuzzy person with the mushroom hat greeting the returning warriors.

    The biggest warrior fuzzy person, easily a head taller than the rest of them, stepped forward to meet the old fuzzy mushroom man.

    ¡°Furrians. I¡¯m gonna call them Furrians.¡± Addie declared.

    The Mushroom hat Furrian met up with the chief Warrior Furrian. The Warrior looked kind of scary. He had huge bulging muscles, which made his arms almost look thicker than his head.

    They took turns whooping at each other, and then after a moment of silence, they hugged. They separated quickly, and the large Warrior Furrian gave out a loud whooping bark to the rest of the warriors.

    They all dispersed and separated out to return to their own homes. The big Warrior Furrian spent another few moments talking to the Mushroom Furrian, and then together they started making their way over toward Addie.

    A spike of nervousness shot through her, and she quickly let go of the doorcloth and let it come back down over the entryway completely. She wasn¡¯t completely sure if she had been caught snooping out, but the idea that she had worried her.

    Addie padded back over to Nettal to see if she was awake yet, but she still looked fast asleep. Gently, Addie patted Nettal¡¯s cheek, while being careful not to spill the soup still sitting next to her.

    ¡°Wake up!¡± Addie whispered harshly. ¡°Nettal wake up! Someone¡¯s coming!¡±

    Nettal groaned and turned over onto her side. ¡°Five more minutes.¡± She sleepily grumbled out.

    ¡°Nettal!¡± Addie sighed in exasperation, ¡°Wake up! A scary Furrian is coming!¡±

    Scrunching her face, Nettal turned over to look at Addie¡¯s face. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a warrior Furrian coming!¡±

    ¡°You mean those fuzzy monkeys?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a monkey?¡± Addie asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter," she shook her head. "They¡¯re coming!¡±

    Nettal sat up a bit, noticed the soup next to her pile of furs, and picked it up. She had just started sipping at it when the Warrior Furrian pushed aside the doorcloth and walked into the small ruined building.

    ¡°Woo, woo!¡± He chirped, a little louder than talking volume.

    Then, he quickly closed the doorcloth, leaving Addie and Nettal alone again.

    ¡°Weird,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    But after just a few moments, he returned, this time holding a deeper and overall smaller mushroom bowl. He pushed aside the doorcloth and walked all the way inside, revealing he also held another two deeper bowls in his other hand, for a total of three in all.

    He walked up close to Addie and Nettal and then sat down on the floor right next to them. For a moment, he just sat there, waiting or expecting something from the girls.

    After nobody moved, he put all the deep bowls, which actually looked more like cups now that Addie could see some kind of tea inside them, down on the ground in front of him. He then reached out to Addie, and he put his hand with spindly long fingers right above Addie¡¯s ankle. He gently pulled down on her ankle and pointed down to the ground with his other hand.

    Addie got the meaning right away and also moved to sit down on the floor. Nettal was already on the floor, still sitting upright in her furs.

    Once all three of them were sitting in a triangle on the floor, the Warrior Furrian passed one cup to Addie and another cup to Nettal. Then, he began to sip at the liquid inside, holding the cup with both hands.

    Hesitantly, Addie picked the cup up in front of her and smelled it. It smelled earthy and fresh, reminding her of cut grass. She took a sip, and it smelled like mushroom and moss juice¡ª which was probably exactly what it was. She tried not to make a face while sipping it, before putting it back down on the ground. She didn¡¯t want any more of it.

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    After Addie put the cup down, the Furrian put both of his hands at the ends of his crossed legs and then bowed his head. He stayed like that, unmoving.

    ¡°No,¡± Nettal said while waving her arms, ¡°Please raise your head! I didn¡¯t do anything too special.¡± She turned away as her cheeks flushed.

    Even though he shouldn¡¯t be able to understand them, he raised his head and gave a toothy smile. He dumped the rest of his mushroom tea into his mouth all at once and swallowed. He looked at Nettal for a bit, and then at Addie, considering. Then, he stood back up and left the small building, leaving behind the two cups of mushroom juice for Addie and Nettal.

    ¡°We should ask them about the fog,¡± Nettal suggested, now that it was just the two of them again.

    ¡°They can¡¯t understand us,¡± Addie pointed out.

    ¡°You understood him when he told you to sit down, right? And we understood that he said thank you to us.¡± Nettal countered.

    ¡°That¡¯s different. He didn¡¯t say that stuff using words,¡± Addie pointed out again with a huff.

    ¡°Yeah, but maybe we don¡¯t need words to understand each other. You¡¯ve practiced with Ember a lot, right? And I¡¯ve practiced talking without words with Lotty. It¡¯s just like that, the way he talked to us. He used his body to talk to us with meanings instead of words.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Addie looked down as she thought about it. What Nettal said made sense, she decided. Addie moved her eyes up and made eye contact. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s ask them about the fog. Maybe the Furrians can help us get home.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    They didn¡¯t have to wait long for the Warrior Furrian to return. Addie thought maybe they would wait awhile longer so she and Nettal could rest, but they came barging in just about ten minutes after the first time.

    The Warrior Furrian didn¡¯t stay long, he just paused long enough to grab Nettal¡¯s empty bowl and cup, as well as grab Addie¡¯s still half-full cup (she couldn¡¯t drink the rest since it was yucky).

    So it came to be that just Nettal, Addie, and the Furrian with the weird mushroom hat all sat on the dilapidated floor of the half-ruined building.

    Addie had to readjust her position, the hard rocky floor really hurt her bum. She thought about it for a moment and then decided to scoot closer to Nettal so she could also sit on the furs.

    Watching the two of them, the Mushroom Furrian smiled.

    Maybe he had just come to check in on them, or maybe he just wanted to make sure they had gotten enough food or something. Addie had no idea, but he didn¡¯t intend to stay long. He started to stand up before Addie stopped him.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Addie broke the silence in the room, ¡°We wanted to ask you some questions.¡±

    He stared at her for a moment, then took another step in the direction of the entryway.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Addie repeated.

    He stopped, and must have finally understood her meaning, since he walked back closer again.

    Now would be the tricky part. How was Addie supposed to communicate fog using nothing but body language?

    First, Addie tried waving her fingers around down near the ground, spreading them out while moving them left to right.

    He just looked at her with a confused expression.

    Addie sighed. She glanced at Nettal to silently ask for help.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got an idea,¡± Nettal said as she started standing up.

    She pulled on Addie¡¯s hand to help her stand up, and then together they walked over to the Mushroom Furrian. Nettal also grabbed his hand; she led the two of them out of the building with Squishy and Lotty following from close behind.

    Together, everyone walked over to one of the closest puddles. There were tons of them throughout the cave, and this particular one had a few smaller glowing mushrooms.

    Once they reached the puddle, Nettal let go of their hands so she could put her hands in the puddle.

    ¡°This will work. Addie, can you put some flames in here and boil all the water to turn it into steam?¡±

    Addie¡¯s eyebrows shot up, ¡°That¡¯s so smart! I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Addie touched one finger to her chest, and struck it down her body like a match¡ª the symbolization helped her will come to form. She allowed the white-hot flame on her finger to grow and spread past her entire hand and start moving up her arm.

    The Mushroom Furrian whooped, and his eyes started to dart around in panic.

    In response to him, Nettal hurried back over and held onto the old Mushroom Furrian¡¯s hand, which seemed to calm him down enough to not run away at least.

    Once the fire had spread across Addie¡¯s entire body, she pointed her finger out and channeled all of the flames down her arm. She flicked her hand toward the puddle and the flames washed off of her in a torrent. In retrospect, this had probably been overkill for such a tiny puddle, but the entire thing exploded and sent steam all into the air.

    The humidity from the explosion lingered, and a gentle fog enveloped the surroundings for a little while.

    Nettal scooped at some of the steam with her hand and practically shoved it into the Mushroom Furrian¡¯s face so he could see it.

    His eyes went wide, and he stared as the steam gently left in the area, dissipating within just a few moments.

    Soon, the only proof that the puddle had ever existed was a black mark on the slight indent in the rocky floor. The mushrooms near it had turned to ash. Oops.

    ¡°Fog,¡± Nettal said to the Mushroom Furrian.

    He nodded his head once, with brightness in his eyes. Without waiting a single moment, he quickly started marching off. He clearly had some destination in mind.

    ¡°Do you think he understood?¡± Addie asked Nettal.

    The mugginess of the area started to stick to Addie¡¯s face and arms uncomfortably. At least this deep into the cave was pretty warm compared to how cold it had been outside.

    ¡°I hope so,¡± Nettal responded with a slight nod of her head.

    ¡°That was a person with purpose. He understood.¡± Squishy chimed in.

    ¡°Should we go back?¡± Addie asked. She wanted to go inside and sit back down on the furs. She needed to get some proper rest soon, too. Sleeping on the cave floor last night had been pretty awful.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait here for him to come back.¡± Nettal decided for them.

    ¡°Okay, I guess.¡±

    As they waited, Addie had to try hard not to close her eyes. They kept drooping down of their own volition, and she caught herself from falling asleep a few times, too.

    ¡°Look, Addie!¡± Nettal pointed.

    Addie followed her finger to see the Mushroom Furrian coming back. He had something in his hand, but he was still too far away for Addie to tell what it was. Once he got a little closer, Addie could tell that he was holding a book in his hand. A dark brown leather-bound book, and there were even some words printed on the cover, too.

    Once the Furrian got closer, he bowed from the waist while holding the book out to Nettal. She took it from him, and he easily let go of it, coming out of his bow after she grabbed it.

    Addie looked over Nettal¡¯s shoulder. It took her a second to process what she was seeing, since most of the text on the cover didn¡¯t make sense.

    ¡°The Mountain Demon,¡± the cover read, about two-thirds down. Above it and below it, were quite a few more lines on the cover, each about the same length as one another, all using the same font and at the same size. It was like someone had written the same exact thing on the cover in ten different languages.

 Chapter 82.5: Interlude, Immortality

    Lately, I have had dreams of eternal life. As lord of these lands, I often think to myself, in all my glory and splendor, there is still something that I lack. I see it in the speckles of grey intruding on my black hair. The wrinkles that creep across my face seem to grow slightly longer each time I see my reflection. As I am faced with this reality, I realize: I do not want my reign to end.

    My peasants labor for my rice, and my administrators are successful in helping me plan my infrastructure. My land has no shortage of food, and it is due to my diligence. The laws I make have kept this land peaceful, and thus my peasants content. Even those who would wish us harm break against our mighty arms of war.

    My children will grow to be powerful, their swordsmanship bested only by the veteran trainers I employ. The merchants buy my crops in exchange for swathes of riches. Even the magical creatures of the land dare not intrude. It is here, at the peak of my glory, that I realize it will one day, come to an end.

    I refuse.

    My wife tells stories of a demon hidden away. Of a mountain near her homeland with a peak blanketed in fog. At both the base of the mountain and near the top lies a shrine dedicated to an ancient demon. Its home lies within an impenetrable blanket of fog. Every year people migrate across the lands to visit this shrine in respectful worship. An immortal, who has for hundreds of years, existed in solitude. It is rumored that should this creature acknowledge a challenger¡¯s tenacity, the demon will bestow a gift of youth.

    It is at this mountain that I will reach a new peak. I will meet this demon. There I will best it in a competition of tenacity. Surely, I will be granted a deserving reward. All to continue my everlasting reign. I will broaden my lands ensuring that all people have opportunities of a golden age¡ª a world ruled by an immortal.

    I stop at the base of the mountain and look at the climb ahead. Next to me lies a set of stairs. This is where I will begin the climb. My horses will have to be left here, and only a few of my retainers will join me on the climb. Only my most loyal men are deserving of a reward as great as the one I seek. Unlike the fools before us, who have been content to simply stop at the simple wooden shrine, I will continue up into the fog.

    We continue climbing up the smooth stone stairs. Interspersed on either side of us grow towering trees, occasional bamboo, along with fungi and other forest growth. Sometimes I hear a rustle in the flora adjacent as a wind breezes past, while the Binary is easily seen above us. The deep wilderness surrounds us on both sides, but the chiseled stairs are well maintained, and thus there is nothing directly above us except for a broad expanse of sky.

    As we climb the mountain, my first advisor climbs the stairs next to me with sweat upon his brow. He asks if we can stop the men for food and rest as I notice a tremor in his legs.

    I shake my head, ¡°We have no time for rest, can¡¯t you tell? The Binary is high in the sky, it guides us onward! It¡¯s as if the heavens themselves look forward to our success.¡±

    We continue the climb.

    As the Binary begins to set, I realize that we have come very far with neither food nor rest. I hear the men behind me wheeze and tire. Yet we are in a fugue, we can all see the fog far out in front of us, oppressive in its opaqueness. As we creep towards it, I feel the soreness in my feet, the sweat through my clothing, the stabbing pains of hunger and thirst, and yet I think of only one thing: we are almost there.

    I look around us, to the men at my back and my chest fills with pride,

    ¡°We are almost there! Look ahead! We have gone without rest, but the fog is near!¡± I point into the distance, where under the light of the moon lies our destination.

    I hear cheers from my men, one of them even throwing his helmet high into the air. Their cheers sound weary, but it does not take away from their enthusiasm. My men know that our goal is nigh, after which the need for food and rest will be forgotten as we ascend to something greater.

    We continue the climb.

    It is deep into the night, yet ahead of us lies our goal. We stand in front of a new shrine, the one at the tip of the mountain. Beyond it lies the fog. It is strange, this fog. It does not begin gradually like I am used to. The fog has a clear starting point¡ª an infinitely long and tall flat wall of grey ahead of me, a single plane both unmoving and completely opaque.

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    Pointing ahead I declare, ¡°Look! We are here, and only a step away from beating death forever. I promise vast riches to whoever shall find the demon first!¡±

    My men say nothing, but they have come far and everyone is waiting for rest. I briefly consider allowing it to them, before I remember the importance of continuing forward.

    ¡°Onwards!¡± Without hesitation, I am the first to step into the fog.

    I do not look behind me as I continue the climb, my reward so close at hand. I ignore the silence of my lone steps.

    It immediately becomes apparent that the professionally carved stairs do not continue into the fog. Whereas before I could see the forest around me, now I see nothing except the mud directly around and under my feet. As I continue the climb, the fog is oppressive in its presence. The only sound is that of my boots slopping into the mud as I traverse the terrain. Direction is completely lost, and the only reason I know I am not going in circles is because of the footprints I leave behind.

    Luckily, It does not take long before I feel a presence around me. An intangible weight that resides in the air. I know something watches me, yet I am not afraid.

    ¡°Why have you come to my domain?¡± I hear a voice nearby, whispering, echoing from both near and far¨C its allure both terribly sweet and achingly bitter. ¡°Normally, people leave me offerings at the shrine. Why have you not done so?¡±

    After the demon finishes, I notice a single cat¡¯s paw through the fog¨C the rest of its body obscured.

    The cold damp fog seeps into my clothes, and I realize I am shivering. ¡°I come to challenge you! I heard that you appreciate tenacity. Thus, I have long thought of a good challenge for you.¡± As I¡¯m talking, I feel a smile stretch across my face.

    ¡°Intriguing.¡± As it answers, the demon steps forward. Before me is what appears to be a small cat. It is gold in color, with piercing black spots splattered across its coat. It is only slightly larger than a simple barn cat the peasants often dote on. ¡°Very well. And how would you challenge me?¡± It responds with upturned lips, revealing its fangs in amusement.

    I stand up straighter and reply, ¡°I asked my finest blacksmiths to create this. It is only a small measure of the finest craftsmen who work as part of my lands.¡± I hold out in my palm two long tubes of metal, that have been twisted around each other in a seemingly random pattern. ¡°This- is a puzzle. They are difficult to solve, and require patience to complete.¡±

    The demon turns its head to its right and begins licking its fur. With its head at this angle, it stares at me with a single eye. Despite its mouth having no visible method of speech, I hear its echoing voice nonetheless. ¡°Very well. I will solve the puzzle, but how could I bestow upon you a reward without giving out a challenge myself?¡±

    The cat turns again to approach me, and it slowly walks forward within reach of the puzzle in my outstretched hand. As I bend down to deliver it, the cat opens its mouth. At first, I see the back of a normal cat¡¯s mouth, yet as my eyes adjust, I realize there is no end to it as I cannot help but stare into the endless void as time stretches and bends. After eternity, the cat finally closes its mouth around the puzzle¡ª its lips gently sweeping my hand as it grabs its prize.

    Again, I can hear the cat¡¯s voice, even though its mouth holds the puzzle and thus will not open. ¡°Have you seen the top of the mountain? At the top lies a beautiful meadow. It would be a terrible thing if you had to reach it by yourself. Follow me and we will go together.¡±

    With these words, I have a terrible feeling that something is wrong, yet no matter how I wrack my brain, I cannot recall why. The only sound as we continue the climb are those of my boots on the ground, as I watch the dead silent pattering paws of the cat in front of me.

    Eventually, the cat stops to turn around and look at me. ¡°Look, can¡¯t you see past the fog?¡± The cat lifts its paw and gestures ahead of us.

    Indeed, ahead of us, I make out a small break in the fog, but it is so far away that it is hard to see. A pinprick of green, perhaps grass, in the distance, with nothing else visible except the fog stretching into an endless tunnel around it.

    ¡°I see it, the speck of green over there.¡± I point forward as I reply.

    ¡°Very good. We are almost there, now. Don¡¯t give up on me yet. Reach the green meadow past the fog and I will give you what you seek.¡±

    With this, the cat seemingly disappears into wisps of smoke that vanish into the fog. Surely it will reach the meadow before me to lie in wait.

    I continue the climb.

    As I walk towards the circle of green, I think it is getting closer; however, the amount the circle increases is so tiny and infrequent that I have doubts about my eyes just playing tricks on me. There are many footprints behind me, and since the circle is still ahead, I am at least comforted by the fact that I am going in the right direction. It would not do me well to stop and turn around now.

    I continue the climb.

    My boots have long since degraded, but because I have not been hungry, nor thirsty, I know this is not due to the days passing. I will reprimand the leatherworker when I return to my domain¡ª such poorly constructed footwear. After throwing them off my feet, I decide to start counting my steps as a way to pass the time. It will surely not be long now. Just one more step.

    I continue the climb, forever up.

 Chapter 83: Donâ€™t Scare the Locals

    Sitting back on the furs within the small building in the cavern ruins, Addie finished reading the book¡ª if it could even be called reading. It had felt more like she had entered the realm of the story, feeling the conqueror¡¯s will and life as if it were her own.

    Addie shuddered. The emperor hadn¡¯t even realized that he was immortally trapped within the fog. It had felt so real. When Addie finally finished the book, it was like she had woken up from a night terror¡ª she was just grateful none of it was real. Well, not real for her, at least.

    But now they had a lead on the fog. The demon from the book must have been controlling it. But bonded creatures can only have two powers. If controlling the fog was one power, and somehow transporting Addie and Nettal to this place was another power, how did it give the man in the story immortality? That would have to be three powers.

    Addie shook her head, it didn¡¯t matter. They needed to find the demon in the fog to get home, that much she was sure about.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Nettal began, ¡°That book really drew me in, it felt like¡ª¡±

    Addie cut her off, ¡°Like you were the character in the story?¡± Addie finished Nettal¡¯s sentence.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Nettal perked up as she exclaimed. ¡°Exactly like that.¡±

    ¡°I experienced the same thing you did through our bond. What a troublesome foe,¡± Squishy said.

    Addie felt a familiar bubbling in her soul, and her book shot out from her chest, forming itself out of pure magic. The now-familiar sight of the floating book shuffling through its pages grabbed everyone¡¯s attention. It created a slight breeze as Addie listened to those ruffling pages.

    *There is power here,* the words displayed,

    *Continue down the cave, seek what you''ve prayed.

    Remember, in this place, your soul must not stray,

    More secrets lurk, do not wake them from their bay.*

    Then, in larger letters beneath the poem, more words started to form.

    *A poem from before Servus. Should you continue deeper Addie, remember what I told you. Do not allow your soul to separate from your body in this place. And whatever you do, do not wake the secrets of the ruins.*

    The pages began shuffling backward, and the book slammed shut with finality. It evaporated back into magic, then flowed right back into Addie¡¯s chest and soul.

    ¡°What did it say?¡± Nettal leaned into Addie¡¯s face, ¡°I couldn¡¯t read the words! It looked all scribbly.¡±

    ¡°It said we should go further into the cave to find something to help us. But it also said not to wake up any ¡®secrets¡¯, whatever that means.¡± Addie rolled her eyes at the vague instructions. ¡°It also warned me not to use Ember¡¯s magic.¡±

    ¡°How shall we find one thing but not the other, if we do not know what either of them are in the first place?¡± Squishy asked with a tilted head.

    ¡°You can¡¯t use Ember¡¯s magic? But the flames have helped us a lot!¡±

    Addie decided to answer Nettal first, ¡°Well, the flames are ok. It just said not to use the other power.¡± Then, to Squishy she said telepathically, ¡°No idea. Guess we have to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Oh, ok.¡± Nettal nodded her head, but then she tilted it in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s the other power again?¡±

    ¡°I can move my soul around without my body.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re like a ghost basically,¡± Nettal decided one-sidedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a ghost!¡±

    ¡°BooOoo, I¡¯m Addie the ghOoost.¡± Nettal fluctuated her voice like a spooky ghost.

    ¡°Stop that!¡± Addie said with a smile.

    Then, both girls laughed for a bit.

    ¡°So I guess we need to go further into the cave, huh?¡± Nettal asked as she looked up at the ceiling.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I wonder if the Furrians could make me some kind of shoes,¡± Addie bent over and pulled one of her feet up to look at the bottom of it.

    It was dark all over, but not bleeding thankfully, just sore and bruised. It was also disgustingly filthy, so maybe that was part of the reason it looked so dark.

    ¡°I really wish I hadn¡¯t forgotten my shoes back at the tent,¡± Addie complained aloud as she set her foot back down.

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s ask them, maybe they can help with something. It¡¯d also be nice to have some of the furs made into a cloak or something so I¡¯m not so cold all the time,¡± Nettal rubbed her arms and shivered.

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    ¡°Yeah, that would be nice.¡± Addie agreed.

    ¡°How about tomorrow? Let¡¯s rest some today, see if they can get us some shoes and clothes, and then we can explore the cave more tomorrow.¡± Nettal suggested.

    ¡°Ok,¡± Addie nodded her head in agreement. ¡°I¡¯m tired now, anyway.¡±

    Luckily, some of the women Furrian had stopped by and left more furs on the ground so Addie would also have a pile to sleep on. After reading the book, both girls had also long finished another meal of mushroom stew. Another day in the cave had passed.

    Something else curious happened, completely in tune with both of the girls, the glowy moss somehow knew that the girls wanted to go to sleep, since all the glowing noticeably reduced just as Addie and Nettal lay down. Automatic light-switch. Addie approved of it, but she wondered if maybe it¡¯d be nice if she could control it more, like by clapping or something. Might be a good idea for a magic item sometime.

    Her thoughts drifted in this manner as she fell asleep.

    <hr><hr>

    A gentle hand shook Addie awake. ¡°Is it morning?¡± she asked blearily, hearing a soft ¡®whoo¡¯ in response.

    That made her turn around in bed, it still looked like it was dark outside. She opened her eyes slowly and came face to face with a fuzzy face. Oh, that¡¯s right. She was in the caves, with the Furrians. This wasn¡¯t her bed. She sat up slowly, and let a few disparate furs fall off her chest as she moved.

    The woman Furrian next to her pushed a cup of steaming liquid in front of Addie¡¯s face, and at the same time, Addie could see another woman Furrian similarly fussing over Nettal. After both girls were wide awake, the moss in the building got brighter, just enough to light up the room but still nothing close to the Binary.

    ¡°Whoo, Whoo,¡± the Furrian next to Addie said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t speak Furrian,¡± Addie replied.

    ¡°Whoo,¡± she said again.

    Just for fun, Addie decided to reply, ¡°Whoo whoo,¡± herself.

    Something about that spooked the Furrian who instantly shot up to a ramrod straight standing position. She said ¡°Whoo!¡± With a worried expression, and then darted out of the room.

    The Furrian next to Nettal watched the whole thing happen with wide eyes, but Nettal put her hand on her and she settled down pretty quickly.

    ¡°Weird,¡± Addie said aloud.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare the locals,¡± Nettal chastised her.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to,¡± Addie said, slightly embarrassed.

    Nettal rolled her eyes. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it freak you out if they started speaking Borian all of a sudden?¡±

    Addie squinted her eyes at Nettal, ¡°Not really? That¡¯d be nice if they could, honestly.¡±

    Nettal laughed a bit.

    ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You¡¯re funny I guess.¡±

    Addie harrumphed.

    Pretty soon after that, the woman Furrian took away all the spare cups and bowls, bowed, and then left the building.

    ¡°Maybe we should tell them we are leaving?¡± Nettal suggested once they were alone.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s nice here, but I want to go home.¡±

    ¡°Me too. But wait!¡± Addie said excitedly, ¡°We still need to ask if we can take some of the furs.¡± She reminded Nettal.

    ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Addie grabbed a few of the furs from off the ground.

    Everyone started walking out of the building, Squishy and Lotty following behind Addie and Nettal respectively.

    Just as they left the tent, Addie saw the warrior Furrian from yesterday. It looked like he had just been on his way to the building.

    He spotted them quickly and smiled. He let off a few small whoops, and then hurried closer to them.

    Once he got close enough, he reached his hand out toward Nettal. Nettal glanced at Addie, who shrugged her shoulders in response. Nettal also shrugged and then grabbed ahold of his hand. The Furrians were pretty short, usually no taller than Addie was, but this particular Furrian was about a head taller than normal, so it almost looked like Nettal had a fuzzy dad or something as they held hands and walked ahead.

    Addie couldn¡¯t help but snicker at the sight of it.

    After about five minutes of walking, the warrior Furrian brought them to another dilapidated building, this one about the same size as the one they slept in¡ª just large enough for a single room.

    It was strange, though. All of the warrior Furrians, not just the lead male, had all lined up outside the building, single file. The ones at the front of the line didn¡¯t look too great. The very first person in line was missing an arm, and the Furrian behind him had a giant gash through his chest, which was still slightly bleeding. Not a ton, though, luckily.

    ¡°Oh my gosh! What happened!¡± Nettal exclaimed. ¡°I need to heal them!¡±

    She rushed forward, only to be yanked and stopped as the lead warrior Furrian held tight onto her hand, unyielding.

    ¡°Let go,¡± Nettal tried to explain with a patient smile, ¡°I need to help them.¡±

    The lead Furrian smiled back as he used his spare hand to gesture toward the building.

    ¡°Battlefield triage.¡± Squishy¡¯s voice came through their bond, drawing Addie¡¯s attention to his small black form, ¡°Notice they are in single file? Tell Nettal to go inside, surely they will come to her one at a time.¡±

    Addie looked back up, and she saw that Nettal was still trying to argue with the lead Furrian, who refused to let go. His patient smile seemed to be cracking at the edges.

    To try and defuse the situation, Addie hurried forward and grabbed onto Nettal¡¯s arm. ¡°You can heal them,¡± Addie tried to start before getting interrupted.

    ¡°Tell that to this guy!¡± Nettal was starting to pout in frustration.

    ¡°Squishy says you can heal them, he just wants you to do it one at a time while in the building for some reason.¡±

    No longer hyper-focused on the two most injured Furrians at the front of the line, Nettal finally swept her vision across the entire clearing. She deflated, and all the frustration washed off her face. ¡°Oh, I see. It¡¯s like the clinic. They probably have a place for me to rest while I treat the injured or something. That makes sense.¡±

    Sure enough, the moment Nettal started walking into the front doorcloth of the building, the lead warrior Furrian easily let go of her hand. He took up the rear as he followed Addie and Nettal inside. And, just as suspected, there was even a stone bench in the dwelling covered in furs for Nettal to rest on.

    And it also became clear why the lead warrior Furrian wouldn¡¯t let Nettal heal the people in line. Two more Furrians were laying on the ground who looked much worse than anyone outside. One of them had a bleeding leg stump, a missing eye, and his jaw was protruding strangely. Addie had to look away.

    The other Furrian didn¡¯t look much better, with a gash in his stomach with ropes of somethingnopedon¡¯tlook; Addie had to quickly leave the building so she wouldn¡¯t puke on the injured Furrians. She scrambled past the doorcloth, almost getting tangled up in it before she finally got outside. She heaved a few times, but luckily nothing came up. Addie breathed heavily for a moment and just tried to catch her bearings. She had never seen guts before. She shuddered. Hopefully she wouldn¡¯t have to see that again any time soon.

 Chapter 84: Wave

    ¡°Addie, are you ok?¡± Nettal called from inside the building.

    ¡°I¡¯m ok,¡± Addie called back. ¡°Just never seen that before.¡±

    Squishy plodded out from the building, his paw pads dead silent on the cavern floor as he approached.

    Seeing her companion come over, Addie decided to sit down on the ground so he could rest his head on her lap. He did just that, and the two of them just sat outside the building to wait.

    She idly scratched at the soft scales underneath his chin, causing him to preen and lean into the scritches.

    It looked like Nettal might be awhile. Lotty was in there with her, but it looked like every single male in the village had come to get a doctor¡¯s checkup.

    ¡°Ember,¡± Addie started to ask through their bond, ¡°Can you go find the mushroom Furrian and ask him to come here?¡±

    A feeling of consent came across the bond before Ember shot out of Addie¡¯s chest leaving a brief trail of ghostly flames in her wake. She went up as high as she could, which was surprisingly far in this massive cavern, and she used the vantage point to circle the entire ruins. After three circles, she swooped down out of Addie¡¯s sight.

    Squishy let out a long breath, his body decompressing against Addie¡¯s legs.

    A ping came across their bond, and Addie pulled her head up to look off in the distance and to the right. She could feel Ember pinging her from somewhere in that direction. Her feelings were confirmed when a little bit later she could see the old graying mushroom Furrian start walking over with a slight hunch. He was still pretty far away, so it would probably be a minute or two before he got here.

    Addie looked back down at Squishy, ¡°Didn¡¯t we just wake up? How are you so tired already!¡± she poked at his squishy tummy. ¡°If you keep resting like this all the time you are gonna get fat.¡±

    He lazily swiped at her poking finger, moving it off his tummy. ¡°Warriors do not get fat.¡±

    Hearing the crunch of cave pebbles, Addie looked back up to see the mushroom Furrian approaching. Ember was flitting about his head, causing him to track her with his eyes with a look of wonder on his face. Once they got close enough, Ember flapped her wings as fast as she could and soared back into Addie¡¯s chest¡ª once again getting comfy in her soul shell.

    Addie wiggled a bit at the slightly uneasy sensation. She¡¯d never get used to Ember slithering into the soul cracks like that. She grimaced and shook the feeling off.

    Since he was finally here, Addie stood up abruptly, forcing Squishy out of her lap.

    ¡°Hi!¡± Addie waved at him, but he didn¡¯t really seem to get it.

    He raised his arm and looked at his hand as if Addie was trying to say there was something he should look at on his own arm.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s just a wave silly!¡± Addie smiled.

    He smiled back. At least he understood that one.

    Remembering why she wanted him in the first place, Addie unwrapped the one pelt she had around her arm and held it in the air with one hand. She pantomimed wrapping it all around herself, covering her arms, back, torso, everywhere she could really.

    The mushroom Furrian watched her the whole time, and something seemed to click since he nodded his head and turned around to walk off.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Addie shouted. She needed shoes, too!

    He turned around after hearing her voice, and this time Addie sat down on the ground for the next demonstration. She put one foot in the air a bit and wrapped the pelt around her foot, with the skin side facing out.

    With this second demonstration, the Furrian just tilted his head in confusion, before shaking it. He lifted one of his feet into the air with surprising flexibility. He managed to lift it nearly vertically to directly inspect his foot, which to Addie looked more like a hand. While staring at his foot, he shook his head again, dropping his foot back down.

    Addie sighed. No shoes, then.

    She quickly pantomimed having coverings all over herself again. Then, she pointed once at herself and pointed again at the building. She held up two fingers, to show that both she and Nettal each needed some warmer clothes. The mushroom Furrian understood easily (Addie hoped) and began to walk off again.

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    Turning behind and to her left, Addie saw a Furrian leaving the building¡¯s doorcloth. Addie had no idea what had been wrong with him before since he looked perfectly healthy now. The line still looked just as long as before, though.

    Addie sighed as she settled in to wait.

    <hr><hr>

    It took mushroom Furrian a surprisingly long time to return. The line to Nettal¡¯s building had already been reduced by half. Since he seemed to understand her, Addie thought it would only take him a little bit to grab some spare fur clothing and walk back. But, she should have known better. None of the Furrians wore clothes properly, their own natural fur covered them plenty. Addie was starting to worry he didn¡¯t understand what she wanted after all.

    Luckily, by the time he started walking back, Addie could see him carrying two big bundles of cloth. He held them tightly against his chest as he walked back to Addie.

    Once he got within talking distance Addie waved to him with a smile. He smiled back, but since both his hands were occupied he didn¡¯t wave back. Or maybe he still didn¡¯t really get the whole waving thing. Either way.

    Now standing next to Addie, he lifted one of the fur bundles up into the air and inspected it. He quickly dismissed that one by hanging it over his shoulder. He unfolded the other fur bundle and held it over Addie¡¯s head.

    Addie closed her eyes as he put the bundle over her head. He yanked it down firmly, but without jarring Addie too much. He knew how to be gentle.

    Now able to open her eyes again, Addie inspected the furs. Disparate colors of brown, gray, white, blond, and even red furs had all been mixed and matched together. Addie recognized rabbit and fox pelts that had been sewn together, as well as some other animal pelts she didn¡¯t recognize. The entire thing draped over her shoulders and hung there like a poncho. The sleeves were long and went slightly past her hands. In true poncho fashion, the sleeves connected to the base of the garment, making the entire thing look triangular when she raised her arms.

    Amazingly, the fur poncho fit her perfectly, despite its rustic make. It sort of made sense, most of the Furrian women were about Addie¡¯s height, but slightly wider. Still, she admired the fit. She wouldn¡¯t have expected such well-tailored clothing in this environment.

    ¡°How come it took you so long to bring it?¡± Addie asked curiously. She tried to sound curious and thankful with her tone since her words could be interpreted as rude otherwise.

    The mushroom Furrian smiled back, and then he pantomimed a sewing needle. He put his fingers in front of his head and framed Addie¡¯s arms within them from afar, looking out between his fingers with one eye open.

    ¡°You just made these!?¡± No wonder it had taken so long. They felt so well-fitting because they had just been tailored specifically for her. Or at least, that¡¯s what she assumed.

    The ever-persistent goose-bumps she had been suffering from while in the caverns finally started to go away. She snuggled into the poncho. It was perfect.

    She heard laughing and moved her head back up to look at the mushroom Furrian. He seemed amused by how much Addie liked the poncho. Of course, she liked it! Addie would have been happy with something half as warm. Her pajamas barely kept her warm at all¡ª it was lucky the cave system was a lot warmer than the snowy mountains outside.

    The mushroom Furrian then handed the second poncho to Addie, who quickly grabbed the proffered offering. She¡¯d give it to Nettal later.

    Just as the mushroom Furrian began to leave, Addie called out again, ¡°Thank you!¡± She gave him a bright smile and waved.

    He smiled, then hesitantly waved back, still slightly unsure of the gesture.

    With Nettal¡¯s poncho in hand, Addie stood up and approached the entryway. She had to wait a moment for the doorway to clear as one of the wounded exited the building.

    She darted inside the moment it was clear.

    ¡°Hi, Addie!¡± Nettal called from within the small room. She waved Addie over. ¡°What are you wearing?¡±

    Nettal knelt on a floor covered in furs, hovering over a Furrian who lay in front of her. Nettal¡¯s eyes were glowing green, and she had her hand over the Furrians as a healing glow emanated from her palm.

    The warrior Furrian was still standing in the room with Nettal. He towered over her from behind, leaning back against one of the crumbling walls with his arms crossed. He smiled after he noticed Addie.

    Addie walked toward her, ¡°The mushroom Furrian found us some warmer clothes. I brought your poncho. Do you want it now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s kinda cold.¡± Nettal stood up, mindful not to disturb her patient. She turned her head down to him and bent over, ¡°You¡¯re all better now!¡± She patted his arm.

    The warrior Furrian made a whooping noise, causing Nettal¡¯s former patient to quickly get up and leave the building.

    Addie turned slightly to let him go past. Once he was gone, Addie stepped closer to Nettal and handed over the poncho.

    She turned it around in her hands a few times to find the front, and then put it on over her head. She shivered, ¡°Oh it¡¯s warm! That¡¯s so much better.¡±

    ¡°Right?¡± Addie agreed with a nod of her head. ¡°I¡¯m glad we found the Furrians. They¡¯re so friendly!¡± Addie smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to leave today. I¡¯m only halfway done healing everyone! Can we wait to go until tomorrow?¡±

    Addie grimaced at the idea of needing to eat more mushroom soup. Well, at least there was some food. ¡°Alright. Tomorrow.¡± Addie promised.

    <hr><hr>

    Since Nettal was busy, Addie and Squishy decided to explore a bit. The village consisted of around 20 or so crumbling dwellings and a whole lot more constructed dwellings with walls and roofs made from giant mushrooms.

    Addie wasn¡¯t quite sure how it was decided who exactly would live in the limited stone buildings, but she suspected the leaders might live in those since she saw the mushroom Furrian living in one.

    The ceiling of the cavern with the village reached much higher than the cave tunnels that Addie and Nettal had walked through before. Even the giant glowing blue mushrooms didn¡¯t reach the ceiling, here.

    The Furrians had created a system of lights through the village since Addie could see one of those big glowy mushrooms anywhere things started to get dark. A small stream even flowed through what Addie thought of as the ¡®center¡¯ of the village¡ª the area with all of the stone buildings.

    After just wandering around a bit, Addie could see all of the women Furrian were in the village¡¯s center, much the same way they had been when Addie and Nettal first found them.

    Addie decided to get closer and see what they were doing.

 Chapter 85: Feast!

    Chapter 85: Feast!

    All of the women were working on various tasks, some of them washing furs in the stream, others sharpening some kind of bone into tools using stones, Addie even saw a couple of the women tending to a single pit of dirt where mushrooms were being cultivated. Addie avoided that spot since it smelled really bad.

    ¡°The Furrians work hard,¡± Squishy observed.

    Just like before, the only male in this group was the mushroom Furrian, who seemed to be chatting with those gentle ¡®whoops¡¯ with some of the older, graying women.

    When he spotted Addie, he smiled and waved. Addie waved back. He was getting it!

    He gestured for Addie to come closer, so she ran forward a bit to reach him.

    After she got there, he stood up and began to guide Addie to an area where some of the women Furrians were stacking a large pile of mushroom stems, some of them as thick as tree trunks.

    He pointed to the pile, then to Addie, then back to the pile.

    Addie couldn¡¯t figure out what he wanted at first, so she just stared at him with confusion.

    The mushroom Furrian flapped his arms up and down a bunch.

    ¡°Ember?¡± Addie guessed.

    With a shrug, Addie had Ember come out.

    The mushroom Furrian smiled and pointed to the log pile again.

    ¡°You want us to burn it?¡±

    Flashes from two days ago swept through Addie¡¯s mind, how hard it got to breathe last time she lit a fire in the cave.

    Addie shook her head and frowned. ¡°We¡¯ll choke!¡±

    The Furrian frowned.

    Addie put her hands at her throat and made gagging sounds, mimicking choking.

    He nodded in understanding, then pointed to the log pile again.

    Addie looked at him suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m not going to poison the air.¡± She crossed her arms.

    Just at that moment, someone tapped Addie¡¯s shoulder.

    With a jolt of surprise, Addie turned around, coming face to face with one of the older women Furrians. She pointed behind Addie, at a giant mushroom cap getting carried by a group of Furrians.

    Addie watched as the group of women marched over and put the giant concave mushroom cap over the log pile.

    Leading her by the hand, the woman brought her over and put Addie¡¯s hand on the mushroom cap. It was cold, hard, and smooth like stone¡ª totally petrified.

    The women lifted the cap off the lumber pile. Grabbing Addie¡¯s attention with a whoop, the old mushroom Furrian pointed at Ember, then to the log pile, and then finally to the giant mushroom cap still held in the air by the women.

    ¡°You want me to set it on fire and then you¡¯ll smother it? I don¡¯t really get the point of that but ok.¡± Even if they couldn¡¯t understand her, it helped to talk aloud like that.

    Addie started pushing the older woman and the mushroom Furrian away from the area to get them out of the blast zone. They seemed a bit confused but didn¡¯t resist her.

    Once everyone was further back, Addie held her arm out for Ember, who flew over and perched on Addie¡¯s left forearm. Tugging on their magic, Addie stepped forward and lit a fireball of purple ghostly flames in her right hand. She concentrated, and with an effort of will, she and Ember turned the flames white-hot. She condensed the fireball down in her hand. Once it felt hot and close to bursting, Addie threw the fireball at the log pile.

    Several things happened at once.

    With a crack and then a boom, the pile of logs burst into flames, blinding Addie for a moment as the white flames took a moment to turn a more normal orange.

    The mushroom Furrian started whooping loudly and with slight panic.

    The women Furrians carrying the big mushroom cap ran forward.

    Another group of women Furrians that Addie hadn¡¯t noticed ran right next to the flames and placed down a bunch of wet-looking mushroom bowls and cups.

    With a clatter, the women Furrians dropped the giant mushroom cap over the entire pile of burning logs on one side and wet uncured cups and bowls on the other side. Addie still didn¡¯t get how the fire would be able to keep going smothered like that.

    After all that, things settled down a bit. People still worked to get more stuff done, but the rest of it was way less hurried.

    Addie must have stumbled upon an entire village event.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Women carrying woven baskets filled with slabs of meat worked together to place it on top of the mushroom slab. The meat started the sizzle right away as it met the surface. The tantalizing smell of roasting meat immediately reached Addie, making her particularly excited for a meal other than mushroom.

    Some of the women even threw pieces at Squishy, who chomped it out of the air, enjoying it a lot.

    A younger Furrian, quite a bit shorter than the adults and also Addie, walked up carrying a basket. She tugged on the sleeve of Addie¡¯s poncho and pointed down at the meat in the basket.

    Very cutely, the girls showed Addie how to put the meat on the mushroom top.

    Addie smiled awkwardly, since she didn¡¯t want to touch the raw meat. ¡°No thanks,¡± she shook her head.

    The girl shrugged and then continued working with the rest of the women.

    Some of the especially thin slices of meat finished quickly, the women harvesting it and putting some in mushroom bowls. The serving women brought the first batch of meat to the old male mushroom Furrian, the three elder women, and also to her surprise, Addie herself.

    Gratefully, Addie started eating the meat. She had to pick it up with her hands, but it wasn¡¯t too hot. The grease got all over her hands though and it was sort of hard to eat since she had to bite through it in chunks. Some of it uncomfortably got stuck in her teeth, but she didn¡¯t care since it was delicious and somehow properly salty. She gobbled it down.

    While she was eating, Addie noticed one of the women walk off with two bowls of meat in the direction of Nettal¡¯s building. One bowl for Nettal and the other bowl for the head warrior, Addie guessed.

    Soon, the meat got passed all around. The chattering in the cave grew a lot as everyone socialized while they ate in groups. Around this time, the warrior men also started coming into the village center and joining everyone for the social atmosphere and meal.

    As if it were perfectly natural, the mushroom Furrian and the old women surrounded Addie and ate together with her, prompting her to sit down. She had to readjust a few times to get comfortable on the rocky cave floor.

    They were all chattering about something or another, but since it just sounded like noises to Addie, she had no idea what they were saying. Something she noticed was that they used a lot of hand gestures and body language. Much more than Addie ever saw from anyone else. No wonder they were so good at communicating with Addie: they were masters at body language.

    Squishy crawled up into Addie¡¯s lap, and she could feel his slightly protruding stomach as he huffed in satisfaction.

    For the most part, Addie just kept moving her head from person to person as they all spoke around her. She had no idea what they were actually saying, but the tone was relaxed and friendly. It felt like a family dinner to Addie. Every so often, different Furrians would bring over more meat, refilling people¡¯s bowls. After the third time, Addie had to wave them away from her. She couldn¡¯t possibly stuff herself anymore. Right after that, someone came by with a cloth for Addie¡¯s greasy hands. More cloths were passed around to the elders surrounding Addie, too.

    The glowing moss and mushrooms slowly began to dim, and Addie yawned.

    Perhaps after an hour or so, Addie really couldn¡¯t tell for sure, Nettal walked into the clearing followed by the warrior Furrian. They were both carrying bowls of meat, so Addie¡¯s earlier guess must have been right. She also saw Lotty following behind them, his hooves clacking slightly on the ground.

    Addie waved to them, and Nettal smiled.

    They all sat down in the same spot as Addie and the other elders: seven people in total. The mushroom Furrian and the warrior Furrian who were both men, the three older women Furrians, plus Addie and Nettal.

    The group of Furrians were still chattering with each other, but they all went dead silent the moment Addie spoke up, ¡°Did you finish healing everyone?¡±

    Addie glanced around at the suddenly quiet Furrians. After a moment, they picked their chattering back up even as Nettal responded.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m exhausted, even after taking breaks, and with them bringing me food all day. Me and Lotty need to go to bed! I¡¯m tired. He¡¯s tired. Magic¡¯s tired, too.¡± Nettal slumped slightly.

    While she was talking, the elders occasionally glanced at Nettal but they didn¡¯t completely quiet down again like before.

    Addie noticed most of the other Furrians slowly started to disperse into the night, but the elders surrounding her and Nettal didn¡¯t get up or leave, they just kept chattering away in that unique language Addie couldn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Looks like everyone¡¯s starting to go to bed,¡± Addie said aloud. ¡°So maybe we can rest soon, too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. We should. At least, if we still want to go exploring tomorrow.¡± Nettal said.

    Addie nodded, ¡°Definitely.¡±

    Nettal stood up, and Addie stood up, too. Squishy made a small grunt as he slid off her lap in the process. That must have been the signal the elders were waiting for since they also stood up right after.

    Addie looked¡ª the glowing flora lit up the cave ceiling in small sparkles and lines, reminding her of the starry night sky. Except, she could still tell they weren¡¯t real stars, the root-like lines across the ceiling looked pretty, but Addie knew they weren¡¯t stars.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Addie said while still looking up.

    From behind her, Nettal walked up and grabbed Addie¡¯s hand.

    They started walking back to their building, but Nettal kept glancing behind Addie. That made Addie curious, so she used her spatial sense to take a sneak peek behind them and see what Nettal kept looking at.

    Without making a single sound, the elders were following Addie and Nettal back to the building, just ten paces behind the girls or so.

    Addie turned to face the elders behind her and waved.

    The mushroom Furrian really understood the gesture, since this time he didn¡¯t hesitate to smile and wave back immediately. The other elders looked at him with upturned brows. Addie could see him turn his head with his lips moving, telling the other elders something.

    ¡°Wonder why they¡¯re following us,¡± Nettal¡¯s voice drew Addie¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Probably doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Addie said. She liked the Furrians. They were nice and shared lots of stuff with her. Like her new poncho! She loved the poncho.

    ¡°They are smart to watch us.¡± Squishy began. ¡°You have proven yourselves very powerful, surely they would want to keep a close eye on us, no? Especially the head warrior. If he did not take us seriously, he would not be a vigilant protector.¡±

    ¡°Maybe they just want to be friends,¡± Addie said, both in response to Squishy¡¯s thoughts and Nettal¡¯s earlier question.

    ¡°Do not trust them so implicitly, my lady. I believe there is more to them than meets the eye.¡± Squishy huffed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a silly cat.¡± Addie replied through the bond, ¡°The Furrians have been super duper helpful so far! I¡¯ll tell Christena all about them.¡±

    Addie¡¯s mood worsened for a moment at the reminder that she was far away from home. Looking to her right, Addie was glad Nettal was here with her.

 Chapter 86: Move!

    Something was wrong.

    Addie tried to further open her bleary eyes, straining to figure out what was so off about this morning. She tried to sit up, but it took more effort than normal as she struggled against her morning sleepiness. She moved through molasses, desperately trying to get up but only barely moving.

    ¡°Nettal!¡± Addie shouted, trying to get help. ¡°Help! I can¡¯t move!¡±

    She couldn¡¯t even turn her eyes and look to her right, to look at Nettal. Her muscles locked up, and she couldn¡¯t turn her eyes away from the ceiling.

    She lay on her back, stuck, unable to move, struggling against an unseen force.

    With a surge and exhale of breath, Addie finally sat all the way up, her breathing coming heavily. Her eyes shot open¨C it was like the past few moments had been a dream, despite feeling like real life.

    ¡°Addie?¡± Nettal asked groggily, Addie able to see her cousin through her spatial sense, ¡°Everything ok?¡±

    ¡°Did you hear me s-shouting earlier?¡± Addie asked with a stutter, her fingers shaking. She still couldn¡¯t quite tell what had happened.

    ¡°No. I thought you just woke up?¡± Nettal said more as a question than a statement.

    She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands while she yawned.

    Addie looked to her left and nearly shouted in surprise as her heart started accelerating further.

    She put her hand on her chest as she tried to breathe naturally again. It was just the Mushroom Furrian and Head Warrior Furrian. They had just entered the building, the warrior still holding aside the doorcloth. The Mushroom Furrian began to walk toward Addie, the warrior right behind him.

    After a few steps, the Mushroom Furrian stopped in front of Addie, while the Warrior Furrian mirrored the action to stop in front of Nettal, who was sitting upright on her furs.

    Almost in unison, the Mushroom Furrian reached out to help Nettal up, and the Warrior Furrian did the same for Nettal. It definitely seemed odd that they would come in here and fetch like this.

    The Mushroom Furrian smiled at Addie, so she hesitantly took his proffered hand. He gently helped her up, and then he started to lead her out of the tent.

    Addie let go of his hand quickly to grab her poncho and put it on. He waited patiently for her, but the moment she had it properly over her head he reached out to hold her hand again.

    Addie wanted to stop him, to tell him she and Nettal had plans to go exploring today, but she decided not to say anything yet. Maybe he needed her help for something really important.

    Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the Warrior Furrian started leading Nettal in a different direction. That seemed odd to Addie because Nettal had already healed every single Furrian in the village. Surely they didn¡¯t need her for anything right now?

    Regardless, Addie had decided to see where he wanted to take her. Since she didn¡¯t feel too great about the situation, she did have a good idea for how to keep Nettal safe.

    ¡°Squishy, can you go with Nettal for today? I have Ember if I get in danger, but Nettal can only heal people.¡±

    ¡°Your wish is my command, my lady.¡±

    Squishy turned around to stop following Addie, and he immediately bolted in the opposite direction to meet up with Nettal. She was still within line of sight, so he caught up to her quickly.

    The Mushroom Furrian barely reacted to Squishy leaving. Addie let out a breath of relief. She felt better now that Squishy could protect Nettal¡ª just in case.

    The Mushroom Furrian continued to guide Addie by the hand. Addie recognized the path by now. They were going to the village center again, the same place they ate dinner with everyone last night.

    All of the women were working in the center again, most of them doing various tasks by the single stream running through the ruins: Laundry, dishes, that sort of thing.

    The Mushroom Furrian led Addie to the three elder women from last night, and they greeted Addie with big smiles all around.

    He lightly patted Addie on the back once before sauntering off with a wave. Addie idly waved back, but she quickly turned her attention to the elder women.

    They chattered amongst each other for a moment, in that language Addie couldn¡¯t understand. One of them walked forward and grabbed Addie¡¯s hand (the Furrians had been doing that a lot lately). She pointed toward another pile of mushroom logs, this time with what looked like a cauldron filled with water and some type of cloth on the inside.

    Without worrying too much about poisonous air since they seemed to already know about that, Addie threw a quick fireball to the pile and ignited it. Some of the other younger women took over after that, spreading the fire around to other piles where everyone could do laundry using the hot water.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    One of the elder women then led Addie by the hand into a building right beside the stream. She pushed aside the doorcloth, patted on a large pile of furs, and sat down on the fur-laden floor. With a smile, she patted the furs next to her, prompting Addie to sit down.

    Addie did so and then looked at the elder curiously. Right after, the other two elders walked into the building as well, both of them carrying baskets filled with stuff. They also sat down, the three elders facing Addie in a semi-circle.

    One of the elders pulled out a simple rock, pointed to it, and said something in that strange clicking hollering language they all used. It sounded really strange. They even clicked their tongues, kind of like Christena might do if she were scolding Addie.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a rock,¡± Addie said plainly, still trying to understand what they wanted.

    The elder in the middle quickly shook her head, ¡®no¡¯, and then she repeated the same exact clicking sound from before, ¡°T¡¯cha¡±, she said, clicking her tongue at the front of the word.

    Oh, Addie was getting it. She had done this activity every single morning for almost her entire life. They were trying to teach her morning lessons!!! But it felt kind of off, almost like her dream from this morning¨C like she was forced to be here in a way that wasn¡¯t normal.

    ¡°T¡¯cha¡±, Addie repeated their word for ¡®rock¡¯.

    The elders looked around the circle at one another, eyeing each other while communicating silently. The main elder shrugged, and then so did the other two.

    ¡°T¡¯cha,¡± the elder repeated.

    ¡°T¡¯cha,¡± Addie said, ¡°Rock.¡±

    That time the elders all nodded in seeming agreement.

    The elder on the right pulled put the rock back in the basket in her lap, and pulled out a new object, this time just a simple mushroom.

    ¡°Cheewuh,¡± she said, almost saying ¡®cheer¡¯ but then adding one of their signature whoops to the end of the word.

    ¡°Mushroom,¡± Addie said. Then she quickly repeated it in their language, ¡°Cheewuh.¡±

    They repeated this for five more objects, after which they circled back around to ¡®rock¡¯. Addie remembered their word for rock just fine, and the other four words as well. It wasn¡¯t a lot of vocab, and Addie had been doing vocab quizzes for as long as she could remember, so this was almost too simple for her.

    But she really didn¡¯t want to waste her time doing this right now. She and Nettal needed to find a way home, not learn Furrian all day. Regardless of the fact that Addie hated morning lessons, she actually couldn¡¯t just stick around here learning. She felt an initial reaction of guilt; it had been ingrained in her mind for years that she couldn¡¯t just skip morning lessons. Memories of Christena getting upset with her flashed through her mind.

    However, it was precisely those memories of Christena that urged Addie to get up and figure out a way home. There were more important things for her to be doing than lessons with the Furrians. She needed to shake the misplaced guilt off and get to work. She and Nettal had been talking about exploring for a while now, and Addie guessed that the Furrians kept on trying to keep them busy so they wouldn¡¯t have time to do so.

    Before they could pull out another object from one of the baskets, Addie decided to stand up. It was hard for her to do so, and it made the guilt intensify, like she was skipping lessons and an adult would get mad at her later. But she held strong, reminding herself that this wasn¡¯t the time for lessons.

    ¡°I really have to go. Nettal and I need to find a way home,¡± Addie pointed out the door.

    The elder Furrians of course didn¡¯t understand what she was saying, but it didn¡¯t matter. She felt bad ditching the elders like this, but she had to.

    ¡°I really want to go home.¡± That¡¯s all that needed to be said.

    Addie turned on her heel and started walking out of the building. She heard one of the elders start whooping loudly, but when she turned her head, the middle Furrian was gripping the other¡¯s shoulder, keeping her from standing.

    Finally, Addie left the tent, feeling much like she had after finally waking up from the nightmare this morning. Addie could finally move.

    She focused on her spatial sense, and used one of the abilities she hadn¡¯t bothered with since her time in the forest. No matter how distant Squishy was, he would always ping on her spatial sense, even if she couldn¡¯t see anything else that far away.

    Addie sent out a message to Squishy as she ran in his direction, ¡°Are you and Nettal doing alright?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, my lady. The Warrior Furrian is making his underlings spar each other, and then asking Nettal to heal them immediately after so they can continue without break. Nettal is growing frustrated; She thinks it is not right to injure oneself on purpose just because you have a healer nearby. I personally love the sparring, though.¡±

    Addie turned a corner and kept running, huffing as she went. ¡°You silly cat. We don¡¯t have time for that, it¡¯s time to go exploring. We¡¯re going home.¡±

    ¡°The head warrior is quite insistent.¡±

    Addie shook her head slightly. It didn¡¯t matter how insistent the Warrior Furrian was. She and Nettal couldn¡¯t stay.

    Addie skidded to a stop as she finally made it to the building Squishy was in. She recognized it as the same building Nettal had been pulled into yesterday to heal the warriors.

    She pulled aside the doorcloth and peeked her head into the building. No one was inside, and with a quick scan of her spatial sense, Addie realized they were actually in the clearing right behind the building. That was easily solved with a quick jaunt through Realmspace. After a few steps, Addie reappeared behind the building, popping back into reality practically on top of Nettal.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Nettal shouted as Addie windmilled her arms, trying not to fall onto Nettal.

    With a sudden jerk, she managed to get her balance before taking a step back. ¡°Why are you sitting on the ground!¡± Addie asked half-accusingly.

    ¡°Why are you trying to fall on me!¡± Nettal quipped right back.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± Something moved into Addie¡¯s vision from the left, the Warrior Furrian was walking forward.

    Further behind him, a few other Furrians were facing each other with weapons, but it looked like they had put their spar on pause.

    ¡°We need to get home,¡± Addie said.

    ¡°I think so too, but when I try to leave this guy blocks me from moving. I was trying to tell you through Squishy.¡±

    Addie gave Squishy the stink eye. ¡°You didn¡¯t explain very well,¡± Addie scolded.

    He drooped his cat-like ears. ¡°I attempted to, but perhaps I need to be more direct...¡± His response trailed off.

    ¡°Whatever. Here, hold my hand. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Nettal grabbed onto Addie¡¯s hand, using it to help her stand up. She dusted off her poncho a bit, and then they started walking out of the clearing.

    The Warrior Furrian shouted a deep rumbling word that reverberated through Addie¡¯s chest. Both girls stopped as he walked directly into their path.

 Chapter 87: Deeper Dark

    ¡°Get off me!¡± Addie shouted.

    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two Furrians in the sparring ring start running over.

    ¡°Nettal, grab my hand!¡±

    Squishy yipped at the Warrior Furrian, driving his hand away from Addie.

    At the same time, Addie brushed her hand through the air, summoning a wave of fire out into his face. The Warrior Furrian put his hand in front of his face to block the heat, but the flames never reached him. They had just been a warning.

    Nettal latched hard onto Addie¡¯s hand, her other hand over Lotty¡¯s head.

    Addie wrapped herself and Nettal up in magic. She used Nettal¡¯s connection with Lotty¡¯s head as a bridge to extend the magic to him as well. Space distorted around their eyes. The Warrior Furrian leaped forward.

    Addie stepped into Realmspace.

    She immediately swept her surroundings with her spatial sense to ensure she hadn¡¯t brought along any unwanted guests. Luckily, it was just her, Nettal, and Lotty in the black space. Squishy popped into Realmspace a moment later, Addie felt relieved that he was next to her again.

    ¡°Addie?¡± Nettal¡¯s questioning tone broke the dead silence of Realmspace. ¡°Can you turn on the light?¡±

    In her free hand, Addie summoned a fireball so that Nettal could see again.

    ¡°You know, your eyes glow such a pretty light purple when you do that,¡± Nettal said with a half smile.

    ¡°Really? Yours glow a pretty green when you use your magic.¡± Addie said back.

    Then she shook her head away from the temporary distraction. ¡°Do you think we can ever go back there?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should,¡± Nettal said, with worry etched across her face.

    Addie lifted a corner of her poncho up and stared at it. She sighed. ¡°Yeah. I guess not.¡±

    She was disappointed with the way things ended between the Furrians. They had been so helpful, and they had given both girls food, water, and shelter. Not to mention the ponchos. Addie wasn¡¯t really sure why they had become aggressive all of a sudden. Maybe if she had stuck around to learn more of their language, but no, that would be a waste of time. They had a mission: get back home.

    Though it did make Addie wonder. Why had they gone from so helpful and friendly to aggressive all of a sudden?

    ¡°What happened?¡± Addie asked Nettal without bite.

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t let me leave,¡± Nettal began while staring up at the black Realmsky.

    ¡°But why?¡± Addie started walking forward, leading Nettal by the hand.

    She had built up quite a lot of magic to send them here, so they had plenty of time to walk forward without needing to worry about getting sent back to the Furrian ruins.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not because we did anything bad.¡± Nettal let Addie guide her by the hand, now with her eyes down at the floor as they walked. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s actually because we did something good. Too good.¡± Nettal furrowed her eyebrows and raised her voice, ¡°I think they wanted us to stay there, forever, because of our magic. They wanted me to keep healing them, and they probably wanted you to stay, too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Addie kicked at the floor with a frown as she walked, ¡°That makes sense. One of the old ladies tried to keep me from leaving, too. But the other one stopped her. It wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway, not when Squishy and I can just go to Realmspace.¡± Addie smiled at her companion, and he smiled back. For some reason, he reminded her of a king goldfish for a second. She shook the silly wandering thought away.

    ¡°Hey, so, how does Realmspace know where to put us?¡± Nettal spoke up, changing the subject.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Addie asked with a tilt of her head.

    ¡°I mean, how do we know that it¡¯s gonna put us deeper in the cave instead of on top of the mountain right in the snow?¡±

    Addie thought about it for a second, ¡°Huh, I dunno.¡±

    Nettal stopped walking. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know? I don¡¯t want to get buried alive in tons of snow.¡± She crossed her arms.

    Addie huffed as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. What a silly worry. ¡°We won¡¯t. Now c¡¯mon! Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Fine, but later we¡¯re figuring out the answer to my question.¡±

    Addie rolled her eyes again. It didn¡¯t matter how it worked, Addie thought. Her magic did what she wanted it to do. It was that simple. Why it worked didn''t matter as long as it listened to her. But, if it made her feel better, she would agree with Nettal anyway.

    ¡°Fine. Now let¡¯s go!¡± Addie grabbed Nettal¡¯s hand again and pulled her cousin forward.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    <hr><hr>

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Addie looked to the right, directly into Nettal¡¯s eyes.

    Nettal squeezed her hand. ¡°Ready.¡±

    Addie let go of her magic, sending them back out into Reality.

    Upon reentering reality, Addie gazed upon a crumbling underground city, not unlike the one the Furrians lived in, just a lot bigger. Crumbling stone pillars, adorned with faded carvings of a script unknown to Addie, stood like silent sentinels amidst the darkness. Jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping with moisture that glistened in the dim light of bioluminescent fungi scattered across the cavern floor. One massive ethereal glowing mushroom burst out of the ceiling of one of the buildings, towering over its conquest. The walls of the ruins were partially collapsed, revealing glimpses of once-magnificent architecture now obscured by the centuries of destruction. Blue glow-moss and spiraling vines grew their roots throughout much of the ruins. In the center, a grand archway, still remarkably intact, led to a dark inner sanctum. The main sanctum had one-half of a double door crumbling at Addie¡¯s feet, the other half nowhere to be seen.

    Addie gulped. Luckily, she didn¡¯t have to go in there alone.

    Just as she thought that the familiar flow of her book materializing outside of her body came to her attention. It manifested a few feet above her and began glowing.

    Nettal jerked Addie by her right arm in surprise. ¡°What¡¯s it doing?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Um, not sure.¡± Addie let go of Nettal¡¯s hand and stepped forward a bit to try and make out the book.

    It didn¡¯t open or anything, so it wasn¡¯t showing any words either.

    ¡°Book?¡± Addie called out to it.

    It just kept floating in the air and glowing. She felt it tugging her onward, into the abyssal sanctum in front of her.

    ¡°It wants us to go into the big dark building,¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°Never go in the big dark building, Addie. That¡¯s like, rule number one.¡±

    ¡°Says who?¡± Addie asked with attitude.

    ¡°Says me, obviously.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m going in there.¡±

    Nettal sighed and rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Addie smiled, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°But don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you! I told you, don¡¯t go in the big scary dark building. I¡¯m definitely gonna say ¡®told you so¡¯.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Just wait and see.¡± Nettal raised her chin up in the air pompously.

    ¡°Ember?¡± Addie called out.

    She raised her pointer finger in the direction of the big dark building. Flames shot out from her finger, materializing as a purple bird as Ember flew out of her hand. Half-formed of fire, she roared like an eagle, and zoomed forward, leaving a trail of embers in her wake. She went straight into the building, her purple ghostly silhouette lighting up the darkness while she flew forward, becoming smaller and smaller the further away she went, until she looked like no more than a candle wick surrounded by the darkness.

    Total darkness, came the images and thoughts from Ember, musty smell. Complete silence. Nothing except old rock.

    ¡°Ember says it¡¯s safe to go in, I guess,¡± Addie said to Nettal.

    ¡°We¡¯re really going in there, aren¡¯t we?¡± Nettal shared a look with Lotty, then she turned her head up to Addie¡¯s floating book, ¡°What about you mister book? Don¡¯t you think we shouldn¡¯t go in there?¡±

    Addie¡¯s book stayed silent.

    She grabbed Nettal¡¯s hand and started pulling her forward. ¡°C¡¯mon! Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    As Addie crossed the threshold into the darkness, her book deformed from its physical state. It transformed into particles of magic once again, but instead of flowing back into Addie¡¯s soul, it started forming patterns in the air ahead and above Addie. She stopped to stare at it while it moved.

    The sparkling blue particles formed words:

    *The Northern Lost Ruins of Enullis,* it said.

    The second she finished reading the last word, the book reformed into a solid ball of magic before taking on the appearance of the old dusty tome once again. It floated over Addie¡¯s shoulder and stayed there.

    ¡°Enullis. Have you ever heard of it?¡± Addie looked over her shoulder to Nettal.

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    Something about that name struck a memory in Addie¡¯s core, but wherever the memory was it must be fragmented. She felt a gaping loss as she tried to remember. Maybe, after she restored more of her soul she would know. The name filled her with awe nonetheless, half-fragmented and partially lost as the memory was.

    She took another step forward, Nettal following close behind while holding her hand. Addie noticed that she didn¡¯t complain this time.

    Ember was right, it did smell musty in here, even more so than the normal cave atmosphere. That was about all the changes Addie noticed. She could still see perfectly fine using her spatial sense; the building was much of the same she had already seen. Tons of ruined stone and half-remembered passageways. None of the lively atmosphere from the Furrian village existed here, though.

    Nettal couldn¡¯t see like Addie could though, so she summoned Ember to come back from her scouting mission. She hadn¡¯t seen anything anyway. Addie wanted her magic to be at the ready in case they needed it.

    With the crackling of flames and the whistling of air parting before her, Ember came back down the tunnel, her ghostly flames lighting up the way and making her impossible to miss as she got closer. Her returned presence brought Addie more than just physical warmth.

    Plus, just having her right here meant Addie didn¡¯t have to focus on summoning any of her own flames¡ª Ember did that plenty just by existing.

    ¡°Thanks for the light, Ember,¡± Nettal whispered to Addie¡¯s birdie.

    ¡°She says thanks back. She¡¯s never been thanked before. She likes the feeling.¡± Addie said with a smile, Ember¡¯s own emotions bouncing around inside her for a moment.

    After walking down the passageway for a bit, with Addie helping Nettal walk around obstacles like old mushroom stalks and misplaced boulders, they came to a staircase that led further down. The end of the hallway with the staircase wasn¡¯t the only direction they could go forward in though. The hallway also split to the left and the right. They could go either of those directions, but if they wanted to go forward they would also have to go down.

    ¡°We could split up and explore all three directions, but¡ª¡° Nettal began to say.

    ¡°Definitely no. No splitting up.¡± Addie decided steadfastly.

    She could see Squishy jumping around on the pads of his paws, but even if he looked so excited to go exploring she wouldn¡¯t let him split off from the group.

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t really think it would be a good idea either. Just a suggestion.¡±

    ¡°Squishy, which way do you think we should go first?¡± He had always been her best little navigator.

    ¡°Let us explore where the left and right passageways lead. Should either of them be dead ends, then we can proceed down the stairs. I want to explore everything, no stone unturned.¡± He wasn¡¯t just saying that out of logic alone, either. He genuinely felt excited to be exploring with Addie. The promise of gold and loot flashed through his thoughts and bled over their bond into Addie. The idea of treasure excited Addie too, but to a lesser extent than her silly cat.

    They explored all of the left passage and then backtracked to explore all of the right passage. Both were simple dead ends¡ª they led off into different rooms, which may have been living quarters at one point but were now no more than storage rooms for old crumbling rocks.

    So they came back to the top of the stairs, staring down into the deeper dark.

 Chapter 88: Pit

    Tentatively, everyone started walking down the staircase. Squishy led the way, with Addie right behind him. Nettal was behind Addie, and Lotty was in the back, his hooves clip-clopping with each step down.

    Just like the ruins above, the staircase was pitch black. The only source of light came from Addie¡¯s soul flames which she had balled up in her hand. They cast shadows down across the gray stairs and particularly made Squishy¡¯s shadow seem elongated and strange.

    The ceiling was a perfect mirror of the stairs below, to the point where Addie wasn¡¯t sure if the staircase might actually be upside down somehow. The walls of the staircase were the same rough gray stone bricks as the rest of the ruins.

    Soon, Addie was able to make out a light source of some kind permeating from the bottom of the staircase. Or at least, she assumed it was the bottom. The light bounced into the staircase tunnel by reflecting off of some kind of brown-looking floor. Addie couldn¡¯t quite make it out, yet.

    ¡°Hey, I see the bottom of the staircase!¡± Nettal grabbed onto Addie¡¯s sleeve and pointed down.

    ¡°I see it, too.¡± Addie glanced at Nettal and then shook off her arm from her sleeve.

    Addie ran down a step, then she held her hand out for Nettal to grab onto.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s down there, let¡¯s go!¡± Addie started running down the stairs, Squishy hot on her heels.

    He overtook the girls. Addie watched as his front toe-beans stepped off the final stair and down onto a brown dust covered floor. He took another few furtive steps forward before he sat down and stared up at the ceiling.

    Addie hurried to see what he was staring at, dragging Nettal along with her. Lotty¡¯s hoof steps clacked against the stairs in pursuit.

    The bottom of the stairs opened up into a vast spherical cavern¡ª all made up of smooth brown stone the color of the floor. For a moment, Addie wondered why this cave was brown when the others had all been gray. The walls were smooth, but not sanded or anything. It was a big naturally formed spherical cave. Addie idly remembered the pattern left behind in a tub of ice cream after taking out a big scoop.

    The round cavern walls went all the way up to a dome ceiling. The only part of the room that didn¡¯t make her feel like she was inside of a ball was the floor itself, which was perfectly flat. Addie quickly glanced behind her shoulder to look at the staircase. It was the only blemish on the walls: a square cutout to make room for the staircase.

    Addie let the soul flames in her hand go out. Just as she suspected, somehow this entire cave was lit up. It was strange, Addie couldn¡¯t see a light source on the walls or ceiling, yet the entire room had perfect lighting.

    ¡°Addie, what¡¯s that?¡± Addie rolled her eyes at Nettal¡¯s question. She had been asking that a lot lately.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Over there.¡± Nettal pointed to the center of the ground, where a giant black puddle formed about two meters across. It rippled once and went still.

    ¡°Weird.¡±

    ¡°Everything we do is weird,¡± Nettal replied. ¡°Do you wanna check it out?¡±

    Addie shrugged. ¡°Sure.¡±

    The girls walked up to the big puddle and peered down into it. Addie couldn¡¯t see the bottom, it was just a purely black surface. Around the walls of the pit, she saw some jagged spikes, also formed of the same brown rock as the rest of the round cave.

    Nettal screamed. One of her feet slipped a tiny bit over the edge. She swung her arms around to catch herself, and Addie got ready to jump after her. Luckily, Nettal regained her balance before Addie had to act.

    Nettal fiercely turned around to stare at Lotty, who had his tongue out. Nettal¡¯s hand looked wet. ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?!¡±

    ¡°Did he lick you?¡± Addie asked incredulously.

    She didn¡¯t get why he would do that. Looking into his eyes for a second, she thought she saw a mischievous spark. It reminded Addie of Christena¡¯s pranks. Addie agreed with Nettal though; She didn¡¯t want to fall into the black pit either.

    Nettal furrowed her eyes at Addie for a second before she turned back to Lotty. ¡°No more licking people above creepy black pits!¡± She put her fists on her hips and glared at Lotty sharply.

    Lotty put his tongue back in his mouth.

    Addie heard chortling from just next to her. ¡°No laughing, Squishy. That¡¯s mean.¡±

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± He agreed easily and turned his head away. He still had the corner of his mouth upturned.

    Nettal moved her eyes back to Lotty. ¡°Alright, Mister!¡± Nettal said a bit rudely, ¡°If you think it¡¯s so funny then you test it out for us.¡± Nettal harrumphed.

    Elegantly, Lotty skip-trotted closer to the portal. He angled his head sideways so that he could take a good look at the black puddle thing with the eye on the right side of his angular head. After staring at it for a moment, he tentatively raised his front right leg and dipped the very edge of his hoof into the surface.

    The black surface rippled outward, reinforcing Addie¡¯s image of it being liquid in some way. Nothing else happened.

    Lotty lifted his hoof back out of the blackness, and the surface of it rose slightly as he did so. It fell away from his hoof with another ripple. No residue or anything was left behind on his hoof. He brought it up to give his hoof a good look at anyway. He put his hoof back down on the cavern floor while he looked up at his bonded.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Addie asked excitedly, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°He said it felt like both hot and cold all at once. Not really sure what he means.¡±

    Addie moved forward a bit so she could lay down on her stomach and put her head over the pit.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Nettal cried out to Addie¡¯s right.

    Addie dipped her hand into the puddle. With the same reflex as touching a hot stove, Addie jerked her hand out.

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Addie started standing back up.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just do that! What if you¡¯d gotten hurt?¡± Nettal waved her arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Lotty¡¯s fine isn¡¯t he?¡± Addie shook her head. ¡°Besides, what I wanted to say is that¡ª you know when you first touch hot water after being outside during winter? It¡¯s like that! It was hard to tell if it was hot or cold.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re ok.¡± Nettal forced a smile.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m ok! Anyway, you can just heal me if I get hurt.¡± Addie proclaimed.

    ¡°What? No! Err, that¡¯s not...¡± Nettal sighed. ¡°Look, that¡¯s a dangerous perspective to have. Try not to get hurt, ok? What if you get hurt so bad I can¡¯t heal you anymore?¡± Nettal¡¯s eyes started going puffy.

    Addie hadn¡¯t considered that yet. Her heart sank at the thought. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Just try to be more careful, alright? I don¡¯t want to be here alone.¡±

    ¡°Even if I¡¯m hurt or gone, Squishy will protect you, right?¡± She glanced down at Squishy.

    ¡°Of course, my lady. But do try not to injure yourself. I¡¯d rather protect you.¡± His starry eyes sparkled.

    Squishy¡¯s triangular ears perked up and rotated behind them. He blurred as he turned all the way around, looking back at the staircase.

    At the same moment, Addie¡¯s book ejected itself from her soul. It started forming words into the air, but before she could read it Squishy¡¯s telepathic voice pulled her attention to him.

    ¡°Addie, look,¡± he said. A growl started rising up in his throat.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Nettal asked as she turned her head from side to side.

    Behind them, back at the staircase entrance, a cool mist started easing its way out toward them.

    Addie felt Nettal tug on her poncho sleeve again, but she didn¡¯t move her eyes away from the incoming fog.

    ¡°Addie,¡± Nettal said fearfully.

    ¡°I see it,¡± Addie replied.

    Squishy was still growling.

    ¡°Not that.¡± Nettal squeezed Addie¡¯s arm.

    Addie followed Nettal¡¯s pointed hand up to the words in the soul book.

    *Embrace Ennulis. Jump into the deep dark.*

    Addie turned her head from side to side, first looking at the black pit and then again at the fog. She did that a few times before she looked back at Nettal with wide eyes.

    Nettal looked back at Addie and gave a determined nod.

    ¡°What about Realmspace?¡± Squishy interjected quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll take us out to safety.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t work,¡± Addie said at the speed of thought. She flashed images of the fog somehow putting them in the mountains after they went to Realmspace last time.

    With her right hand, Addie firmly grasped Nettal¡¯s hand. With her left hand, she motioned palm up to Squishy. He quickly ran up the proffered arm and settled around her shoulders like Fluffy often did with Christena. Nettal¡¯s right arm swung around and lifted Lotty up from underneath. She carried him in the crook of her elbow. Good thing he was so little.

    Together, they leaped forward into Ennulis¡¯ embrace.

    It felt like jumping into a cold lake. Or maybe a hot bath. Addie wasn¡¯t sure but it felt like that stinging border where your body hadn¡¯t yet decided the temperature of the water. Even though she had jumped into it, Addie wasn¡¯t expecting to go into freefall. She felt her stomach inch upward into her brains as they continued to fall faster and faster downward, surrounded by an inky blackness.

    At least her grip on Nettal¡¯s hand was strong, and she could still feel Squishy¡¯s claws grasping slightly through her poncho as he desperately held on. Despite her surroundings being the consistency of honey, it paradoxically didn¡¯t slow down their fall at all. Addie wasn¡¯t sure how much longer she could hold her breath. Maybe she would need to punt everyone into Realmspace, just so they wouldn¡¯t splat when they hit the bottom of this thing.

    For a moment, the inky blackness lit up, and Addie quickly recognized her soul book streaming back through the tar and reaching out for her. She allowed it back inside of her.

    Not wanting to go splat on the ground, Addie focused her spatial sense down below her feet, as far as it would go. She still couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it, so they just kept falling. Once she saw the bottom, she would briefly punt everyone into Realmspace to slow down their fall.

    Honestly, Addie was surprised she had this much time to think. They were still falling, and because of that, there had been plenty of time to come up with that plan. Addie kept holding her breath, but she still didn¡¯t need to breathe yet.

    She looked to Nettal on her right, whose green eyes were glowing brightly. Addie briefly wondered why she was using her magic, but then Squishy spoke up through their bond.

    ¡°I believe she is healing us in such a way that we do not need to breathe.¡± The tips of his claws were still slightly poking through Addie¡¯s clothes.

    If Nettal was taking care of that, then Addie just had to make sure she timed their landing correctly. She focused on her spatial sense, waiting to see the ground.

    The fall wasn¡¯t quite so bad now. At some point, the feeling of her stomach dropping had gone away, but Addie didn¡¯t know why. It almost felt like she was floating. In fact, Addie was starting to wonder if they were really still falling at all. It¡¯s not like she could see anything in here to help her find out. And she couldn¡¯t feel anything nearby with her spatial sense either. Were they still falling?

    Nettal¡¯s eyes started flickering, and with it came brief spouts of Addie¡¯s lungs begging for air.

 Chapter 89: Breathe

    Nettal closed her eyes in pain. She grimaced, and then the green light behind her eyelids went out.

    All at once, the overwhelming urge to open her mouth and breathe consumed Addie. She began to draw in her magic to pull everyone into Realmspace.

    Before she could, Nettal gasped as she took a deep breath. Addie watched with panicked eyes as Nettal began to drown in the inky blackness.

    Except, she didn¡¯t drown. Her breathing started evening out. She even turned to Addie and smiled, then she said, ¡°There¡¯s air in here!¡±

    Addie released the magic she had been building up, letting it dissipate into nothing. She took a breath. Just like Nettal said, Addie could breathe just fine in here! Despite it feeling like inky honey all around her when she moved her arms and legs, somehow she could breathe just fine¡ª no different than normal air. Perhaps even stranger, despite the surroundings being pitch black, Addie could still see Nettal and everyone else just fine¡ª even with just her normal eyesight.

    Behind her, still attached to her shoulders, she felt Squishy start breathing again, too. ¡°Fascinating,¡± he said.

    ¡°Well, now what?¡± Nettal asked no one in particular.

    Addie waved her arms and legs around, trying to see if she could swim anywhere. But, nope. Even though she could rotate in midair, or even do a flip, it didn¡¯t matter. She couldn¡¯t move laterally.

    ¡°Please, cease, my lady. You are making me nauseous.¡±

    ¡°Oh, my bad.¡± Addie patted Squishy and then stopped rotating around. From when she stopped rotating, she was now upside down in relation to Nettal. Except, she didn¡¯t feel like she was upside down. The feeling of blood rushing to her head never happened. It almost seemed like Nettal was upside down and Addie was right side up. But since only Addie had been twisting around in the air, she knew Nettal was really the one right side up.

    ¡°This is weird,¡± Addie stated. ¡°You try, Nettal. It doesn¡¯t even feel like I¡¯m upside down!¡±

    Nettal also rotated in midair, bringing Lotty along for the right since she was still holding him. He seemed to enjoy the flipping around about as much as Squishy had.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. This is weird.¡± Nettal said with confusion. ¡°It¡¯s like, we¡¯re flying, sorta?¡±

    Now that both girls were oriented the same way, Addie really couldn¡¯t tell which way was ¡®up¡¯ anymore. From her perspective, ¡®up¡¯ just seemed to always be directly above her. It was hard to wrap her head around.

    ¡°Well, I could put us in Realmspace. It feels like we¡¯ve been falling in here for more than thirty minutes!¡± Addie exclaimed while she rotated her whole body again¡ª this time sideways in relationship to Nettal.

    It was fun playing around in here like this, but she had to rotate gently so that Squishy didn¡¯t get sick. As it was, his legs were trembling slightly as he continued to flex his muscles and stay on Addie¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°I think you were right about the fog. Let¡¯s not go to Realmspace unless we really get stuck here.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Addie shrugged, ¡°But what should we do? Just fall here forever?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Nettal replied with a bit of annoyance flashing across her face. ¡°Let me think.¡±

    Addie decided to sweep the area with her spatial sense again. Still nothing.

    ¡°I wonder if I can set this goopy black stuff on fire?¡± Addie mused aloud as she pretended to walk up walls.

    ¡°Don¡¯t set things on fire,¡± Nettal interjected immediately, before Addie could get any bright ideas.

    ¡°It would just be a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Nothing is ever just ¡®a little bit¡¯ with you, Addie. Here, let me think.¡± Nettal clapped her hands together, but the sound was strangely muted. ¡°I know! What about your book? It told us to jump down here, remember?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, ok.¡±

    Addie concentrated on her soul. She pinged the soul book with a bit of magic and sent it thoughts about coming out. She had never communicated with it from her side before, but it was easy, just like talking to Ember.

    The book flowed out of her soul and down through her arm before expelling itself in a long stream from her fingertip. The book flipped pages rapidly before coming to a stop on a blank page. Addie briefly wondered why it bothered with that, all the pages were blank. Text began drawing itself upon the page:

    *Ignite your flames.* It read simply.

    Then, without elaborating, the book turned back into magic to flow right back into Addie¡¯s soul.

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    ¡°See! I told you!¡± Addie exclaimed brightly to Nettal.

    She crossed her arms, ¡°Whatever.¡± Nettal let out a huff.

    Besides, Addie knew how to control the flames without hurting Nettal.

    Addie waved her hand through the pitch black, igniting the familiar white-purple ghostly flames on her fingertips as she did so. Like a match, the entire inky rapidly ignited with a roar, the flames burning brightly but painlessly. Addie made sure none of them touched Nettal or Lotty. Addie and Squishy were naturally immune though so she didn¡¯t bother doing anything special for the two of them.

    The white ghastly fire rotated around them in a vortex, only the tips of any given flame shining bright purple at their apexes before diminishing again. The bright dancing flames licked at the air (or lack thereof) forming a beautiful roaring and twisting tunnel of soul fire. The flames completely banished the inky blackness from before.

    Then, something pinged Addie¡¯s soul. The next moment, she was in a dark room, weird black inky stuff surrounding her like the previous tunnel. The only difference this time was that Addie could feel a hard floor beneath her feet. She tugged on her soul bond to check on Squishy and felt him perk up from his place on her shoulders. Good, he was here with her.

    Slightly at ease but also worried for her cousin, Addie rapidly turned her head to the right, but Nettal wasn¡¯t there. She swept the area with her spatial sense, but Nettal wasn¡¯t anywhere.

    ¡°Uh oh.¡±

    Addie¡¯s soul-book flowed out from her body once again, just floating in the air a bit to the left and above her head. The book didn¡¯t open or anything, instead it just sort of hovered above Addie.

    Without anything better to do, Addie shrugged and started walking forward. Maybe she could find Nettal somewhere along the way. If for some reason she was totally trapped in here, she and Squishy could always go to Realmspace, but she didn¡¯t want to do that without finding Nettal first.

    And so, she walked, Squishy jumping off of her shoulders and walking alongside her into the infinite dark.

    ¡°I hope Nettal is ok,¡± Addie said aloud, wondering if Squishy had any thoughts to share.

    ¡°I as well,¡± he replied in that way only the two of them could do, using their soul bond. He angled his head up to glance at the soul-book. ¡°It is that strange artifact which led us here. Curious that it does not reveal more words to us.¡±

    Still walking, Addie spared the book another glance. ¡°Yeah, weird. Do you want to try running? I hope Nettal is ok,¡± she repeated her worries for her cousin.

    ¡°Perhaps you can send Ember out to scout?¡± Squishy advised.

    ¡°Oh! Good idea. Come on out Ember!¡±

    The Soul Hunter flew out from Addie¡¯s extended arm, squawing into the empty air. She twisted her head left and right a few times, as if deciding where to go, before she just gently landed back down on Addie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t you go explore for us? I want to find Nettal.¡±

    Ember still wouldn¡¯t take off, instead, she just kept scanning the surroundings. A feeling came across their bond then, Ember seeming to say something like, ¡®there¡¯s nowhere to fly to.¡¯

    Addie didn¡¯t really get what Ember was trying to say exactly. She could walk around, so it¡¯s not like there was nothing around¡ª even if it was inky pitch black. Ember seemed to disagree with Addie¡¯s thought though, pushing against the idea with strong rejection.

    ¡°Ember says there¡¯s nothing to scout. It¡¯s empty in here I guess.¡± Addie reported with a frown.

    ¡°Hm, like the previous tunnel then, I suppose. Let us not waste any more energy walking since it is not productive.¡±

    It was a good thing Squishy¡¯s words were not just simple language; Addie could somewhat feel the intent behind his sentences. Otherwise, she¡¯d never be able to understand all of the really big words he liked to use.

    Since she agreed with his thoughts, Addie abruptly sat down on her bum and tried to think. If they couldn¡¯t walk anywhere, and going to Realmspace might mean that she loses Nettal, what should she do? At least she had Ember and Squishy to help her think.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try prodding the book,¡± Squishy suggested as he sat on his haunches. ¡°It has guided us this far.¡±

    She looked back up at the floating book above her, but it remained shut. She knew it could feel her questions using her soul. They were connected in some pseudo-way, though not in a full soul-bond. It just continued to ignore her.

    Addie huffed in frustration.

    With nothing better to do, Addie swept her spatial sense around the area again, just to confirm she really was surrounded by nothingness. Since that had been useless, she repeated what she had done in the weird tunnel. She gathered up her magic, Ember contributing to create a condensed flame in her hand. She kept gathering it, not releasing it, but instead just letting it build bigger and bigger. Finally, when she felt she couldn¡¯t hold it anymore, and after she had let out as much anger as she could, she released the stream of flames.

    The torrential outpouring of magic came out from her hand with a roar, Addie reflexively shutting her eyes at the sudden brightness. Just as always, these flames of hers didn¡¯t hurt her in the slightest, even though they came right from out of her bare hand.

    Like before, the inky blackness all around Addie caught aflame. The black oily substance acting as fuel to surround Addie in a ghostly white-purple glow. Addie thought it looked beautiful, though she had just seen something similar a second ago, so it didn¡¯t impact her as strongly this time.

    Unlike last time, catching the room on fire didn¡¯t somehow put her in a new location. Instead, the flames slowly died down. Once the flames had completely extinguished, Addie was excited to see that something finally happened.

    A golden pedestal appeared from out of the blackness¡ª appearing out of nowhere like a shroud of fog being lifted from the area. Addie¡¯s soul-book flew out to the pedestal and landed itself splayed open. The pages began to rapidly flip through a few times before they came to a stop.

    Cautiously, Addie stepped forward a few times to reach the pedestal. For some reason, the pedestal was perfectly Addie-sized, and she didn¡¯t even have to tip-toe to read the book resting on it. The page had words written on it

    *You have found the first fragment of Ennulis. Good job Addie! With this, you¡¯ll have more lessons I can teach you to help with Ember¡¯s magic. Specifically, you have unlocked flame shield! If you want to unlock more abilities, you¡¯ll have to find more ruins. Remember not to use your soul projection in Ennulic ruins!*

    She had to spend some time to read all of it, but once she did Addie replied, ¡°Why is it all split up? You said before that you could teach me about Ember¡¯s magic, without needing things from any ruins.¡± Addie petulantly put her hand on her hips and stared at the book with slight annoyance. ¡°And Nettal better be ok,¡± she added.

    Instead of answering her, the book slammed shut, as it tended to so often do. It dissolved into pure magic and flowed right back into Addie¡¯s soul.

    Then, the inky darkness abruptly vanished, and Addie was standing in that brown cave again right next to Nettal, completely surrounded by fog.

 Chapter 90: Run Past!

    Nettal started screaming, and Addie started screaming. Squishy let out his scream too, but he tried to make it sound like a warrior¡¯s dignified shout, or so she could vaguely feel through the bond.

    Ember was the first to take action, flapping her wings and spreading soul flames all around the girls, trying to drive away the fog. Ember¡¯s actions helped Addie get herself together, also joining in to spread fire as much as she could.

    The flames did a good job of eating away at the fog, but there was just so much of it. And even more fog was already flooding into the cave chamber. Addie had already used a lot of soul flames today, and she didn¡¯t know how much more she could keep it up.

    Addie waved her hand across the cave to help herself visualize her magic¡ª a great wave of fire flowing out from her moving hand. Her actions helped move the fog away, for a moment at least. She took the time to grab onto Nettal¡¯s hand, to try and drag everyone back into the black inky puddle, where they had escaped to the first time.

    Addie¡¯s heart dropped as she finished turning around, only to see that the inky puddle had disappeared. Frantically, Addie searched the chamber with her eyes, desperate to find an escape from the fog. She didn¡¯t want to get stuck in it forever like the bad man from the story. She didn¡¯t want Nettal to get stuck in it.

    But, the only way out of the chamber was the way they had come in from the staircase; The same staircase that all of the fog was coming out of. The situation started to dredge up a memory from earlier this year, of Christena chasing her down in her dad¡¯s office¡ª back when she thought Christena was evil.

    Her heartbeat became audible in her ears as her breathing picked up. Addie started shooting more fire out, helping Ember, but she knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. She tried anyway.

    Something harsh tugged down on her poncho¡¯s sleeve, and Addie glanced to her right to see Nettal holding on to her. ¡°Can you keep defending us with the fire?" Nettal asked, her breaths also coming frantically. Addie noticed how wide Nettal¡¯s eyes were, but she discarded the observation quickly so she could focus more on escaping the fog.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Addie nodded her head rapidly, ¡°Yeah!¡± She agreed with a little more hope in her voice as she remembered what her book had said just a moment ago.

    Communicating with Ember silently through their bond, Addie sent her birdie an image of what she wanted¡ª a big half shield of fire protecting their back half in a dome shape. It would be Addie¡¯s job to supply the front half of the fire shield. She had never tried this before, but the book said she¡¯d ¡®unlocked¡¯ the ability, so certainly she could do it, right?

    Ember sent back a quick ping of agreement, and at the same moment, Addie¡¯s soul book unexpectedly manifested up in the air. She didn¡¯t see it opening any pages, so Addie ignored it for right now.

    With one final big blast of magic soul flames, Addie and Ember drove off the fog just enough to give them a brief moment to work with. Then, Ember flapped her wings to turn around. Together, Addie and Ember tried to create a soul-flame shield, Addie imagining a perfect dome completely encasing everyone inside of it. But instead of doing what she wanted, all of her magic started flowing into the floating book instead! The book flipped to a page and presented some kind of weird flowery language Addie couldn¡¯t understand. She stared with wide eyes as the book sucked away all of Addie¡¯s magic.

    She panicked for a moment, trying to yank her magic back under her control, but the book had a stronger hold on the magic than Addie did!

    Except, after a moment, Addie realized the book was helping her, not trying to hurt them. Addie hadn¡¯t ever experienced anything like this, but it felt like the book was channeling Addie¡¯s magic, not just stealing it all up.

    With an initial blast of heat, the book pulsed ghostly purple, a full dome of flames surrounding the girls and their bonded.

    Her soul book was channeling the magic for her, and somehow making a perfect flaming shield! The book itself appeared to be on fire, too. The flowing curvy language on the pages glowed white-hot with channeled magic. But, there was a new problem.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see! The flames are in the way,¡± Nettal said loudly, exasperated. ¡°We need to run!¡±

    The book shouted, the volume way louder than the roaring flames surrounding everyone. She never knew it could talk.

    *Five steps forward.*

    Both girls looked at each other for a moment in surprise, then Addie shrugged before taking five steps forward.

    *One step right, then five more steps forward,* her soul book commanded.

    Catching on, both girls did as the book said, Lotty and Squishy following along easily. Ember was still focused on helping with the fire shield while standing on Addie¡¯s shoulder.

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    After following the last set of instructions, Addie and Nettal reached the staircase. The book didn¡¯t need to tell them to start going up the stairs, that part was obvious. So, Addie scooped Squishy up into her arms since his legs were too short to effectively climb the stairs. Together everyone started running up the staircase¡ª Addie running beside Nettal with Lotty¡¯s clacking hoof steps sounding out behind her. The book flowed back into Addie¡¯s soul since she didn¡¯t need its help for now.

    The gray staircase took on an otherworldly glow illuminated by so much soul fire. The stairs almost seemed to dance with color, the off-color purples and whites seeming to blend into the stone.

    There was no time for staring at the pretty staircase. Addie tried to focus on just running up each step¡ª hoping everyone could get to the top before her magic ran out.

    With a great sigh of relief and everyone taking a small moment to catch their breath, they made it to the top of the staircase.

    ¡°Do not relax just yet,¡± Squishy advised, ¡°We still cannot tell if the fog is gone, surrounded by the flames as we are.¡±

    He was right, but what should they do? Keep running back through the cave system to the Furrians? Not to mention she didn¡¯t have a lot of flame magic left!

    Well, something was better than nothing! ¡°Keep running!¡± Addie said, perhaps a bit too loudly.

    That got Nettal moving, but she had to put Lotty down first so he could run alongside the girls. They quickly made it out of the building ruins and back out to the earlier cavern, at least based on the floor underneath their feet. Addie couldn¡¯t tell for certain, since her flame shield was blocking her from seeing anything else.

    She wouldn¡¯t have to worry about that for long though, and just as she had that thought, she ran out of Ember¡¯s magic, the flame shield dissipating faster than she would have liked.

    Addie scanned her surroundings wildly, trying to spot the fog. But, she didn¡¯t see it. ¡°It¡¯s gone?¡± She asked aloud, confusion shooting through her words.

    ¡°Not gone, look!¡± Nettal pointed back in the direction they had come from. In front of those pitch-black ruins, just at the very entrance to the building they had just left, Addie saw an ankle-high layer of fog. It sat at the threshold, but not daring to go outside of the ruined structure itself. It drifted lazily, almost waiting for the girls to return.

    ¡°Well, if it doesn¡¯t want to follow us that¡¯s fine by me!¡± Addie declared with her hand on her hips.

    ¡°Yeah, same.¡± Nettal easily agreed.

    ¡°Wonder why it doesn¡¯t follow us, though? It had no trouble back in the forest.¡±

    Nettal just shrugged in response to Addie¡¯s question, which just made Addie shrug back in return.

    ¡°Well,¡± Nettal began, still staring at the fog with a faraway look in her eyes, ¡°that entire adventure was a waste of time.¡±

    Addie frowned. ¡°Not a complete waste of time.¡± She tried to defend before she deflated. ¡°But yeah, it didn¡¯t help us get home at all. I don¡¯t even really get what happened in the ruins¡ª or how it helped with my magic.¡±

    ¡°What did happen in the ruins?¡± Nettal asked as she moved to sit down on the ground. ¡°I thought I was gonna drown in that black nothingness, but then it turned out I could breathe just fine! It was so weird.¡±

    Addie followed along and also sat down, ¡°What happened to you after I set that stuff on fire? Squishy and I were alone with some kind of relic I guess. But I couldn¡¯t see you anywhere!¡±

    Squishy started to climb down from Addie¡¯s shoulder and curl up in her crossed lap instead as she could feel his warm scales rub against her legs.

    ¡°After you set the tunnel on fire, for a second I thought we were gonna die. But you have good control because it didn¡¯t burn me at all.¡±

    Addie interrupted, ¡°that didn¡¯t answer my question,¡± she pointed out.

    ¡°I was getting to that.¡± Nettal rolled her eyes. ¡°For me, the moment after you set the tunnel on fire, Lotty and I were stuck there for a while until we came flying out. You came flying out right after that.¡±

    ¡°For me and Squishy,¡± Addie began, ¡°there was some kind of stand that my book sat on. Then it said ¡®good job¡¯ or something and said it would give me lessons later. So not worth it.¡± Addie shook her head.

    ¡°At least you got something out of it. I was just sitting in a tunnel that was on fire while I had to wait for you.¡± Nettal¡¯s tone was teasing instead of mean.

    Addie bumped her shoulder against Nettal¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to leave you alone on purpose.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Nettal whispered.

    Letting out a breath first, Addie asked, ¡°So, should we go deeper in the caves or back to the Furrians? You¡¯re always saying not to rush into things, so I think you should say.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ve had enough caves for a long time. Let¡¯s see if we can sneak through the Furrian village or something, and get back outside. I miss the sun.¡± Nettal looked at the ceiling of the cave, then sighed when she couldn¡¯t find what she was looking for.

    ¡°Me too. Ok, let¡¯s go back to the Furrians¡¯ place.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and after we get past the Furrians, what should we do? The ruins didn¡¯t help us get home faster.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Addie nodded her head slightly. ¡°But we did learn a lot about the fog demon. Maybe we should fight it! I think we could win.¡±

    Squishy sent a feeling of agreement through the bond¡ª he always looked forward to a good fight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on getting home. We¡¯re not fighting the fog demon.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Half of the male Furrians had the entire tunnel back blocked off. Most of them were holding onto various mushroom stalk spears, and the rest had armor and spears.

    Luckily, Addie and Nettal had been carefully and quietly walking, so they hadn¡¯t seen the girls yet.

    Addie was able to extend her spatial sense from around the bend to see them without them being able to see her. More Furrians were behind the lined-up male warriors, some also male, but surprisingly to Addie, some of the females were also there. The various Furrians behind the warrior line were all walking back and forth, carrying large planks of mushroom boards and building some kind of barricade in the middle of the tunnel.

    ¡°Wow, they really don¡¯t want us getting past them,¡± Nettal said after Addie explained what she saw to her cousin. ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s only half of them?¡±

    ¡°Not sure. But it makes it easier for us. Me and Squishy can just take us past them by using Realmspace.¡± Addie pointed down the cave.

    ¡°Do you still have enough magic?¡±

    Addie nodded, ¡°I¡¯m out of Ember¡¯s magic for a little bit, but Squishy still has plenty.¡± Perhaps in response to Addie¡¯s words, Ember flowed back into Addie¡¯s soul for a rest.

    Squishy nodded his head in agreement as both girls looked down at him.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better if you build a lot of magic up so we can walk past the entire village.¡±

    ¡°Good idea.¡±

 Chapter 91: Past Them

    Addie began building up her spatial magic as much as she could, with Squishy helping of course. Together they tightly packed the magic up into their soul shells, building it and condensing it as much as possible.

    The walk to get past the Furrians¡¯ village would take at least an hour, assuming they didn¡¯t run. And, Addie was also sending Nettal and Lotty into Realmspace, so they would need a lot of magic built up.

    The familiar spatial distortions that occurred when Addie started building up this kind of magic began to appear in the air around them. Parts of the cave looked farther or closer than she knew they were based on her spatial sense, and in some places, it almost seemed like Addie was looking at the cave system through a water lens¡ª The world distorted from her building magic, just like the time she was ¡®saving¡¯ her dad.

    ¡°Addie!¡± Nettal shouted right in Addie¡¯s ear, making her flinch a bit, but luckily she didn¡¯t drop the building magic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shout! They¡¯ll hear us!¡± Addie tried to scold her cousin.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, they¡¯re already coming! Hurry up!¡± Nettal gently shook her by the shoulder, forcing Addie to redouble her focus on the building magic lest she release it earlier than intended.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that, either! Let me focus.¡±

    She tried to pull the magic in, like breathing, to focus it and lay each layer down as tightly packed as possible.

    Furrian footsteps started slapping down the cavern¡¯s bend. Addie heard distant shouting ¡®whoops¡¯ as they ran through the slight spatial distortions Addie¡¯s magic created as a side effect.

    ¡°Ten seconds!¡± Nettal blurted out.

    Addie just tried to ignore her cousin, so she could simply focus on what she was doing with her magic. She didn¡¯t know if she would finish on time. The worry rippled across her bond with Squishy, but her partner held strong against it. Pure confidence came rippling back from him to Addie. She let out a quick breath, reached out to squeeze Nettal¡¯s hand, and then finished the last few layers of magic they would need to stay in Realmspace for at least an hour.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯re not.¡± Addie opened her eyes with a smile.

    She released her magic, waving at the Furrians with a smile as they disappeared from the cave system.

    ¡°Did you see their faces? One of them even stretched his arm out to try and grab us! But! I¡¯m too good to get caught by them!¡± Addie bragged with a huge grin.

    Nettal just sagged in relief. ¡°That was close.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lady, we have impressive magic. Now let us focus on walking forward, so as not to waste all of the magic we just used.¡± Squishy lightly scolded Addie.

    ¡°Did you learn how to be sarcastic?¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but ask aloud to her silly cat.

    ¡°Me? Sarcastic? Of course not. Now, let us hurry along.¡±

    Addie stared at her partner with suspicion as he began trodding forward, leading the way.

    ¡°Fine. Let¡ª¡±

    Addie turned to Nettal, but her cousin was also already walking forward.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Addie grumbled but still followed along anyway.

    <hr><hr>

    The magic Addie had built up did last about an hour, though it was hard to tell without any true way to tell the time. Once that ¡®about an hour¡¯ was all used up, as was normal, Realmspace kicked the intruders out of its domain, punting Addie and everyone back into the cave system.

    She held a deep breath during the transition, slightly worried they might pop out right in the Furrian village.

    Luckily, or perhaps due to proper planning, they appeared back in the cave system further toward the entrance than the Furrian village. It was so far back, that Addie had to light up the area by palming some soul flames again since the giant blue glowy mushrooms weren¡¯t as common closer to the entrance.

    They kept walking, but like before, Addie didn¡¯t have a great way to tell how much time had passed. The girls stayed quiet throughout the walk, both of them focused on keeping an eye out for any Furrians. Addie also scanned behind her frequently using her spatial sense.

    Soon they came across their old cooking fire, nothing more than a few coals and mostly ash. Addie kicked it, just for fun, sending some ashes flying up into the air. She regretted it immediately since it both made her sneeze and also got ashes all over her bare feet.

    She paused for a moment to stand on one leg and pull her foot up to examine it. The bottom of her foot had gotten some calluses from all this running around barefoot, and she had stopped noticing any soreness, so that was good. Nettal¡¯s occasional healing probably helped a lot, too.

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    ¡°Why are you staring at your foot? Let¡¯s go,¡± Nettal urged Addie on.

    ¡°Just thinking, if your magic can heal people, do you think it also helps make calluses faster?¡± Addie asked. ¡°I never had calluses before, but after walking barefoot like this for just a few days my feet don¡¯t hurt anymore.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, maybe my magic does help with that. It¡¯s helped me gain more muscle when we trained with Christena.¡± Nettal pointed out. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I wish it could clean my foot off, too. It¡¯s really dirty, even before I kicked the ashes.¡±

    Nettal just smiled smugly. ¡°At least I remembered to put on my shoes before leaving Christena¡¯s tent.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Addie looked down and to the side as she heard Squishy chortling at her. ¡°Silly cat,¡± she mumbled under her breath, too quiet for Nettal to hear.

    Then, Squishy raised his snout in the air and took a few breaths. He focused on something far away, and after a moment he reported, ¡°I think I found out where the other half of the male Furrians went.¡± He must have checked with his spatial sense, Addie realized.

    Addie grabbed onto and squeezed Nettal¡¯s hand, getting her cousin to stop walking. Mimicking Squishy, Addie cast her spatial sense away from her and as far down the cave as she could make it go. Sure enough, there was another group of Furrians¡ª this group even had both the Mushroom and Warrior Furrian standing at the front of the group guarding the exit of the cave.

    Nettal looked at Addie questioningly.

    ¡°More Furrians are guarding the end of the cave.¡± Addie groaned, ¡°Why can¡¯t they just let us go home?¡± She shook her head, ¡°it¡¯s fine, Squishy and I can just put us in Realmspace again.¡±

    Nettal furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Addie probed.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Just tell me.¡± Addie hated it when people didn¡¯t say what they were thinking. ¡®Never mind¡¯ was her absolute least favorite word combination. ¡°What are you thinking?¡±

    ¡°I kind of want to try talking to them,¡± Nettal admitted.

    ¡°What? That¡¯s an awful idea!¡± Addie complained. ¡°Let¡¯s just teleport right past them and go find the fog demon.¡±

    ¡°What if someone¡¯s hurt and they need my help?¡±

    ¡°You already healed, like, the entire village,¡± Addie stressed.

    ¡°Yeah, but, I¡¯d feel bad if someone was dying or something and I didn¡¯t help them.¡±

    Addie sighed. ¡°Alright, we can try talking to them, but if they attack us we¡¯re going straight to Realmspace. And! You have to hold my hand.¡± She commanded.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Nettal agreed with a smile, both girls already holding hands. ¡°Thanks, Addie.¡±

    ¡°Tell Nettal that I shall guard her from the front."

    ¡°Oh, and Squishy is going to walk in front of you as a guard.¡±

    Nettal shrugged, ¡°Sure. Thanks, Squishy!¡± She let go of Addie¡¯s hand and knelt down to scratch behind his triangular ears, causing him to lean into her touch.

    ¡°Fierce warriors do not need ear scritches, but I shall accept them, this time.¡±

    Addie giggled. ¡°He likes being scratched.¡±

    Nettal stood back up tall, grabbing onto Addie¡¯s hand again as she determinedly looked ahead.

    All that being said, they still had to walk forward quite a few paces before the Furrians actually came into view.

    The second they saw Addie¡¯s glowing soul flames, the front line of warriors stood taller and whooped a few times¡ª not too loud, just enough to draw the rest of the Furrians¡¯ attention. Unlike the last group the girls had bypassed, this group of Furrians didn¡¯t try to chase them down. They stood at attention, holding their mushroom fiber spears tip facing the ceiling.

    ¡°Maybe they want to talk, too,¡± Addie whispered to Nettal as both girls paused their steps for a moment.

    After the front line of male Furrians let out their whoops, the cave quickly descended back into silence. No one moved for a beat, and then the Warrior and Mushroom Furrians walked out from the back line, standing at the front of the procession.

    The Mushroom Furrian smiled, revealing sharper canines than what Addie would expect from a human. He lifted his hand up and waved, just in the way Addie had taught him.

    For a second, Addie felt bad about leaving the village. For just that second, an unbidden thought pushed itself to the front of Addie¡¯s mind, the thought that maybe they could still get along with all of the Furrians, that there was no reason to get into conflict with them.

    But, Addie easily dismissed those kinds of thoughts. The Furrians had tried to keep the girls in the village against their will. They had prevented them from going home. And the Warrior Furrian had tried to keep Nettal as some kind of training resource. Addie didn¡¯t like that at all.

    Nettal squeezed Addie¡¯s hand tight for a moment, then relaxed her grip again. Still holding hands, Nettal started to lead Addie forward, one step at a time, slowly. Squishy quickly circled to the front.

    A few of the spear-wielding Furrians subtly adjusted their footing, but the Warrior Furrian immediately turned around and barked something at them, causing the rest to go back to standing without moving.

    The Mushroom Furrian waved again. Addie hesitantly returned the wave, but she didn¡¯t smile back. She just watched them carefully as the girls slowly got closer.

    Once they were about twenty paces away from the leader Furrians, Addie stopped walking, forcing Nettal to also come to a standstill. Squishy plopped down into a sitting position in front of the girls, but Addie could see all of his muscles still tensed up like a spring, ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice. Lotty, on the other hand, just stood on Nettal¡¯s other side in solidarity.

    After both groups stopped moving, the Mushroom Furrian walked back behind the line of spear-wielders, causing the girls to tense up and get ready to move. The spear-wielders easily parted as the Mushroom Furrian walked past them, only to return a short moment later with something in his hands. Addie and Nettal relaxed as they realized he wasn¡¯t moving to safety so the warrior could attack.

    The Mushroom Furrian held the item up in the air, two oval-like objects apparently made out of some kind of leather. Addie stared at it for a moment, before she realized those were shoes. Made to mimic the shape of Nettal¡¯s boots, but much less professionally made, and more in Addie¡¯s size.

    Addie just stood there in shock for a moment, staring at the proffered object. On one hand, she didn¡¯t want to get closer to more than a dozen spear-wielders. On the other hand, the Furrians had made her shoes! It was almost worth getting poked over.

    Nettal gently squeezed Addie¡¯s hand, drawing her attention. Nettal shook her head, then whispered to the side, ¡°Do you think your magic book can translate for us?¡±

    Addie whispered back, ¡°They made me shoes Nettal!¡± she exclaimed, excited.

    Nettal huffed, ¡°They just want to bribe you,¡± then, quieter, almost so Addie couldn¡¯t hear, ¡°and I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s almost working.¡± Then, louder again and more directed at Addie, ¡°Can you please use your magic book to translate?¡±

    Addie frowned, not sure if it could do that. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

 Chapter 92: Its a Caldera, Obviously.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± Addie said skeptically, even as she prompted her book to come out again.

    The book slowly coalesced into being, streaming out from Addie¡¯s chest and soul. Perhaps reading her mind, the book flipped quickly to an open page. It demarcated the left page and the right page with separate page headers, *Furrian*, and another string of text in the flowy loopy letters of the Furrian language on the other page¡ª one page for the girls, and one page for the Furrians.

    ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t think that would work,¡± Addie said, surprised. Luckily, the book didn¡¯t bother translating that.

    The leader Furrians quickly moved their eyes up to the floating book, easily in view of both groups, but the other spear warriors just kept their eyes on Addie and Nettal, but mostly on Squishy.

    The Mushroom Furrian broke the silence, his tone coming up at the end of a whooping sentence in what Addie thought sounded like a question. The book quickly translated, showing, ¡°You will freeze to death out in the wilds, why do you wish to leave?¡±

    Before Addie and Nettal could respond, the lead Warrior Furrian gruffly spoke up¡ª Addie reading the translation as it appeared on the page, ¡°You should stay in the cave with us. We will treat you as magic-leaders.¡± That last word fluttered on the page like it couldn¡¯t quite figure out how to translate, ¡®magic-leaders¡¯.

    Addie grimaced, even though they said the girls ¡®should¡¯ stay, they clearly intended to force the issue if they had to, otherwise the spear warriors wouldn¡¯t be here, too. Addie almost spoke her thoughts aloud, but Nettal put her hand on Addie¡¯s shoulder and shook her head.

    Nettal spoke up next, ¡°We can¡¯t stay here,¡± she said while forcing a calmness to her tone, ¡°We need to go home.¡±

    ¡°The demon-fog is after you. Our village will protect you, as it strays away from the mushroom light. Come, stay with us, and it won¡¯t chase you.¡± The Mushroom Furrian said equally calm.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay!¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but shout out, causing some of the spear-wielders to glance her way. Looking to her left, she saw Nettal grimace slightly.

    ¡°Let me talk to them,¡± Nettal tried to convince Addie.

    Addie huffed out a breath. ¡°Fine, but if they try to attack us I¡¯m taking us to Realmspace¡ª no more talking.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Nettal agreed nodding her head. Then she said more directly to the group of Furrians, ¡°We have a home to go back to, I want to see my mom.¡± She said with emotion, then a bit more firmly, ¡°Don¡¯t try to keep us away from our families.¡±

    In response to Nettal¡¯s plea, the Mushroom Furrian winced, but the Warrior Furrian spoke up firmly anyway, giving his fellow leader a slight side-eye.

    ¡°You would not be here forever, just until the snow-melts come. We¡¯ll protect you from your pursuers and the environment, and you can share your miracles with us.¡±

    Nettal just shook her head, causing the Warrior Furrian to start baring his teeth and pseudo-growling. The Mushroom Furrian quickly smacked the Warrior Furrian using the back of his hand, shaking his head in reprimand, after which the Warrior Furrian quickly stopped.

    ¡°Though my companion is short-tempered, he is correct. You are children, stay with us until the snow melts, your families will be glad you stayed safe at this time. We will treat you well, and the village will happily welcome you back. It wouldn¡¯t be forever.¡± He tried to convince them with a gentle tone.

    Nettal just sighed, then she turned to Addie, ¡°This isn¡¯t going anywhere. I think you might be right. They won¡¯t listen.¡±

    ¡°Ok, so go to Realmspace now?¡± Addie said, tapping her fingers against her crossed arms a bit. Across from her, Addie could see the Warrior Furrian puffing up, maybe getting ready to move.

    ¡°Let me try one more thing,¡± Nettal asked.

    Then, facing the Furrians again she spoke up, ¡°We can¡¯t stay for that long. It¡¯s hard for us to stay away from the sun, but more importantly, we miss our families. We need to find a way home. What if we promise to come back and visit sometime? Would you let us leave without a fight?¡±

    The Mushroom and Warrior Furrians stared up at Addie¡¯s book as it transcribed Nettals words, but the moment the last word finished writing itself out, the Warrior Furrian sprung into action.

    He loudly whooped, causing all the spear-wielders to move into a defensive stance as they tried to block the exit with their spears facing the girls. At the same time, the Warrior Furrians jumped at Addie and Nettal, unfolding a net he had hidden within his crossed arms. He closed the distance rapidly, giving Addie only a few moments to act.

    While her book flowed back into her soul, Addie and Squishy worked together to form their magic as fast as possible, but even then the Warrior Furrian almost closed the distance before they could finish¡ª forcing Addie to send out her magic before it was completely ready.

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    Without any sound, the girls, Lotty, and Squishy all appeared in Realmspace, but Addie had barely put together enough magic to give them a few seconds, not anywhere close to the few minutes they would need to get past all the spear wielders completely.

    Addie immediately grabbed Nettal¡¯s hand and started running forward. They would have to move as much as they could in the short time they had.

    Even sooner than Addie thought, everyone appeared back in reality, almost directly in front of the Mushroom Furrian.

    He blinked in surprise as Addie painfully slammed her bare heels into the ground to try and stop her mad dash before she bowled over the old Furrian.

    Perhaps out of surprise, or maybe because he didn¡¯t know what else to do with them, he held the makeshift leather shoes out to Addie. She quickly took them from him with a smile, building up more magic at the same time.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Addie shouted out, giving him a quick wave.

    With what Addie interpreted as a rueful smile, the Mushroom Furrian waved back with one hand.

    The next moment, Addie, Nettal, Lotty, and Squishy all teleported back into Realmspace¡ª this time with enough magic to easily get past the group trying to barricade the exit with their bodies.

    Nettal let out a breath of relief, ¡°That was close!¡±

    ¡°Really? I wasn¡¯t looking. Here, look what I got!¡± Addie held up her spoils of war¡ª the somewhat crude leather shoes. She quickly shoved them on her feet. Even though the shoes looked crude on the outside, they actually fit her feet perfectly, and they cushioned the bottoms of her feet much better than she would have expected.

    Holding out her hand for Nettal to hold, Addie said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The girls took off at a run, Squishy circling around to take the lead again, with Lotty staying next to his bonded.

    ¡°Why are we running!¡± Nettal shouted next to Addie, ¡°I thought you used a lot of magic this time so we could get far. Far, without...¡± Nettal gasped as they ran, ¡°Far, without, running.¡± She managed to get out between breaths.

    Addie was less winded than Nettal, she had gotten pretty used to running from all the practice with Christena. ¡°Let¡¯s run! I want to get as far away from them.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, my lady, and it will also make it harder for them to track us. They will have no snow footsteps to follow unless they venture far out into the cold.¡± Squishy added, his powerful legs sprinting through the darkness of Realmspace easier than anyone else.

    ¡°At least, lights... please,¡± Nettal breathed hard as she pumped her legs, Addie guiding her by the hand.

    At Addie¡¯s request, while also waking the poor birdie up from her nap, Ember flowed out of Addie¡¯s soul, her white beak peeking out from her chest.

    Silently, Addie sent an image of Ember manifesting some flames overhead. Not a whole lot, just a small fireball to light the way ahead.

    Ember sent Addie feelings of reticence, they had used up all of their magic earlier on the flame shield. Judging things from their soul bond, it looked like Ember still needed more rest before either of them could use more soul flames, for now.

    ¡°We¡¯re out of flames,¡± Addie reported back, only a moment after Nettal had asked her question. After all, the earlier interaction with Ember had happened at the speed of thought.

    Nettal sagged, roughly pulling on Addie¡¯s arm enough to slightly jar her shoulder joint. The action forced Addie to stop, and she sensed Squishy stop immediately after as well. Lotty easily came to rest next to Nettal.

    ¡°Then,¡± Nettal took a moment to breathe, her hands supporting her upper body by pushing against her knees, ¡°I need a break.¡±

    In response to her request, Addie checked the amount of magic still allowing them access to Realmspace. They could spare a minute or two to let Nettal catch her breath.

    ¡°Okay, but let¡¯s at least walk.¡±

    Due to the darkness, Addie couldn¡¯t see Nettal¡¯s face, but she could magically sense when Nettal lifted her head up toward her. Nettal sighed, ¡°Fine.¡± She huffed out.

    Like that, the girls and their bonded walked for a few minutes, then ran for a few longer minutes after that (except for Ember, who got a free ride-along within Addie¡¯s soul, the lucky birdie).

    All too soon, her magic ran out, and with it, Realmspace¡¯s attention forced everyone back out into reality.

    Addie had to shield her eyes from the blindingly bright snowscape before her. The blue light from the Binary reflected off of the snow, making it glitter and hurt Addie¡¯s poor eyeballs. For the moment, at least, it was easier just to shut her eyes completely and use her spatial sense to get her bearings instead.

    Nettal wasn¡¯t any better off, she also flinched and quickly shielded her eyes. She instinctively tried to look down, away from the Binary, just as Addie had done a second ago. But, in the same way, Addie had learned, Nettal realized that the bright snow was almost worse than looking at the sky overhead. Addie giggled at the thought, at least she hadn¡¯t been the only one to get so unexpectedly blinded.

    ¡°Gah!¡± Nettal called out, waving her arms around as if searching for something. Within moments, she found Lotty¡¯s head, and she used him to balance herself. After that, Addie watched as Nettal shook her head, easily opening her eyes right after. She marched over to Addie, placed one hand on her shoulder, and then pulsed a wave of healing right through her.

    Her eyes hadn¡¯t actually been damaged by the bright sun, but the wave of healing took off the worst of the pain from the unexpected brightness anyway. The healing also had the side effect of auto-adjusting Addie¡¯s eyes to the brightness, so she was easily able to open her eyes again.

    ¡°Can you do it for Squishy, too?¡± Addie asked politely.

    Poor Squishy was trying, and failing, to put his little scaly paws over his eyes.

    Nettal huffed out a laugh, ¡°Come here, you lizard-thing.¡±

    Though Nettal couldn¡¯t hear him, Squishy replied, ¡°My thanks, but I am not a lizard.¡±

    Now that she could focus more on her surroundings, Addie took the scenery in. Much like when they had first arrived here, Addie could see mountains surrounding them on all sides. The peaks were higher than even the absolute biggest of trees from the forest. They formed the walls of a bowl shape¡ª Addie and everyone within the bottom, flat portion of the bowl. The name for her location sat at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn¡¯t quite remember. Something that started with a ¡®P¡¯.

    ¡°Plateau!¡± Addie shouted, her voice echoing across the landscape and returning distorted. In the distance, a small pile of snow fell off one of the mountain peaks, pushing past a few scarce and spread-out trees on the way down. ¡°We¡¯re on a plateau,¡± Addie repeated, this time quieter.

    She looked down at her feet and felt smug about the fact she had managed to get those shoes from the Furrians after all. They protected her feet quite nicely from the snow all around them, though the poncho did a terrible job of keeping the wet, icy touch away from her lower legs.

    ¡°Where to now?¡± Nettal asked. ¡°And besides, this isn¡¯t a plateau; it¡¯s a caldera.¡±

 Chapter 93: Snuggles

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what a caldera is.¡± Addie pointed out. A small soul shard slotted back into place as she remembered one of her morning lessons with Christena from years ago. The thought came unbidden, a natural process of her soul healing, ¡°A plateau is a flat piece of land on top of a mountain range,¡± she remembered.

    Nettal shook her head, ¡°That¡¯s pretty much right, but it doesn¡¯t count when there¡¯s taller mountains surrounding us like this. We¡¯re in a caldera, more likely. That¡¯s why the mountains slope all around us like a giant bowl!¡± Nettal exclaimed, certain she was correct.

    Addie didn¡¯t know enough about mountains to say if Nettal was right or not. She¡¯d never heard of a caldera before. Ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter, she shook her head to dispel any lingering arguments she might have over it. No need to be pedantic over vocabulary, or so she could see Christena saying.

    Nettal must have agreed, since she once again asked her earlier, more important question, ¡°But what should we do now?¡± She asked, a frown on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t see the cave with the Furrians, at least.¡±

    Addie was stumped. She¡¯d never been teleported to a random mountain range before. She¡¯d never even seen a mountain in real life until this week! The most she knew about them before was from fiction or her morning lessons. Even if she had known a lot about mountains, she still didn¡¯t know how to get home without some kind of landmark or familiar ground, and this mountain range was anything but familiar.

    She sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± But she did have at least one idea.

    Addie looked hopefully over to her first and most loyal companion. Squishy glanced back up at her, sensing her intent focus on his scaly form. ¡°Can¡¯t you guide us home?¡± He had done it once before, after all.

    Her heart dropped as he shook his head, ¡®no,¡¯ too disappointed with himself to give a verbal reply. It almost didn¡¯t feel real. Addie had such a hard time coming to terms with the fact that they didn¡¯t know how to get home, that she didn¡¯t know how to process what she was feeling exactly.

    Standing there in the cold snow, Addie just thought about how much effort they had put into escaping the Furrians. How much effort they had put into escaping from the stupid fog. At that time, she had such a strong goal: to get home. But now that goal seemed to be fraying at the edges as she desperately tried to keep it from tearing. Her mind kept wanting to wander back to getting home, only to butt up against an immovable wall¡ª not knowing how. Not for the first time, Addie mentally hit herself for forgetting Sen¡¯s blue ribbon. After this was over, she would never ever forget it ever again.

    A biting wind dusted against her cheek, kicking up small bits of powdery snow on the ground. They were back to where they started, lost in a cold winterland, needing to find shelter before nightfall, and colder winds, came. At least she could see the beautiful mountains surrounding them. The entire caldera lacked any and all plant life¡ª meaning Addie could see the mountains in all their stark majesty.

    Nettal placed her hand over Addie¡¯s, gripping her hand firmly. ¡°I know what to do.¡±

    Hope reignited in Addie¡¯s heart at those words. Maybe her older cousin had some ideas¡ª being older always seemed to help with that sort of thing.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t know where to go, we just have to figure it out!¡± Nettal exclaimed, her hands on her hips as if she had come up with some kind of profound observation.

    Addie just tried not to sigh. But her next words actually made more sense than Addie expected.

    ¡°Maps are used for figuring out where to go. If we had a map, we could definitely get home.¡± Nettal smirked.

    ¡°That¡¯s so smart!¡± Addie just about shouted, though she managed to hold herself back enough to not cause more snow to fall in the distance.

    Her heart lept at Nettal¡¯s idea, as a few pieces seemed to mentally click together. She called upon her soul, summoning the magic book. It had somehow known they were close to the Ennulic ruins from before.

    ¡°Can you show us a map of all known Ennulic ruins?¡± Addie asked, hoping it could do so.

    Sure enough, the pages flapped rapidly as the book opened. The pages quit turning, and across the open face of the book, a detailed map started to fill in¡ª as if Addie was watching an invisible artist quickly fill in the details.

    The girls stepped forward a bit to get closer to the book, but Addie realized they were being a bit silly. She commanded the book to float closer to them. It easily did so, and then both girls huddled together to examine the map.

    There were four demarcated areas on the map labelled, ¡°Ennulic Ruins¡±. One for the north, south, east, and west¡ª each named accordingly.

    More importantly, Addie could see an image of the mountain range the girls were in, with the northern Ennulic ruins they had already explored being placed almost right in the middle of the mountain range. That much information gave Addie a bit of context for their location.

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    Nettal spoke up, drawing Addie out of her focus on the book, ¡°I don¡¯t see any swamps on this map at all.¡±

    Addie furrowed her brow, that couldn¡¯t be right. She also scanned the entirety of the map, looking for any indication of a swamp. She saw symbols for forests, grasslands, and even a few beaches. The top portion of the map was almost completely covered in various snowy mountain ranges. What the map didn¡¯t have was any indication there was a swamp nearby.

    ¡°Can you move more south?¡± Addie asked the book. ¡°Show us more on the map than just the places with the ruins?¡±

    The book didn¡¯t react.

    Addie scratched her head. She noticed that her fingers were really starting to get cold, so she had Ember come out and sit in her hands to help warm them up. Her warmth seeped into Addie, comfortingly soul-deep.

    Perhaps in reaction to seeing Addie trying to warm up, Nettal¡¯s eyes flashed green for a moment. Her red cheeks quickly became pale again, seemingly ¡®healing¡¯ herself from the cold.

    ¡°Well, even if your book doesn¡¯t have a full map, that wasn¡¯t what I wanted to suggest anyway. Let¡¯s find a town! With people! They should have some bigger maps.¡± Nettal explained, crossing her arms with a smug look.

    Addie looked back at her floating book, trying to read the map. Nettal scooched a bit closer, too¡ª close enough that Addie could feel her warmth.

    The book showed a map with the ruins in each cardinal direction and the landscape surrounding each. But, Addie couldn¡¯t see any markings that showed where people might be. They were in luck, though. The moment Addie thought about wanting to see ¡®people¡¯, a big symbol drew itself into the map.

    ¡°Look, here!¡± Addie pointed to the spot on the page, ¡°It looks like a castle!¡±

    Addie had never seen a real-life castle before, only read about and seen drawings of them. The thought of exploring a real castle filled her with excitement.

    ¡°Addie, look. It¡¯s right smack in the middle from each of the ruins.¡± Nettal said.

    Addie reexamined the map. Nettal was right. It seemed that the placement of the castle was equally distant between each of the ruin sites, making it look like the center of a diamond¡ª each corner of the diamond representing one of the ennulic ruins.

    ¡°Do you think there will be people there?¡± Nettal asked uneasily.

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t say ¡®ruin¡¯ like the other four spots. So that¡¯s a good thing. Probably.¡± Addie said.

    ¡°Probably?¡± Nettal repeated.

    ¡°Probably.¡± Addie nodded her head.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got nothing better to do. Let¡¯s go!¡± Addie declared.

    Nettal just rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re always the same, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Nettal said innocently.

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    Trudging through the knee-high snow in the ¡®caldera¡¯, as Nettal called it, was way worse than Addie would have thought. She had to keep a flame going nearby at all times just so she wouldn¡¯t freeze to death. And, even though she was at least wearing shoes now, snow kept tickling against her legs and falling into the top part of her shoes¡ª making her ankles scratchy and cold. She had to shake her legs out a whole bunch just to get the snow off, only for it to come back moments later.

    At least the girls knew they were going the right way. Addie¡¯s soul book helpfully placed markers for the girls, showing where they were and what direction they were moving in. Right now, their markers were pointed at the castle-looking picture.

    The bad news was their marker hardly moved at all. If Addie didn¡¯t know better, she¡¯d say they weren¡¯t going forward at all. Worse, the Binary was already behind the surrounding mountain peaks, the wind blowing against the girls in the most unpleasant way.

    ¡°Addie, I¡¯m cold,¡± Nettal said.

    Addie hadn¡¯t really been paying too much attention to Nettal, since she was so focused on trying to keep moving. When she looked up at Nettal¡¯s words, she saw that her lips were blue and that her whole body was shivering.

    ¡°Healing isn¡¯t really helping anymore.¡± Nettal clarified.

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure what to do, seeing Nettal look so sad and cold. But she did want to help her.

    ¡°Perhaps we should stop for the night. With the Binary setting, we will only be getting colder.¡± Squishy didn¡¯t look too cold, but then again he was part dragon, probably.

    Taking her eyes off Nettal, Addie scanned the surroundings. Glancing behind them, she could see a long knee-high trail through the snow, showing their progress for the day. They looked to be in the middle of the caldera, with absolutely nothing around except snow.

    ¡°What if we make a snow fort!¡± Addie said, excited by the idea. They could use it for shelter and get warm inside, too! Addie always loved making snow forts.

    Nettal didn¡¯t seem to like that idea, though, since she just stared at Addie with wide eyes, her lower lip shivering from the cold. ¡°I¡¯m too cold,¡± Nettal suppressed a shiver, ¡°To move.¡± She finished haltingly.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s warm up in Realmspace. Then, when my magic runs out, we¡¯ll make a snow fort for the night.¡±

    Nettal rapidly nodded her head in agreement.

    Together, Addie and Squishy pulled on their souls, expanding them with rapidly growing magic. They spent a good few minutes building it up so that they could have much time to warm up in Realmspace.

    After they released their magic, the total darkness of Realmspace greeted all of them. For Addie, the darkness felt like a comforting and familiar embrace. She knew Nettal didn¡¯t like it, though, so she quickly had Ember come out. Her feathers naturally had flames coming off them, making her a great source of light.

    Nettal sat down on the hard Realmstone, and then she curled up into a ball, shivering. Addie had managed to stay warm, for the most part, but looking down at her ankles, they were red and raw from the snow rubbing against them. Addie took off her poncho and shook it out to get all the snow off. It only sorta worked, and the poncho was a bit damp near the bottom, but it was made of some kind of wool-like fabric¡ª which Addie knew meant it would keep you warm even when it was wet. She draped her poncho over Nettal to help her warm up faster. Addie didn¡¯t need it right now, anyway.

    Lotty walked up behind Nettal, his thin legs also shivering from the cold. He lay down next to Nettal¡¯s back, sort of curving around her. That seemed to make Nettal feel warmer since her shivers slowly stopped after that.

    ¡°Come here, you squishy cat.¡± Addie scooped Squishy up from underneath. Then, she sat down on the ground next to Nettal, putting Squishy in her lap. He was nice and warm. He easily settled down, resting his chin against Addie¡¯s crossed legs.

 Chapter 94: Snow

    ¡°Wake up, my lady.¡±

    Addie ignored the voice and turned around to sleep more.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost out of magic.¡±

    She barely paid the voice any mind, the words only half registering in her sleep-addled state.

    Then, she was falling. At first, it felt like falling into a cloud. But then a sharp frigidness spiked into Addie, the shockingly cold temperature forcing her to sputter awake. She opened her eyes in a flash, but the surroundings were pitch black. She instinctively flailed, her movements coming even more hurried when she heard Nettal scream right next to her.

    In a blind panic, Addie flailed her arms and legs all around to push the surprisingly heavy and cold cloud away from her. The next few moments were a rush of flailing, screaming, and discombobulation, but somehow she managed to stand up.

    Breathing hard, standing knee-deep in the freezing cold cloud, Addie still couldn¡¯t see anything. She scanned her surroundings with her spatial sense and realized she was surrounded by snow. Nettal and Lotty were just next to her standing on the left, and Squishy was sitting on his haunches, chortling.

    Addie scrunched her face up in annoyance at his reaction.

    ¡°Addie!¡± Nettal shouted, ¡°What happened! I can¡¯t see!¡±

    At her prompting, Addie summoned a soul-fireball in her right hand that illuminated the area.

    The memories from the past day came rushing back to Addie. They were in a caldera, surrounded by cold snow. She must have fallen asleep in Realmspace, Addie realized. Now they were back, in reality, the Binary long set.

    Addie huffed out a breath. ¡°My magic ran out, and now we¡¯re outside of Realmspace again.¡±

    ¡°Well, do you have more?¡± Nettal asked. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to Realmspace and get back to sleep!¡± Nettal¡¯s eyes were red and irritated, bits of snow on her face.

    Addie wondered if her face looked the same, after flailing and getting drenched in the cold wet snow like that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh you silly cat.¡± Addie scolded Squishy, who had once again started chortling. Then she turned her head back to Nettal, ¡°I can send us back to Realmspace. Hold my hand.¡±

    Once again, Addie and Squishy brought everyone back to Realmspace. They lay back down on the hard Realmstone, trying to go back to sleep. It was more difficult than she would have expected though. That earlier snow panic had gotten her blood rushing around, making her body way too jittery and awake to fall back asleep.

    She thought about how earlier she had wanted to build a snow fort and sleep in that. Now, though, she just wanted to get back to sleep in the warm dark embrace of Realmspace.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hold hands,¡± Nettal said just to Addie¡¯s left.

    Nettal blindly moved her arm against the ground, trying to find Addie¡¯s hand. Addie easily made use of her spatial sense to find Nettal¡¯s hand. The warmth of Nettal¡¯s hand seemed to permeate through Addie¡¯s hand, warming more than just her hand up. Holding Nettal¡¯s hand comforted Addie, and with Squishy also pushing his warm-scaled body up against Addie¡¯s other side, she was easily able to go back to sleep.

    The next time Squishy woke Addie up she properly listened. She did not want cold snow. Squishy woke her up a few more times throughout the night. Each time, Addie pushed out more magic, extending everyone¡¯s stay in Realmspace, until the night was over.

    <hr><hr>

    When Addie woke up for the final time, her empty stomach protested the lack of food.

    ¡°Nettal?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Nettal replied, almost immediately. She must have been awake, too.

    ¡°Are you ready to go back?¡±

    Addie¡¯s magic was running near empty, anyway. She and Squishy had managed to keep everyone in Realmspace to sleep for all this time, after all.

    ¡°I guess.¡± Nettal sounded disappointed.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Addie asked in response, wondering why she wasn¡¯t more excited to go try to find some food.

    ¡°I am, I¡¯m just not ready to be cold again.¡±

    At some point during the night, Nettal had given Addie her poncho back. She took a moment to pull her head and arms through the holes. She had just been using it as a blanket before. A moment later, after everyone was ready, Addie let go of her magic that had been keeping them in Realmspace.

    Soon enough, the girls were trudging through knee-deep snow once again, walking side by side. Addie wouldn¡¯t have expected it, but her thighs were really sore. Pushing aside all of the snow constantly like this was a lot of work. She glanced back at Squishy, who didn¡¯t have to do nearly as much¡ª he walked behind Addie so he didn¡¯t have to push any snow around.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Addie¡¯s book floated just ahead of them, once again guiding them toward the castle-looking symbol on the map. Even though it was morning, Addie still couldn¡¯t see the Binary yet. The skies were clear, if a bit darker than what she expected for morning time. The surroundings reminded Addie of being in the shade.

    ¡°Squishy and Lotty are lucky.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Because they don¡¯t have to trudge through the snow.¡±

    Nettal stayed quiet for a moment with a thoughtful expression on her face.

    ¡°Addie?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a genius!¡± Nettal¡¯s sudden declaration surprised Addie.

    Taking another step through the snow Addie asked, ¡°Why is that?¡±

    Nettal came to a stop, making Addie want to stop, too.

    ¡°Because we don¡¯t have to trudge through the snow either! Or at least we can take turns trudging through the snow. How about you walk behind me for a little bit, and later, I¡¯ll walk behind you! That way only one of us has to walk through the snow at a time.¡±

    Addie walked to Nettal and put her hands on her shoulders. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea! You¡¯re right, I am a genius.¡± Addie agreed smugly.

    Nettal snorted, then shook her head. ¡°A silly genius maybe.¡±

    ¡°But, I can go first. I have another idea I want to try.¡± Addie suggested.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Nettal walked over to get behind Addie, Lotty following her from behind.

    Now, at the head of the line, Addie kind of felt like some kind of military leader. All her friends were marching behind her. It felt right.

    ¡°Come on out, Ember.¡± Addie held her hand out, using her soul to urge Ember out. She exited from Addie¡¯s outstretched hand with a curious tilt of her avian head.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna melt the snow in front of us!¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Nettal tried to say, but it was too late.

    Addie released a thin stream of white soul flames, willing them to burn bright and hot. The snow in front of her melted rapidly, easily making a slushy walkway. Most importantly, Addie didn¡¯t have to get snow on her ankles anymore! Addie noticed the book fly higher up into the air to avoid her flames.

    Cackling madly, Addie ran forward through the now clear path, flames streaming out of her hands all the while. As she ran, more and more snow melted, clearing the path further with each running step forward.

    <hr><hr>

    With her hands on her knees, Addie panted desperately to catch her breath. Ember had shied away back within the confines of Addie¡¯s soul shell. Addie wished she had such a nice place to go when she wanted to take a rest. In hindsight, she may have overdone it.

    Looking behind everyone, Addie saw muddy devastation. Addie stared at the wide trail of melted snow, exposed greenery, toppled snow piles, and wet muddy footprints while she tried to catch her breath. Lotty stopped here and there to munch on the exposed grasses. Addie wondered how he kept the mud out of his mouth, or if he just didn¡¯t care.

    Addie heard Nettal sigh.

    Between breaths, Addie pointed forward, ¡°It¡¯s... your, your turn,¡± she managed.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Nettal walked around Addie to the front. ¡°Try not to exhaust yourself so quickly next time, Addie. What if we need fire later?¡± She scolded.

    ¡°It was fun.¡± Addie smiled brightly.

    ¡°Yeah, it was pretty awesome to see all that fire. It would have been more awesome if you¡¯d lasted longer than ten minutes.

    Addie felt a tinge of embarrassment rush up her neck and run through her face. ¡°You can have a short turn, too. I can do a more normal turn after.¡±

    ¡°Nettal is correct to worry, my lady. Traveling to the castle will be a long march, not a short sprint.¡± Squishy said through the bond.

    Addie cringed. Squishy rarely scolded her. ¡°I¡¯ll take it slower next time,¡± Addie promised the two of them. ¡°I was just excited to melt all the snow.¡±

    Nettal was already trudging ahead through the snow. Addie followed close behind, the hunger pangs from earlier redoubling after her mad magical sprint.

    ¡°Squishy, can you and Ember go look for some food?¡± Addie asked silently.

    They both sent her a non-verbal sense of agreement through the bond. Ember took off with a fast flap of her wings, soaring into the distance. Squishy did an admirable job following along behind her. They could communicate silently through the shared soul-bond with Addie, too. Acting as the bridge for that communication, Addie could feel how Ember scouted the area looking for animal tracks or edible plants. Squishy followed along behind her, inspecting, sniffing, or chasing anything that might be food.

    ¡°Ember and Squishy found some food, they¡¯ll be back soon,¡± Addie told Nettal.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Each of Nettal¡¯s footsteps crunched through the snow. She was at least wearing some proper pants, compared to Addie¡¯s pajamas, so she could push the snow away easier than Addie, too.

    With some of her last reserves of soul flames, Addie quickly ignited her legs on fire. She did that for just a moment, to see if she could. She extinguished the flames a moment later. Walking with fire on her legs would be a lot easier than trying to flamethrower all of the snow away. She nodded her head, happy to have a plan for when it was her turn to lead again.

    Squishy and Ember returned just as the Binary finally started to peek out from over the tops of the surrounding mountains.

    Addie and Nettal took a short breakfast break, Squishy, Nettal, and Addie all eating some kind of meat, cooked with Addie¡¯s flames. Ember had found some kind of berries that she seemed happy to gobble down. Addie knew not to eat random berries out in the wild, but Ember seemed to know what she could safely eat. Addie still didn¡¯t want to eat the unfamiliar berries, though, so she and Nettal just ate the game Squishy had found.

    After breakfast, they kept marching onward. The girls had decided together that it was Addie¡¯s turn to take the lead for a little while. On one hand, Addie was glad to give Nettal a break, but on the other hand, her bond needed more time to rest before she could summon more flames. Because of that, Addie had to go back to trudging through the snow the unfun way¡ª snow once again scraping against her poor ankles.

    ¡°Before we go, can you give me some healing? My thighs are sore from pushing all the snow, and my ankles hurt from the snow.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Addie.¡± Nettal¡¯s eyes glowed green briefly as she put her hand on Addie¡¯s shoulder. Then, she gasped, ¡°You¡¯re ankles are more than just ¡®hurt¡¯, Addie! They feel awful!¡± Nettal frowned, ¡°Tell me next time so I can heal them sooner!¡± She scolded.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was that bad. Still better than when Squishy and I were trying to get home from the forest.¡±

    ¡°Just tell me next time, okay?¡± Nettal repeated.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Addie smiled. She was really glad to have Nettal here with her. Though, she felt slightly guilty at the thought as she remembered that Nettal hadn¡¯t wanted to come in the first place.

    Echoing down from the mountain tops, Addie heard a blood-curdling roar infused with power. She could practically see the air shaking and reverberating.

    Addie scanned the area with wide eyes, ¡°What was that?¡±

 Chapter 95: Ideas

    ¡°What was that?¡± Addie asked nervously.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not find out,¡± Nettal replied seriously.

    ¡°It sounds far off. We shouldn¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± Squishy tried to sound reassuring, but Addie felt like he just said the worst thing he possibly could have in this situation.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to say that!¡± Addie replied. ¡°Now we will definitely have to worry about it!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯d he say?¡± Nettal asked, turning to look at Addie.

    ¡°He said, ¡®We shouldn¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¯¡± Addie repeated.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s bad,¡± Nettal cringed.

    Squishy just glanced between the two girls, obliviousness pulsing through the bond.

    Addie just sighed, not bothering to explain it to the serious creature.

    At least for now, there wasn¡¯t much to do but continue forward, the book guiding them along.

    Despite the ominous roar from earlier, the girls walked for hours unaccosted. During the journey, they stopped one more time for lunch, and then again when the Binary moved behind the mountains again.

    ¡°Squishy, can you get us some dinner?¡±

    He and Ember went out again to scavenge.

    Today, Nettal hadn¡¯t gotten nearly as cold as yesterday. Addie had tried to share her flames with Nettal as much as possible. Addie didn¡¯t want her lips to turn blue again.

    ¡°The Binary is setting soon. That means we need to figure out shelter again. Let¡¯s build a snow fort!¡± Addie suggested.

    Nettal chuckled, ¡°Can¡¯t we just stay in Realmspace again tonight?¡±

    Addie frowned. She had been looking forward to sleeping in a snow fort. ¡°The hard ground in Realmspace hurts my neck. And it¡¯s hard to keep us in there all night. I have to wake up over and over again.¡±

    Without waiting to see if Nettal would respond, Addie started pushing and piling up a bunch of snow. Her bare hands quickly got frigid and wet. Addie tried packing some of the snow together, but it was harder than she¡¯d thought it would be. The snow was rough and powdery, falling apart in her hands more than sticking together in clumps. If she held a pile in her hand for a little while, the snow would melt some and stick together more easily.

    ¡°Huh. How come the snow won¡¯t stay together?¡±

    ¡°This is powder, Addie. It¡¯s too cold to stick together right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why.¡± Addie dropped the snow in her hand.

    She lit her hands on fire for a moment to flash dry them. As always, her flames didn¡¯t hurt her one bit.

    ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    ¡°The last time you had an idea you tried to light a bunch of snow on fire. You aren¡¯t planning on doing that again, are you?¡± Nettal asked with trepidation.

    Addie smiled.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t, right?¡± Nettal repeated.

    ¡°See the pile over here?¡± Addie pointed to the big pile of snow she had been making.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Throw as much snow on it as you can!¡±

    With a great deal of focus and intent, Addie summoned a big fireball. She made it hover right over the snow pile, and then she helped Nettal throw more and more snow onto the pile.

    At first, the pile started shrinking as the snow melted and compacted from the heat. But soon, the girls were able to keep the pile growing with new snow faster than it could melt. After the pile was wide and tall as a tent, Addie dismissed her fireball.

    Then they waited for it to cool down some more while they ate the food Ember and Squishy brought back.

    What they were left with was more of a giant lumpy ice dome than a snow fort. But, it looked sturdy and that was the important part to Addie.

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    ¡°How are we supposed to get inside of it?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Well, I thought we could dig out its insides.¡±

    Addie walked up to the uneven dome and tried digging at it with her fingernails. The walls were as hard as they looked¡ª solid ice. Her nails just tapped against the ice, only digging away the barest of shards.

    ¡°I think I have an idea,¡± Addie said, pulling her hands away from the ice structure.

    ¡°Your idea is more fire, isn¡¯t it,¡± Nettal said more than asked.

    ¡°Yep!¡± Addie finished the word with a pop.

    In order to not melt the rest of the structure, Addie covered only her hands in white-hot flames. Then, she pressed her hands against a spot she thought would make for a good entrance.

    Her hands were melting the ice, but it was a lot slower going than she would have thought. She changed approaches, this time making a small thin stream of flame come out from her pointer finger. That worked to carve out the ice quite a bit faster.

    After a while of carving at the surface ice, Addie found that the interior of the dome wasn¡¯t nearly as hard as the rest of the structure. Using her hands, Addie scooped out chunky-slushy ice. Nettal helped, too. Once there was enough room for all three of them, Squishy also jumped in to help.

    Nettal didn¡¯t help for nearly as long as Addie and Squishy. She had to take multiple breaks to let her hands warm up, and Addie noticed her eyes glowing green more than once. Addie didn¡¯t have to worry about her hands getting too cold, she had soul flames for that¡ª often covering her hands with it to warm them back up.

    At the very end, the girls had a big igloo-like structure, wide enough for everyone to lay down completely inside. They had to crouch to get in, though. They also couldn¡¯t stand up¡ª it was only tall enough for sitting and lying down. Not that they would sit down, anyway.

    The biggest problem was the muddy floor. All of the melted snow and ice revealed a grassy muddy ground. Addie¡¯s shoes were already caked in the icky stuff just from crouching and working inside of the dome.

    She exited the dome and noticed that the Binary had fully set. Night was coming, and the temperature had already started to drop. She noticed the wind biting against her cheeks and parts of her legs not protected by her poncho. At least the dome had done a good job of keeping the wind away.

    ¡°That was a lot of work just for one night. I don¡¯t want to do that again tomorrow.¡± Nettal said.

    Addie grimaced, Nettal was right. This had taken a couple of hours at the very least. And they couldn¡¯t even sleep in it with the muddy ground.

    ¡°Hey, Nettal.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Guess what?¡± Addie smiled smugly.

    ¡°Do you have another idea?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Addie¡¯s smile grew.

    ¡°Is it more fire?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    Nettal sighed.

    Addie crouched down just at the entrance of the dome. With a focus of will, she spread flames all over the ground, without letting them touch any of the ice. It was difficult to control the flames so precisely, they wanted to move up and lick at the ice above.

    Her soul book came out all on its own as she struggled to keep the heat away from the ice walls of the dome. Once the book finished manifesting, It helped guide Addie¡¯s magic channeling. Unlike with the fire shield, her book didn¡¯t completely take over. Instead, it guided Addie. In a sense, the book seemed to be holding Addie¡¯s metaphorical hand and guiding the motions, rather than doing it for her.

    With the book¡¯s help, it was simple to increase the temperature of the flames to as hot as Addie could make them. Waves of heat brushed against her face, and she knew that if they hadn¡¯t been her flames, she would have been burning herself. Because her flames were magic, she could control where the heat went. With her book¡¯s help, she made sure all of the flames directed themselves down at the ground, with none of them moving up to the ice walls.

    ¡°Addie! I¡¯m cold.¡± Nettal called from behind Addie.

    ¡°Squishy, can you bring Nettal to Realmspace to warm up?¡±

    He gave her the mental equivalent of a nod. A moment later, Nettal yelped, only for the sound to get cut off mid-way through. Since they shared the magic, Addie knew Squishy had put her in Realmspace.

    The distraction almost made her lose her focus on the flames drying out the ground, but her book managed to stabilize things for her.

    Within a few minutes, the ground became a grassy carpet¡ª the mud underneath completely dried and packed into hard earth. Addie smiled at her handiwork, the pride of a job well done resonating throughout her being. Now this would certainly be more comfortable than hard Realmstone.

    Squishy and Nettal came back to reality together moments after Addie had finished, her bonded knowing when Addie had finished.

    Everyone piled into the ice dome, Addie and Nettal lying side by side with Squishy and Lotty snuggled up on either side of them.

    Nettal shivered a few times, ¡°It¡¯s still colder in here than in Realmspace.¡±

    Addie smirked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say you have an idea,¡± Nettal said with warning in her tone.

    ¡°I have an idea,¡± Addie said anyway.

    Nettal sighed overdramatically. ¡°Alright, just make sure not to melt the walls.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    With a flick of her will, Addie summoned a thin layer of soul flames over her body, with an intent for them to be warm and not hot.

    For some reason Addie couldn¡¯t explain, the inside of the ice dome became incredibly warm within just a few minutes¡ª to the point Addie got worried she might start sweating. She turned the flames off and closed her eyes.

    ¡°Sleep well, my lady. I shall keep an eye out for the night.¡±

    ¡°You get some sleep, too,¡± Addie whispered, already half asleep.

    <hr><hr>

    Amazingly, the ice dome stayed warm almost the entire night. Addie only had to wake up once to warm it up with more flames, and even then it only took a brief few moments to do so.

    Once again the Binary began to rise, daylight filtering through the ice-dome and waking the girls up. Unlike yesterday, Addie woke up without any residual sleepiness eating away at her will to get up.

    She could feel through the soul-bond that Squishy was still exhausted, though. ¡°You silly cat!¡± Addie thought to him, ¡°You need sleep too.¡±

    ¡°I felt concerned about the roar from yesterday, especially after you said I ¡®jinxed it¡¯.¡± His normally vibrant eyes drooped as he tried to stay awake.

    Addie rolled her eyes. ¡°Come here, I¡¯ll carry you so you can sleep while we walk.¡±

 Chapter 96: Astral Terror

    The girls walked all day long, sleeping in Realmspace at night. The next day they walked more, their symbols on the map moving southward ever so slightly each day. Squishy and Ember continued to provide food, and Nettal healed everyone whenever they got sore or tired.

    They managed to march at an amazing pace, each girl taking turns in the lead to give the other a rest. Addie couldn¡¯t help but think Christena would be proud of them. They managed to walk all day, except for two meal breaks: one in the morning and one in the mid-afternoon. After dinner, they either went straight to Realmspace for sleep, or they made another ice-shelter. They switched between the two places to sleep each night.

    Whenever it was Nettal¡¯s turn to lead, Addie would practice with some of her soul flames. Never enough to tire herself out, since she needed to save her flames for when they got cold, too. The book would sometimes split itself into two, one half showing the map at the front of the group, and the other half floating closer to Addie¡¯s face. It gave her instructions, much like it had when she made her ice-fort the first time. The book seemed to hold her hand, so to speak, by guiding her will and intent into various flaming shapes. Mostly, they practiced the flame shield ability she had received from the Ennulic ruins.

    Each time Addie and Nettal made an ice-shelter, they got better at it. By the sixth night, they formed the ice-shelter in record time, the motions well practiced to the point it didn¡¯t take more than half an hour before it was finished.

    By the seventh morning, the distant walls of the caldera seemed to shrink in height. According to the map, they were already climbing over the mountains that formed the ring of the caldera. Addie hardly realized they were even going uphill. The beginning of the mountain¡¯s slope was so gradual that Addie would never have known they were climbing the mountain if she hadn¡¯t seen the map.

    For some reason, the longer they climbed the mountain, the harder it became to breathe. The snow wasn¡¯t helping either, it started to get deeper the higher they climbed.

    Currently, Addie had to trudge through waist-high snow¡ª her flames making it easier to walk through as the snow in front of her melted. Her breaths came quick and sharp, a metallic tang at the back of her throat. The frigid air stung against her lungs with each breath, making the already ¡®weird air¡¯ even harder to breathe in.

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure if she was grateful that the Binary was out, or if she hated that it was out. On one hand, at least it wasn¡¯t snowing, and it provided some level of warmth. On the other hand, the Binary¡¯s blue light shined against the top of the snow, forcing Addie to blink almost constantly as her eyes watered from the brightness¡ª Or maybe they were watering from the cold air. Either way, it made things difficult to see.

    Every hour or so Addie checked in with Nettal to make sure she wasn¡¯t too cold. If Addie saw blue lips or so much as a shiver, she made a ball of fire hover right next to her. She, ¡®didn¡¯t like the bright light,¡¯ but Addie didn¡¯t care. She wasn¡¯t going to let Nettal freeze, even if she could heal herself.

    About once per day, Addie and Nettal stopped as they heard a roar sound out from the distance. A few times, the roar caused waves of snow to come falling down and crash against distant slopes.

    They tried not to talk about the roaring, since it just made them nervous. But, the further they walked, the closer the roars started to sound.

    After a full week had passed, Addie wasn¡¯t sure if they could just keep ignoring the roars. Well, she certainly wanted to, but Addie guessed that whatever was making those roars wasn¡¯t going to ignore them.

    Soon, a gap between peaks could be made out in the distance. In the gap between mountainous peaks rested a large fort-like structure, though clearly unmanned. Just like the Ennulic ruins, the stone had cracks in places, and entire pieces of wall or tower had collapsed into a jagged crumbled mess. Snow piled along the walls, almost seeming to climb upward near the base.

    The Fort hadn¡¯t existed on her map, only the mountains. According to that same map, past the gap between peaks should be a sprawling grassland¡ª the same one that hopefully had the castle and people.

    Addie wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there would be a lot more walking than that, though. The map made everything seem small.

    Despite easily seeing the fort in the distance, Addie and Nettal weren¡¯t able to reach it that night. Its walls seemed to taunt Addie with promises of warmth and shelter, but she knew they needed to rest for the night.

    That night, they heard another bestial roar. The mountains shook, snow avalanching down on one of the distant peaks. Luckily, Addie could tell it wouldn¡¯t get close to them. The earth rumbled, and the air took on a hazy pink wave-like taint that cleared up moments after.

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    Most worryingly, Addie figured out where the roars were coming from¡ª the fort.

    Addie glanced at the map again to see if there was a better way out of the caldera, but the entire thing seemed to be surrounded by impossibly high cliffs and jagged peaks. The gap in front of them was the only way out that didn¡¯t involve some serious rock-climbing.

    Squishy seemed raring for a fight, at least. She could feel his battle fervor through their bond¡ª always eager to prove himself.

    Nettal felt differently¡ª she wanted to go around and avoid the roaring fort. After she talked with Lotty a bit, she hesitantly changed her mind, though. Lotty wouldn¡¯t be able to climb a sheer cliff with his hooves, and Nettal wouldn¡¯t be able to carry him either.

    Unless they wanted to abandon Lotty, the only way out of the caldera was through the fort. Obviously, they weren¡¯t going to abandon Lotty¡ª that was like asking Nettal to tear off parts of her soul.

    That night, the girls camped in another ice-igloo thingy. Whatever manner of creature made those loud roars, for some reason it only liked to do so one time per day. For the rest of tonight, at least, Addie knew they could sleep soundly.

    <hr><hr>

    Sometime after she had fallen asleep, Addie activated the second half of the magic she shared with Ember. Previously, she had only briefly experimented with her ability to wander about as a soul. Perhaps noticing her, the book flowed out from Addie¡¯s true body¡ª she¡¯d never get used to being able to see herself from afar like this.

    Her book quickly flipped to a page, *Hello, Addie. Would you like training in your astral form?*

    Addie tried to speak, but she couldn¡¯t form any words. She had to remind herself that she had to communicate with her mind, ¡°Yes, but not right now. I want to go see what¡¯s in the fort.¡±

    *I will accompany you* Then, the book turned a light blue transparent color¡ª the exact same color that Addie¡¯s astral form was. *Like this, nothing should be able to see us without some degree of soul-sight.*

    Moving around in Astral Form was nothing like moving around normally. Addie had to use her mind to sort of ¡®float along¡¯ instead of walking. She found it difficult to move at first, too used to the muscle memory of walking. At first, she had to concentrate and focus a lot to move around in her Astral Form. But, pretty soon the world began to move by around her¡ª which Addie thought was a good way of describing it. She didn¡¯t move so much as the world around her drifted past.

    She reached the walls of the fort, her soul-book gently drifting right beside her and a little bit behind. Up this close to the main walls, she could see a square gap in the middle of the front-facing wall. Addie didn¡¯t know why there wasn¡¯t a door, but it would make things easier for her and Nettal tomorrow, at least. As a soul, Addie didn¡¯t need to bother with the doorway in the wall slightly to her right; instead, Addie just floated right past and through the solid wall directly in front of her.

    She immediately felt glad she did, because there was a giant monkey off to the right guarding the entryway to the fort.

    No, not guarding exactly¡ª thick chains wrapped around the giant ape¡¯s ankles, anchoring it to the ground. It had white course fur that matched the snow it stood in¡ª the ape so tall that the snow only reached its ankles, but Addie knew that same snow was at least waist high for her.

    Most bizarrely, the ape had a gigantic curved sword lodged through its neck, though the ape was still clearly alive. It glared at the entrance to the fort with bloodshot eyes. It panted heavily, as though it could hardly breathe. The ape hunched in on itself, its front knuckles brushing against the snow as it stood.

    Ever so slowly, the ape turned its head to its right, the motion looking painful due to the sword lodged in its neck, though it wasn¡¯t bleeding. Then, it locked eyes with Addie.

    A soul-deep panic shot through her. The next moment, her soul book was moving¡ª doing something with its magic as it flew toward her.

    With a jolt, Addie sat up from her position in the ice dome, her soul instantly jarred back to her body. She held a hand over her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

    The experience had been just like a nightmare, the gentle floating and unearthly movement in her Astral Form making the experience feel less real. It had ended just like a nightmare, too¡ª the abrupt suddenness of being forcefully woken up after extreme terror.

    She took a moment to scan the surroundings and catch her breath. She knew it was silly, to stare around like this. She couldn¡¯t help herself. With wide eyes, she kept glancing all around, certain that at any moment she might find a shadow out of place.

    Eventually, though, with Squishy¡¯s calming presence and Nettal¡¯s comforting one beside her, she managed to settle down. She was just glad she wasn¡¯t alone.

    The face of the ape practically stared back at her through her memory of moments ago. She could make out its blood-red eyes and eerie glare.

    Lying back down into the grass, Addie tried to shake the thought from her mind. If they were going to get past the ape tomorrow, she needed to get plenty of rest.

    Regardless, Addie poked Squishy right behind his triangular ears a few times to wake him up. He stared up at her, his eyes half closed¡ª his nictating membrane still mostly shut.

    Addie scooped him halfway up and placed his upper body on top of herself. His warmth comforted Addie further. He let out a gentle huff and readjusted himself slightly until his head rested over his paws. He closed his eyes again.

    Letting her head gently drop back to the ground, Addie stared at the ceiling for a moment, not that she could see it with her eyes. Instead, her spatial sense kept track of her surroundings for her.

    She spent a few minutes scanning the outside surroundings of their ice-dome. Looking around helped calm her down even more¡ª just being able to confirm nothing was out there.

    Her heart calmed down, and slowly she lost the focus to keep scanning. Her mind began to cloud over, the normal gentle drift of sleep coming over her and drowning out the terror from earlier.

 Chapter 97: Hear Me Roar

    Addie and Nettal approached the fort far to the left of the open entryway. Addie had discussed it with Nettal earlier this morning, and they both agreed it didn¡¯t make sense to walk right next to the guardian ape by going through the entrance. At best, it would scream and cause a ruckus. At worst, the ape could break free of its restraints and chase the girls, but Addie tried not to imagine that.

    So, just like Addie had done in her astral form the previous night, they decided to go directly through the walls, bypassing the entryway entirely.

    Addie let out a breath to prepare herself. Then, with an expenditure of will, she and Squishy pushed everyone into Realmspace. After a few steps with no trouble, they continued forward more confidently. A touch more confidently, they continued forward with each step giving Addie more confidence. Maybe it had been silly of her to have been so scared of the ape the previous night. The thought almost made her laugh at herself.

    Then, something outside of her soul tugged on her. In a flash, the brightness of reality returned, only for Addie to immediately hear an ear-splitting roar filled with power. The last time Addie had heard the roar might as well have been quiet murmurs when compared to hearing it up close.

    Addie¡¯s entire body shook so hard her vision went blurry. At the same time, the hold over her magic destabilized. The roar washed over her, stressing her soul and locking Addie¡¯s body against her will. Terror filled her, driving the air from her lungs. She detachedly wanted to move, urgency clawing at her but terror stamping her feet to the ground.

    And then, thankfully, it was over. The world around Addie returned to normal, and she could finally take in a deep breath. She hadn¡¯t even realized she¡¯d been holding it in. Now with the freedom to act restored to her, Addie quickly formed up two layers of transcendent loop around her soul. She kicked herself for a moment for not having it up already. Since it had so easily destabilized her magic, Addie now knew that roar targeted the soul. Addie hoped the hastily formed layers of transcendent loop would protect her. She made a promise to herself to practice constant transcendent loop casting going forward.

    Feeling him across the bond, Addie realized Squishy was protecting his soul, too. Ember wouldn¡¯t need any; she always liked to hide in the cracks within Addie¡¯s soul, so she¡¯d be protected by proxy.

    But Addie was worried about Nettal. She hadn¡¯t gotten as far along in magic lessons with Christena. Glancing Nettal¡¯s way for a brief instant, she seemed alright, if a bit pale. She only checked on her cousin for less than a second.

    Addie quickly moved her eyes to the ape, hoping it was still chained to the ground. It almost seemed to be smiling at her. No, not smiling¨C It stared at the girls with a feral grin, baring its canines. A deep rumbling came from its chest. Addie watched as the giant ape, at least three meters tall, started pounding against its chest. A new sound tore across the fort as shockwaves emanated with each pounding strike. The shockwaves made it hard to be relieved that the creature was still stuck to the ground.

    Addie gulped as she realized there was absolutely no sense in staying here. She firmly grabbed onto Nettal¡¯s hand as she prepared to drag them back out to Realmspace. Squishy¡¯s presence bolstered her magic to help them go to the alternate dimension.

    But then, the Ape roared again, so loud that a searing pain stabbed through Addie¡¯s ears, sharp and sudden, as though a couple of needles had been driven into her skull. She felt liquid dribble down her ears, and the roar suddenly seemed muffled and somehow less real.

    It took all of Addie¡¯s concentration and will just to keep her transcendent loops stable. She had to protect her soul. All of the magic she had been building to push them into Realmspace lost its momentum. She couldn¡¯t focus on keeping her soul protections stable and use her magic at the same time. Not against that incredibly loud terror-inducing roar, at least.

    Then, the roar ended. Addie realized a dull ringing sound forced its way through her skull, and for some reason, the world began to spin. Then, Nettal was there, her warm hand against Addie¡¯s face. With a flash of green eyes, the pain in her ears vanished. Addie could fully hear again, and the world stopped spinning.

    Addie watched with wide-eyed horror as the ape reached down with both hands and pulled at the clasp attaching the chain to its ankle. The sound of screaming metal filled the air. Addie could see its muscles bulge, its chest seeming to grow three sizes larger as it strained. The metal around its ankle bent, screeching with a binary-awful sound. Addie still preferred it over the ape¡¯s roars.

    Even though she knew she should try to run away, Addie stared at the scene with a sort of anxiety-filled fascination¡ª unable to keep her eyes away. She noticed her limbs were shaking slightly, her palms sweaty as she held them tightly at her sides.

    The clasp chaining its left leg came off, bent beyond recognition. It moved its hands to the other clasp.

    ¡°Addie!¡± Addie realized Nettal had been shouting at her for the past few moments, but it only just now seemed to register. ¡°Take us out of here!¡± She shouted.

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    Squishy prodded her, helping Addie get her bearings again. Together, they pulled on their magic once more.

    And the ape sucked in a mighty breath, letting go of the final clasp¨C aborting its attempt to destroy it at the same time. The snow around its feet seemed to whirl from the force of its inhale. Addie knew another roar was coming. She let go of her teleportation magic, needing to focus entirely on protecting her soul.

    An idea came to Addie in that split second before the ape¡¯s roar sounded. She had just enough time to say to Nettal, ¡°I have an idea.¡± The corner of her mouth upturned in a smirk.

    With an instantaneous pulse of magic, she and Ember formed a barrier of white-purple soul flames. It wrapped around them in a dome, Addie¡¯s practice with her book paying off.

    The roar sounded, just as loud and earth-shaking as before¡ª with one major difference. This time, it didn¡¯t affect Addie¡¯s soul in the slightest. Based on the look she saw on her face, Nettal also seemed unaffected; Addie¡¯s soul-flame shield protected them from the ape¡¯s soul attack completely.

    The brief reprieve gave Addie a moment to strategize. Nettal wasn¡¯t a fighter. Addie knew whatever she did next she would need to focus on protecting her cousin. Luckily, even if Addie got hurt, she at least had the best healer she could ask for.

    Her best advantage, she realized, was that the ape was temporarily immobile. Her best chance to win a fight would be to do something before it could release itself. Each time the ape shouted, it didn¡¯t do anything else¡ª it had even let go of the chain just a moment ago so it could shout. That would be her chance to act.

    For a few more moments, the ape¡¯s shout ineffectually washed over Addie¡¯s soul-flame shield. Then, it was over.

    With a wave of her hand, Addie gathered up the remnants of her shield to the front of herself. The book manifested outside of herself in an instant. With the book guiding her magic, Addie pushed all of the flames from her shield forward in a wide stream.

    The white flames hit the ape, causing it to recoil as if from a physical force. Addie hadn¡¯t been focused on making these flames hot. Instead, the flames targeted the ape¡¯s soul. The giant ape took a knee and breathed heavily.

    Addie watched and waited for a moment, wondering if the fight was over. She shouldn¡¯t have hesitated, though. Luckily for Addie, Squishy had much better instincts. He rushed forward on all four limbs, crashing through the snow and wildly shoving the snow away using his chest. He practically tunneled through the snow, even as it collapsed on him.

    It was enough. He reached the giant ape and leaped straight for the impossibly large curved sword sticking out of its neck. Squishy landed on the ape¡¯s shoulders while it was still dazed from Addie¡¯s soul attack, stumbling drunkenly. Pushing his paws against the ape¡¯s shoulder for leverage, Squishy grabbed the sword between his jaws and flexed his entire body.

    With a wet sound, the sword cleaved through the ape¡¯s neck, his steaming head dropping onto the ground and melting the snow. The curved sword vanished into the snow a moment later, Addie hearing it bounce a few times as it hit the stone ground beneath.

    Addie wanted to puke. Squishy was ruthless. Addie felt her horror and adrenaline rampage as a storm in her chest, fighting against the pride of a battle well won¡ª she wasn¡¯t sure which emotions were hers and which were Squishy¡¯s. She was still shaking, staring at the now headless ape.

    To the left and behind her, Nettal gasped. She tried to run forward as if to heal the ape, but Addie firmly grabbed her cousin¡¯s wrist to stop her in her tracks.

    Nettal shot Addie a horrified glare, but Addie just shook her head. Even if they wanted to heal the enemy, it didn¡¯t matter now. Squishy had decisively ended the battle.

    His black, scaly form steamed in the cold winter air as blood dripped down from his underside. For a moment, Squishy was silent, just padding at his defeated foe, but then he bared and pulled his lips back in a silent snarl¨C as if he hadn¡¯t quite realized the battle was over yet.

    ¡°Squishy, it¡¯s ok,¡± Addie said aloud, ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± She felt through their connection, to try and understand why he was snarling like that, but he just felt angry.

    He ignored Addie¡¯s words, choosing instead to keep growling at the very much dead ape. Surprisingly, there was a whole lot less blood than Addie expected there to be. Just a few drops from the initial cut. Addie stared at its bared neck with morbid fascination. She wanted to look away, or maybe puke, yet she couldn¡¯t help but stare.

    Squishy¡¯s ears were up and alert, his eyes glowing and ready to use magic. He was still growling, too.

    Addie took a moment to look next to her, where she was still holding tightly to Nettal¡¯s wrist. Addie allowed herself to relax her grip. Now that things were calming down, she began to hear her heartbeat through her ears. She thought maybe she could feel Nettal¡¯s rapid heartbeat from her hand on her wrist as well.

    ¡°Squishy, let¡¯s go,¡± Addie urged him on, even sending the same words through the bond when he didn¡¯t reply to her talking aloud.

    Nettal gasped and moved back behind Addie. The unexpected movement from Nettal made Addie reevaluate her surroundings, looking for a threat. She scanned the battlements above, as well as all around the courtyard they were currently standing in. Addie took a quick moment to check the sky, trying to find whatever had spooked Nettal.

    Addie heard the rustling of chains, and her attention moved back to the ape. With a hand larger than Addie was tall, the ape reached forward, grabbing its own head.

    Squishy leaped backward, giving himself some space away from the danger.

    The ape moved its head as if to reattach it to its body with a single hand. Its other hand moved underneath the snow. The glint of steel reflected the binary light as Addie saw it raise the giant sword, bringing all of the paralyzing terror from earlier back along with it.

    Addie stood paralyzed as the ape swung down upon its own leg with extreme force. The final chain connecting it to the ground shattered from the impact. The only thing remaining of the chains were the steel bands around its ankles, no longer tethered to the ground.

    Its face, disconnected from its body, began to draw its lips up into an aggressive teeth-baring smile. Then, the ape¡¯s head reconnected with its body. Addie watched as it pulled in a giant deep breath.

    ¡°Squishy!¡± Addie screamed. He was too far away for Addie to shield!

    But, Addie had a responsibility to her cousin. With urgency, and the desperate need to protect Nettal, Addie and Ember once again channeled their flames into a half-dome shield, the book helping the magic along.

    The ape screamed, causing the entire world to shake with terror.

 Chapter 98: Jump Off a Cliff

    Addie strained against the ground as the vibrations from the ape¡¯s shout threatened to destabilize her soul-flame shield. The book, hovering just over her shoulder, glowed a bit brighter in response¡ª helping to stabilize her magic. The world took on a purple tinge, but Addie couldn¡¯t tell if it was due to her soul flames or from the magic shockwaves caused by the ape¡¯s primal bellow.

    Slowly, the world stopped shaking as the shout died out. Just as Addie felt she had weathered the worst of it, the ground started trembling much stronger again¡ª instead of a persistent vibration, this was a series of loud rumbling thuds. Like something was rushing toward them.

    As the realization dawned on her, a giant furry hand holding an equally giant katana slammed through the outside of Addie¡¯s shield, causing that part to shatter. The ape¡¯s visage loomed over her, filling her with fear. But, she had no time for fear. Squishy¡¯s past words came to mind, hesitation is defeat.

    Addie gathered up the remaining magic from her broken shield and sent it flying toward the ape. No longer fastened to the ground, the ape dodged to the side. Its massive body slammed into the snow, his hand coming away reflexively and bringing its detached head along with it. The impact shook the earth and forced Addie to recenter her balance.

    A cry from behind drew Addie¡¯s attention. Desperate to make sure Nettal was ok, Addie briefly checked on her. She wasn¡¯t bloody, Addie wasn¡¯t sure why she had screamed. Addie moved her focus back to the ape. At the same time, she realized she couldn¡¯t see Squishy, but with a quick mental ping she learned he was in Realmspace.

    The ape clambered to its feet, hand reaching to place its head back on its body. Addie rushed to stand protectively in front of Nettal. She knew another shout was coming from the way the ape¡¯s chest expanded.

    Seeing an opportunity, Addie hastily threw a fireball at the ape. She knew it was too small to do much damage, but it was enough to interrupt the ape.

    The ape recoiled from the fireball, its soul sizzling. That gave Addie time to prepare more magic. With Ember¡¯s help, her other partner still nestled within her soul, Addie began channeling flames into her hands. She allowed the flames to build up and up¡ª forcing them into a tight pressurized ball.

    Even though it was holding its own detached head, the ape still seemed to glare at Addie with rage. It charged her, the earth rumbling underneath its huge lumbering steps.

    Addie¡¯s soul book blazed with power as it helped her keep ahold of her magic despite the shaking ground. Addie knew she hadn¡¯t built up enough magic yet to defeat the ape. She needed more time.

    ¡°Squishy!¡± Addie called out through their bond. She envisioned in her mind how she wanted Squishy to attack the ape, sending him her thoughts.

    Squishy reappeared directly behind the ape, barely pausing to lunge forward and catch the back of its ankle within his jaws. Addie caught a flash of Squishy latching onto the ape''s heel before his form vanished in the wake of snow.

    A surprised look came across the ape¡¯s face as it tripped, but then the pain must have hit as it let out an anguished wail. Addie could see red staining the snow around the ape¡¯s ankle. Squishy popped his head up from the snow a moment later, a long piece of sinew clenched in his jaws.

    The ape tripped just in front of Addie, its head falling from its palm and sailing past her. The ape¡¯s body landed with a thud, more snow flying all around Addie. Despite the hard landing, it already looked like it would try to get up.

    Finally, Addie surged magic throughout her soul. Ember and her book joined in, the three of them thrumming with power. The world around Addie seemed to distort from the heat and take on a purple tint just before she released the magic from both hands. The compressed twin fireballs shot forward directly into the ape¡¯s exposed neck.

    A massive explosion rocked the space just in front of Addie¡¯s face, forcing her to cover her eyes with a hand. She knew better than to take her eyes off the enemy, though, so she intently focused on the space in front of her using her spatial sense. The top of the ape¡¯s torso was torn to shreds.

    Squishy trudged through the crimson snow to stand next to Addie. She could see his snout upturned as if to look at her through the plume of snow. ¡°Burn it.¡±

    ¡°Nettal, step back a bit.¡±

    ¡°Now you tell me! You exploded him in my face! I¡¯ve got ick all over me!¡± Behind her, Addie used her spatial sense to see Nettal trying to shake the ick off of her arms. Despite her tough act, Addie could see her limbs shaking as she stared at the gruesome sight.

    Addie had to suppress a snort. She and Squishy were covered in ick, too, but it didn¡¯t bother her much. At least, not now¡ª she had to finish things so the ape didn¡¯t stand back up again. Addie made sure Nettal took a few steps back, the snow and smoke already starting to clear in the winter wind.

    After the snow plume had settled so she could see again, Addie set the unmoving ape¡¯s body ablaze. This time, she made sure to use hot flames, rather than explody flames. She was going to burn it to ash. She really didn¡¯t want it to get up again. That had been terrifying, the way it held onto its own head as it charged her. Addie had to suppress a shiver just from remembering it.

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    If it hadn¡¯t been for Squishy¡¯s calming protective presence, Addie might not have been able to fight at all. She still remembered how she had frozen up at the beginning of the fight. Honestly, her heart was still racing. She took a deep breath, trying to stabilize herself, before sending Squishy a quick pulse of gratitude.

    She threw a giant stream of fire at the ape, hoping to burn it down to nothing. It took a while¡ª at first, the body didn¡¯t want to catch fire. Maybe because of how cold it was outside. Soon, the body caught fire, and Addie didn¡¯t have to keep channeling. After a little bit, the body began to really stink, so the girls walked away from it while it burned. They stood there for a while, just watching it turn to ash.

    Eventually, Nettal broke the silence,¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t ideal,¡± Nettal said quietly.

    ¡°No, that was horrifying!¡± Addie emphasized, quite a bit louder than Nettal. ¡°I thought it would eat us! Its mouth was big enough to eat us in one bite!¡±

    They¡¯d stared at it enough, nothing but ash remained now to look at anyway. Addie really didn¡¯t want to be here anymore. Her heart had finally calmed down enough that she felt ready to get moving again. Leading Nettal by the hand, she began walking.

    ¡°I¡¯m still wondering if it¡¯s gonna somehow come back together and chase us again,¡± Nettal said as the girls walked through the fort courtyard. Addie could still see some remaining fear on her cousin¡¯s face.

    Addie reached out and held tightly onto Nettal¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright. We won.¡± Addie tried to be reassuring, but her own hand was shaking too.

    Nettal let out an unsteady breath, ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t wait to go home.¡± Though she was still shivering from leftover nerves, her eyes glowed, filling Addie up with warmth and healing. Somehow, it reminded Addie of home.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    After a few minutes of walking, the girls came to the back of the courtyard. Addie noticed another entryway to the fort from this side, but unlike the front, this side had a fully intact gate made of metal that blocked the way forward.

    Addie took a moment to make sure everyone was together before she sent everyone to Realmspace. They walked a few steps forward, past where Addie thought the gate was, before they came back to reality.

    In front of them lay a vast stretch of land at the foot of the mountains. Addie could see fields of green far, far below where she currently stood. Glancing behind herself, she could see the fort¡¯s walls surrounded by rocky white terrain. Green. Just, an unbelievable amount of grass. An absolutely gigantic plain stretched farther than Addie could see, but the plains themselves were so far below where she currently stood that she could barely make out the details. Instead, it appeared as if a blanket of green dominated the landscape below her, and she longed for it¡ª to be out of the cold.

    One structure stood out, though. The castle from her book, which appeared far larger than the fort she currently stood in front of, had been built seemingly in the center of the plains. It was so large, Addie wondered if it was actually more of a city, rather than a castle. Roads stretched out from it in four directions, but not very long roads. Rather, the roads became patchy the further she moved her eyes away from where they started. It was hard to say from this distance, but Addie assumed the roads didn¡¯t go any farther than half a kilometer out from the castle in any of the four directions. Where the roads ended, more of that grassy plain overtook them.

    Addie huffed in slight frustration, though. There was a simply massive problem¡ª there was no way down from the fort. If Addie took just a few steps forward, she would plummet down a vertical cliff. Addie had never been this high up before.

    While Addie knew she could use magic to survive jumping from thousands of meters down a cliff, she wasn¡¯t sure if Nettal could do the same.

    ¡°Surely there must be a way down?¡± Nettal said, standing precariously over the cliff face to get a look. ¡°They had to have gotten up to the fort somehow?¡±

    ¡°The fort has been built in a strategic location. I believe the exact purpose of this fort was to keep invaders from the plains below away from the plateau behind us. It would make sense to me, seeing as this is the only gap between the large walls encasing the plateau,¡± Squishy explained, always one to be excited about boring military stuff.

    ¡°Nettal said it¡¯s a caldera, not a plateau,¡± Addie corrected Squishy. Then, she turned to summarize Squishy¡¯s words for Nettal. ¡°Squishy says there¡¯s probably not a path down.¡±

    Nettal looked at Addie in bewilderment. ¡°And, why does he think that?¡±

    Addie sighed, having to explain all that military mumbo jumbo would be annoying. ¡°Some kind of military reason I guess.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh. Yeah, that does make sense.¡± Nettal nodded her head but rolled her eyes for some reason.

    ¡°If you two are done with all that, let¡¯s figure out how to get down!¡± Addie said, hurriedly. ¡°How about we jump off the cliff, and right before we land I send everyone out to Realmspace? Squishy and I do it all the time when it¡¯s just the two of us. I bet I can make sure it works for you, too.¡±

    Nettal looked at Addie with narrowed eyes, ¡°Have you ever tried that trick on anything except yourselves? What if it doesn¡¯t work on other people?¡± Making an ¡®x¡¯ with her arms in front of herself, Nettal declared, ¡°I will not find out it doesn¡¯t work by splatting at the bottom of a cliff.¡±

    Addie huffed, ¡°Then, what should we do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s just test if your magic works on me before we try plummeting to our dooms. We can do a smaller test, like jumping just a few feet down the fort¡¯s walls. That way, even if it doesn¡¯t work, the fall isn¡¯t all that long, and the snow can break our fall anyway.¡±

    Nettal and Addie stood at the top of the fort¡¯s walls, looking down at the snow below. Addie was sure that even if they just jumped off the fort without magic they¡¯d be fine. It wasn¡¯t a long fall.

    Holding hands, the girls jumped off of the fort¡¯s walls. Just before they hit the snow, Addie rapidly plunged them in and out of Realmspace¡ª Addie making sure to direct her exit up into the air, so they could gain upward ¡®momentum¡¯ ¨C as Squishy called it ¨C and have an easier fall.

    They landed in the snow, a small bit of powder pluming into the air around them. But, there was no doubt about it, they had landed in the snow much softer than they would have normally.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s jump off a cliff.¡± Addie smiled.

 Chapter 99: The Walls

    Nettal screamed in Addie¡¯s ear as the wind buffeted against their faces. Addie also screamed, but she did it because of the thrill. The cold wind whipped against her face, forcing her eyes to water. Keeping her mouth open seemed to make her spit fly everywhere, but she couldn¡¯t help herself. It was just too much fun! Falling from the sky made her feel strangely weightless, and she found the feeling wonderous. At first, her stomach felt like it was squishing up into her chest, but now she just felt like she was flying.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this again!¡± Addie screamed into the open air as they fell, but she wasn¡¯t sure if Nettal could hear her.

    Looking over at her cousin, Nettal¡¯s eyes were impossibly, almost comically, wide open as she stared at the coming ground. She held Lotty so tight to her chest that Addie wondered if Nettal might be hurting him slightly.

    Addie was slightly tempted to force everyone into a spin, just for laughs. She managed to restrain herself, though. It would be bad if she couldn¡¯t see how close she was to the ground in time, after all.

    All too soon, it came to an end. Addie and Squishy worked together to send everyone into Realmspace a few meters from the ground, before she again sent everyone back out into reality with a nudge up toward the sky.

    They landed face down in the snow, sinking slightly into the powder. Addie quickly pulled her face up out of the snow, but when she tried to use her hands for leverage, they just sunk deep into the snow. She struggled for a moment, frustrated by how difficult it was to stand up in such deep snow. Eventually, with a few clever applications of flame, Addie melted the snow around her enough to properly stand up.

    She helped Nettal and Lotty get out of the snow as well¡ª the two of them so far buried that Nettal complained about it being hard to breathe.

    This would be the last of the snow, though. Addie could see a bit of a hike to go the rest of the way down the mountain, but after that it would be green, snowless fields for as far as the eye could see.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie almost expected to get attacked on the way to the castle or something. Together, she, Nettal, and their bonded had gone through so much in just the last few days. But, nope. The walk to the castle was quiet, peaceful even.

    The grass tickled all the way up to her neck¡ª she hadn¡¯t realized the grass would be so tall when looking down at it from the mountain. She had a tough time seeing in front of her, and in that respect, the surroundings were much the same as the mountain had been. Only, this time, the grass blocked her vision instead of the snow.

    At least it was warmer here. Still cold enough that Addie kept wearing her poncho, though. The light from the Binary warmed her up despite the chilly breeze, and the exertion of constant walking made Addie thirsty pretty often. Another downside of being off the mountain is that there wasn¡¯t easy snow around they could melt to drink.

    Instead, Ember had flown off to find a stream, which Addie and Nettal had been following for two days now on their trip to the castle in the distance. They could see its towering walls in the distance, so even if the book hadn¡¯t been showing them the map, Addie knew they would find it anyway. Once again, Addie had to wonder if the ¡®castle¡¯ in the distance wasn¡¯t actually a city. The walls sprawled out so far to either side of her that it was practically taking up all of her vision above the grass.

    Addie looked at her book hovering just overhead. The symbol on the map certainly looked like a castle. She looked past the book, back at the giant walls in the distance, seemingly telling her otherwise.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be a castle, right?¡± Addie asked aloud.

    ¡°I dunno. I¡¯ve never seen one before,¡± Nettal answered.

    ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t either. Maybe that¡¯s how big they¡¯re supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°Maybe?¡± Nettal agreed with a shrug. ¡°Either way, I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± Then, her face took on a more hopeful light, ¡°Do you think someone there will be able to help us get home?¡± Nettal eagerly asked, leaning in as she spoke.

    ¡°I hope so!¡± Addie said. ¡°I bet Christena is worried. Auntie, too. I just want to go home.¡±

    ¡°Yeah... Me too.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    The girls didn¡¯t reach the walls that day or even the next. Somehow, the walls in the distance just kept getting bigger and bigger without seeming to get any closer.

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    Addie found it strange how each day they walked and walked yet never arrived. Instead, expansive fields of grass taller than her head stretched out in all directions, blocking her from seeing anything but the sky or walls¡ª depending on where she looked. Addie almost preferred the snow; it was somehow less monotonous than walking through the fields. At least with all the snow, she could see the mountains in the distance and somewhat tell how far away they were. The walls just loomed in the distance¡ª impossible for Addie to wrap her head around just how big they were. Each time she thought they couldn¡¯t get any bigger, they did.

    At the end of the third day, the walls stretched so high up into the sky that they blocked off the Binary just past noon. Being in the shadow of the walls brought with it a bit of a chill, as well. Nothing that her poncho couldn¡¯t handle suited as it was to the snowy mountains behind them, but her exposed lower legs sometimes got goosebumps from the slightly breezy chill.

    That afternoon, Addie saw a giant bug jump on the back of Nettal¡¯s neck, which was the best entertainment she¡¯d had in days. Watching Nettal jump all around and scramble to dislodge a simple bug made it impossible not to laugh, really. It was just a bug, after all.

    Other than that, the girls both practiced their magic. Addie refrained from practicing her flames like she had been doing on the mountains. She wanted to practice, but Nettal told her, ¡®Absolutely not! You¡¯ll burn us after setting all the grass on fire!¡¯ So, she didn¡¯t. Instead, Addie focused on her spatial sense.

    She had nothing better to do anyway, and she knew from experience she¡¯d be bored out of her mind if she didn¡¯t at least do something. Working with her spatial sense was simple but certainly not boring. She¡¯d never think her magic was boring. She even managed to expand her ¡®awareness bubble¡¯ by a bit! Or, at least, she thought she had. Those kinds of incremental changes were somewhat hard to measure, Addie decided, after hearing Squishy explain using those exact words. He always knew the best big words to describe stuff. She also thought she could ¡®see¡¯ smaller stuff than before, too. Down that small, things didn¡¯t really make any sense to her at all¡ª just blobby things within other slightly larger blobby things. One time, Addie saw a big ball-looking thing with a ton of other smaller ball things flying all around the larger ball thing.

    She tried to explain it to Nettal, but she didn¡¯t really get it. Honestly, Addie didn¡¯t really get it either. It took a ton of concentration to see things that small, and it was kind of pointless, so Addie stopped trying. She couldn¡¯t see anything smaller than that¡ª not yet, at least, and probably never since it was useless anyway.

    Nettal just kept healing them, over and over again, which made it so Addie never got tired. They literally walked all day long, never getting tired. The only times they stopped was when Squishy or Ember brought some food. At those times, Addie and Nettal would take a small break to make a fire and cook the food. At least the ever-present grass surrounding them protected their necks from the Binary.

    By the end of the fourth day, the grass began thinning out, leading up to a cracked and plant-overrun road. The road had once been made of carefully laden stones and mortar, but it now looked like the facsimile of a garden bed. Addie practically died from the relief at the change in scenery.

    It was good to finally be making actual progress! The walls had remained tauntingly close yet infinitely far away no matter how long they had walked, but seeing the break in the grass had refilled Addie¡¯s hope meter, allowing her to finally shake away any feelings that the walls were impossible to reach.

    Despite Addie¡¯s eagerness, they camped on the side of the road that night; Addie chatted excitedly with Nettal who tried to calm Addie down, but instead, mostly just smiled as Addie wrapped her cousin up in her excitement.

    The walls reached so far up into the sky now that the girls only got to see the Binary in the mornings before it fell behind the left side of the walls, and in the evenings when it reappeared on the right side. It almost got cold enough in the shade that Addie was tempted to use some flames to keep warm, but the poncho was enough while they were walking, at least. She did start a fire at night, though, both for cooking and warmth.

    The morning of the sixth day they finally reached the walls. The gray bricks of the walls looked way bigger up close. Each brick was taller than Addie! And that didn¡¯t even start on how wide they were, easily wider than three Addies laid down head to foot.

    The dilapidated road led directly into a severely rusted front gate. Addie worried they wouldn¡¯t be able to get inside, the metal stretched so far up into the air that it must have been insanely heavy. But then Addie realized she was being silly¡ª she could just teleport everyone directly inside, of course.

    Once they were inside the walls, Addie realized her initial assumption had been entirely wrong. This most certainly was not a castle. Though, her second assumption while they had been walking over had been correct. This was a massive city, broken down stone walls indicating once sturdy homes lined up along a smattering of roads. None of the houses had roofs, and Addie had to wonder why.

    Most importantly, the city was entirely empty. From this side of the walls, she could see stairs and the tops of the walls themselves completely empty from any guards. The homes were the same. Addie and Nettal tip-toed to one of the eerily empty roofless homes to check it out. There was no door, but there was a doorway. The inside of the home had a bunch of really old stuff¡ª old half-rotted wood which strangely reminded Addie of mildewy forest-smell.

    All of the houses were like that. Another ring of shorter walls stood tall in the center of the city, so Addie and Nettal decided to head that way and see if the inner city possibly had people, but at this point Addie sincerely doubted it. She did see something at the top of those walls, but it could have been a bird or something. In either case, those walls would be their goal for now.

 Chapter 100

    The walk from the outer city to the inner city took a lot longer than Addie thought it would. She was slightly reminded of the initial walk to the city in the first place¡ª the way the walls kept getting bigger in the distance without ever really feeling like she was getting any closer. Luckily, the inner city wasn¡¯t that far away, not compared to the walk from the cliffs to the city in the first place. No, the walk from the outer city walls to the inner city walls only took a few hours. Longer than she would have liked, but a lot shorter than she¡¯d feared.

    The walk was made slightly worse by the fact that the city itself was boring. Everything was just broken-down buildings and useless stone. Addie didn¡¯t see any wood, metal, or anything except that gray stone. Honestly, even some dirt would have been a novelty in this city of rock.

    She couldn¡¯t practice her magic to pass the time, either. Squishy kept making sure of that; the silly cat told her she needed to ¡®be aware of her surroundings¡¯ and ¡®watch for unseen threats¡¯¡ª as if she wasn¡¯t always just doing that by default nowadays.

    In either case, she and Nettal reached the inner city walls sometime between ¡®in the shade of the Binary,¡¯ and ¡®in the shade of the Binary¡¯¡ª seriously, no matter what time of day it was, the constant giant stone walls always made sure they were in the shade of the binary, regardless of the time of day. She mocked it, but that actually made things somewhat harder on her, she¡¯d already spent so much time stuck in a cave system without any outside light. It grated on her.

    ¡°How did people ever live here?¡± Nettal asked, staring at the giant inner city walls. ¡°I love the light of the Binary too much to stay in a place like this.¡±

    Addie couldn¡¯t agree more, ¡°And we just left the caves, too!¡± She added dramatically.

    ¡°At least we¡¯re almost there,¡± Nettal pointed to the approaching walls. ¡°Maybe we can find a gate somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Naw, Realmspace magic, remember?¡± Addie jabbed her thumb into her chest.

    ¡°Oh, right. You know, being able to teleport around is really convenient.¡±

    Addie nodded her head in agreement.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what convenient means, do you?¡± Nettal teased Addie with a slight smile.

    Too bad for Nettal, Addie wouldn¡¯t fall for it. ¡°Nope!¡± Addie admitted without the slightest hint of shame, instead enjoying the look of exasperation on Nettal¡¯s face.

    ¡°But, I understood the content.¡±

    ¡°You mean context?¡±

    ¡°That too. Enough about that, look, we¡¯re here!¡± Addie shouted a bit too excitedly. Her voice echoed across the stone walls strangely, almost like shouting through a hallway but way louder somehow.

    Addie held her hand against the giant stone wall, feeling the cold, rough exterior and slightly uneven surface with her fingertips. A moment later, Nettal grabbed Addie¡¯s hand. Addie took one last check to make sure Lotty was there too, then she sent everyone into Realmspace. After they¡¯d made it to the other side, Addie was quite surprised by the differences between the inner city and the outer city.

    The inner city had proper roofs on the buildings! They weren¡¯t much, stone like everything else seemed to be, resulting in blocky square looking buildings throughout the area. Most importantly, there was a castle! Towering over all of the other buildings, a grand structure stood in the center of the inner city. Not nearly as tall as the inner city walls were, though¡ª not to mention the outer city walls.

    Addie saw a set of walls around the castle, much shorter of course, with those spiky things along the outside of the walls that she expected out of a story-book castle. The center of the castle had all kinds of cylindrical towers, with a big square part right in the middle that resembled the walls surrounding the castle, only a bit taller¡ª the same height as the towers. There was even a real moat around the castle! With a drawbridge! Addie didn¡¯t see a gate though, and the drawbridge was rotting and nearly fallen apart, but still! A drawbridge!

    Tugging on Nettal¡¯s sleeve, Addie pointed at the drawbridge, ¡°Look Nettal, look!¡±

    ¡°We found the castle!¡± Nettal said, also excited.

    ¡°Not just the castle, there¡¯s a moat and drawbridge, too!¡± Addie hopped up and down with slight excitement.

    ¡°What? That¡¯s what¡¯s cool to you?¡±

    ¡°Duh~! I¡¯ve never seen one in real life before,¡± Addie said, since it should be obvious.

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be more excited by the castle?¡± Nettal asked, a slightly confused look on her face.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Well, that too, I guess.¡± Addie replied, ¡°Hey look, do you think we can walk on the drawbridge?¡±

    Without waiting for a response, Addie began walking around, trying to get to the main gate so she could check out the drawbridge. She could hear Squishy slightly chortling for some reason, but he was a silly cat so she ignored him as she made her way over.

    ¡°Wait up!¡± Nettal called out from behind.

    Addie glanced behind herself to make sure her cousin was coming, then continued onward to her destination. It was all very exciting.

    Finally in front of the drawbridge, Addie was able to make out even more cool details. The whole thing hung from two really gigantic chains. Each link was so big that Addie could stick her head through the gaps! She wasn¡¯t allowed to keep doing that for long though because spoilsport Nettal kept telling Addie that it was ¡®dangerous¡¯ and she ¡®might lose her head¡¯. Silly Nettal.

    Maybe she had a slight point, the chains were looking a bit too red with rust, with little flakes peeling off. But, that just added a certain rustic charm to it, in Addie¡¯s opinion. The bridge itself was constructed of big logs, though the left half of the bridge was completely missing, most of the logs rotting away on that side for some reason. The right side looked better, but the wood was really soft and squishy when Addie stepped on it with a single foot. It kinda smelled bad, too.

    ¡°Addie! Get your foot off of there!¡± Nettal shouted while tugging Addie back onto the stone walkway.

    ¡°What?! But look at it!¡± Addie pointed at the drawbridge. ¡°Don¡¯t you wanna go across a real life drawbridge?¡± She demanded.

    Nettal¡¯s eye twitched for some reason, but then her eyes lit up with a response, ¡°Actually Addie, since the drawbridge is so cool, don¡¯t you think we shouldn¡¯t walk over it?¡±

    Addie narrowed her eyes, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, look at it, it¡¯s falling apart a bit, right? So, what if it breaks while we¡¯re walking over it? If that happens, then you won¡¯t be able to admire it anymore!¡± Nettal pointed out while waving at the bridge, triumphant.

    With a slight huff and crossing her arms, Addie agreed reluctantly, ¡°That¡¯s a good point, I guess. Fine! We¡¯ll use Realmspace to get to the castle.¡±

    Nettal just smiled. It kinda annoyed Addie for some reason, but she wasn¡¯t really sure why.

    After they made it past the bridge and into the castle walls, there was actually quite a bit of nature before the castle itself. Addie had expected the main gate to lead directly into the castle, but apparently they had a front yard of sorts. Though, it was super boring¡ª it was just nothing but grass, and the exact same grass she and Nettal had already been walking through for days. Addie just pushed it aside with her arms to make it to the main castle itself.

    Addie couldn¡¯t see any light inside the main doorway¡ª combined with the fact that the Binary was still hidden because of the outer and inner city walls, it was so pitch black inside the castle Addie couldn¡¯t see anything past the front door. That didn¡¯t matter to Addie of course, shadows were her friend¡ª she always had her spatial sense!

    She scanned the area, but it was just an empty hallway so she began to walk further inside. Just before her foot crossed the threshold, Nettal once again grabbed Addie by the back of her poncho and tugged her backward.

    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not nice,¡± Addie said, more than a bit frustrated that Nettal kept doing that to her.

    ¡°You know what¡¯s not nice? Dying!!!¡± Nettal said with emphasis, not quite shouting, but also being kinda mean. Then she pointed right at the ground. ¡°Look!¡±

    It was slight, and she could only see it right at the very entrance due to the darkness, but Addie could see wisps of fog right at the doorway.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Addie said dumbly, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± Then Nettal sighed. ¡°But what are we supposed to do about this? More fog? And we didn¡¯t find any people at all either, so we still haven¡¯t found a map to help us get home.¡± Nettal grumbled.

    ¡°But at least we got to see a castle?¡± Addie said, trying to uplift the mood.

    ¡°I just wanna go home.¡±

    Addie absorbed that for a moment, then replied, ¡°Me too.¡±

    But the somber mood crashed away as Addie had an idea, ¡°What if there¡¯s a library in the castle?¡± Addie asked, excitement coming back to her now.

    ¡°Oh good idea, Addie!¡± Nettal praised, making Addie feel warm inside about her idea.

    ¡°But, how are we gonna get there?¡± Nettal scrunched up her face, ¡°We certainly are not stepping into the fog.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Addie put her fist under her chin to help her think, ¡°Maybe we can climb on the walls, like a spider!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any magic like that.¡± Nettal pointed out.

    ¡°Yeah, I realized it was a bad idea right after I said it, too.¡± Addie said, a bit confused at herself for why she even suggested the silly idea in the first place.

    ¡°Well, I have another idea...¡± Addie said leadingly, staring at Nettal to see her response.

    Nettal slumped, ¡°Your idea is more fire, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± Addie popped the ¡®p¡¯ sound.

    ¡°Fine! Fire-blast away! Just, if you find anything wooden, try not to set the castle on fire.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my flames always listen to me!¡± Addie had a lot of trust for her magic, and for Ember, too.

    Nettal seemed unconvinced, and proved it a moment later when she started listing things out while counting on her fingers. ¡°Like the time you exploded the flames in your face? Or the time you used so much fire I thought I¡¯d have to carry you since you were so tired? What about the time in the cave when we tried to cook that meat¡ª¡±

    Addie interrupted her cousin, ¡°Hey! Those times were different.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Nettal narrowed her eyes at Addie. ¡°Either way, just be careful, alright?¡±

    Addie rolled her eyes, ¡°If you¡¯re that worried about it, we¡¯ll just use a flame-shield. Mr. Book can help us, too.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Book? You gave it a name?¡± Nettal tilted her head slightly.

    ¡°I came up with it just now. It¡¯s pretty good, right?¡± Addie smiled.

    ¡°I guess so,¡± Nettal agreed easily, but not too enthusiastically. ¡°Alright, just make sure to flame-shield us before you step inside, please.¡±

    ¡°Geez! I know that much, at least.¡± Addie frowned.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be thorough with explanations, I¡¯ve found. Otherwise all kinds of things happen, like jumping off cliffs.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair. You agreed to that one!¡±

    Nettal put a wistful look on her face, ¡°And I regret it to this very day.¡± She spoke like an old person for some reason.

    ¡°That was fun!¡± Addie retorted defensively.

    Nettal smiled, ¡°I¡¯m teasing you a bit. But c¡¯mon! I really do want to see if there¡¯s a library. I can¡¯t wait to get home. Maybe there¡¯s a big map, or even better, an atlas or encyclopedia! Encyclopedias are really exciting¡ª even my mom says so.¡±

 Chapter 101: Whatâ€™s That Guy Doing Here?

    Most of the castle was dark, empty, and decrepit, save for a single expansive room somewhere in the center of the castle. When the girls and their bonded approached the doors, Addie took note of how massive they were. Someone had spent a lot of time carving them to look so pretty, with all the swirling images of flowers in the dark brown wood.

    Pressing her hands against the left side of the double doors, Addie couldn¡¯t move them at all¡ª even with Nettal helping on the other side. Their feet kept slipping against the smooth stone below, which almost caused her to fall! Luckily, that didn¡¯t matter much to Addie. She definitely didn¡¯t huff out in frustration or anything like that. After a quick jaunt through Realmspace, they went right past the doors and into the giant chamber.

    Dark red curtains adorned either side of the chamber, a series of them lined up one after another. Each one had a golden flower embroidered onto the middle. At the end of the chamber was what Addie assumed to be the throne¨C a towering chair made out of some kind of smooth rock. The throne cast a long shadow against the room¡¯s floor¨C the back wall of the throne room was made entirely from glass, with plenty of light streaming in. The gardens were behind the glass, Addie making out a small field of grass and neglected shrubbery surrounded by towering stone walls. That didn¡¯t stop the Binary-light from reaching the garden¡ª Addie wasn¡¯t really sure how that worked, though.

    Normally, Addie would have marveled at the striking scene. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the man kneeling at the center of the room. His wrists were secured to the gleaming stone floor by cuffed chains. His skin was paler than anything Addie had ever seen before, with hair white as snow.

    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Nettal shouted out while Addie was still staring at the man.

    The man didn¡¯t respond.

    Squishy led the way forward; his snout upturned as he sniffed the room cautiously. ¡°His heart is not beating,¡± Squishy said.

    ¡°Nettal, Squishy says that guy is dead,¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°Not dead, I just said his heart has stopped beating.¡± He huffed with exasperation.

    Nettal hurried forward, clearly eager to see if she could help the man in some way. Halfway there, she stopped and scanned around the room. Her next few steps were much slower as she cautiously got closer to the man. Eventually, she reached him, and she poked him once before retreating her finger and examining it. Coming to a conclusion, Nettal shrugged and began more thoroughly inspecting the man, her eyes glowing green as she activated her magic.

    ¡°Addie, look at his ears!¡±

    Now curious, Nettal¡¯s words drew Addie¡¯s attention. The tips of the man¡¯s ears were pointed instead of rounded. ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°And he¡¯s not dead! Though his heart isn¡¯t beating... but somehow he¡¯s not dead? That¡¯s weird,¡± Nettal muttered, looking at the strange spiky-eared man with a look of confusion.

    ¡°The not dead part?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°Well, that too, but this man doesn¡¯t look human on the inside.¡± Nettal began poking the man this way and that, forcing his eyelids open, jabbing a finger into his stomach, and even forcing his mouth open and looking down his throat. ¡°His tongue is yellow instead of red.¡±

    ¡°What? Weird.¡± Addie took a few hesitant steps forward, and sure enough, the strange man had a yellow tongue.

    ¡°How is he not dead?¡± Addie decided to ask after Nettal ignored her in favor of prodding at the man.

    ¡°Well, my magic won¡¯t even push into dead stuff. I¡¯ve tried before. My magic can push into this guy, though. I can even feel his ¡®injuries¡¯¡ª¡± Nettal said while making air quotes, ¡°But he mostly just feels... sleepy, I guess? But, also not sleepy.¡± Nettal nodded, satisfied with her explanation, before turning back to the man and continuing to poke him.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Addie pointed below the man, where two parallel lines encircled around the man. Addie kicked at the lines, expecting them to be salt or something, only to be surprised when she learned the stone itself had those white circles carved into them.

    At four different points between the two circles, Addie saw glowing gems. They were placed directly in front, behind, and to either side of the man. The one directly in front of him was as blue as the sky, but the other three were all red like blood.

    ¡°I wonder why one of them is a different color?¡± Addie moved her pointer finger to the gems.

    ¡°Huh? Oh yeah, I guess.¡± Nettal didn¡¯t even look at where Addie pointed, instead focusing entirely on the man.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even look!¡± Addie complained, frustrated that Nettal wasn¡¯t paying attention. Her shout echoed through the chamber.

    ¡°Yeah, I did!¡± Nettal shot back. ¡°The gems, right?¡± She finally looked at Addie. ¡°Maybe that one is blue because it¡¯s the direction we came from.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Why would that matter?¡± Addie asked, not buying that explanation.

    ¡°I dunno, it made sense to me, I guess.¡± Nettal shrugged.

    ¡°What about the book, Addie? Surely, it has more information regarding the castle. It directed us here, after all.¡± Squishy chimed in¨C his glassy, starry eyes looking up at Addie as he sat down on the stone.

    Without her even needing to prompt it, the book flew out from her soul and manifested within the throne room. Its glowing pages flapped rapidly, quickly turning to its desired page. As always, the book began to fill with glowing words that scrawled across the pages.

    *The Heir is bound through four curses of immortality. Broken, the gems turn blue and will release him from his prison.*

    Then, much to Addie¡¯s surprise, the book snapped shut with a bang. Without delay, it flew right back into her soul, not even bothering to finish explaining itself or even giving her proper time to react.

    ¡°What does that mean?!¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but shout; she hadn¡¯t really expected a reply, asking more out of frustration than anything else. ¡°Why is it always riddles?¡± She let out a groan.

    ¡°The ape,¡± Nettal mumbled; the words were far louder than normal in the silent throne room. ¡°The ape was immortal, Addie!¡± Her face lit up, and with quite a bit more excitement, Nettal started to rapidly explain, ¡°The ape was immortal, right? I mean, it didn¡¯t even have a head, but it kept trying to fight!¡± She began pacing around the room, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make it immortal?¡±

    Addie hadn¡¯t really heard the word immortal much before. The only thing she knew for sure was that Dragons were always described as being immortal. She thought it meant living really long or something.

    ¡°And look, Addie! That blue crystal is in the same direction that we fought the ape from!¡±

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Addie asked, feeling a bit defensive for some reason¡ª probably because she was still mad about the riddle. ¡°I don¡¯t remember which way we came from.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really remember either since we¡¯re in the castle. But it would make sense!¡± Nettal said with a big grin on her face.

    Addie guessed that would make sense. ¡°Oh!¡± Another thing clicked in Addie¡¯s mind, ¡°The four ruins of Ennulis! Remember, the book has four ruins of Ennulis surrounding the castle. Maybe that¡¯s where the other ¡®immortal curses¡¯ are, too.¡± After all, the ape had been right outside the cave leading into the Ennulic ruins.

    ¡°You¡¯re so smart, Addie!¡± Then Nettal sighed, ¡°But, does it really matter? We just want to go home, right?¡±

    That made Addie pause and think for a second, even putting her hand under her chin in a ¡®thinking pose¡¯ like adults always did. The pose must have helped, too, because all sorts of thoughts were flying around in Addie¡¯s mind. Thoughts about if the sleeping, pointy-eared man might help them get home. Or thoughts about how they still hadn¡¯t been able to find a map that showed how to get home. Addie didn¡¯t have a lot of hope for this random man somehow knowing how to get home, but if this was his home, he likely at least knew where in the world they all were, right?

    Addie explained her thoughts to Nettal, lightly kicking the ground in the man¡¯s direction, ¡°Do you think he¡¯d help us get home if we help him stop being dead-ish?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. How about we finish exploring the castle for a map first? Then, if we don¡¯t find anything, we can come back here? Also, ¡®dead-ish¡¯ isn¡¯t a word.¡± Nettal rolled her eyes.

    Ignoring her cousin¡¯s attitude, Addie had a suspicion the second half of the castle would be just as empty as the first half had been.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie¡¯s suspicions hadn¡¯t quite ended up being true. The two of them had managed to find a library¡ª well, Addie should say she managed to find the library. The dark halls made it hard for Nettal to see, but Addie always had her reliable spatial sense.

    Once they walked into the library, Addie formed two large balls of soul-fire and sent them up near the ceiling to help light up the room.

    Addie groaned, ¡°Ugg! There¡¯s a gazillion books in here. It¡¯s gonna be hard to find a map...¡± She trailed off.

    Without responding to Addie, Nettal walked to one of the many bookcases¡ª each one tall enough to reach the ceiling. Addie could see tons of bookcases, all of them stacked in orderly rows, and each one containing what she guessed were hundreds of books.

    ¡°Hey, Addie. Can you read this?¡± Nettal pointed to one of the books on the shelf.

    It was too far away, so Addie walked closer to stand next to Nettal. The cover of the book had some kind of language on it that sort of resembled the Furrian language but also not quite the same.

    ¡°No idea,¡± Addie said, shaking her head.

    ¡°Maybe you can ask your book to translate for us?¡±

    Addie didn¡¯t even have to ping her book; it flowed out of her soul directly in response to Nettal¡¯s request and began drawing words in glowing blue ink.

    *Water Lilies and Their Apothecaric Uses*

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not useful.¡± Despite her words, Nettal picked the book off the shelf anyway.

    Flipping through a few pages caused dust to fly up into the air and make Addie cough. Despite the dust, Addie couldn¡¯t help but look on in fascination. The pages were yellow and crumbling at the edges¡ª some of the ink looked faded in spots too.

    ¡°It¡¯s old,¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but say aloud.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Nettal pushed the book back into its open spot on the shelf, and the two of them continued further into the library in unspoken agreement.

    With a focus of will, Addie made sure the flames overhead followed them as they explored. Her soul book remained out and ready to translate for them, but for now, at least they were just looking around.

    Lotty¡¯s hoofsteps clopped against the hardwood floor in an interesting way, but his presence gave Addie an idea.

    ¡°Ember,¡± Addie asked through her thoughts, ¡°Can you help us look for a map?¡±

    Addie felt more than heard Ember¡¯s telepathic agreement before she exited Addie¡¯s soul shell and flew away into the dark.

    ¡°Everything okay?¡± Nettal asked, stopping as she turned to look at Addie.

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s gonna help us look for a map.¡±

    ¡°I can also be of service, my lady,¡± Squishy chimed in, his triangular ears on full alert.

    ¡°Naw,¡± Addie said aloud, dismissing him, ¡°We¡¯ll need you if there¡¯s anything dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    In the end, while Ember did find something called an ¡®atlas¡¯, and while she and Nettal saw some ¡®geographic encyclopedias,¡¯ they didn¡¯t find anything that helped them figure out where on the planet they were. Both the atlas and encyclopedias were either severely outdated or limited in scope; none of them showed Addie or Nettal¡¯s homeland¡ª instead only showing information about the land nearby.

    That¡¯s how Addie and Nettal ended up back in the throne room, staring once again at the pointy-eared man. Nettal wanted to return to the library later to look at some ¡®healing texts,¡¯ but they could do that later.

    ¡°So, can you heal him?¡± Addie asked as Nettal placed her palm on the man¡¯s brow.

    Nettal huffed in frustration, ¡°I am healing him, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be doing anything.¡±

 Chapter 102: To the East

    ¡°Can you just heal him harder?¡± Addie asked with a roll of her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Nettal shot back with poorly concealed frustration in her tone. ¡°I¡¯m already trying everything I can.¡±

    Lotty took that opportunity to boop his snoot against the man¡¯s forehead. It didn¡¯t seem to help.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Nettal let out a frustrated groan. ¡°My magic seems to think there¡¯s nothing wrong with him, even though his heart isn¡¯t beating! It¡¯s so weird!¡± She complained.

    ¡°Maybe your magic just doesn¡¯t work on dead people?¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°No, if he were dead, then my magic wouldn¡¯t activate at all. I can clearly feel him with my diagnostics, so my magic is working, at least. He can¡¯t be dead,¡± Nettal explained, but it sounded like she was explaining more for herself than for Addie.

    ¡°Okay, whatever. Maybe while you poke him with magic, I can go explore some more?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Nettal turned around, panic across her face, ¡°No splitting up! That¡¯s like, rule number one!¡±

    ¡°Okayyy...¡± Addie scuffed her foot against the floor, bored. ¡°So, what should I do?¡±

    ¡°Just be patient for a second. I wanna check one more thing,¡± Nettal said as she pulled one of the man¡¯s eyelids back.

    Hunched over and staring into the man¡¯s eye like that, Nettal reminded Addie of her own experiences with healers and how they overbearingly prodded her this way and that. Addie had to look away and suppress a shiver from those traumatic memories; at least there weren¡¯t any needles.

    Nettal sighed in frustration, ¡°I give up!¡± She threw her hands up in the sky before dropping them to her thighs with a clap.

    ¡°Maybe it doesn¡¯t matter?¡± Addie shrugged. ¡°I mean, none of the ensyoclyops helped us anyway. This guy probably can¡¯t either.¡±

    Nettal stared at Addie, face scrunched and utterly confused, "Do you mean encyclopedias?

    ¡°That thing. Whatever. But still, maybe he won¡¯t know more, either? This is his home and his library, after all.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Nettal thought for a moment before responding, ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± The thought seemed to make her whole body deflate.  ¡°But I still want to help him. Healers take an oath, Addie. We heal those that we can reach¡ª no exceptions.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t even a proper healer yet, though?¡± Addie didn¡¯t want to sound combative necessarily, but she knew her cousin hadn¡¯t taken any oaths yet.

    She sighed in exasperation, ¡°I still want to live like one! I think we can still help him, don¡¯t you?¡±

    In response to her words, Addie just pointed down at the singled-out blue crystal.

    ¡°This is going to mean more adventures, isn¡¯t it?¡± Nettal dropped her head.

    ¡°Yep!¡± Addie smiled brightly. ¡°We just have to turn these other three red crystals blue, just like the one in front is.¡±

    ¡°So you want us to fight more monsters like the ape?¡± Nettal asked semi-accusingly.

    ¡°They might not be apes?¡± Addie provided, but even she didn¡¯t fully believe her own words.

    ¡°Some kind of monster, I bet. Well, fine.¡± Nettal stood up straighter, her shoulders squaring off with newfound determination. ¡°There¡¯s no food around here anyway, and it¡¯s going to be a long walk to the next ruin site, according to your book. We better get going.¡±

    Addie tried not to look too happy since she knew Nettal would be grumpy if she did. However, that didn¡¯t stop Addie from being excited. The thought of exploring more ruin sites and possibly learning new ways to shape her flames enticed Addie to no end. She¡¯d always loved magic, so of course the idea of learning new spells appealed to her. What were a few more ape fights if she got to learn more magic as a result?

    ¡°Do not forget, I will be there as well, my lady.¡± As always, Squishy¡¯s twinkling eyes were full of affection.

    ¡°Adventure! Magic!¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help herself; she pumped one fist in the air in celebration.

    Nettal slapped her palm into her face for some reason.

    Addie looked behind and over her shoulder at those impossibly high walls as they walked toward the eastern ruins. It had taken them nine days to reach the city after they had left the Furrian ruins in the north. Because all of the ruins looked to be about the same distance away from the big city, Addie also expected it to take another nine days of walking to reach the eastern ruins.

    She nearly had to spit out a piece of the head-high grass when she turned to face forward. They¡¯d already made it past the eastern gate, with the Binary getting close to setting and plunging the area into twilight.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Squishy, can you and Ember go find us some food?¡± Addie asked. ¡°We need to camp soon.¡± At least they¡¯d found another stream to follow and didn¡¯t have to worry about water.

    With a slight nod of his cat-like head, Squishy ran off into the distance. Ember¡¯s streaking flame trail followed close behind him.

    ¡°Here?¡± Nettal said, pointing to a slightly less grassy spot.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Addie easily agreed.

    Before long, they were all sitting around a campfire powered purely by magic, cooking meat filling the air with tantalizing smells. Despite smelling amazing, Addie knew she¡¯d still be slightly disappointed when it wasn¡¯t salty enough...

    With the Binary fully set, the stars shone in full force. Addie wasn¡¯t sure which was more satisfying to look at, the campfire or the stars above. Her pure white flames flickered to a nonexistent breeze, warming them in body and spirit.

    ¡°If we travel more in Realmspace, we can probably make the trip shorter.¡± Addie broke the silence with something she¡¯d been considering.

    ¡°Hmm. What if you use up too much magic traveling, and we don¡¯t have enough in an emergency?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess,¡± Addie replied. ¡°But, one step in Realmspace is, like, three steps in reality; I still think it¡¯s worth it.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was that much,¡± Nettal said, narrowing her eyes at Addie.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s kind of annoying when I want to teleport us inside of small spaces. It¡¯s easy to go too far or too little.¡±

    Nettal¡¯s eyes went wide in realization. ¡°Ohhhh, that actually does sound right. I always thought we took less steps forward than what made sense in my head,¡± Nettal said. ¡°I still think you should have told me that sooner.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I was hiding it or anything,¡± Addie defended herself, ¡°I guess it just never came up.¡±

    Nettal hummed tonelessly, considering. She tilted her head up to look at the stars, and Addie found herself doing the same thing a moment later.

    ¡°Okay, I want the same thing I¡¯ve wanted since we got here. I want to go home. If using Realmspace means we can speed things up to heal that man, then let¡¯s do it.¡±

    Addie looked back down at Nettal¡¯s face.

    Nettal continued, ¡°But let¡¯s only use Realmspace half the time, so you still have a lot of magic when we need it.¡± She tilted her head back down until their eyes met, ¡°And if we hear any more ape shouts in the distance, we immediately stop using magic and recharge a bit before going forward, okay?¡± Nettal said with a fierceness that had Addie nodding along right away.

    ¡°Good. As long as we do that, I think we¡¯ll be safe.¡±

    ¡°What if we find more Furrians?¡± Addie brought up. ¡°Do you want to heal them, too?¡±

    Nettal considered Addie¡¯s question, then answered, ¡°If someone in front of me is hurt, I can¡¯t just abandon them. But, we are definitely not staying in any more Furrian villages. Last time was more than enough.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think so too.¡±

    Addie hated grass. If she ever became an Area Lord, she would never ever ever let any grass grow anywhere in her domain. A total grass ban¡ª that would be Addie¡¯s motto. The stupid stalks liked to flick against her face, and each time it did so, Addie thought it might be a bug crawling on her. Addie didn¡¯t mind bugs ¨C she actually liked them ¨C but that didn¡¯t mean the grass constantly brushing against her face like tiny, prodding ant feet made her feel any better. If Nettal hadn¡¯t been so against it, Addie would have just set everything in front of her on fire so she could walk without so much grass bothering her.

    It wasn¡¯t just the way the long stalks brushed against her skin; it was also the way the grass made it hard to see. If it weren¡¯t for her book constantly floating just overhead, she would be entirely lost. Everything in front of her was a pure sea of green.

    When she wasn¡¯t using her arms to part the grass in front of her, the grass liked to ¡®accidentally¡¯ explore her nostrils. Well, to be fair to the grass, that had only happened twice¡ª when Addie turned her head suddenly. But that didn¡¯t make it any better! She had to sneeze five times after that¡ª five times! She didn¡¯t have anything to rub the snot on, either.

    At least the poncho protected her arms¡ª she couldn¡¯t say the same for her legs. If only her arms were a bit stronger, then she could just brush the grass away, but her arms were still sore since she did that all day yesterday.

    Addie didn¡¯t remember the grass being this annoying last time, but back then she had been so focused on the towering walls overhead that maybe she didn¡¯t notice the grass much. Now, it was literally impossible to focus on anything except for grass.

    Nettal looked to be about as happy with the grass as Addie was¡ª but that actually gave Addie an idea.

    Addie stopped in her tracks and called out to her cousin, ¡°Nettal! Let¡¯s walk in a line.¡±

    ¡°No! Then I¡¯ll be the only one walking into the grass.¡±

    Addie huffed, ¡°If you go first, I promise I¡¯ll take a turn later.¡±

    Narrowing her eyes at Addie, Nettal nonetheless tentatively agreed, ¡°You better keep your promise!¡±

    With a big smile, Addie nodded her head in agreement.

    When it was Addie¡¯s turn, she just sent them into Realmspace instead. Nettal complained about Addie being a ¡®cheater,¡¯ but she just ignored the taunts.

    ¡°Tomorrow, you are so leading the way first.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    They caught their first sight of the eastern ruins on the evening of the sixth day. They had made such good progress that it¡¯d only taken them six days instead of nine! But, since they were doing more travel through Realmspace this time, she thought that made sense.

    The book showed the girls¡¯ markers right near the edge of a cave symbol on the map. Addie still couldn¡¯t actually see the cave, what with all the grass continuing to be in her way, but the knowledge made her feel better anyway.

    They hadn¡¯t heard any ape shouting or anything like that, but on the morning of the fourth day, Addie thought she saw billowing fog in the distance, making her narrow her eyes in suspicion. However, the fog had cleared up by the time they started moving. Still, Addie kept watch for any more of it, regardless. Squishy was particularly motivated to keep watch, his constant vigil setting Addie at ease.

    ¡°Can we sleep here for the night?¡± Addie asked. ¡°The Binary is close to setting anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good idea. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll reach the ruins, huh?¡± Nettal looked up at their markers on the book¡¯s map.

    ¡°I hope so. I hate grass, so I¡¯ll be happy to be somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°What if there¡¯s more grass in the ruins?¡± Nettal asked with a smirk.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll burn it all.¡± Addie threatened.

    ¡°No burning everything. What if we choke on smoke?¡±

    Grumbling, Addie replied, ¡°I can make smokeless fire...¡±

    ¡°No burning everything,¡± Nettal repeated a bit more firmly.

    Addie blew a raspberry, ¡°Fine.¡± She knew Nettal was right, anyway¡ª even if she didn¡¯t like it.

    The girls set up a small camp as they had been the last few nights, mostly some beds made out of the grass all around, as well as a dugout spot for a carefully smokeless fire, per Nettal¡¯s demands. They ate some more food from Squishy and Ember¡¯s hunting before heading to bed.

    Addie stared up at the stars, wondering what tomorrow in the ruins might bring.

 Chapter 103: Metal

    The shining light of the Binary pulled Addie from her sleep, forcing her to throw an arm over her face to block it out. What, she was still tired!

    Nettal started rustling around in the grass right next to Addie, the two girls having snuggled up for warmth during the breezy night. Addie found herself thankful for the ponchos¡¯ warmth once again, briefly wondering what the Furrians might be up to now.

    But, with Nettal moving around right next to her like this, Addie knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to fall back asleep. She sat up with a slight huff, causing Squishy to slide off her chest and plop into her lap. His ears went alert, but otherwise he seemed content in her lap.

    Addie noticed the creeping edges of sleep slowly but surely burning away from the bright light. Rubbing at her eyes with the backs of her hands, she remembered she¡¯d been having a good dream, too. She couldn¡¯t recall it now, though, which made her scrunch up her face slightly at the thought.

    It didn¡¯t matter, anyway.

    ¡°Nettal, are you awake?¡± Addie muttered groggily, shaking her older cousin by the arm.

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m awake.¡± Nettal opened her eyes, glancing first at the Binary overhead before quickly moving her eyes to glare at Addie instead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Addie said enthusiastically, the excitement of the coming adventure finally starting to win out against the dregs of her sleepiness.

    ¡°How about we eat something first? Mom says you always have to eat breakfast in the morning.¡± Nettal began to get up, turning around and using her hands to push up off the ground.

    Addie hopped up, too. ¡°Alright. Squishy¡ª¡±

    ¡°Already on it, my lady.¡± Squishy leaped out of Addie¡¯s lap, his black scales glinting in the morning light before he scampered off, the grass rustling in his wake.

    <hr><hr>

    After breakfast, the girls set back out, the Binary glaring into their eyes because they were moving east. It didn¡¯t take long before Addie could see the next ruin site, peaking above the top of the grass.

    Unlike the last one, which was deep underground and at the end of a long cave, Addie could see these ruins had once been built right here in the fields. She thought it was a strange-looking building; the closest thing she could compare it to was the church of the Binary they had in town. But even that would be a massive understatement, Addie decided. The tiny single-room building made of sharp angles with a bell on top could hardly compare to the giant structure in front of her now.

    The crumbling building was all jagged lines and sharp edges. Rough, golden stone made up towers of piercing light pointing to the heavens. The right half of the building had collapsed in on itself, leaving her to fill in the missing details from what still stood. The source of the collapse was clear: a massive iron bell now lay on its side among the wreckage of the cathedral. A long crack ran down the middle of it, much of the bell buried in chunks of rock and dirt. Moss covered the inner, shaded parts of the entire building, fighting with the grass to dominate the remains of the collapsed portions of the building. Windows of stained glass and pictures of the Binary before the collapse adorned the front left of the building, the light from the Binary somehow managed to shine from the back all the way through the building¡ªperfectly aligned with a glass-stained version of itself. Aggan glowed blue and bright, but where the once red sun of Servus ought to be. Instead, a pitch-black aura sucked in the light around it, dimming His blue brother star.

    A tiny figure in the bottom right corner of the mural stood out to Addie. She saw a gray cat-like creature with jagged teeth poking out from its smile. Around its feet was a blanket of fog. Addie¡¯s eyes kept drifting away from the cat, as if even this painted version didn¡¯t want to be seen.

    ¡°Nettal, look.¡± Addie grabbed Nettal¡¯s attention by shaking her arm before turning back to the cat in the fog on the glass. But, when she pointed to where it had been, the image was gone, replaced with an ordinary image of pointy-eared men among tall stalks of grass. ¡°Huh. That¡¯s weird.¡±

    ¡°Oh, those look like the same kind of person we found in the castle!¡± Nettal exclaimed, also pointing at the image.

    ¡°No, there was something else there a second ago,¡± Addie tried to remember what she¡¯d seen, but for some reason, the new image of the men and the grass somehow consumed her thoughts. These images, they¡¯d always been like this, right?

    Addie doubled over and groaned, feeling the still-raw shards of her soul aching. What else had she forgotten? That was the thing about forgetting; Addie couldn¡¯t even remember what she¡¯d forgotten.

    She turned to Squishy, her confusion pulsing through their bond. In response, Squishy just sent the feeling of a shrug¨C he wasn¡¯t sure either.

    The cathedral had the space in its entryway for a double door, but the door and frame on the right side had collapsed, the left side door frame impossibly floating off the ground. On the left side stood an ornate wooden door, and Addie was surprised it hadn¡¯t rotted. The door on the right was similarly preserved but lay against the ground.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Lotty was the first to make a move, walking forward until his snoot booped into the door lying on the ground. The door glowed green for a moment, before the entire thing exploded into a massive cloud of dust.

    ¡°Ah, Lotty!¡± Nettal scolded while covering her face with her sleeve, the dust surely irritating her eyes in the same way it did Addie¡¯s.

    Addie had to cough as the dust settled back down. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lotty staring back at the girls with what could only be described as a mischievous smirk.

    ¡°You silly!¡± Nettal cried out, laughing slightly. ¡°I already have to make sure Addie doesn¡¯t burn everything; now I have to worry about you exploding random things?¡±

    Silence passed, in which they must have been communicating with their thoughts.

    As patiently as she could, Addie waited for about five seconds before blurting out, ¡°What¡¯s he saying?¡±

    Nettal waited a moment longer before replying, ¡°He said he didn¡¯t mean to do that. I¡¯m not sure if I believe him.¡±

    Once the dust had completely settled back onto the ground, Addie could see that the right side door was completely gone as well, turned into so much dust.

    ¡°I thought you two could only heal stuff? Not dustify it,¡± Addie asked.

    ¡°He really means it¡ª he didn¡¯t do that on purpose,¡± Nettal clarified.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Well, should we go inside?¡± Addie asked, waving to the dark entryway.

    ¡°Can you light it up first?¡± Nettal suggested.

    Sending her thoughts to Ember, Addie imagined her birdie flying into the building alight with flames and leading the way for them. Her birdie agreed easily, pouring out from her chest before solidifying with a caw and launching forward. Briefly, she hovered near the entryway, lighting up the area and scanning the inside.

    Through their bond, Ember sent a feeling of ¡®safe,¡¯ so Addie began walking forward. She had a flame shield ready to go up at a moment¡¯s notice, just in case.

    The inside of the cathedral was just as beautiful as the outside, minus the destroyed and crumbling right-side wall. There was so much stone and debris that the mountain of rubble blocked off the outside completely. Ember''s flame pushed back the darkness, slowly revealing the room as they strolled through it. The back wall had more murals with those pointy-eared men and women, along with the Binary in its various phases. The lighting really confused her, too. If the Binary somehow shone through the front window, how was the inside of the building so shaded?

    She guessed it didn¡¯t really matter, they were here for whatever flame ability had been stored here¡ª and to hopefully get one step closer to releasing the man from his chains.

    Ember flitted this way and that, lighting up different sections of the giant room. She flew over destroyed stone pews and big tube-like brass objects. She scanned different sections of the glass murals and hovered around the great columns still supporting the left side of the cathedral. Other than normal church-stuff, the building looked empty.

    The book floating up and to her right, Addie checked the map on its pages, but it showed the girls as being in the right spot.

    Ember drifted to the front of the room, where a single book lay atop a lectern. ¡°Oh, it is the right spot,¡± Addie said to herself.

    She walked forward, Nettal following along slightly behind her. Unlike Addie¡¯s carefree steps, she noticed Nettal trying to avoid making any sound by walking between the pieces of debris.

    Clearing three stairs in one big jump, Addie walked around behind the lectern and reached up to grab the book. It was too tall for her, so she had to stretch on her tippy toes to get it. The second her hands made contact with the book; it vanished into motes of blue light, Addie¡¯s hand grabbing nothing but air. Addie¡¯s soul-book flapped its pages, absorbing the blue motes of light still scattered about.

    After it had gathered all the motes, the book flipped to a new page and began writing out glowing blue text.

    *Congratulations, Addie! This book can now teach you how to control your flames into a spiral lance. This is a powerful technique, capable of piercing through the toughest of targets and searing the wound as it passes¡ª not to mention the soul damage it will inflict. Do not use this unless you have to, Addie.*

    Despite the ominous warning, Addie was excited by this new flame technique. She could have used it against the ape earlier!

    Reading the book from over Addie¡¯s shoulder, Nettal was quick to retort, ¡°No setting this place on fire!¡±

    ¡°Ugh, stop reminding me! I know already,¡± Addie bit back, her tone full of frustration.

    The book slammed shut, drawing Addie¡¯s attention before it flowed smoothly back into her soul. When Addie turned back to the main entryway, a giant man with heavy metal armor covering him stood in the doorway.

    There was a single discordant second where Addie thought he was just a statue. How could he not be; such a man covered in metal would have to be very loud, right? Except, she knew for a fact that the metal man had not been in the doorway when they walked inside. He held a longsword in one hand, and a metal disk shield in the other. He was taller than Addie and Nettal combined, taller even than the doorway he was guarding.

    Beside Addie, Nettal gulped. ¡°Addie, I give you permission to set that thing on fire.¡±

    Despite the tense atmosphere and impending battle, Nettal¡¯s words made Addie huff once with laughter.

    ¡°I am afraid, my lady, that my teeth and claws will not be of use against the metal adorning this man,¡± Squishy mentally spoke up from Addie¡¯s side.

    The metal man just stood there, not reacting to the girls at all¨C for now at least.

    ¡°What if he¡¯s friendly?¡± Addie asked as she pointed at him, ¡°Look, he¡¯s not trying to attack us yet.¡± Even Addie knew the words felt hollow.

    ¡°Addie, we are not getting close to that thing to find out if it¡¯s ¡®friendly.¡¯ It¡¯s blocking the doorway!¡±

    Addie tilted her head, ¡°We could just go into Realmspace and exit the church that way,¡± she pointed out.

    ¡°Well, what if it chases us and you set the entire grasslands on fire?¡± Nettal shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful...¡±

    ¡°Ugh, just blast that thing! It¡¯s not alive!¡± Nettal said loudly, not quite a shout, her voice echoing through the cathedral.

    Then, as if in response to Nettal¡¯s words, the metal monster took one large yet impossibly silent step forward. Its foot landed on top of a pile of stone rubble, the stone instantly crumbling and then smashing into dust.

    ¡°How do you know it¡¯s not alive, it looks like a man in armor!¡± Addie really didn¡¯t want to kill someone.

    ¡°I promise it¡¯s not alive, it¡¯s just walking metal, my magic isn¡¯t reacting to it at all!¡± Nettal hurried to speak, shaking Addie¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Just blast it!¡±

    ¡°What if your magic can¡¯t see that far?¡±

    ¡°Just blast it!¡± Nettal sounded panicked, as she shook Addie¡¯s arm. She was really freaked out by this thing, to the point it surprised Addie.

    The metal man took another lumbering step forward. Addie summoned her magic, Ember helping from within her soul. A white soul-attacking fireball shot out... and washed harmlessly against the walking armor.

 Chapter 104: Buried Sword

    Addie watched as her fireball washed across the steel, doing absolutely nothing to the walking armor. Her eyes widened in surprise; she couldn¡¯t help but stare at it with dread.

    ¡°Squishy, you won¡¯t be able to bite it, will you?¡± She asked aloud, out of hope more than anything else, really.

    She heard Squishy chuff, ¡°I am afraid not.¡± Then, his thoughts took on a more ponderous tone, ¡°Battle is never the most opportune time to learn a new technique, my lady, but I fear you may have no choice in this instance.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± She scrunched her face in confusion before Nettal tugged on her sleeve.

    ¡°T-the fire spear, Addie! From the book, remember?¡± Nettal¡¯s words came out rushed, almost jumbled in her urgency.

    Addie¡¯s mouthed a silent, ¡®oh.¡¯ Come to think of it, she had used her flame shield almost immediately after gaining the ability before, right? She shook the thought away; the middle of battle was not the time to think about the past.

    Her soul book began to glow above their heads in tune with her will. It shone with radiant white heat, practically begging Addie to try her new ability.

    She happily obliged the book, drawing on her and Ember¡¯s magic. Pure white soul magic roared through her body before compressing into a ball within her hand.

    At the same time, the metal armor had begun to run forward, only pausing its gate slightly as it pulled its left arm up into a guard.

    Addie¡¯s magic kept building into a ball in her hand, something she had a lot of practice with. After it reached the point that she couldn¡¯t fit anymore in her hand, she began to shape it. Her book pulsed once, flashing brightness through the shaded chamber as it aligned with her will.

    The running armor¡¯s uplifted arm shimmered before melting like ice and reforming into a shield.

    Ember and her book synchronized with her will; the glowing orb of magic in her hand elongated to their will. For a moment, there was no Addie, Ember, or book. Something else existed, someone else existed. A combination of all three: Ember¡¯s instincts to burn and consume with soul flames, the book¡¯s ability to shape those flames, and Addie¡¯s drive to protect Nettal¡ª all of these things combined into a single, powerful will. The three souls told the armor to burn.

    The world stood still, the armor had reached directly in front of their face. Their magic released, a long, thin spear of white flame speeding forward. The armor silently dropped to a knee, holding its shield in front of its chest.

    And then everything was moving again, the flame spear stabbing through the shield and hitting the armor behind it. A massive hole melted through the metal shield, glowing white hot around the edges. The metal of its shield flowed again like water, beginning to form a new shape.

    Before she could react, the world seemingly distorted and split into parts. The transition left her reeling, struggling to find the edge of where her thoughts differentiated from Ember¡¯s. A moment later, Addie realized she was on all fours, vomiting out the breakfast Squishy had found for them earlier. She hadn¡¯t even realized how she got there, but at least she could remember what it meant to be herself again.

    ¡°Addie!¡±/¡±My lady!¡± Nettal¡¯s shout and Squishy¡¯s thoughts crashed through her, only confusing her more.

    Despite all of that, she managed to weakly wave one arm and look over, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡ª¡±

    Addie¡¯s eyes went wide as she saw the massive sword hanging over her head. It came silently slicing through the air all too fast, Addie unable to react beyond the panic shooting through her chest.

    Something crashed into her from behind. Then, everything went dark.

    ¡°Addie!¡± Squishy¡¯s thoughts came smashing through her mind, his worry bleeding through their bond.

    She only had a second to realize that she wasn¡¯t dead¡ª the darkness belonging to the comfortable embrace of Realmspace. But it didn¡¯t last, Squishy¡¯s last-second pulse of magic only allowing them half a second to rest.

    Reality reasserted itself, Addie appearing just a few centimeters away from the Armor¡¯s sword. She stared at where it had sliced into the stone beneath¡ª hilt deep. Addie gulped at the sight. Luckily, whatever quirk of her magic didn¡¯t allow her to teleport into the ground or walls had also moved her away from the sword.

    Despite the panic, despite the confusion from melding with Ember and the book, Addie couldn¡¯t help but grin. Now, she knew what to do.

    Addie leaped to her feet, even as the armor slowly withdrew its sword from the cobbled ground. Together, Addie and Squishy pulled on their magic, going straight back to Realmspace. A few steps to the right, and they reappeared directly in front of Nettal and Lotty. Addie wasted no time, again sending all four of them back into Realmspace.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Run! This way!¡± Addie shouted, only turning her head long enough to make sure Nettal and Lotty were following. After twenty strides, Addie turned around after ushering the squishy healers behind her.

    ¡°Send us back after I form the spear,¡± Addie said to Squishy, seeing him return a determined nod in response.

    Addie pulled on her flames, Ember eagerly pushing herself into the magic, too. Somewhere in the chaos, her book must have floated back into her soul because she felt it there, too. With a guiding expert hand, her book helped Addie shape Ember¡¯s enthusiastic soul flames¡ª the three of them working together but not quite merging as they had before. Addie didn¡¯t even know if they could do that again; it¡¯d just happened earlier without her really meaning for it to.

    The darkness of Realmspace was banished in a moment, Addie¡¯s soul flame spear glowing white hot. The starry Realmstone below reflected her dancing flames, each pulse of her magic adding to the heat above. The spear started as a blob of radiant white fire, but it slowly elongated in tune with her soul book¡¯s help. Ember and Addie kept adding fuel to the fire, burning their magic with their will. The spear shrunk and condensed, the flames practically becoming solid in midair. Then, it condensed again and again until Addie thought she could reach out and grab it. The heat felt great against her face, pleasantly tingling against her skin.

    ¡°Now,¡± Addie said, trusting Squishy to send them back to Reality while she focused on the flaming spear.

    Excitement danced in her chest while she smiled with anticipation.

    In an instant, they were back in the church. The walking armor still hadn¡¯t even turned around, still staring down at the space Addie had been standing in just moments ago. Its sword remained stuck halfway in the stone.

    With a fierce glee that burned through her insides, Addie released her hold on the soul-flame spear. Roaring through the air, it passed by so quickly that her hair blew backward from the conjured wind.

    Addie laughed in delight, watching her magic fly true. It hit the metal giant¡¯s back with a bang, forcing it to take a bumbling step forward or risk falling over. Her spear still radiated, white hot, halfway stuck inside its torso. The plates surrounding her flames quickly began to glow an angry red. Before the giant could even finish turning around, the spear warped its back plate so much that the spear slid right out, molten metal dribbling onto the floor.

    Despite what Addie thought would surely be enough damage to kill it, the metal giant stubbornly finished turning around. Just as silent as it had been, it took its sword and yanked, finally pulling it free from the stone and throwing dust up into the air around its feet.

    Carefully and without even bothering to tilt its helmet and look down, the giant stepped over Addie¡¯s flame spear. It had already sunken into the stones on the floor, smaller than it had been earlier but still glowing fiercely.

    With wide eyes, Addie realized she could still feel a connection to it! That was her magic, connected to and controlled by her very soul. Addie let out a breath, focusing intently on the spear below the metal giant.

    It took one step forward, then two, before Addie stopped bothering to keep track. She stared at her soul spear melting into the stones. In the background of her eyes, she saw the metal giant getting closer.

    ¡°Addie!¡± Nettal called distractingly from behind Addie, her tone urgent and worried. ¡°It¡¯s coming back!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this,¡± Addie replied confidently, already moving her attention back to her soul spear.

    ¡°My lady, I cannot delay this metal creature. Act quickly, or I will be forced to move you!¡±

    ¡°I said, I¡¯ve got this!¡± She snapped back, too intent on her spear to humor Squishy. She narrowed her eyes at it, willing it to obey. The giant almost filled up her entire vision; she had to stare between its legs to see her spear behind it.

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡±

    She ignored Nettal; her spear was starting to budge out from the rock. Her book finally seemed to get itself together and help her. Addie moved her eyes up just as she got her spear back up into the air before her eyes widened in shock. The giant was already preparing to swing at her.

    Her spear flashed through the air, Addie using her spatial sense to aim it for the same exact hole it had already put into the back of the metal monster. The monster brandished its sword, starting its swing from the top right and moving diagonally toward Addie.

    Just as her breath hitched in her throat, staring upward into the sword chillingly close to her neck, the world went black. She let out a gasp, collapsing to her knees on hard Realmstone. She noticed her hands were shaking, but her short, rapid breaths quickly overwhelmed any other sensation.

    ¡°That was far too close,¡± she heard Squishy¡¯s voice in her mind before he walked up and shoved his snout into her lap. He huffed, then licked her hand. ¡°Everything is alright.¡±

    She put one hand on the top of his head. Petting him soothed her, but her hands still shook slightly.

    ¡°I can understand battle fervor and excitement, but you must not let it dim your tactics.¡±

    ¡°But, it¡¯s okay. You brought me away just in time,¡± Addie defended, trying to convince herself of her words.

    ¡°Yes, but had I been distracted or otherwise aiding you in downing your foe...¡± He trailed off, leaving the consequences unspoken. ¡°This is the second time I had to save you within just moments of one another. Now, prepare yourself. We are about to return; we must not let Nettal and Lotty stay alone.¡±

    The musty air of the dilapidated church filled her nose as they transitioned out of Realmspace. She hurriedly stood up, scanning the room with her spatial sense. For one horrible moment, she imagined what might have happened to Nettal while she was gone.

    But luckily, the giant metal armor knelt down on the floor just one step to Addie¡¯s left, even though she hadn¡¯t moved. Moving between Realmspace and Reality never allowed her to teleport inside of an object, and the sword from the metal armor occupied the space she had just been in. Sweeping behind herself, Nettal and Lotty were still standing just behind Addie.

    She swept her eyes over the metal armor to confirm what her spatial sense was telling her: it now had a gaping hole all the way through its body, from back to chest. She had aimed properly, even in those last few moments before Squishy moved her out of the way. Its head bowed toward the ground, kneeling and unmoving.

    Her flame spear had long dissipated, but the metal of its torso still glowed a dull red and radiated heat. Its sword had once again been buried in the stone, tilting at an angle.

    ¡°Well,¡± Nettal said from behind Addie. ¡°That could have gone better. Are you hurting anywhere?¡±

 Chapter 105: Eyes

    ¡°Well,¡± Nettal said from behind Addie. ¡°That could have gone better. Are you hurting anywhere?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Addie gasped out, suddenly feeling like she needed to sit down. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m hurt.¡± She landed on her bum, the cold stone seeping through to her legs. She just needed to catch her breath.

    Even though Addie said she was fine, Nettal still came over and laid a hand on her. Nettal¡¯s eyes flashed green for a moment, causing Addie to feel a soothing warmth pulse through her body. Suddenly, she felt tired¡ª no, she felt drained. Like she¡¯d used up all her energy, and now she just needed to droop into the floor.

    Nettal held out a hand, crouching down. ¡°Come on, Addie. Let¡¯s get out of this creepy church.¡±

    From behind, Addie felt Squishy¡¯s wet nose poke into her arm. ¡°Come, Addie.¡±

    Even Lotty seemed concerned; his bright, green-slitted eyes stared into Addie from beside Nettal.

    Tentatively, Addie put her hand into Nettal¡¯s. Her cousin¡¯s hand was a bit bigger than hers, but that¡¯s just because she was older. Addie was certain she¡¯d grow more soon. She couldn¡¯t be short forever!

    With a small grunt of effort, Nettal helped Addie back to her feet. Still holding hands, the two girls exited the church, followed by their magical companions.

    The bright light of day greeted them once again; the darkness from the church had almost made Addie forget it was still daytime. She had to squint as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Luckily, since they were facing west, the Binary was behind them at this time in the morning, so her eyes adjusted quickly.

    Too bad they had to walk through all this head-high grass again.

    ¡°Pleh!¡± Addie spat another errant piece of grass fluff out.

    When all the stalks blew around in the wind, the grass always seemed to find its way into Addie¡¯s mouth!

    They had already stopped by the city and were now headed out toward the west ruin site. When they checked the throne room, the girls confirmed the east side crystal near the man was properly glowing red. Now that the two crystals were glowing, Addie felt sure that the strange man was somehow related to the ruin sites. Still, Addie thought it was strange how learning new abilities at the ruin sites was related to the crystals around the man. According to Nettal, he wasn¡¯t dead, and yet his heart wasn¡¯t beating, nor was he breathing. What a strange man.

    Staring out across the endless fields of grass, Addie¡¯s mind continued to wander. She thought about the empty city just behind them. She thought about all the people that might have lived there, and yet she also wondered why there weren¡¯t any bodies. Clearly, the man had lived there at some point. Well, Addie thought with amusement, the man still lived there, actually.

    Still, Addie couldn¡¯t help but wonder what had happened to all of those people. And what did the fog demon have to do with all of this? Who bothered to set up the walking armor and the headless ape near the ruins? Why did her book know about the ruin sites, and why did her magic have all kinds of new abilities stored away in those sites? What had her book been doing in the library back in town? Was Mr. Lomain¡¯s town somehow related to this abandoned city?

    Overall, Addie did a lot of thinking. She thought so much that her brain began to hurt! After that, she just peacefully stared at the rhythmically swaying grass. One foot went in front of the other, her legs never tiring due to Nettal or Lotty¡¯s frequent bursts of healing magic.

    Squishy enjoyed the walking, too. He would go running off, disappearing among the stalks of grass only to return an hour or so later with ¡®new reports regarding our surroundings.¡¯

    Ember was content to just sit within Addie¡¯s soul, her magic ever warm and soothing. Throughout the trip, the cracks in Addie¡¯s soul had mended more and more. She was still injured ¨C she knew that much ¨C but she was healing, too. Every day, random memories came to her, things she hadn¡¯t even realized she¡¯d forgotten. Small warm moments with her father, exciting memories of sneaking out into the village, and even one memory of Rob, the werecat, napping next to her in the crawlspace above the kitchen.

    The memories seemed so paradoxically distant yet also infinitely close each time she remembered one. She could smell the various stews from the kitchen as if she were only just now reliving that moment. Yet, each memory brought a pang of distant sadness¡ª those moments had long ago passed, she knew that.

    Even with over half of her soul cracks healed, Ember still found a way to contort herself inside Addie¡¯s core. Each time more of her soul healed, she didn¡¯t feel like Ember was getting closer to being kicked out. Quite the opposite, actually. With each new rift mended, Ember¡¯s spot in her soul felt even more warm and pleasant. More and more, Addie had the feeling that Ember truly belonged with her.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The Binary had begun to set now. The sky had turned a deep purple near the bottom of the horizon, with slightly brighter reds higher up and reflecting into the clouds. Despite being a common sight for Addie these last few days, something about the scene struck a sense of awe through her. With the Binary setting, they¡¯d need to set up camp now.

    ¡°Here is good, right?¡± Addie asked into the air.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Nettal turned around to face Addie before looking back up at the sky. ¡°Oh yeah. Okay,¡± she agreed.

    Since she could feel he was still quite a ways away, Addie sent her thoughts to him directly, ¡°Squishy, can you find some dinner for us?¡±

    ¡°Already on it, my lady.¡±

    In response, she directly sent him her feelings of gratitude. If the western ruin site was just as far as the eastern one had been, they¡¯d probably have five more nights after this until they reached it. Not that Addie minded the gentle nights by the fire.

    Though, she did have to snuggle up with Nettal for warmth. Addie dreamed of the day she could sleep by herself in a proper bed again. Not to mention how... icky she felt all over. She could just jump in the stream nearby, but if she did that, she just knew the water would be freezing.

    In the end, everyone snuggled up next to the embers of a dying fire. Squishy took his customary place right on top of Addie, and she tried to complain about him making it hard for her to breathe. As always, she was ignored. Nettal lay next to Addie, the two of them easily protected from the ground by their thick ponchos. Lotty curled up, impressing Addie with how flexible he was¡ª easily able to turn into a furry ball next to Nettal.

    Night came as it had a thousand times before¡ª the two girls drifting into slumber¡¯s embrace. Addie didn¡¯t have to worry about sleeping out in the open; she completely trusted Squishy to guard them or warn them if he sensed danger.

    When Addie woke up, she couldn¡¯t breathe. But then again, she didn¡¯t particularly need to, nor did she care to. She stared at the starry night sky as she aimlessly drifted up toward it¡ª her ethereal body not constrained by such silly things as gravity.

    She stared down below, directly at Nettal and herself. She studied her own face, turning darker from the many days without a bath. Nettal looked much the same.

    In total sync, her eyes moved to Squishy at the same time he tilted his head up to stare at her. Even with Addie like this, they could feel and sense one another.

    Addie willed herself to drift down closer to Squishy. When she reached him, she playfully shoved at him. At the same time his body went limp, a lightly glowing, ethereal blue version of Squishy popped right out of his body.

    Trying to open her mouth to talk, Addie quickly remembered that didn¡¯t work. She focused, sending him her thoughts instead. ¡°Want to go explore? Maybe we can go find the ruin site early!¡±

    She didn¡¯t know why she had the urge, only that it felt like a fun idea. From past experience, she knew that her body was still getting proper sleep, anyway, so why not spend the night doing something fun?

    Being in this state, Addie felt more confident. It had a dreamy quality that made things not quite feel real, like no matter what she did she¡¯d be fine. Like in a dream, when she knew all she had to do to escape from something bad was to force herself to wake up.

    She held out one transparent hand toward Squishy. He brought his paw up before using it as a step to clamber onto her shoulders. Even though she could feel his comforting presence, he didn¡¯t add any uncomfortable weight to her shoulders in the slightest.

    ¡°Perhaps we ought to be more cautious, my lady?¡±

    ¡°Checking the ruin site out early wouldn¡¯t be dangerous, it would be more safer, actually! Like when you do that ¡®scouting¡¯ stuff,¡± she argued.

    He curled his neck around so he could narrow his eyes and stare directly at her.

    ¡°Fine, but we shall only scout the site from afar. Once we spot it, we shall return here.¡±

    That sounded good to Addie!

    ¡°Okay!¡± She happily agreed.

    Something about waking up in her ethereal form really excited Addie. Suddenly, the night-time secret trip to the ruin site felt a whole lot more fun.

    The surroundings blitzed past the two of them. Rather than feeling like she was soaring forward, it felt more like the world around them was rapidly flying by underneath them.

    ¡°There!¡± Squishy shouted through his thoughts, pinging Addie¡¯s attention directly over to what he saw.

    Sure enough, he¡¯d spotted the ruin site. Unlike the fort they¡¯d found the first time or the church they¡¯d found the second time, this time the ruins seemed like they were once a wooden house. But something seemed off, like the structure wasn¡¯t entirely real.

    Addie couldn¡¯t help but wonder what made these particular places so special and how they could be related. A church hardly seemed similar to a fort. Not to mention a fort to a simple house.

    Something inside the building called to her, almost like an invisible force was reaching out and attempting to suck her in. Addie had dealt with invisible forces trying to get her to do things before. She remembered that old witch with the twisted sense of hospitality.

    Nodding her head and firmly making up her mind, Addie decided not to get any closer. Besides, she wanted to figure out what exactly about this house seemed so... off.

    ¡°Do you feel that too, Squishy?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. My eyesight is not particularly great, and I cannot use my spatial sense in this form. What do you see?¡±

    She quickly sent him an image of the house through their thoughts, basically letting Squishy see through Addie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°That house is ethereal, much the same as us.¡±

    Now that he had pointed it out, Addie couldn¡¯t unsee it. She could see straight through the wooden walls to the grass on the other side, the stacked walls of logs even had a slightly blue tinge. The image of the house almost seemed to drift in an invisible wind, dancing to a song no one knew. Despite being slightly transparent, Addie couldn¡¯t see into the inside of the house at all. She saw only the outside log cabin walls, then the grass continuing behind it.

    ¡°Haunted house,¡± Addie said to Squishy.

    ¡°I believe the house is no more haunted than you or I.¡± He lifted the corners of his mouth up into a toothy smile.

    Addie rolled her eyes. ¡°Should we go back?¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Squishy commanded. ¡°Send me the image of the house again.¡±

    Addie did so, curious as to what he might have noticed.

    ¡°Look on the front porch.¡±

    There, amid the darkness of the night, and only visible through the light reflecting off of them, Addie saw eyes.

 Chapter 106: Haunted House

    The moment Addie noticed the eyes, the pull she felt from the haunted house increased enough to make her stumble¡ª a truly strange sensation since she was still floating in the air. Luckily, she caught herself, checking on Squishy to see if he was alright, too.

    He seemed entirely fine, like nothing had happened at all. He looked at Addie with a questioning gaze reflecting from his eyes. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t feel that?¡± Addie returned, still obviously feeling the tugging sensation coming from the direction of the house.

    ¡°I do not. Perhaps we ought to back away, go back to camp?¡± Squishy stoically proposed.

    Addie crossed her arms and hummed in thought, still staring at the house while trying to make out those eyes they¡¯d seen. With another flash of reflected light, she spotted them again, and with it came another strong pull toward the haunted house.

    Since Addie had been ready for it this time, she braced properly enough not to stumble. She glanced back at Squishy. ¡°You really can¡¯t feel that, can you?¡±

    ¡°That is what I have been reporting, yes.¡± He gave her a blank look.

    Just for good measure, Addie floated back away from the house another good bit, Squishy easily following behind. She pointed back at the house.

    ¡°What are those eyes?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I do not know; I have never encountered disembodied eyes before¡ª at least not that I remember. The time from before meeting you is buried in the depths of instinct, not easily recalled.¡± Something flashed for a moment in his twinkling eyes, then, his gaze turned blank as he stared past into something only he could see.

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I wonder if Book knows, or maybe Nettal? Maybe it¡¯s best if we go back.¡±

    Squishy easily nodded his head in reply, so Addie began drifting back the way they¡¯d come. But, just as she started to move away, another strong tug came from the direction of the haunted house. Addie wasn¡¯t prepared for it this time, and she practically went spinning, doing a few flips through the air before she got control of herself again.

    From behind her, she could feel something hard, yet also strangely soft, poking into her back, stabilizing her from the spins. ¡°I¡¯ve got you, my lady,¡± Squishy said from behind.

    Normally, Addie might have expected to feel fear or maybe nervousness from the close call, but within this strange etheric dream-like state, she just couldn¡¯t feel those kinds of emotions very well. She knew the flips should have left her reeling, but instead, she just felt floaty and dreamy.

    This time, when Addie made to get away from the house, Squishy helped by pushing her along from behind. His nose both dug into and didn¡¯t dig into her back, feeling somewhere between a gentle blowing sensation and someone digging a finger into her.

    They drifted all the way back to camp together, with new knowledge of their next ruin site. In the morning, Addie would tell Nettal and Book about it¡ª see if they had any ideas.

    Actually, come to think of it, couldn¡¯t Book still appear even if Addie was ethereal? With that thought, she dug around in her soul, wondering why Book hadn¡¯t come out on its own earlier. She found it immediately, sitting within the same space of her soul that it normally did. She gave Book a soul-poke, yet it refused to come out. Rather, it didn¡¯t respond much at all. Maybe he was asleep?

    In any case, Addie and Squishy decided to return to their bodies, once again falling into the gentle embrace of sleep.

    <hr><hr>

    In the morning, Book was just as unresponsive as it had been last night. Addie gave it a good solid few pokes, each one a bit stronger than the last, but it still wouldn¡¯t come out. She had to give up with a huff.

    Nettal woke up just a few minutes after Addie did, Lotty and Squishy waking up at the same time as their respective bonded. Addie made sure to tell Nettal all about the spooky haunted house, with extra emphasis about the eyes that tried to pull her in.

    ¡°Obviously, it¡¯s a monster house. It¡¯ll gobble us up if we aren¡¯t careful,¡± Nettal said seriously, trying to inject cautious wariness into her tone.

    ¡°Could be, I guess,¡± Addie replied as they walked through the grass, ¡°but it¡¯s the next ruin site, so we have to go anyway.¡±

    Since Addie had already been there earlier, she led the way with Nettal and Lotty close behind. The Binary beat down on them from behind, though the air wasn¡¯t warm enough for Addie to want to take off her poncho.

    ¡°My lady,¡± Squishy began, ¡°Allow me to scout out the ruin site before you arrive. I can surveil it and return before you arrive to report what I see.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Of course, Addie easily agreed to Squishy¡¯s request; even if he needed help suddenly, Addie could feel him wherever he went, or however far away he got. She¡¯d go running through Realmspace to save him, if needed, but usually he had a better danger sense than her, anyway. But most of all, he could always flee to Realmspace if something truly outrageous happened.

    Squishy returned soon after, his small, lithe body panting in exertion. Clearly, he must have run most of the way there and back. Because of his black scales, he also heated up from the binary light faster than the girls or Lotty did, and he didn¡¯t sweat either. He had to pant to burn off all that extra heat, and Addie almost suggested he go cool off in Realmspace for a little while just so to feel better.

    But he spoke quickly before Addie could suggest it. ¡°The house is gone,¡± he said seriously. ¡°The house we saw yesterday no longer appears to be there at all.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but question in surprise, ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    ¡°What doesn¡¯t make sense?¡± Nettal chimed in, unable to hear what Squishy had said.

    ¡°Squishy said the house is gone,¡± Addie explained.

    ¡°Like, destroyed or vanished?¡±

    ¡°Vanished,¡± Addie clarified.

    ¡°Weird.¡± Nettal didn¡¯t seem too worried about it, though.

    Sure enough, once they had reached the correct spot, based on Addie¡¯s memory of the surroundings, the house was completely gone. She wanted to double-check that it really was the correct spot with Book¡¯s map, but it just wouldn¡¯t come out of her soul. She and Ember probably could have tried to force Book out of her, but she was worried they¡¯d burn Book up if it was too stubborn to leave.

    She was frustrated. Book had always listened to her before, so why was it silent now? She couldn¡¯t help but let out a huff of indignation¡ª what were they supposed to do if the relic site was gone?

    In the end, Addie sent out Ember to take a big looping circle, flying over the area to try and see if the house was in a different spot than what Addie remembered. No luck there, either, since Ember didn¡¯t see anything but more grass.

    Nettal and Lotty didn¡¯t have any more ideas than Addie did. When she asked Squishy about his thoughts, he said he might have a few ideas, but he wanted to ¡®contemplate¡¯ them more before he shared anything, just in case.

    So, the girls and their companions set up camp for the night, with Lotty being unusually affectionate to Addie. Normally, he licked to curl up next to Nettal, munching on bits of grass here and there, or he would sit by and stare at the fire. Today, though, as soon as they finished getting the fire ready, Lotty came right over and plopped his head right into Addie¡¯s lap.

    She had her legs straight out in front of her, her toes out of her boots, and warming up closest to the fire. Lotty¡¯s green eyes were pretty but not nearly as amazing as Squishy¡¯s constantly twinkling starry eyes were. Addie thought Squishy might be upset that Lotty was stealing his normal spot, but he was so focused on thinking deeply that Addie thought he might not have even noticed.

    Addie couldn¡¯t hear anything Lotty was saying, but she thought maybe he looked concerned for some reason that she couldn¡¯t place. Reflecting on the last week or so, Addie realized she hadn¡¯t really paid much attention to Lotty. He kind of just seemed like Nettal¡¯s add-on more than anything, probably because he couldn¡¯t talk. That thought made her wonder if Nettal felt similarly about Squishy or Ember.

    Well, one thing was for certain: no one would ever be as close to a bonded creature as the human they were soul-bonded to. Maybe he had lots of fun conversations with Nettal that Addie never found out about? He certainly was very affectionate with Nettal, often preening under her pets.

    Deciding to give that a try, Addie ran her fingers through the short hair on the top of his head. She couldn¡¯t help but notice that his antlers had started to grow a bit longer¡ª still not taller than her hand, but still double the size they had been when they met. His fur felt silky smooth to the touch when she petted down his head, but petting upward against the pattern of his fur felt surprisingly rough and scratchy. He didn¡¯t like it when she did that, shaking his head at her and letting out a small huff.

    For Addie, it was a different experience compared to Squishy¡ª he liked it when she scratched in all directions around his head. But for Lotty, Addie made sure to only pet downward¡ª the way he liked.

    ¡°Hey, Addie?¡± Nettal¡¯s voice cut through the night, making Addie focus on her cousin instead of Lotty in her lap.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°I think Lotty is trying to heal you. He keeps sending me images of something, but, well, you know how he can¡¯t speak in words?¡± Nettal paused to wait for Addie¡¯s response.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s like Ember,¡± Addie easily agreed.

    ¡°Well, the images he¡¯s sending me are kind of confusing, but he thinks you¡¯re hurt. Do you feel hurt?¡± Nettal looked at her with concern.

    Taking a moment to feel out her limbs and body, Addie didn¡¯t notice anything wrong, so she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m hurt.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Nettal looked up into the night sky, staring at the stars overhead in thought. Still looking up, she started to say, ¡°It kind of reminds me of when Christena was...¡± Then, her eyes lit up in understanding, a flash of green light coming from her for just a moment.

    ¡°Reminds you of what?¡± Addie suddenly felt uncomfortable.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming over there,¡± Nettal demanded with a stern expression.

    Well, Addie didn¡¯t mind, but her scary face was making her feel a bit nervous. ¡°Am I okay?¡± she asked.

    Nettal ignored Addie, instead putting her hands on her back. Her and Lotty¡¯s eyes both flashed bright green for a moment as they activated their magic together then Nettal pulled back a bit and sat down close by. Lotty kept his head in Addie¡¯s lap.

    ¡°I think you hurt your soul a bit,¡± Nettal said, her face scrunched in thought.

    ¡°You mean the cracks? Those are getting better, though, right?¡± Addie tried to make her tone sound hopeful, but instead, her worry leaked through.

    ¡°No, not those. The cracks are healing; this is something else. I¡¯m not surprised you haven¡¯t noticed it¡ª it¡¯s really minor, actually.¡± Nettal shrugged. ¡°Enough that it¡¯ll all be healed in the morning, and I don¡¯t need to do anything. It reminds me of when Christena would practice blocking our souls from producing magic.¡±

    ¡°I remember that,¡± Addie nodded along, ¡°I¡¯m hurt from someone trying to block me from using magic?¡± When Christena did that, it felt like an immovable wall, something she couldn¡¯t overcome even if she wanted to. Whoever had tried this time must be really weak, since Addie hadn¡¯t even noticed it. They obviously had to be less careful than Christena, too, since she was always careful not to hurt Addie or Nettal¡¯s souls during practice.

    Maybe there would be more answers in the morning.

 Chapter 107: Something Comforting

    They didn¡¯t find any answers in the morning. Just like last night, they couldn¡¯t find the house anywhere they searched. Addie felt certain that this was the right place, she remembered the surroundings quite well from when she¡¯d gone ethereal with Squishy.

    So, why couldn¡¯t they find the house? Book still didn¡¯t want to help, it just sat dormant inside of her. She wanted to ask it questions, but Book had never once been so stubborn to refuse her before. Unlike with Squishy and Ember, Book couldn¡¯t communicate with her when it was inside of her soul. Even though it could go in and out of Addie, she knew they were not soulbonded, so, they couldn¡¯t communicate with just their thoughts or feelings. Overall, it was all just very frustrating.

    ¡°Should we try going south instead?¡± Nettal proposed after they ate breakfast together in silence. Addie had been too busy thinking and prodding Book to talk much.

    ¡°No,¡± Addie sighed, ¡°We don¡¯t have Book¡¯s map anymore, won¡¯t we get lost?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t Squishy lead us?¡± Nettal suggested again.

    Pointedly, Addie looked at Squishy who perked up to look back at her. ¡°I could likely eventually get us to the southern ruin site, but I believe that to be unnecessary.¡±

    ¡°Do you have an idea?¡± Addie asked excitedly. Come to think of it, Squishy had been thinking hard last night before bed.

    ¡°I am wondering if this ruin site only exists ethereally,¡± he emphasized the last word, even sending along the mental image of the haunted house at the same time.

    ¡°Consider, in the two other ruin sites, my lady, you were given access to new soul-fire techniques. But, soul fire is only half of the powers you¡¯ve gained since bonding with Ember.¡±

    Addie¡¯s mouth dropped into an ¡®o¡¯ of understanding, nodding her head along with Squishy¡¯s idea.

    ¡°What?¡± Nettal brought her face closer, trying to answers. ¡°What did he say?¡±

    ¡°He thinks that maybe we have to be ethereal to get to the haunted house,¡± Addie repeated for Nettal.

    In response, Nettal scrunched up her face in thought before saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t Book say to never go all ethereal soul mode near the ruin sites?¡±

    Addie tilted her head. ¡°I thought Book only said not to do that for the first ruin site.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Nettal shrugged, ¡°You¡¯d remember better than me, since it always talked to you the most.¡± Then her face turned more serious, ¡°But still, are you sure this is a good idea?¡±

    Squishy replied, ¡°I believe we may have no other choice. What can we do but go ethereal if the next ruin site doesn¡¯t exist otherwise?¡±

    ¡°Okay fine,¡± Nettal said after hearing Addie repeat what Squishy had said, ¡°But I¡¯m coming with you.¡±

    Addie smiled. Just knowing that Nettal would always be there for her filled Addie up with warmth.

    ¡°Okay, together,¡± she agreed easily, nodding her head firmly.

    Walking over, Addie began to get ready to use her magic on everyone.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Nettal stopped her. ¡°Let¡¯s think of a good plan first. You said you saw eyes last time, right? Oh! And, I think I should check that soul damage I found on you yesterday. What if you aren¡¯t healed yet? We might need to wait.¡± Nettal had some really logical-sounding things to say, but Addie thought maybe she was just nervous and trying to delay.

    Regardless, Addie¡¯s mom always did say to properly listen to the healer, so she decided to let Nettal have her way. So first, Nettal and Lotty used some magic to check up on Addie¡¯s soul. Apparently, all the damage had healed overnight, just like Nettal had thought it would. Just for good measure, she even checked Squishy, too, but he didn¡¯t have any damage.

    Next, they spent some time planning. Addie thought she wasn¡¯t too good at making plans, so for the most part, she nodded along with what Nettal said. She wouldn¡¯t really call it a ¡®plan¡¯ completely, but more a set of rules that Nettal wanted her to follow: don¡¯t get close to the house if it sucks her in, run away if they are in too much danger, stuff like that. Plus, they decided to walk about five minutes away from the area, so that they wouldn¡¯t appear right next to the house.

    Finally, after listening to tons of rules, Addie prepared her magic and pushed everyone out of their bodies one by one, starting with Squishy. Watching him go completely slack and limp was kind of scary, but his body could still breathe even like this, so that helped soothe her discomfort. She made sure Nettal was lying down before doing her, and Lotty came right after that. He lay in a curled-up ball next to Nettal, of course.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Before laying down herself, Addie picked up Squishy¡¯s limp form, nestled herself on the other side of her cousin, and plopped Squishy down on her chest. This way, all four of them were closely snuggled together, just to make sure their bodies would stay warm in the cooler daytime weather¡ª especially since it was mostly cloudy.

    When Addie opened her eyes, she was floating above their bodies. Like this, her ¡®body¡¯, and even her clothes, had a light blue hue. Squishy was the same, making his normally black body look quite different as a blue shade. Nettal and Lotty gave her a big surprise though, they weren¡¯t blue at all. Instead, their soul-bodies matched their normal eye color¡ª a vivid, bright green that reminded Addie of emerald.

    Opening her mouth to speak, no words came out. She had to catch herself, once again remembering that she couldn¡¯t speak like this. Nettal was staring at Addie with her mouth open, but she must have realized the issue at about the same time Addie had.

    This hadn¡¯t really been an issue before, since Addie had only done this with Squishy in the past, always able to talk with him through their bond. This was a new challenge, how would they communicate without words?

    Nettal turned around and dramatically pointed behind her. In the distance, Addie could make out the haunted house again. She hadn¡¯t even noticed it since she¡¯d been so focused on Nettal. But sure enough, just as Squishy had thought, the ghostly, wisping, ever so gently moving house stood in the same spot they¡¯d seen it at last time.

    ¡°It appears my theory was correct.¡± Squishy sounded quite smug.

    From this far away, Addie could not make out the eyes they¡¯d seen last time. Regardless, she felt a slight draw toward the house, as if something was physically sucking her closer. The feeling was very light, barely noticeable from this far away. But since she knew to check for it, she definitely was able to tell it was there.

    Nettal floated closer to her, offering up her hand. Without hesitation, Addie grabbed it. Her hand felt warm, light, and almost kind of spongey. It definitely didn¡¯t feel the same as in the physical world. Even so, Nettal¡¯s hand provided just as much comfort and gave Addie just as much confidence as it always did.

    Checking her cousin¡¯s face and meeting her eyes, Addie watched Nettal give her a quick nod. She interpreted it to mean that she¡¯d leave this mostly up to Addie.

    In that floaty, dreamy way that didn¡¯t quite feel real, Addie began leading Nettal closer to the house¡ª the surroundings seeming to move by rather than it feeling like they were actively moving themselves.

    As they got closer, Addie could make out more details on the haunted house. She saw the same wooden porch, four log cabin walls, and a matching wispy triangular roof. Behind the porch sat a wooden door, with a knocker; though, Addie couldn¡¯t make out its exact shape from this far away.

    She checked the bottom step leading up to the porch, but the eyes from yesterday didn¡¯t come back. One thing really stood out though, as they got closer to the house, the tugging feeling that wanted to suck Addie in closer go stronger and stronger.

    Between twenty and thirty paces away from the front porch, Nettal tugged sharply on her hand. For a moment, Nettal¡¯s hand actually passed completely through Addie¡¯s, causing her hand to evaporate and reform a moment later. It didn¡¯t hurt, but it had felt quite uncomfortable.

    In any case, Nettal was quick to re-grab Addie¡¯s hand. More gently this time, she pulled Addie closer to her and farther away from the house at the same time. All four of them just observed the house silently for a while, Addie not quite sure what was causing Nettal to wait.

    ¡°Should we go in?¡± Addie asked Squishy through their bond.

    ¡°I think we would be smart to wait. Perhaps Nettal has some kind of idea she¡¯s pondering.¡±

    And so, for a few minutes, they just waited, staring at the ghostly house which seemed to ripple in an invisible breeze. Since it was daytime, Addie could see the house quite a bit better than she had yesterday. Rather than being a slightly blue house, it appeared to be more grayish during the day at least.

    After about another minute, with no change from the house, Nettal turned slightly to face Addie directly. Addie did the same, not seeing any reason not to. Putting on a serious face, Nettal began to point her finger toward Addie¡¯s chest. She did it gently, but purposefully, clearly trying to tell Addie something.

    ¡°Is she asking for Book?¡± Squishy suggested.

    Closing her eyes for a moment, Addie tried to give Book a big poke. Still, it refused to answer her. When Addie opened her eyes again, she shook her head no.

    Nettal stared up with a thoughtful expression and then seemed to come up with another idea. She once again pointed toward Addie¡¯s chest, but then right after she flapped her arms by her sides like a bird.

    That was a clever idea! Addie realized. With another poke, but one to Ember instead of Book, she prompted her favorite birdie to come flying out.

    Ember materialized from out of Addie¡¯s chest, just like always. She wasn¡¯t even a different color like everyone else, she just looked like her normal self¡ª black body and wings with a white head. Her purple soul flames began roiling around her wings a moment later. She looked at Addie with a side eye, inspecting her for a moment.

    With practiced ease, Addie projected an image of Ember flying closer to the house to her birdie, and she did so a moment later. She flew close to the house, swooping down near the porch without touching it before circling once around the entire outside. She flew back right after.

    Ember hadn¡¯t seen any eyes, either. What was a bit interesting, though, was how Ember both saw and didn¡¯t see the house. It was like she had two sets of eyes, or maybe it would be better to say she had two senses of sight. One, for the physical world, showed nothing but grassland. The other, for the ethereal world, showed the same house that Addie could see now. Most interestingly, from as close up as Ember had gotten, the house appeared to become slightly more opaque than what it looked like now. As it was, Addie could practically see through the ghostly walls and to the grass on the other side of the house. Though, mind-bogglingly, she couldn¡¯t see inside the house no matter how hard she tried.

    In the end, Addie decided there wasn¡¯t much else they could do but get closer and explore. Ember would stay out, to help them or maybe use flames in the worst-case scenario. There was something comforting about having a flaming bird who could set fire to haunted houses, after all.

 Announcement!

    Hello everyone! This is a just an announcement to tell you all that volume 1 of Whispers from Realmspace has launched on Amazon! Huge thank you to the 6 people who have already bought the book (including my mom lol).

    Benefits of the Amazon release:

    * Cool artwork for some of our favorite (or not so favorite) characters!

    * New scenes between chapters 1-19

    * Grammar, phrasing, and imagery clean up

    * I rewrote the ending from scratch. That''s right, I completely revamped the ending. Were you one of the many, many, many people who disliked book 1 ending? Well oh boy do I have the Amazon release for you.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Anyway, if you wanna take a look, Link Here.</a>

    Also, if you want to support me without buying the new book, consider putting up a 5 star rating or review on Amazon! (I think you can rate it without buying it?) That would help me get views, which in turn helps spread the story to other folks who could enjoy it just like you!

    Alrighty folks, that''s all.

    ...

    Wait, where today''s chapter!!!?

    Answer: no worries, it''s still coming today. I''m just posting it later because it''s currently only halfway done. Sorry about the delay there.

 Chapter 108: Is It a Maze?

    Addie wasn¡¯t sure if she <i>wanted</i> to get closer to the house. For one thing, the <i>house</i> certainly wanted her to get closer, with the way it tugged on her ethereal form. But just because the house wanted to suck her in, didn¡¯t mean that Addie herself thought that to be a good idea. In her experience, when magic stuff wanted to do things to your soul, it was better to avoid it at all costs.

    And yet, she didn¡¯t know anything better to do in this situation. They needed to clear the ruin site, and Addie certainly wasn¡¯t going to let Nettal go investigate by herself. Nettal had no way to protect herself¡ª that was Addie¡¯s job. Always protect the healer¡ª that was Addie¡¯s new motto.

    Just for good measure, she asked Ember to go check out the house again before they got closer. Like last time, Ember easily swooped around the house and didn¡¯t find the eyes. But this time, Addie instructed her birdie to touch the house¡ª nothing crazy, just the first step on the porch.

    When Ember flew close enough to land, she fell right through the porch until she hit the grass below. Addie began to question if they even <i>could</i> touch the house at all after that. But staring at it from far away wouldn¡¯t help them.

    With trepidation in her heart, Addie grabbed Nettal¡¯s hand, made sure Squishy was ready, and finally began floating closer to the haunted house. Just like before, as Addie got closer to the house, the soul-sucking feeling grew stronger. She had to stop halfway there, the feeling so strong she needed to ground herself and reinforce her transcendent loop.

    Her current strength was enough, the transcendent loop holding around her soul and stabilizing it. Squishy was also able to help reinforce Addie¡¯s soul, since he himself did not feel the house trying to draw him in. Together, they were able to weave three whole layers of protective magic around Addie¡¯s soul, and the soul-sucking force coming from the house suddenly didn¡¯t feel quite so bad.

    That didn¡¯t mean the force stopped existing altogether, though. Addie worried that as they got closer, soon, her protections wouldn¡¯t be enough. And yet, she resisted with all of her effort, will, and focus.

    Just as Addie readied herself to start moving forward again, Nettal turned to Addie with a worried expression. They couldn¡¯t talk, so Nettal pointed backward toward their physical bodies. Addie shook her head no; she didn¡¯t want to go back. They could do this.

    Still with concern reflecting in her eyes, Nettal gave Addie a nod, and together they started floating closer to the house again.

    ¡°<i>Do not worry, my lady. If the haunted house, as you call it, does something dastardly, you must simply exit your ethereal form¡ª retreat back to your body. And, do not forget, even like this, should you be in danger, I shall always be there to protect you.</i>¡±

    Squishy¡¯s words set Addie more at ease, especially with how they continued to work together to form powerful barrier loops around her soul. Christena had trained them just for a situation like this, Addie reminded herself.

    Once they reached the front porch, the tugging on Addie¡¯s soul stopped growing any stronger. Sure, this close to the undulating house, the pull felt to be at its strongest, but when she took one step forward, and then another, the pulling did not get stronger. The current strength must have been the most the house could do.

    Or the most the eyes could do.

    Addie shook the thoughts away. With one last glance at Nettal, receiving a confirming nod from her cousin in return, Addie started up the stairs of the porch. Unlike Ember, Addie easily made contact with the stairs, climbing up as if she were climbing up any old physical stairs. After a moment, she realized that she was being a bit silly, since she could just float around instead of manually climbing up the stairs. She¡¯d just been so curious if she could touch them after Ember hadn¡¯t been able to.

    Now floating properly, Addie approached the front door. This close, she could more easily make out the door knocker, which she hadn¡¯t been able to see very well from afar. To her surprise, the knocker looked an awful lot like Ember¡ª not exactly the same, but a metal-looking casting of the same species, for sure.

    She grabbed the knocker and then gave it three hard whacks against the front door. She couldn¡¯t hear anything, which made the whole thing just feel weird to Addie. Her hand knew she was banging on something as hard as wood, and yet her ears told her she was basically punching air. The whole thing disturbed her.

    Tense, everyone waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. So, Addie decided to try opening the door. She grabbed the door handle and tried to slowly push down on it, but the handle came to an immediate hard stop. The door was locked. She raised an eyebrow at it¡ª of all things, she didn¡¯t expect to get stopped by a locked door.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°<i>What if we try going to Realmspace</i>?¡± Squishy¡¯s mental words jolted Addie out of her surprise.

    She thought about Squishy¡¯s idea for a moment, normally they could always get around locked doors just by using their magic, but she¡¯d never tried going to Realmspace while in ethereal form before. It should work just fine, she supposed, since she could still feel Squishy¡¯s magic thrumming within their soul bond.

    Shrugging, Addie decided to give it a try. She was still holding Nettal¡¯s hand, so it was a simple thing to extend her magic out to her cousin and Lotty who was on Nettal¡¯s other side. Addie built up the magic, and in the next moment, the entire world around them went pitch-black. She couldn¡¯t see anything, but she quickly realized that her spatial sense still worked just fine.

    In this ethereal, dream-like state, Addie found she often had a hard time remembering things or acting with thought-out ideas. She hadn¡¯t even bothered using her spatial sense like this once, even though it had been there in the background all this time.

    Realmspace seemed even more alien in this form. It reminded her of the time she first visited Sen when she thought she was just dreaming. The world almost seemed to want to push her around and puppet her body. She felt almost like she ought to just be an observer, like Realmspace would direct her where to go, and she could just watch it like a play.

    Nettal was the first one to move, tugging on Addie¡¯s arm and pulling her forward. Addie easily allowed it, in that way that dreams often led her around without trying.

    Their magic cut out, and it took only a moment for Realmspace to recognize the intruders. Soon, Realmspace pushed against them, its membrane ejecting them <i>out</i>. With it, Addie felt a great tugging sensation, and when she reappeared in reality, she was surrounded by ghostly blue wooden walls.

    Now, more in control of herself, Addie made a concentrated effort to figure out what had happened. Some of the dreaminess she¡¯d felt while in Realmspace wore off, but she still had to use all of her focus and will to control herself while ethereal. Her connection with Squishy told her he was right next to her, and a quick sweep of her spatial sense confirmed that Nettal and Lotty were with her, too.

    The inside of the house was strange. She could easily see the four walls, ceiling, and floor of the box-like room she was in, both with her eyes and with her spatial sense. They glowed ethereal blue, not quite the same brightness as Addie and Squishy, but the same color the house had been before. Even though the walls seemed to generate their own illumination, the light didn¡¯t go <i>any</i>

    further than that. This meant that the room itself was pitch-black. Addie couldn¡¯t see Nettal, Lotty, or Squishy with her eyes at all.

    The strangeness was thoroughly distracting; Addie kept trying to make sense of how the walls were lit up even though the room itself was completely dark. Something about it just didn¡¯t sit right with her, and she couldn¡¯t make sense of it.

    She almost wanted to touch the wall, drag her finger across it just to confirm it was real. But, with that thought, suddenly she was already there, doing exactly what she¡¯d just imagined. The wood felt normal beneath her fingertips, grainy, and she had to be careful not to get a splinter.

    ¡°<i>Woah,</i>¡± Addie couldn¡¯t help but say mentally. She felt dizzy from the sudden location change. It made her wonder if this is how other people felt when she dragged them with her into Realmspace.

    She thought about sitting on the floor instead, Squishy in her lap. And, the next moment, suddenly she was back in the middle of the room, sitting cross-legged, with no memory of actually moving herself or sitting down. One moment she was touching the wall, and the next moment she was sitting down with Squishy in her lap.

    This time, she imagined moving outside the room, but no matter how hard she thought about it, she didn¡¯t move.

    Something touched her shoulder, and with a start, Addie rapidly scanned behind her with her spatial sense to see what had touched her. She let out a sigh since it was just Nettal. Her cousin wanted her attention in some way, but it was hard to communicate without words.

    Even though she hadn¡¯t imagined it, the next thing she knew, Addie was standing in front of the room¡¯s only door. Nettal stood next to her, both girls holding hands. Since she was pointing at the doorway, Addie assumed that the sudden location change must have been Nettal¡¯s doing.

    To confirm something, Addie asked Squishy, ¡°<i>Imagine that we are standing at the very back of the room real quick, all of us.</i>¡±

    At the same time Squishy said, ¡®Done¡¯, all four of them were now standing at the very back wall of the room, opposite from the main door.

    Nettal shook her head in confusion for a moment, and then all four of them were suddenly back in front of the door, Nettal pointing at it again.

    It must have been Nettal moving them to the door; Addie realized she must be trying to say that they should leave the room.

    The moment Addie put her hand on the doorknob, their location changed again. At first, Addie thought they were back in the same room, standing right in the middle. But since her spatial sense could easily scan the entire room with a single sweep, she realized pretty fast that the door was on the left side of the room this time instead of the front. Even more interestingly, there was also a door on the wall behind them. The room was still a simple cube, though.

    Nettal started patting Addie all over the place until she found her hand, since she couldn¡¯t see well in the dark. Then, she pointed to the doorway behind them, since the walls still glowed in that impossible way, seen even without needing a spatial sense. Happy to follow Nettal¡¯s lead, Addie imagined the four of them back at the back door. Once again she touched the doorknob, and suddenly they were in a new room.

    No, not a new room, Addie quickly realized. This was the same room they had started in, the one with the door directly in front of them and no other doors but that one.

    This time, Nettal moved everyone back to the doorway, and she didn¡¯t hesitate to put her hand on the doorknob¡ª Addie not having to do anything.

    Then, they were back in the second room, with the door behind them and the door on the left wall.

    Squishy¡¯s mental voice perked up, ¡°<i>Fascinating</i>. <i>Is it a maze?</i>¡±

 Chapter 109: How Does it Work?

    ¡°Is it a maze, though?¡± Addie repeated Squishy¡¯s question back to him. ¡°If it¡¯s a maze, how come there¡¯s only one way forward?¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Squishy allowed, ¡°But what else would it be if not a maze?¡±

    Addie tried to hum in thought, but no sound came out since she didn¡¯t have lungs at the moment.

    In the next moment, all four of them were in front of the left wall door; Nettal must have moved them, Addie realized. This would get confusing fast, especially without a way to talk to each other or decide someone to be the leader.

    Before Addie could so much as get her bearings straight or even finish thinking, Nettal had already reached out to the doorknob and summoned everyone into the next room. This time, there were doors on all four walls, including the one behind them they¡¯d just come from.

    ¡°Maybe it is a maze...¡± Addie¡¯s head hurt just staring at the three different walls.

    She tried summoning Book out of her soul again, to get it to map the way for them, but it still stubbornly refused.

    Addie had never been good at these kinds of puzzles or mazes¡ª she¡¯d rather jump right in there head first! But, she got the feeling that would be a bad idea in this situation. Nettal seemed to be taking the lead so far, so maybe she should just let her keep doing so?

    As if in perfect timing with Addie¡¯s thoughts, Nettal pulled everyone to the front side door before placing her hand on the doorknob. The next room only had three doors, one on the left and the right, as well as the door behind them they¡¯d just come from. Nettal was quick to backtrack, immediately returning to the room with four doors again. From there, her cousin just sat down on the floor, one hand supporting her chin in thought.

    But Addie didn¡¯t think sitting around here would help them any. She wanted to know if all the rooms from here only had three doors, or if some of them might have had four doors or something. And, she was also curious to find out what would happen if she went through a door without Nettal. So, she imagined herself standing in front of the left side door before touching the knob. Immediately, all four of them were back in the starting room, the one that only had a single door forward.

    Addie squinted her eyes in confusion¡ª she had not expected that. She¡¯d maybe expected to pull everyone with her to the next room, but she didn¡¯t expect to start over again at the beginning.

    With a quick scan of her spatial sense, at least Nettal didn¡¯t seem upset or anything. Mostly she seemed lost in thought. So, Addie pulled everyone through to the second room, the one with just the door on the left wall and the wall behind them. Again, she moved everyone quickly through to the left door, since it was the only option.

    But this time, instead of being in the four-door room, they were in a room with three doors: one in front, one on the right, and the one behind them.

    ¡°Definitely a maze,¡± Squishy said pointlessly over their bond.

    ¡°I realize that,¡± Addie snarked back.

    This time Nettal was the one to move them forward, choosing the door on the right side. Being suddenly moved without warning was quite jarring, and probably would have made Addie trip if she weren¡¯t floating, but it only took her a moment or two to adjust. The next room had four doors again, one on each wall. This time Nettal chose the door on the left side, and in the next moment everyone was back exactly where they¡¯d first started¡ª the room with a single door.

    Addie mimed letting out a sigh; it didn¡¯t feel right since she couldn¡¯t really suck in air, but it still helped some. Her brain was not happy with this. Honestly, she kind of wanted to give up, just go back to Realmspace and get out of here.

    But, when she glanced back at Nettal, she didn¡¯t seem discouraged at all. In fact, she just had a well-thought-out look on her face. Once again, Nettal was the first to move them, this time bringing them past the first two rooms almost instantly. Then, she immediately went straight for the left side door in the third room, which teleported everyone back to the start.

    Addie would have been upset, except Nettal was smirking.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s figured something out,¡± Addie said to Squishy, excited.

    She was quite happy to let Nettal take the lead since she must have known something Addie didn¡¯t. Her thoughts were confirmed when Nettal did the same thing again, booking it to the third room before going through the left side door. This once again brought them back to the beginning.

    ¡°She¡¯s definitely figured something out!¡± Addie exclaimed, partly to herself and partly to Squishy.

    He sent a feeling of amusement back.

    Nettal was on a roll, so Addie decided to just sit back and see if she¡¯d finish figuring the whole thing out.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    This time, when they got to the third room, there wasn¡¯t a door on the left side of the room. Only one in front and one to the right side. So Nettal chose the one in front. This room had a left side door as well as a right side door, and Nettal was quick to choose the left side door. Once again, all four of them were returned to the very start.

    ¡°Maybe the left side doors always return us to the beginning?¡± Squishy suggested.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking, too,¡± Addie replied with a shrug.

    As if to disprove Addie¡¯s thoughts, this time when Nettal made it to the third room, she chose the right side door, and then she chose the left side door. This time, they were not returned to the beginning, which just made Addie confused. Nettal chose the right side door again, and chose the right side door a third time in the next room, too. After that, everyone was brought right back to the beginning.

    A few of these happened, where Nettal chose the right side door as many times in a row as she could before they all returned straight back to the start. Sometimes, the rooms would be in such a way that she couldn¡¯t just go right immediately, where the right side wall didn¡¯t have a door. So she sometimes had to go forward, and she even had to go backward one time before finding another right-side-facing door. Each time she chose three right-side-facing doors in a row, they always made it back to the beginning.

    Addie quickly learned that the first two rooms were meaningless. They never changed, and they always led to a third room. The third room did change though, almost every time they went inside. Sometimes it had four or three doors, but it never had only two doors. Anytime Nettal went through the left-side-facing door, they always returned to the beginning.

    Nettal clearly picked up on some of the patterns Addie was noticing, since she stopped trying the left side doors in the third room. She always went forward or to the right, to avoid returning to the start. She also made sure not to go through three right-side-facing doors in a row, similarly to avoid returning to the start. Fairly quickly, they came to a roadblock. None of the doors allowed them to go forward, and all of them only had backward, left, or right directions.

    Since she¡¯d gone through so many doors, and so many rooms, Addie actually had a fairly good sense of what the current situation looked like. She imagined three boxes, all in a row next to each other. Each box had a doorway to go left and right to each other, but none of the boxes had a forward-facing door, so they couldn¡¯t go any further.

    Addie didn¡¯t know what to do, so she left it up to Nettal. Unfortunately, Nettal didn¡¯t seem to know what to do either, since she just rubbed at the bridge of her nose and stood there. Just as she¡¯d thought to herself earlier, standing around doing nothing wouldn¡¯t help them, so Addie decided to go to the left-side-facing door two times to send them back to the beginning.

    Back in the starting room, Nettal plopped down to sit. Even though she wanted to keep going, Addie pushed that part of herself down. Nettal had been the one to figure out the maze the most so far, so Addie wanted to let her think. Squishy and Lotty also came close for snuggles, which helped Addie settle down a bit.

    After what felt like maybe ten minutes, Nettal hopped back up. She didn¡¯t seem excited or anything, just thoughtful. Maybe she had an idea.

    Soon enough, everyone was back in the third room. But this time, instead of trying to move around the main part of the maze, Nettal went backward. She did this a few times, moving everyone between the second and third rooms over and over again. Almost every time, the third room changed how many doors it had. Addie did notice that she only saw the four doors appear once, though.

    For once, Addie was glad she wasn¡¯t in her body, otherwise all the jarring movement around the rooms might have made her sick.

    Finally giving Addie a break, Nettal paused before coming up to Addie. She couldn¡¯t see very well in the dark, since she did that thing again where she patted all around Addie¡¯s body until she found her hands. She pried at Addie¡¯s fingers, so Addie easily relaxed them to let her.

    She manipulated Addie¡¯s fingers until she had eight of them up, with her pinky and thumb down on one hand. Of course, Addie knew exactly what Nettal was doing¡ª she was counting! But why eight, Addie couldn¡¯t help but wonder to herself. And why was she counting on Addie¡¯s fingers?

    With a gentle yet firm motion, Nettal pushed Addie¡¯s hands into her chest, pointing to her eight upright fingers a few times. Then, she moved back out into the third room and back to the second room exactly eight times. Again, Addie only saw the four-doored room a single time. Then Nettal did it again, and once again the four-doored room appeared only once. In fact, it always appeared exactly on the fifth time they all moved between rooms. It was a pattern.

    Nettal stopped moving between rooms, did some thinking, and then moved between the third and second rooms three times in a row. After that, she started leading them all back through the maze. This time, they never got stuck in a place where there were no more forward-facing doors. They had to go left and right, even backward and forward a few times, alternating as well. But finally, they reached the end.

    A pedestal sat in the center of the final room, which had only a single door facing backward from the way they¡¯d just come in. Floating closer, Addie noticed another Book sitting atop the pedestal, this time completely ethereal. It glowed blue, with wispy pages that fluttered in an unseen breeze. The very edges and corners of the pages sometimes pulled off, floating up into the air before disintegrating. Even though the pages seemed to be bleeding off into the air like that, the book¡¯s pages never actually got any shorter or looked damaged.

    This time, it really felt like Nettal had done all the work. Addie still didn¡¯t get how the maze worked completely, but Nettal obviously did since they¡¯d made it to the end. She pulled her cousin¡¯s ethereal form into a quick hug, which she happily returned.

    Finally, Addie floated over to the pedestal, placing her hand down on the book¡¯s pages atop it. Knowledge poured into Addie, but she didn¡¯t have time to parse it before the world flashed white around them, blinding her for a moment. Along with it came the feeling from the maze¡ª of suddenly being moved to a new location.

    Wooden ghostly walls surrounded them, but not like before. Now, wooden log walls surrounded them on all four sides, with a single door in front of them. This room was furnished with a rocking chair, dining table, and even a fireplace with ghostly purple flames flickering away. The whole house took on that ethereal blue hue, and Addie knew they were in the haunted house. The front door creaked open, the sound echoing through the space that caused the walls to shudder in response. The door opened to the outside: no sign of eyes in sight.

 Chapter 110: Third Trial Finish

    As the door squeakily crept open, Addie remained on high alert, scanning for any possible dangers. And yet, those eyes she expected to see never appeared. She looked behind the now open front door, only to see the grass plains just as normal as ever. One thing she did notice was how far across the sky the binary had moved, they¡¯d been away from their bodies a long time.

    No longer on high alert scanning for danger, Addie relaxed slightly. As she did, she couldn¡¯t help but take in her surroundings again¡ª her eyes drawn to the features she¡¯d looked over earlier. Something about them seemed... off. Like, just not quite right. At first, she didn¡¯t know why, but soon her eyes began to pick out strange details.

    For example, why was the fireplace in the middle of the cabin? Usually, fireplaces are placed on a wall, surrounded by bricks, and have a chimney above. This one did not have any of those things.

    The table in the eating area was slanted, not level with the ground. Each leg of the table had a different height from the others, making each unique in an unsettling way, causing the table to lean unnaturally. The table didn¡¯t have any chairs to go with it, either.

    A couch lay sprawled out across the floor diagonally, right next to a wardrobe also in the middle of the floor plan. It was like someone had come up with a list of things that needed to be in a cabin, and then arranged everything to be skiwampus on purpose.

    The worst part was the roof. In some places, it came all the way down to Addie¡¯s head height, with long grooves and curves making it taller in seemingly random places. It was like... like someone had the idea of a log cabin explained to them in words, without ever truly understanding what a house should be like.

    Addie couldn¡¯t get out of here fast enough. She immediately grabbed onto Nettal¡¯s hand, eager to drag everyone back outside and return to their bodies. They started floating forward.

    Being away from her physical body for so long made Addie feel deeply uncomfortable, like she¡¯d lost something precious and she desperately needed to go looking for it. She hadn¡¯t really noticed it too much during the maze, but maybe that was because she¡¯d been distracted. The more she noticed her discomfort, the worse it got, growing with each moment.

    When they got to the open door, Addie was ready to barrel right forward and start flying as fast as she could back to her body. With a jerk, Nettal forced them to a stop, Addie¡¯s ethereal arm stretching unnaturally for a moment before bouncing her back like a spring.

    She shot her cousin a scandalized look, but Nettal just rolled her eyes. Nettal pointed around the edges of the doorway and mimed scanning out. She wanted to be careful, Addie realized. Maybe look for possible enemies.

    After Nettal had spent some time checking around the outside of the door, with Addie helping on the other side, they finally got to leave the strange cabin. With one last glance behind her, Addie stared at the knocker on the door, it really did resemble Ember¡ª a soul hunter in the shape of a door knocker, its metal eyes seeming to gleam as Addie stared at it. Just as she went to turn back around, she saw the door begin to close all on its own out of the corner of her eye.

    ¡°Do you remember how to get back?¡± Addie asked Squishy.

    He tilted his head up at her, his eyes twinkling as he replied, ¡°Of course, my lady. Follow me.¡±

    Nettal and Lotty also followed close behind. Just like the last time she¡¯d traveled this fast in ethereal form, the world seemed to move around her, rather than Addie moving herself.

    They reached their bodies without issue, all four of them clumped together in one big snuggle. However, Addie realized that both her and Nettal¡¯s uncovered faces were red. But, Addie¡¯s pale, freckled face was far worse off, and she just knew that she¡¯d have a terrible binary-burn when she woke up.

    Actually, floating up here above her body like this... Addie came to a terrible realization; she didn¡¯t remember how to get back inside her body. Did she just, float back into herself? How come this hadn¡¯t ever been a problem in the past? Maybe she was just overthinking it. Following her initial instinct, she floated near her body before diving right in.

    <hr><hr>

    Addie woke up with a deep, calm breath. Something warm and heavy sat upon her chest, but it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable. She angled her chin to get a better look, just to see her Squishy. He blinked slowly, languidly back at her.

    ¡°You cat,¡± she declared, her throat sounding dry and raspy, making her want to drink something. Luckily, they were right next to a stream.

    Something began moving to her left before she heard loud coughing next to her. Addie began to sit up, Squishy sliding down into her lap as she did so. She looked to her side, Nettal coughing into her elbow.

    The events from their ethereal adventure were still in the back of Addie¡¯s mind, but they felt strangely distant. She remembered everything that had happened, of course, but it felt like the events had happened as part of a dream. It felt to Addie like the adventure was almost without substance somehow like it wasn¡¯t quite real.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    But the proof was in her new magical technique. The things she learned in the books on the pedestals didn¡¯t give her new powers, they just taught her different ways to use her already existing magic¡ª how to shape it in the case of her soul flames.

    She could see the new ability swimming around in her mind even now. Whereas the last two had been ways to shape her fire, this ability had something to do with her ability to become ethereal¡ª the second half of her powers she got from Ember.

    The teachings from the book also felt distant, as if half-remembered from a dream. She could almost feel how it worked, like it was at the tip of her tongue, or like she¡¯d remember any moment. Mostly, it felt like if she began the motions, the rest would all fill in the blanks on their own.

    For now, she discarded the thought; right now what they needed the most was water and to more generally recover their bodies from sitting out in the sun so long. She felt sticky with sweat, even though the weather was mostly cold. The binary had been beating down on them the entire time, and Squishy¡¯s black scales practically turned him into a furnace right above her.

    Once Nettal quit coughing, Addie asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Her voice still came out raspy, but her mouth had started to wet itself again.

    ¡°Yeah, just thirsty,¡± Nettal replied quietly.

    Standing up, Addie picked Squishy up, causing his legs to dangle before she put him back on the ground. He perked up immediately, following along on all fours.

    ¡°To the stream?¡±

    ¡°To the stream,¡± Addie confirmed aloud. And goodness, did it feel good to be able to talk out loud again!

    When she got there, Addie dunked her whole entire head into the stream at once. She regretted it immediately, accidentally going too far down and getting the bottom mud into her mouth. That even ruined the area for drinking slightly, since she kicked up all kinds of gunk into the water.

    She pulled her head out of the water, her hair now soaking wet and flinging water everywhere. Squishy began doing his strange chortle sound, the silly creature laughing at her. So, as just revenge, Addie began stalking forward with her arms out to her front.

    ¡°Come here, Squishy,¡± Addie asked politely.

    ¡°You are going to throw me into the stream,¡± he said, resigned.

    ¡°I was going to, but now you¡¯ve taken all the fun out of it,¡± she pouted. ¡°Ugh, fine.¡±

    She began to walk further up the stream, to an area where the water was still clear when she stopped suddenly. ¡°Do you want me to throw you in the stream?¡±

    ¡°Not particularly.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t.¡± And she meant it, too. If he was going to be that serious about it, she didn¡¯t actually want to hurt his feelings. Maybe he¡¯d be in a more teasing mood later, anyway.

    Addie finally got a decent drink of water, this time being a lot more careful not to push her whole head into the stream. Instead, she just slurped from the top. The water was cool and refreshing, easing her raspy throat and dry mouth. Her face stung too, a combination of the cold from the water and her dry, binary-burnt skin.

    ¡°Are you burned at all?¡± Addie asked Squishy.

    ¡°I think not. My scales do not burn, really. Though, I can feel overly hot, at which point I can pant to lower my body temperature. The cool air and wind kept me mostly fine this time, though.¡±

    ¡°I wish my skin couldn¡¯t burn...¡± Addie grumbled. She¡¯d always burned easily, her pale freckled skin soaking up sunlight like crazy.

    With one hand, Addie began wringing out her hair when she noticed Nettal and Lotty walking toward the stream, too.

    ¡°Why is your hair so wet?¡± Nettal asked, confused. ¡°It¡¯s dripped all down your back and onto your poncho.¡±

    ¡°Yeah... but the water¡¯s really good!¡± Addie exclaimed.

    Nettal just sighed for some reason. Then, she went to the stream and cupped her hands to bring water to her mouth. That was the moment Addie realized she hadn¡¯t ever needed to dunk her head into the water, she could have just done what Nettal was doing now... but she had wanted to dunk her whole head in the water.

    ¡°Can you heal my face?¡± Addie asked once Nettal was done drinking.

    Nettal opened her eyes wide, only seemingly now noticing how burnt Addie was.

    ¡°Of course!¡± She hurried over, and with a flash of glowing green eyes, Addie¡¯s face no longer stung.

    ¡°Um, you¡¯re actually burnt too.¡± Addie helpfully informed Nettal. She must not have realized.

    ¡°Oh, thanks, Addie.¡± Nettal beamed at her in appreciation.

    After everyone took some time to recover by the stream, with Nettal also giving Squishy and Lotty a round of healing just in case, Addie and Nettal had to decide what to do next.

    It looked like evening already, with where the binary was in the sky. And, everyone was hungry, so they decided to just eat and camp here for the night. Tomorrow, they¡¯d return to the city briefly to check if the glowing stone changed colors, and then they¡¯d go to the final ruin site.

    While they were eating, the girls talked about the trial they¡¯d been in, Nettal even explained how the maze worked! Apparently, there were eight rotating rooms, all of them moving counter-clockwise when they moved to the third room. Also, the reason they¡¯d been starting over at the first room so many times was because not all of the doors actually led to a room all the time. If the door led to somewhere other than a connecting room, the maze would just put them right back at the beginning.

    Well, anyway, Addie didn¡¯t want to think about the maze that much. What she did want to think about was her new ability, so she spent the rest of the night trying to wrap her head around it. It just wouldn¡¯t work, no matter how hard she tried. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed to slip away.

    Since she felt stuck, Addie decided to ask Squishy about it.

    ¡°Since this ruin site was all about becoming ethereal, I suppose your new ability must require being ethereal, too.¡±

    After that advice, everything clicked right into place! Just as they were heading to sleep, Addie pulled herself out of her body again. This time, she tried to use the new ability, and it worked on the first try. It wasn¡¯t something she did by thinking about it, rather, she felt it out more¡ª the ability just sorta ¡®working¡¯. The dream-like feeling of being ethereal helped a lot to make it work, too, since everything felt more intuitive while dreaming, at least for Addie.

    When she willed it to happen, Addie could detect other souls closeby. The way it worked was simple, she saw a colored outline around whatever she looked at. Squishy had a blue outline¡ªthe color of his magic and soul. Similarly, Nettal and Lotty had green outlines around them. For now, she had to be really close to someone to make the ability work, but in the future and with some practice, Addie thought it could work at long range, too.

    For now, though, she decided to get some proper sleep. Even if being ethereal felt ¡®dreamy¡¯, she still felt mentally tired. So, she returned to her body, allowing real sleep to come, and real dreams to follow.

 Chapter 111: DAD and Christena Interlude

    Christena took in her surroundings. Returning to this basement was nostalgic in all of the worst ways. All of the cleaning supplies had been cleared out of the room to make way for the time-slow ritual.

    The dreary and cold stone bricks surrounded her, floor, ceiling, and walls. The room felt depressingly bland, and Fluffy seemed to agree. She sat perched on Christena¡¯s shoulders¡ª her warmth was a comforting presence against the cold aura that her employer seemed to emit as a matter of course.

    Mr. Lomain had drawn freezing cold blue lines across the stone floor, each glowing trace an active working of his ice magic. Dorple, his bonded, sat at Mr. Lomain¡¯s feet as he finished tracing the last bits of the diagram.

    ¡°How long will we have?¡± Christena asked.

    ¡°Real time? The magic will last for barely a day. As for the magic... well, I know I initially said I could keep us in time dilation for a week, but I think I smoothed out a few inefficiencies compared to last time. We¡¯ll have closer to ten days¡ª subjective time.¡± He barely stopped to reply, still bent over drawing lines of magic as he explained.

    Christena sighed, but the action didn¡¯t help release any of the tension sitting upon her shoulders. Addie and Nettal had been kidnapped for over a week. Anyone with any degree of knowledge would know that after the first 24 hours of a kidnapping... well, the odds of survival dropped precipitously. Luckily, she had been training Addie on self-defense lately, and she was a battle prodigy. Christena had to hope it would be enough. At least this time dilation ritual would give them more time to find them while also reducing the amount of time passing in outside of the ritual. They needed all the time they could get.

    She also knew how much the situation grated on Mr. Lomain. His hair was frazzled while also somehow being limp and oily. He¡¯d been wearing the same clothes for the last week, and he spent each of those days frantically trying to get help to Addie.

    ¡°Are you...¡± Christena hesitated to ask the question, but it needed to be said. She wanted to make sure he would be in the right mental state to help properly. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    He snorted. ¡°No, I am not ¡®okay,¡¯ I am working to get back my daughter. When I sent her off with you to visit my sister, I did not expect her to find a dragon, get involved with a rampaging cascade, or think that she¡¯d be anything but safe spending time with her cousin.

    ¡°Instead, when you return, it¡¯s without my daughter in hand. Worse, you¡¯ve brought me news that she¡¯s been kidnapped by an unknown entity who has masterful magical control over fog. And, if Addie wasn¡¯t in physical danger in some way, how come she hasn¡¯t already returned to us? If the dragon is as benevolent as you make out, wouldn¡¯t she have already entered Realmspace and asked for his help to get home by now? No, something is truly, terribly wrong, and I can¡¯t be there fast enough to help her.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t bring Sen¡¯s necklace with her, we know she left it at Ms. Lomain¡¯s house.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but then, what about Nettal¡¯s ring?¡±

    He sighed, and before Christena could even reply to that accusing question, he asked, ¡°Are you any closer to finding a manual entry port into Realmspace?¡±

    Christena decided to let the prior topic drop; he was clearly not in the right head space for that conversation at the moment. ¡°Fluffy has no affinity for spatial magic in the slightest, as you well know¡ª¡±

    Christena was cut off by a voice from the stairwell, ¡°I think I have a solution to that.¡±

    Coming down the stairs was Ms. Lomain¡ª Nettal¡¯s mother and Addie¡¯s aunt, not Addie¡¯s mother. She wore battle armor¡ª hardened leather with a metal chest plate. The woman was a walking tank with absurd amounts of strength. Her purple viollow twittered in behind her, the bird¡¯s small size making it hard to guess that it contained strength-enhancing soul magics.

    Mr. Lomain was quick to reply with relief, ¡°Thank Aggan. What did you find?¡±

    In one hand, Ms. Lomain held a glowing orb with white wisps circling around inside of it. In the other hand, she held Addie¡¯s magical necklace that Sen had given her. ¡°Our little cascade friend should be able to help. His soul has traces of Addie¡¯s magic all over it.¡±

    ¡°Father just let you take that?¡± Christena asked incredulously. Letting such a dangerous soul out of his possession was unlike him.

    ¡°We do have some small degree of trust, Owlcharge and I,¡± Ms. Lomain smirked. ¡°Living near to one another all those years does tend to add up, after all.¡±

    ¡°I always did wonder how you got pregnant with Nettal,¡± Mr. Lomain said leadingly.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    His sister just smiled in response, not giving anything away¡ª which in of itself spoke volumes. Christena would not be touching that ball of worms.

    ¡°I¡¯m still unsure exactly how that will help us,¡± Christena said.

    ¡°Well,¡± Mr. Lomain began, still tracing runes on the floor, ¡°We¡¯ll have a week to figure it out.

    ¡°Can you tell me more about the dragon? I¡¯m still skeptical about his intentions, but I¡¯d at least like to know all of our options.¡± Mr. Lomain brought up, changing the subject.

    ¡°Sen was more than reasonable, I owe him my daughter¡¯s life. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be more than amenable to assisting us again.¡±

    ¡°Only if we figure out how to contact him.¡±

    In response, Ms. Lomain sent her brother a harsh glare. ¡°Yes, well. I¡¯m sure the three of us can figure it out. Two Area Lords and a cascade hunter¡ª the odds could be worse.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re weaker outside of your domain,¡± Christena wasn¡¯t trying to dig at her, but rather she was just trying to be pragmatic, ¡°and your magic isn¡¯t too suited for spatial magic; you admitted it yourself.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Ms. Lomain conceded with a raised brow, ¡°But you neglect to mention that all Area Lords require incredible mastery over the soul; I¡¯m even more developed than brother dearest in that regard.¡±

    ¡°Stella is right,¡± Mr. Lomain interjected, ¡°We¡¯ll need her to make sure that cascaded soul is stable while we dissect my daughter¡¯s residual magic.¡±

    Honestly, this whole thing was a bit outside of Christena¡¯s wheelhouse. She was good at two things: teaching how to fight, and fighting herself. However, she had gotten fairly good at homemaking working for Mr. Lomain¡ª not that such a skill would help them any now.

    ¡°Will you need my help dissecting the soul, then?¡± Christena asked Mr. Lomain.

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll need you for what comes after.¡±

    ¡°What are you expecting to come after?¡±

    Mr. Lomain paused at his sister¡¯s question, looking up from the traces of magic he was drawing on the floor to give her a stare like she was being an idiot. ¡°A whole lot of fighting whatever kidnapped our children. They will know wrath like they¡¯ve never known before.¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Half of their time in the chamber had come and gone, the three of them barely sleeping to continue working. Christena didn¡¯t participate much in the soul dissection or in analyzing the necklace, but it turned out her illusion magic was the best suited for trying to reproduce the spatial effects imprinted on the cascaded soul.

    Mr. Lomain¡¯s freezing and slowing magics wouldn¡¯t help them get into Realmspace, and Ms. Lomain¡¯s strength enhancement certainly wouldn¡¯t do the job either.

    The most difficult part for Christena was actually in trying to convince herself that her magic could do what she wanted it to. She had to force an extreme example of sideways magics¡ª somehow trying to reproduce spatial effects using illusions.

    She¡¯d successfully managed to fake a teleport, but the effect reversed itself as soon as she lost concentration. This meant she¡¯d pop from one place to another, only to return almost immediately as her magic failed. And, even when it worked, her physical body didn¡¯t actually ¡®move¡¯. It just felt like and seemed like she had moved, her illusion fooling her own senses. Trying to fool herself into believing she¡¯d teleported in order to make her magic actually work was nigh impossible.

    She¡¯d had to change tactics. As the Lomain siblings continued to provide her with scraps leftover of Addie¡¯s spatial magic¡ª tiny pieces of natural bonded magic here and there, she worked on adapting them to a suitable format for her illusions. The soul had traces of Addie¡¯s magic after being used on someone, while the necklace held the key for how to actually get into Realmspace. Christena used the concepts from both to work on her own magic.

    True teleportation would never work, not in the timeframe they had left in the ritual chamber. So, she worked on making a sort of scrying mirror¡ª teleporting her illusion was fairly doable.

    Once she got the hang of teleporting an illusory construct from one end of the room to another, she got to work trying to make her magic pass realms. At the same time, she tried to connect two scrying mirrors to one another. If they wanted to talk with Sen, they¡¯d need a way to both talk to and hear whatever he was saying.

    She got the latter idea working fairly quickly, compared to trying to enter Realmspace. Two illusory mirrors, one passing information to the other, stood across the room from each other. In front of one, Christena peered into it, seeing Fluffy on the other side. Her bonded was preening and grooming her fur. Feelings of pride and contentment flowed across the bond to Christena. Fluffy always liked to inflate her ego after they¡¯d successfully created a new application of their magic.

    Actually getting the mirror to teleport into Realmspace was an entirely separate problem, unfortunately.

    ¡°How much more of Addie¡¯s magic is left over for study on the cascade?¡± Christena asked the siblings. The necklace had long ago been thoroughly analyzed¡ªthe magic within brilliantly simple.

    They both had their eyes closed, concentrated on dissecting the soul, while both of their hands held either side of it across from one another.

    Without opening his eyes, Mr. Lomain responded, ¡°We¡¯ll keep analyzing, but I think we¡¯d be lucky to get more than a few fractions of an example of Addie¡¯s magic.¡±

    A sudden tightness bound its way through Christena¡¯s chest. At this point, their plan mostly hinged on Christena¡¯s ability to get them past the finish line.

    ¡°After Stella and I finish analyzing the last few parts, we¡¯ll start helping you develop your magic. Otherwise, we could start trying some ideas for our own magic.¡±

    Christena shook her head at that, not that they could see her at the moment. ¡°Both of your magic is too unsuitable for this.¡±

    ¡°If we can¡¯t figure something out soon with your illusions, we may have no other choice.¡± Ms. Lomain stated. ¡°I have some ideas for myself¡ª perhaps I can punch my way into Realmspace?¡± The way she almost asked that last sentence made Christena wonder if she was serious or not.

    ¡°You can¡¯t solve all your problems by punching them,¡± Mr. Lomain said, as if he was quite used to such remarks from his sister.

    ¡°Hey, I mean, you¡¯re the one who suggested we try something ourselves.¡± Ms. Lomain shrugged.

    After that, the siblings got back to work dissecting the cascaded soul. In the end, they were able to give Christena a few new ideas and insights, but they were a drop in the bucket at this point. Christena believed she mostly understood how Addie¡¯s teleports to Realmspace worked at this point; now she really just needed to figure out how to adapt that magic to her illusions.

 Chapter 112: Climb the Mountain

    Addie played around with her new ability a lot as they travelled back to the abandoned city. She tested how far away she could see Nettal¡¯s soul-outline, and she checked to see if she could look at her own. After consulting a bit with Book, Addie decided to call the new ability aura-sight, which was apparently ¡®standard¡¯ for this ability. Book sure knew a lot of useless stuff.

    And wasn¡¯t that a surprise! The silly book had finally decided to show itself again after ignoring Addie for so long. She wanted to be angry at it, but she was too busy being glad that its map was working again to help them travel all about. It¡¯d also given her some ideas about how to train her new aura-sight. Addie tried to look at Book¡¯s aura, but she couldn¡¯t find one around it. Maybe it really wasn¡¯t alive.

    Anyway, they made it back to the city after less than a week, checked on the east crystal to make sure it had changed colors, and then they all immediately headed down south to the last ruin site. They¡¯d already explored the interesting parts of the city, and there was no reason for them to hang around there any longer.

    While on the way to the southern ruin site, Addie wondered what the next trial would be. Maybe she¡¯d have to fight another big enemy, or maybe Nettal would have to solve another puzzle. She couldn¡¯t help but be a bit excited, thinking about what kind of adventure would happen next.

    On the other hand, she really did want to go home. Her thoughts drifted from Christena and Dad to Auntie and Mom. Were they worried about her? Would she get scolded for running off on another adventure? She thought back to the time Auntie had chastised her for meeting with Sen in the middle of the night.

    The scenery to the southern ruin site looked exactly the same as all the others. Fields of green grass in all directions, each stalk doing its best to irritate Addie in whatever way possible. Squishy liked it, though.

    ¡°It allows me to prowl on the hunt, giving me easy ambush spots for prey.¡±

    Addie just hoped nothing out there would use the head high grass to try ambush her. She needed to be ready to protect Nettal at a moment¡¯s notice. And yet, as the days continued on their journey with nothing extraordinary happening, boredom set in.

    It was by the fire one night that Nettal brought up an interesting conversation. ¡°Since you¡¯ve found all these ways to expand on your magic with Ember, don¡¯t you think there¡¯s tons of things you could try to do with Squishy?¡±

    Addie thought about that for a moment, no reply coming to her easily.

    ¡°I mean, you¡¯ve got a fire shield and a fire lance, now. Plus, those other things you¡¯ve figured out. What about your magic with Squishy?¡±

    To Addie, shaping her fire into a shield or spear sort of just made sense at this point; she hadn¡¯t thought about it that hard. But with Squishy, the way she could teleport around, in and out of Realmspace, well, she didn¡¯t see an easy way to improve that. She¡¯d already been working on improving the range of her spatial sense, which got a little bit better every day.

    ¡°What about you? Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s more stuff to do with healing?¡± Addie asked in return.

    ¡°Actually, yeah!!!¡± Nettal shouted in great excitement, her entire face lighting up in a beaming grin. ¡°I¡¯ve figured out more and more parts of our bodies¡ª did you know your eyes actually see everything upside down?! Our brains just trick us into seeing right-side-up somehow!¡± She quickly continued after taking a fast bite of her piece of roast, ¡°Also, I can see your bones growing; some of them aren¡¯t even fused together yet. Isn¡¯t that just interesting? My favorite, though, is that I think with a bit of practice, I could even regenerate someone¡¯s missing arms or legs!¡±

    ¡°Regenerate?¡± Addie hadn¡¯t heard that word before.

    ¡°Like, heal someone to grow back a missing arm or something,¡± Nettal clarified.

    Addie opened her eyes wide in surprise. ¡°That would be cool!¡± she easily agreed.

    After all that, she felt more at ease at night. Knowing her cousin could fix her up even if she lost a leg or something made Addie feel brave. She¡¯d protect Nettal for sure.

    That night came quickly, with everyone yawning as they prepared for bed. She enjoyed having Squishy so close, oftentimes even snuggling right up against or on top of her chest. Having Squishy and Nettal here, with Ember also curled up in her soul, made Addie feel so safe at bedtime.

    <hr><hr>

    The next morning, after only a bit of walking, Book¡¯s location marker for everyone was right next to the southern ruin site. Just like last time, they couldn¡¯t see any obvious buildings, which made Addie think they needed to go ethereal again.

    ¡°Perhaps we ought to wait until nightfall this time, my lady. Avoid the binary-burns.¡± Squishy¡¯s triangular ears flicked as he spoke.

    They had been sleeping through the nights without issue so far; maybe that would be the smart choice? When she passed the information along to Nettal, though, she seemed skeptical.

    ¡°What if something attacks us at night? Squishy¡¯s been watching for us all this time while we¡¯ve been sleeping, hasn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Nettal does make a solid argument. Though, in all my time hunting through the grass, I¡¯ve never once encountered something that could possibly harm us. Then again, perhaps it is prudent to be vigilant.¡±

    Nettal thought about what Squishy said for a bit before replying, ¡°How about the two of you scout things out first, just like before? Lotty and I will watch over your bodies.¡±

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    That sounded good to Addie, and Squishy quickly agreed. So, without waiting for night, Addie immediately pushed her soul out of her body before doing the same to Squishy.

    Though she couldn¡¯t see them, Nettal waved in Addie¡¯s general direction to send them off. Together, Squishy and Addie floated further south, using the Binary to guide them. The structure they¡¯d been expecting came into view after just a couple of minutes.

    What they came upon would have made Addie gasp if she¡¯d had lungs. Standing proud before them was an ethereal torii gate¡ª a word she only knew from the time the Furrians had given her the book about the fog demon.

    It stood on two mystical red pillars, glowing with an ambient light. The top had two bars, the bottom and the top. The bottom one was just a round, red, horizontal pillar. The top one was flat and completely black. Both of them bowed upward slightly near the edges. The entire thing danced in an unseen wind, exactly like the haunted house from before.

    The torii gate stood at the base of an ethereal mountain, one that stood directly atop the plains of grass. Carved steps of stone/ethereal stuffs made their way in a straight path upward. Unfortunately for Addie, she recognized the entire thing.

    ¡°Let us return and report to Nettal.¡± Addie agreed with Squishy, of course.

    Just a few minutes later, they¡¯d travelled back to their bodies, Addie waking up with a gasp of fresh air. Nettal was by her side in an instant, first checking her for injuries with a flash of glowing green eyes before doing the same for Squishy.

    ¡°You both seem fine, so that¡¯s good!¡± She smiled, and then her face turned serious. ¡°What did you find out?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same as the book we read from the Furrians,¡± Addie said glumly.

    ¡°What¡¯s the same?¡± Worry came across Nettal¡¯s tone, like she didn¡¯t quite want to believe it.

    ¡°The mountain with the fog demon. It¡¯s exactly like in the book!¡±

    Nettal sighed and rubbed her face. ¡°It all comes back to that, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°In the vision you two shared, was the mountain ethereal?¡± Squishy asked, his starry eyes looking up at Addie.

    ¡°What?¡± Addie looked down at him.

    ¡°You heard me; I asked if the mountain was ethereal.¡±

    ¡°No, but why does that matter?¡±

    ¡°Why does what matter?¡± Nettal jumped in.

    ¡°He¡¯s asking if the mountain used to be ethereal in the book we read.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Nettal¡¯s face lit up before she turned to Squishy and began squishing his cheeks. ¡°You¡¯re a genius!¡± she praised him, hands on both sides of his face.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Addie said, only a tiny bit upset, ¡°He¡¯s my Squishy!¡±

    Nettal just laughed, letting go of him and taking a step back. ¡°He doesn¡¯t mind it, do you?¡±

    ¡°I would not turn away the lady¡¯s ministrations, I suppose.¡±

    Addie glared at him with a pout. To soothe her, he walked over and rubbed himself against Addie¡¯s legs. She wouldn¡¯t admit it, but that did make her feel a little bit better.

    ¡°Why does it matter?¡± Addie finally asked, feeling like she was missing out on something between Squishy and Nettal.

    ¡°Why does the mountain being ethereal matter?¡± Nettal clarified, to which Addie quickly nodded. ¡°Well, because that means it¡¯s not the same mountain. The mountain we saw in the vision was a real mountain. Besides, if this one is ethereal, can it really have been made by the fog demon? We already know it has two powers: the control of the fog and some way to grant immortality. Something else must have made the ethereal mountain¡ª probably the same thing that made the haunted house from before.¡± Nettal smiled at her own logic, her confidence rubbing off on Addie, too.

    ¡°Well, that still means it could be dangerous. Plus, why¡¯d it make the mountain look just like the one from our vision if it¡¯s not the fog demon? That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Addie pointed out, still confused by all this.

    ¡°They can still be related,¡± Nettal pointed out. ¡°This just means we probably aren¡¯t going straight to the fog demon, at least.¡±

    Addie let out a big breath of air, crossing her arms in thought. She had a strong feeling this trial wouldn¡¯t be as easy as the other three.

    ¡°So, how do we want to do this?¡± Nettal asked the group.

    ¡°I propose we either go now or as soon as night falls.¡±

    ¡°I still think we need to have someone stay and watch over our bodies,¡± Nettal said, looking at Squishy.

    ¡°I shall not leave my lady¡¯s side,¡± he declared strongly, his intent and emotions bleeding into Addie from their bond.

    After Addie told Nettal what he¡¯d said, she kneeled down next to him to explain. ¡°Squishy, no one else can protect our bodies while we¡¯re gone,¡± she tried gently, ¡°Addie has to go, since she¡¯s the only one that can take the last ruin site¡¯s book ability. And Lotty and me can¡¯t defend anyone. You should stay and protect us, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Addie definitely didn¡¯t want Squishy to stay behind; she¡¯d never been apart from him since they first bonded. But she also understood what Nettal was saying. Addie didn¡¯t want to get stuck without a body, either.

    With a heavy sigh, and a great amount of trepidation, Addie decided to agree with Nettal. ¡°Squishy, can you please stay and protect us while we¡¯re gone?¡± she asked him sincerely.

    His whole body deflated, all of the air drawn out of his lungs. Angling his eyes up at Addie with his head drooped and his ears flat against his skull, he unhappily agreed.

    ¡°I shall be here and eagerly await your return, my lady. Simply call out to me if you are in danger, and I will always find you.¡±

    Addie smiled. ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Addie, let¡¯s go climb a mountain.¡±

 Chapter 113: Word Games

    This would be the first time Addie attempted one of the ruin sites without Squishy by her side. That thought made her feel nervous but also strangely safe¡ª knowing he was protecting her body. She¡¯d leave that up to him while she focused on completing the ruin site.

    Together, Addie and Nettal held hands, staring up at the mountain in front of them. They couldn¡¯t talk to each other in ethereal form, so they¡¯d decided beforehand to stay in physical contact as much as they could. Her hand felt strangely cool where it should have been warm, and it also felt more gooey than a real-life hand should feel. Holding Nettal¡¯s hand gave her a degree of comfort regardless.

    The pair nodded at each other, ready to move through the torii gate. As they floated closer, Addie felt a surge of determination pulse up and through her chest. This would be the last ruin site, and after that, they¡¯d figure out how to get home. The weird, pointy-eared man would give them answers... or else Addie would!!! She¡¯d... well, she¡¯d ask him a whole bunch until he told her, she guessed.

    They floated up to the torii gate, just about to pass through. But instead of going through it, Addie felt like she bounced up against an invisible wall. She recoiled in reaction, like she¡¯d stubbed her toe, except it was her entire ethereal form. Maybe like she¡¯d stubbed her soul? The comparison sort of sounded silly, but it really hurt!

    Nettal lightly yanked on her arm, drawing her attention. Her cousin floated down until her feet touched the ground, and then she waved an arm through the torii gate. It went through easily, but then just to finish her demonstration, Nettal floated back up and pressed her arm against the threshold of the torii gate again. This time, her arm bounced off an invisible barrier. So, Addie realized they had to walk through the gate on foot. Floating wouldn¡¯t work.

    Stepping on the ground felt sort of weird: for one, she felt much lighter than she¡¯d expected to¡ª like after taking off a heavy backpack. For another, she found it difficult to gain traction with her feet, they wanted to pass through the earth or even just float back upward. She had to pay a lot of special attention to make sure her feet stayed right on top of the ground.

    Though it was difficult, she figured it out eventually. The trick was to do something in between floating and walking, which sounded harder than it was. It sort of worked for her intuitively, her magic helping her along.

    Past the torii gate, Addie stared upon the workings of a massive staircase. Each stair had been carved from ethereal stone directly in the mountainside, each stone flat and polished to perfect detail. Trees surrounded the path on either side, and the canopy managed to completely block off the binary above. They didn¡¯t see any fog or mist yet, but the stairs went so high up that she couldn¡¯t see the top to confirm if it would stay that way.

    The only way out was up, so together, Nettal and Addie put their feet upon the first stair. At first, it was difficult to time her steps with Nettal perfectly as they held hands, her feet moving awkwardly as she concentrated. But, after a little bit of practice, the girls fell into a natural rhythm moving together.

    She was kind of tempted to see what might happen if she tried floating up off the ground, but each time she tried to actually do it, Nettal yanked on her hand to force her back on the ground. She¡¯d shake her head at Addie with wide eyes, ¡®No.¡¯ Addie didn¡¯t see what the big deal was; if they could float up the stairs, that¡¯d be way faster! It¡¯s not like there were invisible torii gate walls up here, anyway.

    Forced to take the steps one excruciatingly boring step at a time, Addie¡¯s mind drifted all around. She thought about what Christena, Dad, and even Auntie might be doing back home. She thought about Sen and if he¡¯d realize something was wrong after Addie hadn¡¯t talked to him in so long. They were friends, after all, so of course it¡¯d be strange if she didn¡¯t visit him!

    Her thoughts drifted to Squishy, too. Since she couldn¡¯t talk to Nettal, she found Squishy¡¯s absence especially difficult. She always had at least someone to talk to, but now she didn¡¯t. Or maybe she could talk to him? His soul bond was still there with her, and that meant they were never truly apart.

    Even now, despite being so far away, and even though she was ethereal, she could still ¡®see¡¯ where he was with her spatial sense. She could always see him with her spatial sense, no matter how distant he was from her¡ª the one exception to her spatial sense¡¯s distance limit.

    ¡°Squishy?¡± she tentatively called out to him with her thoughts pulsing through their bond. Right now, he was vaguely behind her and really far away.

    ¡°My lady?¡± Despite what she¡¯d expected, his voice didn¡¯t sound distant in the slightest! It was like he was right here next to her, talking with her as always.

    ¡°Squishy!¡± she exclaimed, glad that they were never truly apart.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Is everything alright? Do you require my assistance?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just bored,¡± she replied, injecting the feeling into her shared thoughts with Squishy. ¡°How is Lotty doing?¡±

    ¡°He eagerly awaits his lady¡¯s return, as do I.¡± Their conversation paused for a moment before Squishy suggested, ¡°I see, well, if you are bored, perhaps a word game to kill the time?¡± His words had a hint of mischievousness to them¡ª he always won word games, even if he wouldn¡¯t brag about it; he knew that¡¯d make Addie frustrated when she lost.

    ¡°No,¡± she would have rolled her eyes at him if she could have, ¡°I better watch the stairs in case the fog comes back.¡±

    ¡°Astutely cautious of you, my lady.¡±

    The only reason she didn¡¯t ask what ¡®astute¡¯ meant was because she could ¡®feel¡¯ the meaning of the word through the thoughts he shared with her.

    Though, after quite a bit of time passed going up the stairs, with nothing else happening, she agreed to play some word games with him.

    ***

    They¡¯d been climbing the mountain for what felt like hours now, but according to Squishy, the binary hadn¡¯t moved enough for even an hour to have passed. They¡¯d even run out of word games to play! Addie hadn¡¯t lost all of them. She would have complained about her boredom to Nettal, if she could have.

    At least her legs didn¡¯t ache. She did feel tired in a sort of... ethereal way. Well, Squishy thought the wordplay had been funny. In all seriousness, her whole ¡®body¡¯ was a bit tired from all the floating and walking up the stairs. She pushed past it, though, which was a lot easier to do when she didn¡¯t have any muscles that could get sore.

    The entire time, she often tried to glance up the stairs. Every time she did so, she could only see even more stairs. Mostly, she wanted to make sure that if the fog reappeared, she¡¯d see it before they bumbled into it. Trying to pay attention to that constantly was boring, thus the word games. However, that didn¡¯t mean she was slacking.

    It¡¯s a good thing she¡¯d been checking, too, since ¨C just as she¡¯d suspected ¨C the fog did make a reappearance. After what Squishy informed her had been exactly one hour of stair climbing, they discovered a ceiling layer of fog covered the pathway up the mountain. It seemed to loop all the way around, such that even if they didn¡¯t take the stairs, they¡¯d be forced to go through it. Of course, both girls stopped before the fog rather than just rushing into it.

    Slightly into the fog, though not so far into it as to be invisible, Addie could see another torii gate. It reminded her exactly of the book she¡¯d ¡®read¡¯ from the Furrians. In that ¡®daydream¡¯ the book had shown her, the leader of the city had gone through this second torii gate all by himself, and after that, he¡¯d walked through the fog for eternity. In the end, he¡¯d gotten what he wanted¡ª immortality. But, it came at the cost of insanity. Addie knew Area Lords could become immortal through binding themselves to the land, and it made her wonder why this leader hadn¡¯t just done the same thing for himself. Could he be walking through the fog at the top of this mountain even now, she wondered?

    She glanced at Nettal¡¯s face, seeing the nervousness and trepidation crossing her cousin¡¯s face. Nettal must have had a similar thought as Addie had.

    But, she¡¯d already known this could happen when they¡¯d started climbing. And, as they both knew, the only way to get home was to finish the ruin site¡ª the only way out was up through the fog.

    Addie pulled Nettal in for a squishy hug, pulling her into a tight squeeze. It didn¡¯t quite feel right without a body; Nettal¡¯s body felt far too squishy-y. As in, she could squish Nettal¡¯s back more than natural, without hurting her. Regardless, the hug with her taller cousin made Addie feel better.

    When the girls pulled away, Addie sent Squishy one more message before going through the second torii gate. ¡°We¡¯re going through now.¡± With her words, Addie also sent along a mental image of the torii gate. ¡°Don¡¯t let us walk around up there forever if we get stuck or something.¡±

    ¡°Worry not. I shall pester you with questions to keep your mind occupied should I believe you are suffering from undue mental influence. But, Addie, my lady, activate your layers of transcendent loop now just for extra protection.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she replied, ¡°I¡¯m always using transcendent loop nowadays.¡± She did prod at her soul construct quickly¡ª to make sure the double layer was still strong. It held easily, and recently, she really didn¡¯t even need to pay attention to it with how second nature it had become to keep it active.

    Holding hands, as always, and with a last nod to one another, Addie and Nettal took their first few steps up the stair past the second torii gate. The fog blanketed them immediately, and Addie had expected it to feel cold or perhaps make it harder to breathe. Then she quickly realized how silly that would be¡ª she didn¡¯t feel temperature or have to breathe in ethereal form. Maybe this form would protect them somewhat from the fog?

    Just to make sure the fog wasn¡¯t playing with her mind, Addie came to a stop, also dragging Nettal to a stop. She didn¡¯t feel like she needed to keep walking forward against her will, but she did want to keep going. But, was that because she wanted to clear the ruin site or because the fog was trying to trap her here forever? She couldn¡¯t tell, and that worry kept her legs locked as her mind folded with indecision. She prodded at her transcendent layers again, poking them like a nervous tick, but they still felt perfectly stable.

    ¡°Two new pre~y, is there?¡± A voice sounded through the fog, the first time she¡¯d ever heard ¡®speech¡¯ in ethereal form that wasn¡¯t telepathy.

    Addie pulled on her soul magic with Ember, getting ready to make a flame shield¡ª she should have done that before they¡¯d gone through the fog!

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t d~o that if I were you!¡± The voice made the word ¡®do¡¯ extra-long, which Addie would have thought was silly if she weren¡¯t already halfway into battle mode. ¡°I suspect you are curious why I brought you here, no? If you shoot those flames at me, perhaps I will never tell you how to get ho~me! Perhaps, we ought to partake in a riddle, wouldn¡¯t you sa~y?¡±

    A pair of eyes appeared through the fog, the large circles nearly pitch black except for golden slit pupils. The fog covered the rest of the head, though, and only the eyes could be seen.

 New Baby (not a chapter)

    Hello everyone!

    My first ever child was born last Wednesday, thus the delay on the chapter this week. Taking care of an infant is hard!

    Anyway, the chapter for this week is close to being done, 1400/2000 words right now. It should be out either real late tonight or sometime tomorrow, but no promises since, y''know, baby.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Pictures in my Discord</a>!

    As far as future chapters go, expect delays here or there as I get used to my new (sleep deprived) schedule. I''d like to get back to consistency soon, but again, family comes first so we''ll see how things go. I always post updates on my Discord about current chapter status if they are late, by the way. So, in the future, I''m going to assume most of you have seen this announcement, and thus you know that you can figure out why chapters are late via discord announcements.

    Hope you all are hyped for the next chapter! Coming soon

 Chapter 114: Annoying Kitty

    ¡°Perhaps, we ought to partake in a riddle, wouldn¡¯t you sa~y?¡±

    Addie gulped. She was terrible at riddles! But wait, her heart calmed down a bit as she realized she had Squishy on her side; he was great at word games!

    Nettal tugged on Addie¡¯s arm, grabbing her attention. She looked confused, pointing out to the eyes and silently asking Addie a question. Miming like this was difficult to interpret, but Addie thought Nettal probably wanted to know if the fog demon was talking or something. Maybe.

    Addie nodded her head once before putting her attention back on the fog demon. How nice of him... her? Her voice sounded kind of girly. How nice of her to let Addie take a moment with Nettal like that.

    ¡°You appear to be ready, very we~ll then. Let us begin.¡± The eyes in the fog seemed to smile with delight. ¡°What lives forever yet lives never at all?¡±

    That made absolutely no sense. ¡°Squishy, do you know?¡± Addie prompted him over their bond.

    ¡°Hmm. Perhaps. Ask if she will allow us a moment to think.¡±

    Addie got ready to ask just that, when she realized quite the issue. She still couldn¡¯t talk in ethereal form! Sure, the fog demon could talk to her, but she couldn¡¯t really talk to it... Wait, how was she even supposed to give her answer if she couldn¡¯t talk?

    ¡°We~ll, I¡¯m waiting. Have you figured out the answer or not?¡±

    Addie wanted to talk but couldn¡¯t. But, the fog demon wouldn¡¯t ask her to do something she was incapable of, that¡¯d be unfair! Not to mention Addie would just lose if that was the case. Surely she¡¯d be understanding that Addie couldn¡¯t speak, right?

    ¡°What is the matter, fog¡¯s got your tongue?¡± The fog demon stepped one paw forward, her face and paw now completely visible in front of the fog, with the rest of her body still hidden. Her lips curled into a sly feline smirk, fangs showing. ¡°Or is it that you can¡¯t speak after a~ll?¡± Her grin grew wider at that, a joke only she understood.

    Her body began to grow taut, her neck tensely shifting forward while she moved lower to the ground, as if ready to pounce.

    Holding tightly to her cousin¡¯s hand, Addie prepared for battle. She¡¯d never intended to solve this with words, she was playing with them!

    Time almost seemed to slow for a moment, as the next second dragged on with fast actions from both Addie and the fog demon. Pulling on her bond with Ember, Addie waved her hand through the air, summoning ghostly hot flames in a wave toward the fog demon. Already pouncing, the fog demon jumped straight at Addie, claws out and fangs bared. In that moment where the fog demon was still in the air, Addie noticed that her fur was singed, and she¡¯d flinched from the flames but otherwise remained undaunted.

    Pulling on her magic again, Addie pulled both herself and Nettal into Realmspace; her go-to method of escape had long since become instinctual by now. With Nettal in tow, Addie floated directly forward before turning around. With any luck, they¡¯d be perfectly behind the fog demon now when they reappeared on the mountain.

    So, imagine Addie¡¯s surprise when, instead of having the perfect flanking ambush position, she was instead right back in the path of the fog demon¡¯s leap. She smirked at Addie in the moment before contact, like she¡¯d already won.

    With Ember helping coordinate the magic, Addie threw up a last-second flame shield, the packed solid white flames shooting up just in time to protect her. Addie felt it when the fog demon bounced against her shield, the feline creature rebounding off with a pained snarl.

    ¡°I figured it out! The answer is fire!¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t help anymore, Squishy! She¡¯s attacking us,¡± Addie sent back even as the fog demon did something to batter at the shield again.

    ¡°Perhaps it is time instead? No, the answer must be fire.¡±

    Tuning out Squishy¡¯s current unhelpfulness, Addie focused on redirecting the magic in her shield. With an effort of will and quite a bit of help from Ember, she blasted the shield out all around her. A sphere of fire erupted around her, all of the fog in the immediate area burning up in the process. Most importantly, Addie heard the fog demon yelp in pain, and she felt an impact against the front of her fire wave. But, when the fire and fog cleared, revealing a charred area of ethereal mountain grass, the fog demon was gone.

    The fog began quickly closing in again all around them, undulating and flowing in meandering plumes. Nettal squeezed Addie¡¯s hand, her eyes glowing green and a pulse of soothing healing magic flowing up into Addie¡¯s arm. She didn¡¯t need it though, she hadn¡¯t been hurt.

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    ¡°The answer is fire, my lady.¡±

    ¡°I heard you the first time!¡± Addie shot back, slightly frustrated. It was hard to scan her surroundings for the enemy with Squishy distracting her!

    She saw ghostly trees and slopes of grass slowly drifting in an unseen breeze. Looking up or down the mountain didn¡¯t help either; the fog demon was nowhere to be seen. All the while, more and more fog encroached upon the section of stairs Addie and Nettal stood on. Soon, it would cover them all up again.

    To give herself more time, Addie made another flame shield and then repeated what she¡¯d done earlier by having it expand all around in a wave, driving off the fog again.

    The fog demon began cackling, its joyful taunts echoing through the fog without Addie being able to locate where they came from. Her body was taut in nervous energy, ready to launch a flame spear the moment she saw her again.

    But then, Addie realized how silly she was being. She needed to use her Spatial sense! Or, wait, she also had her new Aura sense, too! First, she scanned the surroundings with her Spatial sense, sweeping all around¡ª by focusing on a cone in front of her, instead of as one big sphere, she could extend the range. She saw plenty of ethereal plants, trees, grass, and such, but no big cats. Switching to her Aura sense, Nettal glowed bright green right next to her, and she had to ignore her cousin¡¯s brightly glowing outline so she could focus on the forest surrounding them, instead.

    For a moment, Addie thought she saw a spot of glowing yellow, but the source ran away so fast that she couldn¡¯t track where it moved to. She had to scan again, like looking for the odd thing out in one of those ¡®Spot the Sally¡¯ picture books she used to love. The entire time, she also began charging up a powerful flame spear, condensing her magic down to make it extra hot.

    Then, she saw another glimpse of yellow through the fog, but only a flash before she lost track of it again. She swept her eyes and head to the side, in the direction she thought it moved to. The condensed white flame built up above her shoulder, warping the air around it with heat. Yet again, Addie was glad she couldn¡¯t hurt herself with her own magic.

    She waited, ready to launch the spear the moment she found the fog demon again. But it continued to hide, and all the while more and more mist began creeping in. The surroundings became darker, the light of her flame spear glowing against the coming fog.

    Movement caught the very edge of her spatial sense, drawing her attention to it. Her aura sense, with its increased range, caught the biggest flash of yellow yet, and Addie nearly launched her flame spear right there. She held off though, since the demon was still moving, and Addie didn¡¯t want to miss.

    Nettal tugged on Addie¡¯s left arm, drawing her attention. She raised her eyebrows and then pointedly looked in the exact spot where Addie could see flashes of yellow aura. Nettal could see the fog demon, too, Addie realized.

    Without wasting a second, Addie launched her flame spear through the air. It streaked through the fog, blasting it away as it soared through the air. The light from the spear illuminated the fog demon¡¯s surprised face, just before she got hit by condensed flames right on her back left hip.

    She snarled, an ugly sound with an equally ugly face. Addie had no time to celebrate, she already was pulling on her magic for a second shot. But, the fog demon also made her move, hissing and leaping further back and into the fog once more. Addie immediately lost track of her.

    In just moments, Addie was already getting more pings from her spatial sense¡ª this time from right behind! She turned around, forced to let go of Nettal¡¯s hand, and at the same time, Nettal moved so that Addie acted as a shield between her and the fog demon.

    Impossibly, the fog demon was already mid-leap, somehow having made it all the way behind Addie in less than a couple of seconds. Addie flinched, and out of pure instinct more than willful effort, Addie reflexively launched the magic she¡¯d been building forward in a stream of fire shaped somewhere between her shields and spears¡ª just a solid cone of fire blasting out with great force. Purple embers and wisps floated off near the edges, but the center of the cone was blindingly white.

    She heard a feline yelp/scream just before something heavy hit her chest. The next few moments were a blind scramble as she hit the ground and then fell right through it, total darkness surrounding her as she felt suffocated. She flailed, trying to figure out where up was, but her spatial sense helped her figure out where she was. As if coming up for air after a dive, Addie breached the surface of the mountain again.

    The first thing she did was check if Nettal was safe, and though her face looked pinched with fear, she seemed fine. Next, she rapidly scanned all around for the fog demon again. Her fog had come back in full force, so Addie needed to blast it away again.

    She did so, but this time, instead of the fog slowly creeping back in, it seemed to be thinning itself out. She swept her eyes all around, spatial and aura senses also sweeping in different directions from each other at the same time. She didn¡¯t see the fog demon anywhere, but her magic fog continued to go away more and more.

    Not quite believing that the fight was over so soon, Addie kept looking all around, Nettal also joining in to check their surroundings. After five minutes, the fog had completely cleared out, and neither of the girls found any traces of the fog demon.

    Addie was tempted to start climbing the stairs up the mountain again, to hurry up and finish the trial, but she also didn¡¯t want to get ambushed if this was some kind of trick. But, after another two minutes of nothing happening, and since the mountain was now completely clear of fog, they had no choice but to keep going.

    To Addie¡¯s surprise, they were only about another two minutes from the summit. The top of the mountain had been carved out¡ª now just one large platform of polished ethereal stone. And, on top of that, right in the center, was another pedestal with a book on it. Unfortunately, the fog demon was here, too. Preparing herself for round two, Addie started gathering her magic.

    ¡°Ack! Get off of here...¡± The fog demon wasn¡¯t attacking, in fact, she had her back to Addie. Her back paws were on the ground, with her front paws on the stone pedestal. She had her claws out, gently trying to grab the book and bring it over to her mouth.

    Before Addie could release her next flame spear, the fog demon managed to get the book in her mouth with a triumphant grunt. She turned her head back, eyes flashing yellow in the light as she smirked at Addie.

    Addie launched her flame spear just as the fog demon started to run away again, the annoying kitty trying to steal Addie¡¯s book!

 Chapter 115: Anger

    Addie liked to think she didn¡¯t get angry easily. Sure, she could get upset, or more often, just feel hurt if someone did something mean. But, she rarely got truly, violently, angry. Not even when she was fighting the cascade did she get angry.

    But, right now, Addie was angry. Angry that the fog demon had pulled her away from home into a freezing mountain. Angry that she couldn¡¯t get home, no matter how much she wanted. Angry that she kept having to fight all these random ruin sites or solve their puzzles. Mostly, Addie was angry that the one good thing from these ruin sites, the book that taught her magic abilities, was being taken away from her by exactly the same being that brought her here in the first place.

    With anger fueling her and Ember helping her, Addie formed a fire spear faster than she¡¯d ever done before. The fog demon¡¯s face went from a malicious grin to a fearful grimace. Addie could spot the exact moment the fog demon knew she was in trouble.

    The flame spear hit her again, right in the same spot on her back hip, this time penetrating deep into her side. She yelped and hit the ground with a limp flop, the book falling out of her open mouth and onto the ground next to her.

    At first, Addie was surprised but happy! That had been a very quick win. But then, a bit of guilt started to come up¡ª she¡¯d just seriously injured someone, and she wasn¡¯t getting up. The fog demon clawed at the ground with her front paws, grunting in pain. Blood leaked out from her hip, and the fur surrounding the wound looked more like ash than hair. Addie was glad she couldn¡¯t smell anything in ethereal form.

    Together, Addie and Nettal approached before the girls let go of each other¡¯s hands. Keeping one eye on the whimpering fog demon, just in case, Addie bent down and picked up the book. All at once, knowledge rushed into her, teaching her. The concepts made sense immediately, something she¡¯d thought about before but hadn¡¯t been able to master. The best part? This technique would work with Squishy, too¡ª not just Ember.

    Addie would have sighed in relief at a good victory, except for Nettal. Nettal just about made Addie¡¯s heart drop in absolute panic; her cousin was touching the fog demon, eyes glowing green, and healing her! Healing their enemy!

    She wanted to tell Nettal to stop, except she couldn¡¯t talk! She rapidly floated over, trying to push Nettal away from the fog demon, but Nettal wouldn¡¯t budge. She turned to look at Addie, both eyes glowing green with a scowl but otherwise not responding. Just like Addie, she couldn¡¯t respond.

    If she could have, Addie wanted to remind Nettal that the fog demon was their enemy. The person who brought them so far away from home. And yet... yet, Addie did know why Nettal was healing her. Nettal always would heal anyone in need, but that didn¡¯t mean Addie had to agree with it.

    So, Addie did the only thing she could do, even if it would make Nettal mad at her later. She hit Nettal in the chest with an open palm, activating her magic with Ember at the same time. Nettal looked at Addie with a gaping mouth, but before she could react further, Nettal¡¯s ethereal form got yoinked away so fast that Addie barely could keep track.

    There, now, without Addie¡¯s magic to keep her ethereal, she¡¯d return to her body immediately. Addie quickly moved her eyes back to the fog demon, only to see her starting to get up. She managed to make it onto all four legs, her back left leg limping but still a lot better than earlier.

    Running forward, Addie began to charge her magic. She needed to make sure that the fog demon was properly defeated. That meant she needed to... she needed...

    The fog demon turned her head over her shoulder, looking at Addie with blind terror in her eyes. She scrambled, barely moving, more just flailing with little traction. ¡°Stay away!¡± she shouted, not a command, but a desperate plea.

    Purely reactionary, Addie floated a step back. And then, Addie just... let her go. Addie¡¯s magic fizzled, incomplete as she dropped her hand back down. The fog demon scampered off, awkwardly run-limping down the mountain without looking back.

    For the first time, Addie had hesitated. She hadn¡¯t known what to do. In that moment, the fog demon hadn¡¯t seemed like an enemy, but rather just a terrified person running for her life. And Addie wouldn¡¯t¡ª couldn¡¯t kill her. Killing people was really bad, and she didn¡¯t want to do it. So, she¡¯d just let the fog demon go.

    It¡¯s okay, Addie tried to tell herself. She¡¯d passed the last trial and gotten the last book. Now she¡¯d just meet back up with Nettal, go meet that weird pointy-eared guy, and then he¡¯d give them directions home.

    ¡°My lady, it may be best if you return post-haste. Nettal is rather... distraught. Particularly with your actions. She may, or may not, be pulling hard on my poor ears and yelling at me.¡± Squishy¡¯s telepathic words relayed a bit of the pain he was feeling to Addie, too.

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    Addie grimaced. She knew Nettal would be mad, but now she hardly wanted to go back. But, she had to. They¡¯d get out of here together, no matter what.

    <hr><hr>

    When Addie got back to her body, she just floated overhead for a moment, not quite ready to talk with Nettal. She could see her cousin pacing back and forth, practically stomping her feet with barely restrained irritation. At least she¡¯d stopped bothering Squishy, though he did have both of his ears drooped flat against his head.

    But, stalling here wouldn¡¯t do any good. Addie wanted to get home, and that meant she needed to get this over with.

    She flew down and inside her body, letting go of the magic holding her in ethereal form at the same time. Her eyes blinked open slowly, and she took a deep breath. Being back inside her body, having to breathe again, reminded her of coming home.

    ¡°Addie!¡± Nettal yelled, causing Addie to flinch. ¡°What¡¯d you do?¡± she asked accusingly.

    Addie sat up, responding demurely, ¡°Nothing. I couldn¡¯t do anything.¡± She frowned.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The fog demon got away, I, uh. Well, I didn¡¯t know what else to do.¡±

    Instead of being upset about the fog demon¡¯s escape, Nettal did quite the opposite, sighing in relief. ¡°Good. That¡¯s good, Addie.¡±

    Wanting to let out some of her frustration, Addie spoke up with an upset tone, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have healed her. What if she comes back and fights us again? What if she makes it harder to get home?¡±

    Rather than defend herself or get upset back at Addie, Nettal sounded gentle with her explanation, ¡°You already beat her, Addie. She wouldn¡¯t try to fight us again; she knows she¡¯d just lose. You know it¡¯s important to me, as a healer: do no harm. I¡¯m glad you defended us, but the fog demon is harmless to us now.¡±

    Addie had a hard time coming up with a reason that Nettal was wrong, though she still felt like Nettal was wrong. She couldn¡¯t explain it, but leaving the bad guy out and about to do who knows what felt... upsetting.

    ¡°I believe Nettal is correct, my lady. It is dishonorable to strike a downed foe.¡±

    Addie scoffed. ¡°Fine, but if this blows up in our faces somehow, I¡¯m gonna say I told you so!¡±

    Nettal¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°Anyway,¡± she said, sucking the air between her teeth, ¡°I¡¯m a lot more upset that you sent me away.¡± She tilted her head at Addie with an incredulous, irritated face.

    Not quite sure what to say, Addie stayed quiet.

    ¡°I mean, really? We¡¯re a team! I¡¯m the healer; you can¡¯t just wave your hand and magic me away.¡± Nettal chastised. She really sounded like Christena.

    ¡°I can, though...¡±

    ¡°Agh! You can, but you shouldn¡¯t!¡± Nettal crossed her arms, irritated.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Except Addie didn¡¯t really think she was in the wrong. She just didn¡¯t know what else to say.

    ¡°Just... I don¡¯t want you to get hurt somewhere that I can¡¯t heal you.¡±

    Addie could understand that, at least.

    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t send you away like that again, unless¡ª¡±

    Nettal interrupted, ¡°No unless! You. Won¡¯t. Do it.¡±

    Addie shook her head, raising her voice a bit to make sure Nettal understood. ¡°I¡¯ll only do it if it¡¯s an emergency and you¡¯re in danger.¡±

    Sighing, Nettal slowly shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re a team.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and it¡¯s my job to protect you.¡±

    ¡°Whatever, I wasn¡¯t even in danger this time, and you still sent me away. You won¡¯t do that again?¡±

    Feeling a bit like she was forcing herself to step on broken glass, Addie reluctantly agreed. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t send you away just because you¡¯re healing someone who might hurt us,¡± she said sarcastically, trying to point out how silly Nettal was being.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Nettal said, halfway shouting.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Addie said back, exactly the same way.

    Then, Nettal let out a big, frustrated groan. ¡°Fine! Come here.¡± She held her hand out for Addie to take, and Addie did so. She pulled her up, then Nettal forced Addie into a tight hug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for getting mad. Just... don¡¯t send me away when we¡¯re supposed to be a team.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for getting mad, too,¡± Addie said sincerely before grumbling out the next part, ¡°I already said I wouldn¡¯t do it again.¡±

    Nettal¡¯s hug felt warm, just as always. Due to Nettal being taller than her, Addie¡¯s face steadily got squished into her chest. Even if they disagreed on some things, Nettal was right that they needed to be a team.

    ¡°Teammates must trust each other, Addie. I think Nettal wants to make sure you know that. But, I also understand your fervent desire to protect.¡± Squishy plodded over to the two girls, rubbing his side, covered in cool scales, up against Addie¡¯s legs and twining between them. ¡°She may have trouble trusting you in battle, when it¡¯s most important, if you do unexpected things to her. I know it was a difficult situation, not being able to talk to her and resolve things that way.¡±

    Addie still remembered exactly how difficult it had been, watching Nettal run over and heal their enemy. But she agreed with Squishy now. No more doing strange things to Nettal without communicating, unless it was an emergency. That being said, she still didn¡¯t think it was right to heal the fog demon; they¡¯d just have to disagree on that part.

    ¡°Okay, can we go back now?¡± Addie asked, her voice muffled from her mouth being so tightly pressed against Nettal¡¯s hug.

    She let out a contented sigh. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s figure out how to get home!¡±

    They all started moving out again after that. Addie almost expected the fog demon to come back¡ª attack them while they were traveling. Either Nettal was right, and the fog demon knew she would lose, or they got lucky.

    A few days later, when they returned to the city, everything looked the same as before. They saw the same empty streets, unbroken concrete buildings, and perfectly designed streets. Approaching the castle, they had to go through Realmspace to get past the moat again.

    Walking inside, at first nothing happened. Not that Addie had expected a grand welcoming or anything, but she thought maybe the long-eared guy would be around. After a bit of discussion, both girls, plus their companions, agreed to make their way to the main chamber. Hopefully, the man would still be there, or at least the crystals surrounding him might give some kind of clue if he wasn¡¯t awake yet.

    With a nod to each other, both girls stood behind either of the main doors. After they opened this, maybe they¡¯d finally find some answers.

 Chapter 116: Stay Awhile

    Addie glanced to her left one last time, Nettal meeting her gaze. With an affirmative nod, both girls coordinated to open either door at the same time. The heavy, metal-embroidered doors swung open, disturbing the air enough to cause a slight breeze.

    Staring into the throne room, Addie was unsurprised to see all four crystals around the man now glowing red. She almost slumped in disappointment, seeing the man still sitting on the ground there just like before, but her attention quickly moved behind him.

    The fog demon stood there, still with a singed back leg and walking on a limp. Despite her feline face, Addie could see her grimace in reaction to noticing the girls.

    ¡°Tell her the answer is fire!¡± Squishy unhelpfully brought up again.

    Keeping the dialogue over thoughts only, so that no one else would hear, Addie replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think that matters anymore.¡±

    She could feel his disappointment through the bond, but she ignored it because this was no time to be silly.

    Her resolve to fight and protect bleeding through their bond, Squishy straightened up quickly himself, ready to fight alongside Addie.

    ¡°I just thought the riddle answer could be an opportunity for peace...¡±

    Addie and Nettal slowly stepped into the throne room, the doors naturally shutting behind them. The fog demon still hadn¡¯t said anything; she¡¯d frozen up, hardly moving except to track Addie with her eyes.

    ¡°Um,¡± Nettal spoke up into the long room, causing her voice to reverberate across the walls, ¡°Are you here to fight us again?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the fog demon replied shortly but otherwise stayed unmoving.

    ¡°Then what are you doing here?¡± Addie asked skeptically, ready to draw on her magic with Ember at any moment.

    ¡°I wait for master¡¯s awakening,¡± the fog demon supplied.

    ¡°She must mean the pointy-eared man,¡± Squishy pointed out.

    ¡°I tried to heal him earlier, but nothing worked. Now that the crystals changed color, is he better?¡± Nettal asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± That was all the fog demon said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Addie whispered, so only her companions could hear.

    Addie felt tense, like violence could break out any moment. She noticed the fog demon¡¯s pupils were dilated and staring right at Addie; her ears were flat against her head, too.

    That didn¡¯t stop Nettal from approaching the man, Lotty following close behind. Nothing about his appearance had changed, as far as Addie could tell. He still had long, flowing white hair and pointy ears. He knelt on the floor where his wrists were still chained to the floor, and even though he wasn¡¯t breathing, he somehow managed to keep a straight back posture. All the crystals, except the north-facing one, used to be red like blood, but now they were a rich blue color¡ª slightly darker than Addie¡¯s eyes.

    Addie found herself running after Nettal and Lotty, making sure to stay close so she could protect them if needed. And where Addie went, Squishy followed. She could feel his emotions over their bond, and he was just as careful to watch the fog demon as Addie was. The fog demon tensed in response to the two girls¡¯ actions but otherwise remained alert without moving.

    Making sure to keep her eyes on the fog demon, Addie whispered to Nettal, ¡°Is he alive now?¡±

    ¡°Not sure yet.¡± Nettal¡¯s eyes glowed bright green as she lay her hand on the man¡¯s head.

    The fog demon twitched from Nettal¡¯s movement but otherwise stayed still and continued to watch.

    ¡°Well, his heart is beating now, but I don¡¯t see him breathing yet. His lungs look super weird, though, like big tubes instead of flat sacks.¡± She furrowed her brow. ¡°I don¡¯t see the diaphragm at all, so I¡¯m not sure if he even can breathe.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Addie said, confused by all those words.

    ¡°They¡¯re just... body parts but inside you, I guess. For breathing.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Addie acknowledged.

    ¡°Master will wake soon.¡± The fog demon said, still utterly unmoving.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything that needs healing, and his blood is flowing to his head again, so that¡¯s a good sign.¡±

    ¡°Tell her the answer is fire, Addie,¡± Squishy suggested unhelpfully again.

    Addie looked down at him incredulously. ¡°Stop being silly!¡±

    His ears fell flat against his head, and now Addie felt a bit bad about scolding him.

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    ¡°I just think the fog demon may be more amenable to peace if we answer the riddle.¡±

    ¡°The riddle was never supposed to be answered, she was just messing with us!¡± If Addie had to explain this one more time, she was going to have some very strong words for Squishy. Addie needed to keep an eye on the fog demon, but Squishy¡¯s distracting request made it hard for her to focus.

    Though it was difficult to stay mad at Squishy¡ª even just a little bit. She decided to apologize to him for shouting after this was over.

    ¡°I, uh.¡± Nettal began, narrowing her eyes at the man. ¡°I think he¡¯s waking up. His eyelids are moving.¡±¡°Really? Let me see.¡±

    Addie glanced at the man¡¯s face, still watching the fog demon in her periphery. True to what Nettal had mentioned, his eyes did seem to be moving behind the eyelids, and the eyelids themselves were twitching.

    In the corner of her eye, Addie saw the fog demon take one extremely slow step forward, its paw padding silently. Addie instantly moved her eyes directly back onto the fog demon, causing her to stop in her tracks.

    ¡°Stay over there,¡± Addie commanded.

    The fog demon didn¡¯t respond, but she also didn¡¯t keep moving, so Addie didn¡¯t say anything else for the moment.

    All at once, Addie heard the man take in a giant breath. Her eyes darted to him as his chest began moving, and his eyes opened. After that first deep breath, his breathing calmed. He looked at Addie for a few moments before glancing at Nettal.

    ¡°Um, hello?¡± Nettal greeted tentatively.

    Tilting his head in curiosity, he otherwise didn¡¯t respond. From his kneeling position, he made to stand up, first from one knee before pushing off to both feet. Just as calmly as he¡¯d been so far, the man took in the room around him.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Addie said, this time more forcefully, to get his attention.

    He still ignored her, instead turning around and looking at the fog demon. A loud sound went through the chamber like a clicking echo. Addie didn¡¯t recognize the sound at first, but she quickly realized he was snapping his tongue.

    In response, the fog demon started bounding over, despite all of Addie¡¯s glares.

    The man reached his hand out, and the fog demon eagerly bumped the top of her head into his outstretched palm. ¡°Welcome back, Master.¡±

    Then, the man spoke in some weird flowy language; Addie couldn¡¯t even tell where one word started or ended, much less if he¡¯d spoken multiple sentences or just one. In any case, it was a lot of speaking.

    Nettal poked Addie on the shoulder, nearly causing her to shout in surprise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± Addie harshly whispered.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Nettal didn¡¯t look too sorry; instead, she just moved on to what she wanted to say. ¡°Maybe book can translate for us?¡± she ventured.

    ¡°I can try,¡± Addie allowed.

    Focusing on the inner parts of her soul, Addie poked and prodded at Book. It responded quickly, flowing out of her soul and then materializing out from her palm.

    That definitely got the man¡¯s attention, since he quickly swerved around and stared. A moment later, the man had a book of his own fly out from his palm, too.

    ¡°Wow!¡± Addie exclaimed. That definitely seemed like a good sign to her.

    Then, to her surprise, both books flew into each other, glowing so bright white that Addie couldn¡¯t see them anymore. After a few seconds, the glowing stopped and revealed just one single merged book. This book flew back to the man, and Addie didn¡¯t feel a connection with it anymore. It felt strange, like she was more empty somehow. Luckily, all the knowledge she¡¯d gained from the magic trials still remained; she still remembered the fire spears, shields, and everything else.

    The man¡¯s eyes flashed bright white as Book flew back in toward him, turning into small motes of light and flying into his body. For the first time, the man smiled.

    Looking Addie directly in the eye, he spoke, ¡°Hello, Addie. You did an excellent job passing the trials.¡± His voice still sounded flowing, almost like a song, but now she could easily make out the words and sentences.

    ¡°Um. Thank you?¡± Honestly, Addie was a bit confused. ¡°Did you send us here? Do you know how we can get home?¡±

    He chuckled. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t bring you here. That¡¯s Feera¡¯s fault, over here.¡± He petted the fog demon, Feera, apparently, on the head affectionately.

    ¡°I waited very long to find a bonded Soul Hunter,¡± Feera explained.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to congratulate you, Addie. Other than me, you¡¯re the only person in the last thousand years to have bonded to a soul hunter without a catastrophic cascade. Very impressive. That, along with your splendid trial results, tells me you have a very powerful force of will and determination.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°Discipline perhaps, too,¡± he added.

    ¡°You have a soul birdie, too?¡±

    He chuckled again, his tone reminding Addie of when Christena or Dad explained things to her slowly. ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s still asleep right now, but I can introduce you later.¡±

    ¡°I, uh, sorry to interrupt,¡± Nettal spoke up, and the man moved his focus to her for a moment.

    ¡°Ah, yes, the cousin. I suppose I should thank you as well, for assisting Addie here.¡±

    Nettal furrowed her brows. ¡°I think we really just want to go home. If Feera brought us here, can she take us back?¡±

    The man¡¯s smile grew strained, and his next words came out hesitatingly. ¡°I... suppose we can return you home, but first, let me show proper gratitude.¡±

    He gestured in a wide waving motion, taking in the whole room. ¡°This is my domain; it took me years of soul magic mastery to stabilize after bonding with a soul hunter. It might look a bit run down now, but since I am awake once more, I will begin rebuilding immediately.¡±

    Facing Addie more directly, he continued, ¡°Addie, I¡¯d like to offer you an apprenticeship. The trials were designed originally to find my successor, another person bonded to a soul hunter just like you. You¡¯ve passed splendidly, and I¡¯ll need lots of help restoring my domain. What do you think?¡±

    Addie opened her mouth, but the man interrupted her before she could answer. ¡°You don¡¯t have to respond right away; maybe spend the night and talk to me in the morning? I can prepare a grand feast, comfortable rooms, and Feera can whip you up a bath... and a more proper set of clothes.¡± He looked at Addie¡¯s dirty, worn poncho, his smile cracking for just a second.

    ¡°I think we really just want to go home,¡± Nettal spoke up again.

    Waving her concerns away, the man gently reassured them. ¡°Later, later. Of course, I promise. But for now, let me take care of your amenities. Surely, the long journey home can wait another day? I assume you have both been deprived of properly cooked meals and warm baths. You can use the extra day to clean up and consider my proposal.¡±

    Well, Addie did feel really grimy, and she smelled kind of bad, too. Nettal must have agreed with her¡°I guess we could stay an extra day. A bath does sound nice...¡±

    After all the insistence Nettal had on getting home, Addie decided to check her transcendent loop to make sure they weren¡¯t having their minds changed by magic. A quick check confirmed that she was completely unaffected from any kind of magic, her loop still entirely stable.

    Checking Squishy''s emotions, he seemed agreeable to the idea, but he wanted Addie to decide. If it really would take them a long time to get home, maybe a day of rest would be nice, Addie supposed. Though, she didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be accepting some kind of apprenticeship from the man¡ª she didn¡¯t even know his name!

 Chapter 117: Sounds Pretty Good

    A bath did in fact end up being quite nice. But, the whole time Addie just kept thinking about the time Hagal had tried to trap her. She kept having intrusive thoughts that made her want to check her transcendent loop. Every time she checked, she knew she was fine; both Squishy and Nettal were too, she checked lots, so she was confident about that.

    That did make it harder to relax in the tub, though. Just to be safe, Nettal and Addie shared a bathtub since neither of them wanted to separate from the other.

    Addie idly played with the water, watching it splash about. The water felt warmer against her skin when she moved her hand around like this. The tub itself was made of fused stones; she¡¯d never quite seen something like it before. It was like one big rock had been carved into a rectangular bowl shape and then polished smooth like porcelain. The room around them had steam all in the air, making it stuffy to breathe. She liked it though; it felt nice to be so warm after all those damp and cold days travelling to the ruin sites. It had rained more than once, after all.

    The walls around them were white, flat bricks. Nettal said this was called, ¡®tile¡¯, but Addie¡¯d never seen it before. Unlike Auntie¡¯s place, there were no water spouts to collect water in the bathroom. Instead, the whole room filled up with lots and lots of fog, until it all splashed down into the tub at once. Addie didn¡¯t have to think very hard to figure out who did that. Similarly, she knew the man had heated the water with his soul hunter, but she was just guessing since she hadn¡¯t seen the flames.

    Come to think of it, the man hadn¡¯t even told them his name yet. She¡¯d make sure to ask him the next time they saw him.

    Despite what should have been a relaxing bath, Addie¡¯s nerves were taught; she expected something to go wrong at any moment. The fog demon, Feera, had been their enemy from the start of all this, and Addie just couldn¡¯t set that fact aside or ignore it. She tried gently swirling some of the water around with her hand, feeling its smooth texture glide across her palm, but nothing helped. Not even Squishy sitting contentedly in her lap completely soothed her, but his unyielding calmness did bleed through their bond. He felt like a stabilizing pillar against all of Addie¡¯s jumping emotions, but he couldn¡¯t ease them completely.

    Across the water, Nettal outstretched her arm to Addie before grabbing onto her hand with gentle reassurance. Nettal smiled. ¡°Together, remember?¡±

    Somehow, those were exactly the words Addie needed, allowing her back to finally relax. She scooted deeper into the water blowing bubbles once her mouth was halfway submerged. In the next moment, Squishy jumped out of the water, splashing a bunch up into the air. He gasped out a breath. ¡°You must warn me when you decide to suddenly submerge me beneath the water next time, my lady.¡± He paddled onto the ledge, his feet scrambling to grip the smooth stone as he climbed out of the water.

    Addie smiled with amusement at first, but then she felt bad immediately after. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t think about it.¡± She blew more bubbles into the water.

    ¡°No worries.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t do it again,¡± she promised. It really had been an accident, even if it was a little bit funny.

    Squishy sent back feelings of warmth in return.

    ¡°Hey, Addie?¡± Nettal asked gently, grabbing Addie¡¯s attention. ¡°Why do you think the man was in that crystal seal thingy?¡±

    Addie shrugged, breathing through her nose since her lips were still underwater.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking: what if he didn¡¯t do that to himself?¡± Nettal continued after Addie just kept staring at her from halfway underwater. ¡°What if he was sealed there¡ª trapped against his will?¡±

    Addie furrowed her brows, having to sit up out of the water to reply. The air immediately felt cooler against her upper body. ¡°Then why would the ruin sites have all those books that taught me magic? He had to have done that.¡±

    ¡°I thought that too, at first, but what if that¡¯s not true? What if those books were pieces of his power, similarly sealed away to prevent the man from coming back himself? What if we broke the seals, and he got all his power back when Book returned to him, all the other four books also combined?¡± Nettal explained, each word coming from her mouth making Addie¡¯s heart plummet with dread.

    Suddenly, all the tension from earlier returned, and Addie couldn¡¯t find a way to properly relax. The water began to feel stuffy, far too warm, instead of comfy like it had been earlier. She climbed out of the water, sitting on the rim of the tub next to Squishy. The cool air felt refreshing, freeing in some way. Unfortunately, Addie couldn¡¯t argue with Nettal¡¯s logic, even though she still hoped Nettal was wrong.

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    ¡°If that¡¯s true, he might still not be a bad guy. He did let us stay in the bath,¡± Addie offered, not even fully convincing herself but just trying to come up with a good explanation.

    Nettal hummed. ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess.¡±

    ¡°If I may interject, my lady, I think we should be prepared for a fight at all times, just in case. Do not let your transcendent loop drop, and I shall do the same.¡±

    Addie sent back a feeling of strong agreement to Squishy. She¡¯d already planned on doing that, anyway. Luckily, Ember didn¡¯t need one herself, since she could just hide inside of Addie¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Maybe I should practice the new magic ability from the last book, just in case.¡±

    ¡°How hard is it?¡± Nettal asked. Addie had been expecting Nettal to maybe ask what the ability did, so it surprised her when all she asked was about the difficulty.

    ¡°Uh, it uses a lot of magic, and I think it¡¯s probably pretty hard,¡± Addie said while visualizing the ability in her head.

    Nettal shook her head, her brown wet hair flinging a bit of water everywhere. ¡°Then don¡¯t do it. Save your magic in case there¡¯s a fight.¡±

    That made sense to Addie. ¡°Okay. I will.¡±

    The bathroom fell into silence for a while, Addie idly kicking her feet in the water from the ledge she sat on. She liked how the cool smooth stone underneath her felt different from the warm water lapping at her toes.

    ¡°Should we keep watch again tonight?¡± Even though they weren¡¯t outside, Addie thought it¡¯d be a good idea. Partly because of how tense and nervous she still felt, and partly because of what Nettal had told her earlier.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Nettal nodded along.

    ¡°I can keep watch tonight, my lady. I am used to the night already.¡±

    Addie trusted Squishy a lot, but she was a bit worried about how much sleep he¡¯d been getting. She couldn¡¯t actually remember the last time he¡¯d slept; he always kept watch. Turning to her left side to look at him, she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired? When¡¯s the last time you slept?¡±

    ¡°I sleep very infrequently, my lady. Small naps throughout the day are more than enough.¡±

    Huh. It felt like Addie was still learning all kinds of new things about her partner, even though they¡¯d been together for so long already.

    ¡°What¡¯d he say?¡± Nettal asked, having only heard part of the conversation.

    ¡°Oh, he doesn¡¯t need a lot of sleep, so he said he¡¯s happy to take watch tonight.¡± He took watch most nights, anyway.

    ¡°I can heal him if he¡¯s too tired later. It should help some, even if my magic won¡¯t give him proper rest.¡± Nettal offered.

    ¡°Tell Nettal I shall take her up on that, though I know I will be more than rested regardless.¡±

    ¡°Squishy said yes,¡± Addie reported.

    ¡°I said a bit more than... actually, that¡¯s fine.¡± He huffed, his body rising and falling until his body went flat against the stone. Silly cat.

    ¡°Great!¡± Nettal stood up, splashing water all about and flinging it off her body. ¡°Let¡¯s go sleep before tomorrow. Who knows what could happen?¡±

    <hr><hr>

    Nothing happened that night. Even so, Addie was glad Squishy watched over them. Nothing happened in the morning, either, beyond Feera coming by to ask Addie and Nettal to go to the throne room when they were ready. It was almost... peaceful. The food tasted excellent, but Addie had no idea where it¡¯d come from. The sheets were clean and soft and the bath had been amazing¡ª decadent, Nettal had called it. Nothing happened at all except for a calm night.

    But no matter how calm the night appeared, Addie couldn¡¯t shake off a sense of unease. She had no reason to be uneasy, she told herself. If nothing else, Addie believed she was safe here. On top of that, nothing had tried to mess with her layers of transcendent loop, and Nettal seemed fine, too. Yet... yet Addie didn¡¯t feel calm, even if her surroundings were that way. Something poked out at her, tickling the back of her mind. She didn¡¯t know what it was yet, but that¡¯s why she felt so uneasy.

    When Addie, Squishy, Nettal, and Lotty all finally finished eating breakfast, they headed back to the throne room. The walk was familiar by now; Addie¡¯d traversed it quite a few times. With her spatial sense, she didn¡¯t even have to watch where she was going. Nothing jumped to attack her in the halls, but her heart wouldn¡¯t calm down. The closer they got to those tall, metal engraved double doors, the more Addie felt like this was a bad idea somehow. She had to shove all those feelings down. This was the only way she knew of to get home.

    Just before Addie could grab the door, Nettal yanked on Addie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Hey! Why¡¯d you do that?¡± the words just burst out of her, but she wasn¡¯t really angry at Nettal. More just surprised by her doing that, and the whole day had made her really tense.

    ¡°Addie,¡± Nettal gently chastised, ¡°calm down. It¡¯s okay. We can get through this together, right?¡±

    Addie forced in and out a deep breath. Nodding her head, she felt a bit better and replied, ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°So no matter what happens, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous. You¡¯ve got a team, and there¡¯s more of us than just your bonded.¡±

    Addie nodded her head some more. Nettal was right; even if it was her responsibility to protect Nettal, she could still rely on her cousin if things got tough or if she got hurt.

    ¡°Okay, are you ready?¡± Addie asked, again moving up to the door and placing both hands to open it.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready, are you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The doors squeaked open, the man already inside and waiting for them. He sat upon the throne, and all the magic circles and crystals that had been in the middle of the floor were gone now.

    ¡°Ah, Addie. There you are.¡± He moved to stand up, performing a bow, one that a lord might do to someone of lesser rank than himself. ¡°I realize in all the chaos, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Visesata, and I¡¯m a member of the order of Servus.¡±

    Addie¡¯s heart dropped, and she could feel Squishy¡¯s emotions all tensing up right beside her. Even Nettal, right next to Addie, grabbed on and squeezed her hand with a small gasp.

    Visesata just continued on talking, not at all noticing the girls¡¯ strong reaction. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve gotten introductions out of the way, I¡¯d again like to offer you a role as my new apprentice! Surely you¡¯ve seen all the wonders of my domain, you can live like a princess while I teach you new magic.¡±

    The man smiled, the corners of his lips curling just a bit more than Addie thought natural. ¡°So, what do you think? Sounds pretty good, right?¡±

 Chapter 118: Home Field Advantage

    ¡°N¡ª¡± Addie tried to refuse, but Nettal interrupted her with a painful jab of her elbow.

    Addie had to rub at her poor sore ribs. She glared at Nettal accusingly.

    ¡°Well, it sounds like a good offer¡ª¡±

    ¡°Obviously it¡¯s a great offer!¡± Visesata interrupted Nettal this time, quite pleased with himself.

    ¡°But, we¡¯re wondering if we can go home first?¡± Nettal finished.

    ¡°Why would you want to go home? I have everything that you need right here: food, drink, pleasures, and luxuries beyond your imagination. You two have only seen the bare surface of what I have to offer.¡±

    ¡°I... uh, that¡¯s great, really. But maybe we can go home first and relax? Addie can come back here after,¡± Nettal tried.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t some kind of peasant¡¯s job where you can commute on the weekdays!¡± The man¡¯s eyes briefly flashed violet. ¡°Besides, you won¡¯t find an extraordinary offer like this one anywhere else. No one on this plane can teach Addie more about her magic or train her like I can.¡± Visesata moved his eyes to address Addie directly. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to learn how to master your powers? Don¡¯t you want to be strong? No one else can teach you these things. So, what do you say?¡±

    Nettal sighed. ¡°Alright Addie, do your thing.¡±

    ¡°Finally.¡±

    Confusion crawled across Visesata¡¯s face, but it quickly turned into a scowl when he noticed Addie building up her magic.

    ¡°How about we blast him with our new ability?¡± Addie proposed to Squishy privately.

    ¡°Activating an untested ability in the midst of combat is not a wise choice, my lady. Let us only attempt such if we have no other choice.¡± She could feel him building up his own attack through their soul bond.

    ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t hurt him too much; I don¡¯t know how to get home without him.¡± Addie¡¯s roiling white flames coalesced into a flaming spear as she held it up right above her head.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    In perfect sync, following each other¡¯s thoughts, Squishy vanished from existence just as Addie released her flame spear.

    It soared through the air, intent on smashing into the man. He tried to sidestep it, but Addie had better control than that. Like a serpent, the spear swerved in the air, flying true to strike the man anyway. In a wave of heat and fire, the flames washed over the man, forcing him to cover his face and close his eyes. But he opened them a moment later, not so much as a burnt piece of clothing on him. He did look really angry, though.

    Addie hadn¡¯t expected those to burn regardless, since those were soul flames.

    Feera was quick to respond in her master¡¯s favor. She leaped at Addie, but before she could even get close, Squishy reappeared right on her flank, tackling the fog demon onto the ground. They wrestled for a moment, Squishy biting hard into her still-injured hip. Feera screamed a cat-like yowl, but Addie had to focus back on Visesata. She trusted Squishy with his part of the battle.

    It¡¯s a good thing she didn¡¯t stay distracted for long, since Visesata was already attacking again. A heavy weight bore down on Addie¡¯s soul like it wanted to push her into the ground. Her transcendent loop held, but it strained against the force. Luckily, it was weaker than Christena¡¯s version.

    Already Addie was forming more fire in the air around her, lances of soul flames boiling the air and causing it to distort. For a brief moment, Addie swept the area with her spatial sense. The entire room came into focus all at once, Addie seeing Squishy and Feera rolling nearby, Nettal hiding right behind Addie, and Lotty standing next to his mistress. Most importantly, Visesata was standing still, a scowl upon his face.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hurt me with my own technique!¡± he shouted at Addie.

    She didn¡¯t know why he did that¡ª talking during a battle was silly. Her spears launched forward, one after another smacking straight into the man¡¯s chest. None of them pierced through, but each roiling wave of white soul-flames made the man¡¯s scowl deepen and his face redden with pent-up anger.

    The pressure around Addie¡¯s soul grew, something compressing around her from all sides. The outer layer of her transcendent loop broke, leaving her with only two more.

    Seeing that his soul attacks weren¡¯t getting through, for now, the man finally fought back. He snapped his fingers, balls of flame as large as the throne behind him appearing over his head. Each ball circled around him like a rotating crown, the fireballs squeezing in on themselves and compressing until they looked no bigger than a hand. He launched them.

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    In a single instant, Addie swept the area with her spatial sense, found Nettal and Lotty, grabbed her hand, and then sent all three of them into Realmspace. Nettal almost tripped when Addie dragged her forward, but they quickly reappeared toward the far right from where they¡¯d entered. Addie didn¡¯t want to get closer to the man because she had to defend Nettal.

    When they reappeared, the throne room was covered in a dense fog. She couldn¡¯t see at all. That didn¡¯t matter; Addie swept the field with her spatial sense again, quickly noticing the man hadn¡¯t bothered to move. She checked on Squishy again too, seeing him swipe at the fog demon. Her brain was starting to struggle with all the information. She had to focus on so many things: protecting her soul, defending Nettal, attacking the man, keeping an eye on Squishy and Feera.

    The next moment, Addie was separated from Nettal, now directly in front of the man. He grabbed her, pulling her up by grasping the poncho in his fist. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one that can jump all around,¡± he hissed at her.

    The pressure on her soul grew even more, the second layer of her loop cracking and grinding in on itself. She uselessly tried to wack his arm, but he was stronger than her.

    ¡°Realmspace!¡± Squishy shouted out at her¡ª Addie hadn¡¯t been the only one watching the entire battlefield.

    She took his advice, wrapping herself in his magic. Falling to the ground, Addie caught herself on the cool black Realmstone. She was quick to run a bit forward and to her right. From here, she expected to be right behind Visesata. Her heart beat so fast in her chest that Addie couldn¡¯t tell if she was excited, nervous, or just breathing hard from the activity.

    Just as she guessed, she reappeared on his flank. He didn¡¯t expect the ambush, which Addie again thought was quite silly; he knew she could teleport.

    Remembering all those times she accidentally used too much fire, all those scoldings from Nettal or the surprise on the Furrians¡¯ faces, Addie poured as much magic into the fire as she could. She had to stand still for a few moments, but when the flames came out they blasted out at him in a wave so intense Addie had to cover her eyes from the heat.

    When she reopened her eyes, the man had already turned fully around, not a single mark on him. Faster than Addie could react, his foot shot out in a rapid kick. Addie pulled on the magic to send her into Realmspace, but his hard shoe impacted right into her stomach. A wheeze gasped out of Addie, and she went flying backward, her magic forcing her into Realmspace halfway through.

    Even though she couldn¡¯t breathe, she knew she didn¡¯t want to hit the ground hard, so she forced herself to focus. Pushing herself out of Realmspace, Addie forced her momentum to stop, managing to land somewhat softly on the ground back in the throne room.

    ¡°My lady!¡± She could feel his concern, along with his intent to rush to help her.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! But my magic isn¡¯t doing anything to him!¡± She let some of her frustration out into her thoughts.

    ¡°I¡¯ve nearly won my battle.¡± Squishy¡¯s words made Addie want to check on him.

    Sweeping the area with her spatial sense, she could see how injured Feera was, bleeding all over and limping. She held a defensive stance, with Squishy growling at her.

    ¡°We can work together to fight Visesata in a moment. Try to get to Nettal for healing.¡±

    Scanning the rest of the room with her eyes, she could see Visesata in the middle of pouring his magic into more fireballs, each one as small as a candle flame yet almost as bright as the binary. They floated in the fog like sprites, impossible to miss but blurred and shaped funny.

    ¡°No time for that,¡± Addie hastily replied. ¡°Come help when you¡¯re done with Feera.¡±

    Finally drawing in a breath, Addie got ready to pull on more magic to teleport away. But, with his evil grin peeking through the fog, Visesata turned, his head snapping and his hand pointing in Squishy¡¯s direction. All the fireballs launched forward, zooming so fast through the air that Addie only had time to notice her heart dropping, but not enough to help her Squishy.

    ¡°Squishy!¡± Addie cried out, her hoarse scream cracking midway through the word.

    He turned to face the fireballs just as they got to him, Squishy yelping in a way Addie had never heard from his tiny self before.

    Sympathetic pain lanced through her, the soul flames of Visesata¡¯s attack punching into Squishy¡¯s core and straining against their bond. Squishy popped out of existence, fleeing to Realmspace, but a lot of the flames had already hit him.

    Normally, he was great at that kind of magic, but his core was boiling, and she knew he was in too much pain to focus on helping himself. All three of his transcendent loop layers had shattered, so Addie worked quickly to help Squishy repair them. It was hard to focus on repairing them for him while also keeping hers together too. The pressure from before hadn¡¯t stopped, and she could feel her second layer of transcendent loop about to break.

    She needed to jump back into the fight, to make sure he didn¡¯t attack Nettal and so that Addie could give Squishy time to heal. But her stomach hurt really bad from where she¡¯d been kicked, and she had a hard time sitting up from the floor. Turning onto all fours, she managed to push herself up from there.

    Breathing through the pain and muggy fog air, Addie ran at Visesata. Luckily he wasn¡¯t looking at Addie. He stared down at Feera, who was pitifully collapsed on the floor.

    As she ran, Addie desperately thought about any ways she might be able to hurt him. He was a grown adult, so attacking him physically wouldn¡¯t work. She didn¡¯t know how to put pressure on his soul like he was doing to her, she only knew how to defend. And worst of all, her best flames didn¡¯t do anything to him.

    ¡°Send him to Realmspace,¡± Squishy suggested. ¡°We¡¯ll beat him on our own battleground, and keep him away from Nettal simultaneously.

    Squishy seemed to get his bearings back, his own control over their shared magic pooling into his soul and forming a single layer of transcendent loop.

    ¡°Together.¡±

    ¡°Together,¡± Addie agreed.

    As Addie got right behind the man, she thought about sending just him to Realmspace, leaving Feera separated from him. But, she only had a split-second to think, her arm already reaching out to touch him. She decided to push her magic out to both Feera and Visesata; if she left Feera here with Nettal, Nettal might do something silly like heal her again.

    ¡°Nettal¡¯s gonna be really mad that we fought them without her in Realmspace.¡±

    Her magic activated, Visesata looking over his shoulder with surprise. In the next moment, darkness surrounded them entirely.

    ¡°This is our home-field advantage,¡± Squishy declared.